John Fastman

Scientist, blogger, hacktivist and all-round computer whizz-kid. In my spare time I'm a model (mainly for pathology textbooks).

Grandmaster · Level 8

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25,290Reputation
2016Member since

Alternative Opinions

531 opinions

July 2018

4 opinions

BraveAlternative to Vivaldi · “At their core, both Brave and Vivaldi are descendants of Chromium. But Brave is FAR more committed to protecting privacy. It blocks ads and trackers out-of-the-box, it's faster and Private tabs use Tor for anonymous browsing. Brave is also fully open source (Vivaldi is kinda, but includes a lot of 3rd party cr*p) and doesn't have the normal nasty EULA.”
68 people think this is a good alternative
Mozilla FirefoxAlternative to Google Chrome · “Chrome is closed-source and part of Google's privacy-invading business model, which works by harvesting user data. Firefox is open source, so you can check what it's doing under the good. It's also more configurable (about:config) and its Nov 2017 update made it faster than its competitors.”
1,799 people think this is a good alternative
SlackAlternative to Semaphor · “Semaphor is built around zero-knowlege encryption to prevent their parent company employees, government agencies and hackers from getting at user data. Slack is nothing like as secure or private because they don't build in such encryption. Other encrypted products in this space are Stackfield and Peerio.”
1 person thinks this is not a good alternative
iCloudAlternative to IDrive · “The whole point of iDrive, Tresorit, SpiderOak and Sync.com is that they offer a zero-knowledge model based on encryption which prevents even the company from viewing user files. iCloud is NOT like that; files stored with iCloud can be viewed by Apple, subpoenad by the US govt and stolen in readable format by hackers. Go with encryption if you value your privacy.”
1 person thinks this is not a good alternative

