How to search the web while protecting your privacy
They want to know everything about you
It is no secret that every advertising-funded site (Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc) works very hard to build a complete profile about you. They want to know as much as possible so they can sell expensive highly targeted advertisements.
Every search you perform, every site you visit, every link you click is recorded and analyzed.
You live in a filter bubble
The profile we talked about above is also used to return information the site believes you will like most (therefore making themselves more sticky). this is the filter bubble problem.
The site (e.g. Google) will return results that it believes are aligned with your view and this is what we call the filter bubble. At some point, you will stop seeing other opinions or points of view. In the most extreme examples, it can reinforce certain questionable points of view such as the earth is flat or other similar prejudices.
How do I search the web privately
There are many search engines that promise private searches but the problem with most is that they crawl the web themselves and their index of the web just isn’t as good as Google. This is where startpage.com comes in. It allows you to search using the Google web index without giving up your privacy.
Startpage.com does not log user activity and does not perform any type of user tracking or profiling
Startpage.com allows you to browse any of the pages returned in a search query anonymously
Startpage.com is based in the Netherlands which has better privacy protection than the US
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/1f1474edb0.jpg" alt="">
Ok but are the search results good?
Search results use the Google index so they are as good as can be without profiling you to customize the response
The results layout page is clean and uncluttered
You can search the web, images or videos
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/3a115a6979.jpg" alt="">
You have all of the advanced search options you could need (including words contained, avoiding certain words, dates, domains, language, file type, etc)
Some searches won’t contain ads and those that do clearly mark them with the word Ad
You can browse any search result link using their free anonymous browsing option (called Anonymous View)
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0859b7d7b9.jpg" alt="">
When you browse using the Anonymous View, the webpage is surrounded by a blue frame
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/32cf396391.jpg" alt="">
How it makes money
Startpagecom generates its revenue from clearly marked search ads and affiliate links.
These ads are not targeted (since they do not profile visitors).
The ads are segregated from the actual search results so as not to confuse the visitor.
Tell me more about Startpage.com’s privacy
Since most of its users originate from the US, Startpage.com has search servers located in the US to speed up searches. These servers are said to be hardened and properly secured.
This should be perfectly acceptable to most users but if you are extra paranoid, Startpage.com does offer users the option of choosing non-USA servers.
Their privacy claims have been independently verified (read this).
They have never showed up on any blacklist (that I can find)
They have an A+ rating from the Qualys SSL Labs site
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/5aafc18cd3.jpg" alt="">
Don't buy the Zendure SuperPort or SuperTank
The Zendure SuperPort and SuperTank are positively talked about on hundreds of blogs throughout the internet. I ordered (I paid for it) 2 SuperPort USBC chargers and a SuperTank 27,000 mAh battery. Both devices have the same design defect. When you have something plugged into the 100-watt port and then plug/unplug another device in the 60-watt port, it resets the 100-watt port every time.
My first 2 SuperPorts were sent back to Zendure for engineering review and the 2 replacements also exhibit the same behaviour. I just tested the SuperTank and can confirm it does the exact same thing.
I have been a Zendure fan and own all of their previous devices. None of them have this same defect. At this point I would recommend you look at other brands for your battery and wall charging needs. I have gone back to my Omnicharge Pro USBC for my battery and will carry an Elecjet and RavPower GAN USBC wall charger.
How to install Firefox on a Chromebook
There are many reasons why you may want to install Firefox on a Chromebook (could be for security, privacy or just as a technical challenge). You could install the Android app but that isn’t a full featured browser. Here are the instructions on how to install it in the Linux container.
Go to Settings
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/44e5e1a112.jpg" alt="">
Search for Linux and Turn it On.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0405fafba9.jpg" alt="">
You will get the installation window. Continue and let it complete.
Prepare Linux
You will then be presented with the terminal window, run an update then an upgrade.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/9e1ba05d6f.jpg" alt="">
“sudo apt update”
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/b7280189ac.jpg" alt="">
“sudo apt upgrade”
Install Firefox on ChromeOS
Now we are ready to install Firefox.
Got to the terminal and enter sudo apt install firefox-esr
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/57d74f944d.jpg" alt="">
Now you can start Firefox by entering the firefox-esr command to invoke the app.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/c9963391a0.jpg" alt="">
If you want to invoke Firefox-Esr but also need your terminal to work (at the same time), use the command firefox-esr &
It's time to evaluate your company
As we pass to the second half of the year, many companies start their annual merit review cycle. It is an opportunity for your leaders to evaluate the corpus of your work and determine how much value you delivered to the company (thus deserving a salary adjustment).
