I have been using the hosts file based ad blocker AdAway for at least two years. It runs on my smartphones and tablet, all rooted, thus I can run a VPN simultaneously. Since it has always worked flawlessly, I never really took the time to compare it to other similar apps.

But as of today, there hasn't been an update since 2024.

I am asking for alternatives and the reason you think they're better.

In case somebody else is struggling to download IronFox for Android, I have extracted the universal apk, version 151.0.2.1, from my current install and uploaded it to buzzheavier. For me, neither Obtainium, F-Droid or direct download worked from their repos, meaning, the download jumps to 30%, fails then aborts.

I'll leave it up for a week or so. Do verify integrity and authenticity as per: https://ironfoxoss.org/download/ , since I have no idea how secure buzzheavier is. I just use it as a simple anonymous file sharing platform.

I'm glad to announce v0.4.5 release!

Syncspirit is continuous peer-to-peer realtime syncrhonization tool. It implements BEP protocol and provides seamless interoperability with existing syncthing nodes and clients.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/basiliscos/syncspirit/refs/heads/master/docs/fltk-overview.gif

You can download ready-to-use binaries for Linux x86_64 (AppImage), Windows 32 bit (WindowsXP is supported), Windows 64 bit and Mac OS X (Apple silicon).

Notable changes:

• [core] monitor local filesystem changes in realtime and propagate updates across the cluster (inotify/ReadDirectoryChangesW/kqueue)
• [core] allow arbitrary subfolder rescan
• [core] do not accept files with non-valid utf8 filenames
• [ci/cd] use https://sourcecraft.dev/ infrastructure for building
• [core] bugfixes

Syncspirt source code uses GPLv3 license.

Any feedback is welcome!

WBR, basiliscos.

Anyone know any specific about this device? I cannot find a manufacturer or anything.

Its about 0.5m wide, and maybe half that thick.

There are wifi AP's also, and a few cameras in the store. But there are more of these dishes than cameras and AP's combined.

I know stores do bluetooth tracking through stores, but this device is way to big for that. Also wifi makes little sense given the AP's elsewhere. High powered RFID for monitoring pieces of merchandise maybe?

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/61033678

Deep dive into the tech being deployed by an unofficial US government office. References cited at the bottom of the article.

Tin-foil hats cinched tight. This is not good.

Global Privacy Control (GPC)

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1159225/good-luck-opting-out-whitepages-meta-google-x-uber-lyft-openai-tinder-and-other-companie

Full Report (PDF).

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1157779/us-says-troops-were-targeted-with-location-data-as-senator-warns-ad-industry-is-a-nation

TLDR: A new, widespread wave of cyberattacks is actively targeting Signal users, specifically aiming to compromise and steal account backups. Because Signal chats are end-to-end encrypted on device, hackers are shifting focus to where that data might be stored less securely (like cloud backups or via phishing/credential stuffing attacks to gain account access).

Do you people trust companies with passkeys?

I feel like big tech have started pushing for passkeys really hard lately. Microsoft has been asking me if I want to switch to passkeys pretty consistently. Google just automatically brings up the passkey registration fingerprint scan system dialogue every single time I've been signing in on Android. Without even asking if I want a passkey or not, it just does it without saying anything. I think the intention is pretty clear, an unknowing person sees the completely random fingerprint scan dialogue, doesn't think much of it, scans their fingerprint, a passkey gets created automatically.

Well, I fell for their trick. I've been avoiding the passkey dialogue pretty consistently for a while now, but just now I was signing in while distracted and accidentally tapped my finger on the scanner by reflex on the prompt. I guess I have a passkey now. Yay.

I did some digging on my Google account settings and the internet, and I couldnt find a way to completely remove the passkey. It seems you can only disable the use of passkeys, but the passkey itself remains. There is also a setting called "Skip password when possible", which is clearly what has been causing the non-stop passkey prompts. It's on by default. It's a shame I'm only aware of it now that its too late.

Theoretically, the passkey standart itself should be private and secure. Throughout the process, the biometric information used for the cryptographic challenges never leaves the device, and the server only gets access to a signature that has been signed with the client's private keys that it can use to authenticate but can't derive the private keys back from because of complicated math I didn't spend enough energy to understand. Google automatically syncs the passkeys with its private keys with E2EE in the Google Password Manager tied to the account, which is where I start to get uncomfortable because I can't bring myself to trust Google with E2EE.

What do you people think?

A bill that would allow cameras inside nursing homes is waiting for Arizona lawmakers in the senate to bring it for a debate and vote.

