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#4489034 - 09/11/19 01:24 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Draw.io is a free Flowchart and diagram creation software for Windows, Linux, macOS and your browser


by Ashwin on September 07, 2019 in Software
...

Cross-platform availability and web-app (no registration required)

Draw.io is a cross-platform application which is available as an offline client for Windows, Linux, macOS, ChromeOS, as an add-on for Google Docs, Google Slides, as a stand-alone web-app, or integrates directly with your Dropbox, GitHubm GitLab Google Drive, OneDrive, Office 365 account.

You can use Draw.io to export the flowcharts in several formats including PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, VSDX, HTML, XML. You can even use the URL option to create a shareable link that you can send to your friends/colleagues. You don't need to register for an account or login to any service for this (or for using the web-app). You can optionally allow other users to edit the created flowchart.

Did I mention that Draw.io is open source?
...


Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4489410 - 09/13/19 06:55 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Link to helpful post I made about which Linux to choose and short briefing, links. See:

re-twilight-zone-and-gremilns

Cheers! and may the FOSS-Force be with you wink

#4490229 - 09/22/19 06:48 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Haven, Guardian Project, F-Droid

3 names you 'need to know' for your spyphone..

Haven app for Android

Basically you can use your phone for an adhoc alarm system with motion, vibration sensors, etc.

Quote

The following sensors are monitored for measurable change, and then recorded to an event log on the device:

Accelerometer: Motion and vibration of phone
Camera: Motion in the phone’s visible surroundings from front or back camera
Microphone: Noises in the environment
Light: Change in light from ambient light sensor
Power: Detect device being unplugged or power loss/shutdown



In other words with a properly set phone no one can sneak up on you. Or wherever you place your phone. And if they do - someone - or you at a remote location - will know about it. Even if it turns out badly.. (but let's now not be morbid, but 'fore-warned is fore-armed.'

Originally Posted by Haven


[Linked Image]

Haven is for people who need a way to protect their personal spaces and possessions without compromising their own privacy. It is an Android application that leverages on-device sensors to provide monitoring and protection of physical spaces. Haven turns any Android phone into a motion, sound, vibration and light detector, watching for unexpected guests and unwanted intruders. We designed Haven for investigative journalists, human rights defenders, and people at risk of forced disappearance to create a new kind of herd immunity. By combining the array of sensors found in any smartphone, with the world’s most secure communications technologies, like Signal and Tor, Haven prevents the worst kind of people from silencing citizens without getting caught in the act.
Project Team

Haven was developed through a collaboration between Freedom of the Press Foundation and Guardian Project. Prototype funding was generously provided by FPF, and donations to support continuing work can be contributed through their site: https://freedom.press/donate-support-haven-open-source-project
Safety through Sensors

Haven only saves images and sound when triggered by motion or volume, and stores everything locally on the device. You can position the device’s camera to capture visible motion, or set your phone somewhere discreet to just listen for noises. Get secure notifications of intrusion events instantly, and access logs remotely or anytime later.

The following sensors are monitored for measurable change, and then recorded to an event log on the device:

Accelerometer: Motion and vibration of phone
Camera: Motion in the phone’s visible surroundings from front or back camera
Microphone: Noises in the environment
Light: Change in light from ambient light sensor
Power: Detect device being unplugged or power loss/shutdown

https://f-droid.org/packages/org.havenapp.main

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.havenapp.main


get it from F-Droid - or gogle -

The Guardian Project

The Guardian Project offers some very interesting and useful stuff.
Even scary. Its a scary world and they have many apps for your safephone, spyphone or just personal phone safety. Haven for one is a must-have!

Originally Posted by Guardian Project

While smartphones have been heralded as the coming of the next generation of communication and collaboration, they are a step backwards when it comes to personal security, anonymity and privacy.

Guardian Project creates easy to use secure apps, open-source software libraries, and customized solutions that can be used around the world by any person looking to protect their communications and personal data from unjust intrusion, interception and monitoring.

Whether your are an average person looking to affirm your rights or an activist, journalist or humanitarian organization looking to safeguard your work in this age of perilous global communication, we can help address the threats you face.




F-Droid

I really like F-Droid lately its got some decent apps.

Originally Posted by F-Droid

What is F-Droid?

F-Droid is an installable catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. The client makes it easy to browse, install, and keep track of updates on your device.


pick up a tor browser while you're there...



Attached Files hvn.png
Last edited by FsFOOT; 09/22/19 06:53 AM. Reason: added pic
#4490390 - 09/24/19 03:23 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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#4508049 - 02/21/20 07:13 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Originally Posted by Batocera.linux


batocera.linux is an operating system (like Windows 10 and Mac OS) specialized in retrogaming available for your pc and different nano computers like the Raspberry and the Odroids

On PC, it is available on a usb key and can boot without altering your existing hard drive. Note that you must own games you play in order to respect legality.



https://batocera.org

https://wiki.batocera.org/doku.php

https://distrowatch.com/batocera

#4514062 - 04/02/20 06:26 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Application security

Akamai will provide 60 days of free access to its Business Continuity Assistance Program, which includes it Enterprise Application Access solution. The program is designed to support remote workers and maintain business continuity.

Cloudflare is offering small businesses free seats to its zero-trust application protection service through September 1. The company will also throw in a 30-minute onboarding session with one of its experts.

Vectra is making its Cognito Detect for Microsoft 365 technology to detect Microsoft 365 account takeovers free through May 31, 2020.

Authentication

1Password is removing its 30-day free-trial limit on business accounts for its password management software. Companies can now use 1Password at no cost for six months to manage login credentials.
[ Prepare to become a Certified Information Security Systems Professional with this comprehensive online course from PluralSight. Now offering a 10-day free trial! ]

Dashlane is providing three months of its Dashlane Premium or Dashlane Business password management product for free to individuals or businesses who don't already have the service.

Okta will provide its Okta Identity Cloud service for free to new customers for six months, possibly longer if the situation warrants it. The service includes Okta Single Sign-On (SSO) and Okta Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for up to five applications.

Ping Identity is offering six months of free cloud-based SSO and MFA to companies that must support newly remote employees. Existing customers can receive six months of free MFA.

RSA is offering its RSA SecurID Access product for multi-factor authentication to new customers free for six months. Existing customers can take advantage of RSA's Business Continuity Option to expand the number of users on RSA SecurID Access without increasing their budget.

SecureAuth is offering its Intelligent Identity Cloud package, which includes MFA and single sign-on capabilities, for free until December 15, 2020.

Wultra has waived the first six months of its license fee on its Wultra Mobile Security authentication technologies for banking and fintech apps.

Email security

GreatHorn is offering 60 days of free access to its GreatHorn Email Security threat detection and remediation platform to organizations facing disruptions due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Encryption

Beachhead Solutions is offering free additional licenses to current managed service provider (MSP) customers of its SimplySecure service. This will allow them to support an increase in remote workers within their client bases. Beachhead offers cloud-managed PC and mobile device encryption, security and data access control. MSP customer must submit a request to support@beachheadsolutions.com and channelteam@beachheadsolutions.com with the number of licenses needed and for which clients.

PreVeil is offering its encrypted email and file-sharing solutions for free to critical infrastructure organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes federal, state and local governments and agencies; first reponders and crisis management teams, and healthcare non-profits.

Endpoint protection

AppGuard is offering its AppGuard Solo endpoint protection solution free of charge for the next 90 days to business that need to support more remote workers.

Baramundi Software has put together an Emergency UEM Package for IT Admins that's free for the duration of the crisis. It helps maintain endpoint security through patch management and vulnerability scans.

Crowdstrike is offering two ways to extend protection of company and employee-owned devices through May 16, 2020. Its Burst Licensing program allows customers to increase license counts at no cost, and Falcon Prevent for Home Use will allow new and existing customers to protect employees' devices for free.