What employees often forget is that they too should use this period as an opportunity to determine if they are doing the right job, in the right company & at the right compensation level.
Read my blog entry The “You” Brand
The 4 power questions
Do you like what you are doing?
Do you like who you are doing it with and where you are doing it?
Does your company offer a path your desired future job?
Are you fairly compensated
As we walk through each of these questions, it is important to remember that there is no "perfect" life partner and there is no "perfect" company. What we are trying to determine is: "Is this company the right one for your at this moment in time".
It is important to evaluate the questions in the order I have presented them.
Do you like what you are doing?
Ask yourself if you (honestly) are excited about the work you are doing. When Friday comes along, do you turn off “work mode” until Monday morning? If you do then you have a job, not a career. It means you are not passionate about your chosen profession and it may be time to figure out “what you want to be when you grow up”.
Do you like who you are doing it with and where you are doing it?
Many leaders would probably break this question down into 2 separate ones (one for people and one for the company) but I believe they work better together.
You may like your job but do you like the people you are doing it with? There is no perfect environment but overall, do you enjoy collaborating and working with most of your co-workers? Are you surrounded by like-minded people who challenge you and respect you? Do the people you work with care as much about you, as you do for them?
In the same vein, do you like working for your company? Do you share the vision, mission and core values of your company? A 2017 MetLife survey found employees (9/10) would rather work for a company that shared their values than one that offered higher pay. The survey also found that employees were willing to take a 21% pay cut to work for that better-aligned company (jumped to 34% for millennials).
This is also the category I include work-life alignment in. Does the ratio of work-life balance the company expects to, align with what you are looking for?
Obviously, every employee’s requirements are different but the importance of this alignment is undeniable.
If you love your job (question 1) and you love who you work with (where), then work doesn’t feel like work. You can enjoy going to work and living your best life.
Does your company offer a path your desired future job?
Not everyone is looking for career advancement but most of you probably are. Does your company offer a supportive, nurturing environment where you can learn and grow? Are executives willing to take a chance with less experienced employees, allowing them to develop? Are executives willing to coach and guide employees to develop their skills in preparation for future promotion? Last, but not least, does the company promote from within or do they hire most leaders from the outside?
Are you fairly compensated
The question about compensation was purposefully left until the end. Every other question we have examined will feed into this one.
The old 1980's corporate mantra was :
"Employees work just enough not to get fired. Employers pay just enough so employees don't quit".
As stupid as this mantra sounds today, some older leaders still espouse this as a "nugget of wisdom" (do the companies values align with yours?).
The modern strategy of salary management dictates that companies must pay enough so employees aren't stressed about money and spend their mental energy on doing what they do best.
The real-world equation is more complicated and is a subjective evaluation of fair pay within the company (often difficult to judge because the information is not readily available), and compare to other organizations offerings for similar roles.
It is easy to understand why a company that compensates you properly, probably also values your skills and expertise properly.
Remember the MetLife survey, where employees were willing to work for less if the company's values aligned with their own? This is also true about the other 3 questions we previously discussed.
If you feel that the company's values don't align with yours and/or that the company doesn't offer career advancement and/or you dislike the people you work with, you may decide to stay but may demand a higher premium for the extra "suffering".
Conclusion
Ultimately this is a deeply personal introspection and one you must do honestly (regardless if you are a new graduate or a seasoned executive).
Your company evaluates you annually to decide if you are worth keeping, you should do the same and decide if the company is worth staying at.
The Phoozy spacesuit for your smartphone
What is a Phoozy?
The Phoozy is a NASA space-suit inspired jacket for your phone that protects it from the searing rays of the sun or the frigid battery killing cold of winter.
Have you ever gone to the beach and noticed your phone refusing to start with a temperature warning message (even though it was "protected" from the sun by a sun-umbrella?) The same happens at the other temperature extreme where the phone refuses to start because the components are too cold and the phone tries to protect itself.
The Phoozy is a well-insulated purpose-built capsule (made out of space material used to protect astronauts). The Chromium Thermal Barrier can reflex up to 90% of the sun's heating rays.
This is an important distinction some online testers didn't remember. These geniuses cooked their phones in the oven or left it in their locked cars, then complained the Phoozy didn't work. The Phoozy is not air conditioning, and work's by reflecting the sun's harmless rays but won't help if the ambient temperature is oven-like (a car under the direct sun can reach 170 degrees within an hour).
