#store files securely online

[buyoldgmailaccounts456]

Buy Old Gmail Accounts

[yourlocalbreadenthusiast]

Kindly take a break from scrolling to read this, it's important.

Take your time to grieve and come to terms with the election results, but once you've done that, it's time to get to work. We have two months. And a lot to do in that time. We have to prepare, to be ready.

Be careful about what you post or say online. Anything potentially incriminating should be avoided. Threatening language, even if clearly a joke, can be used against you.

Know someone who's trans? Someone who's had an abortion? Someone who's LGBTQIA+? Someone who's an immigrant? Someone who attends protests? Someone who's disabled? Someone who might in any way be at risk due to laws being put into place? No you don't.

Move away from social media platforms and browsers that require you to use your real identity or input a large amount of personal information. Now's a good time to find alternate means of communicating online. Tails, Element, Tor, Mastodon, Firefox, and Lemmy are all decent options.

Find a community. Someone you can talk to, either online or in real life, that you'll have reliable contact with. We need to try and create a network, but one that's as anonymous as possible.

Start scrubbing your trail as much as possible. Get rid of old accounts that can still be traced to you but are no longer used, delete personal data off the internet. There are websites out there that will freely remove your data from the internet, but be careful about which one you use, make sure it's safe and legitimate first.

Change any usernames that you can that contain any personal information. Names, birthdays, anything.

Plan B has a four year shelf life. Stock up, but don't take more than you you'll need. We don't want a COVID repeat where everyone buys an excessive amount of things and leaves none for everybody else.

There are doctors that will sterilize you, if that's the way you want to go.

Stop using online period trackers right now. Delete all data from it if possible first, then delete the app itself. If you must, write it down, but in a subtle manner and on something you keep at home. Don't label it, just put the dates. If you're really worried, discard older records and only keep the most recent few, and label the dates as other random events, like "go to mall" or "chicken salad for dinner this night"

Get your vaccines now.

Save money.

Archive. We have to start collecting records, media, data, books, and articles now. On racism, on fascism, on homophobia, on gender, on self-reliance, on survival, on safe travels routes, on equality, on justice, on anything that may be useful and/or censored soon. We can't let them erase it.

Collect those online resources. Bookmark them, copy files into your storage, Screenshot pages. Create a decentralized library where everyone is working to be part of a whole, storing what they can individually and sharing it between one another. Again, be careful about doing this.

Second-hand bookstores are your best friend. Books are usually very cheap in them, and they often have a decent stock. See what you can find.

When buying ANYTHING I have mentioned above, or anything else that maybe put you in danger, try to use cash to reduce your spending trail.

Check your car information online, many newer models can be remotely tracked.

Turn your phone completely off if you may be at risk due to your location and current activities. Turning off your GPS also helps.

Take note of where you are. Who are your friends? Who's a safe person? Where can you go besides your own home that you know you'll be safe? Establish these connections now.

Who around you is not safe? Who and where do you need to avoid? Do you need to move? If you cannot afford moving but need to, there are fundraisers that can help you. If even that is not an option, at least try to make sure your home is secure. Have someone who can help you. Have a fallback safe place.

And finally, I want anyone with resources to put them in the replies. Flood it with useful links, information, tips, anything. We're in this together. Do not panic. Organize.

EDIT: Please be civil in the replies.

[ready-resist-rebuild]

U.S. RESIDENTS PLEASE READ

For those living in the United States who are unhappy with the state of the country and who wish to protect themselves, protect others, or those who wish to fight back, this message is for you. Below you will find a link to a Proton Drive containing a folder called Tipr Complete. In it are valuable resources regarding health, safety, rights, building national resilience, and more.

Each file is sorted into sub-folders, and a full list of source links for each document is provided in a text file to make it easier to access the information online if you wish. There is also a text file to assist with getting started as well as an index to help you navigate. This is a work in progress, so you can expect updates in the future.

As there is increasing concern over potential censorship, it is recommended to download these resources, either from the Proton Drive directly or by going to the original sources. This will help ensure the information is still accessible in the future. Please consider sharing this information and this post as much as you can so that it may reach those who need it most.

Thank you, and good luck.

[stellophiliac]

you should make a website!

"my favorite social media site is shutting down!"

"the CEO of the site i use just committed another atrocity!"

"i want a webspace that's all my own!"

if any of these sound like you (and if you're on tumblr, i know at least one applies) you should make your own website!

why make a website?

incredibly customizable

you can put whatever you want on it

it's, well, your own! like a house you build with your own hands

things you'll need

a computer. you can maybe get away with doing this on a mobile device, but i have zero experience there

a code editor. i like VScodium, which is a de-microsoft-ed version of VScode.

a will to learn ;)

site hosting

neocities. everyone knows neocities. at this point i do feel like it's become a bit too centralized, but it's a good option nonetheless. do note that there are filetype restrictions for free users, but that shouldn't be a huge issue for most. what may be an issue, though, is that there's a content security policy that prevents sites made after jan 1st, 2024 to use outside scripts. also, you have to pay to use your own domain

nekoweb. similar to neocities, but there's no filetype restrictions or a content security policy. some differences are outlined in the FAQ (thinking about moving here... i am a traitor...) i'm not sure if domain support is free or paid.

github pages or codeberg pages. you'll need an understanding of git for this

pages.gay: run by besties.house, uses git

teacake: free hosting is currently closed, but paid hosting starts at 2 bucks a month.

leprd.space: i know next to nothing about this.

a web server. don't recommend this if you don't know computer stuff but it is an option (you'll likely have to provide your own domain though)

gripes & solutions (?)

i'm not comfortable maintaining pages in pure HTML / templating with JS sucks!

with a static site generator, you can write pages in markdown and they'll be converted into HTML and (if you'd like) be put into a template of your choosing. my personal choice is 11ty but there are tons of options!

static site generators can be a bit of a learning curve (and you will have to write some html for templating) but if you're making a lot of pages or blogging regularly it's something to consider

there are starters for 11ty online but i might make a more beginner-proofed starter and/or guide in the future? don't count on it

i don't want to write/maintain CSS

simpleCSS is a tiny CSS file you can use to make semantic HTML ("naked" HTML) look nice. it's got decent customization options too. it's not particularly fancy or opinionated, but it's a good starting point if you need something

i don't know what to put on my website!

small list of ideas:

weblog

art/writing/music gallery

movie/show/book tracker

place to store bookmarks/links

scary! i'm scared!

my askbox/messages/e-mail inbox/etc. are open to anyone who'd like to ask for help!

