Signal vs WhatsApp: Signal is still the most private by a long way Users adding an incorrect user by mistake to a group is no reflection at all on the security of any app. This happens across all apps, as the user is the issue, not the app. I had long ago deleted the WhatsApp app off my phone, mainly because of its metadata collection, and the sharing of that data with their upstream 'partners' including Facebook and others. This is clearly stated in WhatsApp's T&C's. 'In a statement, a WhatsApp spokesman said it relies on metadata to prevent spam and “keep the service safe from abuse”.' This is just not true, in that this is not the reason why WhatsApp collects metadata — their T&C's state it is to be shared elsewhere. Yes, both Signal and WhatsApp keep the message content secure, and use the same encryption protocol. But WhatsApp is also collecting your location continuously, when you message who, for how long, when you wake up, when you go to sleep, where you shop, etc (and of course shares this with your consent). This is not Signal's business model, nor do they obtain your consent to share this data. WhatsApp/Instagram/Facebook are all about targeting users for advertisers, and sharing data for that targeting (and of course being US owned they have to share that data under the CLOUD and Patriot Acts with the US government as well when requested). What came out of the US Congressional hearing this week was also interesting to hear — the CIA have Signal installed on their desktops, and they use Signal themselves. I'm not saying at all that Signal is perfect, as it still requires a verified phone number. So the user is still always identifiable (unlike other messengers such as Threema, SimpleX, Matrix, Session, etc). It is about what data is collected, and what data is shared with anyone outside of the organisation. Between WhatsApp and Signal, Signal is the clear winner here. For this reason, there is no WhatsApp app on my mobile phone. If organisations want to ensure better privacy, they should use Signal (like the CIA does) or go a step further and self-host a service like Matrix on their premises where they fully control the data as well as the user access verification. WhatsApp was a very good app (I used to use it) before they got bought out by Facebook, and it is that business model that has ruined it. See

TechCentral

Signal vs WhatsApp: messaging app war heats up after US security blunder

Signal has been growing in popularity in Europe, the US and elsewhere as an alternative to WhatsApp.

#technology #metadata #privacy #messengers

Here's Everything You Can Do With the Ports on Your Monitor There is more to life than just HDMI, that's for sure. It is well worth reading this linked article before buying any new monitor or graphics card. Something interesting I learnt is that with DisplayPort there is the possibility of MST or Multi-Stream Transport where you can daisy-chain multiple monitors together with DP cables using only a single port on your GPU. Also, it's important, as it is with USB-C cables, to get HDMI cables that match the version of HDMI that the monitor supports. See

How-To Geek

Here's Everything You Can Do With the Ports on Your Monitor

Any port in a storm? No, you need to pick the right one!

#technology #monitors

8 Tiny Utilities to Make Your Linux Experience Even Better Some quite useful utilities here to: * prevent the screensaver coming on * adjust screen colours for night or low light * hide the mouse cursor when inactive * passing data through a UNIX pipe * a powerful filter tool for reading and searching lists * have multiple copy buffers * add intuitive trackpad gestures I have noticed though on KDE that there is a Clipboards Content icon by default on the toolbar, and you can quickly copy a few different snippets of text, and then by just clicking on each one it will put it back into the buffer for quick pasting. So, in this way you can copy a login ID and then password, go to another page, and paste them one after the other. See

Make Tech Easier

8 Tiny Utilities to Make Your Linux Experience Even Better - Make Tech Easier

Linux is an operating system that you can customize to your needs. Learn how to use these tiny Linux utilities to improve your system performance.

