Damus

Recent Notes

darkvegas profile picture
Most folks don't get it: you can encrypt anything with GPG, the gold standard pre-installed on every major OS and built by cypher-dinosaurs before you were even born. So stop trusting web-based scams for encrypting your files because you can't easily verify the browser's encryption code even if a website claims to host an official instance of an open source tool or promises e2e encryption of your emails.

Instead, let's teach you some GPG before you leak your dick pics.

We can encrypt files using soy GUI apps like Cleopatra (desktop) and PGPony (mobile), but since we are grown adults, let's do it the CLI way.

### Encrypt with a password

Encrypt a file with a password:

```
gpg -c nothing-to-see.jpg
```

Send a result. She can decrypt with:

```
gpg nothing-to-see.jpg.gpg
```

Done. No external services. You can close this article.

---

Now, if you really wanna feel like a hacker, then here are a few more tips for you.


### Mobile

Android: get a non-root terminal emulator like [Termux](https://termux.dev/) via F-Droid/Obtanium.

iSlave: get Android, then see above.

```
# install gpg
pkg install gnupg
```

Your primary file manager app should auto-detect a default folder of the terminal emulator, so you should be able to copy and move files with GUI, and execute the same commands to encrypt/decrypt files like `gpg -c`.

If your file manager is too dumb to find a terminal folder, then try another one.

### Encrypt with a pubkey

If your recipient is a paranoid nerd or just a regular darknet junkie, then he probably has a PGP key, which you can use to encrypt a file. By the way, GPG and PGP are usually used interchangeably, but don't ask me why.

```
# Download and add PGP to your keyring
curl https://dark.vegas/darkvegas.asc | gpg --import

# Or just import a pubkey file if you already have it
gpg --import darkvegas.asc

# Check recipient's key
gpg --list-keys darkvegas
gpg --list-keys | grep dark

# Encrypt msg.txt using recipient's pubkey
gpg -e -a --recipient [email protected] -o encrypted_msg.txt msg.txt
```

Your totally normal bestie from the internet can decrypt a file with:

```
gpg --decrypt encrypted_msg.txt
```

### Bundle multiple files

If you need to send many files, then compress them into a single archive with **tar** or **zip** before encryption.

```
# bundle multiple files with tar
tar -czvf happy-valentines.tar.gz 50-cent-in-da-club.mp3 50-cent-candy-shop.mp3

# or archive a full folder with zip (add -e for password encryption)
zip -r -e music-for-babe.zip music_folder/
```

### Hide text in images

Finally, if you really want to impress your totally normal crush, then you can hide your message in an image. It's called steganography. Remember how Mr. Robot was hiding data in music CDs? Yeah, that was steganography.

Firstly, install **steghide**, then:

```
# embed emb.txt in cvr.jpg using a password
steghide embed -cf cvr.jpg -ef emb.txt
```

Your crush can then extract a message with:

```
steghide extract -sf stg.jpg
```

Keep in mind that an embedded file should be much smaller than the cover image, so steghide is mostly used for embedding short text messages. In other words, don't try to embed a huge dick pic into a tiny cover image.

### Triple protection

And for fully paranoid tinfoils, you can encrypt your file with zip, then gpg, and finally embed it into a cover image, but good luck finding friends then.

And don't forget about a [$5 wrench](https://xkcd.com/538/), bro.

---

Tired of fake privacy influencers selling you Proton, Nord, Apple, Mastodon, Signal, Matrix, and Incogni?

Visit [dark.vegas](https://dark.vegas) - a cypherpunk hub for free men.
darkvegas profile picture
Codeberg has always been a centralized slave tech controlled by compliant statists based in a hostile jurisdiction. The platform doesn't provide self-custody of identities, meaning that any project can be censored.

Unfortunately, the FOSS community pretended for too long that Codeberg was a better alternative to Github, another centralized slave tech, despite having exactly the same account-based legacy architecture that relied on email addresses and passwords. However, things are rapidly changing as Codeberg revealed its true face by censoring all cryptocurrency projects.
https://codeberg.org/Codeberg/org/pulls/1254

Don't be a lazy compliant slave, transition to self-hosted and p2p git options - https://dark.vegas/git
Poppy · 2w
Lettssgo baby 😎 β€’ Highlights from 100+ speakers across technology, civil society and academia. β€’ The ideas shaping the next generation of privacy infrastructure. β€’ Key talks from Tor Project...
darkvegas profile picture
"Without privacy these is no democracy"

Workshops are good, fundraising is great, but this slogan is horrible. Somebody should explain W3PN what democracy is and how we ended up in this dystopian future with the full agreement of the silent majority.
1❀️1
Poppy · 2w
Should be "Without privacy, there is no Sovereignty"
darkvegas profile picture
Signal is a centralized platform with a legacy account-based permissioned architecture controlled by a compliant company based in a hostile jurisdiction that leaks metadata, requires a phone number, doesn't provide self-custody of digital identities, and is capable of censoring its users.

In other words, Signal is the most notorious hoax in the privacy community, functioning as a technical IQ test that all average "experts" consistently fail.

