Signal adds new blur tools to its app to help you hide faces and other Identifiable info in the photos you share.
We’ve mentioned Signal Messenger before in quite a few guides. Signal is a free and open source, cross-platform encrypted messaging service developed by the Signal Foundation and Signal Messenger LLC.
It uses the Internet to send one-to-one and group messages, which can include files, voice notes, images and videos. Its mobile apps can also make one-to-one voice and video calls, and the Android version can optionally function as an SMS app.
Website publishers now can advertise their onion service to Tor users
The latest update of the Tor Browser, v9.5, introduced a new opt-in feature that allows desktop users to automatically select the .onion version of a website if that website has one available.
Website publishers now can advertise their onion service to Tor users by adding an HTTP header. When visiting a website that has both an .onion address and Onion Location enabled via Tor Browser, users will be prompted about the onion service version of the site and will be asked to opt-in to upgrade to the onion service on their first use.
The feature can also be turned on or off in the Privacy & Security tab of the browser’s settings page.
To learn more about these new features and everything that’s new in Tor 9.5 check out the official announcement page.
Built in setting to enforce HTTPS encryption on sites that support it.
HTTPS is a protocol that provides secure Internet transactions between web browsers and web sites. You can check to see if the web page you are visiting uses HTTPS by making sure that the URL at the top of your browser begins with HTTPS rather than HTTP. The “S” stands for secure. Some browsers also indicate that you are using a secure connection by displaying a closed lock in the corner of the browser.
HTTPS protects users from certain kinds of Internet surveillance. By encrypting your connection, HTTPS prevents eavesdroppers from seeing the contents of your communication with a website, including potentially sensitive data such as the contents of your email and chats, login credentials, search terms, and credit card numbers. Many sites support the use of HTTPS, but may not turn it on by default. Other sites have failed to implement HTTPS at all. Learn more about HTTPS here.
There are a bunch of Firefox addons, like HTTPS Everywhere, that will enable HTTPS encryption automatically on websites that supported. However, starting with version 76.0, Firefox comes with a hidden built-in setting known as HTTPS Only Mode which does the exact same thing. Let’s see how to enable the setting….
ALSO READ HOW TO: Turn On Automatic HTTPS Upgrade in Safari for iOS
1. Open Firefox and, in the address bar, type about:config
2. Click on Accept the Risk and Continue
3. In the search field type dom.security.https_only_mode.
4. By default, the preference value is set to false. Double click on it to set it to true
5. Restart your browser and you’re all set. Now, when you visit websites that also supports the secure HTTPS protocol, Firefox will force the upgrade. However, if a website still uses the unsecure HTTP protocol you’ll get an error.
A free and open source PDF reader with dark mode support
A PDF reader is a piece of software that allows you to open .pdf files. Modern OS’ usually come with built-in options to show .pdf files, but a dedicated reader will often come with a number of advantages over the built-in option.
With .pdf being the most popular document format, there is no shortage of readers but if you’re looking for a clean, simple, free and open source reader that supports dark mode you should take a look at NightPDF.
NightPDF is built using Electron and PDF.js, and macOS and Windows users can download it from Github.
Free Desktop book-keeping software for small-businesses and freelancers.
If you’re a freelancer or own a small business and you look for a simple, well designed, desktop accounting software you should take a look at Frappe Books.
Frappe Books is a cross-platform ( Linux, macOS and Windows ), free and open source app that takes care of all your accounting software needs for your small business or freelance work from billing to payments, ledgers, invoices and reporting. There’s also no cloud support which might be an inconvenience for some, but it also means that there’s no hidden costs or unnecessary dependancies. You have full control over your data.
