Journal on Noiz

Signal vs WhatsApp: Continuity, Data Control and Compliance

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What is Signal?

Signal is a free, open-source messaging application built by the Signal Foundation, a non-profit organization. It operates without advertising and is funded through donations and grants. The platform is available across Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. While WhatsApp licenses Signal’s encryption protocol, the two applications differ significantly in their surrounding features and design philosophy.

The rise of the dumb phones – and why they're not the answer to digital ID

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Resisting control in a digital age

Across the United Kingdom, the European Union, and beyond, public concern around digital ID systems is growing rapidly. Millions of people are pushing back against government and corporate efforts to link personal identity, banking, and movement to centralized databases. In response, a quiet rebellion has begun — the return of the “dumb” phones.

Also known as “feature phones,” dumb phones are simple devices reminiscent of the early 2000s — models like the classic Nokia 3310. They make calls, send texts, and do little else. For many, they represent an escape from constant tracking and algorithmic manipulation — a symbolic rejection of the “smart” surveillance economy.

Switch to Thunderbird: reasons, benefits, and what to expect

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What makes Thunderbird different

Open source and vendor-neutral: No licensing lock-in or ad-driven features. Thunderbird supports open standards (IMAP/SMTP for mail, CalDAV/CardDAV for calendars and contacts) enabling provider changes without switching tools.
Privacy and security by design: Built-in OpenPGP allows key generation or import for signed or encrypted messages without third-party add-ons. S/MIME support and strong TLS/OAuth2 availability with major providers.

Domain name and hosting: what's the difference and why renewals matter

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the web address people type into their browser to find your website—such as example.ie or example.com. When you register a domain, you are reserving that unique name through a registrar, following policies set by organizations like ICANN (for international domains) and IEDR (for .ie domains in Ireland).

Why you should choose a private email server

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

A private email server delivers superior privacy, resilience, scalability, and customization compared to shared hosting. Once businesses outgrow shared hosting limits, a private server becomes the necessary next step for reliable, secure communication at scale.

Shared hosting as a starting point

Most businesses begin with shared hosting—convenient, affordable, and bundling website and email services together. For small teams with modest needs, this works well. However, as businesses grow, email demands increase with more users, larger attachments, bigger archives, and higher uptime expectations.

Why Noiz supports Thunderbird

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the realm of email communication, selecting the right client is essential for efficiency, security, and alignment with core values such as transparency and user autonomy. At Noiz, a leading provider of shared email hosting and private dedicated email hosting services, the organization advocates for Mozilla Thunderbird as the preferred option. This recommendation arises from its robust features that prioritize open-source principles, privacy, and functionality, making it an ideal complement to reliable hosting solutions.

Privacy Coins: Exploring Monero as a Leading Solution for Financial Anonymity

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What Are Privacy Coins?

Privacy coins are cryptocurrencies designed to enhance user anonymity and obscure transaction details, reducing traceability on the blockchain. Unlike standard cryptocurrencies with transparent ledgers, privacy coins employ advanced cryptographic techniques to conceal sender identities, recipient addresses, and transaction amounts.

Why You Should Enable 2FA Today: Boost Your Online Security with Simple Steps and Free Tools

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What Is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?

2FA is an extra layer of security requiring two forms of verification before granting account access. Typically, this includes:

Something you know: Like your password.
Something you have: Such as a code generated on your phone or a hardware key.

Unlike single-factor authentication, 2FA makes it much harder for hackers to break in, even if they steal your credentials.

National security at risk: unencrypted emails routed through foreign infrastructure

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

During a recent investigation into the infrastructure of some of South Africa’s major ISPs, researchers discovered that a significant portion of South Africa’s email communications are being routed through SpamExperts’ servers. SpamExperts is a third-party email filtering service provided by N-Able (formerly SolarWinds MSP), headquartered in Austin, Texas.

It's tax scam time again: protect yourself from fraud

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Identifying tax scams

Most scams have two key elements: fear and urgency. Scammers will try to scare you into acting quickly, claiming that you owe money or that your refund is at risk. Be cautious of emails, phone calls, and text messages that:

[noiz] – send | secure file sharing

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Exciting news! A new online file sharing tool similar to WeTransfer has just launched. You can access it at send.noiz.co.za.

Why?

Email was never designed for sending large digital files. In today’s data-centric world, the need to send large digital files and documents has grown beyond email’s capabilities.

Never waste a good outage

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Much of the world experienced two massive IT system outages affecting business and critical infrastructure across the US, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, UK, Australia and beyond.

What Caused the Outage

The outage impacted millions of users and services, including:

Major banks
Payment systems
Transportation systems
Telecommunications
Mainstream media outlets

Millions of Windows machines displayed the “Blue Screen Of Death” (BSOD), creating what the article describes as “the largest systems failure in history.” Notably, Unix and Linux-based machines were not affected.

Use Signal – Why we ditched WhatsApp and switched to Signal

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

What’s wrong with WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging platforms, owned and developed by Meta (formerly Facebook). It uses the Signal protocol for its alleged end-to-end encryption. However, Noiz identifies several major issues:

WhatsApp is not truly end-to-end encrypted

According to an anonymous interview between Noiz’s founder and a law enforcement official, Meta provides specific port access that allows law enforcement worldwide to access and read user messages, listen to calls, and collect various device data. This backdoor access violates individuals’ privacy rights and exposes users to broader cyberattacks.