[mariacallous]

When the claims representative, whom I’ll call Steven, sat down at his computer around 7:15 A.M. last week, he had already been awake for an hour and a half. The morning routine for him and his family is best described as “fend for yourself,” he said. That day, he waited for his older son to shower before taking his turn; neither he nor his wife had time for breakfast. He had joined the Social Security Administration two decades ago, and came to specialize in one of its more complex and lesser-known functions: providing a form of welfare called Supplemental Security Income, or S.S.I., to people who are disabled or extremely poor. But the S.S.A. is so understaffed that Steven does a bit of everything. “My job is to be kind of like an octopus,” he said. The agency’s administrative budget had not kept up with its rising workload as more people aged into retirement. Now news outlets were reporting that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, via Musk’s DOGE outfit, planned to fire up to half of the agency’s sixty-thousand-odd employees. (The S.S.A. later said that its goal was to lose seven thousand.) DOGE had also gained access to S.S.A. databases. “We don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Steven said. “Some people are really pissed. Others are sad and emotional. Others are making plans.” A couple days earlier, Trump had delivered a long self-congratulatory speech to Congress, in which he accused the S.S.A. of “shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud.”

Steven lives in a Midwestern town near where he was born and raised, which means that he occasionally recognizes a relative or a family friend in a case file and has to recuse himself. Three days a week, he’s at a cubicle in a regional field office, one of twelve hundred across the U.S. The other two days, he works from home, at a plastic folding table in the corner of his bedroom. He was on the early shift. His laptop was propped up on a neon-green bin, the kind typically used to store Legos or crayons. It was flanked by two large monitors, creating a triptych. All around him were piles of kids’ clothes and books. Near his left foot was a tiny metal car; he had taped yellow notecards reading “clock,” “fan,” and “shelf” to a clock, fan, and shelf for the benefit of his youngest child, who was learning to read. Steven’s wife made drop-offs at kindergarten and day care, then came home. She has her own office setup downstairs.

The day officially started when Steven logged on to a dozen software programs. One had a blocky monochrome interface that looked like it was from the late nineties. Another was labelled “Workload Action Center,” in a light-brown, slanted font of a similar vintage. Steven kept a list of his passwords, which he had to routinely update, on a scrap of paper next to his keyboard. He scanned something called a “Tickle List” that highlighted urgent cases. His primary task was to conduct nonmedical “redetermination” interviews (code: “RZ”)—part of the S.S.A.’s process for insuring that current recipients are still eligible to receive benefits. More than seven million Americans of all ages count on S.S.I., and sixty-eight million seniors receive earned retirement payments. Social Security is the largest government program in the country and most recipients’ main source of income. It was envisioned by Frances Perkins during the Great Depression. “Redeterminations are the highest priority,” Steven said. “We should have three to five people on them at every office. Sometimes there’s only one.”

He put on a wireless headset that connected to his laptop and an online phone system. The first redetermination call was with a parent who was receiving S.S.I. on behalf of a disabled child. “Hi, this is Steven, from Social Security Administration,” he said. “I’m just calling to see if you’re able to do the redetermination appointment.” His stomach growled. The bottom-right corner of his center screen flickered with notifications. He stayed with the caller. Date of birth? Marriages? Job placements? He clicked “yes” and “no” bubbles and typed in numbers. He had much of the script memorized. “Any items held for potential value?” he asked. “Promissory notes, real property or business property, or ABLE accounts?” S.S.I. is allocated based on an applicant’s income, assets, family size, and other factors. It often takes a year, and the help of a lawyer, to get a decision. (Earlier in Steven’s career, the time frame had been three to six months.) If an application is rejected, the case can be appealed to an administrative-law judge, and the wait for those hearings is around two years.

“That was the last amount verified,” Steven continued. “Has that changed?” While waiting for the program to advance to the next screen, he glanced at e-mails on his rightmost monitor. There were more from headquarters and human resources and the employees’ union than usual. Since November, three S.S.A. commissioners or acting commissioners had come and gone: Martin O’Malley, Carolyn W. Colvin, and Michelle King. The guy in charge now was Leland Dudek, whom Trump had elevated from a middle-management role for his eagerness to help DOGE access S.S.A. files, a vast library of individual medical, housing, family, and financial records. Dudek announced plans to eliminate six out of ten regional headquarters; several directors left the agency. In an all-staff e-mail, Dudek wrote:

Criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness are the four forces that can end any relationship and weaken any institution. . . .

Elections have consequences. . . .

Now, under President Trump, we follow established precedent: we serve at the pleasure and direction of the President. Only the Courts or Congress can intervene.

The latest e-mail from headquarters stated that, “effective today,” employees were prohibited from engaging in “Internet browsing” of “general news” or “sports” on “government-furnished equipment.”

