Windscribe Newsletter: Summer Edition 2023
Hopefully, your summer has been cooler than a penguin drinking a milkshake in a freezer. Ours wasn't because we have been releasing straight FIRE Windscribe updates.
Please Note: We have been experiencing unusual glitches in the system on the blog, and strange pages are appearing from nowhere. If you discover one, please report it to our social media channels for summary investigation.
Windscribe Updates
Summer feels like it went by in, like, 23.233 seconds. We spent all of ours grinding harder than a dog's butt against a clean carpet. As we approach our 8th year as the greatest privacy company in the history of the universe, we are entering a new phase in our journey. It can best be characterized by the 3 P's: Prosperity, Privacy, and Pshitposting. What can you expect going forward? Same as before but with even more grace, flair, and elegance. And memes. So many more memes.
Backend and Systems Teams Are OTGS (On That Grind Shit)
You know how some people love a good spring cleaning? Not Windscribe, we prefer to do our cleaning in the summer because we're masochists. Why else would we choose the hottest time of year to make our apps even hotter? We've done a ton of internal maintenance as we continually improve our infrastructure. What will change for you? Most likely nothing. In fact, most of you probably didn't even notice anything change because we are masters of our craft. But rest assured, these new upgrades will ensure your Windscribe experience continues to be nothing short of legendary.
Apps Team
Our Apps Team has been hard at work upping our anti-censorship game. We're talking a Michael Jordan, game 7, ice-in-your-veins type game. The Windscribe desktop app guinea pig build 2.7.10 has been released, offering increased censorship circumvention abilities for those living in oppressive regimes.
On the mobile side of the equation, Android 3.74 is now available for gigachad Android users. Plus, our latest builds feature the aforementioned anti-censorship measures. Don't worry iPhoners, we haven't forgotten about you. We just released version 3.7.3 (now with Emergency Connect, which opens a temporary VPN tunnel that only accesses the Windscribe domain when logging in! Helpful if you are on a very restrictive network.)
Stay tuned for future releases with even more robust anti-censorship capabilities! For the de-googled folk, you'll be happy to learn that our Android app is now also available in F-Droid! Plus, you can now build binaries from the source!
Web Team
MV2 a.k.a. the Windscribe Extension is still the powerhouse tool you know and love. But Google is making changes to Chrome... classic Google! So we've developed an MV3 version of the extension to mitigate the effects of the aforementioned changes. It's now (basically) ready for the masses; we just need to agree on a name for it. That's really the hardest part of developing new products, the naming... Extensionator? Exteezy Version Threezy? Anyways, just bear with us while we get that side of things sorted.
Are you tired of talking to the humans in your life? Sick of their pesky human problems and stinky human odors? We have updated Garry, everyone's favorite sentient chat bot. We now call him Garry 2.0. We thought of calling him New Garry, but Coca Cola tried that once and it was a disaster. Garry Dos-Punto-Zero (that is 2.0 in Spanish) will be released in the wild in the coming weeks. The improvements are insanely great, so go chat and share your puny bi-pedal human issues with his superior computer mind.
Incoming Control D Marketing Plug
Remember when we mentioned our hotter overachieving sister in the Spring Newsletter? Yeah... that lil' lady has continued to improve herself. In case you forgot, her name is Control D and she will give you an ungodly amount of control over your internet experience. She's also about to roll out a Business version. She's smooookin' - remember Jim Carrey in The Mask? No? Fine.
Hot Takes From Our Blog, Windscribbles
We're excited to introduce to you a new recurring blog segment: Tuesday Newsday™. Keep an eye on the blog every Tuesday as we bring you stories from the cybersecurity and privacy world that you may have missed.
The UK government has passed the 'Online Safety Bill' under the guise of 'protecting the children'. The bill calls for backdoors to be installed on popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp. Many fear this bill will have long standing implications on encryption and the right to privacy.
Censorship, Privacy, & UT SB152: An Interview with Sen. Riebe
We sat down with Utah Senator Kathleen Riebe to discuss yet another privacy-invading law that is aimed at 'protecting the kids' by removing the right to privacy for citizens under the age of 18.
Bypassing the 'Online News Act' in Canada: How to Get News on Instagram & Facebook
Recent legislation in Canada has resulted in blocking news on Meta platforms inside Canada. Learn how Windscribe can circumvent this censorship and get news mixed back into your dopamine-fueled scrolling sessions.
Windscribe Firewall: Explained
Did you know there's a difference between a firewall and a kill-switch? You do now! Just imagine how much more you'll learn when you read Rebecca's informative article breaking down the unique capabilities of our firewall.
Virtual or Physical: Why Windscribe Has the Most Server Locations
Most VPN companies inflate their server location numbers by using virtual server locations. Find out which companies are on some shady shit and why Windscribe is the G.O.A.T. for enjoyers of servers in the largest number of countries in the world.
Censorship, Privacy, & LA HB142: An Interview with Rep. Landry
In an absolutely devastating blow to Louisiana-based 16-year-old boys, the state can now limit access to pornography for minors - but the law is poorly thought out and threatens everyone's digital privacy. We sat down for a candid conversation with the only state Rep brave enough to stand up against this tyranny.
The State of the Internet: In Case You Missed It
Repression, internet censorship, and violation of human rights are a dick-tator's favorite 3-course meal.
The troubles in Iran. Due to regular internet outages and continued government restrictions placed upon Iranians over the last few weeks, we have decided to release another relief code in solidarity with our Iranian friends. Windscribe doesn't tolerate human rights violations.
Coup d'états occur in two African countries: Gabon and Niger. Windscribe is actively working towards providing them with censorship-free internet. The situation on the ground in both countries has reached levels of relative stability, with interim leaders appointed. Long-term repercussions are yet to be seen.
If you represent an organization that requires support, get in touch with Windscribe - part of our mission is to dismantle the invasive tentacles of state-sponsored censorship. The way we see it, to speak truth in the face of an authoritarian regime is a compelling form of defiance.
Hackers have been hard at work this summer. There have been multiple significant data breaches and hacks this summer. The most noteworthy are the MOVEit breach in Late May/Early June and the UK Electoral Commission cyber attack. The MOVEit breach is still having long-lasting effects, affecting an estimated 545 organizations, including EY, PwC, Shell, American Airlines, and government agencies in Canada and the United States.
We're pleased to announce we've launched a Telegram channel. Some of our users have reported mirror sites with official-looking Windscribe APKs infected with malware. So we've started posting our official APKs in the Telegram channel.
That's a wrap for this edition! We will continue to inform you beauties about new updates and features that we're adding as we journey towards VPN-lightenment. For feature requests, comments, questions, or concerns, email us at hello@windscribe.com.
Lots of love, and unlimited good wishes,
Team Windscribe
Random Fact
"No piece of square paper can be folded more than 7 times in half."