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DuckDuckGo Donates $100,000 Among Four FOSS Projects

Posted by samzenpus on from the have-a-little-cash dept.

jones_supa writes As is the search engine company's annual habit, DuckDuckGo has chosen to advance four open source projects by donating to them. The primary focus this year was to support FOSS projects that bring privacy tools to anyone who needs them. $25,000 goes to The Freedom of the Press Foundation to support SecureDrop, which is a whistleblower submission used to securely accept documents from anonymous sources. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was given $25,000 to support PrivacyBadger, which is a browser add-on that stops advertisers and other third-party trackers from secretly tracking your surfing habits. Another $25,000 arrives at GPGTools to support GPG Suite, which is a software package for OS X that encrypts files or messages. Finally, $25,000 was donated to Riseup to support Tails, which is a live operating system that aims at preserving your privacy and anonymity.

36 comments

  1. This is to be applauded by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Kudos to DuckDuckGo!

  2. It's $125,000 across five projects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    https://duck.co/blog/donations_2015

    1. Re: It's $125,000 across five projects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And none to the poor guy maintaining NTP...

  3. All the more reason to kick Google to the curb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    and if you are running Android with the Play store, you are part of the problem.

    AOSP without the Play store is the only ethical solution.

    1. Re:All the more reason to kick Google to the curb by tepples · · Score: 2

      How is Amazon Appstore any less "part of the problem" than Google Play Store?

    2. Re:All the more reason to kick Google to the curb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The AC you're replying to said nothing about the Amazon store. At least read what you're replying to, first.

      Believe it or not, there are sources for android software that don't involve Google and Amazon. Like F-droid, for one: totally open source software, no DRM, no lockdown, and software that doesn't data mine your ass.

    3. Re:All the more reason to kick Google to the curb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Avoid the Play store and the Amazon app store.

    4. Re:All the more reason to kick Google to the curb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Apps that require proprietary non-android google APIs aren't allowed on the Amazon Appstore.

      Of course, most apps are still closed source, but at least they will run on anything, instead of just google blessed devices.

  4. Re:Cool story bro. by ITRambo · · Score: 1

    Most people do care. They're too timid to speak up believing that their actions have no consequence at all.

  5. Re: Cool story bro. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Leave.

  6. Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    They should focus on Android right now. Your computer likely doesn't have a camera, microphone, GPS and telephone built in, your Smartphone does.

    Currently a smartphone or tablet comes out of the box installed with spyware, some Google's for me some of it is Samsungs.

    DSMLawMo for example, Samsungs 'support' app that reports home how you use the tablet or smartphone (it uses their survey report module), can even take commands across a phone line and do pretty much anything with the tablet or phone:

    Make phone calls, Edit/read/write/fake SMS messages.
    Record audio, get details and approximate locations
    Modify/read/write contacts
    Modify read/read calender events including all confidentials fields
    Clone the screen to a nearby device
    Read/write/monitor internet activity
    Read/Change/Impersonate accounts, including Google and other third party accounts
    Read your list of added dictionary words
    Read logs, modify system settings, control running processes
    Change network settings, wifi, Near Field, Full Network, Bluetooth
    Draw over other apps (i.e. fake a screen)
    Control light, vibration, stop the tablet sleeping
    Add words to the dictionary, Read/control sync settings,
    change search providers
    Run Sysscope

    Sysscope is a deeper piece of spyware.

    You can find this module running on a lot of Samsungs kit, go to settings, 'General' 'Applications Manager' swipe across (right to left) to 'All' and you'll find lots of similar modules. Stop it running, it the tablet or phone will run just fine without it.

    Some apps you cannot kill, Googles location service is one.

    Even before we get to the messaging apps that grab all data and send it remotely and somehow manage to pay for their data centers on tiny incomes.

    On a PC the equivalent is Conduit or similar malware toolbar, on Android phones it comes installed with loads of these by default.

    What is needed is something similar to Cyanogenmod's "privacy guard", so we can withdraw permissions and freeze these unwanted malware. EVEN GOOGLE'S OWN, even Default installed Samsung Malware, we should be able to remove.

    Android and Smartphones are the massive privacy problem these days.

    1. Re:Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If you think Microsoft or Apple are any better, both signed up to PRISM. Microsoft in 2007, Apple 2012, (Google in 2009, Yahoo 2008. Facebook 2009, Skype 2011 )

      These are companies that signed as 'Providers', these are "dates when PRISM collection began for each provider". No hacks, not warrants, because legal search warrants had to be dealt with before those dates. That just covers the list up to 2012, lots more since then.

      In 2012 the list of data was:
      Emails,
      Chat videos voice
      Videos
      Photos
      VoIP
      File Transfers
      Video Conferencing
      Notifications (logins etc)
      Online social network details
      *Bold* Special Requests

      Drop box planned to be added.
      With new smartphones the list will include location, the ability to switch on the microphone, camera, keep the phone, local wifi points, fingerprints.

      NSA get access, and then decides AFTER IT LOOKS what it wants to follow up, no individual warrant, no probable cause.

    2. Re:Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is another option that everyone seems to overlook. Don't use/carry a smartphone.

      I don't.

