http.james' Blog

Building the next-gen privacy-centric chat platform

I'm building a powerful chat platform that provides a familiar, easy to use and functional experience. Learn more about my project.

How traceable are you? - Experiment results & analysis

How traceable are you? - Experiment results & analysis

I ran a privacy research experiment on browser fingerprinting. Let's take a look at the results and potential solutions.

What is MEGA doing? - a commentary on their insecure cryptography

What is MEGA doing? - a commentary on their insecure cryptography

What comes to mind when you hear the words, "secure cloud storage"? If you're a privacy enthusiast, like me, maybe you think of MEGA. MEGA has branded itself as the "privacy company" by emphasizing their end-to-end encrypted web services, comprising of cloud storage, contacts and chat, "By properly applying end-to-end

I'm paying for my search engine. Maybe you should too.

I'm paying for my search engine. Maybe you should too.

Back in 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin launched Google Search, a revolutionary website that gave users access to millions of relevant information and websites in milliseconds. This was done using a result ranking technique involving counting the number of backlinks a website had. The more a certain website was

Svelte is just better

My entry into the web development space was React, one of today's most popular front-end frameworks. People love it because it's powerful and versatile--you can make basically anything in it. However, React is bloated due to its virtual DOM. The virtual DOM slows it down and requires a significant amount

Relationship with JavaScript over. I'm in love with Go now.

As a full-stack web developer, I strive to make my code clean and efficient, but ultimately, faster. For the majority of my web development journey, I've been using most of the "hypebeast" stack, as Ben Awad would say. My go-to web development stack was: * Next.JS (frontend) * Express.JS (API

PrivateMail: A misleading mess

In the modern world, privacy is becoming increasingly rare. Conglomerates like Google, Microsoft, and Meta track your every move to profit from your daily activities. Moving your email to an encrypted mail service is one of the best changes you can make to enhance your day-to-day privacy. ProtonMail and Tutanota

Why I Switched To Linux

My quest for ultimate privacy According to ArsTechnica, about 80% of the world uses Windows as their desktop operating system, while the other 20% consists of MacOS, ChromeOS and other Linux-based distributions. I used to be within that 80%--I used to be a long-time Windows user. I had used

Mass Surveillance Isn't Effective

Did you know that the National Security Agency (NSA) conducts invasive mass surveillance on its American citizens? If so, how do you feel about it? Do you think it's effective against national security threats, such as terrorism or cyber-crimes? Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks[1], the NSA has

NordVPN is a Sh*tVPN

Ever heard of the name, “NordVPN”? I’m sure you have because they advertise like crazy using YouTubers and real-life ads to gain exposure. They’re basically the most well-known VPN out there right now due to their huge marketing budget. What if I told you NordVPN isn’t who

VPNs Aren't Magical - Here's Why

Believe it or not, the VPN industry is very saturated and full of lies. When was the last time you heard the terms "Military Grade Encryption," "Anonymity," or "Encrypted Tunnel"? These are bullshit claims to get you to buy the VPN company's products. They're misleading marketing terms targeted at those