Investigated for using Linux, Windows 11 loses users, FOSS Firmware - Linux & Open Source News

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00:00 Intro
00:35 Sponsor: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website with Squarespace
01:34 France arrested people for being private and using Linux
03:53 Windows 11 is losing users
05:44 System76 announces big updates to their FOSS firmware
07:27 Debian 12 is now out
09:04 BlendOS 3 offers a new spin on immutable distros
10:53 Other news: Thunderbird beta, extensions support donations
13:17 Gaming News: Apple uses Wine and VKD3D, Proton updates
15:03 Sponsor: Get a PC that runs Linux perfectly
16:07 Support the channel

#Linux #OpenSource #TechNews

France arrested people for being private and using Linux

Windows 11 is losing users

System76 announces big updates to their FOSS firmware

Debian 12 is now out

BlendOS 3 offers a new spin on immutable distros

Other news: Thunderbird beta, extensions support donations, Ubuntu adds quarter tiling, and staged releases for snaps

Gaming News: Apple uses Wine and VKD3D, & Proton updates

[TheLinuxEXP]

Ok, I applied a correction to the title of the video: The people were not *arrested* for using Linux and private tools, but the fact they used these tools was used as the main « proof » to keep them under investigation.

The title of the video should have been « investigated for using Linux », which is what I now changed it to. The content of the video though, is factual: the only « proof » they have that these people might be suspicious is the fact they’re using privacy focused tools.

I should have done a better job with that title, and I’ll be more watchful for this in the future. Many apologies.

[colbyboucher]

The legal equivalent of "hey why do you keep your door closed, what are you doing in there? I'm gonna randomly barge in from now on"

[digitalage]

So, how did the French government find out about those guys? Were they trying to scan their computers over the internet? If so, it means they have been doing this on all citizens!!

[RoguishlyHandsome]

Encrypting your hard drive is like, huh, the right thing to do. Mandatory in pretty much any serious company, by default on every android and apple phones. If your whole system is unencrypted, you're playing with fire.

[korchevatel]

Damn, the situation with people getting arrested for using Linux is worthy of a new Gendarme movie.

[RoguishlyHandsome]

Normally, in a sane judiciary system, you need an amount of proof deemed sufficient for conviction to go to trial in the criminal system. Honestly, having watched documentaries on famous French trials of famous cases, it really seems like one of the worst system in the Western world.

[archgirl]

This perception of Linux as a tool that only hackers and criminals use is a bigger issue than a lot of people realize.

I once got security called on me in a public library because I pulled my laptop out and updated my system. Some woman behind me saw the text flashing by in the terminal as apt (I used Ubuntu back then) did its thing, and went to get security. Told them I was hacking the library computers or something. It was nuts having to explain to some guy, with people watching, that I was just updating packages using the free wifi.

I’m already a damn socially anxious person, but that stopped me using my laptop in public for a long time.

[SapeHallward]

Clear case of guilty until proven innocent. They literally admitted to not investigating anything but expecting the 7 arrested people to give them a reason to somewhat justify this moronic arrest.

[miltron]

Please keep us updated on the arrests of the Linux users in France.

[ThePressurizer]

Ah yes, the popular "you don't have anything to hide, do you?" kind of legislation. We have that in Germany as well. "Decent people don't need to hide their data"

[delgado.adrian]

A Good explanation for the Windows 11 drop is that there were many using Win11 on officially unsupported devices that worked adequately but, say, had a CPU that was one generation too old, but recent updates screwed their drivers. Happened to several people I know.

[schroomers]

That French story is... worrying to say the least. I read the article, and the legal precedent that case could set, are horrifying from a legal, privacy and journalistic standpoint. The idea that they could take you to court and start an investigation, for "unknown terrorist activities", based on the use of publicly available software that hides their online activities from the government, screams authoritarian government...

[NECOdes]

wait until they find out that android phones are encrypted by default for years now

[nebulous]

haha i wonder what they do when they realise that https exists and that many servers are also encrypted. are they gonna also put those companies in jail? :D

[totoshampoin]

When you remember that a 256bit (or more) encryption key is considered a "war weapon" because of how tough it is to break

[Big-Chungus]

Surely a person telling their family to use the same technology makes it less suspicious. That makes it more clear that their concern is privacy and security from more ordinary things, not for illegal activities. The idea of having “nothing to hide” is stupid, because the main reason people take these security measures is to protect themselves from hackers and malware, not from the government who can use other methods of accessing your device and data anyways (such as getting a warrant to search your house, or requiring you to give passwords).

Plus everyone has something to hide imo. Not illegal things, but things that could be embarassing or straight up dangerous for other people to know, such as your bank details, browsing history etc. Hard drive encryption especially is a MUST, and comes default in many operating systems such as Android, MacOS, and IOS. Is the French government going to arrest the entire countries population, because everyone uses either Androids or Iphones nowadays. This is clearly a decision being made by people who have no idea of how dangerous not allowing hard drive encryption is, as basically every business in the country would be more vulnerable than it was before.

[gavinthecrafter]

I find that first story to be a huge issue for me when it comes to using FOSS software. I often feel that my family members are a lot more suspicious of me simply for using Firefox and DuckDuckGo. It's honestly insane that it's gotten to the point that the public thinks that the only motivation for using anything other than Chrome, Google, and Windows is for illegal activity. Just shows how much of a monopoly these companies have.

[msnpassjan]

Unfortunately there is also a bill in the United States to make using a VPN illegal.

[njdarda]

Windows 11 losing users is a music to my ears. It's a horrible piece of adware.

[torreip]

France is getting crazier by the day happy we don’t do shit like this in Belgium yet (to my knowledge)