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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 24th, 2023

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  • This, to me, seems like the standardization vs optimization argument. So much of the tech world could be optimized like crazy, but the more complex it gets, the hard it is to communicate with others and keep things consistent. This complexity actually hinders production overall. Standardization, even if it’s not the most optimized, allows us to create vastly more complex and reliable systems because we can ensure we are all on the same page. Even if that standardization isn’t the best way to do it. I mean, if you want to talk about absolute control over your code, why don’t you write in assembly? Are all programming languages not virtually assembly with training wheels?

    Writing in code that is not memory safe is going to mean you are substantially more likely to have mistakes that lead both to user annoyance and straight up security vulnerabilities. Having applications written in a memory safe languages, especially when worked on by large swaths of people, is absolutely the best route. It provides a secure standard way to write memory safe code. This will reduce security vulnerabilities, decrease program crashes, and allow for more efficient developers.

    Changing a bike tire is something for a single person, maybe two at most. Writing code is often a team effort. And the more people that are involved, the more likely mistakes are going to happen. People absolutely can still learn the complexities, and still choose to use Rust because honestly, it’s the smart thing to do. And it doesn’t need to be rust. Any memory safe language would accomplish the same goal.


  • I listen to Steve Gibson’s podcast “Security Now” and he was talking about why, for security reasons, memory safe applications should be the way of the future. So many security vulnerabilities come from improper memory management. And while C may be more powerful, giving up some of that power for standardization is almost always worth it. We could make much more progress if we were spending less time trying to make sure the memory is handling correctly in every situation. So while there is no doubt the crazy fans of it, I think moving to memory safe languages in general should be the way of the future.

    Of course, he still writes all his programs in assembly and refuses to learn anything else. But when you’re at his age, I guess you get a pass XD






  • I appreciate the info, I think that’s good information that I hadn’t fully thought through (but probably could have figured out had I thought about it). I’m not too interested in a Pixel, and the unlocked bootloader is really only useful if someone has my physical phone. My hard drive is encrypted, of course, so my thought as to a way they could gain information if they modify the bootloader and let me decrypt the phone for them. I wonder if the only next best thing is to basically have an alert, or refuse to boot, if there is a change in the bootloader detected, so I can do a clean install.

    Most manufacturers don’t allow re-locking of the bootloader unless it’s official Android, so it sucks the only other option would be buy from Google.

    I’m interested in what you say about the forensics kit. What could I look for to find more info?


  • lol, honestly, just Firefox. I know there’s a lot of hubbub about Mozilla and Firefox with them changing their ToS, but you can disable all sponsored items, and anonymous. And even though they changed their ToS, I don’t think they’ve changed anything. They’ve sold anonymized data for a while. People here don’t seem to like data selling of any kind, but Firefox only collects anonymized data, and it’s a free service.

    The only two real options will be Chrome and Chromium based, and Firefox and Firefox based. For Firefox based that isn’t firefox, you’ve got:

    • Librewolf
    • Mullvad
    • Zen
    • Floorp

    If you google for other browsers, and find one you haven’t heard of, there’s a 99% chance it’s Chromium based.