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MrKurtzon Email service used by Snowden shuts down, warns against using US-based companies

Their shares went down immediately after due to concerns they forfeited the opportunity to expand their business in the world's 2nd largest economy, but as the immediate economic damage was immaterial their decision wasn't followed with a deluge of shareholder lawsuits.

Google already bowed out of one major market due to ethical disagreements, asking them to do that again with their home market is unrealistic - lobbying to mend the laws is the more sensible approach and one that scales better to businesses of that size.

Besides despite disagreements with US policy it's still not China.

MrKurtzon Email service used by Snowden shuts down, warns against using US-based companies

You can't declare that they're not fighting because you have no knowledge of what is being done by their lawyers and lobbyists, especially since the courts involved are secret.

Lobbying scales better than shutting down or suspending service.

MrKurtzon Email service used by Snowden shuts down, warns against using US-based companies

Shifting the blame and the burden for policy reform onto firms is not only silly but also unfair, you can't really expect them to shut down, they are not one man operations like Lavabit.

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

The burden isn't on Google (I'm not sure why you are singling out Google) their hands are tied from a legal and practical standpoints.

They receive warrants and subpoenas with which they have to comply to keep doing business, if you don't care for that blame the politician and the legal system, focusing on Google is not only missing the point, it's unfair

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

Lavabit was a tiny private operation. If you think that a publicly traded multi billion dollar company with millions of users and customers can just shut down to avoid complying with government requests then you are a deluded moron.

MrKurtzon Youtube Easter Egg - One for the Geeks

A couple more listed here: http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/08/youtubes-geeky-east...

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

At least they're transparent (as one can be) about it: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/transparency-report-s...

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

You can't convincingly make that argument since you don't know what lawyers have been doing behind the closed doors of secret court rooms nor do you have knowledge of their relevant lobbying, you're just assuming things. No to forget that Google was the first to publish a transparency report in which it publishes the number of NSLs, so there is that - it's not correct to use "Google" as a shorthand for "US tech companies".

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

"Participates" is the wrong characterisation, they are under the jurisdiction of FISA orders, if the NSA wants to call that PRISM, it's their business. Also worth mentioning is that providers in non-US countries are subject to their respective country's surveillance efforts, so either way it's a red herring argument.

MrKurtzon Lavabit abruptly shuts down

If you are seriously suggesting that abandoning the US market is a realistic option, especially for a multibillion dollar corporation, then you are (and I'm not using this word lightly) an idiot.

Not to mention that there is no US equivalent to the rampant human rights violations and censorship in China.

MrKurtzon OpenMailBox: An alternative to Gmail based on free software

How comforting it is to be only subject to French surveillance: http://gigaom.com/2013/07/04/france-has-its-own-prism-like-s...

MrKurtzon Extracting passwords from Chrome

It's obviously deliberate. Are you not familiar with OS level profiles? in the case of OSX: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11468 there is your master password.

Also the post you mention was already submitted and discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6165708

MrKurtzon Chrome's insane password security strategy

The master password is that of your OS profile.

MrKurtzon Summon the NSA

Sigh.

How does the saying go again: 'misinformed paranoia travels around the world and spawns parody sites before the truth gets a chance to put its pants on and start individually debunking each reposting' ?

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/08/pressure-cooker/

MrKurtzon Russia's Massive Android Malware Industry Revealed

Good point, they should have made that distinction in the article.

MrKurtzon Russia's Massive Android Malware Industry Revealed

Instead of just regurgitating whatever is handed out to them, these publication ought to be more skeptical of the claims of a company like Lookout whose business is built on FUD, especially when they are spreading that FUD about the only platform that lets them make a living.

I'm not suggesting that there are no potential threats, what I'm suggesting is that they often omit the caveats and mitigating factors such as that the official Play Store doesn't host malware and even if something slipped in it wouldn't survive for long. The main concern would be about sideloaded apps and even then devices with Google Play Services installed (most of them) can still scan them: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/07/28/googles-malware-scan...

Also Android 4.2 introduced premium SMS protection:

More control of premium SMS - Android will provide a notification if an application attempts to send SMS to a short code that uses premium services which might cause additional charges. The user can choose whether to allow the application to send the message or block it.

https://source.android.com/devices/tech/security/enhancement...

MrKurtzon Employer Tipped Off Police In Pressure Cooker/Backpack-gate, Not Google

http://www.bnowire.com/inbox/?id=1953

MrKurtzon Employer Tipped Off Police In Pressure Cooker/Backpack-gate, Not Google

The most disturbing and disappointing part of the whole story is how it spread without even the slightest attempt to do any journalism work, and now that the truth was uncovered hardly anyone is publishing or updating originals with corrections and retractions: http://www.techmeme.com/130801/p52#a130801p52

It's fucking shameful.

MrKurtzon Declan McCullagh on Pressure-CookerGate

Even if it was due to her queries, they could have gotten them by tapping ISPs, they tend to comply easier than tech firms.

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

The police do what 100 time a week? Go to random houses and ask odd pressure cooker bomb related questions?

Evidently in Boston they do.

I agree completely, the goal is to verify the claims, and thankfully someone is trying to: http://twitter.com/kashhill

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

The distinction between public and private in this scenario is the difference between pictures posted so that everyone can see versus a string that only two parties can read directly or others might sniff indirectly.

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

She also says:

"They mentioned that they do this about 100 times a week. And that 99 of those visits turn out to be nothing. I don’t know what happens on the other 1% of visits and I’m not sure I want to know what my neighbors are up to." https://medium.com/something-like-falling/2e7d13e54724

There is no proof it was a result of her searches.

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

There is a huge difference! if they visited her because of her web searches which are private then it's a big deal, if on the other hand the visit was due to her profile picture which is public then it's not as big of a deal.

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

Nor have there been reports to support her claim. As to the police visit, there are plenty of other speculative reasons for it: https://plus.google.com/112961607570158342254/posts/FWAVRVaN...

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

Huh? they're running a story that implies that the feds or local police can monitor Google searches without evidence, they are cynically exploiting recent headlines to pull traffic. If you want the press to be taken seriously on serious matters they need to get this shit together.

MrKurtzon Google Pressure Cookers and Backpacks, Get a Visit from the Feds

My point is to not take this story on face value, the details matter, and should be investigated.

MrKurtzon Google Pressure Cookers and Backpacks, Get a Visit from the Feds

If that was the case they would have mentioned that they received a "no comment".

MrKurtzon Google ‘pressure cooker,’ get a police visit? Maybe not.

It's shameful how many publications ran with this story on face value.

MrKurtzon Moto X phone specifications

Evidently there will be a Google Edition of the Moto X as well: http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/1/4579278/google-play-edition...

MrKurtzon Google Pressure Cookers and Backpacks, Get a Visit from the Feds

No one has even asked them! she should also FOIA this incident. My point is that it's all speculative at the moment.