During the summer, I tested the Phoozy while at the beach, hiking or the amusement park. I used an old iPhone as my unprotected test "victim" and my Pixel 2 XL as my protected device. My Phoozy protected device never shut down because of heat, while the control iPhone regularly displayed that dreaded temperature warning message and refused to start until I cooled it down.
Water protection
The Phoozy case is buoyant and will float but the top isn't waterproof sealed (it's velcro). The Phoozy shouldn't be your go-to water protection solution. The fact it will float is a nice to have feature just in case.
Compare the Phoozy Apollo and XP3
I bought and tested the newer XP3. The Apollo & XP3 offer the same sun and cold protection, but the XP3 has slightly more padding (which is better for drop protection), it has attachment points (so you can hook it to the outside of a backpack) and an internal stash pocket (to store cards or cash).
The XP3 easily accommodated 5 credit cards and an iPhone XR, Pixel 2/3XL, or Samsung Galaxy S10.
Conclusion
I love my Phoozy and it has found a permanent place in my everyday carry backpack (which is high praise coming from me). Many colleagues and friends have also bought Phoozys and every one of them is extremely satisfied.
The Phoozy performs as advertised and is well made.
The Apollo XL retails for $29 which is a very fair price for the protection being offered. I believe most customers should opt for the newer XP3, but this retails for $49. I still recommend it, but think they should cut $10 from the price.
Watch Netflix safely in the office
A new Chrome extension (called Netflix Hangouts) will make your Netflix stream look like a 4 person video conference by adding 3 additional video boxes onscreen. The Netflix show is housed in the bottom right hand box. You engage the extension by clicking on it and you stop it by clicking on it again (or closing the Netflix tab).
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0a5a30e66c.jpg" alt="">
This will not trick network based traffic inspection devices. It just makes the screen look more business like. If your company employs network base traffic analysis, you may want to VPN out first.
Operational security tips to safeguard your privacy when crossing a border
Every week I read about another traveller that is hassled at the border to turn over his laptop, tablet or smartphone and their associated passwords. Knowing that a stranger has gone through your personal “stuff” feels dirty (similar to being robbed).
A question I get asked often by readers, friends and colleagues is “How do I travel through international borders without worrying that my life will be put on show for some stranger with a badge?”. You don’t believe that this can happen; here are some interesting articles:
TSA employee caught stealing cash from woman's luggage at security checkpoint
Canada Border Services seizes lawyer's phone, laptop for not sharing passwords
Operational Security 101
The work of physical security and digital (cyber) security are merging fast and you cannot have one without the other. So what is a traveler to do?
Identify your sensitive data. Before travelling, conduct an extensive analysis of the data you will be crossing the border with. This doesn’t just include intellectual property or employee information but remember that once authorities have access to your email, without you present, they can figure out what social media accounts you have, they can reset your password for any site, they can build a social graph of all your contacts (using your email, instant messages and contacts), etc.
Prepare a lists of vulnerabilities you are subject to? You should consider everything from device theft to authorities riffling through your personal data with no regard for privacy.
Determine your risk level for each vulnerability. As long as you back up your data and your device is encrypted, then your risk after a theft is limited to the cost of replacing your device or scrambling to buy a new one while in transit. You will realize your risk level quickly rises when you consider the exponentially increasing risk of having your device analyzed at the border.
Design your countermeasure plan. For each vulnerability, design a mitigation or risk minimization plan. This is what the rest of the article will talk about.
Countermeasures
Like a broken record, I will now extol the virtues of the Chromebooks and why many security professionals rely solely on these devices when security is essential. I know many of you will email me to explain why Google is evil and shouldn’t be trusted. I respect everyone’s opinion, and if you believe using Google products and services doesn’t meet your security requirements, then, by all means, choose something else.
A Chromebook is designed to be reinitialized anytime and to restore its state very quickly. Log into a device connected to a respectable network, and within minutes, you are back up and running with your apps, extensions, bookmarks and settings. Your data is stored in the cloud, and local device storage is encrypted.
Theft
If some numskull steals your device, you will have to buy a new one but at least your data is safely stored in the cloud, and there is no unencrypted data locally to expose you. I have had my device stolen on a train in Europe (on my way to speak at a conference). At my destination, I bought a Chromebook, used the store's WIFI to restore my device, and I was up and running within 30 minutes.