Morphisec will provide free licenses for remote employees of its Unified Threat Prevention platform through June 1.

PC Matic is making its suite of enterprise endpoint protection and remote management tools available at no charge to Massachusetts-based companies implementing work-from-home policies. Those companies must have 10 or more remote workstations. The offer is valid through June 30, 2020, and includes onboarding and support services.

SentinelOne is offering free access to its endpoint protection and endpoint detection and response platform through May 16, 2020. The company will also provide remote deployment assistance.

Fraud protection

The Authoriti Network is making its Permission Code-based payments fraud protection service available at no cost to state and local governments.

Healthcare-specific offers

Adelia Risk is offering its HIPAA Mail free for 60 days for all new US clients. It provides HIPAA-compliant Google apps such as Gmail and Google Drive, encrypted email, and spam and phishing protection.

Awake Security is offering 60 days of free access to its network traffic analysis platform to hospitals and healthcare organizations to help identify ransomware and other cyber threats from slowing the COVID-19 response.

Bitdefender is offering up to 12 months of free enterprise protection of devices for all healthcare organizations.

Imprivata is making its Imprivata Confirm ID for Remote Access enterprise multi-factor authentication solution free for all users at healthcare organizations.

LuxSci is offering its secure email service for free for the next two months for companies that need to send HIPAA-compliant health/safety-related email. It will send up to 25,000 emails per month, and might extend the two-month window if the crisis continues.

TigerConnect will provide its secure healthcare communications platform free of charge to US-based health systems and hospitals to support COVID-19 related communications. New customers can get up to six months of the TigerConnect secure texting service, while existing customers can expand their TigerConnect Essentials licenses for up to six months.

Incident response

Varonis has formed a COVID-19 Cyber Task Force that provides, among other things, help with incident response. Varonis is also offering a free evaluation licenses of its Data Security Platform for an unspecified amount of time.

Network security

AppGate is offering a free 90-day Software-Defined Perimeter Pilot to companies implementing work-at-home initiatives.

Cisco Webex has expanded its free offerings to include security services for remote employees through July 1, 2020. Those services include Cisco Umbrella to protect users from malicious websites (now free for 90 days), Duo Security to verify users’ identities and establish device trust, and Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client to allow employees to work from anywhere. For the latter two, (existing customers can now exceed their user limit and new customers can get free access.

Fortinet is making its FortiClient VPN solution free of charge for secure remote access.

ZeroTier offers open-source SDKs and tools to set up software-defined networks that can support remote workers. There is no fee for most uses.

Remote access

Banyan Security is offering free usage of its Zero Trust Remote Access product for a limited time to new customers supporting remote workers.

BlackBerry is making its suite of secure communications products available for free for 60 days to companies transitioning employees to work remotely. This includes BlackBerry Desktop for remote access, BlackBerry Protect for endpoint protection, and SecuSUITE Government for secure messaging and calls.

Block Armour is making the trial version of its Zero Trust remote access solution fully functional rather than a sandbox. It's also waiving the ost of the Block Armour Secure Shield controller.

Ericom is offering a free 60-day license of its Ericom Connect product, which gives browser-based access to business applications, and Ericom Shield Zero Trust for up to 100 employees.

ManageEngine is making its remote access security tools freely available until July 1, 2020, to companies needing to support more remote workers.

Sumo Logic has bundled a number of data analytics tools help ensure the reliability and security of business applications free for 90 days. The Work-From-Home solution includes tools to support SSO, remote access, endpoint security, and productivity apps. It is also offering its Continuous Intelligence Platform free to all educational insititutions to help provide disruption-free online learning.

Remote management

Addigy is providing its device management platform for Apple devices free for 60 days to businesses, schools, and MSPs. The platform will allow organizations to remotely update security settings, software, and more.

Risk assessment

Illusive Networks is offering a free remote attack risk assessment to help identify vulnerabilities in networks reconfigured to support more remote workers.
Security awareness and training

Lucy Security has created a website with free videos, courses, checklists and guides to train work-at-home employees to identify phishing scams and other security threats.

The SANS Security Awareness division of the SANS Institute has created the Securely Working from Home deployment kit. The free kit packages public and paid training SANS resources and is designed to give security awareness staff a step-by-step guide on how to rapidly deploy a training program for remote staff.

Threat intelligence

King & Union, ThreatConnect, and D3i have formed a coalition to provide a collaboration platform and threat intelligence services free for an indefinite time to commercial and government organizations shifting to a remote workforce.

Web security

ImmuniWeb has added features from its paid product to its free community offering for web and mobile security testing. It is also offering free services and solutions to organizations that are migrating their workflows to the digital space and meet certain requirements.

Netsparker is providing free team licenses of its web vulnerability scanning tool to certain organizations including government entities, medical equipment providers, news producers, vaccine and medical research facilities, patient care organizations, hospitals, first responders, and food delivery.

Wireless protection

Minim will provide four months of its Minim for Remote Workers home security and managed WiFi platform for free to individuals and companies. Minim claims its platform will protect against router attacks, ransomware, network intrusions and other common malware.


check the quotedl page - has hyperlinks to the offerings

sourced the link via ARN - The voice of the Australian IT channel

Last edited by FsFOOT; 04/03/20 07:40 AM. Reason: quoted page has hyperlinks - but its a chore to add urls to quoted page so i neglect
#4514278 - 04/03/20 08:12 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Keepass database and Owdrive - Still a good solution to store encrypted password files, etc.

Quote


Where and How to get a safe encrypted solution for file storage online particularly to store for example critical data, web passwords etc. so you can access anytime in a jam and "Sync" to other devices.

First let me say I use Linux Mint Operating system.
For making my own encrypted data file I use the free progrm KeypassX
https://www.keepassx.org/
It is basically the alternative for Keepass, which is practically an industry standard many people use.
There are tons of download versions / alternatives posted at this url for Keepass, KeepassX, etc. :
http://keepass.info/download.html

Many Linux Distros include it also as available in repositories.

Now to store the data file or files I use a free online storage solution:
https://owndrive.com/

Owndrive is the same technology as Owncloud. But is not Owncloud it is a private host.
There re free as well as paid options. I use the free options now for almost ayear with no problems ever.
It uses uses an Owncloud client available from the site.

It has both a web interface as well as sync client for both Windows, MAC, Linux as well as smartphones Apple IOS and Android.
https://owndrive.com/sync-clients/

All you do is set the Owncloud sync client to my.owndrive.com
its real easy.

The avantage of Owndrive is the Additional Web Interface. You can log in from the internet just like any web service and access you files anytime also.
Very useful if you either lose your device or not have it with you,. Or if you get stuck somewhere.
Also Owndrive is based in Norway as well as their servers.

Thus for example the US Patriot act cannot be used to subvert your legal rights to yur data, etc.
Note that I actually don't have anything to hide. Nor would I ever endorse any criminal activity. That is not the reason I am posting this.
I just am against such incursions which IMHO violate the spirit of the US Bill of rights that guaranteed the right of its citizens to be secure in their 'papers' and such.
And certainly every individual needs to know how to secure their data from crackers, criminals, enemy states, etc.

That said, note that by using the Keepass / KeepassX , etc. solution (properly that is - read and understand their information and what encryption is and does as well as what it does not do first before you do this!) you fully encrypt your data before you ever upload it.
Its a very good solution and frankly no one is ever going to be able to crack your data if you encrypt it reasonably using this method.
The strength of the data encrypt will be well enough safe or really safer than any financial institution uses. And frankly way less likely than them to ever be targeted.
And depending on your choice of what method you use as a keyfile or password in KeepassX (in other words your level of paranoia. Mine is fairly high but even so I don't even bother with using the most sophisticated method. As long as your passphrase is over 20+ characters mixed chars and numbers, etc. so forth it is enough. But that is up to you.
Also making multiple archives is safer than a single obviously.
If you have data that needs higher protection than this it shouldn't even be online frankly.

