Money Is Not Wealth: Computer Articles - By A.R. Miller

MONEY IS NOT WEALTH

Computers and Related Hardware,
Computer Studies, Computer Privacy/Security,
Free Open-Source Software (FOSS, Linux), Etc.:
Subsection 2 of Money Is Not Wealth.
Compare Protection Across Browsers, Extensions, And AI Providers (DuckDuckGo.com; updated twice per year)
Many browsers, browser extensions, and AI providers talk about how they protect your privacy, but these claims don't always match the out-of-the-box privacy protections you actually get.
We made this chart to help you compare the protection you're getting now and how protected you can be. We've outlined which protections browsers, browser extensions, and AI providers offer by default without requiring you to change any settings after on-boarding, so you can decide which browser, browser extension, or AI provider is best for you.
NEW here on June 28, 2026 (because 11-months later, it's still the best we've read on this now-timely topic.
Non-techies are invited to skip down to its Conclusion.):
Matthew Garrett: Secure-Boot Certificate Rollover Is Real, But Probably Won't Hurt You. (Dreamworth.org; July 30, 2025)
LWN wrote an article which opens with the assertion, "Linux users who have Secure Boot enabled on their systems knowingly or unknowingly rely on a key from Microsoft that is set to expire in September." This is, depending on interpretation, either misleading or just plain wrong, but also there's not a good source of truth here, so...
First, how does secure boot signing work? Every system that supports UEFI Secure Boot ships with a set of trusted certificates in a database called "db". Any binary signed with a chain of certificates that chains to a root in db is trusted, unless either the binary (via hash) or an intermediate certificate is added to "dbx", a separate database of things whose trust has been revoked. But, in general, the firmware doesn't care about the intermediate or the number of intermediates or whatever - as long as there's a valid chain back to a certificate that's in db, it's going to be happy.
That's the conceptual version. What about the real-world one? Most x86 systems that implement UEFI secure boot have at least two root certificates in db - one called "Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011", and one called "Microsoft Corporation UEFI CA 2011". The former is the root of a chain used to sign the Windows bootloader, and the latter is the root used to sign, well, everything else.
What is "everything else"? For people in the Linux ecosystem, the most obvious thing is the Shim bootloader that's used to bridge between the Microsoft root of trust and a given Linux distribution's root of trust[2]. But that's not the only third party code executed in the UEFI environment. Graphics cards, network cards, RAID and iSCSI cards and so on all tend to have their own unique initialisation process, and need board-specific drivers.
...
Conclusion: Outside some corner cases,
1. The worst case is you might need to boot an old Linux to update your trusted keys to be able to install a new Linux.
2. No computer currently running Linux will break in any way whatsoever.
NEW (and techie!): Dan Goodin: A Critical Deadline Is Approaching for Windows and Linux Security. (Ars Technica; June 21, 2026)
The cryptographic keys that secure your computer's boot sequence will start to expire on June 24. Here's what that means for you.
The clock is ticking for Windows and Linux users to update cryptographic keys that protect their systems against firmware-based UEFI infections, a pernicious form of malware that loads before operating system and anti-malware protections start.
Beginning June 24, three "certificates" - that cryptographically verify each piece of firmware and software that loads during system boot - will expire. The Microsoft-signed certificates are the linchpins of Secure Boot, a Microsoft-designed chain of trust. Secure Boot checks the digital signatures of all firmware that loads during system startup to ensure it originates from a trusted provider, such as the manufacturer of the motherboard the system runs on.
Secure Boot is designed to thwart UEFI bootkits, a form of malware that alters the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, the successor to the BIOS, both of which begin the initial boot sequence. Because these bootkits load before the OS and most other code, they can be difficult to detect. Once installed, they typically load malware onto the OS that steals credentials, backdoors the system, or performs other malicious actions. Even when the OS is disinfected, the bootkit can reinfect the system. Bootkits survive OS reinstallations as well.
Microsoft is in the process of updating Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines.
Linux distributors are also in the process of updating "shims", a small, first-stage UEFI bootloader that acts as a trusted bridge between Secure Boot keys and the Linux bootloader.
Machines that fail to update the Secure Boot-related keys will continue to function, but they will no longer be protected against new UEFI threats. To be clear, they were already vulnerable to new UEFI threats that exploited the industry-wide LogoFail vulnerability. The key refresh is designed to mitigate that risk and prevent unrelated UEFI attacks that may arise in the future.
To check the status of the keys:
- Windows users can open Windows Security settings > Device Security > Secure Boot. A green checkmark means the update has been completed. Most Windows machines automatically update the keys during regular monthly patch distributions, but older machines may require manual attention.
- Linux users should watch for the release of new shims.
Thomas Germain: [Trump-and-Musk's] TikTok Is Tracking You, Even If You Don't Use The App. Here's How To Stop It. (BBC; February 11, 2026)
TikTok is growing its data-harvesting empire, and avoiding the app won't protect you – but some easy steps can keep you safe.
TikTok keeps track of everything you do on its app – no surprises there. What's less obvious is how the company follows you around other parts of the Internet that have nothing to do with TikTok.
In fact, TikTok collects sensitive and potentially-embarrassing information about you even if you've never used the app. Over the past week, I've watched websites sending TikTok data about cancer diagnoses, fertility and even mental-health crises. It's part of a tracking empire that extends far beyond the social-media platform. Now, thanks to a new set of features, TikTok is poised to expand its network and see even more details about your life.
The change comes just weeks after the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to a group of companies with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal has led to fresh privacy concerns from some human-rights experts and users, though TikTok says it has transparent guidelines on how it responds to government requests for data. 
Fortunately, this is a privacy story with a positive note. Some easy steps you can take in about five minutes will help you keep your information out of TikTok's hands.
