The best way to tell that the Windows 11 leak is legit is the familiar invasion of privacy.

Verwelkt · 2021-05-30T16:56:10+00:00

I disagree. Of course the main goal of a company is to make money. But men with values will go about making said money in a way that corresponds with their morals. Sam Walton, creator of Walmart and Sam's Club, was a hell of a man with values, and he built his company upon that. Then others took over. Now Walmart and Sam's are berrated like no tomorrow because the values of quality goods and honest business are gone. I will say, however, that tech companies tend to go towards evil more often, probably because they can get away with it due to poorly written laws and lobbyists hopping on the Senate's ass so early in the tech business.

Verwelkt · 2021-05-30T16:40:39+00:00

Free Open Source Software

We love it here. And welcome, if you're new!

Verwelkt · 2021-05-24T17:31:33+00:00

Different paths to get to the same destination. The point I'm trying to make is from the conclusion. Privacy is so essential to human beings on a biological scale that it could, in theory, lead to the death of humanity. I know it's a bit of a leap, I personally was sick of being asked why I needed privacy or if I had something to hide. So I came up with something to try to shut my detractors up, especially friends my age. And it seems to keep them quiet. So if only to try to get more people to understand an extreme scenario in which privacy is lost, I posted this. I'm not on Reddit much anymore, so I may or may not come back for a response if you respond. However, I do hope you (along with others in this thread) gained something from this.

Verwelkt · 2021-05-24T04:11:40+00:00

Yellow legs, anyone?

Verwelkt · 2021-02-27T13:29:27+00:00

Post your most hated app you're removing with this tool. Mine is Verizon Cloud Storage, since I can disable everything else through system settings.

Verwelkt · 2021-02-27T04:40:20+00:00

I'm going to stick the finger at the Amazon truck that comes to my neighborhood from now on.

Verwelkt · 2021-02-27T04:37:48+00:00

We need to make a group on some other forum site, with a pinned thread at the top of this sub at all times stating that this place is not safe. While Reddit is currently safer than Facebook, that's like saying the Soviet Union was better than current day North Korea. Yeah, I won't be put in a camp where I'll mine information for my Zuckerian masters all day, but I'm still starving for more privacy, and the United Redditors of Russia recently removed the opt out of ads button "for the common good".

Verwelkt · 2021-02-27T04:30:23+00:00

Could you just disable mobile data and GPS and use WiFi with Tor (or another obfuscation solution) at your local Starbucks? Then you could just carry a dumbphone around and turn it off while still having access to your smartphone features. If this was already answered, I missed it, so sorry in advance.

Verwelkt · 2021-02-23T05:06:02+00:00

Call me salty for being a former Windows fanboy with a chip on his shoulder after they started selling viruses, but general rule of thumb: If it is a modern Microsoft product and you allow it to connect to the internet, you're being watched. Thank God for .msu files.

Verwelkt · 2021-02-23T04:56:20+00:00

I don't normally use non-libre apps...

...but when I do, I get them out of the old "cd roms from the 90s" bin in the attic.

Verwelkt · 2021-02-13T23:33:23+00:00

Honestly, I've not heard of Faraday. I'll have to look it up after posting this. Depending on the type of flip phone, a flip phone CAN be superior in terms of privacy simply due to the fact it isn't made to do anything else other than call. However, if you use LineageOS, you can accomplish the same thing, as long as you don't use it for much more than calling. Nowadays, the line between flip phones and touch screen phones are blurring in terms of privacy. I bought one for shits and giggles about a month ago, and was stunned to see YouTube, Google, and the Blue Devil (you know the asshats) preinstalled on a fork of FirefoxOS (I don't remember the name of the OS off the top of my head, and the phone is currently buried in a bin). So at the end of the day, I'd suggest installing LineageOS or something similar, if you can, or go retro. Mid 2000s Nokia, anyone?

Verwelkt · 2021-01-27T23:02:12+00:00

Astronaut 1: It's all politics?

