technology

Also, based Liz Warren.

Hey Hexbear

Like to think I do an ok job keeping my desktop setup secure, but realized recently I don't do the same for my mobile devices.

Does anyone have any good tips how to help keep your phone more private and secure?

I have both an android and iPhone, and realize androids are superior to that sort of customization. Thought it might be useful tho if anyone had any tips for either though.

Consider https://arstechnica.com/robots.txt or https://www.nytimes.com/robots.txt and how they block all the stupid AI models from being able to scrape for free.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2646239

Many of you may or may not wonder what software to use. People may provide walls of text as a response, but you may just want something to reference without having to look into how the software works. I hope this can be that reference for all of you and anybody else who stumbles upon it. This is up for discussion and change, but I hope this can be a good baseline, as I myself have been making the changes to FOSS for a long time now, and it would be a good idea to have a recommended software/services page on Hexbear.

(The [*] marks the better option)

Workstations:

• OS: Linux, I reccomend Fedora with GNOME (for a new, but efficient and simple feel) or KDE (similar to Windows with more customization), but I know some people like Mint for new users. Install as much software as possible on flatpaks.

For maximum anonimity and safety, use Tails. Runs on USB, wipes data when removed.

• Browser: Firefox with Arkenfox, Tor Browser (For reliable anonimity; DO NOT ADD EXTENSIONS TO TOR BROWSER)

Mull can also be a good browser option with better content blocking. It is also not chromium, which while avoiding the monopoly, does leave it without site isolation (security feature) like other firefox mobile browsers.

• Browser Extensions: Ublock Origin (add Adguard URL Tracking Protection and Easylist Cookies blocklists), Libredirect.
• Office Suite: Libreoffice, OnlyOffice
• Password Management: Secrets on GNOME, KeepassDX on KDE. DO NOT REUSE PASSWORDS OR IGNORE THIS STEP!!!
• Music Downloading: Nicotine+ (Soulseek Client), make sure to use VPN
• Music Listening: Gnome Music (GNOME), Elisa (KDE)
• Network Permissions: Flatseal on GNOME, System Settings on KDE (search for "flatpak").
• BitTorrent: Fragments (GNOME), Qbittorrent(KDE)

Mobile Devices:

• Phone: Google Pixel + Graphene OS*, Divest OS
• Browser: Vanadium*(Only on GrapheneOS), Mulch, Tor Browser* (For reliable anonimity; DO NOT ADD EXTENSIONS TO TOR BROWSER)
• App Stores: Fdroid Basic*, Aurora Store (Google Play replacement, use as needed)
• Password Management: Keepass DX, DO NOT REUSE PASSWORDS OR IGNORE THIS STEP!!!
• 2-Factor Authentication: Aegis (Android, 6 digit codes), Hardware Keys ($$$). SMS Verification is better than nothing, but avoid it if you can. DO NOT USE GOOGLE AUTHENTICATOR OR MICROSOFT EQUIVALENT
• Music Streaming: Harmony Music
• Music Listening: Auxio, Fossify Music
• Network Permission: Graphene OS is the only OS that has this functionality, find it in permissions settings.
• Camera: Graphene OS Secure Camera*, OpenCamera
• Notes/To Do: Fossify Notes
• Weather: Breezy Weather (Fdroid Version)
• Navigation: Organic Maps
• Voice Recordings: Fossify Voice Recorder
• Keyboard: Helioboard
• Lemmy: Jerboa
• Youtube Front End: Libretube, Poketube (Web App)

Proprietary Apps (Social Media, Banking, etc.) are best used as Web Apps, as privacy and security benefit from the browser sandboxing.