Steven was almost done with the redetermination. Hard cases, like an overpayment that needed to be clawed back, could “make the conversation longer, vulgar.” This one was easy; the payments, of around a thousand dollars per month, would continue. “You will receive a summary statement regarding the information that we discussed,” he said. He moved on to a second call. This one, too, involved a young adult whose caretaker—in this case, a nonprofit organization—was the payee. “Hello. This is Steven from Social Security. How are you?” His cellphone buzzed. Since Trump’s reëlection, he had been in a prolific, darkly humorous group chat with fellow S.S.A. workers in the Midwest. He referred to them as his sisters and brothers. The incoming message was a link to a news story about the imminent closure of S.S.A. field offices in the area. One man in the chat, who voted Republican but had grown skeptical of Trump, wrote, “Fucking unbelievable. . . . This would devastate our agency’s ability to serve the public.”

Meanwhile, the redetermination call was getting tricky. A new source of income seemed to be complicating the calculation of resources. Steven put the nonprofit on hold and logged into Equifax. He walked across the room to grab a plastic bottle of water and took a swig. “I’m trying really not to go off the deep end,” he said. If his office closed, and the neighboring offices closed, many people would have no way of getting benefits. For one thing, applications for Social Security cards and certain forms of S.S.I. had to be submitted in person.

Steven worried about his own well-being, too. His kids were on his health insurance. He and his wife had to take care of his father. S.S.A.’s human-resources division had sent an e-mail titled “Organizational Restructuring—Availability of Voluntary Reassignment, Early Out Retirement, and Separation Incentive Payments to ALL ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES—No Component or Position Exceptions,” which seemed to pressure workers to leave. “A lot of this stuff is intentionally degrading,” Steven said. “They’re trying to do whatever they can to get people to resign.” Recently, he and other field-office staff were told that their jobs were safe because they were “mission critical.” That was reassuring, but only “a little bit.”

When the Equifax search proved inconclusive, Steven told the nonprofit, “I’ll have to put this on the back burner for a bit until I can get some info.” All three of his screens were noisy. In Microsoft Teams, a supervisor was asking for updates on specific cases. Another window showed the names of people waiting in the lobby of the field office, in real time. He stared at a name in the queue. “This one, I’ve been playing phone tag with her,” Steven said. He opened a chat to alert a colleague at the office.

The work is surprisingly personal. A Social Security file contains a lot of intimate information. From a quick glance, Steven can tell where a recipient was born, what language they speak, whether they’d been involved in the child-welfare system, if they are married, whether that marriage had ended as a result of divorce or death. He has some colleagues whose “attitudes suck to high heaven,” caused by a mix of stress and a suspicion of the poor. “I love helping people,” he said. “You’re the first contact for them.”

Next, Steven had to get “on the phones.” Fielding random calls on the S.S.A. hotline isn’t technically part of his job, but he didn’t question the assignment. For several weeks, everyone had been required to help out. “Good morning. Social Security. This is Steven,” he said. “What is your Social Security number, please? All right, starting with your name and date of birth . . .” He wrapped up his first few calls rather quickly. He sent out a missing tax document, scheduled a father for an in-person appointment to get a Social Security card for his baby, and confirmed bank information for a recipient’s direct deposit. A fourth call, involving a lost check, was more complicated. He rubbed his forehead with his thumbs and forefingers.

Steven later received two mass e-mails. The first reminded all S.S.A. employees to send their “mandatory weekly assignment”—the “What Did You Do Last Week” e-mail, with five bullet points summarizing what they had worked on—directly to the government’s Office of Personnel Management, not to anyone in their actual agency. The second one was yet another plea for workers to quit or take early retirement. It warned that some who opted to remain in “non-mission critical positions” might be reassigned to S.S.A. call centers. No definition of “non-mission critical” was offered.

“I just keep wondering, How long can I be doing this?” Steven said. Many years before Trump and DOGE, there was a period when he could not sleep. “The job would cause me to wake up in the middle of the night,” he said. “You know how your brain can’t shut stuff off, or you’re just dreading going in the next day?” He was troubled by certain cases—a girl who had been abused in foster care, only to end up with a grandmother who stole her S.S.I. checks. He was also haunted by the need to reach case quotas, never explicitly stated but often implied. “Cutting corners happens in this industry, when representatives are trying to just get something off their list,” he said. “So then it’s like, ‘I got that done.’ But did you really help the person?” His latest sources of worry were a news article in which O’Malley, the former S.S.A. commissioner, predicted “system collapse and an interruption of benefits” within “thirty to ninety days” and an affidavit by a former agency official that described DOGE’s violation of privacy protocols and the likelihood of “critical errors that could upend SSA systems.”

Steven has never been a zealot for anything except his favorite football team, but now he believes that he and his co-workers are part of an “underground movement” to prevent the destruction of Social Security. Trump and Musk, and more conventional Republicans, talk obsessively about rooting out fraud at the S.S.A. Mistakes and overpayments do occur, but the agency’s inspector general recently found that less than one per cent of benefits distributed between 2015 and 2022 were improper. Steven believes that mass layoffs will result in vulnerable Americans not getting the money they’re entitled to. “We service people at their best and worst times,” he said. “People heading into retirement, surviving spouses, widows, widowers. It used to be we’d get complaints from the public. We’d start off a call by apologizing. ‘We’re understaffed!’ ” Now, he went on, “people are apologizing to us.” ♦

[andmaybegayer]

can you actually talk about bitwarden / password managers, or direct me to a post about them? Idk my (completely uneducated) instinct says that trusting one application with all your passwords is about as bad as having the same password for everything, but clearly that isn’t the case.

So it is true that online password managers present a big juicy target, and if you have very stringent security requirements you'd be better off with an offline password manager that is not exposed to attack.

However, for most people the alternative is "reusing the same password/closely related password patterns for everything", the risk that one random site gets compromised is much higher than the risk that a highly security focussed password provider gets compromised.

Which is not to say it can't happen, LastPass gets hacked alarmingly often, but most online password managers do their due diligence. I am more willing to stash my passwords with 1Password or Bitwarden or Dashlane than I am to go through the rigamarole of self-managing an array of unique passwords across multiple devices.

