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Old 26 Aug 2022, 06:45 AM   #1
bbbc
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Question Mail & Privacy: Fixing wrong time zone in 2022?

I am now using the LibreWolf browser for privacy. Unfortunately, my time stamps are wrong in mail because privacy.resistFingerprinting is enabled. I have zero desire to alter this privacy setting. I have seen this faq already - https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/a...e-zone-support . I also read this old thread - http://emaildiscussions.com/showthread.php?t=68405 . I've tried an extension called Spoof Timezone - https://add0n.com/spoof-timezone.html , which Fastmail is ignoring, but other sites are not (they work with extension).

Anyone know of a time hack / fix / Greasemonkey script in 2022 for FM's webmail? Be nice if a time zone setting for mail, perhaps in Advanced Preferences, would be added for privacy conscience folks like myself. If not, maybe the Fastmail site should recognize the system's time from the extension mentioned above.
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Old 26 Aug 2022, 03:22 PM   #2
Mr David
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My suspicion is FM's web app uses the system clock, at least for some things.

My desktop computer has a multiboot arrangement. There's Win 10, Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 18.04. Ubuntu 20.04 is my daily driver, I seldom use the others.

After software updates late in 2021 the Ubuntu 20.04 system clock would be waaay out of whack at every reboot. I have to dive into terminal and run a sync command to correct it.

On occasions when I have forgotten to do this time sync, messages I have sent from the FM web app have been marked with the wrong local time. The time stamp of those messages do not correct in the FM web app when I subsequently run the sync command.

IIRC those times may have been earlier than the actual time, as if my future self had already sent them. My guess is Ubuntu 20.04 picks up the time clock from the motherboard, which might be set to zulu time, or close enough to it. (Melb is Z +10h.) The time differences I see are not bang on the hour, I presume the mobo clock has drifted by a slab of seconds.

Should anyone be interested, the sync command I use is:
sudo chronyd -q

None of this helps you with your super privacy conscious browsing habits. But it might provide some clues.

When starting out with Ubuntu a few years ago I gave the _IceCat_ browser a try. It is or was a FF variant produced by the Free Software Foundation. It was built to eschew any and all closed source web standards with a slant on user privacy and security. Among the many frustrations I had with using it was the absence of local time sync on various websites, including the Aus Bureau of Meteorology which I rely on daily for many of its services. Before too long I found it much too inconvenient to use.

My tactics to evade interwebs tracking evolved significantly when I noticed a new-ish (<5yo) feature of FF. If in an instance of FF you open a new tab and go to aboutrofiles (sorry, that's supposed to be aboutCOLONprofiles) it is possible to launch and run multiple FF profiles concurrently, at least it is in Ubuntu. That way I can containerise various operations in their own separate browser instance. All of my FF profiles are set to delete all cookies and site data on close.

Of course I changed the way I search too. From the beginning with FF I have taken advantage of its support of open search plugins. The library at Mycroft Project is terrific. I seldom need to use Google's search engine. At first I moved to DuckDuckGo, and now I use MetaGer.

I am still stuck with G maps. That is one of the things I'll open a separate browser instance to view.

With these tactics, sure, some tracking still occurs. But the image generated from those data points is vastly degraded. And I still have a usable web navigation experience.

My FM account is an essential element of my privacy strategy. Nowadays all account levels have an allowance of 600 aliases. I use a unique alias for every commercial and government entity I transact with. This makes it very difficult for my activity to be cross referenced. I try my best not to hand out my phone number too.

Last edited by Mr David : 27 Aug 2022 at 01:14 PM.
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Old 27 Aug 2022, 09:20 AM   #3
SideshowBob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr David View Post
My guess is Ubuntu 20.04 picks up the time clock from the motherboard, which might be set to zulu time, or close enough to it. (Melb is Z +10h.) The time differences I see are not bang on the hour, I presume the mobo clock has drifted by a slab of seconds.
In UNIX the hardware clock was traditionally set to UTC, but in Linux and similar OSs it can optionally be set to local time to support dual booting with Windows. It doesn't much matter which you use as long as everything is self-consistent. If correct, the timezone used should have no effect beyond the early stages of booting.

My guess is that Ubuntu was originally configured to expect the clock to be set to UTC, but it's now been reconfigured to expect local time.

Quote:
Should anyone be interested, the sync command I use is:
sudo chronyd -q
This would typically be run as a daemon at boot time. I'm surprised that Ubuntu didn't set-up chronyd, or something similar, at installation. I've not used chronyd, but I suspect it would have set the hardware clock from the system clock if it were run as a daemon. That would probably have solved the problem without your noticing.
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Old 27 Aug 2022, 11:44 AM   #4
Mr David
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SideshowBob View Post
In UNIX the hardware clock was traditionally set to UTC, but in Linux and similar OSs it can optionally be set to local time to support dual booting with Windows. It doesn't much matter which you use as long as everything is self-consistent. If correct, the timezone used should have no effect beyond the early stages of booting.
My system's boot manager is not the usual Linux GRUB, it's BootIt UEFI by Terabyte Unlimited. I have a feeling this might have somehow affected Ubuntu 20.04's time sync.

