Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

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Free & Open Source Software Feb 14, 2022

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You may not know it, but our world has already been basically taken over by free and open source software, or FOSS - specifically, the Linux operating system. Just about every single electronic appliance or device today, from your smartphone to your smart toaster, is running some flavor of the Linux operating system. Furthermore, open source software projects are the bedrock of many for-profit software applications, operating systems, mobile apps and web apps. It's everywhere, and yet you probably know very little about it. Today, Sean O'Brien will give us a little FOSS history lesson, explain why supporting this movement is so important, and even tell us how we might replace some pricey and user-hostile popular software with top-notch free and open alternatives. Sean O’Brien is a lecturer in Cybersecurity at Yale Law School and Chief Security Officer at Panquake.com He is a Visiting Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, where he founded and leads the Privacy Lab initiative. He has been involved in Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) for approximately two decades, including volunteer work for the Free Software Foundation and FreedomBox Foundation. Show Links Panquake: https://panquake.com/ Yale Privacy Lab: https://privacylab.yale.edu/ It’s FOSS website: https://itsfoss.com/ Free Software Foundation: https://www.fsf.org/ Intro to Linux classes: https://itsfoss.com/free-linux-training-courses/ Windows Subsystem for Linux: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about System 76: https://system76.com/Purism: https://puri.sm/ Lineage OS: https://lineageos.org/Graphene OS: https://grapheneos.org/ Calyx OS: https://calyxos.org/ F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/ LibreOffice: https://www.libreoffice.org/ VLC Media Player: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/ Audacity audio editor: https://www.audacityteam.org/GIMP photo editor: https://www.gimp.org/ Inkscape illustrator: https://inkscape.org/ CryptPad: https://cryptpad.fr/ Further Info Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

De-Google Your Life Feb 07, 2022

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One of my New Year's Resolutions for 2022 is to minimize my Google footprint. In reality, it's very difficulty to completely avoid Google products, if you include things like Google Analytics, Google's cloud computing, and other services that we may not directly choose. But thankfully, there are many excellent, privacy-respecting alternatives to Google's more well-known products and services. In today's show, I'll start with some of the most basic ones: Google Search, Google Chrome browser, and Android. In other news: Google beats Apple to offering a way to disable insecure 2G cellular connections; people are selling "silent" AirTags that won't beep to let you know they're near (which could be better for stalking people); Facebook reported its first ever loss in subscribers along with a $10 billion loss due to people opting out of ad tracking; privacy advocates scored a huge win in the European Union against advertisers collecting and sharing your data; the IRS may be rethinking its coming requirement for facial recognition-based authentication after pushback; the FBI admits to evaluating NSO Group's nasty Pegasus cell phone spyware; Kaspersky finds several serious vulnerabilities in wearable medical devices; and Google has abandoned its FLoC web tracking system for a much more privacy-respecting version called Topics. Article Links EFF praises Android’s new 2G kill switch, wants Apple to follow suit https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/01/eff-praises-androids-new-2g-kill-switch-wants-apple-to-follow-suit/Sale of 'Silent AirTags' on eBay and Etsy Raises Privacy Concerns https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/03/silent-airtags-privacy-concerns/Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/2/22914970/facebook-app-loses-daily-users-first-time-earnings A Change by Apple Is Tormenting Internet Companies, Especially Meta https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/technology/apple-privacy-changes-meta.html Regulators find Europe’s ad-tech industry acted unlawfully https://www.engadget.com/european-union-gdpr-ad-tech-unlawful-iccl-iab-europe-125735068.htmlTreasury Weighing Alternatives to ID.me Over Privacy Concerns https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-28/treasury-weighing-id-me-alternatives-over-privacy-concerns FBI acknowledges it tested NSO Group’s spyware https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/02/pegasus-fbi-nso-test/ Unpatched Security Bugs in Medical Wearables Allow Patient Tracking, Data Theft https://threatpost.com/unpatched-security-bugs-medical-wearables-patient-tracking-data-theft/178150/ Google abandons FLoC, introduces Topics API to replace tracking cookies https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/25/22900567/google-floc-abandon-topics-api-cookies-tracking De-Google My Life, Part 1: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/de-google-my-life-part-1/Apple’s new Personal Safety User Guide: https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/welcome/web Further Info Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

