friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
@Melissa BearTrix You won! 😃
You see, even time can be an ally in chess.
lichess.org/LDxsqru5/black#17
There's a new one on and you are black, read chat there for your moves to learn you the ropes.

Correspondence Chess • MelissaBearTrix vs masterplan8

MelissaBearTrix (1500?) played masterplan8 (1447?) in a casual Correspondence game of chess. masterplan8 ran out of time after 9 moves. Click to replay, analyse, and discuss the game!
lichess.org
@Melissa BearTrix

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friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

The "14 Eyes" refers to the SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR) alliance, an extension of the Five and Nine Eyes agreements, where member nations share mass surveillance intelligence. A significant portion of Tor exit nodes (estimated at ~70–80%) are located in these countries, raising concerns about traffic correlation and deanonymization if multiple nodes in a single circuit fall under these jurisdictions.

SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) is the practice of intercepting, decoding, and analyzing electronic signals to gather intelligence. It is the technical backbone of the 14 Eyes
SIGINT is an umbrella term covering three main disciplines:

COMINT (Communications Intelligence): Interception of human communications (phone calls, emails, chat logs, radio traffic). This is what agencies like the NSA (US) and GCHQ (UK) primarily use to monitor internet activity.

ELINT (Electronic Intelligence): Interception of non-communication signals, such as radar emissions, missile guidance systems, or drone control links.

FISINT (Foreign Instrumentation Signals Intelligence): Telemetry data from foreign weapons testing (e.g., speed, altitude, and performance metrics of a missile during a test flight).

more so
Unlike human spies (HUMINT), SIGINT is automated and massive in scale. Collection: Agencies use undersea cable taps, satellite interceptors (like the ECHELON system), and ground stations to capture raw data.

Processing: Supercomputers filter noise and attempt to decrypt encrypted traffic. If decryption fails, they often analyze metadata (who called whom, when, and where) which is often unencrypted.

The "Loophole": As revealed by Edward Snowden, SIGINT alliances allow countries to bypass domestic spying laws. For example, if the NSA is legally barred from spying on a US citizen, it can request the GCHQ (UK) to spy on them and share the data legally.
This is the core function of the SIGINT Seniors Europe (SSEUR) or "14 Eyes" group.

When you use Tor, your traffic is encrypted, but SIGINT agencies can still perform traffic correlation attacks. By monitoring the entry node (via your ISP) and the exit node (via a server in a 14 Eyes country), they can match timing and packet sizes to deanonymize you, even without breaking the encryption. This is why excluding 14 Eyes countries from your exit nodes is a critical defense against SIGINT capabilities.
NSA XKeyscore SIGINT capabilities 2026

in reply to Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

Tor over VPN is a total waste of time and creates far too much latency. If you feel you have to mask your use of Tor then just use a bridge. People seriously do not understand what VPNs are, what they were really made for, and why they are not great for security. Though they can get you past some regional blocks on the internet that is about the extent of their usefulness. Unless you are setting up your own VPN (which requires a publicly available server such as my VPS) to use the VPN for what it was actually made for.

The VPN privacy thing is a scam even when most of the net was http and not https. The reason being is that just like when you leave a Tor exit for a http site the connection between the Tor exit and the site is not encrypted. The same applies to VPN. As soon as you connect to a site that is not encrypted from your VPN you lose encryption. Now, if you are connecting to a https site, then you do not need to the VPN for encryption and you are just subjecting yourself to unneeded latency for no reason.

So-called security experts that are really just trying to sell you a service have totally misrepresented what a VPN is and its uses. I have entire books on VPNs if you are interested. OpenVPN also has some great documentation. The VPN for privacy is just smoke and mirrors that knowledgeable users do not fall for. It is like Anti-Virus on Gnu/Linux which is a scam as well, just to sell a product. I am not talking about Anti-Virus on servers to protect against their spreading viruses to MS/Windows machines connected to them such as Clam. I am talking about the BS anti-virus programs that really do nothing on Gnu/Linux there are other ways to protect yourself on Gnu/Linux that does not exist on Older MS/Windows but they are starting to add some features since MS/Windows Vista. Though most users disable these features on MS/Windows because they are inconvenient so they do not benefit from them. I am not implying that there are no security vulnerabilities on Gnu/Linus as there certainly are. They are just managed very differently than on MS/Windows. With stricter ACL then most home MS/Windows users have turned on and SELinux or Apparmor. And by just practicing good OPSEC.