Border inspection
Border inspection is a different beast because they have the authority to force you to turn over your passwords. In this case, the only protection strategy is trickery.
For people crossing the border with sensitive information, I recommend that you use a Chromebook and sync everything to the cloud. Before travelling, you Powerwash the Chromebook (aka set it back to factory default) and then log into it with a dummy Google account.
This Google account should have some emails, contacts, favourites, files stored on your Google drive, etc. It should look like it is an authentic and genuine account. When your device is inspected, it will have nothing of interest, and you will not endanger your “real” data.
Once you cross the border, find a WIFI network, Powerwash your device and log in with your “real” account.
What about your smartphone
I trust the Chromebook Powerwash process enough to reuse a Chromebook that was inspected by border security but not a smartphone. Smartphones (iPhone or Android) do not have the excellent backup and recovery properties of the Chromebook. In most cases, I travel with a real fully loaded smartphone and will destroy it if it is ever taken from me. I will immediately change all my passwords and implement honeypot style detection tools to see if they attempt to exploit me.
What are these detection techniques I am talking about? Well one example is to use the Free Canary Tokens to generate different honeypots in your work environment.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/ee25636522.jpg" alt="">
As an example, you create an easy to find (weaponized) Word or PDF file (stored in your Google drive) and phone that sends out a beacon when it is opened. Think of these tools as motion sensors warning you that your digital being is at risk and that you need to take extraordinary measures to protect yourself.
Conclusion
An article about traveller airport border crossing security (OPSEC) can be very long, but I wanted to give you a gentle introduction. If you are a journalist, politician or senior executive at risk, hire a good security consultant to guide you. The most expensive advice is free advice.
If you are a journalist with a reputable organization working on high-risk reporting and need security advice, I am always available to provide free guidance. I believe free and open journalism is a pillar of our modern democracy.
Review of the Asus C434 Chrombook
I am lucky enough to have the chance to test a tone of devices every year. Chromebook testing is an interesting endeavour because the higher end units usually are fantastic to use, while the cheaper products are slow and clunky. Chromebooks that live in the middle ($500-600) typically inherit the bad characteristics from both categories.
The mid-priced ($600) Asus C434 doesn't fall into this typical model.
Build quality
Most (non-premium) Chromebooks feel cheap and flimsy. They creek and crack when you grab them from an edge.
The Asus C434 is an all-aluminum design that looks and feel premium. The design includes chamfered edges that give it a more premium feel. Even the hinges are chrome covered, which adds to the premium look and feel.
When used in laptop mode, the hinges slightly raise the screen end of the keyboard which makes typing slightly more pleasurable.
It feels like Asus has crammed a 14-inch device in the body of a 13-inch device without sacrificing usability.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the design of the Asus C434 is wonderfully tough-out and makes using the device a joy.
The screen
My everyday personal use device is a Pixelbook. I love my Pixelbook, but it's enormous bezels make it feel dated. Although the Asus C434 isn't breaking any new bezel records, its design is noticeably modern (87% screen to body ratio). It has a very good 14-inch Full-HD screen (1920x1080) IPS panel that has good viewing angles, good colour reproduction and respectable (300 nits) brightness.
The Asus C434 screen isn't class leading like the Pixelbook or Samsung Pro but isn't a slouch either. Most users will find the screen amazing and a pleasure to use.
The keyboard
Keyboards can make or break a device. Look at the thousands of vocal Macbook fans on Reddit that have jumped ship to Windows because they can no longer deal with the horrible butterfly keyboards included in most new MacBooks.
So a lousy keyboard can kill even the best most thoughtfully designed laptop. Luckily the Asus C434 does reasonably well in the keyboard category. For users coming from an HP x360 or a Pixelbook, the keyboard doesn't feel as good, but for most users, this thing will be a joy.
Asus chose a non-glass trackpad which makes using it a bit more of a chore. The included trackpad is acceptable, but the device does suffer a bit from a less usable trackpad. Remember that I am comparing the Asus to the premium end of the market. If you compare this to a $500 windows laptop or other similarly priced Chromebooks, you will not be disappointed by the trackpad’s performance.
The ports
I regularly curse at my Pixelbook for not including at least one USBA port. Sure I love all things USBC, but I still have a tone of useful accessories that are USBA, and I seem to forget my dongles when I need them most.