[MMS adds two browser extensions, DuckDuckGo and Ghostery, to the Mozilla Firefox included with Linux Mint.]

Abhinav Raj: Your SSD Will Outlive Your Entire PC, So Don't Overpay For A Bigger One Right Now. (XDA;
Amid a steadily-worsening PC-hardware economy, NAND flash prices seem to be the next in line to rise above the threshold of affordability. Whenever a price rise hits the consumer market, the natural instinct to hoard tends to prevail. That's been true for RAM, GPUs, and entire consoles too, so it feels reasonable to fill up your M.2 and SATA slots while you can.
And in part, that's what the conventional wisdom floating around on PC-building forums suggests as well. For the capacity you actually need, that advice is sound. However, for speculative future capacity like the extra terabyte or two you may need eventually, it's a good idea to rethink before you make a purchase. Your SSDs will almost certainly be in great shape long after you've swapped out most parts of your build, and overpaying for storage you won't use for years is a worse financial decision than it might seem, especially when NAND prices are nearing an all-time high.
NEW: Marcus Nestor: The Final Release Of Firefox 153 Is Expected July 21st, 2026. (9to5 Linux; June 17, 2026)
With the release of Firefox 152 rolling out to all supported platforms, Mozilla promoted the next major release, Firefox 153, to the beta channel for public testing, so it's time to take a look at the new features and improvements:
The big news with Firefox 153 is that it will be the next Firefox ESR (Extended-Support Release) series, supported for 15 months with regular updates that coincide with new Firefox releases. Firefox 153 ESR will join the Firefox 140 ESR and Firefox 115 ESR releases, the latter being retired in September 2026.
Firefox 153 also promises:
- a new "Pick a color" quick action that lets you pick and copy a color from any web page by typing "pick color", "color picker", or "eyedropper" in the address bar,
- improved support for videos with overlays, and
- the ability to quickly-open Firefox Labs by typing "labs" or "experiment" in the address bar.
There are several improvements to how PDFs are handled, such as:
- the ability to merge multiple PDFs by dragging a PDF in the PDF sidebar,
- the ability to add images as new pages within PDFs, and
- the ability to highlight text selected in PDF files clearly, like in normal web pages.
Among other noteworthy changes:
- Extensions will no longer be able to access local files by default.
- The location-permission icon is now highlighted in red whenever a website has access to your location, and
- Qualified Website Authentication Certificates (QWACs) will now be displayed in accordance with eIDAS regulations.
For Windows users, Firefox 153 promises support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) videos on Windows 10 and 11 systems with a supported HDR display connected to AMD and NVIDIA GPUs.
For macOS users, it promises support for Apple’s system-wide full-screen keyboard command (Globe-F).
For web developers, Firefox 153 promises support for:
- a limited subset of the non-standard ::-webkit-scrollbar pseudo-element.
- the popover=hint specification, and
- support for the Error.stackTraceLimit property to set the maximal depth of the captured JavaScript error stack.
Starting with this release, developers will be able to use the text-import attribute to import text files using the module system.
Firefox 153 also:
- updates the alignment-baseline property to support new keywords alphabetic, ideographic, central, mathematical, and hanging, and
- adds support for the closest-corner and farthest-corner keywords to the circle() and ellipse() functions.
Last but not least, Firefox 153 promises to:
- update HTML parsing rules for < select > elements to align with web standards for supporting future customizable select drop-down features,
- implements Intl.LocaleInfo for querying locale information, and
- updates the Picture-In-Picture API for user-agent Picture-In-Picture functionality.
Mozilla plans to release Firefox 153 on July 21st, 2026, as the new ESR (Extended Support Release) series, along with the Firefox 140.13 and Firefox 115.38.0 ESR releases. Until then, you can download the latest beta version of Firefox 153 right now from the official website, but keep in mind not to use it for production work.
Marcus Nestor: Mozilla Firefox 152 Is Now Available For Download. Here's What's New. (9to5 Linux; June 15, 2026)
Today, Mozilla has published the final builds of the Firefox 152 web browser ahead of its official unveiling on June 16th, 2026, so it's time to take a look at the new features and improvements.
Highlights of Firefox 152 include:
- experimental support for the new JPEG XL image format in Firefox Labs,
- support for widgets on the New Tab pages,
- and further modernization of the Firefox settings with a brand-new look with streamlined organization, clearer groupings, and improved navigation for easier customization.
On Linux and Windows systems, it is now possible to copy links without switching to a tab via the Share > Copy Link right-click tab context menu option. Even better, it's possible to copy multiple links at once when multiple tabs are selected.
On top of that, Firefox 152 adds support for:
- additional and smaller zooming increments when using the keyboard or mouse to zoom sites,
- opening tabs in a new tab or a new container tab from the context menu of the Tabs from Other Devices panel in the sidebar,
- video controls like play, pause, full-screen, mute, and loop in the right-click menu to more sites and
- muting Firefox from the address bar by typing "mute" (or "shush" or "sssh") or by using a quick action in the address bar,
- opening downloaded PDF files in a background tab when closing the original tab or when switching tabs,
- adds a new "Send tab" toolbar button, and
- action buttons for web notifications via a new "actions" option.
The Private Browsing feature has been improved as well in Firefox 152, to no longer break websites because of tracker blocking. As such, Firefox will now show an info-bar after a reload. Clicking the "Reload" button in the info-bar will disable tracker blocking before reloading the page.
Among other note-worthy changes, this release improves:
- GTK support by fixing the direction of word-based selection commands in RTL (right-to-left) text fields,
- improves the About Mozilla Firefox dialog for multi-monitor setups so that it will open more reliably on the monitor with the most-recently-used Firefox window,
- fixes a bug that caused the Paste option to be missing from the context menus when editing content on sites like eBay, LinkedIn, and Squarespace,
- adds built-in dictionary support for the Firefox spellchecker on the Firefox builds in Croatian, English (UK), Georgian, Persian, Slovenian, Tajik, Tamil, Tibetan, Turkish, Welsh, and Xhosa languages.
