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< title > Inferencium - About< / title >
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< nav class = "navbar" >
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< div > < a href = "index.xhtml" > < img src = "asset/img/logo-inferencium-no_text.png" width = "110" height = "110" alt = "Inferencium logo" / > < / a > < / div >
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< div > < a href = "index.xhtml" class = "title" > Inferencium< / a > < / div >
< div > < a href = "about.xhtml" > About< / a > < / div >
< div > < a href = "documentation.xhtml" > Documentation< / a > < / div >
< div > < a href = "source.xhtml" > Source< / a > < / div >
< div > < a href = "changelog.xhtml" > Changelog< / a > < / div >
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< div > < a href = "blog.xhtml" > Blog< / a > < / div >
< div > < a href = "contact.xhtml" > Contact< / a > < / div >
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< div > < a href = "directory.xhtml" > Directory< / a > < / div >
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< div > < a href = "key.xhtml" > Key< / a > < / div >
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< / nav >
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< h1 id = "about" > < a href = "#about" > About< / a > < / h1 >
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< nav id = "toc" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#toc" > Table of Contents< / a > < / h2 >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#about_me" > About Me< / a > < / li >
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< li > < a href = "#date_time" > Date and Time< / a > < / li >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing" > Licensing< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing-code" > Code< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing-code-bsd3clause" > BSD 3-Clause License< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#licensing-code-gpl2.0only" > GNU General Public License v2.0< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing-noncode" > Non-code< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing-noncode-ccby4.0" > Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#licensing-open_source_vs_free_software" > Do I Distinguish Between Open Source and Free Software?< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#versioning" > Versioning< / a > < / li >
< ul >
< li > < a href = "#versioning-numbering_scheme" > What is the Numbering Scheme?< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#versioning-phases" > What Are the Phases?< / a > < / li >
< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#services" > Services< / a > < / li >
< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#services-websites" > Websites< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations" > Recommendations< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations-hardware" > Hardware< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations-hardware-smartphone" > Smartphone< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations-software" > Software< / a > < / li >
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< ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations-software-desktop" > Desktop< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#recommendations-software-smartphone" > Smartphone< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#recommendations-music" > Music< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< li > < a href = "#gnulinux_or_linux" > Is it GNU/Linux or Just Linux?< / a > < / li >
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< / ul >
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< / nav >
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< section id = "about_me" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#about_me" > About Me< / a > < / h2 >
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< p > I am Jake Winters, also known by my pseudonym
"Inference", a security researcher based in United
Kingdom.< / p >
< p > I am the founder, lead developer, and administrator, of
Inferencium.< / p >
< p > All opinions are my own, and are not necessarily shared
with projects or people I am affiliated with.< / p >
< p > I write about my research and experience in cybersecurity
and also physical security. Most of my postings are
security-related, but I occasionally post about other
aspects of my life.< / p >
< p > I am an open source advocate for the preservation and
modifiability of source code. I believe source code should
be considered human knowledge as much as past knowledge and
teachings were; it is how modern humanity survives and runs.
Source code being modifiable allows it to be adapted for use
by anyone, whether to add features, harden it for increased
security and/or privacy, or provide accessibility for
disabled users.< / p >
< p > I am also a modular design advocate for the ability to
securely and robustly make changes to hardware and software
without the entire system being affected.< / p >
< p > I run multiple XMPP channels; a directory of channels can
be found on the
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< a href = "https://inferencium.net/directory.xhtml" > directory< / a >
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webpage.< / p >
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< p > If you wish to contact me for any reason, you can use my
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< a href = "https://inferencium.net/contact.xhtml" > contact methods< / a > .< / p >
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< / section >
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< section id = "date_time" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#date_time" > Date and Time< / a > < / h2 >
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< p > All dates and times across my services are
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< a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601" > ISO 8601< / a > -compliant.
