From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

While aphorisms have truth deeply embedded, more often than not they don't.
"Thereos no such thing as a free lunch."
"You get what you pay for."
"Cheap is expensive."
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
"When something is free, ask what it's costing you in privacy."
"Convenience of freeware is just surveillance in disguise."
"Privacy is dead, and free social media holds the smoking gun."

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms?
I'll start.

Irfanview meet my freeware & privacy expectations.
Vpngate.net does not.
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Marion wrote:

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms?

There is too much free/open ware to do this.

In my world, virtually all of the ware is open source. While I don't
have the skills to examine ANY of that source, the transparency makes it available to the masses who do have the skills.

But much of what you are dealing w/ here is free *services*, which is a significantly different thing than free software, particularly different
than free software which is also open source.

Also, the open source world is considerably more complex because of the licensing structure which applies to it.
--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Marion wrote:

While aphorisms have truth deeply embedded, more often than not they don't.
"Therero4 no such thing as a free lunch."
"You get what you pay for."
"Cheap is expensive."
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
"When something is free, ask what it's costing you in privacy."
"Convenience of freeware is just surveillance in disguise."
"Privacy is dead, and free social media holds the smoking gun."

While I did bring up one of those, while NOT espousing it, the concept
is NOT the 'truth' of the aphorism, the concept is that when someone is
giving you a free service that THEY are paying for, you should hold some skepticism.

It makes sense for privacy services to charge for the services they
provide. It also makes sense for /some/ privacy services to provide a
free version of their services as a method to promote a product they sell.

The *service* industry is a different thing than the open source world,
in which someone or a group of someones start w/ an open-source licensed 'thing', which thus requires than anything they DO w/ it must also be open-sourced. So the concept that 'software wants to be free' (as in information, not beer) applies. The someone takes something they are
given and tries to improve on it and give it back so that others can do
the same. There is some altruism working there.
--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 08:28:24 -0700, Mike Easter wrote :

Marion wrote:

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms?

There is too much free/open ware to do this.

True. Irfanview is my top-most favorite.
What's yours?

In my world, virtually all of the ware is open source. While I don't
have the skills to examine ANY of that source, the transparency makes it available to the masses who do have the skills.

Yup. I'm an octogenarian who has *never* paid for anything on Windows or Android or iOS other than TurboTax (although my company paid for Acrobat,
MS Office, etc., which I still use since the older versions work fine).

But much of what you are dealing w/ here is free *services*, which is a significantly different thing than free software, particularly different than free software which is also open source.

True. Vpngate.net is a free service. Good catch. So is Psiphon5.
Thanks for pointing that out.

Also, the open source world is considerably more complex because of the licensing structure which applies to it.

I never really understood the "free as in free beer" aphorism since what matters to me only is that it's legitimately free for me to use it.

An example is ffmpeg vs lame, which were free for me to use but may be encumbered with licenses that I didn't care to even bother to understand.

With all that in mind, there is value to the group for us to answer this... What is the one finest piece of Windows-based freeware that you enjoy most?
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Marion <marion@facts.com> wrote:

"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."

If you are paying for a product, you still are just data cattle.

MS, Google, Apple, Tesla, ... and lots of others are known to spy on you despite having paid them.
--
3. Hitchhiker 1: (25) "The point is, you see," said Ford, "that there
is no point in driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself going mad.
You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later."
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Marion wrote:

What is the one finest piece of Windows-based freeware that you enjoy most?

I regularly use and appreciate IrfanView.

IV is free for home use, he makes arrangements for licensing for
commercial use. It is NOT open source.

Irfan Skiljan is Bosnian.

Allegedly IV can run on linux or mac w/ emulation, but I run mine on W7.
He also still provides a 32bit v.
--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

yeti wrote:

Marion <marion@facts.com> wrote:

"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."

If you are paying for a product, you still are just data cattle.

MS, Google, Apple, Tesla, ... and lots of others are known to spy on you despite having paid them.

Which serves to emphasize my point about maintaining skepticism, not
only skepticism about free services, skepticism 'in general'.
--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 09/01/2025 12:05 PM, yeti wrote:

Marion <marion@facts.com> wrote:

"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."

If you are paying for a product, you still are just data cattle.

MS, Google, Apple, Tesla, ... and lots of others are known to spy on you despite having paid them.

I have used the Adobe Reader for years. I do not use any of the extras
that are provided. I am satisfied.

One program that I have also used for years is Snycback Free. No
charge, and it has preformed reliably for me for years.

I also use CutePDFwriter. It is free, and again is an esential part of
my computer.

I agree the Irfanview is a great program, but in addition there are
several plugins for Irfanview that are free. The one I use most is
Tesseract OCR
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Mike Easter wrote:

It makes sense for privacy services to charge for the services they
provide. It also makes sense for /some/ privacy services to provide a
free version of their services as a method to promote a product they sell.

This article didn't provide me w/ anything particularly useful, but it
had a good clickbait title:

This Is Why I Stopped Using Free VPNs

https://www.howtogeek.com/this-is-why-i-stopped-using-free-vpns/


I'm not one to use VPNs, but I do 'sample' free VPNs educationally,
Proton, Windscribe, Riseup and to evaluate protocol such as wireguard.