Bitwarden and other password managers try to store only an encrypted copy of your password vault, and they take steps to ensure you never ever send them your decryption key. When you want a password, you ask them for your vault, you decrypt it with your key, and now you have a local decrypted copy without ever sending your key to anyone. If you make changes, you make them locally and send back an encrypted updated vault.

As a result, someone who hacks Bitwarden should in the absolute worst case get a pile of encrypted vaults, but without each individuals' decryption key those vaults are useless. They'd still have to go around decrypting each vault one by one. Combining a good encryption algorithm, robust salting, and a decent key, you can easily get a vault to "taking the full lifetime of the universe" levels on security against modern cryptographic attacks.

Now there can be issues with this. Auto-fill can be attacked if you go onto a malicious website, poorly coded managers can leak information or accidentally include logging of passwords when they shouldn't, and obviously you don't know that 1Password isn't backdoored by the CIA/Mossad/Vatican. If these are concerns then you shouldn't trust online password managers, and you should use something where you remain in control of your vault and only ever manually handle your password.

Bitwarden is open source and fairly regularly audited, so you can be somewhat assured that they're not compromised. If you are worried about that, you can use something like KeePassXC/GNU Pass/Himitsu/ (which all hand you the vault file and it's your job to keep track of it and keep it safe) or use clever cryptographic methods (like instead of storing a password you use a secret key to encrypt and hash a reproducible code and use that as your password, e.g. my netflix password could be hash(crypt("netflixkalium", MySecretKey)), I know a few people who use that method.

Now with any luck because Apple is pushing for passkeys (which is just a nice name for a family of cryptographic verification systems that includes FIDO2/Webauthn) we can slowly move away from the nightmare that is passwords altogether with some kind of user friendly public key based verification, but it'll be a few years before that takes off. Seriously the real issue with a password is that with normal implementations every time you want to use it you have to send your ultra secret password over the internet to the verifying party.

[lydskisses]

💕 PROXY / PO - Love and Deepspace 恋与深空 x Sweets Paradise Collaboration 💕

I’m heading down to the Collab on Oct 26 (First Week of Sendai Opening) with a few friends. Some important things to note:

➡️ If items go out of stock in-stores, I will automatically purchase them from the online PO instead.

➡️ There are 2 prices - one for instock, one for PO. PO price is higher due to added shipping fees being accounted for. For convenience, all payments will be based on PO price. Any excess payments (if instock is secured) will go to shipping fee (from me to you) or refunded.

➡️ There will be no in-store purchase bonuses. These will be put up for purchase on my shop at a later time.

➡️ All prices are in Singapore dollar. Mailing to you will be calculated separately when the items arrive. PayPal and Wise are accepted for international buyers.

✅ DM to Order:

ETA: Late Nov 2024 (For instocks), TBC (For preorders)

Payment Deadline: 24 October 2024

🌟 (INSTOCK PRICE / PREORDER PRICE)🌟

🌟 Non-Random Merch

- Individual Acrylic Stand (SGD$21.90 / SGD$23.90)

- Individual Hairclip (SGD$14 / SGD$16.30)

- Individual Clear File (SGD$8 / SGD$11)

🌟 Random Merch

➡️ All blind packs, unless you request otherwise, will be opened to facilitate distributing.

➡️ Characters are not guaranteed for random merch. For this event only, I will refund if your character is not avail. Orders are FCFS.

➡️ To avoid too many of the same characters on my order list, I will balance the numbers in my order. Hence, may limit /reopen orders for various characters.

➡️ For badges, I will sell them as a 2-pc character set only. If only one of the badges is available (standard/chibi), I will refund for the other.

- Random Polaroid (SGD$6 / SGD$7)

Sylus ❌❌❌✅ (pause)

Raf ❌✅✅✅

Zayne ❌✅✅✅

Xavier ✅✅✅✅

- Random 2-pc Can Badge Set (SGD$18.50 / SGD$20.70)

Sylus ❌❌✅✅ (pause)

Raf ❌❌✅✅

Zayne ❌❌❌✅ (pause)

Xavier ❌❌✅✅

- Random Acrylic Keyholder (SGD$11 / SGD$12.10)

Sylus ❌✅✅✅

Raf ❌✅✅✅

Zayne ❌❌✅✅

Xavier ❌❌❌✅ (pause)

- Random Coaster (Random! Non-Refundable)

SGD$10/ea (based on drink price. All paper items will go to you)

#loveanddeepspace #ladsmerch #sylus #rafayel #恋与深空 #黎深 #秦彻 #祁煜 #沈星回 #zayne #otome #otomemerch

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Body Shop Canada will close nearly a third of its stores and end online sales as it seeks creditor protection, the Canadian subsidiary of the U.K. beauty and cosmetics shop announced Friday.

A court filing showed the company owes more than $3.3 million to unsecured creditors and about $16,400 to secured creditors.

The company did not say how many workers would lose their jobs as a result of the store closures in cities including Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Saint John.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[whiskeydickclaws]

I have nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, against stealing from large big box companies, but I do have three main complaints about all the positivity and encouragement I'm seeing circulated all the time.

Please remember that you can always get caught. No one is perfect, and being caught will result in actual, criminal charges. These charges can ruin your fucking life. Colleges can expel you, jobs can fire you without notice, and it can keep you from getting future jobs. You can even be denied for loans or credit cards. And don't forget, if you're a POC, they WILL throw the book at you. The "justice" system always comes down harder on non-white people, queer people, and non-xtians. You will face high fines, probation under unfair and expensive restrictions and conditions. And you may even face heavy jail time. Be aware of these dangers. Not only that, but as someone who's worked with and in asset protection, a lot of stores do know you're stealing. They're keeping a tally. Stores like WalMart purposely wait until they have proof you stole over a certain monetary limit so that they can press higher charges over you. From misdemeanor to burglary charges in my home state, often. This allows them to then sue you for damages and not only get their money back, but more, including court costs and the cost of the hours/employee wages that were used to follow and document your crimes. Never assume you've gotten away scott-free just because you got out of the store. Don't make a habit of stealing from the exact same location regularly. Small, infrequent hits.