June 2018

1 opinion

ConfluenceAlternative to Quip
4 people think this is a good alternative

May 2018

17 opinions

AppImageKitAlternative to Flatpak
6 people think this is a good alternative
macOSAlternative to Arch Linux · “Arch linux is an extremely versatile, flexible, free (as in beer) operating system for experienced Linux users. It runs on huge varieties of hardware. MacOS is closed, proprietary, inflexible, made especially only for Apple's hugely over-priced hardware, and Apple pursue people who don't follow their philosophy with aggressive lawsuits. MacOS also has key features stripped out (e.g. right click > cut? Forget it!) Arch = shaving with razor blade. MacOS = shaving with a bowling pin.”
16 people think this is not a good alternative
EvernoteAlternative to Zim · “Evernote is proprietary, closed source and stores user data in unencrypted format on web-facing US servers, which is terrible for privacy and security. They have been hacked in the past and are subject to US laws that force them to disclose data with authorities. They also refuse to support Linux operating systems. Their clients on Mac and Windows are very different and both lag significantly after about 500 notes are in the database. Evernote are the past.”
30 people think this is not a good alternative
ThreemaAlternative to Telegram · “Proper end-to-end encryption makes Threema a good private way to communicate. But not as good as open source alternatives like Signal, for which you can check the source code. But Threema is way better than Facebook Messenger or 'Allo, which come from privacy-destroying companies.”
14 people think this is a good alternative
TurtlAlternative to Google Keep · “Google Keep invades your privacy; it's one of Google's ways of harvesting your private data: you are the product. The answer is to use encrypted, trustworthy, open source apps. Turtl is such a project. Recent development has been slow, but it's the most similar (to Keep) end-to-end encrypted note-taking app. Protect your privacy!”
32 people think this is a good alternative
MessengerAlternative to Telegram · “Nasty, closed-sourced, privacy-invading app by a company whose business model is based on selling private user data to the highest bidder. Stay away if you value your online privacy and security (where will your data be in 20 years and how could it be used against you then?). Telegram, Signal and Wire are hugely preferable because they use encryption.”
20 people think this is not a good alternative
HangoutsAlternative to Telegram · “Hangouts is not end-to-end encrypted. Google, who own it, make money by spying on users (every bit of info they can get) and selling it to advertisers. That's appalling. Telegram is not perfect but it is end-to-end encrypted, which means that only the intended recipient can read your messages - not the case with Hangouts. Google can see everything, and others can force them to give that info up (e.g. by subpoena).”
31 people think this is not a good alternative
MessengerAlternative to Signal · “Facebook Messenger is a privacy-disrespecting app. I gathers as much data about users as possible so that Facebook can sell it to advertisers. That's a disgrace. The whole point of Signal is that it's not based on a business model that violates user privacy. Signal is end-to-end encrypted and gathers as little info about users as possible. Signal is hugely preferable. It's also open source (more trustworthy; you can check what it's designed to do).”
14 people think this is not a good alternative
HangoutsAlternative to Signal · “Hangouts is not end-to-end encrypted and is part of a suite of products by Google, whose business model is to harvest people's personal data for profit. That makes it much less secure or private than signal. If it's video you want, try Wire or Jitsi Meet. Free, open source, encrypted, private and un-Googled.”
18 people think this is not a good alternative
Boost NoteAlternative to Inkdrop · “Currently (2018-05-23), Boostnote is the best markdown-based note-taking app for desktop: allows any file format to be attached and is entirely local, leaving sync options in your hands (use Tresority, Sync.com, Spideroak, or Cryptomator for max privacy). It's open source, free I expect it to overtake Inkdrop in the next 1-2 years.”
4 people think this is a good alternative
Standard NotesAlternative to Inkdrop · “Standard Notes uses markdown and offers multi-platform sync with end-to-end encryption. It's also open source and extensible. Inkdrop is similar, except it has NOT got end-to-end encryption (read their forum; user data touches US-based servers unencrypted) and it's aimed primarily at software developers. Inkdrop is twice the price.”
3 people think this is a good alternative
Qubes OSAlternative to Linux Mint · “Qubes is fantastic for security freaks. It runs programs in disposable VMs so that things can't cross contaminate/infect each other. But this is a hassle and far from what the average Ubuntu user will want from their system. Huge thumbs up for Qubes, but just not as an Ubuntu replacement.”
3 people think this is not a good alternative
KubuntuAlternative to Linux Mint · “Kubuntu = Ubuntu - the Gnome desktop + the KDE Plasma desktop. It's Ubuntu with a different face. Which desktop you like is a matter of preference. There is also KDE Neon, which is like Kubuntu but you get the very latest KDE Plasma updates as soon as they're out.”
7 people think this is a good alternative
Windows 10Alternative to Linux Mint · “Microsoft is outright hostile to the privacy of its users: Windows 10 collects EVERYTHING it can about you, right down to what you type (yes, passwords included) and how much time you spend in which app. Updates often revert your settings and install software you don't want. It's also expensive and closed source and far more vulnerable to malware than any Linux distro.”
25 people think this is not a good alternative
SunsamaAlternative to Sunrise Calendar
2 people think this is a good alternative
AntergosAlternative to Arch Linux · “If you want Arch without the laborious installation procedure, Antergos its for you. It's based on Arch, has an excellent installer that lets you choose desktops and apps to install, doesn't come with any bloat, and supports the AUR (Arch User Repository). Even more user-friendly is Manjaro, which is better sorter out-of-the-box for most users, is also Arch based but comes with one installer per desktop and pre-installs much more guff. ”
11 people think this is a good alternative
Storj Object StorageAlternative to Sia · “Storj follows the same philosophy of data storage: Your data is encrypted and backed up to multiple places. You rent that space from other people or can rent out your own hard disk space for other people to use. This is the future of secure, private and reliable data backup and sync.”
6 people think this is a good alternative

April 2018

58 opinions

ACS ChemWorxAlternative to EndNote · “ChemWorx is specifically designed to do Endnote's job, integrate with the wider ACS ecosystem with chemists in mind. In reality, it's clunky, ill throught-through software with a counterintuitive interface. The support staff haven't got the foggiest for how to offer Linux support, even just for Ubuntu.”
1 person thinks this is not a good alternative
Google DocsAlternative to CryptPad · “Google's products, including Drive, are designed to harvest your personal data. That involves storing your data in a readable format, which means it can (and is) given away to government surveillance and can be read by successful hackers. Cryptpad encrypts your data, cannot read or give it away.”
5 people think this is not a good alternative
DropboxAlternative to IDrive · “Dropbox does not offer end-to-end encryption and so does not protect your data from ransomware or any hackers that might breach their servers (and this has happened before). Dropbox also stores your data in a way that's readable to them, which means they have to hand it over when asked for it for government surveillance. This is not a problem for iDrive if you use the private key option because then only you can read your stuff.”
3 people think this is not a good alternative