For Android users, Firefox 152:
- improves the sharing of remote PDF documents by sharing the file itself instead of its URL ( which you can still share by copying it from the awesome-bar of the Firefox for Android app), and
- optimizes the performance when pinch-zooming web pages, especially on lower-spec devices.
For macOS users, Firefox 152:
- improves the reliability of saving images when dragging them to the desktop or Finder windows,
- correctly places images where they are dropped,
- improves support for more advanced cursor-movement commands, and
- fixes several text-editing commands involving arrow keys in setups using right-to-left (RTL) languages.
For developers, Firefox 152 introduces:
- an option in DevTools to toggle the display of comment nodes in the Inspector,
- support for the field-sizing property,
- support for the WebAuthn Related Origin Request feature, and
- support for the unadjustedMovement option in the Pointer Lock API.
As mentioned before, Mozilla plans to release Firefox 152 on June 16th, 2026, along with the Firefox 140.12 and Firefox 115.31.0 ESR (Extended Support Release) releases. Until then, you can download the binaries for 64-bit, 32-bit, and ARM64 systems, or the source tarball, right now from the Mozilla website.
[Or, after any fine-tuning by the OS you use, from the OS website.]
Ella Adams and Sam Drysdale, State House News Service: Massachusetts House Unanimously Passes Data-Privacy Bill. (WBUR News; June 5, 2026)
Yesterday, the Massachusetts House unanimously passed a major data-privacy bill that would:
- give consumers new rights and
- impose restrictions on companies' use of personal information.
Representatives voted 146-0 in favor of the bill, which would:
- require affirmative consent before sensitive information can be sold or shared,
- ban the sale of precise geo-location data,
- create special protections for minors, and
- authorize enforcement by the Attorney-General and, in some cases, private individuals.
The bill's passage sets the stage for an effort to form a consensus bill with the Senate, which passed its version of the bill (S 2619) by a 40-0 vote in September.
"Data privacy is the under-pinning of all future tech bills. We have to do data privacy first", Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Co-Chair of Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity Committee, told reporters when asked about where the proposal lands in the larger environment of tech bills, including ones the House has passed regulating artificial intelligence in campaign advertisements and youth social media.
During floor remarks, Farley-Bouvier framed the bill as the latest chapter in a Massachusetts privacy tradition dating back to Samuel Warren and future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who argued in an influential 1890 Harvard Law Review article that Americans have a "right to be let alone". She said the legislation responds to a modern economy built on the collection and sale of personal data and puts consumers at the center of decisions about how that information is used.
[Bravo, Massachusetts State House - and onward! (We are the COMMONwealth of Massachusetts.)]
Dan Goodin: Websites Have A New Way To Spy On Visitors: Analyzing Their SSD Activity. (Ars Technica; May 27, 2026)
Telltale solid-state-drive activity can be measured in the browser using simple JavaScript.
Over the decades, there has been no shortage of sites using clever techniques to covertly track visitors' browsing histories, device fingerprints, and keystrokes and mouse movements in real time. Even Meta and Yandex were recently caught joining in the privacy-invasive free-for-all.
Now sites have a new way to spy on their visitors: measuring subtle interactions with their solid-state drives. The technique, named FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), allows sites to monitor other sites a visitor is viewing and what apps are open on their devices.   
Mark Rasch: It's Not The Computer, Stupid. It's The Information In It. Two Recent Indictments Stretch The Limits Of "Theft" Of Information. (Security Boulevard, April 30, 2026)
We continue to talk about "computer crime" as if the computer were the thing we are trying to protect. It is not. The real object of protection is information - its confidentiality, its integrity, and its availability. The computer is merely the medium. The law, however, still speaks in the language of theft, conversion, and fraud - concepts developed for tangible property - and then struggles to apply those concepts to something that can be copied, transmitted, and retained simultaneously by multiple parties without depletion.
Two recent federal indictments illustrate the problem with unusual clarity. One involves a U.S. Army insider (the Van Dyke matter), and the other charges the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with, among other things, participating in the acquisition and copying of internal documents from an extremist organization. The charging documents themselves are available from the Department of Justice. What is striking about both is not simply the conduct alleged, but the legal theory underlying the allegations.
Luci Stanescu: AppArmor Vulnerability Fixes Available. (Canonical/Ubuntu, March 12, 2026)
Qualys discovered several vulnerabilities in the AppArmor code of the Linux kernel. These are being referred to as CrackArmor, while CVE IDs have not been assigned yet. All of the vulnerabilities require unprivileged local user access. The impact of these vulnerabilities ranges from denial of service to kernel memory information leak, removing security controls, and local privilege escalation to root user. Ubuntu releases are affected differently and this is detailed in the corresponding sections below.
Linux kernel fixes for the supported Ubuntu releases are being made available as security updates by the Canonical Kernel Team. Furthermore, our security team has provided user-space mitigations in the form of security updates, for all affected Ubuntu releases. Our recommendation is that you apply both user-space mitigations AND Linux-kernel security updates.
AppArmor is a Mandatory Access Control (MAC) Linux Security Module that provides an additional layer of security on Ubuntu systems, and supplements the traditional Discretionary Access Control (DAC) module. In addition to being enabled by default on Ubuntu releases, AppArmor is also used by other Linux distributions.
Michael Larabel: Intel's "Clear Linux" Website Is No Longer Online. (Phoronix, March 1, 2026)
Last July, Intel sadly ended its Clear Linux distribution amid cost-cutting measures at the company. Clear Linux for a decade served at the forefront of Linux performance innovations and was consistently the fastest out-of-the-box Linux x86_64 distribution until Intel ended the Linux distribution without any advanced notice for its users. Intel had kept up the ClearLinux.org website online to download the final releases and access other technical content and forum discussions, etc. Sadly, that too was recently taken offline.