In other words you would be a military actor or mogul, or criminal etc.
In that case you hardly need my advise.. lol.

Cheers!
2017-9

Last edited by FsFOOT; 09/09/17 12:37 AM. Reason: fixed a link back.. nevermind the details..


re-tweet of my old post.

I've been using this same method for years now. Using KeepassX to store my passwords in a keepass version 2 database and be sure I can always access to vital password database, etc. and safely store it for all my devices. Especially for emergencies or even forgetfullness.. lol!

The caveat is the sync-client version available by default on Linux Mint 18 or 19 no longer works. I haven't tried the other versions but will soon.
I just use the webpage login and no problems.
Of course even if you don't use Owndrive or Owncloud a keepass database file is portable and easy to store.

There is newer keepass database version 4 (haven't tried it) and plenty of other software like authpass, etc. can open most keepass database versions also.

btw: if you're thinking of using a free owndrive account to store other types of backups - be aware the quota is only 1 GB storage free.

#4515762 - 04/11/20 06:02 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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FreeTube



FreeTube is an open source desktop YouTube player built with privacy in mind. Use YouTube without advertisements and prevent Google from tracking you with their cookies and JavaScript. Available for Windows, Mac & Linux thanks to Electron.

Please note that FreeTube is currently in Beta. While it should work well for most users, there are still bugs and missing features that need to be addressed.

Download FreeTube
Browser Extension

Download our browser extension so that you can click on videos in your browser and have them automatically open up in FreeTube.

Download for Firefox

Instructions for Google Chrome
How does it work?

FreeTube uses the Invidious API to grab and serve videos. Invidious scrapes the YouTube site which prevents the need for any official YouTube API. While YouTube can still see your video requests, it can no longer track you using cookies or JavaScript. Your subscriptions, history, and saved videos are stored locally on your computer and never sent out. Using a VPN or Tor is recommended to hide your IP while using FreeTube.
Screenshots

Features

Watch videos without ads
Use YouTube without Google tracking you using cookies and JavaScript
Tor / Proxy Support
Subscribe to channels without an account
Local subscriptions, history, and saved videos
Export & import subscriptions
Open videos from your browser directly into FreeTube (with extension)
Mini Player
Light / dark theme



In this guide, I’ll take you through How to Install and use FreeTube on Linux / macOS. FreeTube is an open source Desktop YouTube application that’s focused on privacy. FreeTube allows you to Watch your favorite YouTube videos without any normal ads you’ll get on browser applications like Firefox, Opera e.t.c.



Actually its in availble in Linux Mint Ubuntu etc, via software manager, flathub

Also works on Windows, Mac.

Note is an electron application, which more or less means bloated, but hey.. its free and no googoo!

I'm not sure i'm going to try it yet..
Also there is SmTube a frontend for Mplayer, Mplaver2 and mpv. I've used in the past. But still uses a browser.

#4516047 - 04/12/20 07:39 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Tips and Tools from www.EFF.org

"The leading nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation."






UPDATE 4/10: We have edited this post to add details about Zoom’s new security features and defaults.

Whether you are on Zoom because your employer or school requires it or you just downloaded it to stay in touch with friends and family, people have rushed to the video chat platform in the wake of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders—and journalists, researchers, and regulators have noticed its many security and privacy problems. Zoom has responded with a surprisingly good plan for next steps, but talk is cheap. Zoom will have to follow through on its security and privacy promises if it wants to regain users’ trust.

In the meantime, take these steps to harden your Zoom privacy settings and protect your meetings from “Zoombombing” trolls. The settings below are all separate, which means you don’t need to change them all, and you don’t need to change them in any particular order. Consider which settings make sense for you and the groups you communicate with, and do your best to make sure meeting organizers and participants are on the same page about settings and shared expectations.
Privacy Settings
Make Sure Chat Auto-Saving Is Off

In your Zoom account settings under In Meeting (Basic), make sure Auto saving chats is toggled off to the left.

The autosave chats setting toggled off to the left
Make Sure “Attention Tracking” Is Off

In your Zoom account settings under In Meeting (Advanced), make sure Attention tracking is toggled off to the left.

The attention tracking setting toggled off to the left
Use a Virtual Background

The space you’re in during a call can expose a lot of information about where you live, your habits, and your hobbies. If you’re uncomfortable having your living space in the background of your calls, set a virtual background. From the zoom.us menu in the top right corner of your screen while using Zoom, navigate to Preferences and then Virtual backgrounds.
Best Practices for Avoiding Trolls

With Zoom now more widely used than ever, the mechanics of its public meeting IDs have allowed bad actors to invade people’s meetings with harassment, slurs, and disturbing images. When you host a meeting, consider taking the steps below to protect yourself and your participants from this “Zoombombing.”

Bad actors can find your meeting in one of two ways: they can cycle through random meeting IDs until they find an active one, or they can take advantage of meeting links and invites that have been posted in public places, like Facebook groups, Twitter, or personal websites. So, protecting yourself boils down to controlling who can enter your meeting, and keeping your meeting IDs private.
Keep the Meeting ID Private

Whenever possible, do not post the link to your meeting or the meeting ID publicly. Send it directly to trusted people and groups instead.
Set a Meeting Password, and Carefully Inspect the Meeting Link

After Zoom's most recent update, meeting passwords are now on by default for free Basic and single licensed Pro accounts, as well as education accounts.

BEWARE, however, that Zoom passwords can behave in unexpected ways. If you use the “Copy Invitation” functionality to copy the meeting link and send it to your participants, that link might include your meeting password. Look out for an unusually long URL with a question mark in it, which indicates it includes your meeting password.

If you plan to send the meeting link directly to trusted participants, having the password included in the link will be no problem. But if you want to post the meeting link in a Facebook group, on Twitter, or in another public space, then it means the password itself will also be public. If you need to publicize your event online, consider posting only the meeting ID, and then separately sending the password to vetted participants shortly before the meeting begins.

To find the password settings, go to your Zoom account settings under Schedule Meeting. Make sure Require a password when scheduling new meetings is toggled on to the right. You’ll find additional password options in this area of the settings as well.

Several password settings toggled on to the right

You can also set a password when scheduling a meeting from the Zoom desktop app by checking the “Require meeting pass” checkbox.
Lock Down Screen Sharing

In your Zoom account settings under In Meeting (Basic), set Screen sharing to Host Only. That means that, when you are hosting a meeting, only you and no other meeting participants will be able to share their screen.

The screensharing setting set to host only

Depending on the calls you plan to host, you can also turn screen sharing off entirely by toggling it off to the left.
Use Waiting Rooms to Approve Participants

After Zoom's most recent update, waiting rooms are now enabled by default for free Basic and single licensed Pro accounts, as well as education accounts. A waiting room allows hosts to screen new participants before letting them join, which can help prevent disruptions or unexpected participants.

To find this setting, go to your Zoom account settings under In Meeting (Advanced). Make sure Waiting room is toggled on to the right.

The waiting room setting toggled on to the right
Lock the Meeting

When you are actively in a meeting and all your expected participants have arrived, you can "lock" the meeting to prevent anyone else from joining. Click Participants at the bottom of the Zoom window, and select Lock Meeting.
Use the Security Icon Options

Another way to access many of the settings described above is to use the Security icon that appears at the bottom of the screen when you are hosting a Zoom call. This button quickly takes you to settings like locking the meeting, enabling a waiting room, and restricting call participants’ ability to share their screens. Zoom’s announcement describes this feature in more detail.