Mom and Pop stores are NOT big box stores. They are often barely making ends meet in this current economy. Don't steal from small businesses, period. Don't file charge-backs on artists, don't fuck over sex workers, don't fuck with that small convenience store run by a single family. Shoplifting is moral and good- against large corporations and evil ass megabrands.

DO NOT POST YOUR SCORES ONLINE. JFC. I have seen so many posts of "theft hauls" and "look what I stole" posts. These can literally and will be used against you in court. It is not unheard of for police to track social media posts back to their owners and proceed with charges from there. In fact, it's even used by the IRS to audit families that flash a lot of cash or goods they aren't claiming in their taxes. If you're committing a crime, shut the fuck up. Don't state things outright online. Don't take pics of your stolen goods. Don't brag about the security holes in the stores you're robbing.

[dertaglichedan]

US discount retailer begins epic 'going out of business' sales as it prepares to close all locations

Big Lots is beginning 'going out of business' sales at all its stores across the US, as it prepares to close its remaining locations. 

The discount retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, and has already shut hundreds of stores nationwide. 

In a press release Thursday, the company said it would begin the sales at its 963 remaining locations, after a sale to a private equity firm fell through. 

More than 400 Big Lots stores have already closed this year, marking a 30 percent decrease in its footprint. 

In an email to employees shared with Nexstar, president and CEO Bruce Thorn said that the pending store closures could 'be reversed if we successfully complete a sale.'

He added that Big Lots is continuing its efforts to secure an alternative deal with the private equity firm Nexus Capital Management, or with another party.

'In the meantime, we will continue to serve our customers both in-store and online,' he continued. 

He added that a reduction in the workforce would be necessary, however, and layoffs would begin in January, KTLA reported. 

[tinkertechy]

I need to Scream about ChromeOS

It's been a long week and this is something I can rant about without doxxing myself too much.

So I teach kids about computers. And before anyone says 'But they're the technology generation, they know all about it!' remember that you didn't know how to drive a car before you were 16, and cars have been around for over a century. But I digress.

You know why Kids don't know anything about computers? Because we've set them up with the *worst possible computer* to learn about computers on: Chromebooks. Yeah, yeah pandemic and learning form home and all that, but this started well before the pandemic; Shutdowns just exacerbated it.

Chromebooks are designed to be simple. But they're *designed to be simple*. I want to teach kids how to read a file system? Google Drive is all they got. Want to teach kids how to check computer specs and how well their computer is currently running? Nope-you *might* be able to check the RAM if you're lucky. Diagnose how much space is left on your storage? Good luck; Drive doesn't even show how much space they have left. Compare and Contrast different applications for a particular use? It's the Chrome Store or nothing. The entire environment is designed to be a glorified web browser. You never leave the Chrome environment.

There's no native apps on the Chromebooks because they have all the memory and internal storage of a 6 year old with ADHD. Everything has to be through a web browser, and since most of my students are elementary age they can't really make accounts for most stuff without their native school account which, guess what? is through Google. The whole system is designed to be as simple to use with as few buttons as possible. Which, as a teacher managing hundreds of kids, is helpful to a point. But it holds the kids back just as much. When something goes wrong, it's so simple that you feel like an idiot for not being able to figure out what went wrong. There's no room for troubleshooting or critical thinking here.

Oh, and by the way the entire OS is designed at a basic level to be readable by kids who *know how to read*. Teaching the lowest levels how to log in, click on a link for TypingClub or read basic instructions can be grueling. Google Classroom is optimal for middle school and maybe 9th grade and that's about it. They use touchscreens for everything, so it's hard to get them to learn to use a mouse in the first place. (It's also aesthetically ugly, but that's my personal opinion)

There also seems to be fewer resources or standards for teaching about computers; my state's standards are very comprehensive from a programming or analysis standpoint, less so from a 'they should be able to type X words per minute' or 'be able to format a report' or 'write an email with neutral tone' or 'be able to move a file from Google Drive to a flash drive,' stuff that Every student should know how to do. Stuff that most adults take for granted because they were either taught or grew up in an age where everyone had to figure it out for themselves because there were no teachers yet.

And, while this is a more niche one because I don't know how most schools operate, Chromebooks just add to the student's load. They haul them back and forth to EVERY class and were 'supposed to replace textbooks', yet somehow they still have a mountain of textbooks they haul around in a wheeled backpack because *there's so many books they can't use a normal one*. I helped a student lift their bag the other day and it must have weighed 20 lbs! (Definitely more than the car battery I had to haul home from the store, but that's another story.)

I have accounts for kids that can't even spell their own last name yet, let alone know how to type. It's hard to teach about computer security when half the school needs to have a sticker with the username and passwords for up to 4(!!!) different online accounts for various programs. And kids will share that information anyway because they don't think anything major of it yet, and half the time it's not hard to figure out.

(This isn't even getting into side tools and peripherals to teach kids about computers. Anything you want/find is niche and will be extremely expensive)

So how would I fix this? (Because I don't like to rant about something when I can't offer a solution.)

Get them on actual computers and not glorified web browsers.

Assess whether or not Chromebooks are helping students in the classroom or just creating more work. Their primary use should be in the event of a shutdown or virtual school day to allow all students to work from home regardless of personal computers.

Build an Operating System/UI that's designed to grow with the student: Kindergarten and 1st grade are primarily picture based, larger cursor, as little clicking as possible to get to activities. More options and standardized UI appear as the student grows until high school where it's a normal system.