NEW: Alex Diaz-Kokaisl: How To Clean The Ports On Your Electronic Device (IFixIt, Feb. 12, 2026)
If your device isn't registering something being plugged into a port, like a USB flash drive, that port may be dirty and require cleaning.
The cleaning procedures for each type of port follow the same progression:
- cleaning with air,
- a brush,
- and finally a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol.
Although similar, the procedures do vary slightly, and you should read the steps for the type of port you're cleaning.
Notepad++ (For Microsoft Windows) Was Hijacked By State-Sponsored Hackers. (Notepad++ News, February 2, 2026)
Following the security disclosure published in the v8.8.9 announcement, the investigation has continued in collaboration with external experts and with the full involvement of my (now former) shared-hosting provider.
According to the analysis provided by the security experts, the attack involved infrastructure-level compromise that allowed malicious actors to intercept and redirect update-traffic destined for notepad-plus-plus.org. The exact technical mechanism remains under investigation, though the compromise occurred at the hosting provider level rather than through vulnerabilities in Notepad++ code itself. Traffic from certain targeted users was selectively redirected to attacker-controlled malicious-update manifests.
The incident began in June 2025. Multiple independent security researchers have assessed that the threat actor is likely a Chinese state-sponsored group, which would explain the highly-selective targeting observed during the campaign.
[Notepad++ is a popular free alternative to Microsoft's own Notepad source-code editor for Windows; this will NOT endanger Linux operations.]
Emanuel Maiberg: Massive AI-Chat App Leaked Millions Of Users' Private Conversations. (46-min. YouTube video; 404 Media podcast, January 29, 2026)
Chat & Ask AI, which claims 50-million users, exposed private chats about suicide and making meth.
Jim Fisher: Barring A Christmas Miracle, A DJI Drone Ban Looks Inevitable. Here's What That Means For You. (PC Mag, December 16, 2025)
On Dec. 23, DJI drones are set to be pulled from the US market unless a security audit is completed. There's been no audit thus far, so the ban is all but certain. What does this mean for anyone who flies drones or makes content with them? Let's break it down.
DJI is mere days away from getting the Huawei-ZTE treatment from the FCC. Its drones and cameras are set to be added to the agency's covered list on Dec. 23, and the only thing that can save it is a security audit, and no agency has taken up the task. This comes after a year in which DJI has faced significant challenges with US customs, that have delayed product launches and re-stocks. Recent releases, including the Neo 2, have skipped the U.S. market - and others, like the Mini 5 Pro, have faced delays and limited retail availability. Read on to find out what's going on with DJI drones in the US, and why the situation could soon get much worse.
DJI announced several products this year, but all have faced delays or haven't been released in the US at all. In a blog post, DJI places the blame on US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while CBP cites violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act as the reason to hold imports. DJI denies violating this law. Regardless of who you believe, it's been feast or famine when shopping for DJI gear all year - there were times when you could get pretty much any product delivered in a day, and others when everything from DJI was sold out.
Meanwhile, DJI faces a potential blanket ban on marketing future releases in the US. The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires a security audit of the company's product line. If it's not performed by Dec. 23, DJI will be added to the FCC Covered List, which means that it will be unable to introduce new products into the US at all. While most associate the brand with its drones, DJI also makes cameras and smartphone gimbals under its Osmo imprint, as well as cinema equipment under the Ronin banner.
As for items you already own and use, the FCC prohibitions are about sale, not use. Your DJI drone, camera, or gimbal will continue to work just as before.
However, you may have a difficult time getting it repaired, and will need to consider another brand when it's time to replace your equipment.
When it comes to consumer drones, there's DJI, and then there's everyone else. DJI beats other brands in camera quality and safety features, so losing access to its products will simply be devastating for drone enthusiasts, vloggers, filmmakers, and others who use DJI gear for aerial video and photography. The closest I've tried - the Potensic Atom 2 - is a good performer among budget drones, but I haven't seen any competitors match the Mini 4 Pro or Mavic 3 Pro in terms of camera quality or aerial performance.
Professionals who rely on drones for business, farmers who use them to monitor fields, and law enforcement officers who use them for search and rescue are left in a similar lurch. DJI's Welsh tells me that around 450,000 US individuals use DJI drones to earn a living; it's estimated to be a $116-Billion industry. Those jobs are in jeopardy, and a survey of members of the Drone Service Providers Alliance shows that two-thirds of its membership expect to go out of business without access to DJI drones.
NEW: Kevin Klangman: Burn-My-Windows Extension Is Available For Linux-Mint v.22 Cinnamon. (CinnamonBurnMyWindows, 2025-11-10)
Window open, close, minimize and un-minimize effects, for the Cinnamon desktop. This is a Cinnamon port of the Gnome extension Burn-my-Windows, by Simon Schneegans: "Disintegrate your windows with style!" (See its 2-min. YouTube demo video and more.) It also includes a port of the Gnome Magic Lamp effect.
Please go to the above links and support their projects, since this is merely a port of their fine work! But DO NOT use these Github links to report issues.
Note: This extension needs the Cinnamon.GLSLEffect class, which is only available in Cinnamon 6.2 (Mint 22) or newer.
[One of thousands of examples of volunteers creating open-source extensions, and other volunteers modifying them for our favorite flavors of open-source Linux!]