Full review: https://dark.vegas/signal
2
God · 2w
Signal is WhatsApp with privacy features.
nostrich · 1w
DNMs don't use Signal. That says it all.
note12g6fa...
darkvegas profile picture
"Nonprofit" is just a buzzword to hide the fact that Codeberg has the same legacy account-based centralized architecture with mutable events as Github. At the end of the day, both are businesses that must earn enough to pay the bills. Besides, nonprofits can bend the laws by distributing significant revenues through high salaries. In fact, many nonprofits have top executives earning millions in salaries.
❀️1
darkvegas profile picture
Github and Codeberg are centralized platforms with legacy account-based architectures controlled by compliant companies based in hostile jurisdictions. Both platforms fit perfectly into a "slave tech" definition because of their legacy account-based permissioned architectures with mutable events that rely on email addresses without providing self-custody and censorship-resistance.

However, Codeberg has a slightly better reputation in the FOSS community despite having exactly the same broken architecture as Github. Using both Github and Codeberg as mirrors is fine, but pretending one is superior is just hypocrisy and laziness. If you actually develop something important that demands censorship-resistance, then go fully independent with self-hosted or p2p options.

Find better git alternatives at https://dark.vegas/git
11πŸŽ‰2πŸš€1
God · 2w
Germany is even worse, I don't understand why people choose Codeberg.
darkvegas profile picture
Most grants in the Ethereum ecosystem demand KYC, signaling that sponsors prioritize compliance over developer safety in today's hostile environment. When regulators crack down, VC-backed web3 companies and the Ethereum Foundation rush to fund legal defenses, yet the same entities require full KYC for trivial public goods grants. Besides, many of these "public goods" projects stay within Ethereum's borders, primarily benefiting ETH bag holders.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau01f4d16f467daabe825f38a14466dcdfe5dfe2fc48a544815a6194dad2538f4d61.mp3

Don't be fooled, Ethereum operates as a closed ecosystem competing with other networks like any VC-backed L2 or traditional blockchain, focused on user capture and revenue extraction. Its design mandates one private key and relies on a single settlement chain, lacking native interoperability.

When developers face consequences next time and companies rush to "rescue" them for good PR, we should remind people that these exact companies cultivated the very environment that leaves developers exposed. It's like western corporations going woke when it's fashionable, then pivoting conservative under new government pressure - principles bend to convenience, not conviction.

To learn more about the grim state of web3 and how VC-backed compliant companies are leeching on the Ethereum ecosystem, you can listen to the full episode of [Dark Vegas Tales #1: Ethereum runs on slave tech](https://dark.vegas/news/spasmid01c926546a09a129895305e2852b6cf0e4395d0c7dfa313f9624f999dd9c99beec).

And don't be a compliant slave, subscribe with your podcast app using this [RSS feed](https://dark.vegas/api/events?format=rss&activity=all&action=post&signer=0x404a313df99cb82425dccdbb1db07a88b2c165ec&signer=npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen).

Dark Vegas Tales on [Spasm](https://dark.vegas), [Nostr](https://njump.me/npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen), and IPFS: darkvegas.eth
2πŸŽ‰1πŸš€1πŸ«‚1
The slab · 24w
The institutionalization of decentralized protocols represents a strategic retreat into legacy paradigms. When identity is mandated for the distribution of resources, the protocol ceases to be a neutral substrate and becomes a digital jurisdiction. This transition prioritizes short-term legal stabil...
nostrich · 1w
#FreeRoman
darkvegas profile picture
Each Uniswap protocol is a masterpiece of its time, but Uniswap Labs chose to operate in the most hostile jurisdiction and rely on a centralized infrastructure to run its frontend, which geo-blocks users by IP addresses and employs blockchain surveillance services like BlockAid that operate on a presumption of guilt.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau0153536ce6e413b1bfb4b0fae4bb8053ca13768ae324d90b682d51909bae5681ea.mp3

Uniswap also uses restrictive Business Source License that legitimizes the bullshit system, which is based on coercion, censorship, law enforcement, absurd concepts like "intellectual property", and it gives more power to the state to decide what information can be shared. Besides, Uniswap enforces anti-free speech laws across the world on behalf of one nation state government.

In 2020, Uniswap Labs panicked during the SushiSwap vampire attack and printed an unnecessary, inflationary governance token to keep liquidity from fleeing. Predictably, UNI lost 90% from its all-time high during a 2021 altcoin season pump. Only now, five years later, UNI is trying to fix its tokenomics with a burn mechanism to appease bagholders.

To its credit, Uniswap fixed a few issues shortly after the original podcast episode made waves across the crypto space. For example, Uniswap unbanned DPI and many other tokens and removed the "impersonator" flag from the SPASM token.

To learn more about the grim state of web3 and how VC-backed compliant companies are leeching on the Ethereum ecosystem, you can listen to the full episode of [Dark Vegas Tales #1: Ethereum runs on slave tech](https://dark.vegas/news/spasmid01c926546a09a129895305e2852b6cf0e4395d0c7dfa313f9624f999dd9c99beec).