This is where the Asus C434 beats my Pixelbook; it has a tone of ports. The Asus C434 has USBC ports on either side but also a USBA port, a headphone/microphone port and a microSD card slot.
The Asus C434 has the ports you need to get your job done without worrying about dongles or adapters.
The Internals
Most reviewers based their tests on the Core m3 (m3-8100Y) device with 4GB of RAM. While 4GB is good enough for the casual web user, it isn't enough to load a tone of Android apps and to comfortably run Linux apps.
The Asus C434 comes in the m3, i5 and i7 varieties and power users will probably opt for the mid-tier i5 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
As I write this review, most sites still don't offer the 8GB/128GB version of the unit (Amazon, B&H, etc.) but it is coming. Unless you need a device right away (then get the 4GB/64GB), I would wait a couple of weeks to pick up the more powerful model.
VPN Support coming to Linux apps on Chromebooks
It seems everyone has jumped on the VPN bandwagon these days. On Chromebooks, we can use VPN extensions, but these don't protect Android apps. We can use Android VPN apps, which protect the entire ChromeOS (including Android apps but not Linux apps).
So what happens today? Even if you have an Android VPN running, the Linux apps go our via your origin IP bypassing the VPN network adapter. If you need to use a VPN with the Linux container today on ChromeOS, you have to install a Linux VPN client in the container itself.
In Chrome 76, Google will finally fix this issue and app Linux traffic will also flow through the VPN (extension of Android app). You can test this today if you have the developer or Canary versions of ChromeOS installed on your Chromebook.
We expect ChromeOS 76 to be released to the Beta channel June 13-20 and to the stable channel around July 30.
Other cool features coming with the ChromeOS 76 release will be
"Picture In Picture" support for most video platforms
"Web Share Target Level 2" which will allow any installed application to receive a file share (using a manifest)
Comparing NordVPN and ExpressVPN
This is not a sponsored post, and none of the links are affiliate links?
Readers regularly ask me to compare NordVPN to ExpressVPN
"Can you compare NordVPN to ExpressVPN?"
"Is NordVPN better than ExpressVPN?"
"Is ExpressVPN faster than NordVPN?"
Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are considered to be top of the line premium VPN services. Both offer similar premium services and functionality such as:
reliable connectivity
fast connection speed
well designed strong encryption
30-day money back guarantee
24/7 technical support
No log policy
Kill switch to prevent leaking of your true identity or location
If you want a VPN to watch geographically locked streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix, BBC then ExpressVPN is probably your preferred choice. ExpressVPN seems to be one of the only services that has not been blocked by the Netflix proxy filter. In addition to successfully working around the Netflix proxy filters, ExpressVPN offers the fastest performance; therefore you are less likely to get buffering or lag.
Although NordVPN has had some issues with various streaming services blocking them, the support team works quickly to work around these issues so you should have access to most of your shows most of the time. NordVPN isn't as fast as ExpressVPN but is close enough for most users. NordVPN now has more than 5,092 servers which is an amazing amount (more than ExpressVPN).
NordVPN also offers a feature called DoubleVPN. DoubleVPN is a technique called VPN chaining (called on ProtonVPN). The concept is that they encrypt all the traffic once (standard VPN functionality) and then pass it through a second VPN server (encrypting again) before finally exiting to the internet. SoubleVPN will improve your security posture but will reduce your connection speed.
Conclusion
In summary, ExpressVPN offers better and more reliable access to streaming services and faster VPN speeds. NordVPN is good but not as good as ExpressVPN. NordVPN's claim to fame is the price.
NordVPN offers one of the best VPN services available today at a price that is significantly cheaper than ExpressVPN (especially with a multi-year subscription).
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/65532ea1c7.jpg" alt="">
With a 15 month ExpressVPN plan, the service costs $6.67 a month. On a 3-year plan with NordVPN, the monthly price is $2.99 (less than half).
Regardless of what service you choose, make sure you check for deals (which can discount as much as 50% sometimes).
Send large file via the internet securely and for free
I wrote about the original test version of the free Mozilla Firefox Send service in July 2018.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/8f643b0a3a.jpg" alt="">
Mozilla Firefox Send is a free service open to any user, accessible with any browser, that allows you to securely send a large (up to 2.5GB) file to another internet user. The process is very simple, you upload a file, they provide a unique link that you share with the intended recipient.