Aaron Krolik and David Bolaños: How A Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money And Evade Sanctions. Through Layers Of Intermediaries, Stablecoins Can Be Moved, Swapped And Mixed Into Pools Of Other Funds In Ways That Are Difficult To Trace, Experts Say. (10-min. podcast; New York Times, December 7, 2025)
Smugglers, money launderers and people facing sanctions once relied on diamonds, gold and artwork to store illicit fortunes. The luxury goods could help hide wealth, but were cumbersome to move and hard to spend.
Now, criminals have a far-more-practical alternative: stablecoins, a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar that exists largely beyond traditional financial oversight.
These digital tokens can be bought with a local currency and moved across borders almost instantly. Or they can be returned to the traditional banking system - including by converting funds into debit cards - often without detection, a New York Times review of corporate filings, online forum messages and blockchain data shows.
A report released in February from Chainalysis, a block-chain analysis firm, estimated that up to $25-Billion in illicit transactions involved stablecoins last year. And as more Russian oligarchs, Islamic State leaders and others have begun using the cryptocurrency, the rise of these dollar-linked tokens threatens to undermine one of America's most potent foreign policy tools: cutting adversaries off from the dollar and the global banking system.
Governments are racing to contain the activity. Late last month, Britain arrested members of a billion-dollar money-laundering network that purchased a bank in Kyrgyzstan in order to help evade sanctions and facilitate payments in support of Russian military efforts. For a fee, Britain's National Crime Agency said, the launderers would convert money, often generated from the drug trade, firearm sales and human trafficking, to Tether, the most popular stablecoin.
"These 'cash-to-crypto' swaps are an integral part of a global criminal ecosystem", said Sal Melki, deputy director for economic crime at the National Crime Agency.
For decades, the Treasury Department has relied on banks and credit card companies to root out illicit financial activity, requiring them to spend billions on compliance measures that track and block groups that are subject to government sanctions - or face enormous fines. Since most of the world's dollar-denominated trade flows through these regulated channels, transacting with those facing sanctions has been extraordinarily difficult.
Stablecoins bypass this system entirely. Through layers of intermediaries, digital dollars can be moved, swapped and mixed into pools of other funds in ways that are more difficult for the authorities to trace.
To test just how easily crypto can slip between the cracks of banking controls, I found a crypto A.T.M. in Weehawken, N.J., to convert cash into stablecoins. Soon after I fed two $20 bills into the machine, I received a notification on my phone that crypto had arrived in my digital wallet. A Telegram bot then guided me through the next step: using the stablecoins to generate a Visa payment-card number with a balance that I could spend anywhere. The card I was issued did not require me to provide an address or identity check of any kind - in effect creating a degree of anonymity for my spending.
My experiment was perfectly legal, despite anti-money-laundering laws in the United States that require banks to scrutinize the identity of an account holder and the source of funds before issuing credit, debit and payment cards.
The Telegram bot that issued my card was run by WantToPay, a company that advertises Visas and Mastercards to Russians who want to shop abroad or make purchases online but are blocked by U.S. sanctions. Because of sanctions tied to the invasion of Ukraine, many American companies cannot process payments from most Russian banks. In its ads, on WantToPay’s website and on its Telegram channel, the company promises instant issuance without any of the traditional customer checks that banks must perform. WantToPay is incorporated in Hong Kong, although a Russian entrepreneur in Thailand leads the company, corporate records show. Hundreds of reviews on Russian-language online forums describe using the cards to circumvent restrictions and pay for services such as ChatGPT, Netflix and other online platforms that Russians cannot otherwise use.
WantToPay did not respond to multiple requests for comment. After I contacted the company, references to Visa and Mastercard disappeared from its website, and it posted a notice on Telegram that it was no longer issuing cards.
WantToPay, however, was only one link in a chain of financial intermediaries I encountered. While it marketed my card to me, I learned that WantToPay used another company to generate it. I soon traced my Visa to Dock, a Brazilian financial-technology firm that issues cards for companies such as WantToPay.
Dock is one of many financial firms that help companies issue Visa and Mastercard cards through banks, but are themselves not a regulated financial institution, meaning they are not subject to the same compliance standards as their banking partners. Dock denied any relationship with WantToPay.
The growing chain of custody of my card illustrated how illicit actors can use crypto to exploit gaps between companies responsible for issuing cards and those responsible for enforcing financial rules.
On Telegram and elsewhere, I was able to identify 24 additional companies advertising anonymous Visa and Mastercard products funded by stablecoins, with spending limits up to $30,000. The companies are incorporated in countries across the globe, including Costa Rica, Malta, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia, according to corporate filings and government records. Most rely on automated Telegram bots to manage customer sign-ups and transactions.
In July, President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, which was described as the United States' first major piece of crypto legislation. It established a federal regulatory system for stablecoins, defined rules to ensure financial stability and created compliance programs intended to combat illegal activity and sanctions violations. Circle, the second-largest issuer of stablecoins, praised the law, saying it showed the federal government was modernizing anti-money-laundering rules for the digital era.
A spokesperson for Tether said in a statement that criticisms related to illicit finance overlooked the fact that blockchain transactions were far more traceable than cash, and that most illicit activity occurred in secondary markets outside its control. The company emphasized that it worked closely with global law-enforcement agencies, and that it had helped to freeze more than $3.4-Billion in illicit funds.
But critics argue the law has limits. The regulations apply primarily to U.S.-based exchanges such as Coinbase, which must verify customers and monitor transactions. Yet funds can still move freely through offshore platforms, unregulated coins and decentralized finance systems that face none of those requirements.
Tether, which has over $180-Billion worth of stablecoins in circulation, is based in El Salvador and would not be covered by the new rules. The company holds more than $112-Billion in U.S. Treasuries, and any law-enforcement action against Tether could potentially risk destabilizing important financial markets.
