This actually happened to me with Jade from Beyond Good & Evil

I see Beyond Good & Evil, I instantly upvote.

HTTPS with no VPN:

You trust the web site to encrypt your data if and only if the web site has properly implemented encryption along with encrypted DNS traffic. Sometimes you make a connection to HTTP before you’re redirected to HTTPS. Your ISP can see what web sites you visit, but the ISP can’t see what you’re doing because the traffic is encrypted so long as encryption is implemented correctly. ISP knows you went to https://www.website.com/.

Conclusion: Your ISP knows exactly what web sites you visit, but can’t see what you’re doing on the web site (if encryption is properly configured by the web site provider).

HTTP or HTTPS with trusted VPN (e.g., Mullvad):

You trust the VPN provider. Your connections are encrypted entirely. Your ISP can’t see what web sites you’re visiting nor can they interpret your traffic.

Conclusion: Your ISP is completely blind to what you’re doing and where you’re going.

ExpressVPN:

"HTTPS is essential for security, but it can only do so much. Don’t fall into a false sense of security—there are limitations to HTTPS protection:

• HTTPS doesn’t hide what websites you visit. Your ISP or network provider can still see which sites you access, even if they can’t view what you do on them.
• HTTPS won’t protect data stored on a website. If a site suffers a data breach, HTTPS won’t prevent hackers from accessing your saved information.
• HTTPS cannot encrypt all your internet traffic. It only secures connections between your browser and a site—not your entire internet activity.
• You have no control over HTTPS. The protocol is set by website owners, so if you visit a website without HTTPS protection, there is no way for you to enable it." Source: https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/https-vs-vpn/

PureVPN:

"HTTPS:

• Encrypts data between your browser and websites.
• Protects against eavesdropping on web transactions.
• Activated automatically with ‘https://’ VPN:
• Encrypts and routes all internet traffic, including from apps.
• Protects the entire internet connection. A VPN is used to establish an encrypted connection - also referred to as tunnel - between your device and unsecure network like the Internet. Since all your traffic goes through the VPN’s server rather than that of your ISP, nobody can find out what you’re up to online. What HTTPS Cannot Do?
• Hide Your IP Address: HTTPS doesn’t mask your IP address. Websites and your ISP can still see your IP and location, whereas a VPN hides your IP, making your online presence more anonymous.
• Encrypt All Internet Traffic: HTTPS only secures data between your browser and websites. A VPN encrypts all your internet traffic, including apps and services outside your browser.
• Prevent ISP Tracking: Your ISP can still see which sites you visit with HTTPS, they just can’t see the exact content. A VPN encrypts all your traffic, preventing ISPs from tracking your web activities. https://www.purevpn.com/blog/https-vs-vpn/

Here are more sources I won’t quote, but you can read:

• https://www.zdnet.com/article/reader-question-answered-if-i-have-https-do-i-need-a-vpn/
• https://nordvpn.com/blog/https-vs-vpn/
• Mullvad. This is more advanced as the article is targeted to technical users. However, it explains how they handle encrypted DNS in their services: https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

Great input and you’re absolutely correct. Very important to safeguard backups.

Use of a VPN depends on your privacy threat model.

Using VPN at all times while using the internet like one normally does is beneficial only to the extent that you encrypt your traffic and prevent your ISP from spying on you… mostly. But if you’re logging into known accounts associated with you, then it’s a moot point. Your traffic is encrypted, but your use of services leaves an easy to follow cookie trail of where you’ve been.

If your privacy threat model is much more serious, then you wouldn’t login to any known accounts while on your VPN. You wouldn’t use services that can be pinpointed to you.

Hence, use a VPN to your discretion. If you generally don’t want your ISP spying on you, keeping it on is always best practice. If you have more things to hide, you’d want to use Tor while on VPN and of course don’t use any services that could be linked to you.

Nothing much you can do except make it harder for nefarious parties to get your information. If you’re in the U.S. most of your information is public. With two pieces of info about you, you’re one Google search away from your name, physical address, schools you went to, where you’re employed, etc. You can’t stop this, so just make it harder when your data does get leaked.

