privsecfoss @ privsecfoss @feddit.dk

Posts

9

Comments

60

Joined

2 yr. ago

XMPP / Jabber with OMEMO encryption. Lots of free servers and clients.

Same here! Rolling old Thinkpads because of the Linux compatibility, price and reparability is hard to beat. Would like to support the good companies more, but like the tinkering.

Our talk made me think about the ethics of tech companies in general. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a 'Tech Companies Ethics Index' kinda like Phoronix/Toms Hardware Guide is for hardware, but which documents and compare tech on fx the following consumer relevant parameters:

• Privacy
• Security
• Openness / FOSS / EEE
• User friendliness
• Reparability
• Other?

Sources could be: privacyguides, EFF, FSF, iFixit usere own experience and so on.

It could be run by users who also contribute to a git something and site something.

I know Lenovo is no angel but still a single piece of sand compared to the vast desert of Microsoft in terms of bad bahaviour.

We deserve System76, Tuxedo, Framework, PineBook etc. And if that doesn't suit the use case a used Thinkpad, Macbook (a sandbox in the analogy) or Dell is OK options. There's IMHO plenty of options that's better than the desert of Microsoft 🙂

By all means use it if it suits your needs 🙂 My point is that there are alternatives, like fx Lenovo Yoga or similar, where you dont support Microsoft and their history of bad behavior.

We all got different priorities and if it isn't something on your radar, that's fine. For me I would rather be without than buy a Surface for the mentioned reasons.

Agree on privacy. And why bother when Intel/AMD have their Management Engine (ME) and AMD their equivalent.

But why support a company like Microsoft when they have a long history of prioritizing profit over user freedom (FOSS/EEE), security and privacy?

I applaud Linux on as many laptops as possible. But given Microsoft's history of EEE, bad security practices and multiple and on going privacy violations I would really not recommend using anything Microsoft. If you must use fx Surface I would recommend buying a used one. Or better yet a used Thinkpad or similar enterprise laptop used.

I agree, but not very secure if Keepass is compromised. For security I think it's better to separate passwords and MFA.

I like Aegis being FOSS and for it's backup.

+1 Have been looking for one in a while without any luck.

As far as possible I try to avoid:

• All things from big tech because privacy, see Schrems II and their terms on use of personal information for own purposes
• Non Open Source tech because privacy or other malicious functions
• Tech that are prone to planned obsolescence because of special batteries etc. and can't be fixed with for example a custom ROM on Android

+1 Organic Maps and also Osmand. Both are on F-droid app store.

I know I am way out there. But is it possible that actual human interaction could have a positive effect on loneliness?

And you can always change career path if something else is seems more interesting at a later time. I did at a relatively late age and know of plenty of other people who did the same. It's never too late to try something else if the first thing doesn't works out.

Well of course, sir. Anyone interested in knowing more about how the total surveillance of all us is possible can read more on the Edward Snowden revelations on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden?wprov=sfla1 and The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/the-nsa-files.

Microsoft is a privacy nightmare though.

If you care at all about privacy I wouldn't reccomned M365. Because: Schrems II and MS use your information for their own purpose, and in effect is not compliant with fx GDPR.

Rings a bell. Will check it out. Looks good at first glance.

Don't know precisely, but hear from time to time that Microsoft is notorious for not patching in time in many cases, leaving vulnerabilities for months and sometimes years. I am pretty sure that MS just kinda gave up on the vulnerabilities MimiKatz exploits, so if the bad guys are on your network and you use MS infra it's pretty much a question of time before they get admin credentials.

Yes, often overlooked. And, I hear, almost impossible to selfhost these days without a degree in CS, because "we block all non big tech e-mail providers".

My Pentium 120 MhZ playing Duke Nukem, Quake, Diablo, Red Alert. All my friends had 133 MhZ so was the underdog at LAN meetups 🙂