Notices by Tinker ☀️ (tinker@infosec.exchange), page 2

So how many of us are taking advantage of the Win10 End of Life?

How many Linux Install Parties are you holding in your town?

"Did Windows 10 just notify you to pay and update?

Want to update your computer to a system that doesnt spy on you, is ad free, is secure, and doesn't cost anything?

Meet us at the library this Saturday from 10am to 3pm!

We'll install Linux on your laptop for free! (We'll even make it "dual boot" so you can keep your old system just in case!). Please remember to back up your documents and pictures on a thumb drive beforehand!

We'll have demo laptops so you can play with Linux and just check it out as well!)

#Windows #Linux #solarPunk #permacomputing #endof10

@gdinwiddie - Are they free refrigerators?

@LPerry2 @bsidesnova - I dont know! Maybe its just for a free version of Windows. Is that a thing? Or whatever MS sells to consumers. Maybe if you get the Pro version, you dont get it?

I honestly dont know...

I just saw this on a laptop at the @bsidesnova conference...

Ads.

On the lockscreen.

How. How do people live like this? Like seriously. Inundated by ads. I mean, not just the tracking and surveillance behind it... but blatant ads everywhere.

They PAY microsoft to show them ads on their lockscreen.

Remember adware? That would gum up your browsers in the early aughts? Like... that was considered malware at the time and removed by antivirus.

Can you turn this off? Is this a third party widget or something?

What....

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA has an e-bike lending library!

Just... go and check out an ebike. Ride it for a week for free. And then turn it back in. You can check it out multiple times so long as no has a hold for it.

#solarpunk #libraries #libraryOfThings #libraryEconomy #eBike

https://www.ebikelibrarycville.org

Guess I'm never going to buy another EA game again...

Plenty of indie developers to choose from anyhow.

https://apnews.com/article/ea-electronic-arts-video-game-silver-lake-pif-d17dc7dd3412a990d2c0a6758aaa6900

#gaming #news

@todb - It's very 90's "Oh! I can take a piss break and not pause!"

Wait...

If streaming apps require you to pay and still have ads... why don't I cancel all of them and just watch the free streaming apps?

Free Apps with *NO* ads:
- Kanopy (uses library card)
- Hoopla (uses library card)
- PBS

Free Apps with ads:
- Fawesome
- Freevee
- Pluto
- Tubi
- Roku Channel
- Plex
- Sling Freestream
- Fandango at Home
- Filmzie
- Filmrise
- Crackle
- Xumo Play

I'm sure I've missed plenty.

Anyhow if I'm paying for the pleasure of watching ads, I'll just not pay.

Also 🏴☠️.

My information was leaked during a breach of the ParkMobile app.

As part of the class action lawsuit that was settled with the company for mishandling my information, I am awarded...

...one dollar.

To be paid out as a... 25 cent discount... over four uses.

Well la dee dah.

#breach #parkmobile

Large organizations and corporations moving to open source is a great thing.

If they have budget, they should still contribute and "pay" for the open source software they use.

Edit: Adding in this key quote as a positive example:

"Austria isn't just replacing Microsoft software. Unlike typical public-sector and corporate migrations, Austria's military has heavily invested in LibreOffice development itself. The armed forces have been funding the creation of new features and improvements that are now included in public releases. These additions, ranging from improved slideshow editing to better handling of pivot tables, have been rolled into the latest version of LibreOffice."

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-european-military-just-ditched-microsoft-for-open-source-libreoffice-heres-why/

@Em0nM4stodon - I got off of it again (for the final time) last week. The algorithm was already pulling HARD right - much more than normal.

I oughta join Loops, lol.

Charlie Kirk's widow is now a single mom.

White on white crime. Far right on far right. It leaves white families broken. Where are all the white men, the white fathers who will speak out against their broken suburban culture?

Well maybe we pushed that watershed moment down the street a bit.

With it coming out that Kirk was assassinated by an even further right person, let's see how many days before everyone collectively moves on.

Trump is already deflecting questions and changing the subject when asked how he feels about Kirk passing. All the politicians that were openly calling for vengeance against "the left" are now downplaying and calling for understanding.

Silliness. Proper silliness.

I've noticed that there havent been many (any?) Proud Boy, Patriot Front, or Oath Keeper demonstrations recently.

I've also noticed that ICE is using common Patriot Front tactics - like arriving in Penske Moving Trucks and a lack of professionalism in regards to pushing, provoking, and handling bystanders.

I think its obvious that the Trump regime has brought all of his brown shirts in under the fold and are providing them with training, weapons, resources, and pay.

I will say this.

I believe this is a watershed moment.

There have been recent class-based assassinations with the CEO of a health insurance company and others.

And, there have been recent political assassinations of state representatives and attempts on the current US president during the election.

But this is the first "big name" political assassination.

I fully expect tit-for-tat responses. I'm worried about a couple that I won't name out loud. There has been a LOT of stochastic terrorism. Fricken powder keg.

Some have called our current situation (prior to this) a "cold civil war" what with the US President deploying armed military to various cities and giving shows of force. Whether that term fits or not, I do believe we're in the midst of a civil war.

This is an escalation.

I expect it will continue.

Join community. Build up mutual-aid. Find folks to protect and those who can protect you.

Modern civil war is distinctly different from the 1800s and we're really not sure how it'll play out. But institutions are and already have crumbled - not everywhere and not uniformly.

But here we are.

#CharlieKirk #Charlie #Kirk

Also, folks dont know what a URL bar is... much less a URL. You give them a "dot com" address and they just type in the words into google (with spaces between the words) and assume the first result is the website you were referring them to.

@avuko - Yeah! I'd agree completely. AI is specifically designed to bottleneck information and control consumption.

@jelte - Ah, but I get paid to complete the conversation... its central to my job. Alas.

1: "Well ChatGPT says otherwise. It contradicts what you said about security."
0: "ChatGPT is consuming popular material from 10 years ago. The threat landscape has changed."

1: "Well the language is clear it's saying the exact opposite of you."
0: "It has made a statement. But what is it's reasoning. What is the logical argument behind its suggestion?"

1: "I just feel more comfortable going with what it say."
0: "After we've worked together for five years? After you've seen the results of my work? You realize this isnt your field of expertise? You arent able to explain its reasoning. Why it said it. The history and context behind it."

Well this is going to be fun.

Being a leader in your field and releasing new research that is different from the current consensus now has to fight AI and LLMs.

AI / LLMs is bias at scale. Now it's entrenched status quo.

AI cannot innovate. AI can only average out. And when that average is bad. Or dangerous. And speaks with authority. Folks will double down and be hurt.

Public Service Announcement:

When someone says "I googled it" they NO LONGER MEAN "I did a web search and this is what one of the web sites that came up in the search said"...

..."I googled it" *now* means "I typed a question into google and google's AI spit out this answer."

Please adjust your conversation and cultural assumptions accordingly.

#AI #LLM