You might be thinking “well, that’s oddly specific”. Yes, yes it is. Anyway, if you’re running Debian Linux and you use 1Password and have to log in separately to your desktop app and your browser extensions, you’re in luck. There is a fix. Oh SNAP! SNAPs and Flatpaks Don’t Work! If your browser has been… Read More »
A common response to tracking is “so what, they aren’t going to do anything bad with that data”. Somehow, people think that since they don’t understand, or even know, what Microsoft would do with the tracking data that there’s no risk in letting them track us. Many people are that trusting. I have personally been… Read More »
When signing up for nearly any online service, you don’t have to give your real name, address, birthday, or anything. (Banking and URL registry not included.) Never give real answers to those “lost password challenge questions”. The odds of those answers being stored encrypted is low. If that company is hacked then the hackers will… Read More »
We cannot protect ourselves from these ad corporations because they have eyes and ears hidden everywhere. They can see us and we can’t see them. They know who we are but we don’t know how they know. And we don’t know who “they” are.
Your debit card number is given out frequently if you regularly shop online. Every time you type it into a website you are trusting that they will handle your information properly and yet you have no way to know that they are doing so. Sooner or later, everyone seems to end up with mysterious charges… Read More »
The “beacon of freedom” in the world is the worst place in the world to store your documents and communications. Why? Because the government spying techniques are so advanced and pervasive that they devalue any company who stores their data in the US.
You know you hate ads. Why do you allow them into your life? They rob your screen space, bandwidth, and mental energy. You have the right to block them, and you should do so. How many hours per month do you think you could have back if you didn’t have to spend them staring at… Read More »
When working with Microsoft support in an online chat, they have this lame excuse for me to divulge my phone number to them. It’s not new. It’s not just them. I have heard this before from many support reps. “Just in case we get disconnected give me your phone number.” What? I am doing… Read More »
I’m glad I actually read the release notes this time. Simple QR is a good QR code reader on Android. There are no network permissions needed so I sort of trust it to work without wrecking my privacy. The recent update made a switch so that when you scan a QR code that is a… Read More »
It’s always irritated me when I talk about retaining my privacy by avoiding spyware, online ads, phone tracking, etc., and people respond by saying they don’t care because they have nothing to hide. I always saw that as a really shortsighted and ignorant way of viewing it but I couldn’t concisely articulate why. This quote… Read More »