Searching for Privacy Jan 31, 2022

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We tell our search engines a lot of very personal things. They arguably know more about us than our best friends and significant others do. A history of your search terms can reveal so much about you, especially when viewed over the course of days, months and even years. And unfortunately, companies like Google use this privileged position to better target us with advertisements. This may seem innocuous, today's guest, Kelly Finnerty, will explain how this data collection can lead to some truly creepy outcomes and even emotional harm. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are search engines and other tools that don't track your history and sell you out. And there is hope for a brighter, privacy-respecting future. Kelly Finnerty is the director of brand for Startpage, a global privacy technology company that provides search and browsing products that protect people's personal data. Kelly is a #techforgood advocate that believes privacy is a worldwide human right. Episode Links Startpage browser extension: https://add.startpage.com/protection/ What does your search engine know about you? https://www.startpage.com/privacy-please/startpage-articles/what-does-your-search-engine-know-about-you Startpage data flow: https://support.startpage.com/index.php?/en/Knowledgebase/Article/View/1276/0/how-startpage-processes-and-protects-your-dataInterview with System1 CEO: https://thinkprivacy.ch/system1-interview/ Terms of Service; Didn’t Read: https://tosdr.org/ EFF’s Surveillance Self Defense: https://ssd.eff.org/ Further Info Annual listener survey: https://bit.ly/Firewalls-survey-2022Carey’s 2022 Privacy Blog: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy-week-2022/ Carey’s Privacy Checklist: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy-day-checklist/ Data Privacy Week: https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week/Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

Building a Privacy-Respecting World Jan 24, 2022

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Personal data privacy isn't going to just happen on its own. We have to somehow collectively construct it. But how? Will it require regulation or can consumers drive change by consciously choosing privacy-respecting products and services? When it comes to regulations, why are things so different in the European Union versus the US and other global markets? What do privacy teams look like in modern corporations and how should they function? I'll pose these and many other questions to my guest, Whitney Merrill, who brings unique experience on privacy from both the private sector and the federal government. Whitney Merrill is a data protection officer, privacy attorney, hacker, and the co-founder of the Crypto & Privacy Village. She loves privacy and is glad the world is getting excited about it, too. Podcast Links Carey’s 2022 Privacy Blog: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy-week-2022/ Carey’s Privacy Checklist: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy-day-checklist/ Data Privacy Week: https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week/FTC Privacy & Security: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/privacy-and-security EFF Surveillance Self Defense Guide: https://ssd.eff.org/ACLU Privacy & Technology: https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology IAPP Resources: https://iapp.org/resources/ European Data Protection Board: https://edpb.europa.eu/edpb_en Data Protocol: https://dataprotocol.com/ The Gamification of Everything: https://lifehacker.com/how-gamification-of-everything-is-manipulating-you-and-1848352808 Further Info Annual listener survey: https://bit.ly/Firewalls-survey-2022Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

Data Privacy Week 2022 Jan 17, 2022

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Of course, every week should be "data privacy week", but we do set aside a specific time each year to focus on privacy - particularly educating as many people as possible about it. Until this year, we only dedicated one day for this - but as of 2022, it's been promoted to an entire week! Data Privacy Week runs from January 24-28, so today I'm going to prep you for it with several of my top privacy protection tips! In the news: the FBI uses foreign intelligence services to sidestep US surveillance restrictions; Russia takes down the REvil ransomware outfit as the United State's request; Google gives Android users the ability to disable insecure 2G cell connections; Subaru is sued in Illinois for capturing driver's biometric information with consent; lawmakers propose legislation to simplify and standardize terms of services agreements; and the Ponemon Institute releases the results of a recent poll on what people worry about with relation to privacy and what they feel should be done about it. Article Links Using Foreign Nationals to Bypass US Surveillance Restrictions https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2022/01/using-foreign-nationals-to-bypass-us-surveillance-restrictions.html Russia’s FSB says it has taken down REvil hacker group at US request https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/14/22883675/russia-fsb-revil-hacker-group-ransomware-us-request-fbi-doj VICTORY: Google Releases “disable 2g” Feature for New Android Smartphones https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/01/victory-google-releases-disable-2g-feature-new-android-smartphones Class action: Subaru DriverFocus system improperly scans driver's faces, eyes https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/613746211-class-action-subaru-driverfocus-system-improperly-scans-driver-s-faces-eyes Lawmakers Come After Companies’ Terms of Service With New TLDR Bill https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/01/lawmakers-come-after-companies-terms-of-service-with-new-tldr-bill/ New Ponemon Institute Report Indicates Major Consumer Privacy Gap https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-privacy/new-ponemon-institute-report-indicates-major-consumer-privacy-gap/ Further Info Data Privacy Week: https://staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week/about-dpw/ My Data Privacy checklist: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/data-privacy-day-checklist/ DNA service impacts: https://thenib.com/its-all-relatives/ Annual listener survey: https://bit.ly/Firewalls-survey-2022Hunting for Stingrays podcast: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/04/19/hunting-for-stingrays-part-1/ Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

