Fact of the Day: Did you know 'ZoneAlarm' (the PC 'security' suite) is made and run from Israel?

ZoneAlarm, which is listed as "Number 1 Security Suite" in a Google search, is owned by 'Check Point Software Technologies Ltd', an Israeli based company in Tel Aviv. It recently spent $600 million to market their products to people (results from Google) -

- Marketing Spend: As of 2025, Check Point reported substantial investments in "Selling and Marketing" to drive its Infinity Platform and AI-driven security solutions.

- In previous fiscal years (e.g., 2022), the company's "Selling and Marketing" expenses were over $600 million. While this figure covers sales team salaries, events, and other marketing activities, search engine advertising is also a part of this budget.

"search engine advertising is also a part of this budget", so google is being paid to recommend this software to you as "number 1" despite it's many controversies over the years from illegal data collection to scare tactic campaigns.

Check Point Software bought the rights to ZoneAlarm on March 29th 2004, from the Wiki;

- "As of January 2006, ZoneAlarm was reportedly sending data to the company's servers in a covert fashion. A developer dismissed allegations that ZoneAlarm was spying on its clients, saying that it was an issue related to software updates and that it would be fixed."

- "On September 2, 2010, the free version of ZoneAlarm started showing a 'Global Virus Alert' popup as a scareware tactic to get users to switch to their paid security suite. The popup was turned off by ZoneAlarm marketing team after an uproar from disgruntled users, many of whom uninstalled the software."

Cited from source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_System_Firewall

So the question remains: Are you really ok with having Israel access your data and monitor your activity on and offline if you currently have it installed?

TinyWall is a far better firewall option which is opensource, low system resource usage, no data collection and no telemetry, and because it's open source you can even download and read through the code if you really want to. 👍

#IsraeliSurveillance #PaidToBeNumberOneListed #BoycottIsrael #Security #Firewall #AntiVirus #Software #DataCollection #HumanRights

राजधानी दिल्ली में जनगणना का पहला चरण जल्द, पूरा प्रोसेस समझ लीजिए।

https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/nd_delhi_census_2026

#Census2026 #DelhiCensus #Census #DigitalCensus #NDMC #MCD #PopulationCount #IndiaCensus #DataCollection #DelhiNews #News

Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters

A quotation from Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) British writer and physician
Story (1891-07), “A Scandal in Bohemia,” ch. 1 [Holmes], The Strand Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 1

More about this quote: wist.info/doyle-arthur-conan/5…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arthurconandoyle #sherlockholmes #holmes #sherlock #ascandalinbohemia #analysis #bias #biasconfirmation #conclusion #data #datacollection #distortion #information #insufficientdata #prejudice #speculation #theorizing #theory

Listen, here's the #SiliconValley agenda for #AI:

* Race to #MonopolyByDefault (everyone wants to usurp #Google's throne)
* Increase #DataCollection, #Tracking, #Profiling tenfold by having users WILLINGLY give away their financial information
* Sell said data, manipulate markets with it and generally do a bit of mass- AND targeted psychological manipulation
* Sell the systems to #authoritarian states to form a #SurveillanceState
* Eventually build the same at home

https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/923684/musk-brockman-altman-openai-trial

Uber plans to equip driver cars with sensors via AV Labs to collect real-world data for autonomous systems, expanding beyond its small internal fleet 🚗
The strategy builds an “AV cloud” for partners, raising concerns about large-scale data collection ⚠️

🔗 https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/01/uber-wants-to-turn-its-millions-of-drivers-into-a-sensor-grid-for-self-driving-companies/

#TechNews #Uber #AutonomousVehicles #AV #AI #DataCollection #Privacy #Surveillance #FOSS #OpenData #Mobility #BigTech #Transparency #Security #Innovation

Uber plans to turn its drivers into a mobile sensor network via AV Labs, collecting real-world data to fuel autonomous vehicle development. Starting small, the goal is a scalable platform addressing AVs’ data bottleneck. #autonomousvehicles #datacollection

https://wesearch.press/s/uber-wants-to-turn-its-millions-of-drivers-into-a-sensor-gri-6438ee1f?utm_source=social&utm_medium=auto&utm_campaign=mastodon

The hidden cost of Google’s AI defaults and the illusion of choice

Many people are hoping—nay, praying—that the potential AI bubble will burst soon.

But to hear Google tell it, generative AI is the future, and the company’s products have to change to keep up with the technical reality. As a result, Gemini is seeping into every nook and cranny of the Google ecosystem. Generative AI feeds on data, and Google has a lot of your data in products like Gmail and Drive. What does that mean for your privacy, and what happens if you don’t want Gemini peeking over your shoulder? Well, it’s kind of a mess.

The amount of data Gemini retains depends on how you access the AI, and opting out of data collection can mean running straight into so-called “dark patterns,” UI elements that work against the user’s interest.

Read more at Ars Technica.

Telangana Rolls Out Fully Digital Census 2027 Amidst Technological Shift

Telangana's fully digital Census 2027 begins house listing May 11-June 9. Learn about the new app, data security, and self-enumeration.

#TelanganaCensus, #DigitalCensus, #Census2027, #Hyderabad, #DataCollection

https://newsletter.tf/telangana-digital-census-2027-house-listing-may-11/