Hi, my employer is sponsoring an academic research on parenting and flexible working. A lot of sensitive questions are asked and the university researcher has circulated these questions on Google Forms to all employees. I am really anti-Google when it comes to privacy (got rid of every Google link years ago and currently use GOS, etc.) so I raised this concern with the HR team. They were sympathetic with my view and have encouraged me to send my view to the university. However, I don't want to go down the rant, and want to provide constructive feedback. So, first thought I would to consult with privacy focused members of this list. Here are my questions:

a) are there independent research papers out there that demonstrate (rather than speculate) that Google Forms is not fully respecting privacy and is not fully GDPR compliant?

b) are there more robust, privacy and GDPR compliant alternatives I could recommend? I've done quick searches on the web and alternatives like JotForm and AidaForm seem to be more privaci and GDPR focused. Anyone used these before?

Am I being too anal about this ...?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/47972724

i encountered this for the first time today while attempting to read something on archive.today.

i confirmed that decoding the qrcode using a computer and following the URL it contains is insufficient; the error it gave directed me here which is what the linked screenshot is of.

the old type of captcha remains available too, for now:

Android:

• BlueMoon;
• Periodical;
• Menstrudel.

iOS:

• Menstrudel;
• Drip;
• Euki;
• Apple Health.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47443525

I wonder if the people at X ever read their own announcements.

Literally explaining how they sold out and enshittified the "blue checkmark".

This also seem like yet another step towards mandatory IDverification on social media! (only to protect them kids & democratize the platforms of course 😉)

The Google AI itself just informed me that Google can ask me for ID if it suspects that I may be under 18. Does anyone know if this has already happened to someone? I have important accounts that I need my gmail to log into. What email provider do you recommend that I use instead? I'm aware of tuta and protonmail but are they reliable that they will not one day shut down the way Skiff email did?

On April 30th, the FCC voted that they wanted to demand KYC in order to use a phone number inside the United States. This may not end up happening, but better safe than sorry, and I'm trying to figure out ways around this problem in case they are needed.

The stated goal is to prevent spam and robo calls, and if a provider allows a robo call, it's something like a $2,500 fine per call, which means that services like Google Voice and text now and every cell phone and phone provider is going to require government ID. The provider has to keep your ID on record the entire time you have the service and then if you cancel the service they are required to keep your ID for four years after the date of cancellation. This will be a boone for hackers.

What i need help with:

1. Secondary Internet connection: It doesn't happen often, but I use my phone as a secondary internet connection if, for example, my home ISP is ever out. I am not sure yet if data only sims will be a problem since they can't make or receive telephone calls and make and receive text messages. So this may or may not be an issue. I guess if nothing else I could go to the local McDonald's or something like that and use their Wi-Fi if my ISP was ever out in order to contact the customer service of my ISP online to let them know about it.

2. Access to banking: Banks are so stupid in general, but every time I log in to my online account, it has to send me a phone call or a text message in order to verify that I am who I say I am, regardless of the fact that we all know that the telephone system is complete garbage for this use case, but they're banks, so what else can you expect, right?

3. Access to ride sharing services: I lost access to Lyft several years ago, because they no longer allowed you to book rides from their website, and I refused to install the app, and even if I wanted to install the app, it requires Google spy services, which I will not install on my device. That left me with only the option of Uber, which is fine, except that they also require a phone number, and if you don't have one, then you can't receive your text message verification codes again, and stuff like that to log in.

Without a telephone number, you can't call a taxi either. At least not that I'm aware of, because the old way of doing taxis before Uber came out was through the telephone system, and I'm not aware if taxis have evolved since then.

Hi all,

I have VPN turned on on my phone all the time.

To be able to post anything, including to comment, I need to turn off the VPN. To be honest, I'm quite conflicted by this.

Any reason why this is or what to do about it besides turning off the VPN?

I'm using Voyager as a client.

Edit: it seems like the instance is the issue. Moving here from Reddit it's not as simple as j would have thought. Also, VPNs are essential, no VPN is no go for me.

Case closed.

You know something goes too far when Google, and Meta speak out against it.

Consent will no longer be required for using data for AI development and statistical analysis purposes provided that the data does not identify individuals.

Specifically, companies will no longer need consent from individuals to collect public information on social media and other platforms, or to share corporate-held data with other companies.

Meta has sold 7M+ Ray-Ban glasses that look identical to normal glasses but can record you silently.

NoPeek detects them using immutable BLE manufacturer company IDs signals that cannot be randomized or hidden unlike MAC addresses.

Detects: Meta Ray-Ban, Snap Spectacles, Oakley Meta, TCL RayNeo, Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro, Pico VR and more.

No ads. No tracking. No internet permission. Fully open source. MIT license.

github.com/getnopeek/nopeek-android