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Online Security

TeamZoo said:
Does a VPN protect you with downloading and uploading files as well?
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If you upload a file that contains metadata that may be used to identify you, the VPN won't help you. You are then counting on the forum system for removing dangerous metadata. I recommend you check your files and clean the metadata yourself.

What the VPN does is making sure that the forum can't trace you back to your IP address directly, and also makes it so that a network sniffer watching Internet traffic cannot learn you are visiting this forum. Keep in mind that you place a lot of trust on the VPN operator, since the VPN operator can theoretically know and log who you are and which sites you are visiting.

An alternative to VPNs is using the Tor network, but Tor has much slower performance.
 
Jtiller997 said:
Most people dont know.. but iPhone photos are embeded with data .. things like your GPS location - for example.

exif data isnt hard for a website to read and its easy as well for a person to read.
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Like I wrote earlier.
Take a picture with your iPhone / iPad, view the photo and press the ‘i’ function. Then you will see a lot of information about the picture, which camera and settings and a small map showing the location where this photo was taken !!
So all photo I get, from ZV and other of this sort, is cleaned from EXIF data before saving.
 
Jtiller997 said:
Most websites clean photos of EXIF data while uploading the photo - this is done for many reasons, some un-intentional but

  1. Privacy and Security: EXIF data can contain sensitive information, such as the location where the photo was taken (GPS coordinates), the date and time it was captured, and details about the camera used. Websites may strip this data to protect the privacy and security of their users.
  2. Reducing File Size: EXIF data can increase the size of an image file. Removing it helps to reduce the file size, which is particularly important for web use, as it decreases loading times and saves bandwidth.
  3. Uniformity and Processing: When users upload photos, websites often process these images to conform to certain standards or formats. This processing can include resizing, cropping, and compressing, which can strip out EXIF data.
  4. Simplification and Compatibility: Removing EXIF data can simplify image handling and ensure compatibility across different platforms and devices. Some websites or applications might not support all types of EXIF data, so removing it can help avoid compatibility issues.
  5. User Preferences and Control: Some users prefer not to share certain details included in EXIF data. Websites may provide an option to remove this data during the upload process, either as a default setting or as a choice for the user.

Exif data is generally removed when uploading GLOB data for example automatically, its just what happens to the image, its not like the website chose to do this. In other sites Exif data is purposely removed for user security should their upload system somehow not strip it automatically. Modules like FFMPEG strip it automatically, this is the most common used image handler online.
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I agree with your post.
But that most websites removes EXIF data will sadly not guarantee it in generally.
Other users wrote that it is done here on ZV, maybe pictures but not correct for videos - I have two times downloaded videos where I found that the videos contained EXIF data, which not only revealed data about the date and time, camera type and settings, but also the GPS location.
So my iPad showed a map of the location, just by pressing the ’I’ function !
So I PM’ed the author to warn about it.
 
Jtiller997 said:
If they use FFMPEG for file handling changing some settings is quite simple to remove all exif data, and the administrators should be made aware, please send them detailed message about your experience.
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I just checked some video. Both the name of the Zoo and the animal involved can be found out from metadata alone. This is a bit concerning.

The Tails Linux distribution comes with a metadata removal tool which works quite fine and is designed for preventing scenarios such as this. Maybe we should pick a solution such as this and post it as a recommended option, but it would be good if the forum software itself stripped the metadata from the videos itself.
 
dogluver101 said:
Yea. It's if you don't include https before the website. I kept mentioning this is happening. But I guess I'm full of it.
A properly configured server should never do that.
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@ZTHorse I have hit the problem of redirection to plain http before as well. The forum should not even have the http version available because it is plain text, unencrypted and not secure.
Either the corresponding port should be closed or automatic redirection to https set or the server should have the plain http disabled completely.
 
If I download something to my computer and then upload it here, not a picture I took but just an internet file. Could that contain any potentially identifying meta data?
 
TeamZoo said:
If I download something to my computer and then upload it here, not a picture I took but just an internet file. Could that contain any potentially identifying meta data?
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Usually not a problem if you just downloaded an image from another site. Can always check with a metadata viewer, like Mediaview to see if it has anything.
 
Wolf_Moon said:
When I was younger and dumber I would just straight up google horse dicks with no VPN/encryption lol.

I use TOR browser for anything Zoo related now but I don't have dedicated VPN like Nord. Will I be fine for the most part just using an encrypted browser like TOR for browsing ZV?.

Thanks for the info.
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You really need a combination of both van and tor

May I leave a couple of links. They are both the same video, the second link is for brave browser users ?
 
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Ped&GSD said:
You really need a combination of both van and tor
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A van? I am just going to asume it is a typoed "vpn" :p

I am not sure which thread model a Tor + VPN combo beats. The VPN operator knows who you are (specially if you paid them with traceable money). By using Tor, you ensure the VPN does not know what you are doing, but the same thing could be said if you didn't use a VPN with Tor. This does not make them much different than a regular ISP that places you behind a neighbourhood NAT, which nowadays is most of them.
 