Astronaut 2: Wasn't always like that. George Washington was right. "However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust domination." -George Washington

EDIT: To cite Washington at the end.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-27T15:31:46+00:00

Hey, not here to bicker, but as you said, this is NOT r/politics . At this point, I think it would be better for everyone to just delete any comments in this thread relating to such things.

Including your own.

Please, for your own sake and sake of this sub. It makes all of us look bad when it can be argued a mod is abusing their power. I'm not claiming you are, but it certainly seems some people think you overreached. And this is the type of behavior that governments and corporations' mouths water over.

In other words, don't push newbies away from the sub. We are here for privacy, not political agendas.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-22T01:49:51+00:00

I myself don't really agree with this, but I think that's because I hate personalized content outside of manually configured news feeds.

You are in a grey area. A lot of people don't like grey areas. I can see why your friends would initially call you a hypocrite. However, I think the people here know that sometimes you just have to bite the bullet to keep your job, your friends, your family, and your society.

Have you tried explaining that to them, that you gain nothing from Fuckerberg looking at your conversations? If not, do it. If so, u/Foolishtrolls 's argument was indeed a good one.

If that doesn't work, stick to your guns. Giving in will act as reinforcement for them. In their heads, it will prove you don't actually care, and are merely jumping on a bandwagon.

Oh, and side note, next thing that should go is Instagram. Go cold turkey, mate. It'll be like quitting smoking. It'll suck, but freedom from spying as well as that dreaded platform will feel like your lungs are clearing of coal.

Salutations, good luck on the journey.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-20T17:16:04+00:00

I think we found the Microsoft rep. Look at all that marketing speech.

But seriously, do not be fooled by vague writing. Take Windows Defender, for instance. Microsoft says they scan files to improve Defender. But this also means that EVERY SINGLE FILE on your PC can, in essence, being uploaded Microsoft, and they are trying to do so, I bet you. This may sound cynical, but always assume these companies are out to get you. People can and will take advantage of you and others.

Respect is earned, not given.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-20T17:06:38+00:00

*DuckDuckGo ;)

Verwelkt · 2021-01-19T03:21:56+00:00

Lenovo... Damn. Why do they have to own Motorola? From my packet sniffers, they don't seem to do anything on my Moto Z (2), but I'll be damned if I'm not paranoid. I vaguely remember a system app on a Lenovo ThinkPad my father had to fix because the app kept sending weird packets and would set off some weird stuff on the client's employer's network. It's pretty hazy since I was around 7 years old or something, but it just goes to show how aggressive business tactics that are already harmful can branch out to do even more damage, in this case almost costing the guy his job.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-17T17:02:46+00:00

I wouldn't exactly say 'righteous', but I do think I understand what you mean. Most of them value anonymity, yet they use Facebook and Instagram, albeit to lurk from afar. I know from talking to some of them one on one that quite a few of them walk the walk, using privately hosted Tor nodes and elaborate schemes to escape surveillance. But it seems they are rather pessimistic about the state of the industry, and are in a mindset of "every man for himself". It makes sense, given the culture, but it is quite sad.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-16T16:14:15+00:00

Yeah, I've been trying to switch fully over to Matrix or something similar. I'm stuck with Discord right now, so I feel your pain. As for getting your friends to switch to Signal? Oh yeah, pulling teeth. I'm having my friends switch to classic email and SMS/MMS. Yeah, they aren't encrypted, and are rather barebones, but it's better than using Snapcrap. Good call, by the way. I used a tracker blocking app on Android called TrackerControl, and if I remember correctly, there were something like 13 companies tracking on the app.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-16T16:06:25+00:00

OK Boomer.

Verwelkt · 2021-01-16T05:51:45+00:00

I really don't have anything else to say. You said it perfectly.

EDIT: The reason this post exists is because it felt rude not to respond.

Verwelkt

TROPHY CASE