Top Stories Daily

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Here's how Epstein broke the internet
His meeting with the founder of 4chan and his quest to profit off the end of democracy
https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

"Based on the documents we have access to, these were twin obsessions for Epstein: Manipulating what we see online and finding digital alternatives to traditional finance. During the last years of his life, these two ideas would dovetail into one project — building a far-right takeover of Europe with Steven Bannon."

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Epstein and Bannon thought they were running a global conspiracy to burn down global democracy and replace it with a network of fascist states. Maybe they were really doing it, maybe they were just kidding themselves. https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

Considering 4chan’s continuing fight for influence in the fedi, you really should read this.

There is a reckoning coming that’s right around the corner and the fedi is going to have to make a choice in what it’s about.

https://www.garbageday.email/p/here-s-how-epstein-broke-the-internet

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

Getting off US tech: a guide https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

@parismarx shares some useful info about his journey off US dependence. I've also been going through a similar journey, it feels a little bit of a leap into the unknown but it really helps hearing about others experiences. https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

If you're interested in divesting yourself of US-based tech and reducing your digital footprint, there's plenty of guides to help (like these two).

https://disconnect.blog/getting-off-us-tech-a-guide/

https://www.optoutproject.net/tags/cleanse/

The Macalope, as always, on point. https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

Can't recall if this has happened before — we've both been talking about Apple for a long time, and I _think_ this isn't the first — but yay, mentioned by the Macalope! https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

The Macalope, as always, on point. https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

The Macalope, as always, on point. https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

The Macalope, as always, on point. https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

The Macalope, as always, on point. https://www.macworld.com/article/3050158/winter-of-our-apple-discontent.html

finally some sanity? https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/

A few things about this article on the claims WhatsApp's E2EE is fake:

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that Meta’s encryption happens on the client application, the one you run on your phone. If the claims in this lawsuit are true, then Meta would have to alter the WhatsApp application so that plaintext (unencrypted) data would be uploaded from your app’s message database to some infrastructure at Meta, or else the keys would

They would not have to be sent as plaintext. They would be sent encrypted with some key that Meta owns.

The other simple way of doing this is to intentionally weaken the key generation function. If you are generating a key with 128 bits of entropy, you can start with a 96-bit secret shared between the server and the client. Then you add 32 bits of random number and feed the result through some cryptographic hash function. You end up with a key that, to an outside observer, is one of 2128 possible values. But to the server operator, it is one of 232 possible values and so takes a few seconds of CPU time to recover. And there are ways of doing this that look a lot like an honest mistake. Telegram has a thing in their protocol for the server to provide part of the entropy seed, which they claim is intended to provide additional defence for devices with weak entropy sources and critics argue is for exactly this kind of attack. Putting the same kind of entropy seed into an out-of-band request to another Meta service that WhatsApp uses would be quite feasible.

And there are ways of hiding this kind of thing from various forms of forensic analysis, such as dynamically patching the random number generator from another thread when some trigger is applied. It's not impossible to find, it's just really hard, and someone would have to be looking for the right thing.

There's also WhatsApp Web. This runs something in the web browser that talks to your phone and uses end-to-end encryption with a key exchanged by a QR code shown in the browser. Signal does not implement a feature like this because designing it in such a way that it's verifiably (by the user) secure is almost impossible.

Great blog which makes again clear, everybody should leave Whatsapp and move to safer alternatives like Signal.
https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/
#whatsapp #signal #security #privacy

https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/

https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/
http://www.techmeme.com/260202/p49#a260202p49

Link: https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/
Comments: https://lobste.rs/s/nccupe

A few things about this article on the claims WhatsApp's E2EE is fake:

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that Meta’s encryption happens on the client application, the one you run on your phone. If the claims in this lawsuit are true, then Meta would have to alter the WhatsApp application so that plaintext (unencrypted) data would be uploaded from your app’s message database to some infrastructure at Meta, or else the keys would

They would not have to be sent as plaintext. They would be sent encrypted with some key that Meta owns.

The other simple way of doing this is to intentionally weaken the key generation function. If you are generating a key with 128 bits of entropy, you can start with a 96-bit secret shared between the server and the client. Then you add 32 bits of random number and feed the result through some cryptographic hash function. You end up with a key that, to an outside observer, is one of 2128 possible values. But to the server operator, it is one of 232 possible values and so takes a few seconds of CPU time to recover. And there are ways of doing this that look a lot like an honest mistake. Telegram has a thing in their protocol for the server to provide part of the entropy seed, which they claim is intended to provide additional defence for devices with weak entropy sources and critics argue is for exactly this kind of attack. Putting the same kind of entropy seed into an out-of-band request to another Meta service that WhatsApp uses would be quite feasible.

And there are ways of hiding this kind of thing from various forms of forensic analysis, such as dynamically patching the random number generator from another thread when some trigger is applied. It's not impossible to find, it's just really hard, and someone would have to be looking for the right thing.

There's also WhatsApp Web. This runs something in the web browser that talks to your phone and uses end-to-end encryption with a key exchanged by a QR code shown in the browser. Signal does not implement a feature like this because designing it in such a way that it's verifiably (by the user) secure is almost impossible.

https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/

#cybersecurity #infosec #privacy #security #signal #whatsapp

https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/

WhatsApp Encryption, a Lawsuit, and a Lot of Noise – A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2026/02/02/whatsapp-encryption-a-lawsuit-and-a-lot-of-noise/

Millions of books died so Claude could live https://www.theverge.com/podcast/872998/anthropic-claude-books-netflix-theaters-vergecast

Millions of books died so Claude could live https://www.theverge.com/podcast/872998/anthropic-claude-books-netflix-theaters-vergecast

Millions of books died so Claude could live
https://www.theverge.com/podcast/872998/anthropic-claude-books-netflix-theaters-vergecast

Millions of books died so Claude could live

On The Vergecast: data-hungry AI models, Netflix movie theaters, and smart buttons.