Quote:
Quote:
Should anyone be interested, the sync command I use is:
sudo chronyd -q
This would typically be run as a daemon at boot time. I'm surprised that Ubuntu didn't set-up chronyd, or something similar, at installation. I've not used chronyd, but I suspect it would have set the hardware clock from the system clock if it were run as a daemon. That would probably have solved the problem without your noticing.
It is likely that I had to install chronyd. Another program native to Ubuntu also syncs time, can't recall its name.

I don't know why running 'sudo chronyd -q' does not appear to be resetting the hardware clock. Maybe BootIt UEFI is exerting control.

Yes, it would be useful if time sync occurred at boot time. I won't be the only BootIt UEFI user to have experienced this minor wrinkle. If I put a query to the TBI user forums someone there will have a solution. For months it has been a case of mañana.
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Old 29 Aug 2022, 10:30 AM   #5
SideshowBob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr David View Post
My system's boot manager is not the usual Linux GRUB, it's BootIt UEFI by Terabyte Unlimited. I have a feeling this might have somehow affected Ubuntu 20.04's time sync.
That's very unlikely.

I missed that you were multi-booting with Windows. In this case Ubuntu should be set to expect the hardware clock to be on local time. Conventional wisdom holds that Windows should be left to update the hardware clock. Booting into Windows may fix the problem. It will need a network connection to run its own NTP service.
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Old 29 Aug 2022, 10:40 AM   #6
SideshowBob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
I am now using the LibreWolf browser for privacy. Unfortunately, my time stamps are wrong in mail because privacy.resistFingerprinting is enabled.
What do you mean by "time stamps"? Do you mean Date headers on outgoing mail have the wrong timezone?
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Old 29 Aug 2022, 01:26 PM   #7
Mr David
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SideshowBob View Post
I missed that you were multi-booting with Windows. In this case Ubuntu should be set to expect the hardware clock to be on local time. Conventional wisdom holds that Windows should be left to update the hardware clock. Booting into Windows may fix the problem. It will need a network connection to run its own NTP service.
It had been a very long time since I booted into W10. I did that and synced time there. Went back into Ubuntu. Time difference was bang on 10h, so W10 synced hardware clock, removed the seconds' discrepency.

I ran the command:
timedatectl

...and among its output was the report:
NTP service: inactive
...I do not recall deactivating this service. But there you go.

Reactivated NTP with:
timedatectl set-ntp true
...and system time synced after a few seconds.

I have previously received advice to set Ubuntu system clock to local time and disregarded it; the system displays a warning that this change can cause trouble. In multiboot systems it seems there is trouble if Ubuntu system clock is set to UTC because, as you say, Windows resets the hardware clock.

After running the command:
timedatectl set-local-rtc 1
...there was no time difference when swapping between W10 & Ubuntu either direction.

Thank you for motivating and guiding me to get this time nuisance sorted.

Last edited by Mr David : 29 Aug 2022 at 05:10 PM.
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Old 30 Aug 2022, 06:22 AM   #8
bbbc
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Question Script to trick Fastmail?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SideshowBob View Post
What do you mean by "time stamps"? Do you mean Date headers on outgoing mail have the wrong timezone?
Yes, the date headers in Fastmail's webui.

I wonder if a script could be created if one knew what Fastmail polls to get the timezone that's displayed in webmail? I would prefer for something to be baked into Fastmail's preferences where I could set the correct timezone, since I'm not one that travels outside the area I live. I know my browser of choice is to blame, but I strive for what little privacy I can gain online.

@Mr David
My macOS reflects the correct time on the Finder. LibreWolf seems to be obfuscating the time (from what I've read) with its Firefox flag privacy.resistFingerprinting being set to enabled.

Last edited by bbbc : 30 Aug 2022 at 06:31 AM.
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Old 30 Aug 2022, 05:51 PM   #9
JeremyNicoll
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
Yes, the date headers in Fastmail's webui.
That's still ambiguous.

Do you mean: the displayed value (within their webmail system), which - if you like - is an interpretation of what the internal header contains, or

do you mean the value that's actually been put into the raw email, which you'll only see if you view the raw email / source email?
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Old 1 Sep 2022, 02:02 AM   #10
Mr David
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
Yes, the date headers in Fastmail's webui.
For clarity it may help if you post a screenshot, preferably with personal details obscured or redacted.
Postimages.org is an easy service to use and has a free tier.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
@Mr David
My macOS reflects the correct time on the Finder. LibreWolf seems to be obfuscating the time (from what I've read) with its Firefox flag privacy.resistFingerprinting being set to enabled.
Have you tried going into about:config and toggling the setting of privacy.resistFingerprinting from true to false?

This will be one setting out of dozens altered from default FF to create the default LW. Such a change will not diminish your privacy defence by much. If it achieves the desired result for your FM user experience then it might be worth it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
I wonder if a script could be created if one knew what Fastmail polls to get the timezone that's displayed in webmail?
I do not possess the technical skills to write such a script. If it can be done another forum member will need to assist you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbc View Post
I know my browser of choice is to blame, but I strive for what little privacy I can gain online.
So let's have a think about your privacy strategy.