Actual Standards. Not just 'this is a monitor' (Most of my students didn't know this) and 'Here's how to program a thing' (Which is fun, but can be advanced) but 'How to save my work' 'How to write an e-mail' and 'what is a file type?' A minimum typing speed should also be required.

Keyboards designed to teach how to type. Colored keys, letters in a font that match the typing program, maybe a bit bigger than a normal keyboard. And to wrap it up, some fun quotes from my students: "That's not a Computer, that's a PC!"

"That's a TV!" (It's a monitor)

"You're doing a writing challenge? Why don't you just use AI?"

"Ms. Teacher, (That's exactly what they call me) I found a weird thing!" (It was their Drive.)

"Why did you paint all those?" (I pass a hard drive around so kids can see it. They all sniff the yellow paint I sprayed it with last week.)

"I wanna play the ice cream game." (There is no Ice Cream game. They just want to play random internet games)

(Students sign out by turning off the computer)

(A student looks up a minecraft video on YT because he wasn't paying attention when I gave out instructions and thought I wouldn't notice.)

Next rant: The double standards of 'forbidding the use of AI' for students while using it behind the scenes for teachers.

[ailelie]

So Why Linux?

If you've followed my "Adventures in Linux" tag at all then you know I am a technical layperson. I use my personal computer primarily to write and browse the Internet.

So why am I switching to Linux? A taskbar.

Let me explain.

In Windows 11 right now, you cannot move your taskbar from the bottom of the screen to the left side. You can move the icons in the taskbar, but if you want to go vertical, you're out of luck.

This has irritated more than just me, especially because you could in Windows 10, 7, and etc. Microsoft chose to remove functionality.

If you search online, you'll see plenty of posts in forums and on reddit asking about this missing feature. If you want a vertical taskbar, you have to download an additional program. (StartAllBack is what I got; it isn't free).

Microsoft seems uninterested in adding this functionality back.

To me, this suggests that they have an idea or vision for how users interact with their computers, as if a right and wrong way exist. Individuals don't matter; only the vision (and sometimes the majority) do.

It isn't just a taskbar.

When you open Windows 11 (Home) for the very first time and try to install Firefox, you may find that you can't (at least you couldn't when I reluctantly upgraded). The application simply isn't trusted enough to be in their app/software store, which is the only place from which you can install new programs.

If this happens to you, you're likely in S mode. Getting out of S mode is a very non-intuitive process. I'm sure plenty of people don't bother.

Microsoft uses S mode, which they claim is for security, to limit options and further define how people interact with their computer and the Internet.

It isn't just S mode.

I used to use Microsoft 365. When my computer bricked last year, 365 was a godsend because I, foolishly, did not have my documents backed up anywhere else. I did not mind paying each year for cloud storage and the Office Suite.

Then I learned that the price was jumping and all because of Copilot, a feature I wish did not exist. A "classic" version with limited AI was available, but likely only for a year.

The offer of a limited time "classic" subscription felt like a sop to irritated users who did not want to pay more for an unnecessary (unethical, environmentally unsound) "feature." A temporary placation until the noise died down and Microsoft could kill Classic quietly.

All in all, I felt like Microsoft had decided that Windows was their program that I, as a user, was simply lucky and blessed to be able to use and therefore should be grateful to use it as they dictated rather than as I wanted.

I'm not a power user. I'm not in the tech industry. My coding experience is limited to when I played with Python a decade ago and Choicescript, which I use to write my interactive fiction.

But, I have preferences. I like my taskbar to be vertical and aligned to the left of my screen.

I do not think it is that large an ask to want a computer that works how I want it to work, that lets me interact with my files and the Internet the way I want to rather than the way some far-off company decides I have to.

So that's why Linux. Yeah, it is harder to set up at times, but not as hard as some posts and articles make it seem.

I'm sharing my experiences with it to hopefully make someone else's switch easier.

Ultimately, it is just an operating system. I'm sure there's a lot I don't understand or am not appreciating, but, aside from some very minor hiccups, it works.

It works and lets me do what I want; what more could I want?

[mariacallous]

TikTok’s day of reckoning in the US has arrived. On Friday, the United States Supreme Court will hear the company’s appeal against its slated nationwide ban, which could come into force in a little more than a week if the company’s efforts fail.

The social video app, which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and is used by around 170 million Americans, has been appealing the ban since US president Joe Biden signed the law underpinning it last year. The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) states that ByteDance must sell TikTok’s US business to a non-Chinese company by January 19—no buyer has yet been found—or see the app blocked in the US. Donald Trump, who retakes the White House on January 20, publicly originated the idea that ByteDance be forced to sell TikTok during his first presidential term but has since reversed course.

The Supreme Court, which is hearing the case quickly due to the impending deadline and following a federal court upholding the ban in December, will determine whether the US Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech is overruled by the government’s belief that TikTok is a threat to US national security. Proponents of PAFACA claim TikTok’s Chinese ownership could allow China to steal data on Americans and spread disinformation—although little evidence has been presented to support those claims, which the company denies.

If the court allows the ban to go ahead—and Trump doesn’t find a way to stop it—the move will be an unprecedented technological clampdown in the country.

“This is the first time we’ve seen a national-level ban that appears imminent in the United States,” says Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a distinguished technologist at the Internet Society. TikTok has been banned or faces lawsuits in other countries, such as India, and the pressures come against the backdrop of total internet shutdowns and increased online censorship. “What we learned from all of those is that this ends up really hurting the people of the country, that the economic effects are immediate for people,” Hall says.

So, how would TikTok actually be banned?

App Stores, Hosting Providers

Unpicking TikTok from the nation’s consciousness—thousands of influencers and businesses use the app to make money and promote themselves—is not exactly straightforward. Nor is it simple to untangle the company from US-based internet infrastructure.

