Carl Dong → obscura.net

iOS Obscura folks: We're trying our very best but the incompetence of Apple App Review is just staggering.

> Apple: Confirming that you've fixed X, only Y needs fixes
> Us: We've now fixed Y
> Apple: Please fix X
> Us: You literally just confirmed that we already fixed X
> Apple: Please fix X (no details added)
> Us: Here's proof we fixed X
> Apple: Please fix X (no details added)

Britain’s MPs charge VPNs to expenses as minister urges caution   Technology Secretary Peter Kyle appeared to suggest that VPN use could put children at risk.

Source: www.politico.eu/article/bri...

British lawmakers are buying their VPN subs with taxpayer money… and telling the same taxpayers not to use VPNs.

You cannot make this shit up.

Don't know enough to have a good opinion unfortunately 😅 (mostly used Guix as a package manager rather than an OS)

I'd guess there's much more flexibility by being able to fully program using Guile instead of systemd's ini-style files!

I am a systemd lover and I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE

“We must defend our own privacy if we expect to have any. We must come together and create systems which allow anonymous transactions to take place.”
– A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto

An open and private internet is more important than ever.

That's what we fight for at @obscura.net

Source:
lists.archlinux.org/archives/li...

A Remote Access Trojan Malware was found in packages for
Librewolf, Firefox, and Zen Browser last week 😰

If you were an Arch Linux users who tried to install these browsers via patched packages in the AUR, please check your system!

NEW in v1.128: Location Switching in the Menu Bar

A lot of you have asked for this, and it's finally here!

Switch between your pinned locations and Quick Connect right from your menu bar! (See video below)

Felix the friendly bot will miss you, but he understands ☺️

Hey folks! Our 25% off launch sale will be ending next Monday (July 21st).

If you haven't taken advantage of the sale yet, this is your sign to do so 😄
If you subscribe, we'll honor this sale price indefinitely 🔁

We've also recently added WireGuard support and iOS Testflight!

BulletVPN Shuts Down, Killing Lifetime Members' Subscriptions - Slashdot VPN provider BulletVPN has shut down its servers with immediate effect, leaving subscribers without service regardless of their subscription terms. The company announced the closure on its website, citing "shifts in market demand, evolving technology requirements, and sustainability of operations." ...

In Rust terms: When you thought your VPN provider's elided lifetime resolves to 'static but it's really just 'whenwedie 😆
tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07...

Join James Dyson as he introduces the new Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones™ cleaner. Our latest, most advanced floorcare technology – now available in Japan.The f... The Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones™ cleaner | Global Premiere

James Dyson just made hair being stuck in Vacuums a thing of the past.

Nobody is as obsessed with building the best Vacuum as James Dyson.

Nobody is as obsessed with building the best VPN as our team at Obscura.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve6...

I knew there was something familiar about the American Megatrends BIOS logo... Skynet had ring-0 access the whole time!

My origin story 🐉

On July 7, Gemini AI will access your WhatsApp and more. Learn how to disable it on Android. | Tuta Gemini AI needs to be disabled on Android or it will override your privacy settings and gain full access to your texts, calls, and WhatsApp - even if you’ve turned off Gemini Apps Activity. But what does this Android update really mean, and how can you stop it? Let’s take a deep dive!

Source: tuta.com/blog/how-to...

So Gemini on Android is about to forcefully get access to your WhatsApp + Messages, regardless if you've previously turned it off?

And they want to dress it up like they're helping you?

Please tell me I'm misunderstanding something here...

In the digital age, our de-facto privacy rights in the physical world are being stripped away.

Even worse - surveillance mechanisms are being set up.

As people wake up to this, privacy-by-default will become table-stakes for digital products.
techcrunch.com/2025/03/02/...

The Firewall Allignment Chart

RFC 2119 https://ericwbailey.website/published/you-must-listen-to-rfc-2119/

Today's background music: A dramatic reading of RFC 2119 on loop 😆
soundcloud.com/ericwbailey...

GitHub - Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client: Obscura VPN Rust library and App (macOS only for now) Obscura VPN Rust library and App (macOS only for now) - Sovereign-Engineering/obscuravpn-client

Source code for Obscura VPN: github.com/Sovereign-E...

Fake SonicWall VPN app steals user credentials : A good reminder not to download apps from non-vendor sites

If you can't see your VPN App's source code, you can almost safely assume it's compromised.
www.theregister.com/2025/06/24/...

Me: Oh! Tim Sweeney won and we can link to our own payments on iOS!

Apple: You plebeian. Your app won't pass App Store review without also offering Apple in-app purchases. And there's a whole different set of rules for EU.

😒 We would have already launched iOS otherwise.

Tom Lehrer on public domain (2020):https://tomlehrersongs.com/http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Lehrer-Collection-CD-DVD/dp/B0039TD73G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid... Tom Lehrer - We Will All Go Together When We Go

A cheery bit of Tom Lehrer for our Sunday evenings 🎶
www.youtube.com/watch?v=frA...

This Meta AI search thing seems pretty bad (and perhaps sad)...

"'What counties [sic] do younger women like older white men,' a public message from a user on Meta’s AI platform says..."

"...all tied to user names and profile photos." 😨

www.wired.com/story/meta-...

Too many services have meaningless E2E encryption:

THIS APP IS E2E ENCRYPTED!!!*

*one end is you the user and the other end is our data harvesting pipeline

LFG indeed!

Sec, gotta ask my ancestors for the WiFi router password real quick

It's a series of tubes!

If you're able to SSH into a box under Xfinity/Comcast or Spectrum/Charter internet, that works too!