2022 New Year’s Resolutions Jan 10, 2022

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It's the start of a brand new calendar year! And therefore it's time to engage in that annual ritual of planning to do better this year by making our list of New Year's Resolutions. To help you with the cybersecurity and privacy items on your list (an area where we all need major improvement), I will share with you my personal list of cyber goals for 2022. Yes, even security advocates can suffer from the "do as I say, not as I do" syndrome. We're all human, and there are plenty of things that I still need to get done - things that you probably need to do, too. I'll also catch you up on the latest security and privacy news: several articles popped up about a supposed data breach at LastPass that turned out to be incorrect; the US Federal Trade Commission is getting very serious about fining companies with lax cybersecurity practices in light of the Log4J/Log4Shell nightmare; clever scammers in Texas are tricking motorists into paying the wrong people for parking; Norton 360 and other antivirus software packages have started pre-installing cryptocurrency mining software on their customers' computers; TurboTax is the second major tax-filing software service to drop out of the federal Free File program; Google's adoption of the Manifest V3 specification gives users yet another reason not to use their Chrome browser; and a lawsuit in California alleges that Google's exclusive search engine deal with Apple is stifling competition and harming consumers. Article Links LastPass says there’s no data breach, so your passwords were not hacked https://bgr.com/tech/lastpass-says-theres-no-data-breach-so-your-passwords-were-not-hacked/?bgr-partner=flipboard FTC to Go After Companies that Ignore Log4j https://threatpost.com/ftc-pursue-companies-log4j/177368/ QR code scammers hitting on-street parking in Texas cities https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2022/01/05/qr-code-scammers-hitting-on-street-parking-in-texas-cities-this-is-what-houston-officials-want-you-to-know/ Norton 360 Now Comes With a Cryptominer https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/01/norton-360-now-comes-with-a-cryptominer/ 500M Avira Antivirus Users Introduced to Cryptomining https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/01/500m-avira-antivirus-users-introduced-to-cryptomining/ Want to file your tax return for free? TurboTax opts out of major program https://www.freep.com/story/money/personal-finance/susan-tompor/2022/01/05/how-file-your-tax-return-free-turbotax/9077019002/ Podcast on Free File report from Pro Publica: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2020/01/13/why-free-file-isnt-free/ Google makes the perfect case for why you shouldn't use Chrome https://www.techrepublic.com/article/google-makes-the-perfect-case-for-why-you-shouldnt-use-chrome/ Google Basically Pays Apple to Stay Out of the Search Engine Business, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/05/google-pays-apple-stay-out-of-search/ Betty White on MFA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmIDtDAYTPA Further Info Annual listener survey: https://bit.ly/Firewalls-survey-2022Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/or privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

The State of Kids’ Privacy Jan 03, 2022

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Navigating the online world today is hard enough as an adult. But it's way worse for kids. Not only are they short on life experiences that would give them the context they need, but as students during a pandemic, their privacy rights are being sorely tested by new "edtech" apps and services. Today I speak with Jill Bronfman from Common Sense Media about their new report on the state of privacy for kids. Their research is quite comprehensive - and (spoiler alert) the results aren't great. Obviously, this report is helpful for parents, educators and policy makers - but much of what's covered here is useful knowledge for anyone. Jill Bronfman is Privacy Counsel at Common Sense Media, teaches Media Ethics and Privacy Law. Further Info 2021 State of Kid’s Privacy: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/state-of-kids-privacy-2021 Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ Common Sense Privacy Program: https://privacy.commonsense.org/Boston COVID in the waste water: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/how-fast-is-covid-surging-in-boston-this-chart-shows-the-spike-after-christmas/ar-AAShL4P Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

The Best of 2021 Dec 27, 2021

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We've come to the end of another year. As we take a breather and gather with family and friends for the holidays, it's a good time to look back over the year that just passed. I've collected a handful of snippets from some of my favorite shows from this year, along with some a little commentary. If you're new to the show, you can catch up on some stuff you may have missed. Or if you'd like to introduce someone else to the podcast, this would be a great one to share. You can find all the original, full-length episodes using the links below. Best Of Episodes Ep206, Feb 8 - Troy Hunt, De-Platforming: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/02/08/free-speech-deplatforming/Ep214, Apr 5 - Phil Zimmerman, Social media is ruining society https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/04/05/social-media-is-ruining-societyEp219, May 10 - Alison Macrina, library freedom https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/05/10/protecting-intellectual-freedom-part-1/ Ep232, Aug 9 - DEFCON - understanding hackers https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/08/11/understanding-hackers-hacking/ Ep233, Aug 16 - DEFCON - Jeff Moss interview https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/08/16/on-a-dark-tangent/Ep235, Aug 30 - Morpheus - Todd Austin https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/08/30/morpheus-securing-cpus-with-entropy/Ep237, Sep 13 - Privacy for Cars - Andrea Amico https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/09/13/driving-data-privacy-for-cars/Ep245, Nov 8 - Harri Hursti https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2021/11/08/restoring-trust-in-our-elections/ Ep200, Dec 27, 2020 - Bruce Schneier https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2020/12/28/200th-podcast-new-years-2021/ Further Info Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/ Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