But I think there is room for disagreement about who needs which privacy conditions; personally I don't think I do; but I also think that people
who /really/ do NEED a privacy condition should be well-advised to be skeptical and VERY careful, as I think it likely that there are pitfalls
w/ some free privacy services, and I do NOT know which those are or how
to find out.
--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 2025/9/1 17:2:59, Marion wrote:

On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 08:28:24 -0700, Mike Easter wrote :

Marion wrote:

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms? >>

There is too much free/open ware to do this.

True. Irfanview is my top-most favorite.
What's yours?

Certainly, IrfanView - and its plugins, like the lossless JPEG rotate
and crop, and the OCR - come to my mind first. I have to think a bit
then, but I think the two suites - Mark Russinovitch (sysinternals) and
NirSoft - must come high.

[]

Also, the open source world is considerably more complex because of the
licensing structure which applies to it.

I never really understood the "free as in free beer" aphorism since what matters to me only is that it's legitimately free for me to use it.

It bugs me a little, too, not sure why: possibly because the expression
"free beer" isn't common in UK. But what they mean is to distinguish
between the two meanings of free (as applied to "free to use"): free as
in costs nothing, and free as in usable without restriction.>

An example is ffmpeg vs lame, which were free for me to use but may be encumbered with licenses that I didn't care to even bother to understand.

I get pleasure from WinAmp and VLC, but I'm not sure what spying they do.>

With all that in mind, there is value to the group for us to answer this... What is the one finest piece of Windows-based freeware that you enjoy most?

Can't just pick one! IrfanView, yt-dlp, WinAmo, VLC, BitMeter2, Noisy
Keyboard, Noisy Mouse, Macrium Reflect Free, Remove Empty Directories
(RED), FreeFileSync, CrystalDiskInfo, even Thunderbird, _old_ versions
of Foxit and Acrobat, ClockSmith Lite, Classic Shell ...
Some of those I enjoy using, some I enjoy their results, or knowing that
they have run (or are running) well. Some in combination, of course.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

They are public servants, so we will threat them rather as Flashman
treats servants. - Stephen Fry on some people's attitudo to the BBC, in
Radio Times, 3-9 July 2010
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

Mike Easter wrote:

Mike Easter wrote:

It makes sense for privacy services to charge for the services
they provide. It also makes sense for /some/ privacy services to
provide a free version of their services as a method to promote a
product they sell.

This article didn't provide me w/ anything particularly useful, but
it had a good clickbait title:

This Is Why I Stopped Using Free VPNs

Another article that doesn't adequately justify its 'position' w/ any
kind of useful fact:

DonrCOt trust these VPNsrCotheir shady pasts make them risky

And, in addition starts w/ a very questionable premise:

VPNs are a must-have today if you need genuine privacy protection.

The author is a contributor to MUO Make Use Of; here's another of his
articles:

I quit using Tor Browser, but these 5 features are impossible to
replace

I quit using the Tor Browser simply because I lost faith in the
project. From malicious or compromised exit nodes to deanonymization exploits, it wasn't the private alternative internet I had hoped it
would be.

--
Mike Easter
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On 1/9/2025 11:04 pm, Marion wrote:

While aphorisms have truth deeply embedded, more often than not they don't.
"Therero4 no such thing as a free lunch."
"You get what you pay for."
"Cheap is expensive."
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
"When something is free, ask what it's costing you in privacy."
"Convenience of freeware is just surveillance in disguise."
"Privacy is dead, and free social media holds the smoking gun."

Stop using modern computers, internet and cell-phones *AT HOME* if you
are really worried!! :)
--
@~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
/ v \ May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
/( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
^ ^ https://github.com/changmw/changmw
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From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 15:04:37 -0000 (UTC), Marion <marion@facts.com>
wrote:

While aphorisms have truth deeply embedded, more often than not they don't.
"There-| no such thing as a free lunch."
"You get what you pay for."
"Cheap is expensive."
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
"When something is free, ask what it's costing you in privacy."
"Convenience of freeware is just surveillance in disguise."
"Privacy is dead, and free social media holds the smoking gun."

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms? >I'll start.

Irfanview meet my freeware & privacy expectations.

Most distributions of the Linux OS

yWriter novel-writing software
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.privacy

On Wed, 9/3/2025 9:43 AM, Steve Hayes wrote:

On Mon, 1 Sep 2025 15:04:37 -0000 (UTC), Marion <marion@facts.com>
wrote:

While aphorisms have truth deeply embedded, more often than not they don't. >> "There-| no such thing as a free lunch."
"You get what you pay for."
"Cheap is expensive."
"If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
"When something is free, ask what it's costing you in privacy."
"Convenience of freeware is just surveillance in disguise."
"Privacy is dead, and free social media holds the smoking gun."

What examples of freeware do you feel meet or do not meet these aphorisms? >> I'll start.

Irfanview meet my freeware & privacy expectations.

Most distributions of the Linux OS

yWriter novel-writing software

There is still some questionable activity on the more
popular ("pre-commercial") distros.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zeitgeist

You can Google on "site:distrowatch.com zeitgeist"
and find examples. This is just the first example found.

https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=ubuntuunity&pkglist=true&version=23.10

Paul
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