Best of Privacy — September 2024

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    All Proton Drive apps are now open source

    Proton has announced that all Proton Drive apps, including desktop versions, are now fully open source. This move highlights Proton's commitment to privacy and transparency, allowing the community and security experts to inspect and verify the apps' security. Open-source code helps in identifying potential vulnerabilities and strengthens user trust. Proton also supports various open-source projects and encourages community involvement through initiatives like their Bug Bounty Program.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    Open source content collaboration platform

    Nextcloud Hub is an open-source content collaboration platform that integrates files, chat, groupware, and office functions. It offers scalable, customizable solutions for on-premises or cloud environments, ensuring no data leaks to third parties. Trusted by thousands of organizations worldwide, it supports productivity, control, and privacy while providing compliance with regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. With features like self-hosted file storage, on-premises conferencing, and an AI assistant, Nextcloud is designed to enhance team communication and operational efficiency.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    Freika/dawarich: Self-hosted alternative to Google Location History (Google Maps Timeline)

    Dawarich is a self-hosted web application designed to replace Google Timeline for tracking and visualizing your location history. It allows the import of data from Google Maps Timeline, Owntracks, Strava, GPX files, and photo EXIF data, displaying it on a map and generating statistics. The application supports location tracking via the Owntracks and Overland apps and operates using a simple `docker-compose up` command. It offers customizable settings and features such as heatmaps and reverse geocoding.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    Microsoft's 'Recall' feature can't be uninstalled after all

    Windows 11 users will not be able to uninstall Microsoft's 'Recall' feature despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise. Recall, a feature that takes constant screenshots for easy retrieval of past activities, was listed as removable due to a bug. Microsoft confirmed it will correct this in an upcoming update. The feature has faced criticism for its potential cybersecurity risks and is being investigated for privacy violations. Initially set for a June release, it has now been postponed to October for Windows Insiders testing.

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    Video
    Avatar of mentaloutlawMental Outlaw·2y

    Google is Running Out of Storage

    Google is facing storage capacity issues, leading to the deletion of inactive Gmail accounts to free up space. This trend reflects the unsustainable nature of free services as tech companies struggle with reduced ad revenue due to ad blockers and a saturated data market. Other companies like Amazon and Snapchat are also implementing cost-saving measures, signaling a shift away from free services on the internet.

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    Article
    Avatar of tcTechCrunch·2y

    How to make your own encrypted VPN server in 15 minutes

    Using a paid VPN service can compromise your privacy as they may log and store your internet activity. Instead, creating your own VPN server with tools like Tailscale or WireGuard ensures greater control over your data. This guide explains how to set up your own encrypted VPN server using spare hardware, a Raspberry Pi, or cloud services for secure browsing from anywhere.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    AI engineering requires no academia or ML – just problem-solving

    AI engineering doesn't require academia or machine learning expertise. Tejas Kumar, an AI DevRel Engineer at DataStax, emphasizes that it involves applying AI to solve problems, often through AI API requests. Key techniques include fine-tuning transfer learning and optimizing model architecture to reduce costs. To mitigate AI hallucinations, Kumar recommends Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and to ensure privacy, running models locally using tools like LLVM or llama.cpp. More insights will be shared at the Shift Conference in Zadar.

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    Article
    Avatar of hnHacker News·2y

    Visual Studio Code is designed to fracture

    This post delves into the intentional design of Visual Studio Code that leads to ecosystem fragmentation. It highlights the issues with Microsoft's data collection practices and explores the legal risks associated with using non-official distributions like VSCodium and OpenVSCodeServer. The post argues that Microsoft's approach to transitioning into a services company has significant implications for the future of software development tools, making it difficult for competitors to offer similar services without legal complications.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    Orbit by Mozilla

    Orbit is a Firefox add-on by Mozilla that uses AI to summarize emails, documents, articles, and videos while maintaining user privacy. It doesn’t require account creation or save session data. Orbit provides quick summaries, allows customization of summary length and format, and works across various websites including Gmail, Wikipedia, NY Times, and YouTube. It utilizes the Mistral 7B LLM hosted on Mozilla’s GCP instance and does not store or share user data.

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    Article
    Avatar of hackingarticlesinHacking Articles·2y

    OSINT : User Privacy in Linux

    Linux telemetry involves collecting and sending data from a Linux-based system to external servers for monitoring, diagnostics, analytics, or performance improvements. The process may pose privacy risks. This guide highlights the steps to enhance security and privacy in Ubuntu, including removing telemetry-related packages, adjusting settings, and using various privacy-focused tools like BleachBit, KeePassXC, and Tor Browser.

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    Article
    Avatar of droidcondroidcon·2y

    Building Real-Time Audio/Video Apps with Flutter and WebRTC

    This post discusses the use of Flutter in combination with WebRTC to build real-time audio and video applications. It also touches upon cookie usage for improving user experience and managing website traffic.

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    Article
    Avatar of alternativetoAlternativeTo·2y

    Proton open sources all Proton Drive apps to enhance transparency and privacy

    Proton has open sourced all its Proton Drive apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android to enhance transparency and privacy. This move allows users to verify the functionality and data handling of the apps. It also facilitates collaboration with the security community to identify and resolve vulnerabilities. Proton supports other open-source projects through initiatives like the Lifetime Account Charity Fundraiser.

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    Article
    Avatar of alternativetoAlternativeTo·2y

    Cap v0.3.0 released with video editing, a new screenshots feature & quick sharing settings

    Cap v0.3.0 introduces video editing, a new feature for taking and sharing desktop screenshots, and a quick sharing option for generating shareable links. The update includes a modern UI redesign and a local-first approach for improved privacy and performance. Future additions will include Cap AI for automatic video descriptions and additional sharing features.

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    Article
    Avatar of communityCommunity Picks·2y

    Instant folder sharing • EchoDuck

    EchoDuck allows you to instantly share folders as a static web server without any installations, uploads, or tracking. Files are stored on your device, and access is granted through a customizable public URL. The service uses SSL encryption and password protection to ensure data privacy. There's no file size limit, and the service is ideal for sharing large files or static websites. The setup involves opening a browser tab and granting read-only access to a folder, with no need to install additional software.

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