The short-form format < code > YYYY-MM-DD< / code > is used for
dates, and < code > hh:mm:ss< / code > is used for times, with
display of seconds being based on required level of
accuracy. The full expression may be used when necessary;
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< code > YYYYMMDDThhmmssZ< / code > (UTC without offset),
< code > YYYYMMDDThhmmss+hhmm< / code > (with positive offset), or
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< code > YYYYMMDDThhmmss-hhmm< / code > (with negative
offset).< / p >
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< / section >
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< section id = "licensing" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#licensing" > Licensing< / a > < / h2 >
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< p > I care about upstreaming and sharing code, strongly
preferring licenses which have high license compatibility in
order to permit sharing code with as many other projects as
possible; for this reason, permissive licenses are my
preferred choice, while avoiding copyleft licenses and other
licenses which place restrictions on how my code may be
used, and prevent me from including important proprietary
code, such as firmware, which can patch security
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vulnerabilities, privacy issues, and stability issues.< / p >
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< p > All of my code is and will be permissively licensed
unless specific circumstances make it impractical or
infeasible to do so. My goal is to share code which has the
least amount of restrictions as possible, to allow wider
propagation of my code and allow more use cases and
possibilities, as well as ensuring proprietary code,
whenever required, is permitted to be included and/or linked
to.< / p >
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< p > < a href = "https://iso.org/standard/81870.html" > ISO 5962:2021< / a >
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is used for licensing, in the format
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< code > SPDX-License-Identifier: < var > < license> < / var > < / code > ;
see the
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< a href = "https://spdx.org/licenses/" > SPDX License List< / a >
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for the full list of available licenses under this
standard.< / p >
< p > My preferred licenses and rationale for using them are
below; any licenses not listed are chosen on a case-by-case
basis.< / p >
< section id = "licensing-code" >
< h3 > < a href = "#licensing-code" > Code< / a > < / h3 >
< section id = "licensing-code-bsd3clause" >
< h4 > < a href = "#licensing-code-bsd3clause" > BSD 3-Clause License< / a > < / h4 >
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< p > < b > SPDX License Identifier:< / b > < code > BSD-3-Clause< / code > < / p >
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< p > < b > Type: Permissive< / b > < / p >
< p > < a href = "https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause.html" > BSD 3-Clause License< / a >
is a highly permissive license which
allows content licensed under it to be
used in any way, whether in source or
binary form, and allows sublicensing
under a different license, with the only
restrictions being the original
copyright notice must be kept in order
to attribute the original creator of the
licensed content, and the name of the
project and/or its contributors may not
be used to endorse or promote products
derived from the original project.< / p >
< / section >
< section id = "licensing-code-gpl2.0only" >
< h4 > < a href = "#licensing-code-gpl2.0only" > GNU General Public License v2.0< / a > < / h4 >
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< p > < b > SPDX License Identifier:< / b > < code > GPL-2.0-only< / code > < / p >
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< p > < b > Type: Copyleft< / b > < / p >
< p > < a href = "https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-2.0-only.html" > GNU General Public License v2.0< / a >
is a strong copyleft license which
restricts use of content licensed under
it by requiring all source code of the
content to be publicly available, making
binary-only form and inclusion of
proprietary code impossible, requiring
all derivatives to be licensed under the
same license (allowing sublicensing
under only newer GPL licenses if
< code > GPL-2.0-or-later< / code > is
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specified in the SPDX License
Identifier), and requiring the original
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copyright notice to be kept in order to
attribute the original creator of the
licensed content.< / p >
< p > Due to the restrictive and invasive
nature of this license, it is avoided
unless such restrictions would be
beneficial to my code; whenever this is
the case, the GNU General Public License
v2.0 will be used, rather than the more
