Are you running Raspberry Pi OS? Microsoft knows you are.
The official operating system supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation is Raspberry Pi OS, based on Debian. However, a recent change in Raspberry Pi OS has led to every user running Raspberry Pi being notified of Microsoft during an apt update.
In a recent update, a Microsoft apt repository was installed on all machines running Raspberry Pi OS without admin consent. This was primarily to install Microsoft’s VS Code editor. However, the side effect is that every time you perform apt update on your Raspberry Pi, it contacts Microsoft’s servers. In other words, Microsoft will know who is using Raspberry Pi OS, their IP address, and other information.
When the community questioned why Raspberry Pi made this change without notifying the community and did so silently, hoping the Raspberry Pi Foundation could be more transparent, the founder responded, “I don’t understand why you think this is a controversial thing. We’ve always done this, and have never published a blog post on how to opt-out.”
The open-source community’s vigilance towards large commercial enterprises is understandable. Even companies that embrace open source are still commercial entities, so there are always some who care about maintaining boundaries with commercial companies, especially those with a problematic history. I believe the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s actions are somewhat hasty, and the founder’s response seems a bit flippant. It appears they are somewhat indifferent to the freedom pursued by Debian, on which Raspberry Pi OS is based.
3.2 billion emails and plaintext passwords leaked
Recently, a database of over 3 billion user credentials was published online, compiled from previous user data violations. This compilation is known as COMB. It contains over 3.2 billion email addresses and plaintext passwords, including user data from major platforms like Netflix, LinkedIn, and Bitcoin. COMB was placed in a password-protected encrypted container, with its contents arranged in a tree structure alphabetically.
Although these are not newly leaked passwords, it is still essential to change your passwords regularly and use two-factor authentication for protection. If you are concerned about whether your email and password have been leaked, you can check here: https://cybernews.com/personal-data-leak-check/.
Chrome 88 widely launched the feature to share web pages via QR codes
This feature has existed in Chrome for a while but has not been showcased. In Chrome 88, 70% of desktop users have had this feature automatically enabled. Users can access this feature by clicking the address bar or right-clicking the webpage.
This feature is a great way to share URLs between mobile and PC. Previously, there were third-party browser extensions that could accomplish this, but now this built-in feature is simple and convenient.
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