A VPN is the best investment you'll ever make, not just for this site, but also for torrenting movies (normal movies, not dog movies). You can stream the movie collection via Plex or Jellyfin. Can cost as little as $5 a month which is significantly cheaper than any streaming service and once you have a big collection you are your own streaming service. And then also you get to watch ppl take horse and dog dick without fear of the right wing idiots out there deciding we're the next trans panic target.
 
foalmaker said:
A van? I am just going to asume it is a typoed "vpn" :p

I am not sure which thread model a Tor + VPN combo beats. The VPN operator knows who you are (specially if you paid them with traceable money). By using Tor, you ensure the VPN does not know what you are doing, but the same thing could be said if you didn't use a VPN with Tor. This does not make them much different than a regular ISP that places you behind a neighbourhood NAT, which nowadays is most of them.
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Yes, I meant VPN, the silly autocorrect make more work than it saves.
Did you watch the video link?
 
Oldman said:
Links removed. They looked sketchy as fuck and also advertising. Don't do it again.
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Advertising? Where? they where from YouTube and another from exactly the same but with brave browser. Do you know about Brave browser? It blocks ads from YouTube, I only watch YouTube with it. I can't stand intrusive ads.
But ok.... are links not allowed then?.
I mean the fact that we are in the dark web I assume we are all using antivirus that block dodgy links anyway.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I don't post dodgy links. I'm not interested in such.
I found easier to just post the link of the video where the answer for the question asked can be found instead of having to write it myself.
 
Ped&GSD said:
Advertising? Where? they where from YouTube and another from exactly the same but with brave browser. Do you know about Brave browser? It blocks ads from YouTube, I only watch YouTube with it. I can't stand intrusive ads.
But ok.... are links not allowed then?.
I mean the fact that we are in the dark web I assume we are all using antivirus that block dodgy links anyway.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I don't post dodgy links. I'm not interested in such.
I found easier to just post the link of the video where the answer for the question asked can be found instead of having to write it myself.
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The link did not have a .com it was .be and YouTube wasn't even spelled out completely. That could be a foreign version of YouTube or another language, or just a shorthand tracking link, in the end it doesn't matter, it's kind of suspect to begin with. Secondly the forum loaded preview image of said link immediately started with ”sale bla blah 30% off blah blah". So that ticked the second box of no advertising. Finally, 99 percent of YouTube links are tracked to show which website someone clicked from. Why do you think the vast majority of YouTube links get the content deleted? Because they came from our porn site and therefore it is considered porn and flagged for review and or deletion. The last one is more of an FYI. If you don't want videos deleted from YouTube then don't post tracking links to our website.
 
I understand and agree about the youtube links being tracked, yes, it was silly of me. I guess I'm still a Newby and sharing links here is not the same as sharing links in something like Facebook. I learned my mistake.
About the thing of adds I have just tried posting myself a link to another account on WhatsApp and I have just learned that if I share before the adds are done playing I just share adds and not the video intended. I also checked the links for the proper videos and they do contain youtu.be, but they do work well and are legitimate,
I guess it's the way it is as .com would be the homescreen or dashboard and not a particular video.

Anyway you are completely right. I will refrain from posting links as I don't want to compromise this page or the community that use it.

My apologies ?
 
Ped&GSD said:
I understand and agree about the youtube links being tracked, yes, it was silly of me. I guess I'm still a Newby and sharing links here is not the same as sharing links in something like Facebook. I learned my mistake.
About the thing of adds I have just tried posting myself a link to another account on WhatsApp and I have just learned that if I share before the adds are done playing I just share adds and not the video intended. I also checked the links for the proper videos and they do contain youtu.be, but they do work well and are legitimate,
I guess it's the way it is as .com would be the homescreen or dashboard and not a particular video.

Anyway you are completely right. I will refrain from posting links as I don't want to compromise this page or the community that use it.

My apologies ?
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Ah. That would explain the ad text. Anywho, best to share those via PM to those who ask.

Those .be are most likely shorthand tracking links. If you cut and paste the entire link in the top of the browser instead of clicking the share button, that usually is the .com without the tracking. That, however, is not available in the phone app.

You are also not in trouble, otherwise you would have gotten a warning point.
 
Years ago this thread only started as a small info gathering but now it has turned into a wealth of information for everyone to use I am happy to be apart of this thread's growth I've learned from others and they learned from me keep up the good work everyone.
 
usually, when someone gets hacked it is someone who has met you or chatted with you at some point. glad you are taking precautions now using Linux distros is best since they are safer and better also add security measures as well.
 
Frosted797 said:
Linux is indeed probably the best thing besides cutting the ethernet (in my opinion). Also, strangely enough, when the person who I believe hacked me called me and my friends, none of us recognized their voice. However, one of my boyfriend's former friends was the one to send him my 50,000 DMs, but we still have no idea who sent them to him or why he sent them to my boyfriend.
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Yup definitely sounds like someone trying to cause a stir in your life but for someone to have your # they must have either gotten it from the dark web or someone close to you that's usually how it starts be careful and switch to Linux and study opsec heavily cause things are evil out here in this world.
 
This thread is really informative. Glad to see the tech gang has visited here. I use a free VPN atm and always use it when I acces this site and really the time in general.

My PC is very old though and I don't have enough space on the drive to update my OS anymore. Does this pose any risk to me here?
 
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