restrictive
< a href = "https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0-only.html" > GNU General Public License v3.0< / a > ,
and relicensing derivatives under the
GNU General Public License v3.0 will be
disallowed.< / p >
< / section >
< / section >
< section id = "licensing-noncode" >
< h3 > < a href = "#licensing-noncode" > Non-code< / a > < / h3 >
< section id = "licensing-noncode-ccby4.0" >
< h4 > < a href = "#licensing-noncode-ccby4.0" > Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International< / a > < / h4 >
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< p > < b > SPDX License Identifier:< / b > < code > CC-BY-4.0< / code > < / p >
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< p > < b > Type: Permissive< / b > < / p >
< p > < a href = "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html" > Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International< / a >
is a highly permissive license which
allows content licensed under it to be
used in any way, in any medium, with the
only restriction being the original
copyright notice must be kept in order
to attribute the original creator of the
licensed content.< / p >
< / section >
< / section >
< section id = "licensing-open_source_vs_free_software" >
< h3 > < a href = "#licensing-open_source_vs_free_software" > Do I Distinguish Between Open Source and Free Software?< / a > < / h3 >
< p > No. If code is not released under an open-source
license and places restrictions on how the code may be
used, it is either source-available (if viewing the code
is permitted) or proprietary. "Free software" only
causes confusion and exists to push an ideology by a
specific group of people. If software isn't "free", it's
not open-source, either.< / p >
< / section >
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< / section >
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< section id = "versioning" >
< h2 > < a href = "#versioning" > Versioning< / a > < / h2 >
< section id = "versioning-numbering_scheme" >
< h3 > < a href = "#versioning-numbering_scheme" > What is the Numbering Scheme?< / a > < / h3 >
< p > All code uses
< a href = "https://semver.org" > Semantic Versioning< / a > .
The numbering scheme divided into 3 blocks (herein referred to
as Block 0, Block 1, and Block 2, in left-to-right order); the
version blocks are separated by periods. When a version number
block is incremented, all blocks to the right of it are reset to
0. The legacy versioning scheme was a similar numerical
versioning scheme which lacked standardisation.< / p >
< p > Block 0 contains the < code > < var > MAJOR< / var > < / code > version;
this number is incremented whenever an API-incompatible change
is made to the code.< / p >
< p > Block 1 contains the < code > < var > MINOR< / var > < / code > version;
this number is incremented whenever an API-compatible,
substantial change is made to the code, such as adding a
feature.< / p >
< p > Block 2 contains the < code > < var > PATCH< / var > < / code > version;
this number is incremented whenever an API-compatible,
unsubstantial change is made to the code, such as fixing or
optimising the code.< / p >
< p > Development and pre-release versions are suffixed with
a hyphen, followed by their phase, a period, then the version of
that phase; for example, < code > -alpha.< var > n< / var > < / code > for an
alpha version, < code > -beta.< var > n< / var > < / code > for a beta
version, and < code > -rc.< var > n< / var > < / code > for a release
candidate version, with < code > < var > n< / var > < / code > being a
non-negative integer. Stable versions have no suffix.< / p >
< / section >
< section id = "versioning-phases" >
< h3 > < a href = "#versioning-phases" > What Are the Phases?< / a > < / h3 >
< p > There are 4 phases of development. Each phase typically has
its own branch in each source code repository. The phases are as
follows:
< ol >
< li > Alpha: Pre-alpha development and alpha
testing occurs in this phase. Features are
added, modified, and/or removed. Fixes and
optimisations may also occur if they are caught
during this phase. This is where the majority of
changes occur and where the fine-grained commits
can be found. Breakage is highly likely within
this phase as it makes no attempt to be stable
or usable due to being where the most rapid
development occurs. Code is tested internally in
a fine-grained manner and is moved to the next
phase only when it is deemed feature-complete
and reasonably stable for broader public
testing. If you would like to assist in testing
code in this phase, you must use the code and/or
tags from the source code repositories due to it
not being available publicly outside of
them.< / li >
< li > Beta: Feature-complete testing occurs in
this phase. Only bug fixes and optimisations
occur in this phase, such as stability and
security fixes. This phase is classified as
stable enough for broad public testing and is
made available publicly in many cases without
having to use the source code repositories.