Keep in mind that most Anti-virus software is mostly required because of proprietary software. When source code is available and can be vetted you do not need Anti-virus to scan files looking for attacks. Because they are in a binary format you cannot vet. With Open Source Software you can just read the code, no scanners required.

@Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕
This entry was edited (1 day ago)
in reply to Unus Nemo

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

 — (0.0.0.0/ 0)
@Unus Nemo I do not use Anti Virus at all even on my XOS and there no VPN neither. I know it's scam, just for here to help access sites due to geolocation using a wireguard tunnel to all accessible servers in a set region which is Canada, also to cloak my real ISP when I browse the net or use internet for tools etc. The proxied DNS is just a feature in the browser I love to use. I know that all these are storefront or they sell your data. Mullvad stores no data and i use their Wireguard to encrypt my connection and cloack real location for browsing only. Well it's system wide but there is little latency without the hopping, DAITA whatevere they sell a person just 1 encrypted wireguard for here ( This OS) and that proxied DNS in browser really make me evade Youtube's captcha's, log in's and what have we not.
For AV only thing I need is the GUI site of VT$ Browsers to check URL's and it turns to be a good social engineering tool as well.
@Unus Nemo
This entry was edited (21 hours ago)
in reply to Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

Just keep in mind that the encryption you gain from VPS or Wireguard starts from your computer and ends at their server. As soon as you connect to anything besides their server (which is everything) the encryption is gone and the only encryption is provided by the https or e2e if your app supports that. This is the biggest BS part of VPN. A real VPN would have every node on the same VPS so everything would be encrypted on that VPN. But the way a VPN or Wireguard works with Mullvad and other paid for services is that you are the only node the VPN that is accessible on their network unless you have more than one device on it. Even other Mullvad users you cannot connect to via the VPN. As soon as you go to a website Mullvad turns into a proxy server. So anything beyond their server from your entry point is not encrypted at all unless another method of encryption is employed. Which means you will have dual encryption. It will cause latency even if you do not notice it and it may even be acceptable for you. Keep in mind that dual encryption offers absolutely no benefit to your security and only causes latency.

The reason that the early Web was all http was that machines were not powerful enough back then to deal with the encryption and the latency just became unbearable. So it was only used on government mainframes etc. Back then businesses used Dedicated Service lines that they paid mega bucks for. As machines got more powerful VPN became their answer (which is the true use of VPN). Now most of the net is https most browsers will throw a fit if you even try to connect to a http site unless you enable it, which it will warn you is not safe. So providing your own encryption, except for in the case of Tor, is really just a sugar pill. If it makes you feel better then do it but it has no gain with only cost.

Your machine and ISP may be fast enough that the latency does not effect you to a point were you notice it. Though you can be sure it is there and is costing you additional bandwidth with no benefit.

@Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕
This entry was edited (20 hours ago)
in reply to Unus Nemo

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

 — (0.0.0.0/ 0)
@Unus Nemo I see it more as a privacy tool, but then again as chat controls roll out and as I mentioned earlier they can decrypt server side (CSS) , let us say it adds a little anonymity for browser scans e.g. and mostly as you say geo location restrictions. I pay 5$ just for that 1 WG tunnel.. which made me consider to make my own from scrap and free.
@Unus Nemo
This entry was edited (20 hours ago)