#technology #Linux

PeerTube 7.1 Expands Podcast 2.0 and Apple Podcast Support For those who don't know PeerTube, it is an open source decentralised alternative to YouTube with many of the same features. But importantly it also integrates with the Fediverse so anyone from Mastodon, Hubzilla, Friendica, etc can follow a channel on PeerTube and like and comment on the videos, all from the social network they call their home. “Recognizing that many people like to listen on the go, PeerTube has improved its support for Podcast 2.0 standards, ensuring creators can distribute and manage their shows more efficiently. Even better, these upgrades now enable channels to be submitted directly to Apple Podcasts, provided the channel owner has added the required banner, avatar, and description.” See

Linuxiac

PeerTube 7.1 Expands Podcast 2.0 and Apple Podcast Support

PeerTube 7.1 open-source decentralized video platform released with improved podcast support, better playback stability, and more.

#technology #opensource #decentralised #PeerTube

RCS Universal Profile 3.0 will fully encrypt texts between iPhone and Android “RCS messaging has been a hot topic of debate over the past couple of years, with Google leaving no chance of mocking Apple for refusing to adopt it — until it finally did with iOS 18 last year. However, Apple’s version of RCS came with a major catch: it lacked end-to-end encryption (E2EE), unlike what you’ve used on Android through Google Messages. That’s about to change, and it’s great news for your chats with iPhone users and mixed group chats.” What is quite obvious is that Google has rushed this implementation a bit. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have had this in place a year or two back, but the sad part (in my opinion) is that Google does not seem to have thought this out properly with regard to decentralisation and interoperability. It needed to have E2EE (in this day and age) and it could not just be Google managing the world's messaging, so it needed to allow for functionality across more than just a centralised service. Give the state of the USA and the UK around “backdoors” there will also be global concerns around how secure the service will be if the servers are hosted inside the USA or under the control of a US owned organisation. Also, will the service continue to be available if a trade, or other, war breaks out. Yes, I know everything is better than SMS, but still the design process is the chance to get all this right. But despite this, I'm happy to see RCS moving forward, and I'm hoping it fully replaces SMS at some point in the future for business notifications, and can be a common standard (versus all the different messenger services we see today, of which everyone is not on all the services). See

Android Police

RCS chats between Android and iPhone will be fully encrypted soon

Chatting with your friends with iPhones is going to get secure with strong encryption

#technology #RCS #messaging

4 reasons I choose Firefox over Brave for maximum security “Brave and Firefox are two of the most secure browsers out there. Brave has made privacy its key selling point, integrating features that block ads, prevent tracking, and stop fingerprinting. Firefox, on the other hand, is the OG secure browser, challenging Chrome’s dominance for as long as we can remember. Both Firefox and Brave offer strong security, but if you’re looking for the most secure option, Firefox takes the lead.” Ironically enough, I did not move from Brave to Firefox for the security considerations. In my case, there was an annoying UI issue creeping in, supposedly inherited from Chromium. But regardless, I did check out the Firefox privacy and security considerations and was happy with them. One feature I really like is the master password for the Firefox profile that locks and unlocks the whole browser. The other thing I like is that Firefox still runs a fully functional uBlock Origin extension, along with its own built-in protections. See

XDA

4 reasons I choose Firefox over Brave for maximum security

Both Firefox and Brave offer strong security, but if you’re looking for the most secure option, Firefox takes the lead

#technology #security #privacy #browsers

How Noise-Cancelling Headphones Work—and Why You’ll Never Go Back “Have you ever wondered about the magic behind noise-canceling headphones? It's an amazing feature to have for headphones, shutting you out from outside noise that can be distracting. The truth is, I can't ever go back to regular ones anymore.” So very true. I forgot my noise-cancelling earbuds at home a week or two back, and I was amazed at the constant barrage of music, announcements, and noise at my local shopping mall. Once you've used noise-cancelling headphones/earbuds, it is very difficult to go back. The same goes for a vacuum cleaner operating nearby. What I also like is that without that background noise, it is also possible to listen to quieter music like classical music. It may be that the sound quality is slightly affected, but certainly not that I've ever noticed. For me, the absence of background noise is far more important. See

How-To Geek

How Noise-Canceling Headphones Work—and Why You’ll Never Go Back

How do noise-canceling headphones know what to block? The secret is inside.

#technology #audio

#caturday