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Your Computer Isn't Yours

sneak.berlin

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Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#251

Post by kybernetikos »

II2II wrote: post #245
rsanheim wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You pointed out a core problem here, and a common blindspot with the HN crowd: > continuing to use Apple/Google/Microsoft That is probably 98%+ of devices that most typical people use for everyday computing, across phone, laptop, and desktop. Whether it is an android device, an iPhone, a Dell laptop or a new M1 macbook you are beholden to a corporation that doesn't care about privacy. I would argue that Apple cares a…

> And before "have you tried this *nix distro??" comments appear, they are still too hard to setup and nowhere near as user-friendly for most people on an everyday basis. Uh, no. There are many reasons why people don't use Linux. The easy of setup and use lines are pure nonsense. Many Linux distributions have been easier to setup and use since at least the introduction of Ubuntu, and perhaps earlier. Just pop in the…

Fifth reason - many many laptops have at least some piece of hardware or behaviour that requires fiddling to get to work on major linux systems. Sometimes it's power management, sometimes it's running with multiple monitors or 3d acceleration or the touchscreen, sometimes it's getting the touchpad to work properly or the fingerprint reader.... In my experience, there's usually something.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#253

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #229
andy_threos_io wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real Hacker who has concern about her/his privacy wouldn't touch this kind of product with a 10 foot pole!

And yet, Apple still has a reputation of being really privacy- and security- conscious. Windows' telemetry has had all the alarms raised for years now, and how does e.g. Canonical earn money? Same on mobile, Android phones - especially in the cheaper ranges - are dodgy as fuck when it comes to privacy and security.

Does Apple really have literally all telemetry disabled by default, out of the box, on all devices? Is there an independent audit proving that? If so, I would buy all their products in an instant.

Then how do they know what to fix/improve without that? I can't imagine average iOS/OSX users, who aren't devs, are writing and submitting detailed bug/crash reports on a regular basis.

Or is it just bias and personal preference where "I don't mind Apple collecting my telemetry because I like Apple but Microsoft collecting my telemetry is evil because I hate Microsoft"?

I don't have a dog in this fight but don't trust any for-profit company when it comes to privacy, no matter how good their PR is on the matter, especially since both of them(and most SV companies) were part of the NSA Prism bulk collection program[0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#254

Post by intricatedetail »

deadbunny wrote: post #16

Yet despite all the wailing and gnashing of teeth - both in the article and in the comments here in the various threads - people are still making excuses for continuing to use Apple/Google/Microsoft/et al products because the alternatives are a bit rough round the edges. These companies have repeatedly shown that they don't respect people's privacy and people have resoundingly responded that neither do they. I would…

My main workstation is Linux for a couple of years now. I have dedicated PC for Ableton and I disabled all known telemetry calls. I got rid of all Apple products except iPad 2.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#255

Post by sliken »

Polylactic_acid wrote: post #12
spease wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Android, 'privacy apple' macOS, iOS & Windows all act in similar way. Source?

What kind of source are you looking for. This is about hundreds of changes that all build up to a more locked down experience. iOS has always been locked down. MacOS now won't run unsigned software. Mac Pros will brick if you replace the SSD with another genuine SSD. Safety net on android makes it harder to use root. There is an API to block screenshots. Security changes in Android 11 break termux and all other bash…

"MacOS now won't run unsigned software." Er, what?

I have a MBP and:

$ gcc -O3 hello.c && ./a.out

hello world

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#256

Post by Ensorceled »

C'mon HN, the past few days have been pegged with stories about Apple where the comments just turn out to be dozens of rants about their closed garden. Can we move on? Install linux and let it go.

“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.” ― Winston S. Churchill

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#257

Post by sliken »

q3k wrote: post #193
JAlexoid wrote: post #110

I'm hoping we can get a RISC-V machine sometime in the near future.

How would that change anything?

By nature RISC-v machines will tend to be more open, have an open bootloader, and be friendly to running an open OS. Much less likely to block installing Linux, like Apple has done. Much less likely to block running linux, like on the Microsoft Surface.

Sure some Apple like company could make a fork of RISC-v and then lock down the environment, spy on a user's network traffic, what binaries they run, etc.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#258

Post by drexlspivey »

Jayakumark wrote: post #92

This is really bad , apple touts itself as a privacy company but it seems like a fox in disguise and meddling with VPN is just completely immoral. Now google and Microsoft seem better to me as they at least tell you we are getting your telemetry data and don’t modify vpn traffic.

I am running wireguard on my router, let them try to bypass that

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#259

Post by sliken »

inshadows wrote: post #96
anshumankmr wrote: post #47

This doesn't apply to Ubuntu,right? As in Canonical isn't doing something like this, right??

It applies precisely to Ubuntu as well: https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/disabling-automatic-refresh-for... In a world where Snap is ubiquitous, Canonical is in charge of software running on your devices, not you.

Sure, at least for now it's easy to disable snap. Unlike apple ubuntu can't force you to run things. Apple's got a locked down bootloader that checks the signatures of what is run, so they have in a very real sense control of the hardware, which Ubuntu lacks.

Re: Your Computer Isn't Yours

#260

Post by aembleton »

andysch wrote: post #147

Speaking of Little Snitch, I suggest you look at 'iodé', an android phone with similar features built-in the OS.As far as I know this is the only true firewall on android

Another option is to set the DNS of your Android phone to use one provided by https://nextdns.io/

Then you can allow or deny domains or apply blocklists.

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