Recent Posts

401

General Software Discussion / Re: Listary 6

« Last post by IainB on August 19, 2018, 03:53 PM »

Does any news about Listary 6 suggest that it will get something akin to FARR's powerful alias system?

-Nod5 (August 19, 2018, 02:02 PM)

Yers, I wondered about that as well.
FARR and Listary are not the same things though, so a comparison is difficult. It rather depends on one's requirements.
From my perspective as an existing FARR user: I had trialled Listary for a couple of years out of interest and for comparison with FARR, but eventually dumped Listary, though the latter worked OK. Listary met my requirements for searches, but otherwise seemed annoyingly idiosyncratic and intrusive, popping up when I didn't need it and nagging me to buy a licence for the full version. The most useful thing about it for me was the search functionality, but I preferred Everything Search for that.
I stuck with FARR rather than Listary, because in general it better suits my peculiar needs/purposes, including, for example (not an exhaustive list):

• it is portable (used on all the PCs I support);
• it uses few/minimal resources when operating;
• it is stable and works consistently well and with no idiosyncrasies;
• it is fast/responsive;
• it generally feels ergonomically better - e.g., more intuitive and less intrusive than Listary;
• it seems to be generally more powerful than Listary (FARR having a comprehensive range of options, settings, plugins);
• it seems to be more fully under the user's control than Listary;
• it has the TinyEverything plugin for searches (I find Everything to be the fastest and most optimal search tool, though I use Google Desktop Search for complex searches);
• it can be kept automatically updated along with all the other related apps. - via DCUpdater.

402

Living Room / Re: Privacy - RUMPEL - it's YOUR data, after all!

« Last post by IainB on August 19, 2018, 01:59 PM »

RUMPEL web browser's aim : take back control of your personal data:
Interesting open source project led by the University of Warwick. Its aim is to help users keep track of where information about them is stored online so that they can actually -- personally -- benefit from it. An important issue; whether this is a viable solution or not is another one...   

[...] a marketing professor at the University of Warwick who led RUMPEL's development, said: "It's time for people to claim their data from the internet."
"The aim of RUMPEL is to empower users and enable them to be served by the ocean of data about them that's stored in all kinds of places online, so that it benefits them and not just the businesses and organisations that harvest it," she added.
"The strapline 'Your Data, Your Way' reflects our determination to let people lead smarter lives by bringing their digital lives back under their own control."

TechRadar article : New web browser lets you take back control of your personal data
And the GitHub RUMPEL project.

-Armando (July 29, 2016, 02:49 PM)

403

Living Room / Re: Privacy - the unmitigated gall of LivreVisage.

« Last post by IainB on August 19, 2018, 01:53 PM »

Ah! Found it! There's gold in them thar DCF datamines. I knew it was here somewhere. Just took me a while to find it though - a past comment on the DC Forum about LifeLock and which happens to be an apposite quote apropos of the recent HUD v. Facebook item, above: (my emphasis)

LifeLock has been running to center on the Equifax breach, with ads and press statements saying how the breach shows how important its own services cost: up to $29.99 a month can be to preserve you from identity theft.

...

Here’s what LifeLock isn’t spreading so widely: When you buy its security, you’re signing up for credit recording and monitoring services provided by, yes, Equifax.

...You just can't make this stuff up: Full Article here

Maybe it's just my rather dark sense of humor, but I just couldn't stop laughing after I read that. The unmitigated gall of corporations these days is just flat-out mind blowing.

-Stoic Joker (September 20, 2017, 03:39 PM)

404

Living Room / Re: Privacy - discrimination against vulnerable minorities.

« Last post by IainB on August 19, 2018, 12:12 AM »

The other end of the loss of Privacy is where its loss makes the loser potentially vulnerable, or more vulnerable than they were before, leading to potential risk - e.g., exposure to demographic stratification and targeting, with subsequent stigmatisation, discrimination, harm/loss, even to the extent of circumventing laws that were expressly established to avoid such risks to these vulnerable groups/minorities.
So, right on cue, here's a classic recent example - and yes, Facebook are behind it, because they can make money out of it (of course) - and are doing so. What a surprise (NOT).   