Since this phase contains only feature-complete
code, no features will be added, modified, or
removed in this phase.< / li >
< li > Release candidate (RC): Feature-complete
testing occurs in this phase. Code in the RC
phase is often stable enough for production
usage, but is not yet completely acceptable to
be classified as stable by my standards. This
phase is often skipped due to most bugs being
caught in the beta phase, but will be used
should the need arise for finer-grained testing
beyond what the beta phase can provide. Like the
beta phase, code in this phase is available
publicly without requiring usage of the source
code repositories.< / li >
< li > Stable: Feature-complete and well-tested
code is moved to this phase. Code in this phase
is deemed to be stable enough for production
usage and full support is provided.< / li >
< / ol >
< / p >
< p > When development of a new version has begun, the code within
the alpha phase is rebased onto the most recent code from the
stable phase before work commences. This cycle continues for the
lifetime of the code.< / p >
< / section >
< / section >
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< section id = "services" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#services" > Services< / a > < / h2 >
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< p > This list contains the policies and practices of my services.< / p >
< p > My policies and practices are heavily security- and privacy-focused, with
improvements made on an ongoing basis as new technologies, protocols, and
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software become available.< / p >
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< h3 id = "services-websites" > < a href = "#services-websites" > Websites< / a > < / h3 >
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< ul >
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< li > Unnecessary logging avoided (only logs required for security
and debugging purposes)< / li >
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< li > All server logs purged every 14 days< / li >
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< li > User IP addresses used only for security and debugging
purposes (purged along with logs)< / li >
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< li > All connections made via
< a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security#TLS_1.3" > TLS 1.3< / a >
only to ensure the most secure
< a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Authenticated_encryption" > AEAD< / a >
ciphers are used, along with
< a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_secrecy" > forward secrecy< / a > < / li >
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< li > All connections made via high-security AEAD ciphers,
preferring AES-256-GCM for devices with AES
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hardware acceleration, and ChaCha20-Poly1305 for devices without
AES hardware acceleration, with AES-128-GCM as a fallback
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(AES-128-GCM is mandated for TLS 1.3 by
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< a href = "https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/rfc8446#section-9.1" > IETF RFC8446 section 9.1< / a > )< / li >
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< li > All connections are made via high-security key exchange
protocols, preferring X25519, with secp256r1 as a fallback
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(secp256r1 is mandated for TLS 1.3 by IETF RFC8446 section
9.1)< / li >
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< li > < a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System_Security_Extensions" > Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC)< / a >
enabled to provide a root-of-trust for encryption and
authentication for domain and server configuration< / li >
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< li > < a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS_Certification_Authority_Authorization" > Certification Authority Authorization (CAA)< / a >
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records enabled to prevent all certificate authorities other
than
< a href = "https://letsencrypt.org/" > Let's Encrypt< / a > from
issuing TLS certificates for my domains< / li >
< li > < a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/SSHFP_record" > Secure Shell fingerprint (SSHFP)< / a >
records enabled to provide a DNS-based root-of-trust for SSH
connections to my domains< / li >
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< li > Referrer headers disabled to prevent knowing where a user
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was redirected from< / li >
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< li > All content sourced from my own domains, with third-party
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content prohibited via
