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DuckDuckGo Donates $100,000 Among Four FOSS Projects

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.

6 of 36 comments (clear)

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

    https://duck.co/blog/donations_2015

  2. 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?

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

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

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