What You Should Know About Online Tools During the COVID-19 Crisis
by Lindsay Oliver | March 19, 2020

A greater portion of the world’s work, organizing, and care-giving is moving onto digital platforms and tools that facilitate connection and productivity: video conferencing, messaging apps, healthcare and educational platforms, and more. It’s important to be aware of the ways these tools may impact your digital privacy and security during the COVID-19 crisis.

Here are a few things you should know in order to make informed decisions about what works best for you and your communities, and ways you can use security and privacy best practices to protect yourself and others.
Free Slacks

EFF has written a lot about Slack’s data retention issues when it comes to free versions of the software. With so many mutual aid networks and organizing groups coalescing on Slack to support our communities, it’s important that users are aware that the company retains their messages if they're using a free plan—and they can't automatically delete them. By default, Slack retains all the messages in a workspace or channel (including direct messages) for as long as the workspace exists.

If you are using a paid workspace, you can change how many messages are retained in Slack’s databases by setting shorter retention periods. If you’re using the free version though, that option is not available to you. Additionally, free workspace users only have the ability to search through the most recent 10,000 messages. And while users can’t see messages sent prior to the 10,000 message mark, they are still available to Slack, law enforcement, and any third-party hackers through a data breach. Leaking or sharing of this data could prove catastrophic, especially for groups who are working to provide aid and support for our most at-risk communities.
Zoom Conferencing

The best way to stave off the effects of isolation is to maintain contact with friends, family, and coworkers. Zoom has quickly become a popular option to work and keep in touch with others in the midst of social distancing and shelter-in-place protocols. There are a few things to keep in mind when using Zoom, particularly in instances where users are relying on the conferencing tool for their studies, or for work-related activities.
Attendee Attention-Tracking

The host of a Zoom call has the capacity to monitor the activities of attendees while screen-sharing. This functionality is available in Zoom version 4.0 and higher. If attendees of a meeting do not have the Zoom video window in focus during a call where the host is screen-sharing, after 30 seconds the host can see indicators next to each participant’s name indicating that the Zoom window is not active.
Administrators and User Tracking

Zoom allows administrators to see detailed views on how, when, and where users are using Zoom, with detailed dashboards in real-time of user activity. Zoom also provides a ranking system of users based on total number of meeting minutes. If a user records any calls via Zoom, administrators can access the contents of that recorded call, including video, audio, transcript, and chat files, as well as access to sharing, analytics, and cloud management privileges.

For any meeting that has occurred or is in-process, Zoom allows administrators to see the operating system, IP address, location data, and device information of each participant. This device information includes the type of machine (PC/Mac/Linux/mobile/etc), specs on the make/model of your peripheral audiovisual devices like cameras or speakers, and names for those devices (for example, the user-configurable names given to AirPods). Administrators also have the ability to join any call at any time on their organization’s instance of Zoom, without in-the-moment consent or warning for the attendees of the call.
Schools Moving to Online Learning

Surveillance shouldn’t be a prerequisite for getting an education. But even before more school districts started moving their classes and coursework to digital forums for purposes of social distancing, surveillance has become more and more common in schools. With the advent of COVID-19 and the associated uptick in distributed digital learning, the potential for this surveillance to ramp up is alarming.

This is true from kindergarten all the way through graduate school, though it is most prevalent and insidious in K-12 schools. School administrators are choosing to use tools and tactics that encroach on students’ privacy in ways that can break down trust amongst students and their peers, teachers, families, and administrators. Many K-12 schools offer or mandate the use of school-issued devices, and those devices come with pre-installed spyware that monitors all student activities and reports them to school administrators.

Many schools are already experimenting with mass surveillance technologies with no evidence, and no way for concerned parents and students to opt out. If your school is using or is considering using technologies like Bark, GoGuardian, Gaggle, Securly, or Social Sentinel, check out our guide to Privacy for Students. It covers many of the privacy and surveillance concerns that these technologies raise, with ways to minimize the data being tracked, risk mitigation strategies, and advocacy tactics.
Telehealth and Non-HIPAA Platforms

The HHS has altered HIPAA rules during the COVID-19 crisis, allowing health care providers to use applications such as FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, Skype, Zoom, etc so they are able to provide care to patients remotely:

During the COVID-19 national emergency, which also constitutes a nationwide public health emergency, covered health care providers subject to the HIPAA Rules may seek to communicate with patients, and provide telehealth services, through remote communications technologies. Some of these technologies, and the manner in which they are used by HIPAA covered health care providers, may not fully comply with the requirements of the HIPAA Rules.

If your healthcare provider is using an application or platform that is not covered under HIPAA, check with them on what safeguards they have in place to ensure your privacy is protected, and what their plans and timelines are for moving to platforms that do fall under HIPAA compliance.
Tools for Assessing Risk and Staying Safe Online

One of the best things you can do to keep yourself and others safe during this crisis is to learn how to minimize risk. Many of the problems presented in this post can be mitigated or circumvented with careful consideration of the risks, employing “privacy as a team sport” tactics, and minimizing the data that corporations, employers, and others can track. Our resource site, Surveillance Self-Defense, is full of practical tips, tools, how-to’s, and explainers for communicating safely online. Here’s a list of useful guides with concrete steps you can take to get started:

Evaluate and choose the tools you use to make sure they work for you.
Learn about best practices for communicating with others and incorporate them into your routines and tools.
Use a password manager to create strong passwords.
Ensure that you have two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA) enabled for as many accounts as possible.
Consider your needs and choose the VPN that’s right for you.

And lastly, remember—we’re all in this together. Take care of each other by safeguarding each others’ physical and digital health

#4516978 - 04/17/20 10:00 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Freedom and Security with Purism Librem One Mail, Chat, Social, mail, VPN Tunnel. Do I need 2 accounts? - Also FSF Online tools and more..

(by) David Seaward Director of Trustworthy Services at Purism

During lockdown I’ve been helping friends and neighbors get set up for remote work or just remote calls. If someone is in a bind they use what they have in front of them, or what they’ve been told to use, so it’s been an interesting step back into the world of disloyal devices and horrid software.

But even if your choices are limited, there is one basic step you can take to protect your privacy: create another account. Now is as good a time as any to say, “Oh yeah, I’ve got a new account now.”
Compartmentalization

Compartmentalization is a basic security technique. You make some boxes, say “Critical” and “Trivial”, you sort things into those boxes, and you treat the boxes with different degrees of care. You might already have a folder at home for financial statements or tax invoices. At the office, you might mark and store “Confidential” documents separately.
You did what now?

I discovered that a good number of people I know use the same primary email account to talk to their family, do their shopping, conduct job interviews, receive security links and make social posts. A few use the same account to access their employer’s servers or otherwise conduct business. A handful use ad-hoc compartmentalization tricks to sort messages and mail within the same account.

In the event of a breach, all their eggs are in one account. The unimportant eggs and the very important ones. Of course we all hope our account is never breached, and that each service provides layers of protection, but if we’re talking about a typical email account, that’s a lot of interesting unencrypted text to dig through.

Now I didn’t have time convince anyone to double-check authentication on all non-primary accounts, and also download, encrypt and upload their existing messages, but I did find a simple heuristic process to improve things:

Create a new primary account. This is your new public-facing compartment, for job interviews and other formal settings associated with your real name. I may be biased, ok I am biased, I’d suggest using Librem One.
Any time you sign up for a service in a formal setting, use your new account. If you already have service accounts like this, gradually switch them over, but don’t stress it.
Do not use the new address for shopping, social media, your current place of work or private communication.
Do assume that everything originating from your new account could appear in a very boring Wikipedia article based on “the public record”. Parking tickets, where you applied, where you interviewed, court cases, municipal correspondence, letters to the editor.

Disentangled

Most people require a formal, public-facing identity. Disentangle it from your cool apps, hobby accounts and social media.