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

The Glass House of Europe
They promised us a shield, a digital fortress built of laws, The EU AI Act rising like a wall against the storm. "No more scraping of our faces," the decree proclaimed in August, "No more machines that guess our souls, or categorize our form."
But read the fine print, citizen, where the shadows learn to dance, For while the real-time eye is banned, the retrospective gaze remains. They cannot watch the protest live, or so the headlines say, But they can save the footage deep, and parse it through their chains.
The "loophole" is a wide open door, dressed up as safety gear, "Missing children," "Terror threats," the justifications grow. And every member state holds keys to unlock the cage they built, Turning "high risk" into standard practice, quiet, soft, and slow.
And in our pockets, whispers spread of Chat Control's return, A regulation stalled in trilogues, yet scanning still persists. The voluntary became the norm, the encryption cracked by stealth, While algorithms hunt for "grooming" in the texts we thought existed.
They say the Digital Identity Wallet puts the power in your hand, "You choose what data shares," they claim, "You hold the master key." But anonymity is eroding, brick by digital brick, As "over-identification" becomes the price of being free.
It is not the iron fist of old, nor boot upon the neck, But a soft, algorithmic hum, a bureaucratic embrace. Where privacy is traded for convenience, and silence for "security," And we wake up in a glass house, with no curtains on the face.
The law was meant to ban the dark, to draw a line in sand, But lines blur when the exceptions eat the rule from inside out. So guard your keys, encrypt your words, and question every scan, For mass control in modern times wears a friendly, legal shout.
in reply to Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

Chat Control 1.0 has been reinstated** by the European Parliament despite 314 MEPs voting against it, because the required absolute majority of 361 votes to block the measure was not reached.

The legislation was revived through a controversial urgent procedure approved on July 7 by 331 MEPs, which shifted the voting threshold from a simple majority to an absolute majority of all 720 members.
Although 314 voted against the extension and only 276 voted in favor, the failure to gather 361 "no" votes resulted in the automatic adoption of the Council's position. This outcome allows online platforms to voluntarily scan private communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) until at least 2028, overriding the earlier March rejection of the temporary derogation. Critics, including Pirate Party MEPs and privacy advocates, condemned the maneuver as a bypass of democratic norms and standard parliamentary rules.
euperspectives.eu/2026/07/parl…

in reply to Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

End-to-end encrypted (E2EE) communications are not directly scanned under Chat Control 1.0. The technology of encryption prevents providers from accessing the content of messages in transit or on their servers.
But there is a loophole there again> The regulation allows for client-side scanning (CSS). This means the scanning software would operate on your device before the message is encrypted or after it is decrypted.
And of course the voluntary nature of some Storefronts..
This was normal for gmail, outlook since 2021 fyi.
The concern is in chat control 2.0 which will be passed as well same way or another way you'll see and there is the permanent CSAR regulation.
This proposed law aims to make scanning mandatory.
It seeks to force providers to implement client-side scanning on encrypted services, effectively bypassing encryption protections.

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
Do you think that when the Project management cult powers-that-be changed "Risk/Benefit Analysis" to "SWOT Analysis" (SWOT = Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats), do you think that they were only looking for a way to repackage what everyone's been doing for a century as a new concept, or do you think that they were simply so poorly educated that they had never heard of "Risk/Benefit Analysis", so they just reinvented it?

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

You had your top player back after a call between Infantino and Trump on the terrain and still lost 1 to 4. You are eliminated as guest land all 3 in fact we did he last one.
You have met the Belgians..
youtube.com/watch?v=QL3kCTgeVK…

Where was any luck here?
That Belgian team's players are all playing in top Clubs..
But we played you out as last remaining guest land here.
That is a defeat and I know how it feels.
You still suck in soccer
And now you gonna raise tariffs on Belgium or even declare a war.
I honestly even hope Belgium loses against Spain next match, I don't care.. what I care about is kicking USA out.

United States vs Belgium Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 16

Check out the full game highlights between United States and Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. Announced by John Strong and @stuholden22 #FIFAWorldCup #Wo...
FOX Sports (YouTube)

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

0003 An Ode to Gemini and the Smallnet

Few weeks ago I accidentally stumbled upon Project Gemini—I think I was browsing some random links on Wiby.me—and it really surprised me. Not only was I not aware about other Internet protocols (yes, I am ashamed of myself (¬_¬"), but there is a whole culture of the #smallnet hidden in a plain sight. It was like discovering #Fediverse all over again! I quickly found a gemini-compatible browser—Lagrange—and my dive into a new, exciting thing began.

