Going, Going....

...not quite gone

But, time is running out to retrieve your files from Ubuntu One.

This is the FINAL reminder to make sure you have retrieved all your data from Ubuntu One filesync, as we will be deleting all the content permanently on 31st July 2014. After that date, we will no longer be able to retrieve any of your files.

In order to make it easy for you to retrieve all of your content, we have released a new feature that lets you download all your content at once. Our website (https://one.ubuntu.com/) has been updated with instructions on how to conveniently download all your files.

In addition, you still can use Mover.io's offer to transfer your data to another cloud provider for free. The Ubuntu One web interface is available for you to download individual files as well.

All of us in the Ubuntu One team would like to thank you for your support over the years.

The Ubuntu One team

Sources & References:

• None

If I'm A Suspect...

...Go to court, get a warrant and tap my communications - it's that easy!

I'm not a [insert religious/political preference here] terrorist, I'm not a paedophile, and I am not a convicted criminal - so why should my data be intercepted & retained by my own (and other) government for no better reason than the just-in-case justification? Passing emergency legislation in an attempt to ignore a court judgement is an outrageous abuse of political power!

"We are told this is a paedophile and jihadi 'emergency', but the court judgment they seek to ignore was handed down over three months ago and this isn't snooping on suspects but on everyone." Shami Chakrabarti

Oh, that's right, I also live in one of the most watched countries in the world. So much for living in a democratic nation! I wonder if Canada will have me...

Sources & References:

• BBC News Politics: Emergency phone and internet data laws to be passed

Password Mantras

My apologies, ordinarily I avoid post trawling, but I came across this essay via my Schneier On Security rss feed this morning: it made me smile.

Whilst I kind of like the idea that a password can be life changing and interesting,the fact is that these kind of sentence/word-string passwords can be (and are being!) cracked. If you want a memorable password, I still recommend the Schneier method or, use randomly generated passwords and keep them in a password safe.

Sources & Resources:

• Medium.com: Mauricio Estrella - How A Password Changed My Life
• Schneier On Security: "Tips For Crafting A Strong Password That Really Pops"

He's Behind You: NSA & Tails

It seems that my posts about Tails may well have brought me to the attention of the NSA. Several news outlets are reporting on the NSA's use of a data slurping tool called XKeyScore. The scope and capabilities of this program are disputed (I suppose that's a necessary consequence of it being secret), but it's clearly designed to invade the privacy of non-American citizens.

"It's hard to tell how extensive this is. It's possible that anyone who clicked on this link -- with the embedded torproject.org URL above -- is currently being monitored by the NSA. It's possible that this only will happen to people who receive the link in e-mail, which will mean every Crypto-Gram subscriber in a couple of weeks."
Bruce Schneier

Whilst I'm not an American citizen, it's nice to know that the NSA should be interested in me :) Nonetheless, insofar as I am aware, I have not been accused of any crime and I believe that I am granted the right of privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Liberty's interpretation of Article 8 & see also the UK's 1998 legislation) so it's not entirely clear why my own government would not only condone this invasion of privacy but also to participate in the wholesale data collection effort spearheaded by my American cousins.

I can feel a strongly worded protest to me MP coming on!

Sources & References:

• Schneier On Security: NSA Targets the Privacy-Conscious for Surveillance
• BBC News (Technology): NSA 'targets' Tor dark web servers and users
• Liberty: Privacy

The XP Conundrum - It Can Only Be Love

I probably over-thought my recent acknowledgement that Linux is unlikely to ever temp XP users: I think there's probably a simpler explanation than the difficulties of adopting open source!

Figures published by both Newmarketshare and Stat Counter suggest that XP is alive and well and has even (slightly) increased its market share month-on-month. Windows 7 is way out on its own with over 50% of the market and Win 8 seems to be the new Vista.

Worldwide Desktop Usage - credit StatCounter

The picture in the UK is slightly more encouraging for Redmond with Win XP at just 7.4% of the market but Linux remains less than 2% of both world & UK markets.

United Kingdom Desktop Usage - credit StatCounter

So, it seems that users are simply refusing to abandon their beloved XP unless it's for Windows 7. So much for my theory!

Sources & Resoruces:

• The Register: Windows 7, XP and even Vista GAIN market share again
• Stat Counter: Top 7 Desktop OS