PAFACA doesn’t require anyone to uninstall TikTok from their phones. It also doesn’t say TikTok should directly stop its services from working in the US. Instead, it effectively tries to throttle TikTok by making it harder to use over time and by stopping companies from providing services that help it to keep working and quickly loading videos.

TikTok, as with all companies mentioned in this story, did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment and hasn’t, at this stage, outlined what technical steps it will or will not take if the ban does eventually come into place.

The law says it will be “unlawful” for entities to “distribute, maintain or update” the app including its source code, or by “providing services” that allow it to keep running as it is now. This distribution, maintenance, or updates could be, the law says, by means of mobile app stores that can be accessed in the US or by “providing internet hosting services.”

“The law really deliberately avoided saying that it was illegal to have the app on your phone,” says Milton Mueller, a professor and cofounder of the Internet Governance Project at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in opposition of the ban. “Their attempt is to say nobody new can download it from the Apple or Google stores, and nobody who has it can update it through those stores,” Mueller says. “There’s nothing in the law that says ‘TikTok you must block US users,’ which is again interesting.”

If TikTok is removed from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in the US, it will not be possible to directly install new updates that will add new features, fix bugs within the code, or quash security flaws. Over time, that means TikTok will stop functioning properly. Apple didn’t respond to WIRED’s request for comment, while Google declined to comment on what it will do if the law comes into effect.

The law’s other focus is on stopping “hosting” companies from providing services to TikTok—and the definition is pretty wide. Hosting companies “may include file hosting, domain name server hosting, cloud hosting, and virtual private server hosting,” the law says. Since the summer of 2022, as TikTok faced pressure about its Chinese ownership, the company has hosted US user data within Oracle’s cloud services. Oracle also did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

Even so, other systems such as content delivery networks, advertising networks, payment providers, and more are used as part of TikTok’s infrastructure. The law does not specifically mention these services, but differing legal readings could make them question whether they help to “maintain” or “distribute” TikTok’s fully functioning service.

Hall says a recent test of TikTok’s website showed 185 embedded domains on the page. “They pull in code, content from that array of third-party providers and their own domains too,” he says. “The apps will start to decay and rot as either services stop working, things like content distribution networks or services who feel like they can't take the risks of the ambiguous nature of the language or the potential enforcement by the incoming administration.”

There’s one internet infrastructure player that the ban does not specifically put pressure on: internet service providers. Countries such as Russia and China have developed censorship measures that allow them to block entire websites from being accessed through web bowsers. Mueller believes this omission by US lawmakers was likely deliberate, as it avoids setting up a Chinese-style internet firewall. “They knew that a system of ISP-based blocking and filtering would obviously be a form of First Amendment restriction,” he says.

Avoiding a TikTok Ban

While TikTok’s service in the US would likely degrade over time, there remain some potential ways around any ban—both for individuals and potentially also the company itself. How effective these measures would be likely depends on how motivated people are to keep using TikTok and what the company decides to do.

“TikTok has 170 million users,” says Alan Rozenshtein, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota, who is in favor of the law but says it is the “best of a bunch of bad options” relating to TikTok. “This law will not prevent every one of them from accessing TikTok. I don’t think that was ever the goal of the law. The law is to make it meaningfully harder to access TikTok.”

Theoretically, at least, TikTok could shift its services providers—such as hosting companies or content delivery networks—to be based outside of the United States. Using technical infrastructure based abroad, for instance in Europe, could allow TikTok to be served to people in the US while operating within the bounds of the law.

While skirting the full-blown ban would allow people in the US to continue to use the app, that doesn’t mean the experience will be good. If videos are served from international locations, for example, load times may be slower for users, and it may be harder to upload videos. Using TikTok’s website isn’t the same experience as what the app provides, either. And that all depends on such a setup being possible at all.

“I do think that the number of companies that can do that, that are not headquartered in the US, is going to be small, especially considering how hard it is to switch from one cloud provider to another,” Hall says. “It’s really difficult depending on a number of factors.” Aside from technical challenges, international companies may not be willing to risk flying in the face of US restrictions, particularly under an aggressive Trump administration that has already threatened Greenland and economic penalties on other countries.

A TikTok ban would almost guarantee a spike in searches and downloads of virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow people to appear as if they are in a different geographic location to get around restrictions on content—for instance, trying to watch Netflix while abroad. Using a VPN within the US may allow the TikTok app to keep working, although it is unclear whether the company will place any restrictions on users it can determine are in the US by other means. The company’s support pages say SIM card registration details and other information can be used to pinpoint someone’s location.

Alternatively, it is likely Android users could download versions of TikTok outside of Google’s Play Store and install them on their devices. However, sideloading like this can come with security risks if the apps are not verified, and doing the same on an iPhone, via jailbreaking the device, is more technically complex.

Equally, moves such as changing locations of app stores to be outside of the US may come with unforeseen consequences and prove harder to maintain for general users in the long term. For instance, if you are changing an iCloud account’s location, Apple advises that you may need to cancel subscriptions and have a valid payment method for the location you are changing it to.

Prateek Waghre, a technology policy researcher based in India, where TikTok has been banned for four years and, despite an influx of some homegrown competitors, largely saw people move to Instagram Reels or YouTube’s Shorts, says overall restrictions on apps and websites weakens people’s experiences online and damages the internet as a whole.

“For many of us, [it is] the realization of one of our fears of a ‘splinternet,’” Waghre says. “You will have different kinds of access based on different geography, which is not what the experience of the internet was.”

[notetaeker]

found out today that google is full of sh!t PLS PROTECT YOURSELVES

my account got hacked, the hacker changed all my recovery details and now has access to my google drive files, my emails, any photos in google photos, and also the login info to so many websites that use google and there is NO way to get anything back or at least delete the acct.