< a href = "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Security_Policy" > Content Security Policy< / a >
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configuration< / li >
< li > All servers physically under my control (no VPS or other
hosting providers)< / li >
< li > No proprietary services, ensuring I have complete control
over my services, and vendor lock-in does not occur< / li >
< / ul >
< / section >
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< section id = "recommendations" >
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< h2 > < a href = "#recommendations" > Recommendations< / a > < / h2 >
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< section id = "recommendations-hardware" >
< h3 > < a href = "#recommendations-hardware" > Hardware< / a > < / h3 >
< section id = "recommendations-hardware-smartphone" >
< h4 > < a href = "#recommendations-hardware-smartphone" > Smartphone< / a > < / h4 >
< div style = "overflow-x:auto;" >
< table >
< thead >
< tr >
< th id = "hardware-smartphone-type" > Type< / th >
< th id = "hardware-smartphone" > Hardware< / th >
< th id = "hardware-smartphone-description" > Description< / th >
< th id = "hardware-smartphone-source_model" > Source model< br / >
(License)< / th >
< / tr >
< / thead >
< tbody >
< tr >
< th id = "hardware-smartphone-smartphone" > Smartphone< / th >
< th id = "google-pixel" headers = "hardware hardware-smartphone-smartphone" >
< img src = "asset/img/google-pixel_8_pro.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Front and rear view of a Google Pixel 8 Pro in Obsidian colour" / > < br / >
Google Pixel
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "hardware-description google-pixel" >
< h5 > Security/Privacy< / h5 >
< p > Google Pixel devices are the best
Android devices available on the market
for
< a href = "https://security.googleblog.com/2021/10/pixel-6-setting-new-standard-for-mobile.html" > security and privacy< / a > .< / p >
< p > They allow locking the bootloader
with a
< a href = "https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/avb/+/master/README.md#pixel-2-and-later" > custom Android Verified Boot (AVB) key< / a >
in order to preserve security and
privacy features when installing a
custom operating system, such as
< a href = "https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/verifiedboot/" > verified boot< / a >
which verifies that the OS has not been
corrupted or tampered with, and
< a href = "https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/verifiedboot/verified-boot#rollback-protection" > rollback protection< / a >
which prevents an adversary from rolling
back the OS or firmware version to a
previous version with known security
vulnerabilities.< / p >
< p > They also include a
< a href = "https://developer.android.com/training/articles/keystore#HardwareSecurityModule" > hardware security module< / a >
(Titan M2, improving on the previous
generation
< a href = "https://security.googleblog.com/2018/10/building-titan-better-security-through.html" > Titan M< / a > )
which is extremely resistant to both
remote and physical attacks due to being
completely isolated from the rest of the
system, including the operating system.
Titan M2 ensures that the device cannot
be remotely compromised by requiring the
side buttons of the device to be
physically pressed for some sensitive
operations. Titan M2 also takes the role
of
< a href = "https://source.android.com/docs/security/best-practices/hardware#strongbox-keymaster" > Android StrongBox Keymaster< / a > ,
a
< a href = "https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/keystore" > hardware-backed Keystore< / a >
containing sensitive user keys which are
unavailable to the OS or apps running on
it without authorisation from Titan M2
itself.
< a href = "https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2018/05/insider-attack-resistance.html" > Insider attack resistance< / a >
ensures that Titan M2 firmware can be
flashed only if the user PIN/password is
already known, making it impossible to
backdoor the device without already
knowing these secrets.< / p >
< p > Google Pixel device kernels are
compiled with
< a href = "https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2018/10/control-flow-integrity-in-android-kernel.html" > forward-edge control-flow integrity< / a >
and
< a href = "https://security.googleblog.com/2019/10/protecting-against-code-reuse-in-linux_30.html" > backward-edge control-flow integrity< / a >
to prevent code reuse attacks against
the kernel. MAC address randomisation is
< a href = "https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/04/changes-to-device-identifiers-in.html" > implemented well, along with minimal probe requests and randomised initial sequence numbers< / a > .< / p >
< p > Google releases
< a href = "https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/pixel/" > guaranteed monthly security updates< / a > ,
ensuring Google Pixel devices are
