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Living without GAFAM? The list of alternatives!
Living without GAFAM? The list of alternatives!Mr Globalization - May 12, 2024
GAFAM – these web behemoths – are regularly under fire from critics.
Control of the information and online advertising market, resale of personal data, economic hegemony, influence of democracy via powerful lobbies, there is no shortage of reasons to be wary of these giants. However, it is difficult to get rid of them as they are everywhere in our digital universe. However, here are some ideas for replacing them on a daily basis.
Behind the acronym GAFAM hide 5 sprawling groups working on new information and communication technologies: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. These giants, known to everyone and with crazy growth, are today the leaders in terms of market capitalization at the cost of morally dubious practices. At the heart of the scandals, between the massive intrusion into the private lives of users and the unscrupulous management of their personal data, we also find collusion with certain governments as the Wikileaks whistleblowers or Edward Snowden have demonstrated. An almost total hegemony which is not a sign of good health for our already weakened democracies.
Another vision of the Web and computing
Since the beginnings of computing, another model has been organized on the fringes of commercial and liberticidal logics thanks to the actors – or hackers – of “free software”. Generally speaking, this software can be redistributed freely (free of charge in most cases, even if it is not obligatory) and the user can have access to their source codes to customize and improve their experience and that of other users. .
Most software or services distributed under a free license are developed cooperatively by their community, thus making it possible to respond effectively to user needs and to correct a large number of bugs. Much less greedy for personal data, because they are not financed by advertising, they can prove to be good alternatives to the services offered by GAFAM and are sometimes even more efficient. VLC Media Player, for example, is one of the only consumer software programs that allows you to play, convert and download audio and video files in all existing formats.
For Richard Stallman, pioneer of the philosophy of Free, this movement wants to lay the foundations of a new society where ideas and culture are freely exchanged. That is to say, without submission to a strictly commercial logic which guides the actions of content producers. The goal is to enable everyone to flourish without hindrance, by promoting the understanding of technology and the use of computer equipment while limiting waste and obsolescence. Built on this model, the Wikipedia foundation, enriched daily by the contributions of its users, remains the best example.
Concrete alternatives to GAFAM to reclaim your computer and web browsing
As far as possible, we try to offer here some free, open-source solutions that respect the privacy of users, without claiming that they are qualitatively superior. If we cannot cover all the services offered by GAFAM in a single article, we will try to highlight alternatives to the most commonly used services.
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Nearly half of global internet traffic now involves bots
Nearly half of global internet traffic now involves botsSott: Sign of The Times - May 01, 2024
Thales, a cybersecurity leader that protects critical applications, APIs and data at scale and across the world, today announced the release of its Imperva Bad Bot 2024 report, a global analysis of automated bot traffic on the internet .
In 2023, almost half (49,6%) of all internet traffic came from bots, a 2% increase from the previous year, and the highest level reported by Imperva since the company began its traffic monitoring in 2013.
While the proportion of human user traffic fell to 50,4%, that of malicious bots increased for the fifth year in a row, from 30,2% in 2022 to 32% in 2023. This automated traffic costs businesses billion dollars each year due to attacks on websites, APIs and applications.
Key trends identified in the Imperva Bad Bot 2024 report include:
Global average for malicious bot traffic reached 32%: Ireland (71%), Germany (67,5%) and Mexico (42,8%) recorded the highest levels of bot traffic malware in 2023. The United States also recorded a slightly higher ratio (35,4%) compared to 2022 (32,1%).
The growing use of generative AI is linked to the increase in the number of simple bots: the rapid adoption of generative AI and large language models (LLM) has led to an increase in the volume of simple bots, passing from 33,4% in 2022 to 39,6% in 2023. The technology uses online automated data extraction bots and automated web crawlers 2 to power the training models and allows users without technical knowledge to write automated scripts for their own use.
User account takeover is a persistent risk for businesses: account takeover attacks (ATO) increased by 10% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Additionally, 44% of all ATO attacks targeted API endpoints, up from 35% in 2022. Of all internet login attempts, 11% were associated with a user account hijacking attempt. In 2023, the industries experiencing the highest number of these attacks were financial services (36,8%), travel (11,5%), and business services (8%).
