https://www.federated.computer/blog/ Recent content in Sovereign Reset: the Federated Blog on Federated Computer | A fast, responsive replacement for Google Workplace and much more Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Tue, 30 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/small-business-seeks-blockbuster/ Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/small-business-seeks-blockbuster/ Remember those nostalgic evenings strolling through Blockbuster, savoring the process of selecting the perfect movie for your Friday night? This was a time when the choice was simpler, and you could find exactly what you needed without much fuss. The current digital landscape for small businesses, however, feels more like being lost in the infinite scroll of Netflix. There are approximately 30,000 B2B SaaS companies worldwide promising to solve all your woes with software solutions ranging from the overly basic to the incredibly intricate. https://www.federated.computer/blog/unveiling-the-dark-side/ Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/unveiling-the-dark-side/ In this digital age, our lives have become intricately entwined with the digital realm. From social media, e-commerce and home automation to ride share and food delivery, we willingly hand over our personal data to centralized behemoths like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, without fully comprehending the risks involved. But what lies beneath the vaneer of convenience and interconnectivity? In this post, we seek shed light on the dark side of centralization and explore the need for digital sovereignty and privacy. https://www.federated.computer/blog/cancelling-my-history-on-facebook/ Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/cancelling-my-history-on-facebook/ Facebook is Censoring My History! As I scroll through my Facebook feed most of what I see from my history of posts is now censored! What was once seen by friends and family, no one can see anymore. It’s maddening! Many of these posts were sharing information about what was occurring with Edward Snowden and how all of the big tech companies were spying on us, everywhere and even with the government! https://www.federated.computer/blog/introducing-federated-core/ Tue, 06 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/introducing-federated-core/ We are very proud to introduce Federated “Core” to the wide world. We built Federated Core because we were tired of the surveillance happening with common productivity tools on the web, our collection of tools was costing a small fortune every month, and it was a pain to get everything to work together. Design Goals Federated Core was built to provide regular users who wanted privacy, great features and functions, the right price, basically all the benefits of today’s software-as-a-service offerings, in a self-hosted environment but without the aggravation and technical commitment self-hosting requires. https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-time-fourth-revolution/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-time-fourth-revolution/ How Bitcoin Becomes Money in the Next Decade I have followed bitcoin for over a decade now and one of the best quotes I have seen is from Paul Buchheit, “Bitcoin may be the TCP/IP of money.” Just as TCP/IP facilitated the free flow of information and transformed how we communicate and access data globally, Bitcoin will have a similar impact on the transfer of value and the way we perceive and use money, MoIP, money over Internet protocol! https://www.federated.computer/blog/stop-being-a-bitch/ Sat, 27 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/stop-being-a-bitch/ The Condition Oh, this is different than my iProud! I can’t use that. I don’t understand how to use this…Google does it for me. I don’t care if they are watching me! Everybody likes Furries. What do I have to hide? We’d change, but it’s going to mean we can’t benefit from being limp cucks for Microsoft. They will tell us how we should work on our team and what we can or cannot do with our data. https://www.federated.computer/blog/digital-sovereign-toolbox/ Fri, 26 May 2023 20:18:07 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/digital-sovereign-toolbox/ At Federated, we try to put our tools, our digital tools, where our mouth is. We don’t used centralized software for almost nothing to run our business preferring to use Federated Core and other self-hosted open-source projects. While we have systems running (virtual machines) for Windows and macOS testing, we run Linux on the desktop with most of us choosing to run Pop!_OS. The “tile windows” manager and integration with Federated services makes this a winner. https://www.federated.computer/blog/federated-founders-and-our-joyent-history/ Fri, 26 May 2023 20:18:07 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/federated-founders-and-our-joyent-history/ The Origins of Federated Most of the founders of Federated Computer come from an earlier company that worked on decentralization called “Joyent”. You can read some of that story in a blog post I wrote when Joyent was sold to Samsung at this link. The picture above shows the first few engineers and designers who worked on Joyent, including the now tremendously successful Apple, Dallas Cowboys, and other topics blogger and podcast John Gruber in the red shirt. https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-future-of-cloud-computing/ Thu, 25 May 2023 20:18:07 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-future-of-cloud-computing/ Cloud 1.0 At Joyent, my previous startup, we literally invented “cloud computing”. We figured developers would appreciate the ability to purchase an “on-demand data center” in order to build web applications at scale without the enormous up-front infrastructure costs previously associated with datacenters. This all seems like old-hat today, but at the time, in the early 2000s, we were felt like pioneers. Centralization Sucks What happened with cloud infrastructure is a story, in the technology universe, as old as time. https://www.federated.computer/blog/dandelion-root-recipes/ Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dandelion-root-recipes/ Are there ways to use the very common dandelion for good? This time of year in the northern hemisphere, yards can be filled with the yellow-flowered weed. Let’s use them for good. https://practicalselfreliance.com/dandelion-root-recipes/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/in-praise-of-thunderbird/ Tue, 02 May 2023 20:18:07 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/in-praise-of-thunderbird/ Email is Important In today’s digital world, email remains a cornerstone of communication for individuals and businesses alike. But with concerns about privacy, security, and dependence on big tech, many are seeking alternatives that align with their values. Enter Thunderbird, the open-source email client that has been revolutionizing the way we interact with our inboxes. In this article, we will explore Thunderbird’s top features, shed light on its remarkable development journey, and emphasize the importance of using open-source software for a more secure and customizable email experience. https://www.federated.computer/blog/we-built-federated-using-federated/ Tue, 02 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/we-built-federated-using-federated/ Using All The Software Components to Build Federated Core One of our best decisions, and we also had a number of bad decisions (but that’s for another blog post), was to “trial” test different open-source software packages to see if we could fruitfully use them as a distributed, decentralized team building a stack of software, documentation, marketing materials for Federated Core. We used Nextcloud as a traffic control. Nextcloud Files worked for sharing files and commenting on content. https://www.federated.computer/blog/dark-side-of-centralization/ Mon, 01 May 2023 12:57:56 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dark-side-of-centralization/ Much like the incredible expense of all the software-as-a-service offerings today, when taken in aggragate, in the 1960s and 1970s, computing was a “big company” sport because of expense. Large computer companies sold mainframes and smaller mainframes (called “minis”) and were very content with the status quo and profits. When the idea of personal computers came along, no establish computer company had any desire to play along. In fact, when Steve Wozniak created the Apple I personal computer, he offered it to his employer Hewlett-Packard five times but the big-computing company had no interest. https://www.federated.computer/blog/power-of-free-and-open-source/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 12:59:58 +0600 https://www.federated.computer/blog/power-of-free-and-open-source/ Choosing Free and Open Source Maybe Federated Core is the first time you and your team or business are explicitly choosing free and open-source software over some other solution that is costly and proprietary. In that case, we thought we would lay out why you’ve made the right choice. Is it Really “Free”? But let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. Federated Computer charges $39/month, so how is anything “free”? https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-2fa-sync-service/ Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-2fa-sync-service/ Looking at how 2FA secrets are synched The synching appears to happen without any encryption. Google sees the secrets. If there is a breach… Defcon Social @mysk https://www.federated.computer/blog/fbi-watching-internet/ Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/fbi-watching-internet/ Is the FBI abusing access to FISA databases of private communications? The FBI can read out private communications without a warrant or judicial oversight. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/internal-documents-show-how-little-fbi-did-correct-misuse-section-702-databases https://www.federated.computer/blog/nostr-daily-stats/ Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/nostr-daily-stats/ How is the decentralized network being used? See how the “next thing” is growing/plateauing/stagnating… https://stats.nostr.band/ This must be a sample since the network is truly decentralized…Right? https://www.federated.computer/blog/who-wef-un-digital-id/ Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/who-wef-un-digital-id/ This ID allows our masters at the WHO, UN, and WEF to track us everywhere The World Health Organization, United Nations, and World Economic Forum have a bureaucrats wet dream for tracking plebians wherever they go. https://twitter.com/ANTlWEF/status/1648676505562787840?s=20 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dont-drink-to-health/ Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dont-drink-to-health/ Can moderate drinking ever be healthy? It doesn’t look like it is… https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/05/world/science-health-world/alcohol-health-studies/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/saying-goodbye-to-github/ Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/saying-goodbye-to-github/ But does Github care? No. https://ersei.net/en/blog/bye-bye-github It’s too bad he moves from a behemouth centralizer to an up-and-coming centralizer. Will these people never learn? https://www.federated.computer/blog/seven-books-for-the-self-sovereign-individual/ Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/seven-books-for-the-self-sovereign-individual/ A great list Lots of wonderful ideas in these books… https://twitter.com/heyalmoo/status/1642570681194885120 https://www.federated.computer/blog/gmail-is-breaking-email/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/gmail-is-breaking-email/ You can’t send email to anyone on/from Gmail The Centralizer makes the rules for email, not the protocol. http://www.igregious.com/2023/03/gmail-is-breaking-email.html What can be done? Stop communicating to our fiat friends using Gmail? https://www.federated.computer/blog/bill-to-ban-tiktok/ Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bill-to-ban-tiktok/ It’s