If you’re already thinking about additional compartments (“Family”, “Finances”, “Social”, “Superhero alterego”), hold on a moment. Wait a month to see if you’re happy with account-based compartmentalization rather than biting off more than you can chew. Then add compartments one at a time, based on your needs, slowly phasing out all your old accounts.

You might have a good reason to pick a different starting point, again this is a needs-based judgment.
The third account

You probably already have a separate account from your employer to access work resources. Keep it that way. Only use your work account for the tasks you’re paid for, and if you’re doing work, use your employee account. Your colleagues in the IT/sysadmin department will thank you.
Bonus tip

If the thought of all this is already stressing you out, I have an overriding, two-for-one, bonus tip:

Start using a password manager.

It must clearly and boldly state that it uses end-to-end encryption. As well as storing your credentials (unique to every account, of course) it gives you an overview of all your accounts. This makes it easier to tackle maintenance in quick bursts.

In fact, if all you do after reading this post is set up a password manager, give yourself a reward on behalf of your future safety.
Further reading

This is just one thing you can do to improve your online security. If your interest is piqued, I can recommend the following ebooks:
Staying safe online

Good for kids and good for you. Covers the all basics quickly and clearly. Unfortunately all your options for getting it are DRM encumbered.
The Smart Girl’s Guide to Privacy: Practical Tips for Staying Safe Online


Originally Posted by Librem One by Purism

Tired of your digital life being exploited online?
Librem One is a growing bundle of ethical services


Get all the apps right now and join the gang:
All apps require username and account subscription

  • Librem Mail

    Easy to use end-to-end encrypted email used by nearly everybody already
  • Librem Chat

    No worries end-to-end encrypted chat, VoIP, and video calling used by millions of people
  • Librem Social

    Change to a safe, public social media with millions of people already active, that respects your digital rights
  • Librem Tunnel

    Toggle your connection to a secure VPN tunnel proven by millions of users


Purism is a Social Purpose Corporation (SPC), which means we put social good above exploiting people. Librem One is a growing bundle of services—chat, tunnel, email, social, and more—from Purism, SPC.

We believe that privacy and technology can be ethical and convenient. Librem One allows you to reclaim your privacy, securely communicate to your friends, and does so easily with your freedoms intact. We bundle all the tools together for you to replace the privacy invading, locked-in, exploitative big-tech services. Putting you in charge of your digital life.

We provide products and services based on values that society wants, that respect digital civil rights. Welcome to Librem One, socially responsible services from Purism.




the 2 free services: Librem Chat
No worries end-to-end encrypted chat, VoIP, and video calling used by millions of people

Librem Social
Change to a safe, public social media with millions of people already active, that respects your digital rights

Originally Posted by https://librem.one/faq/


Frequently asked questions

Can Librem One work on Android and iOS?
Yes it works and is available in Android Play Store and Apple App Store

Why do I need to pay?
We are changing the landscape of digital rights, which includes changing the business model from the previous exploitative zero-price for all-your-data, to a nominal-price to retain your digital rights, data, and privacy.

Can I get a free Librem One account?
Since not everybody can afford to pay, we do offer a free Librem One Basic account if you agree to strictly avoid products and services from big-tech that exploit you, lock you in, and control your data. If you agree to that, select the ‘FREE’ option for Librem One Basic: Social + Chat service, and you can get a free account as a gesture of gratitude from Purism, SPC.

Can I communicate to people on other services?
Yes! Librem One uses open standards, free software, and decentralized protocols for all our services; similar to email, you can communicate to anybody using the same protocols for chat, email, and social, this allows you to communicate across different domains.

How do I delete Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram and switch to Librem One?
Each of these services, all owned by Facebook, has a different set of steps for deletion. To delete your Facebook account, see the Facebook or WikiHow guide. To delete your Instagram account see the Instagram or WikiHow guide. To delete your Whatsapp account, see the WhatsApp or WikiHow guide. Then sign up here!

How do I delete Twitter and switch to Librem One?
See the Twitter or WikiHow guide to delete your account. Then sign up here!

How do I delete G+ and switch to Librem One?
Google Plus shut down on April 2nd 2019. You can still check the Google or WikiHow guide to make sure your account is gone. Then sign up here!

How do I delete Gmail and switch to Librem One?
To delete your Gmail account, see the Google or WikiHow guide. Then sign up here!

How can I get Librem One that is integrated into Librem laptops or the Librem 5 phone?
Currently you will install and setup the applications individually, in the future you will be able to just sign-up and then log-in during initial product setup and have all the services available by default.

Can I buy this for my friend or family?
Yes, you can buy an individual account or a Family Pack, and then download the bundle and have the persons sign-in using the account you created.

I live in a different country, can I buy and use Librem One?
Yes, we accept many forms of payment and even offer a free basic service, Librem One has no restrictions on geolocation or country, if your country has rules or regulations that limit service it is not due to Librem One restrictions.

Can legal requests from authorities see my data?
Public (Librem Social) is publicly visible to everybody. Private end-to-end encrypted data (chat, email, tunnel) is only visible to you and the intended recipient(s). If something is not Public and not Private, it is Temporary (unencrypted direct messages, unencrypted email) and is removed within 30 days. Any valid legal request for data is complied with.

How much mail can I store? How many images can I post?
Basic tier users have a 1 GiB storage quota across all services. Complete tier users have a 2 GiB quota. If you exceed your quota, your oldest messages/posts will be deleted, until you are within quota again.

Can I purchase additional storage?
Once Librem Files and Librem Backup are released, you will be able to opt-in to a pay-as-you-go storage plan.

How much traffic can go through my tunnel?
You can tunnel unlimited traffic from up to 10 devices.

How do I report illegal content?
Any illegal content or illegal acts should be reported to the appropriate authorities who are equipped to handle it.

But if you’re successful, won’t you become just like Big Tech and lock-me-in or spy-on-me?
No, we are a Social Purpose Corporation, which means we are bound by our articles of incorporation that clearly state we cannot exploit people and that we must put doing social good over maximizing profit.

Why can’t my username contain a dot, underscore, accents, non-roman letters or emoji?
Your username needs to be valid across multiple existing and future protocols and services. So we permit only the “lowest common denominator”.
Note that most clients let you set your “display name” to anything you want.

Why can’t I have a different username for Mail and Social?
You can do this with two accounts. For example, register basic@librem.one for chat and social posts, and register complete@librem.one for mail and tunnel services.
Multiple accounts also allow you to implement a separation of concerns. For example, you could have a business account, and a separate account when discussing a medical condition with your support network.
To protect your privacy, we do not store a mapping between accounts, except in the case of family packs where one user is financially responsible for multiple accounts.

Why doesn’t Librem Tunnel work?
Please confirm that you have subscribed to a Complete or Family Pack account. Then visit your profile page to activate your tunnel connection. Once you have done this your Librem Tunnel client will work.

Why doesn’t Librem Mail work?
Please confirm that you have subscribed to a Complete or Family Pack account.

Can I send and receive encrypted mail on my Apple device?
On the macOS desktop you can use Thunderbird to encrypt email with OpenPGP. Read the EFF’s how-to on PGP for macOS
There is no free software solution for OpenPGP on iOS today. You can still send and receive temporary messages from the Mail app.
With enough backers, we will build a solution! (See our stretch goals!)

What details do I need to set up Librem Mail in the iOS Mail app?
Follow the steps from Apple to Set up your email account manually with the following details:
Account type: IMAP
Host name: imap.librem.one
Outgoing mail server: smtp.librem.one

Why is configuring Librem Mail in the iOS Mail app so hard?
Librem Mail is a new email provider. Our server details are not yet recorded by Apple and unlike other clients, the Mail app doesn’t perform this lookup automatically.

Will you release your apps on F-Droid?
Yes! In the meantime, any app that speaks our open protocols will work. We recommend:
Riot for chat, Tusky for social and K-9 Mail for mail.

