alex7734 (u/alex7734)

alex7734 commented on Homomorphic encryption in iOS 18 boehs.org/node/homomorphi... · Posted by u/surprisetalk

lucideer · 8 months ago

Android doesn't do this. Everything is opt-in.

Granted they require you to opt-in in order for the photos app to be usable & if you go out of your way to avoid opting in they make your photo-browsing life miserable with prompts & notifications. But you do still have to opt-in.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

Google loves doing this.

If you dare turn off Play Protect for example, you will be asked to turn it on every time you install or update anything. Never mind that you said no the last thousand times it asked.

alex7734 commented on Right to root access medhir.com/blog/right-to-... · Posted by u/medhir

jbombadil · 8 months ago

> If you don't want an unlocked bootloader, just don't unlock your bootloader.

That kind of logic cuts both ways: "If you don't want a device with a locked boot loader, just don't buy a device with a locked bootloader".

Unfortunately, as consumers, we're trapped between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, I would want 100% freedom to use my device exactly as I see fit and run any software I want, without any form of curation from the manufacturer. On the other hand, there are plenty of software companies who do shitty things when given absolute freedom over what to do in a user's device (tracking / spying / etc) and I welcome buying a device where the manufacturer helps me fight some of that.

So I can absolutely see both arguments. And I think both types can coexist. I am happy my iPhone doesn't allow Meta to say "to use WhatsApp, you must install the MetaStore®, give it root and install it from there". I would not be happy with those restrictions on my desktop.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

> I am happy my iPhone doesn't allow Meta to say "to use WhatsApp, you must install the MetaStore®, give it root and install it from there". I would not be happy with those restrictions on my desktop.

You fix that by making root access inconvenient enough that companies can't rely on the average random user having it enabled.

For example force you to wipe the device to unlock it as another person said in another comment. Or make it so that if you don't unlock it within 7 days of the device purchase and first boot, you cannot unlock it anymore.

alex7734 commented on Right to root access medhir.com/blog/right-to-... · Posted by u/medhir

lrvick · 8 months ago

I detest Google, but I do think they made the right call with Android devices and Chromebooks. You can unlock either as long as you are willing to totally wipe the device first and start over as a new device under a new security context.

This removes the risk of this being abused to compromise the data of stolen devices or evil maid attacks unless a user that knows what they are doing has explicitly opted themselves into that risk.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

This, or even sell "dev units" with the bootloader unlocked so that you explicitly have to accept the risk before purchasing the device.

The problem though is that rooting by itself is not that useful when a lot of apps use remote attestation to deny you service if you're rooted.

We don't just need root access, we need undetectable root access.

alex7734 commented on F-Droid Fake Signer PoC github.com/obfusk/fdroid-... · Posted by u/pabs3

bolognafairy · 8 months ago

“Users are dumb” is not and was never the attitude. On average, people are average. You’ve just got completely unrealistic expectations of people. You’re asking for the world to be built around your wants, needs, preferences, and areas of expertise. Something this complex in the hands of 99.99% of the population would be entirely useless.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

A few years ago everyone that had ever used a computer knew what a file and a folder was and could move a document to an USB drive.

Thanks to the efforts of Google to "simplify" smartphones the average young person now couldn't find and double-click a downloaded file if their life depended on it.

In the US, a manual car is considered an anti-theft device. In Europe, basically everyone that isn't obscenely rich has driven a manual car at some point.

People learn what they're expected to learn.

alex7734 commented on The GPU, not the TPM, is the root of hardware DRM mjg59.dreamwidth.org/7095... · Posted by u/DvdGiessen

2OEH8eoCRo0 · 8 months ago

Do they mean that no OS modification is necessary to read the decrypted media from memory?

alex7734 · 8 months ago

Currently, no. But once (undetectable) OS modification is no longer possible, making the undecrypted media unreadable is just a few API restrictions away.

In Android phones for example you cannot screenshot banking apps. And if you root (modify the OS of) your phone, banking apps refuse to work.

alex7734 commented on The GPU, not the TPM, is the root of hardware DRM mjg59.dreamwidth.org/7095... · Posted by u/DvdGiessen

andrewaylett · 8 months ago

As the article points out, the TPM is not in a good place, architecturally, to use for DRM: there's no path from the TPM to the screen that's not under OS (and thereby user) control.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

The whole point of TPM is that the OS is not under the user control anymore.

If you modify it thanks to remote attestation you can no longer prove that it is unmodified using the TPM.

alex7734 commented on The GPU, not the TPM, is the root of hardware DRM mjg59.dreamwidth.org/7095... · Posted by u/DvdGiessen

HeatrayEnjoyer · 8 months ago

Video capture cards can be countered with encrypted video from GPU to monitor. That's why you can't screencap 4k Disney+ movies.

alex7734 · 8 months ago

Encrypted monitors can be countered by a high quality video camera mounted on a tripod behind your chair or on a wall or ceiling

Expensive, yes, but at that point you're already spending real money on a second computer with a GPU to do computer vision on the game video stream, so...

alex7734 commented on Honda is testing a manual transmission for EVs thedrive.com/news/honda-i... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

theanonymousone · 10 months ago

Automatic transmission is probably the only indispensable "feature" I look for in a new car and that I'm willing to pay extra for. How some people prefer manual is probably one of the mysteries I'll take to grave with myself.

Edit: By prefer, I mean having the choice and choosing manual, obviously. Choosing manual because it is cheaper does not count.

alex7734 · 10 months ago

Not having an automatic transmission means there are less ways in which a manufacturer can screw up your car's performance in the name of emissions.

This is obviously less relevant in America where you can still buy fast cars without being murdered by taxes.

alex7734 commented on Large language models reduce public knowledge sharing on online Q&A platforms academic.oup.com/pnasnexu... · Posted by u/croes

david-gpu · a year ago

As a user, why would I care whether an answer is "incorrect" or "hallucinated"? Neither one is going to solve the problem I have at hand. It sounds like a distinction without a difference.

alex7734 · a year ago

- AI answers are much easier and faster to produce thus it's going to produce a lot more wrong answers by sheer volume.

- AI answers are grammatically correct and verbose so it looks like the poster put effort into it which deceives people into thinking the answers is more trustworthy than it is.

Barring trolls, humans (for the most part) only answer if they think they're right, and the more effort put into the answer the more likely they don't get it wrong.

alex7734 commented on US man jailed for cloning giant sheep for trophy hunting bbc.com/news/articles/cde... · Posted by u/ucha

high_na_euv · a year ago

>District Court Judge Brian Morris said he struggled to come up with a sentence, but had to deter anyone else from trying to "change the genetic makeup of the creatures" on the planet.

Whatever the judge is feeling today, huh?

alex7734 · a year ago

I don't know what you did wrong, but don't worry, I can be very creative