Millions of books died so Claude could live https://www.theverge.com/podcast/872998/anthropic-claude-books-netflix-theaters-vergecast #SmartHome #Streaming #Vergecast #Podcasts #Netflix #Tech #AI

Millions of books died so Claude could live https://thever.ge/HZGe #SmartHome #Streaming #Vergecast #Podcasts #Netflix #Tech #AI

A strong reminder that change is not only possible, it’s not even especially painful:
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

Real progress is finally being made. #AusPol #Renewables #ClimateChange

https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

Real progress is finally being made. #AusPol #Renewables #ClimateChange

https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

Renewables over 50%, wholesale prices down – is the energy transition… succeeding?
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

and to think there are still people all-in on trying to convince us that somehow big hydro, big nuclear and fanciful “SMR”nuclear will deliver the same kind of cheap, clean, reliable power.

It's not.

Just get on with building solar and wind and tidal and batteries banks and all the rest!

Australia is now far ahead of Canada. Why…?

"Australia’s long, complicated and difficult energy transition is finally working. As our recent research suggests, if these trends continue – and nothing new goes wrong – we should begin to see lower retail electricity bills by mid-2026. As more coal plants close and new transmission and storage infrastructure is delivered, electricity prices could rise again. But overall, shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.”

#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Energy #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #EndFossilFuels
https://theconversation.com/renewables-over-50-wholesale-prices-down-is-the-energy-transition-succeeding-274616

LISTEN: EFF’s Beryl Lipton joined WBUR’s On Point to explore the AI surveillance state. From your online browsing habits to traffic cameras on your commute and more, AI helps gather, store and share detailed information about you faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state

was honored to go on OnPoint today to talk about AI-powered surveillance: www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026...

Inside the AI surveillance sta...

LISTEN: EFF’s Beryl Lipton joined WBUR’s On Point to explore the AI surveillance state. From your online browsing habits to traffic cameras on your commute and more, AI helps gather, store and share detailed information about you faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state

LISTEN: EFF’s Beryl Lipton joined WBUR’s On Point to explore the AI surveillance state. From your online browsing habits to traffic cameras on your commute and more, AI helps gather, store and share detailed information about you faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state

LISTEN: EFF’s Beryl Lipton joined WBUR’s On Point to explore the AI surveillance state. From your online browsing habits to traffic cameras on your commute and more, AI helps gather, store and share detailed information about you faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state

LISTEN: EFF’s Beryl Lipton joined WBUR’s On Point to explore the AI surveillance state. From your online browsing habits to traffic cameras on your commute and more, AI helps gather, store and share detailed information about you faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state

Last week I sat down with @adactio for a spontaneous chat that quickly turned into a deep dive into something we both care a lot about: events, community, and why we keep putting ourselves through the joy and pain of running events. Surely we also spoke about his upcoming Web Day Out event in Brighton and what that is all about. https://beyondtellerrand.com/blog/podcast-jeremy-keith-003

Last week I sat down with @adactio for a spontaneous chat that quickly turned into a deep dive into something we both care a lot about: events, community, and why we keep putting ourselves through the joy and pain of running events. Surely we also spoke about his upcoming Web Day Out event in Brighton and what that is all about. https://beyondtellerrand.com/blog/podcast-jeremy-keith-003

Last week I sat down with @adactio for a spontaneous chat that quickly turned into a deep dive into something we both care a lot about: events, community, and why we keep putting ourselves through the joy and pain of running events. Surely we also spoke about his upcoming Web Day Out event in Brighton and what that is all about. https://beyondtellerrand.com/blog/podcast-jeremy-keith-003

Last week I sat down with @adactio for a spontaneous chat that quickly turned into a deep dive into something we both care a lot about: events, community, and why we keep putting ourselves through the joy and pain of running events. Surely we also spoke about his upcoming Web Day Out event in Brighton and what that is all about. https://beyondtellerrand.com/blog/podcast-jeremy-keith-003

Turns Out They Didn’t Really Want You To Bring Your Whole Self To Work | Techdirt

"So no, they didn’t really want you to bring your whole self to work. They wanted you to bring the parts that were useful to them, for exactly as long as it was useful to them. The “whole self” thing was just the price of admission in a seller’s market. Now that it’s a buyer’s market, they’d prefer you just shut up and (use AI to write) code.

The irony is that employees who actually believe in what they’re building tend to build better things. These executives may have just taught an entire g..."

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/03/turns-out-they-didnt-really-want-you-to-bring-your-whole-self-to-work/

#career #labor #tech

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/03/turns-out-they-didnt-really-want-you-to-bring-your-whole-self-to-work/

Back in 2020, tech companies expounded about how important it was to "bring your whole self to work." Now, they want you to leave that girl or guy at home, while you, of course, return to the office. What gives? @mmasnick writes for @techdirt.com about how it was always just a business decision — and that explains the rightward shift across Silicon Valley too.

https://flip.it/cNEF9F

#Technology #Tech #Politics #SiliconValley #DEI

Back in 2020, tech companies expounded about how important it was to "bring your whole self to work." Now, they want you to leave that girl or guy at home, while you, of course, return to the office. What gives? @mmasnick writes for @techdirt.com about how it was always just a business decision — and that explains the rightward shift across Silicon Valley too.

https://flip.it/cNEF9F

#Technology #Tech #Politics #SiliconValley #DEI