Recent comments

Rambler OP wrote

Furthermore, I just tested Tails and they DO change the machine-id after every reboot. I'm downloading Whonix right now as well to test, but I've got shit rural internet so that'll take some time.

I'll update the blog with my finding when I do.

The fact Tails randomizes it after each reboot should be enough to hint that it's likely a good idea to not have any identifying ID tied to your system...

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Rambler OP wrote

I was young and was probably running Win98 with the Yahoo! and Ask! toolbars, with a cool Comet Cursor so I could update my Angelfire site while downloading over Napster. Using Yahoo, MSN and ICQ messengers to connect with my friends from school.

But I could play Age Of Empires and Quake, so that's all I really cared about.

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BlackWinnerYoshi wrote

I don't know why machine-id exists, but what I do know is that this only exists on Linux operating systems that use systemd, based on this command:

sudo systemd-machine-id-setup

So the way to avoid it entirely is by switching to a systemd-less Linux, such as Salix OS (clear net only). Actually, systemd has a lot of problems (clear net only), so you should avoid it anyway.

And as to what is it good for besides compromising privacy... I also have no idea. I guess Lennart Poettering Red Hat wanted to do something with it, but they didn't know what to do with it, so they left it as a privacy compromising thing of however many Linux users are being used by systemd.

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Rambler OP wrote

Honesty, I'm not certain, but it appears in every mainstream distro that uses systemd.

Most people are aware of MAC addresses, but if you search the web for machine-ID being seen as a privacy concern, you'll find nothing.

No need to have a constant, unchanging value that exists from the moment a system is installed.

I'll research it more and update the blog post if I find anything noteworthy.

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spc50 wrote (edited )

Good book still. I have it in my library.

No way you can build the stuff he did today for anywhere near $50 or $500. Inflation and monetary theft is the cause. Nonetheless, can build it cheap by mall mentality cul de sucks standards.

Off grid and away from the muckity mucks is looking more like sane path each passing day.

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spc50 wrote

Microsoft talking about disinformation?????? What do we have here...

We have a once monopoly company, plus a 'creative' company that is so far up average internet users a$$ with ads and profiling, then the mouthpiece of MI-6.

Blah blah blah.

Anti fake news.

When did Microsoft ever care about open source and standards? Had to reverse engineer much of their stuff to have Open Source alternatives and viewers.

Fuck these companies. Fuck their founders. Fuck that fake organization too.

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Rambler OP wrote

Reply to comment by not_bob in Discussion: Striking a balance. by Rambler

Unfortunately there is little I can do in terms of modifying the code. I'm not a developer so custom development to the software is beyond the scope of what I can offer as a solution.

Best I can do is manual tagging of NSFW content that makes it to the front page. Though lately I've not really seen much content that is that concerning on the front page.

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