Software – Purism https://puri.sm/ High-quality computers that protect your freedom and privacy Wed, 01 Oct 2025 18:29:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.28 https://puri.sm/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-purism-logo-rectangle-1-32x32.png Software – Purism https://puri.sm/ 32 32 Purism Approach vs. Google Model https://puri.sm/posts/purism-approach-vs-google-model/ Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:24:00 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=84519 The Justice Department and a coalition of states are pursuing antitrust action against Google, accusing it of running monopolistic ad-tech systems that exploit users and lock out competition. Regulators are weighing remedies that could force structural changes to Google’s ad empire.

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]]> Spotify “Panama” Leak Is a Wake-Up Call for Digital Privacy https://puri.sm/posts/spotify-panama-leak-is-a-wake-up-call-for-digital-privacy/ Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:00:10 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=84360 The New York Times recently reported that a hacker using the pseudonym “Tim” scraped publicly available data from Spotify and published it on his own website. Using automated bots, “Tim” harvested user playlists — many of them tied to identifiable names, locations, and even personal notes in titles or descriptions.

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]]> Google Mishandling School Children’s Data https://puri.sm/posts/google-mishandling-school-childrens-data/ Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:31:21 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=84364 When Google agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its unauthorized collection of children’s data on YouTube, it wasn’t a revelation—it was a confirmation. A confirmation that Google’s public posture of compliance often masks a deeper, more calculated strategy: delayed monetization through long-tail data mining.

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]]> Invisible Dependencies, Visible Damage: The Case for Supply Chain Hygiene https://puri.sm/posts/invisible-dependencies-visible-damage-the-case-for-supply-chain-hygiene/ Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:13:20 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=84291 On September 8th, Check Point Research confirmed what many of us in the privacy and security trenches have been warning about for years: the weakest link in your security posture may not be your systems at all — it may be the invisible web of third-party integrations you’ve tacitly approved, often without full visibility into their downstream dependencies.

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]]> Instagram’s Mapping Feature: A Privacy Wake-Up Call https://puri.sm/posts/instagrams-mapping-feature-a-privacy-wake-up-call/ Wed, 13 Aug 2025 01:38:59 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=84003 Instagram’s latest update introduces a mapping feature that quietly turns your location into a public breadcrumb trail. While it may seem like a harmless way to tag your favorite coffee shop or scenic overlook, the reality is more insidious: this feature keeps your location sharing always-on by default. That means every time you post, you’re potentially broadcasting your whereabouts—not just to friends, but to advertisers, data brokers, and anyone else watching. It’s a textbook example of how convenience is weaponized against privacy.

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]]> Hidden Operating Systems in Chips vs. Secure, Auditable OSes: A Cybersecurity Comparison https://puri.sm/posts/hidden-operating-systems-in-chips-vs-secure-auditable-oses-a-cybersecurity-comparison/ Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:18:36 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=83347 The Threat Beneath: The Invisible Operating Systems Inside Your Devices Beneath the surface of nearly every modern computer lies a hidden threat—one most users never see or control. Today’s Intel and AMD processors ship with embedded subsystems like the Intel Management Engine (ME) and AMD’s Platform Security Processor (PSP)—proprietary, low-level firmware environments that operate outside and below your main operating system.

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]]> The Case for Free/Libre and Open-Source Software: Enhancing Security and Privacy in the Digital Age https://puri.sm/posts/the-case-for-free-libre-and-open-source-software-enhancing-security-and-privacy-in-the-digital-age/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 20:23:39 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=82548 Given the 21st century world’s reliance on digital technology, it should go without saying that privacy and security are pressing concerns — for individuals as well as federal and corporate entities. With an abundance of tools at our disposal, however, how do we make informed decisions about which to use to best ensure sensitive information is safe from prying eyes? At Purism, we advocate for the use of Free/Libre and Open-Source Software (FLOSS / OSS) as a cornerstone of any secure and private digital environment.

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]]> Smartphones Leaking Data https://puri.sm/posts/smartphones-leaking-data/ Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:45:36 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=82417 When you use smartphones from big tech companies, you’re often trading your privacy for convenience. These devices are designed to collect vast amounts of data about you, from your location to your browsing habits, and even your conversations. This data is then used to build detailed profiles that are sold to advertisers, used to exploit you, and even handed over to government agencies without your knowledge nor consent.

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]]> Avoiding a Monoculture with Secure Diverse Technology https://puri.sm/posts/avoiding-a-monoculture-with-secure-diverse-technology/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:28:08 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=82237 In the world of technology, diversity is not just a virtue, but a necessity. At Purism, a company dedicated to creating secure, privacy-respecting, and freedom-preserving digital solutions, we are deeply concerned about the growing trend of reliance on just a handful of operating systems (OSs). This monoculture in the OS landscape poses significant risks to our digital security, privacy, and freedom [...]