At first, finding things in #Geminispace was challenging. But it felt strangely liberating. The local community is mostly well-educated IT specialists and enthusiasts. One of them has jokingly called Gemini “a place where the old IT seniors come to die”. This comparison made me think of the Grey Wardens from Dragon Age games and their necessity to seek the Deep Roads when they feel like their time is coming to an end. I really liked that image: the IT seniors clad in shiny armour give their final words of wisdom and disappear into the uncharted depths. “They call them Greybeards”, the story tells, “the ever-watchful guardians of cyberspace and cyberfreedoms against the corrupted Big-tech spawns.” Only unlike the Deep Roads, Geminispace is quiet and safe, without a constant horde of trackers, adspawns and other abominations up your back. It has its many limitations, but through them it shall remain a place of sacred refuge from the Big Tech and the noise of modern internet. As long as there is at least one Greybeard to roam its depth. 𓀛

Gemini's obscurity and lack of utility means that there are no analytics, no metrics, no ways to go viral, to monetize people's attention, build a career or even a minimally-functional web platform. No sane business would build on top of Gemini, and that is exactly why it is capable of having the character that it does.
—
“Gemini is Useless” by Alex at gemini://alex.flounder.online/gemlog/2021-01-08-useless.gmi

P. S.: The word “Greybeard” is used as a unisex term, just for the connotation with Grey Wardens, and to link the old meme that deep knowledge of IT systems gets you a beard (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ). I fully acknowledge that many of the heroes have no beard. ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི

Lagrange

gmi.skyjake.fi
#fediverse #geminispace #smallnet

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in reply to Coquillage Logs

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Coquillage Logs

I ran into Gemini randomly in its infancy in 2020. I was checking out browsers when I noticed Lagrange. The protocol is very limiting though that is its appeal. I was even working on a module for Gemini support for lynx, I am sure it is around in my archives somewhere 😉.

note: I just checked and I still have Lagrange installed, though it does not get much use these days.

@Coquillage Logs
This entry was edited (3 days ago)

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Richard Nixon effectively ended the convertibility of the U.S. dollar into gold on August 15, 1971, in an event known as the Nixon Shock.
It was redeemable for gold at $35 per ounce only back then..
A 90-day freeze on wages and prices was imposed via Executive Order 11615 to combat domestic inflation.
A temporary 10% tax on imports was instituted to protect American jobs and encourage trading partners to revalue their currencies.

Now that looks like hijack 1, then the oil then the LNG..
Few realize this.
And on top it is fair game all of this, law of the jungle.

You seem to have a similar President.

in reply to Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Plan-A̵̛͈̬̥̿͋̓͛̕

 — (0.0.0.0/ 0)

Even Bitcoin is a scam in fact a StoreFront value with your public key visible on the chain explorer.

edit: storefront is a fake business or entity (either online or physical) established covertly by police or intelligence agencies to attract criminal targets.
The purpose is to lure these targets into using a specific service where their communications can be monitored and intelligence will be collected.

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
All things being equal, the Memorandum of Understanding marks no victory for the United States. It is no “major win” for the United States, much less an act of “unconditional surrender” by Iran. Instead, it confirms the Trump administration’s faulty planning and management of the war, and its bungled diplomacy to end it. It is a stopgap measure, a face-saving solution. It averts capitulation and conceals humiliation. It provides political cover for a strategic retreat. In other words, it serves all the functions of the Paris Agreement, the progeny of a lost war.
warontherocks.com/from-vietnam…

From Vietnam to Iran: Wartime Diplomacy and Secret Deals

Wars rarely end in a single act of diplomacy. More often, they pass through a succession of ceasefires, frameworks, understandings, as well as provisional
Pierre Asselin (War on the Rocks)

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

0002 Taking Small Steps

I’ve decided to add a number to my posts titles just to see how public I can be. I don’t want to spam the server too much, but I also don’t want to occupy the space if I have nothing to say. It’s a way for me to know if I should have a blog at all.

