BlackPit

If they weren't doing anything wrong they shouldn't care who watches where they go, right?

My yearly spend is approximately €500, give or take a little. Fortunately, I can afford to do this. I hold no judgement for those who are not in a position to do. My only motivation for contributing financially is to ensure the free, functional, ad free, privacy preserving software I love continues to exist. It needs to exist especially for those who cannot afford to pay a corporation for proprietary software. A shout out to all the developers who adhere to FOSS principles. Each new year I make a list of the software I've mainlined and similar to the article I allot an amount to each one based on my usage. Many times it's time-tested old-school tools, but we're seeing a lot of new development with Rust apps, crates and TUIs. This year I added Matrix. Also EFF, despite not being directly impacted by that jurisdiction. They truly are holding back a giant wave with global repercussions. It's not always easy to justify the time spent creating FOSS tools when there's bills to pay, mouths to feed. Thank you - You know who you are.

January 1 - This is just the emotionally charged distraction. Keep watchful for the event that needs to go under the radar. A change in laws or policy, a new war, or anything that is meant to erode people's privacy, security or freedom. The US has a history of implementing undesirable changes during holiday periods when there's little opposition. Possibly something like this;

https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-they-must-defeat-hpsci-s-horrific-surveillance-bill

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire on December 31, 2023

Here's a tip to make using Firefox profiles easy.

1. go to about:profiles and create a profile. Let's call this one "better" because it has the Betterfox css added. (an example)
2. On Linux typing firefox in a terminal will launch the default profile. Typing firefox -p better will launch the "better" profile. If you're on OS X or Windows just find out what the equivalent command would be to execute the launch.
3. Go to wherever you need to in your operating system to create custom keyboard shortcuts. For me that's Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts. Create a new shortcut with the following information.

Name: Firefox profile better

Command: firefox -p better

Keys: enter the keys you want to use

How to choose keys;

My desktop environment uses super(windows) + b to launch the default browser, which happens to be Firefox. So for me it makes sense to use something like super + shift + b for consistency, and easy to remember. If you have a profile with Arkenfox css it could be super + shift + a. Regardless, try for a mnemenic and consistent solution.

Now whenever you want to launch a new instance of a Firefox profile just tap the keys you assigned.

Google's modus operandi - business as usual. Deploying their dirty tricks on their mass of servers to edge out and destroy competition. When caught out they apologize all surprised Pikachu style, then do it again differently. This is likely in response to news about Firefox mobile finally allowing extensions to work. People are probably trying it out, but their Youtube experience will be crap, so they'll go back to chrome.

Leave...Taylor...ALONE! :p

Yep.

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/

It can't be illegal because you agree to allow them when you purchase the new vehicle. It's all there in the T&C and PP, which no one ever reads. Don't like it? Don't buy new cars. I won't.

At last, some authority talking sense!

I can see it. I t looks like some kind of corporate advertising shill site pushing an agenda.

He'll be offering the entire Goya range direct from the oval office.

If Google is to be chastised for abusing its user base this needs to go beyond boycotts of Chrome browser. It's my hope people stop accepting Google's gaslighting and send the message by quitting all of their services and products. Viable alternatives exist.

This seems like a win for "civil society". Putting a dent in NSO's secrecy so software makers can patch against it would be a win as long as Whatsapp (Meta) publish their findings publicly and not keep it for themselves to be the next biggest threat to "civil society". As if they haven't done enough civil damage and spying themselves already.

Sounds great and really secure, because Microsoft has such a good record of security, privacy and keeping private keys private. I'm being facetious of course. It is my hope that governments quit looking for convenience by outsourcing to third party private corporations.

Agreed! What would be amazing though, is a manufacturer who could make a modern safe bare-bones vehicle that didn't have the tech installed at all. If you want tech you could BYO.

This article is disingenuous at best and either fueled by ignorance or malice. Another comment suggested it wasn't officially sponsored, but it still could've been bought. Having said, I have to agree with some of the sentiment. I've seen advertising on public TV from the likes of NordVPN that is downright fraudulent. Their claims are deceptive and unfounded. Then there's the recent acquisition of Express and PIA by an old school scammer/spammer. Additionally, many free VPNs are actually surveillance malware and SHOULD be avoided. Any encryption offered publicly by large corporate data-stealing privacy-abusing parasites should be avoided in any form.

For anyone reading this that is hesitant to using VPN because of the article, be encouraged that VPNs are extremely effective at securing your data during transit. They are NOT an outright privacy tool, but can be used as part of your privacy plan. VPNs do NOT make you anonymous! A truthful VPN service provider will say this openly. Like IVPN (Bottom of front page) and Mullvad , both of which attempt to educate customers .

If you're someone who finds it hard to trust any company whatsoever, then you can host VPN yourself. Admittedly a learning curve to hurdle, but regardless of which method you choose, if your provider is genuine then I see it as a necessity in the effort to keep loved ones safer.

No public list, sorry. I'm willing to say that I already support many things on your list. And like you pointed out, many projects with software I use don't have a way to support them financially, which frustrates me to no end.

Not saying good, bad, right or wrong - We need to understand what this all means. Here's a good start. https://brettscott.substack.com/p/casino-chip-cashless-society