From the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD No. 18-085 HUD Public Affairs (202) 708-0685

FOR RELEASE Friday August 17, 2018

HUD FILES HOUSING DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT AGAINST FACEBOOK
Secretary-initiated complaint alleges platform allows advertisers to discriminate

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today a formal complaint against Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act by allowing landlords and home sellers to use its advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination.

HUD claims Facebook enables advertisers to control which users receive housing-related ads based upon the recipient's race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, and/or zip code. Facebook then invites advertisers to express unlawful preferences by offering discriminatory options, allowing them to effectively limit housing options for these protected classes under the guise of 'targeted advertising.' Read HUD's complaint against Facebook.

"The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination including those who might limit or deny housing options with a click of a mouse," said Anna María Farías, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "When Facebook uses the vast amount of personal data it collects to help advertisers to discriminate, it's the same as slamming the door in someone's face."

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing transactions including print and online advertisement on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status. HUD's Secretary-initiated complaint follows the Department's investigation into Facebook's advertising platform which includes targeting tools that enable advertisers to filter prospective tenants or homebuyers based on these protected classes.

For example, HUD's complaint alleges Facebook's platform violates the Fair Housing Act. It enables advertisers to, among other things:

• display housing ads either only to men or women;
• not show ads to Facebook users interested in an "assistance dog," "mobility scooter," "accessibility" or "deaf culture";   
• not show ads to users whom Facebook categorizes as interested in "child care" or "parenting," or show ads only to users with children above a specified age;
• to display/not display ads to users whom Facebook categorizes as interested in a particular place of worship, religion or tenet, such as the "Christian Church," "Sikhism," "Hinduism," or the "Bible."
• not show ads to users whom Facebook categorizes as interested in "Latin America," "Canada," "Southeast Asia," "China," "Honduras," or "Somalia."
• draw a red line around zip codes and then not display ads to Facebook users who live in specific zip codes.

Additionally, Facebook promotes its advertising targeting platform for housing purposes with "success stories" for finding "the perfect homeowners," "reaching home buyers," "attracting renters" and "personalizing property ads."

In addition, today the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) filed a statement of interest, joined in by HUD, in U.S. District Court on behalf of a number of private litigants challenging Facebook's advertising platform.

HUD Secretary-Initiated Complaints

The Secretary of HUD may file a fair housing complaint directly against those whom the Department believes may be in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Secretary-Initiated Complaints are appropriate in cases, among others, involving significant issues that are national in scope or when the Department is made aware of potential violations of the Act and broad public interest relief is warranted or where HUD does not know of a specific aggrieved person or injured party that is willing or able to come forward. A Fair Housing Act complaint, including a Secretary initiated complaint, is not a determination of liability.

A Secretary-Initiated Complaint will result in a formal fact-finding investigation. The party against whom the complaint is filed will be provided notice and an opportunity to respond. If HUD's investigation results in a determination that reasonable cause exists that there has been a violation of the Fair Housing Act, a charge of discrimination may be filed. Throughout the process, HUD will seek conciliation and voluntary resolution. Charges may be resolved through settlement, through referral to the Department of Justice, or through an administrative determination.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. In commemoration, HUD, local communities, and fair housing organizations across the country have coordinated a variety of activities to enhance fair housing awareness, highlight HUD's fair housing enforcement efforts, and end housing discrimination in the nation. For a list of activities, log onto www.hud.gov/fairhousingis50.

Persons who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY).

###

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.

You can also connect with HUD on social media and follow Secretary Carson on Twitter and Facebook or sign up for news alerts on HUD's Email List.

405

Living Room / Re: good Videos - Doco: Pandora's Box, E1: The Engineers' Plot (GOSPLAN)

« Last post by IainB on August 18, 2018, 12:02 PM »

Pandora's Box, E1: The Engineers' Plot

An old BBC documentary re the consequences of political and technocratic rationalism in the USSR.