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]]> PureOS Optional Subscription Added to Advance Development https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-optional-subscription-added-to-advance-development/ Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:56:50 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=81968 PureOS—the alternative convergent operating system by Purism—is adding an optional subscription to advance development. The three monthly subscription tiers are: PureOS Subscription Standard $5.99/mo PureOS Subscription Premium $9.99/mo PureOS Subscription Expert $19.99/mo Purism funds a lot of Linux and Free/Libre and Open Source software including: inventing true convergence, working tirelessly to push all changes into […]

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]]> Free-Software Purism Game Jam https://puri.sm/posts/free-software-purism-game-jam/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:52:40 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=81850 The first Purism Free Software Game Jam is right around the corner, scheduled for June 10th! This event is designed to promote freedom-respecting software through the creation of video games. Purism understands that it’s not just tools that should be open source; games play a vital role in inspiring the next generation of developers to […]

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]]> Easy App Development: Text Forwarding https://puri.sm/posts/easy-app-development-text-forwarding/ Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:55:29 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=81337 Unlike an Android or IOS phone, the Librem 5 and Liberty Phones are easily scriptable. You can bend your phone software to your will in a variety of programming languages. In this Easy App Development blog, we’ll cover making a text-forwarding system. Elements covered here can be used to take full control of your phone’s […]

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]]> Retain Your Control and Customize Everything with Modular Software https://puri.sm/posts/retain-your-control-and-customize-everything-with-modular-software/ Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:21:57 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=81327 It’s not just the Librem 5’s or The Liberty Phone hardware that’s modular. The OS itself is incredibly modular and fully editable to your will. Our defaults and preinstalled apps are well thought out and secure, but it’s just our suggestion of software to use, not a requirement by any means. Software Smorgasbord Gives the […]

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]]> PureOS Unaffected by ext4 Data Corruption Bug https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-unaffected-by-ext4-data-corruption-bug/ Tue, 02 Jan 2024 15:57:28 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80972 The Recent ext4 Data Corruption Bug A few days ago an ext4 filesystem bug in stable kernels was found in stable kernels that can corrupt data. Such a bug in a filesystem is one of the worst one can imagine. Nobody likes losing data. Ext4 is also very widely used; it’s the default for Debian […]

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]]> Purism and Linux 6.5 to 6.7 https://puri.sm/posts/purism-and-linux-6-5-to-6-7/ Fri, 22 Dec 2023 16:02:46 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=81040 It’s time to report on code flowing upstream again: Following up on our report for Linux 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 this summarizes the progress on mainline support for the Librem 5 phone and its development kit during the 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 development cycles. hardware description updates It’s crucial to describe our boards correctly and […]

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]]> Opportunistic Word Completion https://puri.sm/posts/opportunistic-word-completion/ Thu, 21 Dec 2023 18:57:26 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80994 I make lots of typos so I need computers to correct those for me as much as possible. That especially showed when leaving my laptop at home more only picking the up the Librem 5. Longer texts would just end in a catastrophe. That needed to change and hence I added completion support to an […]

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]]> Nasty Software https://puri.sm/posts/nasty-software/ Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:54:13 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80979 Phones aren’t built to protect the end user, though it might they should be because they are part of everyday life. Most modern phones are actually built with the idea of exploiting the end user by analyzing and categorizing you and then selling who you are to others. This is called surveillance capitalism. It’s where […]

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]]> Working with the Librem 14 https://puri.sm/posts/working-with-the-librem-14/ Wed, 22 Nov 2023 22:16:55 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80717 Last year, I got the idea of showcasing the power of the Librem 14 by making a professional quality commercial video of it. This video would be made entirely with the Librem 14 itself. It would include everything that I love doing, which is 3D animations, 2D (hand drawn) animations, real world cinematic shots, all […]

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]]> The Real Speed of the Librem 5 https://puri.sm/posts/the-real-speed-of-the-librem-5/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 16:16:12 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80638 The core CPU in the Librem 5 and Liberty phone sounds slow at 1.5 GHz. Especially compared to the new phones just coming out with a speed of twice that. But the number of operations per second the CPU can handle is just the story’s start; it’s not a direct correlation to user experience. In […]

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]]> Android’s Monolithic and Bloated Upgrades vs Purism’s Rolling Upgrades https://puri.sm/posts/androids-monolithic-and-bloated-upgrades-vs-purisms-rolling-upgrades/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:11:03 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80569 Fundamentally, all our Purism devices running PureOS receive regular updates to apps and the core OS the same way. Each component of PureOS can be upgraded individually at any time. In contrast, Android has a read-only root filesystem for day-to-day use. As a consequence, Android phones only see a few upgrades and a limited number […]