The file can be expired after one to one hundred downloads or 1 to 7 days.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/1e2a8c5952.jpg" alt="">
You can also protect the file with a download password
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/971dab0d0f.jpg" alt="">
There are other services but most charge for add on features like download password protection or expiry configuration. Firefox Send is completely free and comes from the fine folks over at Mozilla that we trust.
Mozilla Firefox 67 will allow letterboxing to protect your online identity
September 2016 I wrote an article entitles “Your browser will betray your identity” that discussed the various techniques legitimate (marketers) and illegitimate (threat actors) use to keep track of your identity even if you aren’t logged into any of their sites.
The purpose-built TOR version of the Mozilla Firefox browser has (for a while) implemented a technique called letterboxing to protect users from this type of nefarious identification through browser fingerprinting.
Most browsers allow a site to send client-side javascript code that detects the display size of the browser. This technique is used to create dynamically generated webpages that are optimized for the device size you are using. This is why modern well-designed websites render correctly on large 24" desktop screens and 6" smartphones.
Would you be surprised to learn that this can be one dimension threat actors or marketers can use to start deanonymizing you?
The privacy team behind the TOR project goes to great lengths to maximize your privacy while using their anonymizing network by minimizing your data exhaust while browsing the web. We have seen the Firefox team backport some of these privacy enhancements back into the mainstream Firefox. This backport initiative is called TOR Uplift and started in 2016.
In release 67, expected in May, Firefox will bring letterboxing into the mainstream version (from the TOR one). Letterboxing is a technique of rounding the actual size of the browser window (height and width) down to a multiple of 200 pixels for width and 100 pixels for height. This means more users will have the same window size value making deanonymizing more complicated. Firefox will add grey bars on a side that needs to be padded if the rendered page isn't a perfect fit. If you are more concerned about looks, you will be able to turn off this additional protection technique using a Firefox flag.
In the Bugzilla tracker, Mozilla wrote "Window dimensions are a big source of fingerprintable entropy on the web" & "Maximized windows reveal available screen width and height, excluding toolbars; and full-screen windows reveal screen width and height. Non-maximized windows can allow a strong correlation between two tabs".
Here is a demo of letterboxing while resizing the browser window. Notice the grey added around the rendered page.
The letterboxing feature won’t be turned on by default. Users wanting this extra layer of protection will have to open about:config and enter “privacy.resistFingerprinting” in the config search box and change the setting to “true”.
Smartphone chargers just got a powerful upgrade
This is NOT a sponsored post.
Anker Atom PD-1
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/1ac68fe707.jpg" alt="">
At first glance, the Anker PD-1 may seem unremarkably normal looking. After all, it looks like the small wall charger that came included with your iPhone. It is almost the same size as that iPhone charger, but it delivers a full 30 watts of USBC power (it’s 35-40% smaller than the equivalent MacBook charger).
Ravpower 45W PD Charger
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/89d899c494.jpg" alt="">
Ravpower have taken the same technology to greater heights by designing a slim (14mm) 45 watt USBC charger .
Tell me how this is possible
The go to foundation for many electronic components is silicon. Silicon is in everything from computer processors to chargers, but we needed something better to improve charging speed and efficiency.
This is where gallium nitride (GaN) is making an entrance.
GaN has a theoretical ability to conduct electricity 1000x more quickly than traditional silicon.
GaN also doesn’t get as hot as silicon which means the electricity, not being lost to heat, is used to charge your device faster. It also means we can save 15-20% of worldwide power consumption if all electronic devices switched to GaN.
Since GaN chargers are smaller, they require less material, less packaging and are therefore cheaper to ship.
Why Anker and Ravpower?
What makes the Anker and Ravpower so remarkable is that they are the first major brands to release GaN-based chargers. These are first-generation products so we can expect much power powerful GaN chargers in the future, at a much lower price. Anker and Ravpower are charging a premium for these smaller and lighter devices. As the technology becomes more widely available, expect prices to drop dramatically.
Other uses
2019 should be the year where GaN chargers become commonplace. An optimized iPhone and a GaN charger could charge your device 6x faster than today, in a package the same size.
Like many of you, I travel a lot, and a battery backup is critical. Charging a traditional 9000 mAh battery can take 3-5 hours. I recently started testing the Apollo Pro from Elecjet which is a graphene-infused battery that is capable of fully charging in 20 minutes with a 60W USBC charger. Being able to charge your backup battery while you enjoy a coffee is incredibly freeing. Now imagine what will happen when smartphone manufacturers adopt faster charging graphene batteries paired with faster charging GaN chargers. It will be an unbeatable combo.