Fascinating documentary - this one traces the history of the evolution of Gosplan - the USSR State Plan.
In the name of "Science", the USSR applied their economic theory to planning, to drive a command and control economy that seemed to succeed at first, but then failed progressively through the '60's and took the economy into crisis and collapse in the mid to late '70s.
A major limitation in the approach was that cost-efficiency and efficient resource utilisation were not imperatives and thus mindless production and ritual ensued as the planners gave up on the impossible/absurd task. There were food and other shortages, rationing ensued.
They had sought to model and plan the entire economy on an absurd basis, but it was too complex for them to understand.

"Why weren't we able to transform our dreams into reality?
Why didn't we succeed in creating a society where everyone could be free and fulfilled?
Who is to blame?
Not science itself, but the men who mistook what science was."
 - Vitalii Semyonovich Lelchuck, USSR Academy of Sciences.

Video: Pandora's Box, E1: The Engineers' Plot.
https://www.youtube..../watch?v=h3gwyHNo7MI
_________________________________________________________

YouTube Published on 28 Apr 2012
Pandora's Box, subtitled A Fable From the Age of Science, is a six part (episode) 1992 BBC documentary television series written and produced by Adam Curtis, which examines the consequences of political and technocratic rationalism.

The episodes deal, in order, with communism in The Soviet Union, systems analysis and game theory during the Cold War, economy in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, the insecticide DDT, Kwame Nkrumah's leadership in Ghana during the 1950s and 1960s and the history of nuclear power.

The series was awarded a BAFTA in the category of "Best Factual Series" in 1993.

The Engineers' Plot
This episode details how the Bolshevik revolutionaries who came into power in 1917 attempted to industrialize and control the Soviet Union with rational scientific methods. The Bolsheviks wanted to turn the Soviet people into scientific beings. Aleksei Gastev used social engineering, including a social engineering machine, to make people more rational. Gastev founded the Central Institute of Labour (TsIT), Soviet think tank dedicated to the improvement of industrial efficiency.

But Bolshevik politicians and bourgeois engineers came into conflict. Lenin said: "The communists are not directing anything, they are being directed." Stalin arrested 2000 engineers in 1930, eight of whom were convicted in the Industrial Party show trial. Engineering schools gave those loyal to the party only limited training in engineering, to minimize their potential political influence. Industrialized America was used as a template to develop the Soviet Union. Magnitogorsk was built to closely replicate the steel mill city Gary, Indiana. A former worker describes how they went so far as to create metal trees since trees could not grow on the steppe.

By the late 1930s, Stalin faithful engineers like Leonid Brezhnev, Alexei Kosygin and Nikita Khrushchev grew in influence, due to Stalin eliminating many earlier Bolshevik engineers. They aimed to use engineering in line with Stalin's policies to plan the entire country. At Gosplan, the head institution of central planning, engineers predicted future rational needs. Vitalii Semyonovich Lelchuk, from the USSR Academy of Sciences, describes the level of detail as absurd: "Even the KGB was told the quota of arrests to be made and the prisons to be used. The demand for coffins, novels and movies was all planned." The seemingly rational benchmarks began to have unexpected results. When the plan measured tonnes carried per kilometers, trains went long distances just to meet the quota. Sofas and chandeliers increased in size to meet measurements of material usage.

When Nikita Khrushchev took over after Stalin he tried to make improvements, including considering prices in the plan. The head of the USSR State Committee for Organization and Methodology of Price Creation is shown with a tall stack of price logbooks declaring that "This shows quite clearly that the system is rational." Academician Victor Glushkov proposed the use of cybernetics to control people as a remedy for the problems of planning. In the 60s computers began being used to process economic data. Consumer demand was calculated by computers from data gathered by surveys. But the time delay in the system meant that items were no longer in demand by the time they had been produced.

When Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin took over in the mid 60s, the economy of the Soviet Union was stagnating. By 1978 the country was in full economic crisis. Production had devolved to "pointless, elaborate ritual" and endeavours to improve the plan had been abandoned. Quote the narrator: "What had begun as a grand moral attempt to build a rational society ended by creating a bizarre, bewildering existence for millions of Soviet people".

406

General Software Discussion / Re: Slimjet - the web browser - Bad Ad Johnny extension (excellent ad-blocker).