Windows 10 is dead, and I could not be happier

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I wish I could say that I am sad to see the end of Windows 10, but I am just not.

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on the 25th of October 2025, and I am abuzz with excitement!

After October the 25th 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide updates or technical support for Windows 10, as it reaches its much anticipated end of life (Yay!).

The Hidden Wiki

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What is “The Hidden Wiki”?

The Hidden Wiki is a website accessible via the Tor browser, functioning as “an index of some of the most popular and useful so-called ‘dark web’ sites, and links to the .onion address of some incredible resources.”

How do I access The Hidden Wiki?

To access the site, download the Tor browser from https://www.torproject.org/, then navigate to the v3 domain: http://zqktlwiuavvvqqt4ybvgvi7tyo4hjl5xgfuvpdf6otjiycgwqbym2qad.onion/

How to install Monero Wallet on GNU/Linux

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Monero represents a decentralized cryptocurrency emphasizing user privacy. The Monero Wallet, available across most operating systems and Linux systems specifically, offers both graphical and command-line interfaces. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for downloading, verifying, and installing Monero Wallet on major Linux distributions.

Learning Objectives

Download Monero Wallet
Verify download integrity
Install Monero Wallet GUI and CLI versions on Linux

How to install Monero Wallet on Linux (GUI & CLI)

Requirements

Category	Details
System	All GNU/Linux Distributions
Software	Monero Wallet GUI or CLI
Access	Root privileges or sudo command

Command conventions:

Switching from Windows to Linux

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

One of the most common questions about Linux concerns software compatibility. While exact Windows applications may not be available on Linux, numerous alternatives exist for popular programs.

This guide explores the best Linux applications as replacements for Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Photoshop, Adobe Reader, Windows Media Player, and more.

Alternative to the Microsoft Office Suite

LibreOffice — http://www.libreoffice.org
Open Office — https://www.openoffice.org
Calligra — https://www.calligra.org
AbiWord — http://www.abisource.com
Gnumeric — http://www.gnumeric.org

Alternative to Notepad / Wordpad Text Editors

gedit — https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gedit
Sublime Text — http://www.sublimetext.com
Notepadqq — https://notepadqq.com/s/

Alternatives to Edge or Internet Explorer Web Browsers

Chromium — https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/
Firefox — https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
Brave — https://brave.com/

Alternatives to Photoshop Graphics Editor

Gimp — http://www.gimp.org
Inkscape — http://www.inkscape.org
Krita — https://krita.org

Alternatives to Movie Maker Video Editor

OpenShot — http://www.openshot.org
Kdenlive — http://www.kdenlive.org
Shotcut — http://www.shotcut.org
VideoLAN Movie Creator — http://www.videolan.org/vlmc
Cinelerra — http://cinelerra.org
Open Movie Editor — http://www.openmovieeditor.org
Pitivi — http://www.pitivi.org

Windows Media Player Video Viewer

VLC — http://www.videolan.org/vlc
Mplayer — http://www.mplayerhq.hu/
Parole Media Player — http://docs.xfce.org/apps/parole/start
SMPlayer — http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/
KPlayer — http://www.kde.org/applications/multimedia/kplayer

Alternatives to Adobe Reader PDF Reader

Adobe Reader (For Linux) — http://get.adobe.com/reader
Evince — https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evince
Okular — http://okular.kde.org
Foxit Reader — http://www.foxitsoftware.com

Alternative to Windows Photo Viewer Photo Manager

digiKam — https://www.digikam.org
Shotwell — https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Shotwell
F Spot — http://f-spot.org
gThumb — https://wiki.gnome.org/action/show/Apps/gthumb

Alternatives to Yahoo Messenger / AOL Instant Messenger Chat Clients

Pidgin — https://www.pidgin.im
Element — https://element.io/
Empathy — https://wiki.gnome.org/action/show/Apps/Empathy
Kopete — http://kopete.kde.org
Gajim — http://gajim.org

Alternative to Nero Burning Rom CD/DVD Burner

Nero Linux — http://www.nero.com/enu/promo-linux.html
Brasero — https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Brasero
K3b — http://www.k3b.org
Xfburn — http://goodies.xfce.org/projects/applications/xfburn
GnomeBaker — http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnomebaker
X CD Roast — http://www.xcdroast.org

Good Alternative Search Engines to DuckDuckGone

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

DuckDuckGo has positioned itself as a “privacy” respecting alternative to Google search. However, millions of internet users are now searching for alternative search engines to what is being called DuckDuckGone.

Users who value privacy also naturally consider free speech and censorship resistance when seeking reliable information. Privacy and censorship resistance complement each other. Since DuckDuckGo decided to act as an arbiter of truth rather than maintain its privacy-focused position, many are exploring other options.

How to use Monero (XMR)

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Monero is a privacy respecting electronic cash that allows for fast, inexpensive payments to and from anywhere in the world where every transaction is private and completely untraceable.

A Case for Private Cryptocurrency

Sat, 26 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bitcoin is NOT private.

Every bitcoin transaction is stored in an immutable public blockchain ledger, functioning as a public financial database. Anyone with basic knowledge and internet access can view all transactions associated with a public bitcoin address by using a blockchain explorer.

Why does privacy matter?

There are two common responses to privacy concerns: “I have nothing to hide” and the idea that transparency prevents government and criminal wrongdoing.