Here are my best practices:

• Own my email domain name and use it for generating unlimited random aliases.
• Update old accounts using a random alias.
• Generate random usernames using a proper username generator. Unique username per account.
• If an old account email can’t be updated, changed, or deleted, spoil the information in their system by using fake info and then abandon the account (Anon O’Moose, 1234 Fake Street, Beverly Hills, CA 90210).
• One email alias per account - never shared.
• Unique passwords via a password manager (e.g., passwords like ‘Obtuse4-Entangle-Matrix’).
• Enable TOTP multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
• For legacy security questions, always use a passphrase generator for the answer, and save both the question and answer into your password manager. “In what city did you go to school?”Answer: “Bandit4-Topic-Guardian”.
• Save recovery codes for your accounts into your password manager.
• Leverage virtual credit card numbers if your provider offers it. One virtual card per account - never shared.
• Create accounts only if you have no choice.
• Submit your formal request in Opt Out Prescreen to minimise the sale of your info.
• Delete all centralised social media accounts. Instruct people to text or call you.
• Switch to Linux completely if you can. Get off Windows and Mac where possible.
• Get off iOS if you can and try to run a proper trusted degoogled OS where possible. You can experiment with Linux phones in the future, but right now it’s not mature enough yet nor is it as secure as something like Graphene OS on Pixel phones.
• Get all your data on prem only. If you choose to backup some data for safeguarding online, encrypt it before you upload it.
• If your phone number has been leaked and you’re getting multi factor code requests, excessive spam, etc. consider setting up a new phone line with new number. Then update all your accounts, employer, government records, etc. to point to the new phone number. Let your contacts know. Once satisfied, deactivate your old phone number.
• Minimise posting any personal details about yourself online. Never identify physical locations. Make up fake details about yourself, your employment, etc. Make yourself a little more anonymous by providing fake information. One day you have a pet, another day you’ve never had pets, one day you’re divorced, another day you’re 18 years old, etc. Strive to be consistently inconsistent with the data you post about yourself online. Lots of things I’ve said on Lemmy about myself are untrue, while some things are true. It’s important to not reveal personal identifiers as it is trivial for a determined actor to correlate data and pinpoint who you are.
• Never, ever have any usernames, passwords, email addresses, or security questions that have any meaningful information related to you. ALWAYS use random generators. There is only one password you need to remember, and that is the one password to your password manager. Write it down on paper using pencil (graphite lasts longer than ink) and stick it in a safe.
• Use a VPN properly and with discretion, based on your privacy threat model.

4. Monitors. Possibly the most cost-effective option and your best choice.

Just adding a note here that the Smart cancer has already begun infiltrating monitors. Samsung and LG make them, and I’m sure more will follow very soon. It won’t be long before dumb monitors no longer exist.

MAGA:

• Vandalise Tesla. ✋ Terrorist
• Vandalise the U.S. Capitol. 👌 Patriot

Yep, Bitcoin is a public ledger. If you run a full node you can see all the transactions yourself. Or, you can just use services online and explore the blockchain itself by searching a Bitcoin address.

Here’s the activity of the mentioned BTC address: https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/addresses/btc/1H5qsQHFgQbLGgk1qDMTBiVFaxBdSZVFTy

At time of this comment, it’s a brand new address and has made no transactions. Wallet balance is 0 BTC.

For the other address, Litecoin, I don’t know anything about that crypto so I can’t find it when I search online LTC explorers. Don’t know if LTC is a public ledger like BTC, and frankly I don’t care enough to find out.

Edit: on mobile, fixed rhe inevitable typos

Finally, a use case for AI. God this is so beautiful. I can watch this all day.

Fuck the Fanta Menace.

Sorry it didn’t work out for you like Linux Mint works for me (I switched full time to LM in December 2024).

If you haven’t already, switch to Windows 10 LTSC in the interim. I have a feeling Linux will only improve over time with greater compatibility with Proton. Since Win 10 LTSC is supported until 2029, that’s plenty of time for for more kinks to be worked out and you can potentially try Linux again.

Sometimes when it’s quiet and I get a moment to sit, ponder, and allow myself to be bored, I’ll hear either The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time title theme song or, if I’m feeling energised, I’ll hear the opening theme for a new game start in Super Mario 64 (where Lakitu is flying around with the camera and Mario jumps out of the warp pipe).

It’s been a day. We pine for our hero. Will you answer the call?

100% agree. I grew up on Super NES and owned every console gen from Nintendo up through Switch. Got into PC gaming 7 years ago, and then picked up a PS5 on a ridiculous deal to try to enter into their market and play some games. Astro Bot is a charming and incredibly fun video game. So much love was poured into this game.