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 03:03 PM »

The Chrome extension Bad Ad Johnny is no longer available in the chrome web store, but it works just fine as at 2018-08-16. It is an excellent/better alternative to the default built-in Slimjet Ad-blocker extension.
The BAJ extension installer is in the attached file (below).
Once BAJ has been installed, Slimjet persists in disabling it as a PUP, or something, but that behaviour can be changed in the settings.

-IainB (August 15, 2018, 02:59 PM)

NB: BAJ installer file is also attached to the foot of the OP in this discussion thread.

407

General Software Discussion / Re: Chrome Extensions: Bad Ad Johnny (installer file).

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 02:59 PM »

The Chrome extension Bad Ad Johnny is no longer available in the chrome web store, but it works just fine as at 2018-08-16. It is an excellent/better alternative to the default built-in Slimjet Ad-blocker extension.
The BAJ extension installer is in the attached file (below).
Once BAJ has been installed, Slimjet persists in disabling it as a PUP, or something, but that behaviour can be changed in the settings.

408

General Software Discussion / Re: Slimjet - the web browser - performance + ergonomics in Slimjet.

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 02:05 PM »

...

• latest Slimjet (Chrome-based) browser <-- superb with display control NoSquint Plus extension,

...
The reasons that I settled on BazQux Reader (in Slimjet) were mainly:

• (a) Performance: BazQux emulates and surpasses the excellent Google Reader service that I used and that Google killed off (Curse you, Google!     ), and
• (b) Ergonomics: I have a couple of peculiar eyesight problems and need to wear spectacles. To enhance/adjust the perceptual/visual and reading experience in  Slimjet, there is a Chrome browser extension that provides a simple and superb display control NoSquint Plus

-IainB (April 19, 2018, 01:31 PM)

409

General Software Discussion / Re: Slimjet - the web browser - My motivation for using Slimjet.

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 01:18 PM »

My motivation for using Slimjet:

Regarding SlimJet:

I wouldn't have even tried it due to all of the "Engrish" on the website if not for the seeming recommendation from multiple folks in this thread.

For a browser that prides itself in automatically stopping tracking and blocking ads, it sure comes with a lot of built-in ads and other prompts to get you to use their referral links and things.

It also wants me to "sign into SlimJet" which as far as I can tell is just signing into my Google Account, which means Google can still track everything I do, but also perhaps SlimJet can as well.

I don't trust it. It seems shady to me. Uninstalled.

-Deozaan (September 03, 2016, 04:43 PM)

@Deozaan: Well, having made the initial investment of your time, you should perhaps have persevered and experimented a little longer before throwing in the towel, and then you might have realised some good returns - as I did, in fact.
I had similar thoughts to you, but persevered and banged in all the extensions that I felt I needed (minus the AdBlock one), taking a suck-it-and-see approach and half-expecting to break the camel's back, but no, the adverts simply never occur and the thing's performance seems just fine - very good in fact. I have some minor criticisms of the software, but I am pretty sure that those will be sorted in due course. Even my 6 y/o son prefers Slimjet now - the acid test.

Conversely, as a FF die-hard and after a great deal of perseverance on my part, and in the continuing hope that things would improve, I had to face up to the reality that Mozilla had pretty much conclusively demonstrated to any sighted observer that they were not going to cease screwing up or killing their formerly excellent Firefox product, and so I reluctantly voted with my feet.

As in a lot of major changes that one sometimes makes in one's life, one wonders afterwards "Now why didn't I do that earlier?"

-IainB (September 03, 2016, 06:24 PM)

410

General Software Discussion / Re: Slimjet - the web browser - starting this thread.

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 01:18 PM »

I started this thread as an attempt to capture and collate user feedback on Slimjet, for general use for DC Forum members. A search for references in comments about Slimjet, in the DC Forum, cover about 2 pages worth of related but scattered links (use the search link in the OP to see the latest list).

411

General Software Discussion / Slimjet - the web browser - some experiential Tips & Tricks.