We likely won’t see any major brands adopting these two techs for their 2019 models, but I am willing to bet you will see a bunch in 2020, probably starting with the Samsung Galaxy S11.
GrandCrab Ransomware As A Service (RaaS)
What is GrandCrab?
GrandCrab is a successful ransomware that encrypts files on the infected machine and demands payment to decrypt them.
Easy Money
What is you are a horrible human being willing to make gains from the suffering of others but you are lazy. You want to screw other people but don’t want to spend the time setup your own Command and control server? You don’t want to customize the malware to talk to your C2 server?
This is where Ransomware as a Service comes in.
Enter GrandCrab as a Service [gandcr4cponzb2it.onion](http://gandcr4cponzb2it.onion/)
The offering
The GrandCrab RaaS has two tiers:
Standard at $230
Premium at $600
Standard Service
You can change and customize your ransomware
Name of the project
Change the demand of ransom
A description to help the victim in format .HTML, .PHP
You can change the logo, Remove GandCrab logo
You can choose the extension for example photo.png.gdb
Priority support
Automatically updated since the category (Ransom Builder)
The victim can pay you in Bitcoin or Dash
Withdrawal in Bitcoin or Dash
We will touch 10% fees ransom
You can add 3 users different free
You can create 3 ransomware
Victims can you contact by chat directly, you can also ban
You will have news about the dashboard
Geolocation victims infected
Show the IP of the victim
Manage the keys of decryption
You will be able to manage all the victims since the dashboard
With several possibilities
You can infected in unlimited
You can see the blockchain explorer
Spreading automatically without providing any effort or you can also spread manually
You will have full access to our forum with the rank Platinum (forum under construction soon available)
Victim URL automatically generated in .onion customize your own URL
View antivirus report in real time
Lifetime license !
Theme only white
Premium Service
The same features different even more fun
You receive 100% of the ransom paid by the victims no commission fees
Ransomware automatically updated by our support
Victims can you contact by chat directly, you can also ban
Spreading automatically without providing any effort or you can also spread manually
The victim can pay you in Bitcoin or Dash and Monero !
Withdrawal in Bitcoin, Dash, Monero
Automatically increases the ransom if no payment of the victim
Choose your own delete time
Create up to 10 different ransomware
You can add 8 users different free
Make the ransomware in format .pdf
bulletproof hosting, server VPN
Priority support by ticket since dashboard
Change all the logo, An icon in format .ICO, Remove the gandcrab logo, Add an animated logo in .GIF
Manage all the victims since the dashboard
You will have a fully functional 2019 tutorial to teach you, In format .pdf .mp4
Assignment on multiple computers in seconds from the same WIFI network
Undetectable by antivirus update regularly
Victim URL automatically generated in .onion customize your own URL
You can infected in unlimited
Manage the keys of decryption
Change the theme ransomware
You can see the blockchain explorer
Geolocation victims infected
You can also see the operating system
Show the IP of the victim
You will have full access to our forum with the rank Gold (forum under construction soon available)
You will have the ransomware source code, contact us from the dashboard with your login only for premium members
View antivirus report in real time
Crypter fud
Lifetime license !
Theme dashboard white, black
Conclusion
The conclusion is that security is hard and hackers are learning about the benefits of offering “things as a service” and using cloud to reduce costs. Attacking is become cheaper while protecting our organizations is becoming more costly
Exciting new multi-monitor feature coming to Chromebooks
Every professional understands the power of a dual screen setup. The additional real estate enables a more fluid and productive work process.
I use a tone of platforms (mainframe & mini to Mac, Windows and Linux) and I find that ChromeOS handles multi-screen setups with ease and grace. Every time I have hooked an external display to a "good" Chromebook (something that costs $500 or more), it has worked flawlessly immediately without having to fiddle or fine tune.
I have successfully connected 2 external monitors to my Pixelbook at work using a Lenovo USB hub but this isn't something most people will have access to and therefore the 3 monitor option normally isn't used.
We know the sultan of search, El Goog, is working on an elegant solution to solve this 2 external monitor issue using a technology called display daisy chaining. This is something that is known in the industry but not currently supported on ChromeOS. The idea is to connect one USBC monitor to your Chromebook and then connect the second USBC monitor to the first one (as long as the monitor supports it).
