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1. switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:14:22 UTC switching.social

   Reminder why switching.social does NOT recommend using Brave:

   -Brave is a for-profit ad sales and cryptocurrency promotion company, funded by venture capital firms. Its primary purpose is to make money, not protect privacy.

   -Top of the list of Brave's VC owners is Founders Fund, which is Peter Thiel's company ( https://web.archive.org/web/20190831163230/https://basicattentiontoken.org/ )

   -Peter Thiel is also the head of Palantir, which makes its money by spying on the general public ( https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-palantir-peter-thiel/ )

   #Brave #PeterThiel #Palantir

   • switching.social repeated this.
   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:22:31 UTC switching.social

     in reply to

     • The Tor Project

     Much better options for browsers are Firefox or @torproject browser.

     Firefox is the best for non-tech people, it has good support and it's easy to use.

     Whatever browser you use, remember to install both uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger addons. Together they will protect against most forms of tracking and are very easy to use too. (Note, "uBlock Origin" and "uBlock" are two totally different addons. "uBlock Origin" is the one switching.social recommends.)

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:34:09 UTC switching.social

     • Akarshan Biswas :fedora:

     @akarshanbiswas

     I've used Firefox on Linux for many years and it's fine for me at least.

     People should try it and see if it works for them. I'm guessing that most people will find it works fine.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:36:59 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger

     @masterofthetiger @torproject

     I'm not saying Firefox is perfect, I'm saying it's the least worst option for non-tech people.

     I know there are indie browsers that many people have good experiences with, and that's great, but they tend to demand a bit more awareness of FLOSS and tech in general. Their "onboarding" is geared towards techy people.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:47:14 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger
     • Akarshan Biswas :fedora:

     @akarshanbiswas @masterofthetiger @torproject

     If you're comfortable editing it, you can turn off any telemetry in Firefox by going to about:config and deleting the URLs used for tech reports etc.

     I do this and Firefox works fine without them.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:47:33 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger
     • Akarshan Biswas :fedora:

     @akarshanbiswas @masterofthetiger @torproject

     If you're comfortable editing it, you can turn off any telemetry in Firefox by going to about:config and deleting the URLs used for tech reports etc.

     I did this and Firefox works fine without them.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:49:04 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger

     @masterofthetiger @torproject

     Is there an onboarding site for Icecat which is aimed at non-tech people?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:50:34 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger
     • Akarshan Biswas :fedora:

     @masterofthetiger @akarshanbiswas @torproject

     I agree fully, and I'm not happy with how dependent Mozilla is on big tech donations, but we can only go with the options we have.

     With browsers, it seems to be a selection of "least worst" choices for non-tech people.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:51:47 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger

     @masterofthetiger @torproject

     I think switching.social's target audience doesn't know what a repo is :/

     If you are ok with that though, yes, do try Icecat or similar if it works for you.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 12:54:52 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • MasterOfTheTiger

     @masterofthetiger @torproject

     Let me know if you do! 👍

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 14:07:00 UTC switching.social

     • Mike, First of His Name
     • Thomas Fuchs 🕹️🔭

     @thomasfuchs @mike

     Yeah, sounds like a pretty nasty guy :blobsad:

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 14:09:41 UTC switching.social

     • Atlas Freeman
     • MasterOfTheTiger

     @AtlasFreeman

     For non-tech users, probably Firefox with uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger both installed. It's easy to use and has good support and onboarding for ordinary people.

     For tech users, there are a number of indie browsers you can try to see if they fit your needs, @masterofthetiger was recommending IceCat for example.

     Also, if you need maximum privacy, try the Tor browser. It may be slower and some sites might not work, but it does the best job at providing privacy.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 14:16:55 UTC switching.social

     • deezthugs

     @deezthugs

     What fallacy?

     This isn't about association, it's about ownership.

     If you run a browser company that is part-owned by a surveillance baron, that naturally calls into question your commitment to privacy.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 15:18:34 UTC switching.social

     • Greyor

     @greyor

     Other than Firefox I'm not sure...