APIs represent a prime vector for attacks: automated threats caused 30% of API attacks in 2023. Of these, 17% were malicious bots exploiting business logic vulnerabilities: a flaw in design and API implementation that allows attackers to manipulate legitimate functionality to gain access to sensitive data or user accounts. Because they provide direct access to this sensitive data, APIs are a prime target for cybercriminals who use automated bots to find and exploit them.
Every industry is affected by bots: for the second year in a row, the gaming industry (57,2%) recorded the highest proportion of harmful bot traffic. At the same time, retail (24,4%), travel (20,7%) and financial services (15,7%) suffered the highest number of bot attacks. The proportion of advanced malicious bots, capable of imitating human behavior and evading defense systems, was highest on legal and government business sites (75,8%), entertainment (70,8%) and financial services (67,1%).
Malbot traffic from residential Internet Service Providers (ISPs) increases to 25,8%: Early evasion techniques for malicious bots involved impersonating a user internet browser commonly used by real human users . These bots accounted for 44,8% of all malicious bot traffic over the past year, up from 28,1% just five years ago. Advanced players combine mobile user agents with the use of residential or mobile ISPs. Residential proxies allow bot operators to evade detection by making the origin of traffic appear to be a legitimate residential IP address assigned by an Internet service provider.
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iPhone users turn to Brave browser
iPhone users turn to Brave browserEel under rock - March 16, 2024
Users turn to Brave when Apple is forced to display default browser options in the EU.
A sharp increase following the relaxation of Apple's anti-competitive controls.
Following recent changes brought about by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), iPhone users have significantly increased the installation of the privacy-friendly Brave browsing app. Initiated by Apple in its iOS 17.4 release, the DMA forced the tech giant to allow European users to choose their default browser. Safari, Apple's proprietary browser, was just one option.
Since the launch of iOS 14, iPhone owners could theoretically choose their favorite web browser, but this freedom was only an illusion.
Apple imposed a standard requiring all third-party web browsers to rely on its WebKit API and limiting the features they were allowed to implement. Following the DMA mandate, Apple removed the WebKit prerequisite in the EU and began actively offering users an initial device setup with a browser selection.
The first indications of Apple's strategy to align with the DMA materialized in January. Changing the operational dynamics of web browsers on iPhones in the EU, iOS 17.4 allows customers to indicate their default internet browser preference at the initial point of Safari activation. Importantly, competing browser creators can now use different browser engines.
iPhone users have the choice between Chrome, DuckDuckGo, Edge, Firefox and Brave.
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Mike Benz's historic interview with Tucker Carlson
Mike Benz's historic interview with Tucker CarlsonQuantum Leap – Feb 21, 2024
The National Security State and the Inversion of Democracy
The national security state is the primary driver of censorship and election interference in the United States.
A comprehensible and enlightening historical summary of information warfare.
“What I am describing is a military regime, it is the inversion of democracy. »
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Massive search engine censorship: Test Mojeek
Massive search engine censorship: Test MojeekJacob's Ladder - Feb 19, 2024
Mojeek is one of the most interesting projects in the field of search engines.
And for good reason: it is one of the rare search engines compared to Google, Bing, etc.
Qwant, Ecosia, Duckduckgo… these are meta-search engines. They get their results from Bing. They are not search engines.
Mojeek builds its own search results, with its own robots that search the web.
And on top of that, the company behind it does not collect unnecessary data, does not analyze personal data, behavior, etc. and it is properly financed.
In short, a really good project (I talked about it in a little more detail here)
Obviously, due to its youth and limited means, Mojeek is not as relevant as Google. (and even more on search results in French)
Too often he doesn't find what I ask for.
That's why it's not my default search engine.