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]]> PureBoot 28 – Upstreaming and Upscaling https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-28-upstreaming-and-upscaling/ Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:24:25 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80283 We have released PureBoot 28 with many improvements, particularly for high resolution displays.  Prior-generation devices like Librem Mini v1 and Librem 15v4 improved as well. Update now using our update instructions! In addition, we have been working to upstream PureBoot’s functionality back into Heads. Purism works with upstream projects rather than carrying patches downstream to […]

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]]> PureOS on Liberty Phone and Librem 5 https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-on-liberty-phone-and-librem-5/ Thu, 07 Sep 2023 15:57:24 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80284 With the Librem 5 just hitting shipping parity and Purism holding stock for new purchases, it was time for an updated review of the tremendous progress our team has made with PureOS for the Librem 5 and Liberty Phone with Made in USA Electronics.  Here we will talk about the good, bad, and lasting effects of PureOS […]

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]]> Purism and Linux 6.2 to 6.4 https://puri.sm/posts/purism-and-linux-6-2-to-6-4/ Thu, 13 Jul 2023 19:24:45 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=80018 It’s time to report on code flowing upstream again: Following up on our report for Linux 5.19, 6.0 and 6.1 this summarizes the progress on mainline support for the Librem 5 phone and its development kit during the 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4 development cycles. Librem 5 hardware description updates It’s crucial to describe our boards […]

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]]> PureBoot Framebuffer Boot Support https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-framebuffer-boot-support/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 13:00:46 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79869 The latest release of PureBoot, Release 27, now boots memtest86+, Debian netinst, and other OSes that rely on framebuffer output! We worked with the Heads team to implement this change upstream, and it is now in our latest release. Update your firmware with our update instructions! If you’ve ever tried to boot from PureBoot, and […]

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]]> PureOS 10.3 UI and Camera https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-10-3-ui-and-camera/ Thu, 29 Jun 2023 18:16:27 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79910 Most companies abandon hardware soon after launch, but we have a different approach with the Librem 5. With every upgrade to PureOS we push on the Librem 5, the more the device can do and the more efficient it gets. PureOS 10.3 packs in a lot of new goodies. The User interface Phosh continues to […]

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]]> PureOS 10.3 Power Optimization https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-10-3-power-optimization/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:51:02 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79637 With PureOS 10.3, power saving and new goodies is the name of the game. Most companies abandon hardware soon after launch, but we have a different approach with the Librem 5.  With every upgrade to PureOS we push on the Librem 5, the more the device can do and the more efficient it gets. One […]

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]]> DHS Security Report: Data Security & Privacy At The OS Level https://puri.sm/posts/dhs-security-report-data-security-privacy-at-the-os-level/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:38:39 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79467 Data security and end user privacy requires focusing on the operating system (OS) that supports smartphones, tablet PCs, connected products, IoT/IIoT devices, wearable tech, and PCs. The Problem- Leaky Operating Systems and Intrusive Apps Intrusive app and social media developers, plus nation-state hackers, know that one of the largest gateways to the smartphone or PC […]

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]]> Protect Infrastructure with Librem L1UM v2 (Press Release) https://puri.sm/posts/protect-infrastructure-with-librem-l1um-v2-press-release/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:58:34 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79187 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- Purism has added a new model to the Librem L1UM product line with new hardware designed to protect infrastructure, including critical infrastructure. There are numerous threats posed by nation-state hackers, criminal organizations, and bad actors who are constantly exploiting vulnerabilities within networks that operate critical infrastructure posing numerous security, privacy, and safety […]

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]]> Introducing Flatpaks on PureOS https://puri.sm/posts/introducing-flatpaks-on-pureos/ Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:18:20 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=79006 If you are using PureOS or any other GNU/Linux distribution you’re probably already familiar with Flatpaks, but if not, here’s a short introduction: Flatpak is a convenient way to distribute apps on GNU/Linux. It allows for a much faster development cycle compared to other distribution systems and it increases security, because software runs inside a […]

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]]> Repo stats https://puri.sm/posts/repo-stats/ Fri, 07 Apr 2023 18:14:18 +0000 https://puri.sm/?p=77432 It’s no secret that I will take any opportunity to look in the warped mirror of statistics to glean insights on myself. I did it before for squeekboard, and I dug into the prehistory of my browser tabs. Recently, a new tool appeared, called Git-Heat-Map, and I asked the statistical crystal ball some questions. Which […]

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