Hi guys We have a WLUG meeting next Monday: "With the Cambridge Analytics scandal around (ab)using data obtained through Facebook, how about we have a look at (self-hosted) alternatives to the social network giant? Details on scandal: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/facebooks-cambridge-analytica-sc... Social media alternatives (eg diaspora, gnu social): https://alternativeto.net/software/facebook/" -- details: https://www.meetup.com/WaikatoLinuxUsersGroup/events/246737141/ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/
On Thu, 19 Apr 2018 12:11:31 +1200, Peter Reutemann wrote:
"With the Cambridge Analytics scandal around (ab)using data obtained through Facebook, how about we have a look at (self-hosted) alternatives to the social network giant?
Coincidentally, the 7th April issue of New Scientist magazine has an article entitled “Stop being the product” that mentions some alternatives (unfortunately no URLs): * Instead of Facebook, how about Diaspora: the “decentralized” social network (you can run your own server) that lets you own your data and doesn’t require you to give your real name. * Instead of Google, how about DuckDuckGo: a search service that doesn’t store any information and doesn’t “tailor” your search results. * Instead of Twitter, how about Mastodon: again, “decentralized”, though different servers can communicate. * Instead of GMail, how about Protonmail: e-mails are encrypted, so it cannot see what is in your inbox. A “freemium” service which is reportedly so secure that Cambridge Analytica was using it. Disclaimer: I have used none of these alternatives.
On Thu, 19 Apr 2018 12:11:31 +1200, Peter Reutemann wrote:
Social media alternatives (eg diaspora, gnu social): https://alternativeto.net/software/facebook/
Good list, which mentions that Mastodon (which I listed from that New Scientist article) is an offshoot of GNU Social. Another one that seems worth mentioning, for secure messaging, is Telegram. One seeming point in its favour is that it has been recently banned in Putin’s Russia. But the service is so resilient that in trying to block it, they have ended up taking out Russian access to rather large parts of the entire Internet <https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180417/13133139649/trying-to-ban-telegram-russia-breaks-internet.shtml>.
I wrote:
Another one that seems worth mentioning, for secure messaging, is Telegram. One seeming point in its favour is that it has been recently banned in Putin’s Russia. But the service is so resilient that in trying to block it, they have ended up taking out Russian access to rather large parts of the entire Internet <https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180417/13133139649/trying-to-ban-telegram-russia-breaks-internet.shtml>.
Further to the above <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/internet-civil-war-erupted-russia-180423124936679.html>: According to Stanislav Shakirov, technical director of Roskomsvoboda (a wordplay on Roskomnadzor meaning RoskomFreedom), an anti-censorship NGO, Telegram has managed to weather the pressure because of its well-made architecture. "[Telegram architects] had set up a rotation of servers which the app links up to. This makes it difficult for Roskomnadzor to block it," Shakirov explained. ... Scrambling to block a massive number of IP addresses, which reached 20 million on April 19, Roskomnadzor ran up against another problem: the disruption of other services using the same IP address clusters as Telegram. Mid-week, reports started coming in of various companies experiencing difficulties with their online operations: from international companies such as Viber and taxi service Gett, to Russian ticket booking service Kupiblet and supermarket chains like Diksi.
An article on Bruce Schneier’s blog <https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2018/04/russia_is_banni.html> about the block elicited this comment <https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2018/04/russia_is_banni.html#c6774180> from reader “lattenwald”: So, Telegram ban here in Russia works in a strange way: nothing works but Telegram. My heart rate app doesn't work (syncs history with some cloud probably), Whatsapp is crippled (doesn't back up or restore history to/from google drive), video calls in Viber not working. Site where one could pay road fines didn't work for some time, tickets to Kremlin museum weren't sold for almost a day, cash registers in Diksi — one of the largest grocery store networks in Russia — didn't work for almost a day, Decathlon site doesn't work, giphy, ticktick, — my day routine is broken if not for VPN. I did never think I would need VPN. ... The only thing that works that I use daily, without VPN or proxies, is Telegram. The question is, is this proving to be a gigantic fiasco for regulator Roskomnadzor and Putin’s administration generally, or is it really just part of their cunning plan?
participants (2)
-
Lawrence D'Oliveiro -
Peter Reutemann