Speaking of which, after my first post I actually got spooked seeing that someone read it and reacted (・_・;). Even though my IF "game" isn’t complete yet, I am already scared of people judging it. I wager most creative minds are haunted by the phantom “I am afraid to disappoint others” to the point that their creations either remain hidden or unrealised forever.

Well, I let myself dwell on that fear for a moment too long, and then I decided to ignore it ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ. It will never go away for me, but that doesn't mean I should just give up on everything. Usually, to motivate myself I look at other creators that I follow, the ones that continue working on their projects no matter what. And their immortal advice is "write/work even just a little every day", it doesn't have to be perfect, all it needs to be is an attempt at making progress. I think they are right, it's the small steps that make a difference in the end.

in reply to Coquillage Logs

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Coquillage Logs

Do not worry about spamming the server. The Virtual Private Server (VPS) that I have for the Instance is sufficient for thousands of users and we, at this time, have less then 100. This has been true for the two years I have maintained the Instance. As long as your posts comply with the Rules and TOS then feel free to post as often as you like, the Instance can handle it 😉. If you have any question about the Rules and TOS then feel free to ask. The most significant I to you would be my no marketing rule. Keep in mind that I allow individuals to promote their own and their friends and family's personal creative work as long as that does not promote a commercial product by a corporate entity. I cannot imagine anything you have mentioned so far would be in violation. I only bring this up so that you know that your own creative work would not be a violation.

@Coquillage Logs
in reply to Coquillage Logs

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Coquillage Logs

We (this Instance) currently federates with 56,861 other Instances and 581 of them are Friendica. Friendica Instances tend to be better at staying up to date than most others though there are still many Friendica Instances running outdated to ancient versions of Friendica.

Why you have not been able to find them? I do not know. Some will not have open enrollment and some may choose not to advertise their Instance in the Global directory. I have been on a few that were just to unstable to use. Which was why I decided to setup this Instance. There have been ups and downs though I have learned and most of the big issues have been resolved though there are little issues that come from the Friendica code base that are still being worked out.

Many people these days seem to prefer Mastodon though I hate the micro blog format so it is not an option for me.

@Coquillage Logs
in reply to Unus Nemo

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Unus Nemo

@Coquillage Logs

Coquillage Logs wrote:

Wow. I guess I am really bad at finding things xD.

I would not blame it on yourself. To be fair a lot of the Friendica Instances we federate with most likely are not Open Enrollment and others may not advertise on the official Friendica directory (this is an option that the administrator of an Instance can choose). I can see my Federation Stats in my Administrator's Section though it does not tell me specifics, such as the names of the nodes I federate with. So I could not tell you one way or the other which ones have Open Enrollment or not.

I started Rogue Project's Friendica because I was fed up with Meta and could not stand micro blogging (Mastodon) . I too had a very difficult time finding a Friendica Instance that was stable enough for daily use. Not that I put a lot of effort into it, I gave up in three days 😉. So I decided that If I could not find a stable Friendica Instance, then I would just use my own. At first I was going to make it just for Myself and Family and Friends but I decided that was a bit selfish so I opened it to the general public as well. So far I have had no real issues. I have to delete several marketing accounts most weeks because apparently painting that I do not allow Marketing accounts on the Home Screen, Sign Up Screen and TOS gets past some user's notice 😉.

The first year was kind of shaky as I had a lot to learn about Friendica in General. Though I am an experienced System's Administrator and Developer that does not mean I just automatically know everything about all software everywhere (like the experts on TV do 😀).

It is nice to have you here and I hope you post frequently. I want to hear more about your story. Honestly I am not into the horror genre, but I love choose your path stories, so if it has an interesting plot I will likely enjoy it despite it not being a genre I would naturally prefer.

@Coquillage Logs
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
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