Where can I find other compatible apps, including desktop clients?
The following guides and lists will help:
Chat. See the Matrix Clients Matrix.
Mail. See the FSF’s Email Self-Defense guide. Send an encrypted email to Edward!
Social. See the Mastodon apps page.
Tunnel. See Liberty CLI our command-line tool with tunnel support. Contributions welcome!

Purism
3D renders are artist renderings, for illustration purposes. Images and specifications are subject to change depending on manufacturing requirements.
Unless otherwise noted, contents created by the Purism team on this website are copyleft with a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.


And more fsf online free stuff

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community...free-software-tools-for-staying-in-touch

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/how-to-livestream-a-conference-in-just-under-a-week

#4517295 - 04/20/20 07:09 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Ventoy
A New Bootable USB Solution


Ventoy: create bootable USB media that uses ISO images
by Martin Brinkmann on April 20, 2020 in Software - No comments

When you want to create a bootable USB device, you may use programs like Rufus for that or tools provided by the developers of operating systems. What these tools do, usually, is to extract an ISO image to the USB device and make the device bootable in the process.

Ventoy is a new software application for Linux and Windows that does things a bit differently. Instead of extracting an ISO image, it allows you to place the actual ISO images on the USB device so that you may boot from them directly. The program supports multiple ISO images that you can place on a USB device and uses GRUB as the boot manager.

You can transfer multiple ISO images to the device once the Ventoy structure has been created on the device using an installer. It is possible to place Windows and Linux images on the device to boot from them whenever the need arises. Updating of ISO images is a breeze as well as you simply replace an ISO image with another.
..

http://www.ventoy.net/index.html

- I haven't tried it but if it does what it says its very promising.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related booting live iso from disks - other methods;
for Linux you can boot iso of "Any distribution that ships with a Loopback.cfg" with SuperGrub2Disk and even from the HDD with this method; https://eawonlinux.neocities.org/eollinux-quicktut1.html Specifically it addresses how to use a bootable DVD (or CD) iso to install (from a second drive) when you have no DVD (or CD). Or it can just boot a live iso from the primary but you would NOT be able to install it - see the notes.

https://www.supergrubdisk.org/ - http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/SuperGRUB2Disk

also rEFInd , see: https://eawonlinux.neocities.org/eolrefind.html is a boot manager that can select any bootable iso (its something you would install replacing a Windows or Linux boot manager )

#4517716 - 04/23/20 06:13 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Zoom unveils a host of new privacy, security features

Troubled video conferencing platform upgrades encryption in Zoom 5.0
Charlotte Trueman

Looking to bounce back from a spate of recent security miss-steps, video conferencing platform Zoom has announced a variety of new privacy and security capabilities in Zoom 5.0, a key milestone in the vendor's recently launched 90-day security plan.

The primary difference between the current version of Zoom software and Zoom 5.0 is the addition of support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption; it’s designed to provide increased protection for meeting data and resistance to tampering. The new level of encryption will be available across Zoom Meeting, Zoom Video Webinar, and Zoom Phone.

The company pointed users to a download page for the updated software.

In a statement, the company said the system-wide account enablement will be in place within the next two months, once all accounts are enabled with GCM. Zoom 5.0 will also allow account administrators to decide which data center regions their account-hosted meetings and webinars use.
..


I checked the download url https://zoom.us/download but no version 5 is there yet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Apple moves to fix flaw affecting up to 500M iPhones

The bug, which also exists on iPads, was discovered by ZecOps
Reuters
Reuters (ARN) 23 April, 2020 09:16
Distributors

Ingram Micro Australia Sektor Synnex

Comments
Credit: Adam Patrick Murray / IDG

Apple is planning to fix a flaw that a security firm said may have left more than half a billion iPhones vulnerable to hackers.

The bug, which also exists on iPads, was discovered by ZecOps, a San Francisco-based mobile security forensics company, while it was investigating a sophisticated cyberattack against a client that took place in late 2019. Zuk Avraham, ZecOps' chief executive, said he found evidence the vulnerability was exploited in at least six cybersecurity break-ins.

An Apple spokesman acknowledged that a vulnerability exists in Apple’s software for email on iPhones and iPads, known as the Mail app, and that the company had developed a fix, which will be rolled out in a forthcoming update on millions of devices it has sold globally.

Apple declined to comment on Avraham’s research, which was published on Wednesday, that suggests the flaw could be triggered from afar and that it had already been exploited by hackers against high-profile users.

Avraham said he found evidence that a malicious program was taking advantage of the vulnerability in Apple’s iOS mobile operating system as far back as January 2018. He could not determine who the hackers were and Reuters was unable to independently verify his claim.

To execute the hack, Avraham said victims would be sent an apparently blank email message through the Mail app forcing a crash and reset. The crash opened the door for hackers to steal other data on the device, such as photos and contact details.

ZecOps claims the vulnerability allowed hackers to remotely steal data off iPhones even if they were running recent versions of iOS. By itself, the flaw could have given access to whatever the Mail app had access to, including confidential messages.

Avraham, a former Israeli Defense Force security researcher, said he suspected that the hacking technique was part of a chain of malicious programs, the rest undiscovered, which could have given an attacker full remote access. Apple declined to comment on that prospect.

ZecOps found the Mail app hacking technique was used against a client last year. Avraham described the targeted client as a “Fortune 500 North American technology company,” but declined to name it. They also found evidence of related attacks against employees of five other companies in Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

Avraham based most of his conclusions on data from “crash reports,” which are generated when programs fail in mid-task on a device. He was then able to recreate a technique that caused the controlled crashes.

Two independent security researchers who reviewed ZecOps’ discovery found the evidence credible, but said they had not yet fully recreated its findings.
Read more
Apple and Google partner for Covid-19 'contact tracing' tech

Patrick Wardle, an Apple security expert and former researcher for the US National Security Agency, said the discovery “confirms what has always been somewhat of a rather badly kept secret: that well-resourced adversaries can remotely and silently infect fully patched iOS devices.”

Because Apple was not aware of the software bug until recently, it could have been very valuable to governments and contractors offering hacking services. Exploit programs that work without warning against an up-to-date phone can be worth more than US$1 million.
..


Uhh wow! The supposedly securely patched phone not so secure after all..

#4517999 - 04/25/20 01:34 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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mobilespecs.net - Smartphones, tablets, laptops and other gadgets technical specifications database

Quote
The mobile phones database with secret codes for accessing hidden features that can unlock the hidden functions of the phone. Tablets, laptops and other gadgets technical specifications database, users reviews.


I found it easy to find all my Laptop specs here quickly.

#4519507 - 05/04/20 07:43 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Linux and Webcam - disable | enable
How to disable your laptop’s webcam in Ubuntu 18.04, and also all other current Ubuntu releases.
To disable Webcam temporarily:

You can disable your webcam device easily via modprobe command.

Open terminal either via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for ‘terminal’ from app launcher. When it opens, run command:

sudo modprobe -r uvcvideo

The command removes the module from Linux kernel. Webcam is disabled until you reboot Ubuntu.

To permanently disable webcam in Ubuntu:

You can add a rule into configuration file, so your Ubuntu machine never starts the webcam kernel module on boot.

Open terminal and run command to edit the configuration file:

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

When the file opens, add two new lines and save it.

#Disable webcam
blacklist uvcvideo

To revert the changes, simply remove the 2 lines, save the file and finally reboot.

------
comment:
works in Ubuntu 16.04 / Linux Mint 18 also

You do not need to reboot to reactivate it.
simply type:
sudo modprobe uvcvideo

And the camera is reactivated


also: some laptops have a setting in the bios setup or mfg. program to disable.

