Day: 9 July 2023
BBC »
False and misleading posts about the Ukraine conflict continue to go viral on major social media platforms, as Russia’s invasion of the country extends beyond 500 days.
Some of the most widely shared examples can be found on Twitter, posted by subscribers with a blue tick, who pay for their content to be promoted to other users.
Canadian Michael Woods delivered an impressive solo effort to claim the biggest success of his career at the top of a legendary Tour de France climb on Sunday.
Related » Toronto Star | The Guardian
How many Petro-Points did you lose?
In an email update sent on July 6, 2023, Petro-Canada confirmed a cybersecurity incident that impacted its Petro-Points program.
The company had initially reported the incident on June 26, revealing that an unauthorized party had accessed its IT network around June 21.
Karen McVeigh and Chris Michael, The Guardian »
Much is at stake. Scientists have warned of large-scale, severe and irreversible harm to global ocean ecosystems, already threatened by the climate and biodiversity crises, if deep-sea mining goes ahead. Too little is known about the ocean’s abyss even to draw up regulations, they say.
Last month, the European Academies Science Advisory Council warned of the “dire consequences” for marine ecosystems and against the “misleading narrative” that deep-sea mining is necessary for metals required to meet the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Researchers who study how disinformation spreads are under investigation in the United States for allegedly helping to censor conservative opinions about COVID-19 vaccines and government elections. Jim Jordan, a US representative for Ohio, is leading the charge against the scientists. He is also one of the Republican leaders who have suggested that the Democrats have stolen the 2020 presidential election from former president Donald Trump, and who have made unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.
» Security and privacy. You cannot have a functioning democracy without both.
Le Monde »
French police should be able to spy on suspects by remotely activating the camera, microphone and GPS of their phones and other devices, lawmakers agreed late on Wednesday, July 5. Part of a wider justice reform bill, the spying provision has been attacked by both the left and rights defenders as an authoritarian snoopers’ charter, though Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti insists it would affect only “dozens of cases a year.”
Covering laptops, cars and other connected objects as well as phones, the measure would allow the geolocation of suspects in crimes punishable by at least five years’ jail. Devices could also be remotely activated to record sound and images of people suspected of terror offenses, as well as delinquency and organized crime.
The provisions “raise serious concerns over infringements of fundamental liberties,” digital rights group La Quadrature du Net wrote in a May statement. It cited the “right to security, right to a private life and to private correspondence” and “the right to come and go freely”, calling the proposal part of a “slide into heavy-handed security”.
When released, Google guaranteed software and security updates for the Pixel 4a smartphone for 3 years.
When I checked this morning, Google hadn’t extended support for the Pixel 4a beyond August 2023. That’s less than three weeks from now.
When will you get Android version updates and security updates
Aside from the reviews of the Pixel 4a, one of the main reasons I purchased one was the smaller size. Quality smartphones of this size were, and still are, difficult to find.
Almost immediate I purchased a protective case for it and it’s still in great shape. So it would be wrong – on so many levels – to chuck it and be forced to purchase a new phone.
So, I have started researching how to #deGoogle my Pixel and replacing it the with GrapheneOS (Wikipedia), /e/ (Wikipedia), and the ever popular Lineage OS (Wikipedia).
My recent experience with Linux on the laptop, and the welcoming open-source community, surpassed my expectations and I expect similar results moving away from Google and commercial operating systems that don’t track my location, movements, habits, friends, for their profit.
There is no perfect solution, however deGoogle-ing the Pixel 4 will extend the Pixel 4a’s life, make it more private, and more secure. I’m interested to see what, if any conveniences I need to give up.
When the time comes that I’ll need different hardware, I’ll be buying from a company that cares about people and our planet, and walks the talk. Right now, that looks to be Fairphone, which makes user repairable smart phones and has been receiving 10/10 iFixit repeatability ratings.