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 01:18 PM »

Opening post (summary):

Originally started:	2018-08-16
Last updated:	2018-11-26

Slimjet is a "fork" - a chrome-based browser.

Extensions:

• Google Chrome Web Store (for all current extensions).
• Bad Ad Johnny (see .CRX installer file and FAQ .PDF file, attached below) an excellent/better alternative to the built-in Slimjet Ad-blocker.
  

  Note: BAJ was withdrawn from Google Store, but still worked fine in Slimjet as at 2018-08-16), however it was apparently deleted from Slimjet and from the Sync (what a ruddy cheek!) by the installation of Slimjet v21.0.2 (2018-11-23) - sjt7z_x86 (Portable).exe. No matter, BAJ was easily reinstalled using the .CRX installer file, and kept its rather informative log history of number/type of ads blocked.

General:

• Comparison with other web browsers (on Slimjet.com website).
• References to Slimjet in DC Forum.

412

Living Room / Re: Spectre/Meltdown - now there's Foreshadow/L1TF

« Last post by IainB on August 15, 2018, 10:26 AM »

Interesting post from askwoody.com:

Foreshadow/L1TF: Another highly publicized Intel flaw, complete with its own web site and logo
Posted on August 14th, 2018 at 15:46 woody
Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
You’re going to see a whole bunch of explainers about this, yet another Meltdown/Spectre-class vulnerability in Intel processors.

Intel’s FAQ lists just about every Intel processor.

Microsoft’s FAQ explains how L1TF works.

And, yes, Foreshadow has its own web site. With a free-to-use high quality logo.

Let’s see if we get another crazy round of claims and patches — more sound and fury directed at a potential attack that, while real, hasn’t yet hit the fan.

You can tell it’s a co-ordinated disclosure because it was announced immediately after the Patch Tuesday releases.

Spectre ... Meltdown ... Foreshadow/L1TF ...
Such dramatic names!   

I predict the next one to be announced ... "Paradox/WTF2"

413

General Software Discussion / Re: Where is Win 10 hiding background pictures?

« Last post by IainB on August 14, 2018, 03:19 PM »

A search in Everything of C:\ \wallpaper (type "Picture") could turn up quite a lot of the older/"legacy" Windows wallpaper images. Many might well have the Bing watermark.

414

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Microsoft Money Plus Sunset - Mini-Review

« Last post by IainB on August 09, 2018, 06:50 AM »

2018-08-09: Copied from another thread:

I use Microsoft meney plus (USMoneyBizSunset) edition.  I have 14 accounts in it.
Is it possible to selectively backup a few accounts? If so how to do it?
Would be grateful if someone helps me
pscraja

-pscraja (August 09, 2018, 05:28 AM)

Not sure I understand. Do you mean that:

• (a) you only have 14 accounts in a given ledger (set of accounts), or
• (b) that there are 14 accounts in a given ledger containing many accounts and that you want to copy/backup just those 14?

I would suggest that you check the Help file (comes with the software) and all the links to information/help/support sources listed in the opening post at Microsoft Money Plus Sunset - Mini-Review
Those URLs/links that are obsolete or 404 can probably be found at: http://web.archive.org/

It occurred to me that, if you just wanted to copy/backup a selected 14 accounts, then the simplest way might be to copy/paste them into an Excel spreadsheet.   

-IainB (August 09, 2018, 06:40 AM)

415

General Software Discussion / Re: selective backup of an account

« Last post by IainB on August 09, 2018, 06:40 AM »

I use Microsoft meney plus (USMoneyBizSunset) edition.  I have 14 accounts in it.
Is it possible to selectively backup a few accounts? If so how to do it?
Would be grateful if someone helps me
pscraja

-pscraja (August 09, 2018, 05:28 AM)

Not sure I understand. Do you mean that:

• (a) you only have 14 accounts in a given ledger (set of accounts), or
• (b) that there are 14 accounts in a given ledger containing many accounts and that you want to copy/backup just those 14?

I would suggest that you check the Help file (comes with the software) and all the links to information/help/support sources listed in the opening post at Microsoft Money Plus Sunset - Mini-Review
Those URLs/links that are obsolete or 404 can probably be found at: http://web.archive.org/

It occurred to me that, if you just wanted to copy/backup a selected 14 accounts, then the simplest way might be to copy/paste them into an Excel spreadsheet.   