really about global surveillance There’s nothing to like about this bill. https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1640722365809147905 BTW: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google suck away your metadata and give it to a government, too. https://www.federated.computer/blog/bill-to-ban-tiktok-patriot-act-2/ Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bill-to-ban-tiktok-patriot-act-2/ Get informed. This is a global surveillance gambit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWQGA_n5Z4M It has very little to do with “China”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/front-matter-cms/ Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/front-matter-cms/ A CMS that works with Federated Core Federated Core has a workflow allowing customers to create static-file websites, publish them to their private Gitea repository, and auto-publish to their private Caddy webserver. Front Matter supports this workflow beautifully… https://frontmatter.codes/ It runs inside of Visual Studio Code among other tools allowing you to preview and create great content using Federated Core. https://www.federated.computer/blog/kyc-not-me/ Tue, 21 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/kyc-not-me/ KYC Scores KYC stands for “know your customer” which is another way of saying “surveillance” by the service and/or government interests. The KYCnot dot me website lists lots of websites, many for Bitcoin, and their relative scores for KYC. https://kycnot.me/ There are also listings for VPNs, domains and hosting, phone numbers, and other various services and tools. https://www.federated.computer/blog/fednow-payment-system-launching/ Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/fednow-payment-system-launching/ Federal Reserve Payments System Moves to the Launchpad Why does the federal government, or any government, need a “payment system” unless the currency itself is property of same? https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/15/long-awaited-fed-digital-payment-system-to-launch-in-july.html https://www.federated.computer/blog/proton-mail-review/ Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/proton-mail-review/ The Good and the Bad How’s Proton Mail hanging when it comes to being “the most secure email” on the planet? https://restoreprivacy.com/email/reviews/protonmail/ If the service is centralized, it is not secure from governments. End-to-end encryption sounds neat, but once you interact with an email counterparty not using encryption, the game is up. Requires third-party software to work with email clients/standards. https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-drive-file-limits/ Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-drive-file-limits/ You can’t really use Google Drive any way you want Oh, nevermind. Google reversed themselves after the backlash. The idea was to put a hard limit on the number of files allowed on the service. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/google-drive-does-a-surprise-rollout-of-file-limits-locking-out-some-users/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/central-bank-digital-currency-video/ Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/central-bank-digital-currency-video/ Fat Man Tells Truth Hey! Let’s digitize all cash to something controlled by the guv’mint so that they can see who is doing what. https://twitter.com/ZLOK/status/1639898907529314304?s=20 A person has to be insane, no, an idiot, to want to get on board with this idea. https://www.federated.computer/blog/lets-build-a-chrome-extension-that-steals-everything/ Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lets-build-a-chrome-extension-that-steals-everything/ Building a Chrome extension to steal everything The wonders of Chrome extensions on all the data they can pilfer… https://mattfrisbie.substack.com/p/spy-chrome-extension …would this be possible on the “safe” browsers like Brave and Vivaldi? Firefox? https://www.federated.computer/blog/tools-to-combat-surveillance/ Tue, 21 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tools-to-combat-surveillance/ You need some tools to protect yourself What are you doing to protect yourself from pervasive surveillance today? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ny-I8EVH8 https://www.federated.computer/blog/building-arm64-server-hard-way/ Sun, 19 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/building-arm64-server-hard-way/ This is the hard way Honestly, we don’t recommend this for anyone. But it does give a sense of the power and flexibility available to those wanting to self-host at home. My own self-hosted home server is similar. https://jforberg.se/blog/posts/2023-02-19-rockpro64/rockpro64.html By the way, there are so many great servers for sale on eBay with 16G ram, Xeon processors, etc. that work very well as a home server without the fragility and for roughly the same initial price. https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosting-in-2023/ Sat, 18 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosting-in-2023/ How to Self Host Your Webpage The long self-hosting journey starts with a first step… https://grifel.dev/decentralization/ …then you discover, to be honest, that’s really how the internet works. A server, a web page. In between are your optimizations. https://www.federated.computer/blog/wading-into-nostr/ Mon, 13 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/wading-into-nostr/ Some intial descriptions of experience with Nostr One person’s explorations of Nostr (“notes and other stuff using relays”) https://stacker.news/items/135975 We will be writing in-depth about how Federated uses this technlogy. https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-delete-yourself-internet/ Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-delete-yourself-internet/ Some advice for deleting your data trail from the internet The get us when we create data, and when we want to delete it… https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/10/how-to-delete-yourself-from-the-internet.html https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-breach-gets-worse/ Sat, 04 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-breach-gets-worse/ The Lastpass breach just gets worse and worse A wonderful post-mortem of the recent Lastpass data breach. https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/10kp4ye/lastpass_breach_gets_worse/ Solution? Get off centralized password managers. Not your keys, not your passwords. https://www.federated.computer/blog/top-ten-privacy-podcasts/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/top-ten-privacy-podcasts/ A list of the top ten privacy podcasts Listen to these podcasts for some great insights on privacy. https://privacyplan.net/top-10-privacy-podcasts/ We all need ways to learn. Listen up! https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-checking-images-rebuttal/ Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-checking-images-rebuttal/ Is Apple checking images we view in the Finder? Little Snitch claims browsing an image sends a message from “mediaanalysisd” to an Apple server. https://eclecticlight.co/2023/01/18/is-apple-checking-images-we-view-in-the-finder/ But it doesn’t appear this is actually happening. But let’s keep investigating. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-checking-images-evidence/ Sun, 15 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-checking-images-evidence/ Is Apple checking images we view in the Finder? The evidence for the case that Apple is checking images browsed in the Finder and sending metadata to a remote server. https://sneak.berlin/20230115/macos-scans-your-local-files-now/ We have another post with a rebuttal. https://www.federated.computer/blog/old-phone-no-good/ Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/old-phone-no-good/ Your old phone is no longer supported We get it, at some point, your Nokia from 2012 just isn’t going to work anymore… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxaCUugPoRY But should the error be to lock users out of data? https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-happens-web-loses/ Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-happens-web-loses/ What if everything becomes an app on somebody else’s platform? What happens when the only whay we can work or manipulate data is through “proprietary” apps, not the web? https://chriscoyier.net/2023/01/04/what-does-it-look-like-for-the-web-to-lose/ Lock in, much? Lock in = surveillance, boys and girls. https://www.federated.computer/blog/marshall-mcluhan-surveillance-riff/ Mon, 02 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/marshall-mcluhan-surveillance-riff/ Media prophet Marshall McLuhan discusses CIA and FBI surveillance His conclusion we are all, are will be, under surveillance. https://twitter.com/bfcarlson/status/1609988081825751041?t=fY1f4HYgh45QSYXP4irXWw&s=19 “One of the main occupations of mankind.” https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-is-ok/ Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-is-ok/ Tim Bray wants to defend Signal This is really about whether “bad guys” can use Signal. Tim, rightly, says “who cares”. We all need privacy. https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2022/12/29/Privacy-is-OK But then Tim admits Signal can and does hand over conversations to those with subpoena powers: in the course of the law-enforcement investigation of the January 6th insurrection, police got access to the traitors’ Signal conversations Hmmm. OK. We don’t want to wade into “traitors”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/create-your-own-bitcoin-giveaway-card/ Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/create-your-own-bitcoin-giveaway-card/ Let’s just say your traditional bank would frown on such behavior Bitcoin is also a technology teeming with new ideas, new innovations. https://twitter.com/3d_nout/status/1608245114052247552 I’m sure your bank wouldn’t allow you to do this with your fiat account. I bet the “bad guys” could use this! :laughing: https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-security-incident/ Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-security-incident/ LastPass Gets Hacked LastPass, where so many store their sensitive passwords, has a security incident. https://blog.lastpass.com/2022/12/notice-of-recent-security-incident/ An “unauthorized party” got access to the third-party storage where LastPass stores backups. When you’re dealing with cloud services, there is tremendous “counterparty” risk, as they would say in the fiat financial markets. If you’re using a cloud service, that service can swear all day that they are secure…but security is a combination of all the links, including the weak ones. https://www.federated.computer/blog/social-credit-score-to-access-internet/ Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/social-credit-score-to-access-internet/ Not enacted, but recommended under Australian goverment plan This idea was not enacted. But it was thoughtfully considered and proposed by the sitting government of Australia. https://twitter.com/BernieSpofforth/status/1602042530845057027 If “the internet” is the fief of government, why can’t they shut it off for a reason like a bad social credit score? Let’s take away the fief. And defeat the idea of social credit scores. https://www.federated.computer/blog/2022-year-of-desktop-linux/ Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/2022-year-of-desktop-linux/ Thanks to some Stack Overflow surveys, desktop Linux has arrived for developers According to a developer survey, Linux holds a 9% lead over macOS. Year of the Linux Desktop It’s getting better and better meaning there is less and less an excuse to support the centralizer operating systems. https://www.federated.computer/blog/time-and-attention-as-currency/ Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/time-and-attention-as-currency/ How the attention economy is ruining us We need to return back to pseudonimity and anonymity as the basis for the marketplace EXCEPT when an actual trade of value for value is agreed by all parties. https://twitter.com/dergigi/status/1604785991608172544?s=20&t=ZOA98-7Et7TPpZYI8AHACg This is fundamentally impossible without “hard money” and its side-kick “hard digital decentralization”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/gmail-encrypted/ Sat, 17 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/gmail-encrypted/ End-to-end encryption for Gmail on the web Metadata still not encrypted. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-introduces-end-to-end-encryption-for-gmail-on-the-web/ Band-aid on a gaping chest wound. Zzzzz. https://www.federated.computer/blog/breaking-google-maps-monopoly/ Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/breaking-google-maps-monopoly/ Linux, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft want to break the Google Maps monopoly There’s some bad centralizers in this alliance. And Google Maps is a really nice product! But we need it broken up. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/12/linux-amazon-meta-and-microsoft-want-to-break-the-google-maps-monopoly/ P.S. There is no “Linux” in the way they use the term. :blush: https://www.federated.computer/blog/symptoms-of-fiat-poisoning/ Fri, 16 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/symptoms-of-fiat-poisoning/ Signs you’ve been fiat poisoned Most folks think of bitcoin as the anecdote of fiat. https://stacker.news/items/108177 We think of living a complete self-sovereign lifestyle as the comprehensive anecdote to fiat/arbitrary culture and the poisoning that comes with it. https://www.federated.computer/blog/drowning-in-ai-garbage/ Mon, 05 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/drowning-in-ai-garbage/ Drowning in AI Generated Garbage It’s a contrarian opinion to opine that AI is anything but garbage (i.e. something written by a 5th grader doing a report). Look, we use ChatGPT to generate the summaries for these link list posts, because we are lazy, and we want to spend more time PC gaming. We’re old school that way. But most of the summaries require a significant amount of re-writing…so how lazy are we after all? https://www.federated.computer/blog/rediscovery-of-money/ Fri, 02 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/rediscovery-of-money/ Bitcoin is the Rediscovery of Money In this article, the idea of “money” is defined as the “removal of counterparty risk”. If we think about that, it is a pretty good definition in the context of some “value” to be exchanged between parties with the understanding of the “value” in relation to the parties themselves. That is the risk, removed. https://dergigi.com/2022/12/02/bitcoin-is-the-rediscovery-of-money/ The risk associated with bitcoin today, in as much as we can talk about risk on a time horizon, is one of volatility. https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-casino-chip-society/ Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-casino-chip-society/ One-Type-Of-Money-Illusion This article helps us understand how cash and value works today in our fiat money society. Huh? https://brettscott.substack.com/p/casino-chip-cashless-society The same principles of data-sovereignty apply to money-sovereignty. https://www.federated.computer/blog/delhi-rules-telegram-discloses/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/delhi-rules-telegram-discloses/ You think your Telegram Data is Secure? If the thing you’re using is centralized, it is so much easier for the “authorities” to compel disclosure of data. Case in point is Telegram who was recently forced to disclose names, phone numbers, and IP address accused of sharing material thought to infringe copyright. https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/after-court-order-telegram-discloses-phone-numbers-ip-addresses-of-users-accused-of-sharing-infringing-material-215311 The court order was issued by the Delhi High Court in India and required Telegram to disclose the information to the plaintiffs who had filed a copyright infringement case against the users. https://www.federated.computer/blog/checklist-digital-privacy-security/ Mon, 28 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/checklist-digital-privacy-security/ hWork through them as you get the time…eadline Some of the recommendations are centralizers…but we like the effort and attention to the subject! https://twitter.com/_k3tan/status/1597327334004371462?t=_G4DaTq7_p30VkmonGcgSg&s=19 https://www.federated.computer/blog/everything-you-need-passphrases/ Fri, 25 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/everything-you-need-passphrases/ Some best practice for passphrases, private keys, and saving them all in a digital wallet Not your keys, not your _______________. But how do we protect our keys, our passphrases? What are some best practices to consider? https://blog.coinkite.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-passphrases/ If you’re not incorporating many of these practices into your digital self-sovereign life, then how self-sovereign can you really be? https://www.federated.computer/blog/21-rules-of-bitcoin-maxi/ Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/21-rules-of-bitcoin-maxi/ What can self-sovereign individuals learn from Bitcoin maxis? We love Bitcoin maxis because they give the self-sovereign individual 21 Rules of a Bitcoin Maxi Let’s see how these some of these rules can be applied to the self-sovereign individual even if, horror, they have no interest in Bitcoin. Not your keys. This is the principal of decentralization. We don’t use centralized services where are data is not our own. Stack sats. https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-tools-for-information-age/ Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-tools-for-information-age/ Some resources for increasing and protecting your privacy online. A good list of tools and methods you can use to increase and protect your privacy online during this time of all-time-low privacy and self-sovreignty. https://secondl1ght.site/blog/privacy-tools Many of these tools deserves further exploration and explanation. Some are centralized solutions (and so not our preference). https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-being-sneaky-maps-permissions/ Wed, 23 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-being-sneaky-maps-permissions/ Allowing a change to maps permissions, opens up your world to Google Maps was and is a ground-breaking service offering from Google. https://garrit.xyz/posts/2022-11-24-smart-move-google Now they’re bamboozling us to accept permission allowing them to geotrack us across all of their services. Hey kids, just don’t use Google. :kissing_closed_eyes: https://www.federated.computer/blog/all-eyes-are-on-us/ Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/all-eyes-are-on-us/ 5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, 14 Eyes: Protect Yourself From Global Surveillance The fact of our lives today is constant global surveillance. By governments. By corporations. https://vpnoverview.com/privacy/anonymous-browsing/5-9-14-eyes/ You may be shocked to the extent your government spies on you. In a “democracy”. For your “safety”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/unique-visitors-without-cookies/ Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/unique-visitors-without-cookies/ How to count visitors without using cookies A self-sovereign lifestyle means doing to others what you would want doen to yourself, including how you track your website visitors. https://notes.normally.com/cookieless-unique-visitor-counts/ This article shows you how to build website analytics without storing information that can reveal a visitor’s identity. If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it to others. Simple. And the solution is brilliant. https://www.federated.computer/blog/france-says-non/ Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/france-says-non/ Office 365 and Workplace Shouldn’t be used in classrooms While the free versions of Office 365 and Workplace may be attractive, they vacuum up so much data on students they constitute a form of theft. https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/22/france_no_windows_google/ Free services come with the “bargain” that the provider gets all your information. What a deal! The French say “no”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-plugin-wordpress/ Mon, 21 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-plugin-wordpress/ Review of a plugin for WordPress allowing receipt of Bitcoin payments A description of a plugin for Wordpress enabling Bitcoin payments using the Lightning network. https://wordpress.org/plugins/bitcoin-lightning-publisher/ Able to use a number of different Lightning backends. https://www.federated.computer/blog/swinging-back-to-open-standards/ Thu, 17 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/swinging-back-to-open-standards/ Using open standards is the only way to defeat the centralizers A survey of how the more things change, the more they swing back to standards… https://puri.sm/posts/swinging-back-to-open-standards/ PS. really dislike the font (mini-t) of this website. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: https://www.federated.computer/blog/indian-isps-give-givernment-full-access/ Thu, 10 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/indian-isps-give-givernment-full-access/ They know when you’ve been naughty, they know when you’re awake… Well, at least, I suppose, they’re being honest about it. https://entrackr.com/2022/11/exclusive-indian-isps-we-already-give-govt-full-access-to-web-traffic/ Or, more likely, just brazen. “What are you going to do about it?” https://www.federated.computer/blog/thunderbird-supernova-preview/ Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/thunderbird-supernova-preview/ New calendar design Thunderbird is getting better and better. Among many of the FOSS reasons to use Thunderbird, it’s possible to set up Thunrderbird so that your settings move from machine to machine. Nice! But the integrated calendar was always sub-par. Looks like a future update named “Supernova” will fix that. https://blog.thunderbird.net/2022/11/thunderbird-supernova-preview-the-new-calendar-design/ Check out the Federated Computer documentation for other types re: Thunderbird. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tracks-you-in-ios/ Tue, 08 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tracks-you-in-ios/ Even when its own privacy setting say ‘no’ tracking… Independent tests suggests Apple is tracking you on iOS even when you’ve disabled sharing “Device Analytics” altogether. Apple Tracks You It’s Apple. They know best. https://www.federated.computer/blog/building-a-self-sovereign-lifestyle/ Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/building-a-self-sovereign-lifestyle/ The permaculture mentality homsteaders have is congruent with Bitcoin low-time-preference mentality What is true, even if you’re not going to homestead, is you need to adopt a homesteading mentality… https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/building-homesteader-lifestyle-with-bitcoin The mentality of a homesteader is one that examines all areas of life to figure out how one can move from centralization to decentralization. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tyranny-looms-digital-ids-cbdc/ Sat, 05 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tyranny-looms-digital-ids-cbdc/ Digital IDs and Currencies are means of control Does anyone besides the ruling classes really think digitizing IDs and currencies are anything but a means to control people? https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/tyranny-looms-as-digital-ids-and-currencies-roll-out-around-the-world/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tracking-you-in-app-store/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tracking-you-in-app-store/ As you browse and tap, Apple is watching “Ahem, we are building a better customer experience…” https://twitter.com/mysk_co/status/1588308341780262912 …for us, Apple. https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosting-guide/ Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosting-guide/ A guide for getting started with self hosting A nice guide for all the various services, hardware, clouds, etc available for the person wanting to self-host. https://github.com/mikeroyal/Self-Hosting-Guide Self-hosting offers freedom and responsibility. There are a number of projects out there that help with the process. https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-com-scam/ Sat, 22 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/privacy-com-scam/ Why privacy dot com is anything but… If you’re using privacy.com to achieve some “privacy”, you need to read this… https://ersei.net/en/blog/privacy-dot-com-yeah-right Basically, the thesis of privacy.com is we want to take your (surveilled) credit card transactions and surveil them even more. Suckers! https://www.federated.computer/blog/invisv/ Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/invisv/ Let’s reinvent the wheel Congrats to Invisv for understanding the problem. https://invisv.com/ We have questions, however. Is Invisv centralized? Are all these privacy break-throughs inter-operable with any other open standards, protocols? https://www.federated.computer/blog/katzenpost/ Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/katzenpost/ A service to resist on-line surveillance From the post, why end-to-end encryption is not enough: “End-to-end encryption has become more commonplace with major online messaging and communication tools, but encoding what you say to your friends online does not mean that the service provider cannot see who you contacted, when, from where. This metadata might be even more important than the content of an online conversation.” https://nlnet.nl/project/katzenpost/ You have to think about the metadata in the same way we think about how services like Facebook develop “graphs” of us for the purposes of advertising and scores. https://www.federated.computer/blog/basecamp-is-leaving-the-cloud/ Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/basecamp-is-leaving-the-cloud/ An explanation Basecamp’s David Heinemeier Hansson explains the departure from the cloud. https://world.hey.com/dhh/why-we-re-leaving-the-cloud-654b47e0 We don’t agree with all the conclusions. Nevertheless, bon voyage! (Oh, side note, notice he mentions “analyze and store” with re: the Hey email service. Centralizer.) https://www.federated.computer/blog/ios-16-leaks-connections/ Tue, 11 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/ios-16-leaks-connections/ But Apple is Muh Secure! Researches discovered iOS 16 communicates with Apple services outide an active VPN tunnel. Huh? https://twitter.com/mysk_co/status/1579997801047822336 They used ProtonVPN and Wireshark for the testing. What’s the solution? Different mobile OS. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-ad-business/ Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-ad-business/ How do we square a digital, tracking ad business with privacy? It’s hard to see how a company running a $5 billion, and growing, digital (ie. tracking) ad business can be real about protecting privacy. https://adguard.com/en/blog/apple-tracking-ads-business.html Tim Cook famously said: “You are not our product. You are our customer. You are a jewel, and we care about the user experience.” (2018) But does this line up with Apple’s recent hard charge into the digital advertising business? https://www.federated.computer/blog/whatsapp-messages-intercepted-by-government/ Sun, 02 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/whatsapp-messages-intercepted-by-government/ Australian government will be able to intercept WhatsApp and Signal messages If you thought your encypted WhatsApp and Signal messages were secure from surveillance, think again… https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/national-anti-corruption-commission-will-be-able-to-intercept-whatsapp-messages-a-g-20221002-p5bmis.html There’s a simple principle. If it is centralized, it is not secure. It’s the fiat of services. Another note: it’s always “anti corruption” or “anti waste”. Both are just gas-lighting for “anti freedom”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-stop-google-collecting/ Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-stop-google-collecting/ Here are the steps you need to take now And overview of how Google collects data and censors… https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/heres-how-to-stop-google-from-collecting-huge-amounts-of-your-data/ While this is a great resource for what Google is doing, the recommendations for how to defeat the beast are, in our opinion, simplistic and, on top, don’t lead to true digital self-sovereignty. https://www.federated.computer/blog/get-off-gmail/ Wed, 28 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/get-off-gmail/ Get off the big tech email providers Here’s a quick mental exercise: if you can’t imagine life without Google, Facebook, Apple or the other big centralized services, then you’re digital freedom is toast. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/the-simple-reason-why-you-should-stop-using-gmail/ Don’t make convenience the master of your freedom. https://www.federated.computer/blog/cryptography-is-not-enough/ Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/cryptography-is-not-enough/ Going Beyond Cryptogrpahy This wide-ranging discussion proposes a lifestyle. https://dergigi.com/2022/09/10/cryptography-is-not-enough/ According to the article published by Dergigi, cryptography alone is not sufficient to provide complete security for digital systems and data. While cryptography is an essential tool for protecting data against unauthorized access and tampering, it cannot address all of the security challenges that digital systems face. The article notes that cryptography is vulnerable to various attacks, including brute force attacks, side-channel attacks, and quantum attacks, which could potentially compromise the security of encrypted data. https://www.federated.computer/blog/meta-injecting-code-into-websites/ Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/meta-injecting-code-into-websites/ Meta and Instagram Rewrite Websites to Track Us This happens when you click on websites in Facebook and Instagram. You’re taken to the link in an in-app browser. Then the hilarity begins. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/11/meta-injecting-code-into-websites-visited-by-its-users-to-track-them-research-says Solution. Don’t use Facebook, Instagram, all the other Meta shit. Addicted? OK, then stop complaining. You’re hooked up to the Zuckerborg and your actions harvested for profit. https://www.federated.computer/blog/us-military-surveillance-on-internet/ Wed, 21 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/us-military-surveillance-on-internet/ There’s nothing else to capture except the smell of electricity. The “Augury” platform includes highly sensitive network data that Team Cymru, a private company, is selling to the military. “It’s everything. There’s nothing else to capture except the smell of electricity,” one cybersecurity expert said. https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pnkw/us-military-bought-mass-monitoring-augury-team-cymru-browsing-email-data They violate our privacy for our safety. Is that a good bargain? https://www.federated.computer/blog/fighting-spam/ Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/fighting-spam/ Some practical tips for fighting spam Spam is everywhere. Here are some thoughts about how to fight it. https://darthcoin.substack.com/p/avoid-being-spammed You’ll want to use an email client like Thunderbird or Mutt to follow the “no images” rule. https://www.federated.computer/blog/choose-btc-wallet/ Fri, 16 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/choose-btc-wallet/ Some advice for choosing the right Bitcoin and LIghtning Wallet Just like a password manager, choosing the right wallet for bitcoin can be stressful. https://stacker.news/items/70725 As they say: “Think like a bank, not just be a bank.” https://www.federated.computer/blog/iphone-equals-privacy-question/ Thu, 08 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/iphone-equals-privacy-question/ Does using an iPhone mean you have the best privacy solution? Most believe the iPhone is a bastion of privacy. Tim Cook said so… https://kerkour.com/iphone-privacy Apple has marketed their devices as saving the world from a big brother dystopia. But, like so much gas-lighting these days, it is the savior playing the role of big brother. https://www.federated.computer/blog/reply-to-thrown-in-the-towel/ Mon, 05 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/reply-to-thrown-in-the-towel/ Self-hosted Email is the Hardest, but also the Easiest Here’s one response to the post by Carlos F. throwing in the towel for self-hosted email. https://vadosware.io/post/its-never-been-easier-or-harder-to-self-host-email/ Hosting your own email is hard, but not impossible. The technical aspects are easy. Getting your email to someone with an outlook.com address are practical impossible. But maybe you should just pick up the phone and tell that person Microsoft (for example) doesn’t want them to get email from anyone except those who Microsoft says are “good”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-be-a-profitable-lnd-node/ Sun, 04 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-be-a-profitable-lnd-node/ Some tips for how to run a Lightning Node profitably… We think Lightning, in time, will be more for information distribution, and less about Bitcoin payments settlement. https://stacker.news/items/66368 In the meantime, as you begin your Lightning journey… https://www.federated.computer/blog/thrown-in-the-towel-email-hosting/ Sun, 04 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/thrown-in-the-towel-email-hosting/ The challenges faced by those seeking to self-host email Is it true self-hosting email is a lost cause? Carlos F. seems to think so. https://cfenollosa.com/blog/after-self-hosting-my-email-for-twenty-three-years-i-have-thrown-in-the-towel-the-oligopoly-has-won.html The purpose of this post isn’t to be an apologia for self-hosting email. Rather, it is to highlight the oligarchic behaviors that exist on certain protocols (smtp, etc) and to say that we encourage this behavior when we give up and move to more niche protocols (eg nostr? https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-refuses-to-cooperate/ Fri, 02 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-refuses-to-cooperate/ The US Government Seeks Information About App Store Behaviors Apple’s behavior with re: its App Store is notorious… http://www.fosspatents.com/2022/09/apple-refuses-to-cooperate-with-us.html “Apple taxes, tyrannizes, and “sherlocks” app developers. App developers are victims of Apple’s conduct, and ACT | The App Association–which is actually just an Apple Association–unethically claims to represent the interests of small developers.” https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-a-lightning-address-works/ Fri, 02 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-a-lightning-address-works/ Lightning invoice basics A nice, brief explainer on how lightning addresses work. https://stacker.news/items/65872 Lightning is the off-chain bitcoin, etc payments clearing technology. https://www.federated.computer/blog/data-broker-helps-police-see-everywhere-youve-been/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/data-broker-helps-police-see-everywhere-youve-been/ Your data is given to police so that they can see everywhere you’ve been with the click of a mouse. Hey, you’re in the privacy of your home, what could go wrong? https://www.eff.org/de/press/releases/data-broker-helps-police-see-everywhere-youve-been-click-mouse-eff-investigation Answer: everything. Start taking back your privacy! https://www.federated.computer/blog/rights-laws-google/ Mon, 29 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/rights-laws-google/ What happens when everything everywhere is scanned A very cautionary tale. https://stratechery.com/2022/rights-laws-and-google/ In fact, we privacy advocates don’t have to answer: “a question worth posing to anyone unilaterally opposed to Google’s approach is how big that number would have to be to have made it worthwhile”. One case of child sex exploitation is horrible. However, the issue at root here is really a queasiness with “free will”. The desire is to use “tech” to keep of clear of the bad outcomes from the exercise of human “free will”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/embracing-the-kill-switch/ Sun, 28 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/embracing-the-kill-switch/ Governments Embrace Internet Shutdowns as a Form of Control Well, one way to deal with it, if you can’t control it, is to kill it. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/29/flicking-the-kill-switch-governments-embrace-internet-shutdowns-as-a-form-of-control This will always be an option so long as coercive government (a redundancy) has control over the network itself. The solution is, over time, to build free networks unburdened by government control. Examples are (ham) radio, LORA networks, and other forms of free and uncersorable communication. https://www.federated.computer/blog/employers-surveill-employees/ Fri, 26 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/employers-surveill-employees/ Treating employees like robots is the ‘new normal’ If I can track your every movement while you “work for me”, that sounds more like slavery, than an exchange of goods. https://nypost.com/2022/08/26/its-everywhere-workplace-surveillance-methods-now-common/ Not to mention it is the precursor to replacing humans with robots for which tracking is a must. Be self-sovereign. Don’t work for these sorts of assholes. And if you must, figure out how you are going to escape. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tmobile-starlink-link/ Thu, 25 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tmobile-starlink-link/ Starlink will offer global connection to TMobile phones Starlink will provide a means for Tmobile handsets to communicate (SMS, Voice) anywhere on the globe Starlink provides coverage using 3G-equivalent bandwidth. https://archive.ph/LGnFS As if we weren’t tracked enough. :weary: https://www.federated.computer/blog/email-clients-are-bad/ Wed, 24 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/email-clients-are-bad/ Email clients need improving. Some thoughts. A shift to web-base email has meant a degradation in the quality of “fat” email clients. https://www.wired.com/story/email-clients-are-bad-so-use-vivaldi-mail/ The author uses Mutt and Vivaldi mail. We suggest contributing time/talent/treasure to Thunderbird mail. Mutt is great, too. https://www.federated.computer/blog/oracle-worldwide-surveillance-machine/ Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/oracle-worldwide-surveillance-machine/ The class action lawsuit against a behemouth’s worldwide surveillance machine With dossiers on five billion people (!) which likely means they have one on you and me, what can’t Oracle do? https://www.iccl.ie/news/class-action-against-oracle/ “…and a detailed account of online activity…” You have no right to see this information and refute/fix it, if needed. https://www.federated.computer/blog/we-kill-people-based-on-metadata/ Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/we-kill-people-based-on-metadata/ The NSA and CIA use metadata to determine who should die General Michael Hayden, in a debate with ACLU national legal director David Cole, admitted metadata can be enough to determine if some person is a threat to the US sufficient enough to warrant death. https://darknetlive.com/post/we-kill-people-based-on-metadata-and-other-metadata-things-3b316d3c So… Take action. Get off the metadata supply wagon. “But I’m not a threat to the US security establishment.” No, likely not. But you’re of interest to Mark Zuckerberg and his establishment. https://www.federated.computer/blog/googerteller/ Sun, 21 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/googerteller/ Make music when Google spies on you This little utility provides auditory feedback whenever your browsing/internet activities feed back into the Google. https://github.com/berthubert/googerteller This demo is pretty hilarious/scary. https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-seed-phrase-backup-devices/ Sat, 13 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bitcoin-seed-phrase-backup-devices/ Lessons learned stress testing dozens of seed phrase backup devices The seed phrase is like the password opening up the value of a Bitcoin address. If you lose it, you lose the Bitcoin. So, it is imperative, when using self-custodied Bitcoin address, that you have 100% reliable access to your seed phrase. https://blog.lopp.net/a-treatise-on-bitcoin-seed-backup-device-design/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/email-done-my-way/ Fri, 05 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/email-done-my-way/ The journey to getting email self-hosting done right One man’s (he’s the Redhat evangelist for EMEA) way of running self-hosted email. https://jan.wildeboer.net/2022/08/Email-0-The-Journey-2022/ As you’ll see, email is a protocol, and an attitude. https://www.federated.computer/blog/huge-scale-of-us-gov-cell-location-data/ Fri, 22 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/huge-scale-of-us-gov-cell-location-data/ New documents reveal the US government is tracking cell phone location The ACLU unearthed documents showing the US Department of Homeland Security is using mobile location data to track people’s movements. https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/18/homeland-security-cell-phone-tracking/ The tracking is taking place on a much larger scale that previously known. https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-privacy/ Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-privacy/ A list of privacy and security-focused apps, software, and providers From the list: “Large data-hungry corporations dominate the digital world but with little, or no respect for your privacy. Migrating to open-source applications with a strong emphasis on security will help stop corporations, governments, and hackers from logging, storing or selling your personal data.” https://github.com/Lissy93/awesome-privacy It would be even better if this was not hosted on Github. C’est la vie! https://www.federated.computer/blog/personal-security-checklist/ Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/personal-security-checklist/ Besides carrying a gun… “A curated checklist of tips to protect your digital security and privacy.” https://github.com/Lissy93/personal-security-checklist It’s a complete lifestyle, frankly. https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-oss-alternatives/ Fri, 15 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-oss-alternatives/ FOSS solutions to try Here’s another compiled list of FOSS solutions to investigate rather than giving money to centralizer man. https://github.com/RunaCapital/awesome-oss-alternatives Which ones look promising to you? https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-is-layer-three/ Thu, 14 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-is-layer-three/ What is layer three? A discussion re: the intersection bitcoin/lightning with the internet… https://twitter.com/PompPodcast/status/1547633870702424066?t=ysL2s0wxSyyAqZ-ZQJPTtQ&s=19p This is probably what “web 3” should/will be. https://www.federated.computer/blog/redecentralize/ Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/redecentralize/ Inttroducing Redecentralize At Federated we support any organization fighting against digital monopolies, surveillance capitalism, and a lack of self-sovreignty. https://redecentralize.org/ Redecentralize is an organization seeking “a world of open platforms and protocols with real choices of applications and services for people. We care about privacy, transparency and autonomy. Our organizations and tools should fundamentally be accountable and resilient.” Amen. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tracing-cameras/ Fri, 01 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tracing-cameras/ Using the slight imperfections of the sensor An interesting technique to trace individual digital cameras based on sensor information. https://petapixel.com/2022/07/01/police-can-trace-cameras-thanks-to-sensor-imperfection-fingerprints/ How long until this is used in the wild to track everyone? https://www.federated.computer/blog/build-a-gun/ Tue, 24 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/build-a-gun/ Build a 22 rifle to keep the varmits at bay… Sure, you can buy a rifle, but why not learn about how things work by assembling the parts and building a custom rifle for pest control? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D5twkg8HE0&t=304 https://www.federated.computer/blog/stop-apple-tracking-you/ Fri, 01 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/stop-apple-tracking-you/ Ways to keep Apple from tracking you on iOS 14.5 and later Apple stopped other apps from tracking you starting with iOS 14.5…so that they could have all that delicious tracking goodness to appleself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y88gAAIN5g What’s the worry? It’s only metadata… https://www.federated.computer/blog/value-for-value/ Fri, 01 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/value-for-value/ Explanation of Value for Value Many “media” or “social” businesses today rely on anadvertising model to pay the bills. However, the model itself begins to distort the message over time because the economic means (advertisers) will dictate what is acceptable content and even, in time, acceptable customers. The solution is value for value. https://value4value.info/ Going further, value for value can be understood as a way of life, as the site says “a mindset of abundance” where an ecosystem develops of free exchange of “goods” understood as “time, talent, and treasure”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/dangers-of-digital-identity/ Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dangers-of-digital-identity/ What happens when your ‘identity’ is simply 1s and 0s? A digital identity isn’t something from you. It is a dossier created by the centralizers to better understand, for themselves, the capabilities in the world allowed to you. https://www.boniface-institute.com/the-dangers-of-digital-identity/ Identity is tied to access in the digital world. https://www.federated.computer/blog/lightning-wallet-comparison/ Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lightning-wallet-comparison/ A look at all the options for Lightning wallets Inevitably this blog post will get more and more out-of-date as time passes… https://darthcoin.substack.com/p/lightning-wallets-comparison But it provides a nice overview of the different approaches to wallets for holding Bitcoin on the LIghtning network. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-webapps-browsers/ Mon, 24 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-webapps-browsers/ Does it come down to the $20 billion in cash paid annually by Google? Apple really doesn’t want competition on iOS for web browsers… https://twitter.com/openwebadvocacy/status/1617802614149894144 Even Google allows competition on Android! Think of all the tracking offered up by iOS users to Google… https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-self-hosted/ Fri, 21 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/awesome-self-hosted/ Github listing of self-hosted software This is a pretty comprehensive list of software you can self-host across a very wide variety of categories. https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted/blob/master/README.md While we think Federated is a pretty good curation of the “best” software for self-hosting out there, this list reminds us there is so, so much more. https://www.federated.computer/blog/iphone-usage-data-anonymous/ Tue, 23 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/iphone-usage-data-anonymous/ Your iPhone’s Analytics Data Includes an ID Number How anonymous is iPhone usage data after all? https://gizmodo.com/apple-iphone-privacy-dsid-analytics-personal-data-test-1849807619 According to the article published by Gizmodo, Apple’s iPhone was found to be collecting data on users' personal browsing habits through a feature called “DSID Analytics,” which is enabled by default on all devices running iOS 15. The report notes that DSID Analytics collects data on users' app usage, search history, and web browsing behavior, which is then sent to Apple’s servers for analysis. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tools-to-protect-macos/ Sun, 21 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tools-to-protect-macos/ A list of tools for protecting and securing your macOS device A nice list of tools you can use to protect and secure your macOS machine. https://objective-see.org/tools.html This is expert level stuff, but could be helpful for you and protecting those your support. https://www.federated.computer/blog/who-controls-the-internet/ Tue, 02 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/who-controls-the-internet/ From a speech given at NANOG 83 From the guy who created PowerDNS comes an assessment of the ownership and control of the internet today. https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/who-controls-the-internet/ Guess what? It’s not so good…unless we re-double our efforts to take back control. https://www.federated.computer/blog/robosats/ Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/robosats/ A simple and private way to exchange Bitcoin for fiat currencies Another great way to buy bitcoin without KYC intrusions. https://learn.robosats.com/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/silent-link-anonymous-esim/ Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/silent-link-anonymous-esim/ Really private When you really want to disappear… https://silent.link/ However, the better solution may be to just put down the phone, go outside, and talk a long walk in the sun. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-advertising-app-store/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-advertising-app-store/ What happens when the white knight gets down and dirty with the central trackers? Apple has been slowly but surely expanding the reach of ads across their platforms for the past several years. https://basicappleguy.com/basicappleblog/you-might-also-like What to do? Try Linux. There are plenty of great distributions. Oh, the app you want/need isn’t there? Spin up a Windows VM on your Linux distro for the times you need to bend over. You can even run macOS in a VM. https://www.federated.computer/blog/free-services-an-allegory/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/free-services-an-allegory/ What happens when we are beholden to free services? Hey, you just wanted to see what the free service could do for you. Despite knowing the dangers. But it is so… https://twitter.com/PardesSeleh/status/1534251250744705024 Please don’t go…! https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-is-building-demand-side-platform/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-is-building-demand-side-platform/ The fruit is building a demand-side platform Has there been a successful digtial advertising platform that doesn’t track users? https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/apple-will-emerge-advertising-player-watch-2023 Hey baby, don’t worry. This is Apple. :kissing: https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-turned-off-airdrop/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-turned-off-airdrop/ What does it mean when a vendor tells you how to use tools on your device? https://reclaimthenet.org/apple-air-drop-china Apple made a change to how AirDrop works in mainland China restricting the way Apple customer could communicate with each other. According to the article published by Reclaim The Net on August 10, 2021, Apple has come under scrutiny for allegedly allowing Chinese users to receive unsolicited content through its AirDrop feature. The report states that Chinese users have been receiving unsolicited pornographic images and spam through AirDrop from strangers who are using anonymous usernames. https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tv-ad-product/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/apple-tv-ad-product/ Quietly pushing an ad product with media agencies Where will we go for privacy when Apple abandons us to the verdant fields of advertising revenue? https://digiday.com/media/apple-is-quietly-pushing-a-tv-ad-product-with-media-agencies/ To a self-sovereign, distributed, federated future. https://www.federated.computer/blog/bisq/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/bisq/ As in biscuit? Or just no-KYC bitcoin? One of the best ways to buy bitcoin with no KYC. https://bisq.network/ You’ll also feel like a trader walking through a market in the town square. You get to set the deal. https://www.federated.computer/blog/big-batch-of-breaches/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/big-batch-of-breaches/ Looks like lots of centralized services relied on another central service… …and now the whole mass of them are breached. https://twitter.com/tayvano_/status/1611131230074073088?s=20&t=NR4Z4aJlKaNg_rHuQVYn7A CircleCI is the central culprit. We, the users of these centralized system have no clue whats going on in the entirely opaque background. No clue. https://www.federated.computer/blog/btcmap-org/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/btcmap-org/ Where to spend your bitcoin This is the chicken-and-egg challenge for bitcoin. Money for spending (versus money for store of value). https://btcmap.org/map The solution is to continue to build communities of common-interest that can build small economies where bitcoin is taken back and forth. Maybe the solution is we all need to be willing and able to take bitcoin? https://www.federated.computer/blog/build-your-own-seedsigner/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/build-your-own-seedsigner/ You need a seed signer to keep your Bitcoin safe With this technique, no one will know your seed phrase except the people you tell. https://seedsigner.com/ No trust. https://www.federated.computer/blog/moxie-marlinspike-on-centralization/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/moxie-marlinspike-on-centralization/ Moxie Marlinspike on Decentralization The (former) CEO of Signal thinks centralization is the way to go… https://マリウス.com/moxie-marlinspike-on-decentralization/ What a surprise. The key argument is that it is too difficult to decentralize. And that decentralization leads to stagnation because we all have to agree on protocols and therefore it is tough to change them. But there are multiple flaws in this way of thinking, and the post lays them out well. https://www.federated.computer/blog/mass-surveillance-app-secret/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/mass-surveillance-app-secret/ The App ‘Fog Reveal’ is Almost Invisible Another tale of our local law enforcement tracking phones around the neighborhood. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/09/cops-wanted-to-keep-mass-surveillance-app-secret-privacy-advocates-refused/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/corporate-coalition-wants-digital-id/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/corporate-coalition-wants-digital-id/ The ‘Better Identify Coalition’ wants better ways to track you It’s a real rogue’s gallery of corporations pushing for a single way to track us no matter what we do on or off the network. https://reclaimthenet.org/corporations-push-for-digital-id Shame on you Yubico for being part of this proposal. Why mortgage whatever good will you have to kneel at the feet of your corporate overlords? https://www.federated.computer/blog/cryptocurrency-question-of-trust/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/cryptocurrency-question-of-trust/ How Bitcoin addressed a problem that has haunted human affairs for 2.5 million years How does the decentralized Bitcoin system work? https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/cryptocurrency-jews-question-benjamin-samuels How Bitcoin solved the trust issue that has plagued societies for millenia. Some precursors to the Diffie-Hellman key exchange are discussed and explained. https://www.federated.computer/blog/automatic-csam-scanning-eu/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/automatic-csam-scanning-eu/ Using the pretext of child protection to introduce mass surveillance This is still just a proposal. https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/eu-surveillance-csam/ But the proposal would basically lead to all messages being read all the time. Get off the centralized services. Make it difficult. https://www.federated.computer/blog/signal-has-a-back-door/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/signal-has-a-back-door/ Backdoor proven? Further evidence Signal has a back door… https://twitter.com/DylanLeClair_/status/1640378672359129088?s=20 Repeat after us, centralized is no good. https://www.federated.computer/blog/marshall-mcluhan-future-advertising-information-services/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/marshall-mcluhan-future-advertising-information-services/ Marshall McLuhan lays it out in 1966 A wonderful look into the future, from the past. https://paleofuture.com/blog/2023/1/11/marshall-mcluhan-on-the-future-of-ads-and-the-internet One of the insights here is the idea that we enjoy being manipulated, being advertised to because the advertising itself is the beginning of the fulfillment of our desire for an object. https://www.federated.computer/blog/grapheneos/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/grapheneos/ One of the main alternative Andoid distributions You can use a mobile device with lots less tracking than on offer from Google and Apple. https://grapheneos.org/ Just remember, when you leave tracking prison, you leave behind the apps that have your addicted. OK? https://www.federated.computer/blog/setup-home-server-bitcoin-node/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/setup-home-server-bitcoin-node/ Caveat: liberating but lots of complexities You do need to run your own node at home. It’s the best for privacy and securty. But it can be complex, and, with the wrong turn, you can lose Bitcoin. https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-home-server-and-use-it-as-a-bitcoin-node/ But don’t fear. Try it out. Get a feel for it. We need to learn to cook. https://www.federated.computer/blog/working-from-home-surveillance/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/working-from-home-surveillance/ The big man has access to all your waking minutes If the corporation can surveil employees while in the office (and we don’t like this, mind you, but so many have accepted it), what happens when the office is your private home? https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/working-home-now-means-letting-corporate-surveillance-your-daily-life Maybe the solution is not to carry/have two of everything? https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-stack-sats/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/how-to-stack-sats/ Anyone Can Earn Bitcoin Some great, creative ideas for how to earn and stack satoshis. https://www.stacksats.how/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/no-kyc-aml-lists/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/no-kyc-aml-lists/ Digging into the KYC/AML issue You may already be on a list… https://www.discreetlog.com/kyc/ …but you can start to disappear. https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-can-others-learn-scraping-instagram/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/what-can-others-learn-scraping-instagram/ What can others learn? Scraping social media services is wide-spread (here, Instagram) and highlights the data leaks exploited by many to find out much more about us. https://www.socialscrape.com/post/what-is-instagram-scraping “Basically anything you can get from a user’s profile can be scraped.” When combined with other information, a user dossier begins to emerge. D’oh! https://www.federated.computer/blog/impact-of-lastpass-on-bitcoin-wallets/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/impact-of-lastpass-on-bitcoin-wallets/ This person lost sats because of the Lastpass breach Can anyone spot how the magical hacker got in? https://twitter.com/Cryptopathic/status/1606416137771782151?s=20&t=glD3V7sn8VCOrCeheaWf8w A hint: “Having spoken to multiple professionals, it now seems far more likely that my encrypted vault was breached. However, at 100,100 PBKDF2 iterations, it is not realistic to brute force this. I think this situation goes far beyond what has been admitted.” That’s right, Lastpass may not have keep the data encrypted or sufficiently encrypted. https://www.federated.computer/blog/learn-bitcoin-interactively/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/learn-bitcoin-interactively/ A tutorial to learn the technical side of bitcoin This neat interactive tutorial teaches you the technical overview of bitcoin. https://trybitcoin.satsie.dev/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/monitor-brain-activity/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/monitor-brain-activity/ More on the path to treating humans like robots When we are monitored at work, we are treated like machines, not humans. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/world-economic-forum-speaker-touts-technology-that-allows-your-boss-to-monitor-your-brain-activity/ If this is part of your experience at work, get another job. It is hard, but being surveilled all the time has its impact on our self-worth. https://www.federated.computer/blog/lineageos/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lineageos/ One of the main alternative Andoid distributions You can use a mobile device with lots less tracking than on offer from Google and Apple. https://lineageos.org/ Just remember, when you leave tracking prison, you leave behind the apps that have your addicted. OK? https://www.federated.computer/blog/microsoft-killing-custom-domains/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/microsoft-killing-custom-domains/ No more individuality for you, slave You won’t be able to use custom domains after November, 2023. https://www.bigtechwire.com/2022/11/02/microsoft-is-killing-custom-domain-names-in-outlook-com/ This is a head-scratcher, for sure. Why would Microsoft do this? Is Google next? It is hard to understand any real technical justification for the move. Ideas? https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-hacked/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/lastpass-hacked/ Lastpass Hacked, Again Lastpass is the world’s most popular password manager…with hackers, too. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-25/the-world-s-most-popular-password-manager-says-it-was-hacked Solution, host your own password manager. It is possible. Unless you like giving the hackers your passwords… https://www.federated.computer/blog/mutt/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/mutt/ The email client for discerning email users We have instructions on how to use Mutt with a Federated Core. http://www.mutt.org/ Install it on a server your own, and, with the right access controls, you have secure access to your email from everywhere. https://www.federated.computer/blog/dutch-schools-must-stop-using-google/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dutch-schools-must-stop-using-google/ Dutch Personal Data Authority raised concerns about Google’s GDPR compliance Google donesn’t carry. They’ll just pay the fines. https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/dutch-schools-must-stop-using-google-email-and-cloud-services/ And they believe we “need” them. https://www.federated.computer/blog/acquire-non-kyc-bitcoin/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/acquire-non-kyc-bitcoin/ 15 methods for acquiring non-kyc bitcoin If you want to acquire bitcoin without an intermediary tracking your identity, here are fifteen options… https://sovrnbitcoiner.com/15-methods-to-aquire-non-kyc-bitcoin/ What have we to hide? Everything! :blush: https://www.federated.computer/blog/rant-about-signal/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/rant-about-signal/ You were the chosen one… Someone else isn’t so impressed with the direction Signal is going these days… https://media.ccc.de/v/mch2022-196-signal-you-were-the-chosen-one- It’s a real head-scratcher when a “security service” wants to start measuring “engagement”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/opendesktop/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/opendesktop/ Introduction to the Opendesktop Project This is a centralized service based, in part, on Nextcloud and other open-source projects. https://www.opendesktop.org/ OpenDesktop.org is a website that provides a platform for open-source software developers and users to share and download various applications, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other digital assets. The website is part of the OpenDesktop Network, which also includes other sites such as KDE-Apps.org, GNOME-Look.org, and XFCE-Look.org. OpenDesktop.org is a community-driven platform, where users can contribute their own software and content, as well as interact with other members of the community through forums, blogs, and messaging. https://www.federated.computer/blog/orange-pilled-veteran/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/orange-pilled-veteran/ Working in the Bitcoin industry Offered to suggest working in the self-sovereign industry should be just as rewarding. https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/one-veterans-story-orange-pilled-green-beret We are always hiring at Federated. :smile: https://www.federated.computer/blog/pine-64-project/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/pine-64-project/ Open source hardware and software for desktop, tablet, mobile Pine64 makes some very interesting kit… https://www.pine64.org/ The number of enthusiasts continues to grow month after month. https://www.federated.computer/blog/poste-io/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/poste-io/ A nice self-hosted email server A nice project for self-hosted email. https://poste.io/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/private-secure-lora-messaging/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/private-secure-lora-messaging/ How to use the LORA protocol to set up a mesh network for communications The LORA protocol is interesting. Very intersting. There’s a shitcoin project to try to extend LORA across the country. Great idea, bad execution. https://unsigned.io/private-messaging-over-lora/ What would it take to set this up in your own neighborhood or community? Reach out to us if you’d like to do or know more. https://www.federated.computer/blog/nsa-collects-data/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/nsa-collects-data/ Even when it is against the law. Who cars? Do you? Does anyone care when the NSA breaks US law to spy on Americans in the United States? No, not really. Nothing is done about it. This is fiat surveillance at its finest. High handed. Passed off as “protecting” Americans. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1587446686393122816.html What can be done about it? First, make it much harder by decentralizing everything. https://www.federated.computer/blog/qubes/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/qubes/ A reasonably secure operating system Qubes is an operating system where most of the userland work happens in sandboxed virtual machines. https://www.qubes-os.org/intro/ With the right hardware resources, you can use multiple “insecure” operating systems at the same time. https://www.federated.computer/blog/reclaiming-mobile-privacy-grapheneos/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/reclaiming-mobile-privacy-grapheneos/ It’s true. It can be done! This is the android distribution many of us at Federated use. https://マリウス.com/reclaiming-mobile-privacy-with-grapheneos/ “The shiny devices we carry around in our pockets have increasingly become malicious tools of governments, law enforcement and even for-profit corporations.” https://www.federated.computer/blog/router-security-howto/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/router-security-howto/ We all have one of these things in our home… We all have a (wifi) router in our homes if we are typically connected to the internet. Here’s some advice how to configure the device in the most secure way possible. https://routersecurity.org/#StartHere Explore the site for even more great stuff! https://www.federated.computer/blog/safing-free-open-source-firewall/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/safing-free-open-source-firewall/ Free and Open Source A nice, easy-to-undestand firewall for Windows and Linux https://link Includes a VPN with the paid tier. https://www.federated.computer/blog/scrub-yourself-from-the-internet/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/scrub-yourself-from-the-internet/ Is it even possible? The long journey begins with a single step… https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/how-to-scrub-yourself-from-the-internet-the-best-that-you-can/ar-AAYOXe0 Internet “knowledge” of you is like weight. You’re either adding or you’re losing. https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosted-podcast/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosted-podcast/ A podcast for self-hosters Even if you don’t practice self-hosting using Federated, please practice self-hosting. These guys might be able to provide some guidance! https://selfhosted.show/ From their description: “Discover new software and hardware to get the best out of your network, control smart devices, and secure your data on cloud services. Self-Hosted is a chat show to share lessons and take you along the journey…” https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosted-saas-tools/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/self-hosted-saas-tools/ hSome alternatives to the centralizers Another useful list and assessment. https://tedium.co/2023/03/04/self-hosted-saas-app-alternatives/ Too bad the site is littered with ads for…SaaS companies. :open_mouth: https://www.federated.computer/blog/sha256-algorithm-explained/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/sha256-algorithm-explained/ Want to know how the encryption standard works? Wonderful website. More like a “lab” than a textual explainer. Understand through doing. https://sha256algorithm.com/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/smart-phones-fragment-attention-span/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/smart-phones-fragment-attention-span/ Why even care about an attention span? Without an attention span, human intelligence is not capable of producing its magic. https://idratherbewriting.com/blog/awakening-moment-to-how-smartphones-fragment-our-attention/ It is funny when the “solution” is to use the smart phone to help us with “focus”. :satisfied: https://www.federated.computer/blog/surveillance-state-making-a-list/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/surveillance-state-making-a-list/ This Christmas-themed article is a big drag… All the various ways governments and corporations are working hard to watch our every move. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/youd-better-watch-out-surveillance-state-making-list-and-youre-it The track us on the internet, the mobile phone, our DNA, our face, our spending and consumer activities, public movements… We can cloak. It does require a commitment. It can be done. https://www.federated.computer/blog/fediverse-is-inefficient-thats-ok/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/fediverse-is-inefficient-thats-ok/ Decentralization comes with some slow downs that avoid the dystopian pile up Why having everything move/improve at the speed of whim may not be the best idea. https://berk.es/2022/11/08/fediverse-inefficiencies/ The example provided is Mastodon. https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-story-of-your-enslavement/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/the-story-of-your-enslavement/ A film essay about the ways and forms of our enslavement A thought-provoking film essay about the ways and means of our quotidian enslavement in the modern world. https://youtu.be/eq3jjzI8Gdo https://www.federated.computer/blog/torbox-release-040/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/torbox-release-040/ Creates a WiFi hotspot routing over Tor using Raspberry Pi When you want Tor-routed services for all your wireless/WiFi traffic. https://www.torbox.ch/?p=2027 You can even use this in hotels, for example, even if there is a captive portal, when traveling. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tracking-every-cash-transaction/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tracking-every-cash-transaction/ Wall Street Journal reports program tracks transactions above $500 Homeland Security is using a tool to track cash transactions above $500. https://www.rt.com/news/570100-americans-money-transfers-spying/ As Senator Wyden’s (D-Oregon) investigation showed, this is being done without regard for established legal protections. https://www.federated.computer/blog/miliatary-captures-internet/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/miliatary-captures-internet/ Senator Wyden suggests the military is up to no good They have everything. https://www.rt.com/news/563433-augury-military-internet-tracking-wyden/ Of course, they are breaching privacy for the sake of keeping us “safe”. https://www.federated.computer/blog/why-decentralization-matters/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/why-decentralization-matters/ From the perspective of a notorious shitcoiner… It’s funny how he’s right on “decentralization” but every one of his implementations was backed by some (evil) centralization scheme. We’re not hear to prove that, just a bold assertion. But he’s right about decentralization. https://onezero.medium.com/why-decentralization-matters-5e3f79f7638e But how could “decentralization” ever be monetized? Value for value. Give people want they want and need and they will pay. https://www.federated.computer/blog/company-risk-assessment/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/company-risk-assessment/ One listing of companies and a risk assessment… The company may not like you and show you the door… https://1792exchange.com/spotlightreports/ https://www.federated.computer/blog/zero-data-app/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/zero-data-app/ Keeping data under your control A nice exposition of the idea that even your apps shouldn’t be barriers to your data. https://0data.app/ For the most part, this means using open data protocols and formats. Not even open-source applications do this today. But this website introduces us to apps that do. https://www.federated.computer/blog/have-i-been-pawned/ Sun, 03 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/have-i-been-pawned/ One of the delights of using centralized services… It’s really just a matter of time before your centralized service leaks your credentials or gets hacked. The honeypot is too valuable for the hackers to ignore. https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Check your status here. https://www.federated.computer/blog/protonmail-bridge-problems/ Wed, 29 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/protonmail-bridge-problems/ Message UIDs are not stable When the IDs for messages aren’t stable, whacky things happen. https://github.com/ProtonMail/proton-bridge/issues/220 Note: this is an older note, may have been fixed. Please check the repository. https://www.federated.computer/blog/icloud-for-windows-problems/ Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/icloud-for-windows-problems/ A Report of Strange Behavior by iCloud for Windows The perils of using centralized storage solutions from a company not known for building great services. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/icloud-for-windows-corrupting-videos-downloading-other-peoples-photos.2370666/ According to a thread on the MacRumors forums, some users of iCloud for Windows have reported experiencing issues with the service, including corrupted videos and downloading other people’s photos. The thread includes reports from users who have experienced issues with iCloud for Windows, such as videos that are downloaded from iCloud being corrupted and unplayable, and photos that belong to other iCloud users being downloaded to their own devices. https://www.federated.computer/blog/rise-of-user-hostile-software/ Mon, 23 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/rise-of-user-hostile-software/ Caring more about the developer than about the user This may be a perenial complaint, but it does seem as if the state of software today is more geared to the company or the developer rather than the user. https://den.dev/blog/user-hostile-software/ Open source software fixes this. https://www.federated.computer/blog/why-self-hosting-is-important/ Fri, 23 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/why-self-hosting-is-important/ Self-hosting is about freedom Some observations and experiences with regards self-hosting. https://dataswamp.org/~solene/2021-07-23-why-selfhosting-is-important.html If you’re reading this blog, you probably already know self-hosting is important. It is vital to keeping the internet and our data free. https://www.federated.computer/blog/verified-onion-sites/ Wed, 21 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/verified-onion-sites/ An ever growing list of bitcoin and privacy related onion sites Fire up your Tor browser and browse… https://sovrnbitcoiner.com/verified-tor-onion-sites/ A great list of some sites you want to visit using Tor. https://www.federated.computer/blog/understanding-email/ Fri, 07 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/understanding-email/ Email explained from first principles Everything you ever wanted to know about how email works… https://explained-from-first-principles.com/email/ …because you’re going to want to know how it can be improved, protected, best served. https://www.federated.computer/blog/tor-only-bitcoin-lightning-guide/ Thu, 06 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/tor-only-bitcoin-lightning-guide/ How to use Bitcoin and Lightning on the Tor network We are big fans of Bitcoin and the Lightning network at Federated and recommend using it over Tor. But it can be technically intimidating. https://blog.lopp.net/tor-only-bitcoin-lightning-guide/ The purpose of Bitcoin and Lightning is to fully decentralize money. The purpose of Tor is to share as little information on the public network as possible. Together they can be very effective. https://www.federated.computer/blog/screw-it-ill-host-it-myself/ Wed, 07 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/screw-it-ill-host-it-myself/ I’ll host it myself As more and more folks have bad experiences with the centralizers, more and more begin to wonder what it would mean to do it all themselves. https://www.markozivanovic.com/screw-it-ill-host-it-myself/ That’s why Federated Core exists. To make it easier. :blush: https://www.federated.computer/blog/sky-secure-global-indictment/ Fri, 12 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/sky-secure-global-indictment/ Claims Sky Global provided service used by criminal networks File this is the “is encryption legal to sell” section. https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adzdj/sky-secure-global-indictment The US Department of Justice claims they filed the indictment because the firm expressly catered to those committing criminal acts. But actions like this raise concerns about the claims of authorities that encryption, in and of itself, is a prohibited “tool” for sale. https://www.federated.computer/blog/financial-information-facebook/ Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/financial-information-facebook/ Tax Filing Services Sending Financial Information to Facebook As if Facebook didn’t know enough about us already… https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/appalling-major-tax-filing-services-have-been-sending-financial-information-facebook According to an article published by Zero Hedge, some major tax filing services in the US have been sending users' financial information, including their social security numbers and income details, to Facebook through tracking tools on their websites. The article states that tax filing services such as TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct have been using tracking tools from Facebook and other third-party companies on their websites, which allow them to collect data on users' browsing behavior and interests. https://www.federated.computer/blog/computer-that-i-own/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/computer-that-i-own/ Can I Own My Computer? These days, is it possible to own your computer and the data that flows through it? http://misc-stuff.terraaeon.com/articles/computer-i-own.html Self-ownership means “anonymity” and to “communicate securly with anyone on the planet without being observed by a third party”. Of course, there are a number of parts to this puzzle. The hardware, the client software and operating system, the server hardware, software and operating system, and then the network and the means of utilizing that network. https://www.federated.computer/blog/dropbox-is-watching-your-activity/ Mon, 12 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/dropbox-is-watching-your-activity/ Why All the Telemetry? Dropbox sure does collect lots of information… Why So Much Telemetry? https://www.federated.computer/blog/your-identity-owned-by-email-provider/ Fri, 30 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/your-identity-owned-by-email-provider/ Email is a great way to understand everything about a person If you don’t own or run your email (“not your keys, not your email”), then your on-line identify is owned by your email provider. https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/email-identity-provider.html This is even true for Proton, kids. Centralization sucks. https://www.federated.computer/blog/nsa-worked-to-track-bitcoin-users/ Sun, 18 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/nsa-worked-to-track-bitcoin-users/ NSA Seeks to Track Bitcoin Users In a story from the annals of the obvious… But why? They might as well haul in the whole village looking for the one villager who committed the alledged crime. https://theintercept.com/2018/03/20/the-nsa-worked-to-track-down-bitcoin-users-snowden-documents-reveal/ The National Security Agency (NSA) worked to track down users of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin by analyzing internet traffic and other data sources, according to documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The documents suggest that the NSA was interested in identifying Bitcoin users who may be engaged in illegal activities such as money laundering and drug trafficking. https://www.federated.computer/blog/outlook-com-discarding-messages/ Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/outlook-com-discarding-messages/ Microsoft knows what is best for you Outlook.com and Hotmail.com won’t receive your email message unless they want to… https://blog.paranoidpenguin.net/2015/01/outlook-com-is-silently-discarding-email-messages/ Microsoft continues to break the protocol. One solution? Don’t email folks with outlook.com and hotmail.com email addresses. Tell them Microsoft has decided what is best. https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-has-most-of-my-email/ Sun, 11 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/google-has-most-of-my-email/ Dealing with the problem that is Gmail Even if you run your own email server (or use a service like Federated Core), you will likely be interacting with those using Gmail. https://mako.cc/copyrighteous/google-has-most-of-my-email-because-it-has-all-of-yours It won’t happen quickly or over-night, but we must choke out Gmail and other centralized emails services (looking at your outlook.com) if we are to reclaim email as a “free” as in “freedom” service. https://www.federated.computer/blog/cypherpunks-manifesto/ Tue, 09 Mar 1993 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.federated.computer/blog/cypherpunks-manifesto/ It starts with privacy The basis for everything we do at Federated Computer. https://what.cd/ Privacy is the conerstone and that is built on anonymous systems.