Digital fingerprint: Google has launched a new era of tracking
- Since Google gives you the opportunity to reject cookie tracking, it begins tacitly to capture your online habits with fingerprints.
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Look at that…I got a new reason to ditch my cell phone
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I go to only one site on my phone and all tracking is off. I survived 40+ years without the crap and I’ll continue to survive without it.
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Basically, Google is saying pretty much saying “why only use traditional cookies if you have nasty cross-platform fingerprinting?” Ya, pretty nasty.
Glad I have FireDragon with a good number of extensions just in case I ever come across some Google related webpage stuff that I have to have somewhat unblocked for some other website. 
(Wanted to also note that the Tuta article has the language selector at the bottom of the page. I’m used to seeing it the top.)
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3 posts were merged into an existing topic: Off Topic Chit Chat - (Silliness factor 5)
Not exactly Linux or Tech News, but still important.
Video:
Yet another reminder to make sure you own the stuff that matters most to you (either physically or digitally).
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4 posts were split to a new topic: Theme Xfce like Garuda Dragonized
some tech news =) (good to know if its true)
Privacy concerns due to balenaEtcher: Tails team suggests Rufus
02/21/2025 12:27 PM [Lurker]
Privacy concerns due to balenaEtcher: Tails team now recommends Rufus
The Tails team has made a significant decision. In the past, it recommended the balenaEtcher application for flashing USB sticks. Now, however, the team of the anonymizing Linux operating system recommends using Rufus. This change is due to privacy concerns.
User-friendly flashing with Rufus
To start the Tails live system from a USB stick, it is necessary to equip it with a bootable image. Previously, the Tails team recommended using balenaEtcher in its installation instructions for Windows and macOS. However, the latest blog post from the Tails team announces that Rufus will be the preferred choice in the future.
Data protection concerns and their origin
The decision to move away from balenaEtcher resulted from the collection and storage of certain data. From 2024, the company Balena began storing the file name of the image and also the model name of the USB sticks. The Tails team is concerned that this data may be passed on to third parties.
If you look at Balena’s privacy policy, it provides some clues to the existing concerns. The company collects identifiable data. This includes IP addresses, names, email addresses and unique personal identifiers. In addition, information about online activities is collected. A special section deals with the transfer of personal information to third-party providers.
Changes in the Tails recommendation
The data protection concerns are not entirely new. Already at the beginning of the integration of balenaEtcher, problems with advertising began, which the Tails team disliked. Nevertheless, balena’s behavior was not considered serious. There were no better alternatives available at the time.
It turns out that Rufus had already been under discussion in the past. However, this application had some usability issues and modified tails images in a risky way.
Improvements to Rufus
The situation has changed. Akeo Consulting, the company behind Rufus, has made significant progress in terms of usability and reliability. Rufus therefore replaces balenaEtcher as part of the tails installation under Windows.
However, there is no Rufus version for macOS. The Tails team therefore recommends two alternatives: the classic installation method using “dd” via the command line or the Raspberry Pi Imager.
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Rufus does rock. There is no linux version either, though 
.
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yes true but maybe it comes one day to linux.
the Raspberrypi Imager works on garuda =)
sudo pacman -S rpi-imager
but mostly i use dd comand =)
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yeah many options to write as image =)
my ventoy sticks (3 x 16gb are created 2023) are working good when the iso is fine.
2 other sticks 32gb and 8gb i use mostly DD or when i have to use windows for other stuff =)
come on, that could neeeeever happen ^^
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Etcher has been bad since 2014 when a bunch of malware sites came up that look just like it and they were in the top spots on google. Its why it should never be recommended. In a linux pkg manager its kinda okay but still just use isoimagewriter then.
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Best part about this not to long ago there was a big v3 extension vulnerability. where a bad actor could fully get access to your system.
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This last one is just cool tech. Personally I’ve been looking for a “nice” epaper screen.
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You give Mozilla all rights necessary to operate Firefox, including processing data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice, as well as acting on your behalf to help you navigate the internet.
When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you indicate with your use of Firefox.
Excerpt from Firefox’s new ‘Terms of Use’
“While some browsers are phasing out Manifest V2 entirely, Firefox is keeping it alongside Manifest V3,” said Mozilla.
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The interesting bit
the new terms ‘only apply to the Executable Code version of Firefox, not the Firefox source code’ meaning forks won’t be roped in.
Will be interesting to see how long it lasts. Servo and ladybird definitely need more funding
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