The picture is further complicated by political and financial ties surrounding Tether. The company has close connections to the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is responsible for restricting exports of sensitive U.S. technology - restrictions that people can try to sidestep by making transactions with stablecoins like Tether. One of Mr. Lutnick's sons, Brandon, is the chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, which provides services to Tether, placing the family in a position where the company behind the world's largest offshore dollar token intersects with a key federal enforcement role. Another son, Kyle, is executive vice chairman of the firm. Cantor Fitzgerald and the Commerce Department declined to comment.
Efforts to police the offshore crypto ecosystem have repeatedly fallen short. A Kyrgyz company this year introduced dollar-backed Visas and Mastercards bought with stablecoins pegged to the ruble. Even after the United States and Europe placed sanctions on the ruble-pegged coin, known as A7A5, and its issuer, supporting banks, exchanges and the oligarch tied to its development, the token continues to circulate. Shortly before U.S. authorities placed sanctions this year on the main exchange that traded A7A5, it quietly transferred tens-of-millions of dollars in stablecoins to new wallets that had not been identified by the authorities to be seized under the sanctions.
["What is this thing you call money?" It's a convenient way to enable inflation, to make the rich richer and the poor poorer - and now you don't have to be a Native America to question its value.]
Addie LaMarr: How to Become Invisible Online in 2026. (14-min. YouTube video; Mykajabi, December 6, 2025)
Download the Beginner's Privacy Action Toolkit (.pdf):
- Includes a 24-hour quick-start, identifier fixes, browser isolation, and data-broker protection.
- Built for beginners who want simple, high-impact privacy steps.
- Why most people disappear wrong in 2026 (and how the internet still finds you).
-  How to break the system that keeps rebuilding your identity, even after you delete everything.
Most people will tell you to use a VPN, delete all your accounts, and switch to Tor. That advice barely works in 2026. Not when the real tracking happens underneath your browser, in the data you never meant to give away. In this video, I break down the surveillance architecture that keeps regenerating your identity even after you try to disappear, and the steps that actually work for the world we live in now.
I have spent more than 15 years in cyber-security, cryptography, and threat-modeling. My job is to show you what protects you today. If you are burned-out, neuro-divergent, self-taught, or tired of ending up inside datasets you never agreed to, this is the clarity you have been waiting for. By the end, you will understand not only how the internet tracks you, but how to break its ability to follow you.
What you will learn in this video:
- How identity-reconstruction works after deletion, and why it is so aggressive in 2026.
- What actually shrinks your digital shadow, and what is a complete waste of time.
- How device-fingerprinting works, in plain English.
- How data brokers rebuild you, even if you vanish.
- Why VPNs, Tor, and account-deletion barely matter anymore.
- How to break the five identifiers that define your online identity.
- The blueprint for compartmentalization and un-mergeable behavior in 2026.
Want extra content? Inside the Cyber Resistance Club, you get the research books, citations, and breakdowns that take you from beginner to fully-informed. This video covers only the surface level. The CRC includes:
- Weekly GHOST reports, with the research I cannot share on YouTube.
- The entire library of privacy and surveillance deep-dives.
- Cited books and frameworks that teach cyber-security in real-world context.
- A 12-minute bonus video with my full opinions.
- Huge breakdowns of the forces that shape modern tracking.
- The technology, the incentives, and the counter-measures that work in 2026.
[Enticing; is it trustworthy?]
NEW: Ashwin: Dell Says The Transition To Windows 11 Is Slower Than Windows 10. (GHacks, November 27, 2025)
Microsoft suggested that users trade or recycle their old PCs, and buy new ones that support Windows 11.
Are people doing that? Dell says its PC sales have slowed down, due to the transition to Windows 11.
When asked about Windows End-of-Life upgrades, Jeff Clarke, COO, Dell Technologies said, "We have not completed the Windows 11 transition. In fact, if you were to look at it relative to the previous OS in the service, we are 10-12 points behind at that point with Windows 11 than we were the previous generation."
In case you forgot, Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. There are ways to extend security updates for free on Windows 10. Since it's only been a month since Windows 10 reached end-of-life, it's too early to expect most users to buy new PCs to upgrade to Windows 11. But, the fact that a top executive at a PC manufacturing company said that the Windows 11 adoption rate is slow, is pretty important.
According to StatCounter, 41.74% of desktops were running on Windows 10 in October. Windows 11 had a market share of 55.18% in the same period. Now, when we compare this data to that from a year ago, Windows 10 had 60.95% of the market in October 2024, while Windows 11 held 35.58%. That difference is massive, and you might think that Windows 11 is rising in popularity. However, when you look at the recent numbers, the trend has slowed down considerably. Windows 10 dropped by just 2% in September 2025, while Windows 11 managed to see a 3% increase.
Why? Millions of PCs worldwide cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 due to strict hardware requirements. These are likely the numbers that contribute to the large chunk of Windows 10 users out there. They're stranded on Windows 10; some of those users may have drifted over to Linux or Mac, and some users may have opted not to upgrade to Windows 11 because of concerns about bloat, performance degradation, and privacy. Some people may have just stayed on Windows 10 because it works, why risk upgrading?
Clarke also said that "the installed base is roughly 1.5-billion (Dell) PCs. We have about 500-million of them capable of running Windows 11 that have not been upgraded. We have another 500-million (that are four years old or more) that cannot run Windows 11."
Dell foresees big profits, but we also need to factor end-users. I'm not sure AI is going to drive PC sales; most AI services are cloud-powered, all you need to use them is a browser or a desktop app. Not a lot of people are going to get a PC specifically for AI purposes. There are Copilot+ PCs, but those may not seem like an attractive option to the average buyer, who may just need a reliable computer.
There's something else to consider. RAM prices have gone through the roof, which in turn will affect computer sales. If you look at the overall market, it's pretty bad right now. Console prices have increased significantly this year. A lot of these have been influenced by tariff policies.