416

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: ACDSee Photo Software on offer until 23d May

« Last post by IainB on August 08, 2018, 03:25 PM »

  ...nobody ever pays the "full" price?

-rjbull (August 07, 2018, 04:47 PM)

I think this is repeating myself, but, speaking as an ex-ACDSee user, I can't understand why anybody would want or need to consider paying anything for ACDSee when one can install something far better, in the shape of Picasa (Sunset Version) for $FREE.

Refer: Google Picasa "Sunset" version - Mini-Review and anchor-point

417

Living Room / Re: Privacy (collected references)

« Last post by IainB on August 08, 2018, 04:05 AM »

Some valid points from theregister.co.uk:

Facebook insists it has 'no plans' to exploit your personal banking info for ads – just as we have 'no plans' to trust it
After all, never say never!
By Kieren McCarthy in San Francisco 7 Aug 2018 at 20:4432

Image [Denial]

Analysis: Facebook has denied it is seeking to suck up netizens' bank account details, claiming it just wants to connect bank customers to their bank's chat accounts and give useful financial updates. ...

Copied from: Facebook insists it has 'no plans' to exploit your personal banking info for ads – just as we have 'no plans' to trust it • The Register - <https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/07/facebook_banking_data/>

Yeah, right.

418

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Firewall Control no longer requires activation

« Last post by IainB on August 04, 2018, 09:55 PM »

Hmm:

Malwarebytes
Welcome, Binisoft fans
"We at Malwarebytes are big fans too. ...And not to worry—we will maintain, support, and keep Binisoft products free for everyone in the short term. ..."
Source: https://binisoft.org/

...and another one bites the dust...

419

Living Room / Re: Privacy (collected references)

« Last post by IainB on July 29, 2018, 08:14 PM »

Looks like the Ugandan government  could be in the vanguard when it comes to, uh, privacy...
 ...Uganda orders ISPs to block Ugandans from accessing Pornographic Websites   Nice one!   

420

General Software Discussion / Re: Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?

« Last post by IainB on July 29, 2018, 07:54 PM »

Speaking of leg position.. Today with my empty cabinet, in order to air it out more, I opened all the drawers fully and the doors...
You can guess what almost happened -- I just caught it in  time as it was about to tip over onto me (!) 

-mouser (July 28, 2018, 08:13 AM)

I wondered about that! From the photo it looked as though it could be unstable - the oblong box looked to have too narrow a base to be stable. When I looked at the photo, I initially (mistakenly) thought that you must have had the back of the cabinet screwed to the wall, then I read that the front legs had been recessed and wondered how that was working out. Generally speaking, for stability, narrow cabinets need to have the feet extend outwards, to widen the base of the footprint in the direction of potential fall. Of course, then, people may trip over the extended feet...
Probably simplest to screw the back of the thing into the timber wall studs behind the plaster.
As a standard safety precaution we usually do that anyway with anything in the house which has a narrow footprint (e.g., bookcases), so's they don't fall over too easily in an earth tremor (fairly common in NZ) and squash someone's foot or maim a passing toddler in the process.

421

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR Release 2.233.01 - Feb 11, 2018

« Last post by IainB on July 29, 2018, 07:36 PM »

Auto update not working.

-mikeyww (July 28, 2018, 10:40 AM)

I use DCUpdater to check for updates to all the DC apps/plugins as a single batch. Just ran it now. Seems to work just fine.(??)

422

Find And Run Robot / Re: Latest FARR Release 2.233.01 - Feb 11, 2018

« Last post by IainB on July 29, 2018, 07:31 PM »

Is it Russia, OR China, or Russia AND China, and how would you know?
Just curious.
It might be North Wales - a lot of agitprop there...   

423

Living Room / Re: Privacy (collected references) - Privacy per the Telegram FAQ.