But recently, I found one strong point:
Mojeek is very good for finding small independent blogs/sites! And that even in French searches
Over the last few days, I've made a lot of little discoveries thanks to Mojeek. Discoveries that I didn't make (while I was doing the same search) on Swisscows (which uses Bing) or Qwant (which also uses Bing and a bit of its own index)
(for the curious: I did some research with the titles of books that I liked, to see if there were any blogs that talked about them)
Bing doesn't care about small independent blogs/sites!
You can't find them in the search results.
While on Mojeek, you can find them!
It's really cool. It's like discovering a part of the internet that's hidden!
Bing also tends to put results in English, whereas your search is in French (and you have configured the search engine so that it is in French)
Whereas if you set Mojeek to get you results in French, it will really get you results in French.
In fact, it gives the impression that Bing is trying to give you somewhat universal results, which could suit almost everyone, and at the same time exclude anything that is too “small” or “specific”
While Mojeek leaves room for the small and specific.
And that’s really cool!
Because that means you can discover new sites/blogs again with a search engine.
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Momotchi reveals the gradual disappearance of access to online information
Momotchi reveals the gradual disappearance of access to online informationMomotchi - Feb 12, 2024
The Internet as we know it is shrinking without us realizing it.
Have you ever tried to explain a controversial topic to a friend, only to have them respond simply, "I already Googled it and couldn't find anything?" It seems that this experience is becoming more and more common. Momotchi raises a worrying trend: the Internet as we know it is shrinking, slowly but surely, without us realizing it.
Momotchi incisively reveals how our search engines, notably Google, seem to restrict access to information. Through a careful demonstration, she shows how a simple search on subjects like climate change or the COVID-19 vaccine systematically refers to the same official sources, thus limiting the diversity of points of view.
This subtle manipulation of information can have profound consequences on our perception of the world. By restricting our access to a plurality of perspectives, search engines trap us in an information bubble, giving us the illusion of choice when the reality is very different.
The impact of this reduction in information space is alarming. Not only does it limit our ability to access a diversity of opinions, but it also poses fundamental questions about the very nature of democracy and freedom of expression in the digital age.
Momotchi thus warns us against this worrying development of the Internet, calling on everyone to question the reliability of our sources of information and to remain vigilant in the face of this apparent progressive “disappearance” of the Internet as we know it.
by Yoann - Le Media-en-4-4-2
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EU wants to spy on Europeans' internet use
EU wants to spy on Europeans' internet useDigital Dawn - Jan 20, 2024
In recent years, outright censorship in all its forms has increased. During the covid madness, government and industry teamed up to create a censorship-industry complex to more effectively promote false narratives and silence dissent.
The European Commission is an EU legislative body with regulatory authority over digital technology. Article 45 of the EC's proposed eIDAS Regulation would deliberately weaken certain aspects of internet security that the industry has carefully developed and strengthened for over 25 years. This article would in effect grant the 27 EU governments very broad surveillance powers over Internet use.
The rule would require all Internet browsers to trust an additional root certificate from an agency (or regulated entity) of each of the national governments of each of the EU member states. For non-specialist readers, I will explain what a root certificate is, how trust in the internet has evolved and what Article 45 brings in this regard. Next, I'll highlight some comments from the tech community on this issue.
The next section of this article explains how the Internet's trust infrastructure works. This context is necessary to understand how radical the proposed article is. The explanation is intended to be accessible to a non-technical reader.
The regulation in question concerns internet security. By “internet” here we mean, to a large extent, browsers that visit websites. Internet security has many distinct aspects. Article 45 aims to change public key infrastructure (PKI), which has been part of internet security since the mid-90s. PKI was first adopted and then improved over a period of 25 years, in order to give users and publishers the following guarantees:
Browser-website conversation privacy: Browsers and websites converse over the Internet, a network of networks operated by Internet service providers and Tier 1 carriers, or cellular carriers. if the device is mobile. The network itself is not inherently secure or trustworthy. Your home Internet service provider, a traveler in the airport waiting room where you're waiting for your flight, or a data provider looking to sell leads to advertisers may want to spy on you. Without any protection, a malicious actor could view confidential data such as a password, credit card balance, or health information.