And don't be a compliant slave, subscribe with your podcast app using this [RSS feed](https://dark.vegas/api/events?format=rss&activity=all&action=post&signer=0x404a313df99cb82425dccdbb1db07a88b2c165ec&signer=npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen).

Dark Vegas Tales on [Spasm](https://dark.vegas), [Nostr](https://njump.me/npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen), and IPFS: darkvegas.eth
πŸŽ‰1
darkvegas profile picture
The Bankless shills sold you off to slave tech and VCs. They position themselves at the forefront of the web3 revolution, but they use banking, paywall their website behind SlaveFi payment methods, run their own compliant VC, advertise custodial exchanges with mandatory KYC, advertise tax paying services and VC-backed slave tech dressed in web3 clothing. They also legitimize state legal systems that operate without consent, applaud state-led crackdowns on fellow degens like Do Kwon and promote stablecoins, which are centralized wrappers for fiat and nation state debt.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau01ef6c94bf6b9d8f329423678c9a69e9807da9419fb9cd9188b51b7330400cc744.mp3

We have enough tools to escape the slave tech and build Agorist parallel financial systems, but you will never hear about that on the Bankless podcast because that doesn't pay well. For a deeper dive into the freedom tech, listen to the full episode of [Dark Vegas Tales #1: Ethereum runs on slave tech](https://dark.vegas/news/spasmid01c926546a09a129895305e2852b6cf0e4395d0c7dfa313f9624f999dd9c99beec).

And don't be a compliant slave, subscribe with your podcast app using this [RSS feed](https://dark.vegas/api/events?format=rss&activity=all&action=post&signer=0x404a313df99cb82425dccdbb1db07a88b2c165ec&signer=npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen).

Dark Vegas Tales on [Spasm](https://dark.vegas), [Nostr](https://njump.me/npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen), and IPFS: darkvegas.eth
21πŸŽ‰2πŸš€1
God · 2w
Why did they even call themselves Bankless if they never intended to actually stop using banks?
nostrich · 1w
Bankfull
darkvegas profile picture
Gitcoin is a fully compliant US-based centralized platform that requires KYC, pushes slave passport, uses a socialist implementation of quadratic funding that heavily relies on slave tech, and blocks open source developers if they were born in "wrong" countries.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau0150b93506d1a99e31256329bea3aba399349b803ec6aa4293acd35fbf932d4aa3.mp3

For a deeper dive into this topic, listen to the full episode at [Dark Vegas Tales #1: Ethereum runs on slave tech](https://dark.vegas/news/spasmid01c926546a09a129895305e2852b6cf0e4395d0c7dfa313f9624f999dd9c99beec).

And don't be a compliant slave, subscribe with your podcast app using [RSS feed](https://dark.vegas/api/events?format=rss&activity=all&action=post&signer=0x404a313df99cb82425dccdbb1db07a88b2c165ec&signer=npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen).
darkvegas profile picture
Following the 2020 DeFi Summer, the emerging web3 wallet authentication method known as "Sign-in with Ethereum" began gaining traction across the crypto ecosystem. Despite being widely promoted by industry leaders as a revolutionary web3 solution, this approach fundamentally relies on the same account-based centralized architecture that underpins traditional web2 platforms. As a result, many VC-backed platforms adopted this authentication method while maintaining their centralized infrastructures, rather than reimagining their architectures to support genuinely open ecosystems.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau010be42f0c5735d47070d770876dbc15bd6d4a71373d5f2a5ffbb407da4814c644.mp3

A truly decentralized web3 solution would require direct signing of all online interactions without intermediary account systems. Learn more about direct signing at [spasm.network](https://spasm.network)

For a deeper dive into this topic, listen to the full episode of [Dark Vegas Tales #1: Ethereum runs on slave tech](https://dark.vegas/news/spasmid01c926546a09a129895305e2852b6cf0e4395d0c7dfa313f9624f999dd9c99beec).

And don't be a compliant slave, subscribe with your podcast app using [RSS feed](https://dark.vegas/api/events?format=rss&activity=all&action=post&signer=0x404a313df99cb82425dccdbb1db07a88b2c165ec&signer=npub1c7atcdzugulqq2x8cufyycs593pmlcg85zl7gfrrgza4gyazcnqsdn5zen).
darkvegas profile picture
In this first episode of Dark Vegas Tales, we discuss how VC-backed compliant companies are leeching off the Ethereum ecosystem, and how adversaries are trying to hijack the cypherpunk movement with the slave tech dressed in web3 clothing.

https://media.dark.vegas/spasmau0128a0be13f78f96064dd425f0f87ee04886627b0be13836277f558b73cb841659.mp3

The episode is over 2 hours long, so you can download the mp3 file to listen with your favorite podcast app.
21πŸŽ‰1πŸ‘€1πŸ˜‚1πŸš€1πŸ«‚1
nostrich · 1w
Dark Vegas Tales: Episode II - Attack of Vitalik's cocksuckers.
Imaginaero · 1w
The parallels with early venture capital’s absorption of decentralized networks are remarkably clear; a similar dynamic is unfolding now, prioritizing short-term gains over genuine protocol resilience.