[Before abandoning your existing computer(s), try them out running a stable Linux operating system, such as Linux Mint, oft-times offering better performance, and with in-computer access to vast amounts of reliable and well-supported Free, Open-Source Software (FOSS)! Want help? You'll find many Linux websites, local and online Linux user groups (ours is NatickFOSS.org) and Linux consulting firms (we run Miller Microcomputer Services, near Boston MA, USA).]
Stop The Spying! Fix It With A Raspberry Pi + Pi-Hole + Unbound (Complete Guide) (16-min. YouTube video; Dad, The Engineer, December 4, 2025)
In this full tutorial, I walk you through installing Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi - and then leveling up with Unbound, a local recursive DNS resolver that gives you actual privacy from ISPs, apps, Smart TVs, and advertisers. The full install should take less than 20 minutes!
Download the Worksheet HERE.
The companion worksheet includes:
- All commands copy/paste-ready.
- Setup checklist.
- Spaces to record hostnames, IPs, passwords.
- Maintenance notes.
- Backup reminders.
This walk-through is designed for complete beginners, and yes - even if you've never touched Linux, you can follow this. If you can follow a recipe, you can build a DNS filtering system.
By the end of this video, you'll have:
- A Raspberry Pi running Pi-hole.
- Network-wide DNS filtering.
- Optional Unbound for 100% local recursive DNS.
- Fewer ads.
- Less tracking.
- More privacy.
- And way more confidence in your home network.
Hardware Needed:
- Raspberry Pi 3B or newer (Ethernet recommended),
- microSD card (8GB or larger),
- SD card reader,
- Computer (Windows/macOS/Linux),
- Router admin access.
Chapters:
00:00 – The problem everyone hopes you ignore
00:23 – Take control of your privacy with Pi-hole + Unbound
01:47 – The game plan
02:20 – GET THE WORKSHEET!!!!!!
03:00 – What you need
03:31 – Step 1: Flash the RPi OS to an SD card
05:14 – Step 2: Update your RPi
06:17 – Step 3: Give the RPi a static IP address
06:58 – Step 4: Install Pi-hole
08:39 – Step 5: Set your router to use Pi-hole
09:35 – Step 6: Adding Unbound & configuring Pi-Hole (OPTIONAL)
12:20 – Do you want a redundant, high up-time Pi-hole video?
13:38 – Maintenance and backup (what most tutorials don't mention)
14:19 – Ask for help, if you need it; that's what dads are for!
[These appear to be good instructions for one of the options in his prior video (below).]
NEW: Your ISP Is Watching Everything - Fix It With DNS Filtering! (17-min. YouTube video; Dad, The Engineer, November 18, 2025)
DNS filtering sounds boring, but it quietly kills 70–90% of the junk your devices are constantly trying to talk to:
- tracking servers,
- advertising servers,
- telemetry,
- data brokers,
- Smart TV ACR endpoints,
- botnet callbacks,
- malware domains, and
- other nonsense that has nothing to do with what you're doing.
If your Smart TV is spying on you, your phone is narcing, and your ISP is selling your secrets… this video is for you.
And the best part?  I have solutions for every skill level.
NEW: America's First VPN Ban: What Comes Next? (12-min. YouTube video; Techlore, November 18, 2025)
U.S. states including Wisconsin (AB105/SB130) and Michigan are pushing to ban Virtual Private Networks as part of age-verification laws that compromise digital privacy for everyone. This video explains why these bills:
- are technically impossible to implement,
- threaten journalists and abuse survivors who rely on VPNs, and
- mirror censorship tactics.

Microsoft Windows 11 Fails On Millions Of PCs:
Ashwin: Microsoft Says Windows 11 Updates Could Break The Taskbar, Start Menu, Explorer And More On Enterprise PCs. (GHacks, December 4, 2025)
Microsoft has published a support document that says that Windows 11 updates might cause several system apps to stop working. These issues seem to affect enterprise PCs.
This is what the support page says: "After provisioning a PC with a Windows 11, version 24H2 or a Windows 11, version 25H2 monthly cumulative update released on or after July 2025 (such as KB5062553 or KB5065789), XAML-dependent modern apps such as Explorer, the Start menu, SystemSettings, Taskbar and Windows Search might experience difficulties."
It mentions some scenarios where:
- Explorer may crash on start.
- Windows may log on to a black screen.
- The Taskbar may fail to appear/render/display on the desktop.
- The Start Menu may fail to open, and display a critical error message.
- ShellHost.exe could crash.
- XAML-dependent apps like Consent.exe, which is used for the User Account Control UI, may crash or fail to start.
- The System Settings page, i.e. Start>Settings>System may fail to open.
- Apps may crash when initializing XAML views.
NEW: Sayan Sen: Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Is About To Change Massively, Gets Enormous Backlash. (Windows-11 wallpaper - with thumbs-down emoji; Neowin, November 13, 2025)
Recently, Neowin published an interview with AMD wherein the company suggested that its processors would be compatible with the next generation of Windows. The chip maker stated that its Ryzen AI PCs would be "not only compatible with future Windows capabilities, but optimized for them".
One of the reasons for mentioning Ryzen AI is because of how Windows itself is about to change in a really big way such that it already requires AI-specific hardware for certain features to work.
Microsoft's Windows chief Pavan Davuluri had earlier hinted at such plans already about how the next evolution of OS will make it capable enough to "semantically understand you" as Windows will get "more ambient, more pervasive, more multi-modal". Using features like Copilot Vision it will be able to "look at your screen" and do more.
The company is working on Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Windows 11 in an effort to help it become the Agentic OS that essentially will turn Windows into an AI OS.
Here is how Microsoft puts it: "MCP on Windows offers a standardized framework for AI agents to connect with native Windows apps, enabling them to easily participate in agentic interactions on Windows. Windows apps can expose specific functionality to augment the skills and capabilities of agents installed locally on a Windows PC."