And let's remember Joseph Heller too:
Quote:
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.
Before reading and posting to this thread I had never heard of LibreWolf browser. I checked out the project's website. It's supported by a decent amount of documentation. Note that this documentation advises or warns that LW is not something that can be taken as-is and be expected to work successfully or suitably for every use scenario. Settings changes and overrides need to be made to achieve particular web browsing outcomes desired by a given user. It advises that users create what are in effect separate LW profiles for different roles, which is more or less what I was hinting at in an earlier post wrt FF.

If you need to tweak LW settings here and there to get it to work the way you need it to then there doesn't seem much point in using LW in the first place. All of that can be done by tweaking a FF profile. For the most part with FF there is no need to lift up the about:config hood and get your hands dirty. Contemporary FF versions include many powerful privacy and security features that can be altered from within its various settings menus.

If you want to tie things down even further you'll need to make changes inside about:config. But you need to know what you're doing, and if you don't then follow a trusted guide with caution.

In any event achieving robust personal web security and privacy cannot be carried on the back of a browser alone. A successful strategy will require a full court press of a suite of tactics.

RestorePrivacy.com provides comprehensive information on this broad ranging topic. It's not the only place you'll find such info but it is a good one stop shop.

Check out this article, Browser Fingerprinting: How to stay private. When I became aware of these techniques it absolutely shivered my timbers. Every browser and every device is unique. All the data that's handed over when you access a website can be captured and used to track you around the interwebs. My outlook on it is that it can be resisted but it cannot be defeated. Time to build a bridge and get over it.

Or you could use the TOR browser for everything, it is the most fingerprinting resistant browser of the lot. But get ready for a slow web. And be prepared for the attention from tooled up spook agencies that TOR use attracts.

Here are just two of the browser fingerprinting testing tools provided in the article:
https://amiunique.org/fp
https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

Results given by amiunique.org/fp for the browser and machine I am using to make this post is unique among 768909 fingerprints tested in its all-time database. Why is it unique? Largely because my OS is Ubuntu (1.3%), my browser is FF 104 (0.4%), my local timezone is UTC+10 (0.7%). Considering just my FF profile, how many other FF users would have the exact same seven browser extensions installed as I do? Ironically most of them were installed to defend my privacy but in combination they serve to betray me.

As I suggested earlier, I value the work these extensions and my browser settings do to degrade the data image collected about me, and I accept that some tracking will occur. But compared to most users I am an outlier because the vast majority of users of consumer tech make no effort whatsoever to defend their privacy. I'm way ahead of them.

Restore Privacy provides a recipe for hardening FF. Give it a try. But before you do take precautions. Backup your working FF profile before you go tweaking it. Rather than doing that I recommend you begin with a fresh FF profile and muck around with it instead. Make changes incrementally and slowly. Try out your modified profile to see the effects your changes make on the websites you frequently visit.

A couple of years back I made a raft of these changes and gave the resulting profle a good long try. In the end I had to admit it was much too inconvenient and I stepped back to my multiple FF profile stance. By the way, two of those profiles are vanilla or straight out the box FF profiles, one with very few and the other with zero changes from default settings. If my secured profiles won't work for the task at hand I use these vanilla profiles as a containerised last resort because I can be confident they are unlikely to break websites. They too are set to delete all history, cookies and site data on close.

Here is Restore Privacy's review on secure browsers. LW gets a run.

Finally, here is Restore Privacy's full court press of privacy and security tactics.

Just making a stab in the dark example, if, say, you don't subscribe to a reputable VPN service and your search engine is always the big G, why continue the self flagellation with LW?

Last edited by Mr David : 2 Sep 2022 at 12:09 PM.
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Old 3 Sep 2022, 11:04 PM   #11
Eddie1953
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I am also have time zone problems with privacy protections when using FastMail. I use dns blocking on my network and have a mac. I created calendar events and set reminders in Fm. The reminders are coming at the wrong time….always with the same number of hours early. For example, I’ve set a email reminder for 9am , but the email is sent at 5am. Always 4 hours off, which is the difference from where I am and GMT.

FM support has been slow and useless.


Any ideas? Should I disable my privacy protections and the recreate all my calendar events and reminders, the. Re enable privacy protections and see what happens? That would be a LOT of time and effort. Other thoughts?
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Old 4 Sep 2022, 06:23 AM   #12
SideshowBob
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I'd use two browsers.
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Old 4 Sep 2022, 08:06 AM   #13
Eddie1953
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Quote:
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I'd use two browsers.
Not sure I am following
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Old 4 Sep 2022, 10:51 AM   #14
SideshowBob
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I mean use a separate browser for Fastmail.
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Old 4 Sep 2022, 11:27 AM   #15
Eddie1953
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Tried separate browser. No luck. I think issue is with FM. I have a ticket in for a week and no response. Their customer service is horrible.
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