Ensure that you view the page exactly as the website sent it to you: When you view a web page, could it have changed between the editor and your browser? A censor may want to remove content they don't want you to see. Content labeled as “disinformation” was largely removed during the covid hysteria. A hacker who stole your credit card might want to remove evidence of their fraudulent spending.
Ensure that the website you see is the one in the browser's address bar: When you log into a bank, how do you know you are seeing that bank's website, and not a fake version that looks the same? You check your browser's address bar. Could your browser be tricked and show you a fake website that looks identical to the real one? How does your browser know – for sure – that it is connected to the right site?
In the early days of the internet, none of these guarantees existed. In 2010, a browser plugin available in the add-ons store allowed the user to join another person's Facebook group chat at a hotspot cafe. Today, with ICP, you can be pretty sure of these things.
These security features are protected by a system based on digital certificates. Digital certificates are a form of identification – the internet version of a driving license. When a browser connects to a site, the site presents it with a certificate. The certificate contains a cryptographic key. The browser and website work together using a series of cryptographic calculations to establish secure communication.
Together, the browser and the website provide the three security guarantees:
- confidentiality: by encrypting the conversation.
- cryptographic digital signatures: to ensure that content is not modified in flight.
- publisher verification: through the chain of trust provided by the ICP, which I will explain in more detail below.
A good identity should be difficult to counterfeit. In ancient times, the wax casting of a seal served this purpose. Human identities rely on biometrics. Your face is one of the oldest shapes. In the non-digital world, when you need to enter an age-restricted venue, for example to order an alcoholic drink, you will be asked for photo ID.
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How do our connected objects manipulate us?
How do our connected objects manipulate us?The Media in 4-4-2 - Jan 06, 2024
Momotchi and the Invisible Menace: Have you ever felt like your phone was listening to you?
Have you found yourself faced with an online ad for something you never looked for, but seemed to fit your desires perfectly? These questions about monitoring and listening to our devices are becoming more and more frequent. And the answer, very often, lies in an alarming reality: our connected objects do not just observe us, they also modify our behavior.
The evolution towards a world where technology guides our actions and restricts our free will is worrying. Momotchi evokes surveillance capitalism, where our every move is scrutinized and transformed into usable data. This omnipresent surveillance is embedded in our lives, from our homes to our travels, leading us to a reality where our behaviors are manipulated on a massive scale.
Going back in time, Momotchi references past experiments, such as the CIA's Project MK-Ultra, exploring mind control techniques. Today, this desire to control human behavior is creeping into our daily lives through games, social networks and connected objects, leading us towards a reality where our actions could be manipulated for commercial or political purposes.
The observation is clear: behind the promise of technology increasingly integrated into our daily lives lies a worrying potential for manipulation of our behavior. At a time when our connected objects are blending into our environment, it is becoming crucial to question the limits of surveillance and preserve our free will in a world increasingly conditioned by data and algorithms.
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Starlink global traffic triples in 2023
Digital Dawn - 24 Dec 2023
Crowning Elon Musk as the leader of the spatial internet.
New data from IT security firm Cloudflare reveals a surge in popularity for Elon Musk's Starlink internet service, with global web traffic tripling this year.
“Overall, we have seen Starlink traffic more than triple this year. In the United States, Starlink traffic increased more than 2,5 times, and increased 17 times in Brazil. In countries where Starlink will go live in 2023, including Kenya, the Philippines, and Zambia, we saw traffic increase rapidly as soon as the service became available,” Cloudflare writes in its report.
Starlink's satellite broadband internet service has grown exponentially over the past three years. This development is due to the increase in launches by SpaceX of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
Starlink is the world's leading internet service provider in space. Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper service is very late, with only a few satellites in low orbit. Bezos recently had to hire Musk for rocket launches after his rocket company Blue Origin suffered a series of delays over the summer.
Starlink had more than two million users as of September and operated on all seven continents in more than 60 countries.
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Dropshipping makes a comeback every Christmas: protect yourself!
