> I'm going to start adding free software projects to the Free Software > Directory as well. I'd love other peoples help on this as well. > > Once we add them, I'll work on making a nice template for collections of > software, but for now I'll add them as Related Projects on this > placeholder page I made, <http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/PRISM>. > > >
Today I was told about a site, named PRISM Break, that suggested several alternatives, some libre, some not so, to avoid being tracked by the PRISM system. I sent the site's developer a message about the details that he overlooked. A copy can be read at my profile on Friendica ( https://friendica.free-beer.ch/display/csolisr/3072652 ), or at 0bin ( http://0bin.net/paste/ 2692e12d43a2afa56f225cde7593ba21e158e558# Tqtsaj8sqyfHB8USBpfJHLVHNkwUWHl1SrMSZsMnIyw= ), and a plaintext version is included on the following paragraphs. > Recently, I found out a site with several recommendations to break out of > the reach of #PRISM ( http://prism-break.org/ ), and although its > recommendations are useful, they could be even more so. I will comment on > each of them and add further programs or websites recommended. > > * Operating system: GNU/Linux > At least you got the name right, but the recommendation could be more > ethically loaded: replacing Tux the penguin with the GNU mascot (which > not only represents the GNU part of GNU/Linux but also the free software > movement, unlike Tux), encouraging people to prefer the GNU/Linux-libre > distributions endorsed by the FSF > ( https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html ), such as Trisquel > ( http://trisquel.info/ ) or Parabola ( https://parabolagnulinux.org/ ). > > * Web browser: Tor Browser > A good choice, in part. The Tor Browser is partly composed by Tor, but > partly by a custom build of Mozilla Firefox, which, despite of its > respect for privacy, does allow the user to install nonfree addons. It > would be wiser to recommend Tor alongside GNU IceCat, the fork of Firefox > that removes all recommendations to the aforementioned nonfree addons. > > * Web search: Startpage > Startpage is a version of Ixquick ( https://www.ixquick.com/ ) that only > displays results from Google. Both Ixquick and DuckDuckGo > ( https://www.duckduckgo.com ) have strict privacy policies, but are > themselves nonfree software. One could recommend instead Seeks Search > ( http://www.seeks-project.info ) or YaCy ( http://www.yacy.net ). > > * Online transactions: Bitcoin > No complaints about this one. There are also several other > cryptocurrencies forked from Bitcoin, each with their pros and cons. One > of the most famous ones is Litecoin ( http://litecoin.org/ ). > > * Cloud storage: Sparkleshare > Sparkleshare may be free software, but it depends upon the Mono > technology, itself built upon Microsoft's C# language and thus it's prone > to patent attacks. Seafile ( http://seafile.com ) is another option which > is completely free software, and the main servers that it recommends are > costless, but those are hosted by a Chinese enterprise, whose privacy > policies are suspicious. The option here is to search for an ownCloud > provider ( https://owncloud.com/ ), but all the public ones are > pay-per-use. (I was lucky enough to be invited to a private instance, > though.) > > * Social networking: Diaspora, Pump.IO > Both are good choices, although Diaspora is currently maintained by the > community (since the devs abandoned it) and Pump.IO is in a very early > stage of development. Other choices are GNU Social, formerly StatusNet > ( https://www.gnu.org/software/social/merge.html ) and Friendica > ( http://friendica.com/ ). The latter one offers connectivity with many > other social networks and a great amount of plugins, and will eventually > evolve to a new social network named Red > ( http://www.redmatrixproject.info/ ). > > * Instant messaging: Pidgin > You forgot to mention two things: one, in order to work, Pidgin must use > an XMPP/Jabber account from a site, and providers are growing scarce. > DuckDuckGo offers the service, but it's nonfree software. The mail > providers Lavabit and Riseup also may offer XMPP with the account, but > subscribing to them is difficult due to reasons I'll explain later. > Second, even with Pidgin, conversations may be snooped unless additional > technology is used, such as Off-The-Record > ( http://www.cypherpunks.ca/otr/ ) or Tor. > > * Video chat: Jitsi > Again, Jitsi needs either an XMPP/Jabber account for text messaging, or a > SIP account for video messaging. Jitsi may recommend its own sponsored > service for the latter, though, although I'm unsure whether it's free or > nonfree. > > * Media publishing: MediaGoblin > No complaints. > > * Document collaboration: EtherPad > EtherPad only works with plain text, but by default it includes no > support for images or tables. However, there are no free alternatives as > of yet. The closest one, Apache Wave > ( https://incubator.apache.org/wave/ ), is more intended as a social > network for collaborating in projects, and document edition is only > slightly more developed. There is a public server, Kune > ( http://kune.cc/ ). > > * Email: Currently none > The closest matches are Riseup ( http://www.riseup.net/ ) and Lavabit > ( https://lavabit.com ). Both offer a limited space of mail (around 100 > MB) and XMPP/Jabber as well. The former needs the invitation of two > current members of Riseup to enter, and the latter has inscriptions > currently disabled, although it may change in a future. - Carlos Solís