« Last post by IainB on July 24, 2018, 12:27 AM »

Extracted notes from the Telegram FAQ:
(Copied from: Telegram F.A.Q. - <https://telegram.org/faq#q-how-are-you-going-to-make-money-out-of-this>)

Q: What are your thoughts on internet privacy?
Big internet companies like Facebook or Google have effectively hijacked the privacy discourse in the recent years. Their marketers managed to convince the public that the most important things about privacy are superficial tools that allow hiding your public posts or your profile pictures from the people around you. Adding these superficial tools enables companies to calm down the public and change nothing in how they are turning over private data to marketers and other third parties.

At Telegram we think that the two most important components of Internet privacy should be instead:

Protecting your private conversations from snooping third parties, such as officials, employers, etc.
Protecting your personal data from third parties, such as marketers, advertisers, etc.
This is what everybody should care about, and these are some of our top priorities. Telegram's aim is to create a truly free messenger, without the usual caveats. This means that instead of diverting public attention with low-impact settings, we can afford to focus on the real privacy issues that exist in the modern world.

Q: What about GDPR?
New regulations regarding data privacy called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in Europe on May 25, 2018. Since taking back our right to privacy was the reason we made Telegram, there wasn‘t much we had to change. We don’t use your data for ad targeting, we don’t sell it to others, and we’re not part of any mafia family “family of companies.”

Telegram only keeps the information it needs to function as a feature-rich cloud service — for example, your cloud chats so that you can access them from any devices without using third-party backups, or your contacts so that you can rely on your existing social graph when messaging people on Telegram.

We're still working with our lawyers on an update to the Telegram Privacy Policy that will lay this out in even more detail (don‘t expect any dramatic changes there though). We’ll notify you when it's ready.

For now, please feel free to use our new @GDPRbot to:

• Request a copy of all your data that Telegram stores.
• Contact Telegram's Data Protection Officer.

Android users got a GDPR update with version 4.8.9 which allows more control over synced contacts and adds other privacy settings. On June, 1, Apple approved Telegram v.4.8.2 for iOS with these features.

Q: There's illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them. ...

Q: A bot or channel is infringing on my copyright. What do I do?
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them. ...

424

Living Room / Re: Privacy (collected references) - Enikma=VPN Lock-in??

« Last post by IainB on July 23, 2018, 11:53 PM »

@YannickDa: I'm not absolutely sure, but it seems from the Enikma website and introductory video that the Enikma box is a proprietary "black box" (hardware) approach to the encryption of 2-way traffic between the User PC (Client) and the proprietary designated Enikma VPN DNS node, where the Enikma box provides a WiFi Access Point for devices in range of that Enikma box.

Thus the user's ISP is just acting as a passthrough node to the encrypted traffic, so there can be no "man-in-the-middle" attacks.
The communication path would seem to be:
Client<-->Enikma box<-->modem/router<-->ISP DNS<-->designated Enikma VPN DNS node

 - and where the traffic between the two points Enikma box<-->designated Enikma VPN DNS node is encrypted.
This is actually quite simple, but seems to have been obfuscated in the website and details.

It would also seem to be a deliberate lock-in and rather kludgy/"overheady" alternative to the use of the public domain DNSCrypt software, which does the same thing (but more efficiently) except that:
(a) there is no obligation with DNSCrypt to have a given and/or proprietary VPN, because DNSCrypt is $FREE and works with any OpenDNS node, so the user is free to choose (not locked-in to) any VPN, and
(b) DNSCrypt encrypts traffic all the way from/to the Client (whereas Client Xmit/Receive is in clear with the Enikma box, potentially leaving some room for man-in-the-middle attacks).

If I have it correctly then, I am surprised that Enikma are apparently allowed under local consumer protection laws to get away with such misleading/obfuscated and lock-in practices, and the fact that they are misleading would be no accident - which would seem to be unethical - so I personally wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.
...Never trust it when they use smoke and mirrors.

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Screenshot Captor / Re: Images pasted into onenote are half size

« Last post by IainB on July 23, 2018, 09:16 PM »

@absoblogginlutely: This sounds rather like a classic state of minor instability in an operational system that is in some form of constant dynamic change. (Not a steady state.)