up-to-date and quickly protected against
security vulnerabilities.< / p >
< p > Pixel 6-series and 7-series devices
are a large improvement over the already
very secure and private previous
generation Pixel devices. They replace
ARM-based Titan M with RISC-V-based
Titan M2, reducing trust by removing ARM
from the equation. Titan M2 is more
resiliant to attacks than Titan M, and
is
< a href = "https://www.tuv-nederland.nl/assets/files/cerfiticaten/2022/09/nscib-cc-22-0228971-cert-final.pdf" > AVA_VAN.5 certified< / a > ,
the highest level of vulnerability
assessment. Google's in-house Tensor
System-on-Chip includes Tensor Security
Core, further improving device
security.< / p >
< p > Pixel 8-series includes Armv9's
< a href = "https://community.arm.com/arm-community-blogs/b/architectures-and-processors-blog/posts/enhanced-security-through-mte" > Memory Tagging Extension< / a > ,
which dramatically increases device
security by eliminating up to 95% of all
security issues caused by
memory-unsafety.< / p >
< h5 > Support< / h5 >
< p > Pixel 5a is supported for a
< a href = "https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705#zippy=%2Cpixel-a-g-pixel-pixel-a-g-pixel-a-pixel-xl-pixel" > minimum of 3 years from launch< / a > .< / p >
< p > Pixel 6-series, Pixel 7-series, Pixel
Fold, and Pixel Tablet are supported for
a
< a href = "https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705#zippy=%2Cpixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-pixel-a-pixel-pixel-pro-pixel-fold" > minimum of 5 years from launch< / a > .< / p >
< p > Pixel 8-series is supported for a
< a href = "https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705#zippy=%2Cpixel-pro" > minimum of 7 years from launch< / a > .< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "hardware-smartphone-source_model google-pixel" >
< / td >
< / tr >
< / tbody >
< / table >
< / div >
< / section >
< / section >
< section id = "recommendations-software" >
< h3 > < a href = "#recommendations-software" > Software< / a > < / h3 >
< section id = "recommendations-software-desktop" >
< h4 > < a href = "#recommendations-software-desktop" > Desktop< / a > < / h4 >
< div style = "overflow-x:auto;" >
< table >
< thead >
< tr >
< th id = "software-desktop-type" > Type< / th >
< th id = "software-desktop" > Software< / th >
< th id = "software-desktop-description" > Description< / th >
< th id = "software-desktop-source_model" > Source model< br / >
(License)< / th >
< / tr >
< / thead >
< tbody >
< tr >
< th id = "software-desktop-os" > Operating system< / th >
< th id = "gentoo_linux" headers = "software-desktop software-desktop-os" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-gentoo_linux.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Gentoo Linux logo" / > < br / >
Gentoo Linux
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-description gentoo_linux" >
< p > < a href = "https://www.gentoo.org/" > Gentoo Linux< / a >
is a highly modular, source-based, Linux-based
operating system which allows vast customisation
to tailor the operating system to suit your
specific needs. There are many advantages to
such an operating system, with the most notable
being the ability to optimise the software for
security, privacy, performance, or power usage;
however, there are effectively unlimited other
use cases, or a combination of multiple use
cases.< / p >
< p > I have focused on security hardening and
privacy hardening, placing performance below
those aspects, although my system is still very
performant. Some of the hardening I apply
includes
< a href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_overflow_protection" > stack protection< / a > ,
< a href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integer_overflow" > signed integer overflow trapping< / a > ,
and GrapheneOS'
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/hardened_malloc/" > hardened_malloc< / a >
memory allocator.< / p >
< p > You can find my Gentoo Linux configurations
in my
< a href = "https://src.inferencium.net/Inferencium/cfg/" > configuration respository< / a > .< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "software-desktop-source_model gentoo_linux" >
Open-source< br / >
(GPL-2.0-only)
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th id = "software-web_browser" > Web browser< / th >
< th id = "chromium" headers = "software-desktop software-web_browser" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-chromium.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Chromium logo" / > < br / >
Chromium
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-description chromium" >
< p > < a href = "https://chromium.org/" > Chromium< / a >
is a highly secure web browser which is often ahead
of other web browsers in security aspects. It has a
dedicated security team and a very impressive
< a href = "https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/brag-sheet/" > security brag sheet< / a > .