    3. Re:Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not everyone carries a smartphone for leisure, some of us carry one in order to continue feeding our families.

    4. Re:Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I recommend feeding them something other than smartphones. They are not very tasty even with ketchup.

    5. Re:Android should be target by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is needed is something similar to Cyanogenmod's "privacy guard", so we can withdraw permissions and freeze these unwanted malware. EVEN GOOGLE'S OWN, even Default installed Samsung Malware, we should be able to remove.

      Android and Smartphones are the massive privacy problem these days.

      What about:
      https://github.com/M66B/XPrivacy#description

      All you need is root no CM required.

      "
      XPrivacy can prevent applications from leaking privacy-sensitive data by restricting the categories of data an application can access. XPrivacy feeds applications fake data or no data at all. It can restrict several data categories, such as contacts or location. For example, if you restrict an application's access to contacts, that application will receive an empty contacts list (don't try this with the contacts application itself without a backup). Similarly, restricting an application's access to your location will send a fake location to that application.

      XPrivacy doesn't revoke or block permissions from an application, so most applications will continue to work as before and won't force close (crash). There are two exceptions: access to the internet and to external storage (typically an SD card) are restricted by denying access (revoking permissions). There is no other way to restrict such access because Android delegates handling these permissions to the underlying Linux network/file system. XPrivacy can fake an offline (internet) and unmounted (storage) state, but some applications still try to access the internet and storage, potentially resulting in crashes or error messages. If restricting a category of data for an application causes functional limitations, XPrivacy can once again allow access to the data category to solve the issue. There is a convenient on/off switch for all restrictions for each application."

  7. And you intentionally omit... by Big+Stick · · Score: 5, Informative

    another $25,000 donation to Girl Develop It. What a shame.

    1. Re:And you intentionally omit... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Maybe it's because openly sexist organizations shouldn't be promoted in polite society.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    2. Re:And you intentionally omit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't mind the existence of these organizations as long as they acknowledge that it's women putting other women off of "nerdy" vocations and attempt to tackle the problem from that angle. It's cool to be nerdy now until you actually have to put a little elbow grease into it or have to spend time away from your "friends" who will only talk rubbish behind your back because you're actually at home putting the work in for your CS assignments instead of always sitting in a cafe wasting your time.

      My 14yo niece even got a bit of trouble from her female classmates because apparently she plays DS to get guys to like her. Every single time, it's a jealous girl saying it and the boys just. don't. care. They're happy to have an extra Mario Kart player. All I see are those girls who have grown up in an environment where it's okay to put down other girls for not exclusively liking traditionally girly things.

      But no, apparently men make the environment hostile for women by asking them to work and stuff. I would love to have other women in the office, my CS classes always had a nice environment but most of the women there weren't remotely interested in the subject matter anyway and either dropped out or converted to accounting/finance/teaching IT.

      So I'm all for getting women interested in tech, but the narrative that men want to keep it as their secret boys' club needs to die.

    3. Re:And you intentionally omit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That sounds like a rule for after polite society stops being openly sexist.

    4. Re: And you intentionally omit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      I perfectly agree. These projects are discriminatory to males and pretty much a waste of money trying to convince someone to code even if s/he doesn't want/care while providing nothing to who instead wants to learn just because of the way they piss.

    5. Re:And you intentionally omit... by rewarp · · Score: 1

      Maybe it is also about being accurate, and to not let your personal anti-feminist views cloud your judgement.

      --
      In adding a sig, for no other reason, than for aesthetics.
    6. Re:And you intentionally omit... by Jax+Omen · · Score: 1

      Wish I had modpoints for this.

      Every nerdy guy I know is jealous that I have a gamer woman. Every woman she meets judges her harshly, some openly, some only when she's out of earshot.

      Non-nerdy guys literally do not see her, she might as well be invisible, because she's isn't anorexic with DD titties.

  8. misleading head line by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why did the poster drop $25,000 and one of the projects from the the post?
    When you follow the link you see...
    "We just made our Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) donations for 2015, totaling $125,000 across five projects. Thank you for all the community nominations. "

  9. 100k$ for 4 PJz IS Cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They are using this ploy to dodge paying tax to IRS.

  10. Nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice of them to support Free Software.

    However this should not distract us from the fact that DuckDuckGo is a honeypot set up by US Naval Intelligence.

    1. Re:Nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > However this should not distract us from the fact that DuckDuckGo
      > is a honeypot set up by US Naval Intelligence.

      Citation needed.

    2. Re:Nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the day Duck Duck Go was first announced, its domain name was registered to an address on the campus of the Naval Academy in Annapolis. That was quickly changed - but the implication is obvious.

    3. Re:Nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I lived there I set up a few personal domains of my own. I'm never worked for the NSA.

    4. Re:Nice, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not a citation.

  11. Obstacles to complete reliance on free software by tepples · · Score: 0

    Like F-droid, for one: totally open source software, no DRM, no lockdown, and software that doesn't data mine your ass.

    Last time I checked, repositories containing only free software tended to lack games with substantial production values, apps for lawfully watching notable movies, and apps for scanning paper checks for deposit into your bank account. Has this changed, and if so, when?