You would think that google, as a company offering to store and handle so much info and FILES in particular and also passwords and login infos for other websites would have some kind of support for this but no they don't even have a single customer service phone number or any way of recovering anything. I searched around online for solutions but the internet is FILLED with THOUSANDS of ppl with the same concern for YEARS who lost their files, lost their connected youtube accts with thousands of subscribers. I lost access to my yahoo acct too but they had a customer service phone number (paid) but at least they verified my identity and helped me to get access back and secured my account. PSA: DO NOT RELY ON GOOGLE TO SAVE ANYTHING FOR YOU. BACK UP YOUR OWN STUFF ELSEWHERE. If anything goes wrong there is literally 0 recourse - google offers absolutely 0 support:

My only wish now is to be able to at least delete the account so they don't have access to all my info anymore but there is literally no place to go for that so I just have to be okay knowing some evil people indefinitely have 10+ years worth of my private info (emails, files, photos)

PLS learn from my mistake and use this opportunity unentangle yourself from google. They literally. have no recourse if anything goes wrong. It's not like it's impossible: Yahoo literally asked me for my state ID and location to give me access back to my account.

[fictional-seviper]

For those who haven't been paying attention to the Switch modding scene lately, I wanted to point out the existence of two new products:

MIG Switch cart: Stores Switch ROMs on its micro SD card to play on official hardware

MIG Switch dumper: Backs up physical Switch cartridges to a computer in a file format useable with the MIG Switch cart

What's the problem?

It's important to know about these new items for a couple reasons. First, they might be of interest to anyone with a large, physical Switch collection to back up games without installing custom firmware to a Switch. Second, they have the potential to make buying used Switch games a lot riskier.

With the MIG Switch being the first reproduction Switch cartridge with a ton of public attention, there's a good likelihood someone will reuse the tech to develop similar cartridges for single games. If that happens, the used Switch game market is likely to become similar to the used DS game market, where listings have to be read carefully to avoid knockoffs and low prices could be a bad sign.

Even if reproduction carts never get made, there's also the issue of how the MIG Switch cart works. To function with official hardware, the cartridge requires an extra key from a dumped cartridge to bypass the security of card slot. Each key is unique to an individual cartridge. If one console goes online with the MIG Switch using that key while another console goes online with the original game, there's a good chance the accounts on both consoles will get banned. Unfortunately, this means that if someone bought a game, dumped it with the dumper, and resold it. They're only one simultaneous internet connection away from getting their buyer banned.

We still have some time before we find out if either of these potential problems will take place. However, I've been on more than a few message boards and seen more than a few people claiming that they at least intend to buy, dump, and resell games.

What can you do?

All of this is fairly problematic, and (truthfully) now that both the cartridge and dumper are in folks' hands, it's a matter of when someone will experience an issue not if.

That's why knowledge is import in this situation. If you're someone looking for official cartridges or to avoid potential resells, you have three options at the moment:

Buy new. New games from reputable stores won't have had the chance to be messed with and will undoubtedly be the real deal.

Read listings closely. If a price online from a secondhand retailer seems too good to be true, you'll want to triple check the listing's details and provided images.

Scrutinize the cartridges. Official Switch cartridges have a very specific look, feel, taste, and quality to them. If you buy a cartridge that looks even slightly "off," there's no harm in returning it.

Ultimately, it comes down to all of us being attentive shoppers and pointing out any listings or resellers that might be problematic.

[topwebhostingservice]

How Server Location Impacts Your Website

Choosing the right web hosting service is critical to the success of any online presence. Among the various factors to consider, server location stands out as a key element. Server Location refers to the geographic location of the data centre where your website’s files and data are stored. While it might seem like a technical detail, its influence on website speed, performance, and user satisfaction cannot be overstated.

Website Speed and Latency

The closer the server is to your website visitors, the lower the latency or delay in data transfer. For instance, if your server is located in Europe but your target audience is in Asia, the physical distance can cause delays in loading time. Faster websites not only create a better user experience but also encourage visitors to stay longer. Research shows that users are more likely to leave a site if it takes more than a few seconds to load, making server proximity critical for reducing bounce rates.

Boosting SEO Performance

Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in driving organic traffic to your website. Server location directly affects page load speed, which is a crucial ranking factor for search engines like Google. Additionally, if your website is targeting a specific region, having a server in that region can enhance its visibility in local search results. This geotargeting benefit can give your site a competitive edge in regional markets.

Enhancing User Experience

Modern internet users expect instant results when browsing websites. A server closer to your target audience ensures they can quickly access content, stream videos, or complete transactions without delays. A smooth user experience not only improves customer satisfaction but also increases the likelihood of conversions, whether it’s a sale, a subscription, or another desired action.

Meeting Legal and Compliance Requirements

Different regions have distinct laws and regulations regarding data storage and privacy. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union mandates strict control over the storage and processing of personal data. Hosting your website on a server in a compliant region helps you meet these legal requirements. This ensures your business avoids fines or legal complications while building trust with your users.

Data Security and Reliability

Server location also influences the security of your website. Data centers in certain regions are better equipped to handle threats, including cyberattacks and natural disasters. Locations with advanced cybersecurity infrastructure and disaster recovery systems provide an added layer of protection, ensuring your website remains operational even in adverse conditions.

Global Reach with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

If your website targets a global audience, relying on a single server may not be sufficient. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can help bridge the gap by distributing copies of your website across multiple servers worldwide. This ensures faster delivery of content to users regardless of their location. CDNs optimize the user experience and help businesses scale efficiently.

Conclusion

The server location in web hosting is a fundamental factor that impacts the speed, accessibility, and reliability of your website. It influences user experience, search engine rankings, data security, and legal compliance. When choosing a web hosting service, prioritize server locations that align with your target audience and business goals. By making an informed decision, you can ensure a faster, safer, and more successful online presence for your website.