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Uninstall the NightOwl app

robins.one

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Re: Uninstall the NightOwl app

#42

Post by hank_z »

If anyone is looking for an alternative, I have been using my script below for two years without any issue.

--edit--

I do not know how to format code here.

--edit--

Another attempt to format code here.

# Step 1 Save script below to your local drive. For example, `/Users/xxxx/Documents/Scripts/DarkMode/darkModeWatcher.sh`

  #!/bin/zsh
  # ref: https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/526097
  # start time is 18:33 -> 18 * 60 * 60 + 33 * 60 = 66780
  # end time is 07:33 -> 07 * 60 * 60 + 33 * 60 = 27180
  # install gdate via `brew install gdate`
  
  if [[ $(uname -m) == 'arm64' ]]; then
      secsSinceMidnight=$(( $(/opt/homebrew/bin/gdate +%s) - $(/opt/homebrew/bin/gdate -d '00:00:00' +%s) ))
  else
      secsSinceMidnight=$(( $(/usr/local/bin/gdate +%s) - $(/usr/local/bin/gdate -d '00:00:00' +%s) ))
  fi
  
  if [[ $secsSinceMidnight -lt 27180 || $secsSinceMidnight -gt 66780 ]]; then
      # turn on dark mode
      osascript -e 'tell app "System Events" to tell appearance preferences to set dark mode to true'
  else
      # turn off dark mode
      osascript -e 'tell app "System Events" to tell appearance preferences to set dark mode to false'
  fi
# Step 2 run `crontab -e` and add script below

  # cron job for enabling macOS dark mode periodically
  # darkModeWatcher script is executed 60s after reboot. After that, it is executed at 35 mins of each hour if the display is not asleep.
  # replace xxxx with your username
  @reboot sleep 60 && /bin/zsh /Users/xxxx/Documents/Scripts/DarkMode/darkModeWatcher.sh >> /Users/xxxx/Library/Logs/systemDarkModeWatcher.log 2>&1
  35 */1 * * * if [[ -n "$(/usr/sbin/system_profiler SPDisplaysDataType | /usr/bin/grep 'Asleep')" ]]; then newDisplayStatus=0; else newDisplayStatus=1; fi && if [[ $newDisplayStatus == 1 ]]; then /bin/zsh /Users/xxxx/Documents/Scripts/DarkMode/darkModeWatcher.sh >> /Users/xxxx/Library/Logs/systemDarkModeWatcher.log 2>&1 ; fi

Re: Uninstall the NightOwl app

#43

Post by dspillett »

> The application … makes a lot of connections to [site], a website that sells tickets to live music events

This is a common use for residential proxies. Ticket touts buy use of the infected users to make requests to try beat restrictions on access from data-centre hosts or high-volume access from and other hosts, to increase their charge of getting valuable tickets for later resale.

A number of backdoored (by the creator, by someone cracking into their source repositories, or in this case by buy-out) free browser extensions, VPN apps, and such, turn the user's machines into a proxy like this.

Re: Uninstall the NightOwl app

#45

Post by Maarius »

frizlab wrote: post #19

I did a small Automator action that just switches dark mode on my computer, and I activate it with the cmd-alt-shift-P hotkey; it’s truly convenient and there’s no need for a third-party :)

You can also use BetterTouchTool for that. I have CTRL-OPTION-CMD-M set up on macOS :)

Re: Uninstall the NightOwl app

#47

Post by laurent123456 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #8

I hate silent takeovers so much. Chrome developer extensions are another very popular thing for bad actors to buy out and replace with malware, and it sucks.

That's the problem with free apps. Very few people want to donate, no decent company is interested in buying the app and making it profitable, so all that's left are the worst kind of companies who buy these extensions and apps to exploit the users.

All these free apps have value but unfortunately it doesn't translate to any income for the developer so they find other ways.

Re: Uninstall the NightOwl app

#50

Post by sublinear »

runlaszlorun wrote: post #31
crazygringo wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, usually I associate super-shady things with hiding the fact that they're super-shady. I'm thankful, but also genuinely curious, why they put this explicitly in their TOS. It just kind of seems to be like the kind of person/org who would implement this shady stuff in the first place, would also actively hide that they're doing it. Is there a legal reason that protects NightOwl by explicitly putting it in the TOS?…

I’m no lawyer but my guess is that the bar is so low for what’s actually legal- and no one generally reads these EULA’s- that it’s easier just to have it in there.

The bar is intentionally low "for what's actually legal".

You really don't want the government interfering with the implementation details and business models of software products. That's a really bad road to go down.

The problem is really a lack of inspiration for both the dev and user. In this case someone made a trivial tool and didn't know how else to monetize it than being a scumbag and exploiting social norms and good will. The user also decided to use something that's dumb and not worth risking making any agreement with any entity at all.

Situations like this are where free software excels. Things that are inconsequential in premise should stay that way in practice.

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