     Anyone got suggestions for this?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 17:57:50 UTC switching.social

     • deezthugs

     @deezthugs

     No, that's not how it works. If Brave wants people's trust, they have to work for it.

     Brave markets itself in public as being about privacy, but in private they literally sell themselves to one of the world's most notorious surveillance barons.

     Brave cannot have it both ways.

     Imagine if an anti-smoking lobby group turned out to be owned by tobacco companies. Who would trust them any more?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 20:17:53 UTC switching.social

     • LienRag
     • deezthugs

     @LienRag @deezthugs

     That should work in theory, but as Google's Android etc show it doesn't always work in practice.

     If Brave becomes widely used like Google Chrome is, then open source isn't enough to stop surveillance features being added (or adblockers being effectively banned from the browser).

     And you have to wonder *why* a major anti-privacy figure like Thiel would be investing in a company that claims to be pro-privacy. Thiel is also on the board of Facebook, he is not to be trusted.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 23:13:25 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • Boud

     @boud @torproject

     Switching.social is aimed at non-technical people.

     uMatrix is aimed at tech people, the first line of its description is "Definitely for advanced users."

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Sunday, 01-Sep-2019 23:30:28 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • Boud

     @boud @torproject

     Switching.social is aimed at non-technical people.

     But if you are able to use uMatrix and find it more useful, that's great 👍

     uMatrix is aimed at tech people, the first line of its description is "Definitely for advanced users."

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 10:53:06 UTC switching.social

     • LienRag

     @LienRag

     How many people do you think would use Brave if they all realised the head of Palantir and a Facebook board member is one of their owners?

     Maybe it wouldn't matter to you, but a lot of privacy-minded people don't want to use a browser from such a company. That's why I'm trying to raise awareness of this issue.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 11:16:57 UTC switching.social

     • LienRag

     @LienRag

     This isn't about who invented something, it's about ownership of its current form.

     TOR was invented decades ago by the same organisation who invented the internet: US defense research. But both inventions grew beyond their original purposes, and the US didn't own them.

     Brave continues to be part-owned by Thiel and other VCs.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 11:23:12 UTC switching.social

     • LienRag

     @LienRag

     If no one owns Brave, why does Brave have all those venture capital firms listed on the front page of its B2B site?

     VC doesn't give people money for fun, they give it because they expect a return on their investment.

     And "Facts be damned"...?

     Could you name one single fact in my original post which is untrue?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:14:22 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     You're confusing invention with ownership.

     Does the US military own shares in TOR?

     No.

     Does Thiel own shares in Brave?

     Yes.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:15:19 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     Can you show me some evidence for that?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:17:44 UTC switching.social

     • The Tor Project
     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     Hey, @torproject , does the US military own parts of TOR?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:39:12 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     I provided evidence in my original post, why are you dodging my request for you to do the same?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:43:15 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     You're accusing others of FUD but then refusing to back up your own claims with any evidence?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:45:13 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     You're accusing others of FUD, failing to provide any evidence, and now admitting you don't even believe your own posts?

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:49:24 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     Your main argument was Tor was invented by the military, so that was somehow similar to Brave being owned by Thiel.

     I pointed out they're not similar because the military doesn't own Tor.

     You said Tor was still owned by the military.

     I asked you for evidence of that.

     You refused to give me any, then said you "don't actually think those things".

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:51:25 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     ...except that they're not, because ownership isn't the same as invention.

     Geez, we're going round in circles here.

     No point continuing unless you feel like backing up your claims with evidence.

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 12:54:40 UTC switching.social

     • official fediverse banana

     @jeff

     One of us backs up their claims with evidence, the other one says evidence is unnecessary and keeps repeating the word "FUD".

   • switching.social (switchingsocial@mastodon.at)'s status on Monday, 02-Sep-2019 17:30:01 UTC switching.social

     • Anna, something something

     @not_on_pizza

     I honestly don't know :blobsad: When I've tried to ask for advice there have been conflicting opinions.

     Some people say there are links to Google in all forms of Chromium, others say degooglised Chromium can be fine depending on how it is done.