It’s an incredible game and it deserves all of the awards it earned. I still love all the main Mario games I’ve played, and Mario Odyssey was a wonderful and charming game, too. Astro Bot is certainly not a “we already have Mario at home” game - I hold it up there with one of my favorite platformers I’ve ever played.

It’d be great if it could get ported to PC, but they would have to significantly adjust the game controls to get around the purposefully tight integration with the PS5 controller. Playing that game with the PS5 controller was so much fun.

Edit: fixed some mobile typos

State senator Kevin Sparks called the district’s Bible ban “misguided” in a 19 December post on Instagram. “The Bible is not educationally unsuitable, sexually explicit, or pervasively vulgar, making its removal legally and morally indefensible. At a time when students seek guidance, the Bible provides a vital moral framework.”

Dad: “Are you learning, son?”

Son: “Dad, I read the bible today in school. What are ‘emissions of donkeys’?”

Dad angrily whips out his ‘Bible Belt’ and commences with Christian Love: “Heathen! You need more church and don’t read that bible! Only listen to the church readings!”

Indeed. I’ve been radicalised by Ubisoft.

In 2012 I bought Splinter Cell Blacklist for Wii U. Loved it so much I paid for all the DLC, just like I did with Assassin’s Creed III also on Wii U. Not too long ago, Ubisoft announced they were terminating legacy activation servers, and multiplayer modes would no longer function. But this also meant that without those activation servers, I would lose access to the DLC I paid for (as Ubisoft disclosed) because the game phones their activation servers and authenticates if I own the DLC. With enough public gamer outrage and pushback, Ubisoft walked back this decision… for now.

I thought I was safe buying physical games like I always have. I thought I was safe if the DLC was downloaded to the console. If this legacy server decommissioning went through, I would never be able to legally play the stuff I paid for and should own. Lesson learned, and every last ounce of ever wanting to play a modern Ubisoft game died in about ~2020 when they announced this. I don’t trust them, and I’m glad to see their company is beginning to tank because they stopped innovating and making good games like they used to decades ago.

When I wanted to replay Blacklist recently, I pirated it. The pirated copy ran better than the copy I own on Steam and Uplay - no crashes every 30 minutes (seriously, look it up), no bugs, etc. I didn’t want to play the Wii U copy because it’s a very slow console and the loading times for levels is insane (10+ minutes to load in due to the archaic Wii U architecture, back when I first played it in 2012).

I’m receiving a better service from the pirates rather than Ubisoft. Not that I want to play any modern Ubisoft games, but this whole “ownership” thing has made me question every digital purchase I’ve made. Now, I rip all my Blu Rays to PC and archive them. I buy on GOG, and only buy on Steam if I can’t get it on GOG.

Sorry for long story, Ubisoft just really pisses me off and they destroyed the last thread of good will I had for them. I’ll just stick to playing Beyond Good and Evil on my GameCube if I get nostalgic for the games they made that had heart and innovation.

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There’s too many words in this meme that’s making me dizzy from all your fancy science leechcraft, wizard.

I reject your reality and substitute my own: the feather falls faster. It’s more streamlined than the bowling ball, and thus it slips through the vacuum much faster and does hit the ground and stay on the ground, I think. The ball will bounce at least once, maybe even three times. On each bounce, parts of it probably break off, which change the weight. Thankfully those broken pieces won’t hurt anyone because they’re sucked up by the vacuum. Thus, rendering your dungeon wizard spells ineffective against me.

I used Twitter briefly years before Muskrat. The middle post is the OP post, which is the Tweet. Right below that, a user commented on the Tweet. And so the original poster then can do something called a “quote retweet” which shares the context below your new tweet. It’s weird and took me a while to get used to that design convention. Easy for Xitter users to understand once they’re entrenched in the user experience, but difficult for persons outside of the platform to make sense of it. Anyway I don’t hang out at Nazi bars so I’m not on Xitter any longer.

Get the original on GOG without DRM or forced PSN.

Dobby: gets socks “Dobby is free!”

Potter: proceeds to laugh, enjoying Dobby’s glee from enslavement liberation

Dobby: “…U havin a giggle there m8? I’ll bash ur fookin’ head in, I swear on me mum. Push my chest to TRY ME.”