I have different technical questions I want to ask. I went to Stack Overflow and they blocked registration with a VPN. It’s really fucking annoying. I can buy a residential IP to bypass this, but I’d rather just not use these enshitified platforms that are so hostile to VPNs.
Is there any decent alternative to Stack Overflow? I have tried getting AI answers to the technical question but they are not good.
And no, I can’t just create a github ID using VPN to login, they block github logins based on IP also.
hell fucking no. I do not need some large corporate company taking a) my browser fingerprint b) my real IP address and ping time and c) selling them to every data broker that exists. Fuck no. Buying a residential IP costs less than a dollar. Big data does not need to associate my online activities with who I am IRL.
It’s also a terrible idea because a lot of my online protection is because no one know my initial ping time, so I would be giving big data information like “here’s this user with browser hash ########### and they have a ping time of X ms and origination IP of X.X.X.X.” so after that, even if I protected my origination IP later, they could guess who I am based on hops and ping time and browser fingerprint, because even privacy browsers have a browser fingerprint. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck no.
What VPN provider are you using because I guarantee you are leaking far more data to them then to anywhere else.
Stack Overflow thrives on participation. If you do not want to participate in any way then SO is probably not for you.
I am happy to participate. I do not want my IP and ping data sold to data brokers to serve targeted ads, track me, and go to the police surveillance state. I’m sure you are a good citizen who always keeps location on and feels like life would be easier if everyone just complied while you proudly put ring cameras on every door. Not everyone is a tech bro neo-feudalist.
I like your disdain for mass surveillance, but don’t call me a tech bro
How do you know your VPN is not just doing the same things? Anything that you think is secure is only so temporarily because it becomes a target for state and private security firms. E.g. a private security company from Sweden could infiltrate a VPN provider than that security firm sells the data to states and other private firms. These firms are owned by the same conglomerates that own everything else and they consolidate the data. That is giving the VPN provider the benefit of the doubt, that they aren’t just lying to you.
because it’s encrypted by https and my VPN has a decent reputation. Yes, it’s possible that the VPN is secretly selling everything they can to big data, but if it were exposed then it would ruin their entire business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1opKW6X88og
“Inside this video, you’ll learn: • How Facebook turned a “privacy app” into a surveillance weapon • The Israeli cyber intel unit behind Onavo and why it matters • What Project Ghostbusters did to break HTTPS encryption • Why 20+ top VPNs are secretly owned by spyware vendors • The real story behind ExpressVPN, Kape Technologies, and fake “independent” review sites • The 7-point checklist every VPN must pass to be trusted • Better tools to protect yourself: DoH, hardened Firefox, Tor, browser isolation, and more”