Chromium's security features include a strong
< a href = "https://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxSandboxing" > multi-layer sandbox< / a > ,
strong
< a href = "https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/site-isolation" > site isolation< / a > ,
< a href = "https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/binding-integrity" > Binding Integrity< / a >
memory hardening, and
< a href = "https://www.chromium.org/developers/testing/control-flow-integrity/" > control-flow integrity (CFI)< / a > .< / p > < / td >
< td headers = "software-desktop-source_model chromium" >
Open-source< br / >
(BSD-3-Clause)
< / td >
< / tr >
< / tbody >
< / table >
< / div >
< / section >
< section id = "recommendations-software-smartphone" >
< h4 > < a href = "#recommendations-software-smartphone" > Smartphone< / a > < / h4 >
< div style = "overflow-x:auto;" >
< table >
< thead >
< tr >
< th id = "software-smartphone-type" > Type< / th >
< th id = "software-smartphone" > Software< / th >
< th id = "software-smartphone-description" > Description< / th >
< th id = "software-smartphone-source_model" > Source model< br / >
(License)< / th >
< / tr >
< / thead >
< tbody >
< tr >
< th id = "software-smartphone-os" > Operating system< / th >
< th id = "grapheneos" headers = "software-smartphone software-smartphone-os" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-grapheneos.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "GrapheneOS logo" / > < br / >
GrapheneOS
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-smartphone-description grapheneos" >
< p > < a href = "https://grapheneos.org/" > GrapheneOS< / a >
is a security-hardened, privacy-hardened,
secure-by-default, Android-based operating
system which implements extensive, systemic
security and privacy hardening to the Android
Open Source Project used as its base codebase.
Its hardening includes closing gaps for apps to
access sensitive system information, a secure
app spawning feature which avoids sharing
address space layout and other secrets AOSP's
default Zygote app spawning model would share,
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/kernel_gs-gs101/" > hardened kernel< / a > ,
hardened memory allocator
(< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/hardened_malloc/" > hardened_malloc< / a > )
to protect against common memory corruption
vulnerabilities,
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/platform_bionic/" > hardened Bionic standard C library< / a > ,
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/platform_system_sepolicy/" > stricter SELinux policies< / a > ,
and local and remote hardware-backed attestation
(< a href = "https://attestation.app/about/" > Auditor< / a > )
to ensure the OS has not been corrupted or
tampered with.< / p >
< p > GrapheneOS only supports
< a href = "https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-support" > high security and well-supported devices< / a >
which receive full support from their
manufacturers, including firmware updates, long
support lifecycles, secure hardware, and overall
high security practices.< / p >
< p > For an extensive list of features GrapheneOS
provides, visit its
< a href = "https://grapheneos.org/features/" > official features list< / a >
which provides extensive documentation.< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "software-smartphone-source_model grapheneos" >
Open-source< br / >
(MIT)
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th id = "software-smartphone-web_browser" > Web browser< / th >
< th id = "vanadium" headers = "software-smartphone software-smartphone-web_browser" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-vanadium.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Vanadium logo" / > < br / >
Vanadium
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-smartphone-description vanadium" >
< p > Vanadium is a security-hardened,
privacy-hardened Chromium-based web browser
which utilises GrapheneOS' operating system
hardening to implement stronger defenses to the
already very secure Chromium web browser. Its
hardening alongside Chromium's base security
features includes
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/blob/13/patches/0081-Implement-UI-for-JIT-site-settings.patch" > disabling JavaScript just-in-time (JIT) compilation by default< / a > ,