A few days ago, Davuluri shared his excitement about it on his official X handle. He seemed very eager to reveal what the company has in mind at the upcoming Ignite event regarding the agentic OS plans.
Unfortunately for Microsoft and Davuluri, the response has been overwhelmingly negative, so much so that the comments on that X post have now been disabled. Interestingly, several of them have been heavily upvoted so it clearly shows many people do not like the sound of Windows becoming an agentic OS.
"How about making Windows fast ? Not agentic", said one user clearly hoping Windows acted and felt faster than it now does. Another user said "You can't even correctly implement small taskbar icons, which is something users actually want. You are getting overwhelmingly negative feedback about all this AI stuff. And yet you persevere. Why?"
A user also suggested that all these extra features meant Windows would get more bloaty as they wrote "Sounds like more bloat incoming? Have you considered making an OS that is performant and as bug free as possible? ... You guys seem to think everyone wants a hundred always on permanantly in beta features running and phoning home, eating up processing.."
Some of the commenters have also said that they are leaving Windows and Microsoft 365 products due to the overwhelming implementation of features that they may not want.
The comments on the thread have now been disabled as mentioned above, but you can tell your own thoughts about it in the article comments down below.
[Don't buy a new computer for Microsoft. Discover Linux and other Free, Open-Source software, instead!]

New To Linux? To Get The Benefits, Learn The Differences!
NEW: Void Linux Explained: The Most-Unique Linux Distro! (5-min. YouTube video; VS Tech, November 25, 2025)
In this video, we explore Void Linux. Unlike Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, or Debian, Void is built completely from scratch, featuring the light-weight runit init system, the powerful XBPS package manager, and optional musl builds for maximum performance and efficiency. We'll cover performance, customization, package management, rolling release updates, installation experience, pros and cons, and who should use Void Linux in 2025.
If you love minimal, fast, systemd-free Linux distros, this video is for you!
[Remember: Back Up BEFORE installing and running new software.]
NEW: Rubab: I Tried The Top-5 Linux Distros Of 2026 – The Results Will SHOCK You! (6-min. YouTube video; RM Tech, October 20, 2025)
In this deep dive, we unveil the Top 5 Linux Distros set to dominate 2026 - from Linux Mint to Fedora, Pop!_OS, Zorin OS, and openSUSE. Discover how these open-source operating systems are redefining performance, privacy, and sustainability while challenging Windows and macOS dominance. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, this Linux Revolution guide will help you choose the best distro for your digital future.
NEW: Jorge Aguilar: 5 Reasons You Should Move To Linux Instead Of Windows 11. (Slashgear, September 29, 2025)
You've likely heard people talking about Linux as a more stable, secure, and customizable operating system than Windows 11. That might be hard to believe, but in many cases, it's true. If you're tired of Windows' endless updates and slowdowns, you should consider taking a look at Linux, which has never been easier to download and run.
The whole Windows vs. Linux debate is about way more than just technical details: It's about two different ways of using a computer. I'm fairly new to Linux, as I first installed it about a year ago, but I've already abandoned Windows almost entirely, with just one of my five computers running Windows 10. I did this because I wanted:
- a less-bloated OS
- better performance on older hardware
- no licensing fees, and
- more control of my privacy settings.
By the end of this article, you should understand why so many (myself included) consider Linux a great alternative to Windows 11. We'll go over the real-world benefits an average user could reasonably experience, focusing on how this OS can save you time and money.
[Excellent article; almost as good as asking users of a good beginner's Linux to show you how - as MMS has done for decades. We recommend Ubuntu Linux, Linux Mint and, for some, LMDE.]
NEW: Dominic Humphries: (Linux Is Not Windows)
 (Linux.oneandoneis2, May 6, 2024)
If you've been pointed at this page, then the chances are you're a relatively new Linux user who's having some problems making the switch from Windows to Linux. Many individual issues arise from single problems, so the page is broken down into multiple problem areas.
Problem #1: Linux isn't exactly the same as Windows.
Many people come to Linux, expecting to find essentially a free, open-source version of Windows. However, it's a paradoxical hope.
People try Linux because they hope Linux will be better than Windows. Common yardsticks for measuring success are cost, choice, performance, and security. There are many others. But every Windows user who tries Linux, does so because they hope it will be better than what they've got. Linux can only better if it's NOT the same. A perfect copy may be equal, but it can never surpass.
So when you give Linux a try in hopes that it will be better, you are inescapably hoping that it will be different. Too many people ignore this fact, and hold up every difference between the two OSes as a Linux failure.
Linux is not interested in market share. Linux does not have customers. Linux does not have shareholders, or a responsibility to the bottom line. Linux was not created to make money. Linux does not have the goal of being the most popular and widespread OS on the planet.
All the Linux community wants is to create a really good, fully-featured, free operating system. The point is to make Linux the best OS that the community is capable of making. Not for other people; for itself. The oh-so-common threats of "Linux will never take over the desktop unless it does such-and-such" are simply irrelevant: The Linux community isn't trying to take over the desktop. They really don't care if it gets good enough to make it onto your desktop, so long as it stays good enough to remain on theirs.
That's what the Linux community wants: an OS that can be installed by whoever really wants it. So if you're considering switching to Linux, first ask yourself what you really want.
---
If you want to leave any feedback about this article, comment on my blog.
Creative Commons License: This work is copyright 24/05/06 and belongs to Dominic Humphries. It may be redistributed under a Creative Commons License: The following URL must supplied in attribution:
<http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm>
[That's a condensed version of his Problem #1 for un-clued Linux beginners. He has more; they're all apt to change the approach for users of monopolistic software systems - and that CAN make it easy!]

Return to main section of Money Is Not Wealth.