#privacy

See tagged statuses in the local Rambling Readers community

Earlier today, Google rejected a feature request asking for the option to use DNS-over-HTTPS servers other than Google’s and Cloudflare’s in Android: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/331250145?pli=1#comment7

According to Google’s own testing, DoH is more private, secure, and performant than DoT on Android. There is no reason whatsoever to limit it to a handful of Google-approved servers.

Just like with Manifest V3 in Chrome, this arbitrary restriction on what DNS servers can use the most modern technologies in Android is a clear example of Google abusing their position to campaign against blocking invasive trackers. One of the clearest uses for custom DNS servers is the ability to block privacy-invasive services like Google’s at the DNS level.

Further details & discussion on our forum: https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/google-rejects-feature-request-for-arbitrary-dns-over-https-server-support/24320

Microsoft is getting ready to do away with MFA for its web-based products. No, this is not clickbait.

Beginning in February, if you log in to a web-based service, Microsoft will keep you logged in by default. Go ahead and close the browser window, it doesn’t matter. You’re still logged in, unless you deliberately log out. Think about hotel computers, library computers. Think about women in an abusive relationship.

It’s no longer MFA if Microsoft reduces authentication to device authentication. They won’t be requiring proof of identity of the person in front of the screen.

If you sign in to a Microsoft web-based app on a computer that is ACCESSED BY OTHER PEOPLE, you are at risk.

ACTION STEP
Even though Microsoft is placing the notification at the top of the screen right now, there are people you know who won’t understand what it means. There are people who won’t …

Screenshot of the Microsoft article linked from the notice in Outlook. The author has added a red circle and red lines to draw the reader's attention to items discussed in the post.
Screenshot from Outlook web version showing the notice of the change. The author has circled the notice with a red line.

One of the good things about being on mastodon is I always rememebr to check if there is a nice focused + ideally based alternative to US tech giants- and it turns out there usually is.

The last few months alone I've switched from spotify to antennapod, focuskeeper to pomodorolm; clockify to solidtime and google forms to nemtilmeld with @photoprism + kdeconnect helping to replace flickr.

I've been using signal for years, but finally deleted threads - will probabaly finalise migrating from Instagram to pixelfed shortly too.

It actually turns out to be simple once you start looking.

Many thanks to @itsfoss + @european_alternatives in particular for your fine work.

Wish more of our public institutions would take the same steps..

finished reading Permanent record by Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden, Esther Cruz Santaella: Permanent record (2019, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company) 5 stars

Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass …

You know that moment when a book hits differently because reality catches up with its message? That's Permanent Record for you. Back in 2019, I devoured Snowden's autobiography.

Fast forward to today's mass exodus from privacy-nightmare platforms, and suddenly this book feels less like a memoir and more like a prophet's handbook. Snowden doesn't just spill government tea – he breaks down how our digital breadcrumbs become someone else's breakfast buffet.

It is a good, interesting and easy read, but even if it wasn't: Snowden sacrificed his normal life to tell us all this stuff, the least we can do is read about it while we still have enough privacy left to do so without someone logging our page turns.

#books #EdwardSnowden #autobiography #privacy

For many years I‘ve used DuckDuckGo for search. But we can’t have just one Google alternative. Choices keep a market healthy.

I love where @Mojeek is going. Especially that they use their own crawler (DDG uses Bing).

I had some indexing issues with Mojeek so I reached out to them. They not only replied, but offered excellent help. AND they followed up twice, unsolicited.

It’s worth a look.

https://www.mojeek.com/

If you're surprised Tesla takes and keeps recordings from their cars after seeing the news about the Cybertruck in Vegas, you shouldn't be. This is not something new. Tesla has been taking and storing media for many years, claiming it's used to train their AI capabilities. You can't opt out either.

And Tesla employees do access it, make fun of you, make memes, and share the content internally, without any legitimate reason to access the content.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/tesla-workers-shared-images-from-car-cameras-including-scenes-of-intimacy/

While this is about Tesla, this is a growing problem across this and other industries.

Took my youngest through the data detox ( datadetoxkit.org ) + had a really thorough conversation about data, privacy, tech and so forth as a Christmas holiday activity.

Good news: the point was taken + understood
Bad news: my 12 yr old is literally the last kid out of 25 in the class to not have (technically only permitted for 13+ kids in Denmark)

It's surprising to me that so many parents have such a cavalier attitude to their kids on SoMe, but maybe not so surprising that they've never talked to kids at school about , and such like. Perhaps, most people just don't think about it? The focus, where they have had lessons, has tended to be on bullying, scams and grooming, which is maybe fair enough.
But they seem already at school to be locked into an idea of …

Time to review those patron privacy policies + your law enforcement request procedures, library folks.

"It has come to our attention that some libraries in Michigan have been receiving visits from their local FBI offices.

Agents have been specifically interested in Maker Spaces and 3d printers, the library policies for what can or cannot be made, and how the library maintains the digital files used to create items and tracks usage and users."

https://lists.mcls.org/pipermail/michlib-l/2024-December/033792.html

Make sure to update your PayPal settings before these new changes come into effect. (Seems to only affect accounts in the US.)

"We are updating our Privacy Statement to explain how, starting early Summer 2025, we will share [personal information with merchants, including] products, preferences, sizes, and styles we think you’ll like."

Settings ➜ Data & Privacy ➜ Personalized Shopping

https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/archive-policies-full

via https://musician.social/@mirlo/113630346336643483