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/blob/13/patches/0051-stub-out-the-battery-status-API.patch" > stubbing out the battery status API to prevent abuse of it< / a > ,
and
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/blob/13/patches/0084-Toggle-for-navigating-external-URL-in-incognito.patch" > always-on Incognito mode as an option< / a > .< / p >
< p > Vanadium's source code, including its Chromium
patch-set, can be found in its
< a href = "https://github.com/GrapheneOS/Vanadium/" > official repository< / a > .< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "software-smartphone-source_model vanadium" >
Open-source< br / >
(GPL-2.0-only)
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th rowspan = "2" id = "software-smartphone-messenger" > Messenger< / th >
< th id = "molly" headers = "software-smartphone software-smartphone-messenger" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-molly.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Molly logo" / > < br / >
Molly
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-smartphone-description molly" >
< p > < a href = "https://molly.im/" > Molly< / a >
is a security-hardened, privacy-hardened
< a href = "https://signal.org/" > Signal< / a >
client which hardens Signal by using a variety
of
< a href = "https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android#features" > unique features< / a > ,
allowing
< a href = "https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android/wiki/Data-Encryption-At-Rest" > locking the database when not in use< / a > ,
and
< a href = "https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android/blob/a81ff7d120adc9d427be17239107343146bad704/app/src/main/java/org/thoughtcrime/securesms/crypto/MasterSecretUtil.java#L91" > utilising Android StrongBox< / a >
to protect user keys using the device's hardware
security module.< / p >
< p > Molly is available in
< a href = "https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android#free-and-open-source" > 2 flavours< / a > :
< ul >
< li > Molly, which includes the
same proprietary Google code as
Signal to support more
features.< / li >
< li > Molly-FOSS, which removes
the proprietary Google code to
provide an entirely open-source
client.< / li >
< / ul >
< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "software-smartphone-source_model molly" >
Open-source< br / >
(GPL-3.0-only)
< / td >
< / tr >
< tr >
< th id = "conversations" headers = "software-smartphone software-smartphone-messenger" >
< img src = "asset/img/logo-conversations.png" width = "100" height = "100" alt = "Conversations logo" / > < br / >
Conversations
< / th >
< td class = "desc" headers = "software-smartphone-description conversations" >
< p > < a href = "https://conversations.im/" > Conversations< / a >
is a well-designed Android
< a href = "https://xmpp.org/" > XMPP< / a >
client which serves as the de facto XMPP
reference client and has great usability.< / p >
< / td >
< td headers = "software-smartphone-source_model conversations" >
Open-source< br / >
(GPL-3.0-only)
< / td >
< / tr >
< / tbody >
< / table >
< / div >
< / section >
< / section >
< section id = "recommendations-music" >
< h3 > < a href = "#recommendations-music" > Music< / a > < / h3 >
< p > For a curated list of music I enjoy,
visit my
< a href = "music.xhtml" > music page< / a > .< / p >
< / section >
2023-06-18 16:26:02 +01:00
< / section >
2024-01-30 01:42:05 +00:00
< section id = "gnulinux_or_linux" >
< h2 > < a href = "#gnulinux_or_linux" > Is it GNU/Linux or Just Linux?< / a > < / h2 >
2024-02-06 01:28:17 +00:00
< p > It's just Linux. GNU is unrelated to Linux, which is a
kernel developed by Linus Torvalds. Linux can be used
entirely without GNU software in userspace, and the kernel
can be compiled without the use of GNU tools. Just because
GNU tools were used to initally develop and compile the
kernel, and were initially the only available tools for
userspace, does not make this true today, and it never made
GNU a part of Linux itself at any point of time.< / p >
< p > Where are all of the other forward-slashes for every
other piece of software on a Linux-based system which makes
it just as usable? If a system is running "GNU/Linux", it
should be using more than a single forward-slash when there
is more to the system than only GNU.< / p >
2024-01-30 01:42:05 +00:00
< / section >
2023-04-29 11:10:43 +01:00
< / body >
2022-06-30 06:19:28 +01:00
< / html >
