"Winston" Kickstarter - Thoughts?

[Shael]

I came across a kickerstarter project called "Winston" that says to protect your privacy. It sounds good in theory but the CEO used to be the global head (or something) of a huge advertising firm. So it sounds a bit fishy to me personally.

Anyone know more? If it's legit I'd consider getting one, myself.
This is the kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winstonprivacy/winston-the-worlds-most-advanced-online-privacy-device/description

For anyone who doesnt want to bother clicking the link, here some pictures of their team. Maybe someone can spot Jews in there already. I personally suck at spotting them, though Mr. (((Gutwein))) is obvious even to me.

 

[Hp. Hoodedcobra666]

Despite of the idea being good, the easy sounding of it is just absurd. They will definitely mine data on their own, as per the company, and if you want to truly protect your privacy, a simple modem installation will not do the trick over numerous reasons.

It may be able to filter ads and related based on ad-blocking, block-lists and so forth, but it cannot for example safeguard you from your PC being literally a spyware machine, and WIFI protection does not safeguard you from other and more powerful ways of surveillance and data mining.

This box is only a filter in the sense that a firewall router probably does the very same job. This is only a pre-installed machine that works like a firewall router and filter, like any circulating.

As for the guys themselves the data mining they will make will be a total goldmine if they do this, so if they are not already tempted, maybe it will do down the road, so I would advise against that until it is very well tested. 2 years should be fine. Any intermediary channel of communication can be breached. They promise to manage it all, so they can see it all.

The "zero knowledge" claim on any of these companies is a fraud claim, in that, they need to process data and analyze it and log it in order for them to process and provide you the service. So it is dishonest to begin with to make this claim.

So in the end it may actually DO provide what it promises, but the idea of so called "Anonymity" is not as they claim. It will protect from some ad and related tracking, that is for sure.

 

[Shael]

Despite of the idea being good, the easy sounding of it is just absurd. They will definitely mine data on their own, as per the company, and if you want to truly protect your privacy, a simple modem installation will not do the trick over numerous reasons.

It may be able to filter ads and related based on ad-blocking, block-lists and so forth, but it cannot for example safeguard you from your PC being literally a spyware machine, and WIFI protection does not safeguard you from other and more powerful ways of surveillance and data mining.

This box is only a filter in the sense that a firewall router probably does the very same job. This is only a pre-installed machine that works like a firewall router and filter, like any circulating.

As for the guys themselves the data mining they will make will be a total goldmine if they do this, so if they are not already tempted, maybe it will do down the road, so I would advise against that until it is very well tested. 2 years should be fine. Any intermediary channel of communication can be breached. They promise to manage it all, so they can see it all.

The "zero knowledge" claim on any of these companies is a fraud claim, in that, they need to process data and analyze it and log it in order for them to process and provide you the service. So it is dishonest to begin with to make this claim.

So in the end it may actually DO provide what it promises, but the idea of so called "Anonymity" is not as they claim. It will protect from some ad and related tracking, that is for sure.

I appreciate the detailed analysis. Thank you

 

[Rook]

Always be skeptical of things on kickstarter, the site is notorious because of the many scams that are on there, even if a product has been successful kickstarted people are known for not delivering/not delivering as advertised/taking the money and running/just noting.

 

[FancyMancy]

They promise to manage it all, so they can see it all.

Exactly. That's why I dislike "the cloud". Decentralisation is much safer; that way, there isn't one absolute corruptor. Whoops, sorry. I meant absolute snooper. Damn it! Absolute ruler!

The "zero knowledge" claim on any of these companies is a fraud claim, in that, they need to process data and analyze it and log it in order for them to process and provide you the service. So it is dishonest to begin with to make this claim.

There always has to be an amount of data, sometimes personally-identifiable information, to be able to process things. Even cryptocurrency can be traced, and the coin tumblers (the last I knew) are not 100% guaranteed to work.

So in the end it may actually DO provide what it promises, but the idea of so called "Anonymity" is not as they claim. It will protect from some ad and related tracking, that is for sure.

Regarding anonymity - there is the argument that those who use encryption and hide themselves online stand out like a sore thumb; if they looked like everyone else, unencrypted, blending in, then they'd be more anonymous...

 

[Syntax]

If someone really wants a piece of hardware that is privacy oriented you can't get much better than purism. They make computers and are making a phone centered around privacy. Also most of these companies are scams. The idea of anonymity is largely bullshit in itself. Bitcoin isn't anonymous despite what some dumbass says who doesn't understand blockchain heuristic searches. If a company promises you complete protection or anonymity they are lying and have ulterior motives. I can almost guarantee you that. Also the amount of kids who hop on tor these days and automatically think they are anonymous is laughable at best. Dangerous at worse. Your ISP mines your data, Your VPN mines your data, Your fucking OS mines your data. Anonymity isn't something you can obtain. It's a lifestyle you have to create.

 

[Shael]

If someone really wants a piece of hardware that is privacy oriented you can't get much better than purism.

Thanks for sharing

 

[Syntax]

If someone really wants a piece of hardware that is privacy oriented you can't get much better than purism.

Thanks for sharing

Of course. Purism is the only company I have seen who makes an effort to actually help their customers privacy. Completely linux based with hardware switches for camera, bluetooth, wifi, etc. They may be a little pricey but the phone and the computer come out with updates centered around improving security and performance and not damaging. Not to mention the OS is open source so anyone is free to view the internals. Purism doesnt guarantee complete anonymity but rather they guarantee you'll be more secure. If you are interested in being "anonymous" with purism there are settings you can setup. Also as I said before bitcoin isn't anonymous. Thankfully there are things like ZeroCoin trying to fix this issue