Mr Globalization - Dec 08, 2023
As the end-of-year holidays approach, an online scam is wreaking havoc: dropshipping.
While we think we are buying a quality item at a reasonable price online, it is, in reality, low-end and comes from the other side of the world. To avoid falling into the trap, here is a breakdown of this dishonest, although legal, practice.
Dropshipping is a commercial practice that adds an intermediary between an internet merchant and their customer. The dropshipper, an unscrupulous merchant, will virtually generate profit by inflating the prices of low-cost products that are already for direct sale on well-known Chinese sites like Aliexpress or Wish. The person making the purchase therefore receives a product ordered directly from China while having paid a significant commission to an anonymous matchmaker.
In many cases, this parasitic matchmaker lies about the quality and origin of the products in order to be able to artificially inflate prices to generate colossal profits without any effort from a simple computer. They are generally not insured, often not declared, do not monitor the products and do not carry out any health tests, sometimes putting the health of their customers at risk. Here's how to spot and protect yourself from this web cancer which is becoming widespread on social networks with the help of marketing campaigns.
A growing online scam
As it is denounced, dropshipping sees a plethora of defenders flourish. No doubt it is because, like tax evasion, this phenomenon finds its support in the hopes of rapid financial ascension encouraged by the start-up nation and its 3.0 capitalism. To the detriment of the consumer and the environment, but not only: it is also an additional entanglement in the current disastrous model.
Dropshipping simply lets some people see an example of winning through merit, that of having been clever by manipulating others, in a world necrotized by permissive commercial approaches. The legitimized goal? Achieve, then maintain, almost instantaneous financial success. Dropshipping “training” companies don’t hide it. Their slogan: “Copy, paste, enjoy!” »
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ECH is becoming widespread and could help unblock blocked websites
Digital Dawn - Oct 12, 2023
Government attempts to block websites could be countered with this new tool.
The war against online censorship and surveillance has recently seen a tremendous development that could turn the tide in favor of freedom and privacy on the internet. Internet infrastructure titan Cloudflare has unveiled support for the Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) privacy feature, creating a sanctuary for free speech advocates and calling into question attempts to block sites already established.
For the uninitiated, as TorrentFreak reported, web blocking has been the entertainment industry's anti-piracy tool of choice for over a decade and a half. Used in over forty countries, this method involves Internet Service Providers (ISPs) blocking access to specific websites, often under a legal directive. After starting with rudimentary DNS blocks, the system has evolved, employing sophisticated Server Name Indication (SNI) eavesdropping techniques, or sometimes a mixture of the two. But it has also been used by governments to censor websites and block access to them.
However, the landscape has begun to change with the emergence of privacy-focused technologies, such as Encrypted DNS, that challenge these blocks. Today, the introduction of ECH is poised to revolutionize this field, rendering Internet Service Provider monitoring efforts virtually, if not completely, ineffective.
Simply put, ECH is an innovative privacy protocol designed to hide internet traffic and thwart surveillance efforts. Browser giants like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge have already given a nod to its implementation. However, for its potential to be fully exploited, websites must also integrate it. Cloudflare's decision to integrate ECH by default into all of its free plans, serving countless websites, represents a giant step toward widespread adoption...
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CSAR Regulation: surveillance of our communications is now taking place in Brussels
CSAR Regulation: surveillance of our communications is now taking place in BrusselsStrategika - Sep 26, 2023
A little over a year ago, the European Commission proposed one of the worst digital texts ever thought up: the CSAR regulation, also called “Chat control”.
Displaying the objective of combating child sexual abuse, this proposal actually aims to create a unique tool for monitoring communications. As soon as this draft regulation was submitted, throughout Europe, associations and experts rose up against this initiative because it would amount to putting an end to the encryption of communications. Today, although the criticisms are even more numerous, discussions are progressing quickly in Brussels, suggesting that the text will be adopted very soon. In order to understand its issues and help strengthen mobilization, we return to the content of this regulation which could sign the end of all confidentiality of online exchanges.