General:

• Search Engine: DuckDuckGo (more consistent, proprietary), SearXNG (open-source, less consistent).
• Chats:
  • Large Groups (Like Discord, DO NOT USE DISCORD): Jami, Matrix
  • Small Groups/Individuals: Briar* (only on Android), Signal (Struggle Session on Signal, I know there might be something wrong but at the same time Signal seems to encrypt everything)
• Email: Proton Mail + SimpleLogin Aliasing, try to avoid email as much as possible, Chat options are more private and secure.
• File Sharing and Syncing: Syncthing, but don't forget that you can directly transfer files from devices with usb-c and usb-a cables.
• File Storage: Store files locally, sync between devices with Syncthing as needed. If you really need cloud storage, use Proton Drive.
• Password Management: Bitwarden, more convinient than keepass, while eliminating the risk of losing the file or having to manually sync. Only downside is that data is stored on their servers if not self-hosting, meaning it's a bit more vulnerable to data breaches.
• VPN: Proton VPN for free, keep an account for each device as the free tier is limited to one device, Mullvad VPN* at a premium for reduced hassle and faster speeds(5 Euros per month)
• Social Media: Cut down on big social media as much as possible. Relocate to the fediverse, and be careful with what you post, it's still public. Do not post too much identifiable information, do not dox yourself.
• Front Ends: Invidious (Youtube), Poketube (Youtube), Redlib (Reddit), and many others for a ton of different websites, all avaliable with the libredirect extension. I feel like the "datura.network" are pretty private and reliable, with a rotating IP to bypass blockage.

Got a lot of my info from here privacyguides.org, though some of this is based on my own experiences and suspicions.

If anything can be added, let me know! Love you all

UPDATE: I'm bad at titles, so that's up for a struggle session.

https://adnauseam.io/

Normal Adblockers like ublock only block advertisements and random crap. AdNauseam takes it a step further and goes on the offensive against advertisement agencies by poisoning the data they collect on you.

AdNauseum will click every single ad in the background and has ublock integrated inside to do the standard adblocking. This will make all their data on you useless.

Google has banned it from the chrome web store so you know it's working great. You can use it on both Firefox and Chromium based browsers by using the guide from the official website.

Remember to update the ublock filters once installed to bypass whatever Youtube is trying to block ads now.

Alternatively, are there any publications engaging with the future potential of AI in a communist society, or in the lead up to a communist society? A lot of forum discussion used to pertain to the cybersyn project in Chile. But I feel like the LLM/ML/AI discussion is currently on a reactionary back foot.

If you've used it, I'm curious as to what potentials do you see from it? Where is it being used effectively where are you encountering it where you go, damn that sucks.

Where it sucks: Every single chatbot and phone tree when calling a support line ends without speaking to a flesh-and-blood agent. It makes me want to throw my phone into the woods.

Where it rules: Fulfilling bullshit work requests like OKRs with AI-generated drivel. Translation work. It tutored me through a Grad-level Statistics class that was all Asynchronous.

I’m not some tech genius who could spot a fake product a hundred miles away. I’m just not a gullible dumbass

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-69055945

not me looking at the new Michael W Lucas book as though I will ever have any time for that shit

You may recall the story about high-school students who were paying to get medical papers published in order to get into college. That’s the sort of level we’re at now. It’s just pervasive. People are looking only at metrics, not at actual papers. We’re so fixated on metrics because they determine funding for a university based on where it is in the rankings. So it comes from there and then it filters down. What do universities then want? Well, they want to attract people who are likely to publish papers. So how do you decide that? “Oh, you’ve already published some papers, great. We’re gonna bring you in.” And then when you’re there, you’ve got to publish even more.

You’re replacing actual findings and science and methodology and the process with what I would argue are incredibly misleading — even false — metrics. Paper mills are industrializing it. This is like the horse versus the steam engine.

https://transformer-circuits.pub/2024/scaling-monosemanticity/index.html

preferably something I can run locally on my PC. most of what comes up on google are cloud-based services and I don't want to have to upload shit to the internet. I just want a Windows program that can do speech-to-text from a video in different languages, translate to English and generate an .srt file or similar

I know this isn't breaking news if you don't have an account there but I hate annoying defaults. And some people like DMs so they might make an account there due to that functionality.

I wonder how many Blueskyers are at Hexbear. Three? Dare I say four?

Now available: DMs! Start a private conversation with a friend directly on Bluesky within the Chat tab. 💬

Update to the latest version of the app (1.83) or refresh on desktop to start chatting!

https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3kt3y33tk4w2m

Text from screenshot:

2020: Microsoft sets goal to be carbon negative by end of the decade.
2023: Microsoft's emissions are 30% higher than in 2020.
Main cause? The relentless push to meet AI demand, which requires new data centers built out of carbon-intensive steel, cement, chips.

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Corporations will go green on public pressure.