#4519520 - 05/04/20 08:36 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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Tips: How to safely use bitcoin for payments

I found these pages from respected altcointrading to be precise and easy to follow:

https://www.altcointrading.net/howto/pay-with-bitcoin/

...
Cold device for cryptocurrencies
What’s a cold wallet

A cold wallet is where cryptocurrency traders and holders store coins they are planning to hold for multiple years.

The cold wallet is “air-gapped”, it doesn’t ever get online and lives on a device that is not normally used for anything.
The device that carries it

A device that carries cold wallet is not to be used for your normal day to day work. It is offline, it had its disk scrubbed and OS reinstalled before the cold wallet came on to it and it does not connect to the internet ideally not even for making a transaction.

Of course, a perfectly ideal device is no device: learn about paper wallets.

The wallets on the cold device must be backed up to make sure it’s not your single point of failure. The best backup is the seed written in pencil on a sheet of paper stored in a safety deposit box or split and given to multiple people, but depending on what you do it might be important for you to backup the wallet files too because the seed recovery doesn’t retain your transaction notes nor address labels.
...


....
Option 1: Paper Wallet

If you are on a clean, offline device you can simply display the seed and write it down with a pencil and a paper. Then choose a receiving address and write it down too,
into your regular notebook or into whatever app you are using on your laptop to make notes, so that money can be sent into that wallet and so that you’ll be able to check your balance with an online block or ledger explorer.

Another way is to get a paper wallet generator. A paper wallet generator will print your seed or private key along with your public address and a QR code that you will be able to scan with your smartphone. Do not use anything that is hosted online. You should use a package that you downloaded from Github, ideally from a release page of your coin’s developer team or from a link that was recommended on the dev’s website, and you should have read the code before using it. Always use a paper wallet generator offline and to print it out it is safer to connect to a printer via a cable instead of wifi. Also use your own printer, not a public one because the data sent to print are in some cases retrievable from printers. (You see how much easier it is to just write things down with a pencil.)

Paper wallet generators for some popular cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin
Ethereum
Litecoin
Monero
IOTA
Stellar Lumens
PIVX

note: see the page for links
Originally Posted by continued

Option 2: Encrypted file
...


Non-Digital Backups
How to back up your wallet seed (non-digital)

The ultimately best way is a piece of paper and regular pencil. No pen, ink, gel – just a regular pencil. Nothing beats its longevity.

Keep your wallet seed in a trezor (meaning an actual safety deposit box). If you worry about your coins being lost in case something happened to you, you can split your seed and give each part to a person you trust and instructions to a lawyer. You should not give the whole seed AND instructions to a single person.
The information in this article comes as it is without any guarantees. Your keys, your crypto, your responsibility.

-----------
Alternatively you can get info from bitcoin itself https://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started But frankly the above altcointrading.net has the information presented more clearly for beginners.

#4519531 - 05/04/20 09:24 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
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How to get an add-free tracking-free Neocities.org website and make a bit of money

https://neocities.org/

https://neocities.org/tutorials - Penelope the cat can help you learn html or you can look to links, get a page made elsewhere and upload

Quote
Static site generators allow developers to make a web site that has many properties of dynamic web sites, except it generates static HTML which can then be uploaded to Neocities.
Hugo
Jekyll
Next.js
Gatsby


  • FAQ
  • Neocities free sites have only a 1 GB size limit. No zips No file downloads. You can host only webpage stuff and some images (see below).
    Many use a site like https://www.mediafire.com for downloads - but note Mediafire has adds and tracking
  • no hotlinking of content from non-Neocities sites (ex. no image hosting)
  • Neocities has a web interface to upload you webpages (easy) or you can use the api (complex)
  • paid supporter sites can Mount your site as a drive on your computer (webdav)
  • you can download your whole site as a .zip for backups instantly (go to edit site ~ dashboard, scroll to bottom of page and you see the link - Download entire site)
  • neocities free you also can propogate the site on an IPFS node (for geeks really)
  • With neocities you can get tips - visitors can pay with paypal or bitcoin - of course you need to get those first from either paypal or bitcoin


Originally Posted by neocities allowed file types


Currently Allowed File Types

Neocities is best with files that are used for making static HTML web sites, such as:

HTML (.html, .htm)
Image (.jpg, .png, .gif, .svg, .ico)
Markdown (.md, .markdown)
JavaScript (.js, .json, .geojson)
CSS (.css)
Text (.txt, .text, .csv, .tsv)
XML (.xml)
Web Fonts (.eot, .ttf, .woff, .woff2, .svg)

This is not a complete list of the file types we support, but it is still recommended that you focus on files used for making web sites. The full list of supported file extensions is:

asc atom bin css csv dae eot epub geojson gif gltf htm html ico jpeg jpg js json key kml knowl less manifest markdown md mf mid midi mtl obj opml otf pdf pgp png rdf rss sass scss svg text tsv ttf txt webapp webmanifest webp woff woff2 xcf xml

In addition, we have measures in place to prevent hotlinking of content from non-Neocities sites.
Why are there restricted file types?

At the moment, Neocities is trying to grow sustainably. Our goal is to provide you with a free web site so you can arrange content in any way you want. In order to make sure we can continue to do this, we need to put in place measures to prevent Neocities from becoming a "file dump host". We don't currently have the resources to deal with preventing this from happening if we let users upload anything they want, so the temporary solution for now is to only allow file types that we know are useful for making web sites.

For example, allowing users to host executable (EXE) files provides a way for attackers to host malicious content, and we want to minimize that. Also, if the site starts being used to host malicious content, it is possible that search engines like Google will punish us in rankings, or that our datacenter operators would tell us we can't do business with them, which would affect everyone's site on Neocities.

MP3 music and MP4 video has similar problems, because if the uploaded content became very popular ("goes viral"), it would overwhelm our servers and make our bandwidth much more costly. And hosting rich-media content directly is almost never the best way to do it. Soundcloud provides a great way to host music, and Youtube does a very good job with taking your video, processing it, making sure it works on all browsers, and then provides an easy way for you to embed that content in your web page.

If you have a file type you believe should be allowed, please contact us and we will see if we can put it in for you.

We are constantly working on upgrading our infrastructure to deal with these problems more effectively. Until then, we have a whitelist of allowed file types, but we will let you know if this changes in the future. Thank you for your understanding.
Is there a way to remove the whitelist?

Yes! If you become a supporter, we will remove the whitelist for your file uploads, and you can upload anything you want (except illegal/copyrighted content, of course)! Becoming a supporter reduces the "file dump" risk, which makes it a lot safer for us to allow file uploads of any kind.

Keep in mind that it's still better to host things like videos on Youtube. They've spent a lot of time and invested a lot of money into building a platform for sharing high-bandwidth video very efficiently all over the world. And they don't charge you for bandwith, even if your video becomes very popular (infact, you can make money by sharing their advertising revenue with them).



How to get Tips
get account, login, upload / make pages.

go to account, settings, Manage Site Settings, Tipping
then you will see:
Code
Site Tipping

This adds a "Send a Tip" button to your site profile, allowing people to send tips to you for your site. 
This will send users to PayPal to send money to your account. If you have a Bitcoin address, you can add that too.

Enable Site Tipping:

PayPal email address:

Bitcoin address:

update

#4520077 - 05/07/20 10:35 PM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
FsFOOT Offline
Member
FsFOOT  Offline
Member

Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
Disable new Firefox 76 urlbar junk

I searched far and wide everywhere including ghacks.net and mozilla but no one clearly posted the way to disable everything......... and finally had to guess. Finally my urlbar has no searching, shows all urls and no extra 'visit' or anything pops below it anymore.