The Log4Shell Debacle Dec 20, 2021

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The internet is on fire this week. The worst cybersecurity vulnerability of the last ten years (and perhaps more) has kicked the internet ant hill. Companies around the globe - big and small - are scrambling to repair a gaping hole in a ridiculously mundane but widely popular open source tool called Log4J. What it is and what does it mean for you? I'll get into all of that today. In other news: many popular wireless home routers are riddled with security bugs (update your firmware now); family "safety" app Life360 is selling your detailed location data; Consumer Reports released a comprehensive report on VPN security and privacy; Firefox just got a lot more secure; LastPass is once again an independent company; Apple released a lot of cool security and privacy features for iOS and macOS; and Verizon just opted you into a program for tracking you - and how you can opt out. (I'll touch on T-Mobile and AT&T tracking, too.) Article Links Op-Ed: What a house cat can teach us about cybersecurity https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-07/op-ed-what-a-house-cat-can-teach-us-about-cybersecurity Nine WiFi routers used by millions were vulnerable to 226 flaws https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nine-wifi-routers-used-by-millions-were-vulnerable-to-226-flaws/ The Popular Family Safety App Life360 Is Selling Precise Location Data on Its Tens of Millions of Users https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/12/06/the-popular-family-safety-app-life360-is-selling-precise-location-data-on-its-tens-of-millions-of-user Consumer Reports exhaustive report on VPNs https://www.consumerreports.org/vpn-services/mullvad-ivpn-mozilla-vpn-top-consumer-reports-vpn-testing-a9588707317/ The new Firefox 95 might be the most secure web browser on the market https://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-new-firefox-95-might-be-the-most-secure-web-browser-on-the-market/ The Log4Shell 0-day, four days on: What is it, and how bad is it really? https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/12/the-log4shell-zeroday-4-days-on-what-is-it-and-how-bad-is-it-really/ Widely-Used Kronos Payroll Provider Down for “Weeks” Due to Ransomware Attack; Was Log4Shell Involved? https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/widely-used-kronos-payroll-provider-down-for-weeks-due-to-ransomware-attack-was-log4shell-involved/ LastPass is going to become an independent company https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/14/22833319/lastpass-independent-company-logmeinHow to Use App Privacy Report in the iOS 15.2 Beta https://www.macrumors.com/guide/app-privacy-report/iOS 15.2 Beta 2 Lets Your Family Access Your Data If You Pass Away https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/09/ios-15-2-legacy-contact/ Hide My Email Available in Mail App With New iOS 15.2 and macOS Monterey 12.1 Betas https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/09/macos-monterey-12-1-beta-2-hide-my-email/ iOS 15.2 Beta Adds Messages Communication Safety Feature for Kids https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/09/apple-messages-communication-safety-ios-15-2/ Verizon May Have Just Enrolled You in a Data-Collection Scheme–Here's How to Get Out https://gizmodo.com/verizon-may-have-just-enrolled-you-in-a-data-collection-1848156157 Further Info Still looking for holiday gifts? https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/best-worst-gifts-2021/ Subscribe to the newsletter: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/newsletter/new-newsletter/ Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

End Run Around Your Rights Dec 13, 2021

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The rampant collection and sharing of personal data is not just a creepy nuisance. Surveillance capitalism has actually had seriously deleterious effects on society and democracy. In the United States, we have certain rights enshrined in the Constitution that are supposed to protect citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are supposed to have to jump through some non-trivial legal hoops in order to access our personal data. But with a massive market for gathering and correlating your location, purchase history, web surfing habits, search history, and more, it's become trivial to circumvent these pesky road blocks by just buying the information from data brokers. In an important and landmark report from the Center for Democracy and Technology, the end run around our supposed rights has become frighteningly clear. Today I speak with Dhanaraj Thakur about this report and what it means for our democracy. Dhanaraj Thakur is Research Director at the Center for Democracy & Technology, where he leads research that advances human rights and civil liberties online. Further Info CDT Report on Legal Loopholes: https://cdt.org/insights/report-legal-loopholes-and-data-for-dollars-how-law-enforcement-and-intelligence-agencies-are-buying-your-data-from-brokers/ Center for Democracy & Technology: https://cdt.org/ Patriot Act Turns 20 panel discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaUIvxLdGCQMy particular question at the panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaUIvxLdGCQ&t=4783s Best & Worst Gifts Guide for 2021: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/best-worst-gifts-2021/ Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons Would you like me to speak to your group about security and/privacy? http://bit.ly/Firewalls-SpeakerGenerate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

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