I mean I already reported 2 issues, but it still works. I can use it without big problems, I use the beta Flatpak (as explained in my flatpak remotes list).
Using Wayland too, Idk about any problems but if it wouldnt work I would just disable Wayland for the Flatpak and the app automatically runs through XWayland
Burner phones are a strange concept. If you want to store sensitive data on it, you shouldnt use some cheap android phone or even a dumbphone without encryption support.
All Android phones have Google malware installed by default, as system apps, which means those apps can do whatever they want.
So every piece of data you put on there is possibly tracked and collected.
Then there are 2 more problems
the software is proprietary and cannot be externally wiped clean
the software is outdated
This makes it vulnerable to Pegasus attacks and others. There are tons of secure practices to avoid getting it, like LTE-only, HTTPS only, encrypted and trustworthy DNS, sandboxed processes, blocked javascript execution from unknown websites…
But still if the phone is outdated there are unpatched and publicly known security issues. Just spamming them at all phones is likely to succeed as so many people run vulnerable versions, as vendors suck.
Then if you have pegasus, the only way for security is to reflash the A/B partitions, both. Factory reset is not secure as it will keep what is already in the system partitions.
The firmware is protected and signed by the vendors, so it is likely clean.
But Pegasus installs itself to the phone storage.
If you A cant obtain factory images or B cant flash the phone at all, you cannot wipe it clean.
So a good activism phone needs
trustworthy and minimal system apps / stock software
modern software updates
possible to reflash whole device externally
nice to have: ability to verify checksum of system partition, like GrapheneOS Attestation
This makes them poorly pretty expensive. I think a slightly outdated GrapheneOS phone is okay though.
Yes I know, and I want to try DivestOS one time. But they do incomplete patches.
They cannot update the kernel themselves or even worse the firmware. The kernel needs to be built and patched for the specific hardware, GrapheneOS relies completely on Google here. And the firmware needs to be signed by the vendors, so no chance either.
And especially baseband, cellular stuff has extremely many vulnerabilities in the code.
Not sure if VPN eliminates all risks with 2G and 3G, maybe it does.
Sandboxing, javascript
Vanadium has sandboxing but its javascript blocking is useless (no granular control)
Mull has no process isolation at all, but support for UBO and Noscript. Bad situation
it’s a walk in the park for it to modify any of the partitions
These cannot be written without TPM verification or stuff, ask GrapheneOS devs about that, I dont know. The firmware signing is required, the verification will not be done inside the OS, that would be totally flawed.
If they have the firmware signing keys, they can fuck you. If they dont, they can only write to the system partition, and Attestation can see that.
Reading data has nothing to do with that. They likely can, but that doesnt matter.
My 6 years old phone still receives LOS updates
This will not include firmware and likely even the kernel.
Not sure but GrapheneOS has an “LTE only” mode, stock Android only has preferred Network afaik.
visiting only known websites is not a scaleable option, a browser needs to be secure. Kiwix is the browser that basically runs desktop Chromium on Android, so it has Addon support. But that is also soon manifest v3 restricted, and likely pretty insecure.
of course the user data partition is not checked, but every other important one. I have not tested what would happen when it is modified though.
I dont know what magisk did, but I think that is only about Google Play adding their “safety” scanning to the OS. Nothing regarding boot. But yes, likely there could, can or should be OS components scanning things too.
Googles stuff is pretty insecure, for example the latest SafetyNetFix simply disabled hardware cryptography, as they still support insecure phones.
For sure this is very complex and there are always vulnerabilities found in Android and GrapheneOS.
Like it or not, email is a critical part of our digital lives. It’s how we sign up for accounts, get notifications, and communicate with a wide range of entities online. Critics of email rightfully point out that email suffers from a significant number of flaws that make it less than ideal, but that doesn’t change the...
Xscreensaver has apparently been checking for updates and is disappointed that it hasn't had one for 14 months because Debian is too stable. Can anyone recommend a linux screensaver which would work with xfce and can be trusted to never do that?
Good that only you do this, as a whole company setup is complex
Pop_OS is currently not that well maintained afaik, their GNOME desktop is quite outdated.
Just using their OS for the hybrid graphics support is a valid point, but should not be the only one.
Having a well managed OS is crucial, but I disagree that Ubuntu base is the best here.
For stability, a centrally managed Fedora Atomic would be better I think. Way more stable, image-based, all peolple would have exactly what they need.
You could build images locally and take care of the exact updates like that. Or you just share specific configs for each role, like preinstalling different software.
But having things like specific policies, any files, hardening etc. is totally possible during image creation.
I use Proton. But I continue to run into more and more websites and services that detect my VPN and refuse my connection, or just run literally 40 captchas in a row until I just give up....
VPNs are not meant for privacy. The concept is clunky, as is the concept of our internet.
Tor or I2P are made for privacy, but the interactions with the clearnet have the same problems, you need a legal entity hosting the server, IPs are known and can be blocked etc.
Hosting your own VPN does not anonymize you anymore but is very unlikely to get blocked.
I am pretty happy with GrapheneOS. Things like separate toggles for internet, or long powerbutton press foe torch are missing.
But you cannot imagine how much effort it is to maintain such a project, and their base is stable, the updates are damn fast.
First stability and security, then features.
Their core OS is minimal on purpose. I use the phone, vanadium (hardened chromium, with JIT toggle, now with adblock, completely degoogled), their attestation app, etc.
Most of the other stuff are random FOSS projects, I dont even use sandboxed play, but if I wanted to I could create a separate user profile and install it just in there.
DivestOS is doing sandboxed microG which is way more secure than unsandboxed, but still tons of effort and will break a lot.
GIMP 2.10.38 Released (www.gimp.org)
New features and improvements...
Daily driving Plasma Mobile (fam-ribbers.com)
I wrote a blog post about my experiences on daily driving Plasma Mobile
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Simple steps to take before hitting the streets
The Best Secure Email Providers in 2024 (blog.thenewoil.org)
Like it or not, email is a critical part of our digital lives. It’s how we sign up for accounts, get notifications, and communicate with a wide range of entities online. Critics of email rightfully point out that email suffers from a significant number of flaws that make it less than ideal, but that doesn’t change the...
Gen Z mostly doesn't care if influencers are actual humans, new study shows (mashable.com)
4 Tools to Share Large Files Over the Internet Securely (itsfoss.com)
Switching from win 11
After convincing my employer to move away from MS office I can finally make the permanent switch away from windows....
What VPN are you using?
I use Proton. But I continue to run into more and more websites and services that detect my VPN and refuse my connection, or just run literally 40 captchas in a row until I just give up....
Which of the among is the best exif remover app?
Scrambled Exif vs Metadata Remover
Chinese startup launching RISC-V laptop for devs and engineers priced at around $300 (www.tomshardware.com)
Pixel 8a gets more expensive: Colors, prices, memory of the new Google phone (winfuture.de)