Now when you done your browser urlbar now when typing looks like this:
[Linked Image]

Voila'' ! Fixed to back to the original way an simple urlbar should be - at least for now
you see - no more extra junk smile

First of all go assuming you want to do this go into into Firefox preference and uncheck all search engines and junk, then.

type in url to open:

Code
about:config


(ignore stupid warning and select
show all)

Here are my settings:

Code
browser.urlbar.autoFill	false	
browser.urlbar.ctrlCanonizesURLs	false	
browser.urlbar.decodeURLsOnCopy	false	
browser.urlbar.default.behavior	32	
browser.urlbar.delay	50	
browser.urlbar.eventTelemetry.enabled	false	
browser.urlbar.filter.javascript	false	
browser.urlbar.formatting.enabled	false	
browser.urlbar.matchOnlyTyped	true	
browser.urlbar.maxCharsForSearchSuggestions	20	
browser.urlbar.maxHistoricalSearchSuggestions	0	
browser.urlbar.maxRichResults	0	
browser.urlbar.oneOffSearches	false	
browser.urlbar.openViewOnFocus	false	
browser.urlbar.openintab	false	
browser.urlbar.placeholderName.private	DuckDuckGo	
browser.urlbar.speculativeConnect.enabled	false	
browser.urlbar.suggest.bookmark	false	
browser.urlbar.suggest.history	false	
browser.urlbar.suggest.openpage	false	
browser.urlbar.suggest.searches	false	
browser.urlbar.switchTabs.adoptIntoActiveWindow	false	
browser.urlbar.trimURLs	false	
browser.urlbar.update1	false	
browser.urlbar.update1.interventions	false	
browser.urlbar.update1.searchTips	false	
browser.urlbar.update1.view.stripHttps	false	
browser.urlbar.update2.expandTextOnFocus	false	
browser.urlbar.usepreloadedtopurls.enabled	false	
browser.urlbar.usepreloadedtopurls.expire_days	14	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.matchBuckets	true	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.maxRichResults	true	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.suggest.bookmark	true	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.suggest.history	true	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.suggest.openpage	true	
services.sync.prefs.sync.browser.urlbar.suggest.searches	true


Note that I don't use sync so I don't change those setting they are default - if you use sync you might? want to change those.

Also note I use private browsing and defalut is so this:
browser.urlbar.placeholderName.private DuckDuckGo
you might or not have - not sure.

Note also I have a bunch of oither stuff turned off like hints, suggestions, etc.

Note you have push 'enter' (aka return key' on your keyboard to fully set the value to firefox in some fields after you changed them like browser.urlbar.default.behavior 32 )
Now close the window, close and exit browser.

^ If that's what you want ^ like I do, a simple original url bar
then the above are some settings I made to do so.

Please no questions - these are the settings you can duckduckgo from their webpage any other questions (not urlbar anymore (yay! smile since its no longer active).

Attached Files myff76urlbar.gif
#4520613 - 05/12/20 07:56 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
FsFOOT Offline
Member
FsFOOT  Offline
Member

Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
Helping from Home

Tools for Tech support and more:

Anydesk
supported: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, IOS, FreeBSD, RasberryPi, Chrome OS .. that's why its called Anydesk!

TeamViewer
more or less the same but see Community Knowledge Base Which operating systems are supported as for some like the new IOS 10, 11 and Chromebooks there are some caveats.

Helping from home: Handling remote support
Written by Gerald Himmelein on January 14, 2020.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but you know so much about computers. I have this problem ..." If this is the start of a phone call by a friend or family member, it usually means they are in real trouble. Good thing there are such things as remote support tools – they save you the hassle of a half-hour drive to fix what may be a trivial problem.

There are about a dozen remote access tools for Windows on the market. Among the free choices, the best choices are TeamViewer, AnyDesk and miscellaneous Virtual Network Computing (VNC) clients, UltraVNC being the most popular among the latter.

If you are already used to a particular remote access tool, it's probably best to stick with it. VNC software can be a problem to set up with less-experienced users because of NAT issues with routers between the two computers.

AnyDesk and TeamViewer are pretty much foolproof and perfectly suited for the purposes described here. In both applications, the helpee shares a numerical code with the helper. The helper uses this code to connect to the target machine. From that point on, the helper can see and control the other partner's desktop. But getting to that point can be a challenge of its own...


Quote
...First steps in remote assistance

For the purposes of this article, AnyDesk and TeamViewer essentially fulfill the same function. Still, there are some differences in the way they connect the person seeking help with the helper.

AnyDesk provides a single download. When the application is launched, it generates a nine-digit "address". The user asking for help gives their address to the helper who enters the code into the "Remote Desk" input field and clicks on "Connect". Once other user confirms the connection, their desktop is shared with the helper. When the connection is cut, AnyDesk asks whether the user would like to install the application permanently.

TeamViewer uses a slightly different approach. The download page offers both a standard version, a "QuickSupport" module and a portable version. The QuickSupport module is specifically designed for users who require help and simply displays a ten-digit ID and a short, alphanumeric password. The standard version offers several installation options – if you are asked on the phone what to answer to "How do you want to proceed?", the other party has downloaded the wrong file.
...


Quote
...The phantom cursor

First-time remote supporters often stumble across an initial moment of awkwardness where the mouse cursor moves in unexpected directions or clicks do unintended things. This is hardly ever caused by gremlins. The far more common cause is that both parties are moving the mouse or typing at the same time. Quite often, the other party isn't even aware of doing it: An elbow accidentally touches the mouse, an impatiently tapping finger keeps hitting the Ctrl key...

Quote
...Cleaning up
On closing the connection, AnyDesk will ask both parties whether they want to install the app permanently. Presuming that this will not be a regular event, both users should click on "No." One reason for this is that once installed, remote access software could possibly be exploited by malicious third parties. Also, most remote access sessions happen in irregular intervals. If the software is updated in the meantime, a new download will be required in any case.

AnyDesk has the ugly habit of not shutting down cleanly, but just minimizing itself to the notification area. Users will have to expand the notification area with a click on the small upward arrow (^) next to the clock, right-click on the AnyDesk icon and then choose "Quit" to completely close the application.

TeamViewer QuickSupport does not offer an installation option, but it will ask for an e-mail address after the connection is closed. Users can simply click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the window to close the application. The full version asks the user at start-up whether the application should be "Run only" for one time use. When ending a session, the full installer will also present a dialog which should be closed with the upper right corner "X."...


The above quotes from the blog of SoftMaker Office 2021 for Windows, Mac and Linux The free beta version is now publicly available.

Although there are many Office products that are free on Linux, etc. SoftMaker Office is reputed to be the one that most exactly reproduces Microsoft documents for the professional.

Whether open source advocates like it or not, Microsoft Office and the Docx format is what most of the world uses. On Libre Office, users can import these files. For the most part, it works fine, but due to the fact that these files are not being read and used directly in their original apps, formatting sometimes is disturbed.

SoftMaker Office takes a different approach. Instead of importing the data from files, it just reads and saves in the Microsoft Formats everyone uses by default. For Linux users who have jobs (or classes) that require saving documents in the Microsoft formats, this is a killer feature.

#4557511 - 02/24/21 06:49 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
FsFOOT Offline
Member
FsFOOT  Offline
Member

Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602

✔️ EAW 1.28 now available at GOG.com

#4566467 - 04/29/21 07:03 AM Re: HARDWARE / SOFTWARE FAQ and USEFUL LINKS [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
FsFOOT Offline
Member
FsFOOT  Offline
Member

Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 602
Well just a FYI stuff everyone should read.

Behind the One-Way Mirror A Deep Dive Into the Technology of Corporate Surveillance

Basically how we are all spied on now. Yes its truly greed + tech on steroids has now turned the world into something far more sinister than us readers of Orwell's 1984 could have imagined.
After reading this if you still think you are not tracked you might not be.. human that is.. lol.

Last edited by FsFOOT; 04/29/21 07:04 AM.
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