This means you can connect (eventually) one cable to your device and everything just works. Technically this daisy chaining will be able to go beyond 2 external monitors to a larger number (as long as your device hardware can push the required number of pixels).
This is a request we have regularly seen in the Chromium forums
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0478a350e7.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/02f7ddfb3a.jpg" alt="">
How do we know it is coming? We know it is coming because we can see a commit for Multi-Stream Transport Support or something called Hatch.
The commit enables a chip to support the Multi-Stream flow and there is a good chance this won’t be enabled on existing older Chromebooks. We know that generically Multi-Stream required DisplayPort 1.2 and a handful of Chromebooks already have it so… There is hope for existing customers. We will just have to wait and see.
Many of you know I love my Pixelbook and may be wondering… “Does the Pixelbook support displayport?”
The answer is that the Pixelbook does support Displayport. The USBC ports on the Pixelbook are of type 3.1 Gen1 and support PowerDelivery (PD), DisplayPort (DP) and HDMI.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/90467aa403.jpg" alt="">
We don’t know which version of ChromeOS this will be enabled in yet. That’s all for this article dear readers. Stay tuned for more cool tech news as I find them.
Google to protect users from IDN Homograph Attacks
What geeks call an International Domain Name Homograph Attack, the general public calls typo-squatting. This is when threat actors buy domain names that are close to popular ones hoping to trick users, examples:
gma1l.com instead of gmail.com
paypa1.com instead of paypal
To help protect users from these tricksters, Google is launching Navigation suggestions for lookalike URLs. Think of this as an AI powered auto-correct for URLs. This feature is in active experimentation in Canary 70 and should enter the mainstream version in the coming months. A google engineer even spoke about it at the Usenix conference.
<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/ad0edfbbcd.jpg" alt="">
If you are one of the courageous experimenters running Canary, you can enable this feature now using this flag:
chrome://flags/#enable-lookalike-url-navigation-suggestions
TorCard selling international bank accounts
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1003”]
TorCard #TOR based #darkMarket is selling bank accounts for about 10% of the accounts balance. Accounts come from the#USA, #Italy , #France , #UK , #Germany and #Spain . aqdkw4qjwponmlt3.onion/Buyaccoun… #Theft #Fraud #Cyber #Security #Infosec [/caption]
TOR Cardshop selling stolen creditcards, Western Union, Moneygram
. A #TOR #Darkweb hidden marketplace is selling stolen #creditcards #Moneygram #WesternUnion & #Paypal balances
[vgw2tqqp622wbtm7.onion](http://vgw2tqqp622wbtm7.onion/)
5 #Visa/#Mastercard CCs for $499. A $7,599 @WesternUnion money transfer for $499. #Fraud #Theft #Security #Cyber #Infosec
CIBC FirstCaribbean VISA Credit Cards sold on the darknet
. @cibc @CIBC_FCIB credit cards being sold on the #TOR #darknet
[sf6pmq4fur5c22hu.onion/Buy-credi...](http://sf6pmq4fur5c22hu.onion/Buy-credit-card.html)
5CCs with $3,200 limit for $650 #Crime #Theft #Security #Cyber #CyberSecurity #Fraud #CreditCard #Bank #VISA
Best USB C Hub for your Pixelbook or PixelSlate
This is not a sponsored post. I was not provided with a sample product and the links are NOT affiliate links.
USB C is a thing of beauty. It means I can travel with one charging brick and charge all of my devices. It truly has been a liberating technology. The only additional accessory I truly need is a good USB C hub.
This is the on question I receive regularly “What is the best USBC hub?” I am not going to pretend this is the “best” for everyone but this is the best one (HooToo USB C Hub, 6-in-1 Premium USB C Adapter with Type C Charging Port, 4K HDMI, Card Reader, 3 x USB 3.0 Ports for MacBook/Pro/Air(2018), Chromebook, and More USB C Devices) I have found and this is the one I grab anytime I am leaving my house (even though I have over 20 available).
This Hub gives me 3 Type-A USB 3.0 ports. This is useful when connecting traditional USB devices like USB keys, external hard drives, etc.
It has an HDMI port (I’ve used it with an HDMI monitor at 30 fps).
It has a USBC cable you plug into your laptop and another one to receive power. It supports up to 100 watts so you can charge any device.
It has a full speed SD and micro-SD Card port.
It seems most other USBC hubs I have tried miss important ports, have slow ports or support low wattage charging. The only additional port I would like added would be a gigabit Ethernet port but I can live without that.