It’s time to start the official countdown to my 500th podcast episode! I’ve been publishing a podcast every single week for over nine years now, which is a rather amazing accomplishment (if I do say so myself). But the entire purpose of the podcast – as well as my book and my blog – has been to try to improve the security and privacy of as many people as possible. So to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m going to be conducting an experiment to figure out the most effective way to protect our data and devices. And I’m going to need your help.

In the news: Chat Control 1.0 has been resurrected in the EU; Apple’s Hide My Email is failing to do so; Meta patents a new, creepy wearable device; The Intercept’s Signal account was taken over for months; Papa Johns wants to know when your fridge is empty; Opera Browser has a new feature to combat ClickFix attacks; Google disrupted a residential proxy network; John Deere has been forced to support third party repairs; and the Supreme Court further protected our device location history.

Article Links

Chat Control 1.0 sneaks through the EU Parliament: https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/chat-control-1-0-sneaks-through-the-eu-parliament-letting-companies-scan-user-data-without-warrants-legal-tactic-used-to-force-a-majority-required-re-vote-on-eve-of-parliament-break
Apple Hide My Email bug allows 100% of real email addresses to be discovered: https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/01/apple-hide-my-email-bug-seemingly-allows-100-of-real-email-addresses-to-be-discovered
Meta Patents AI Device That Tracks Your Emotions, Watches You Take Your Meds: https://www.404media.co/meta-patents-ai-device-that-tracks-your-emotions-watches-you-take-your-meds
The Intercept’s Signal tipline username was hijacked for months: https://cyberinsider.com/the-intercepts-signal-tipline-username-was-hijacked-for-months
Papa Johns Can Predict When Your Fridge Is Empty: https://www.adexchanger.com/?p=461783
Opera’s new security feature stops copy paste attacks from malicious websites – Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/2206574/opera-new-security-feature-stops-copy-paste-clickfix-attacks
Google Disrupts NetNut Residential Proxy Network Spanning 2 Million Home Devices: https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/google-disrupts-netnut-residential.html
The Deere Dam Just Broke: FTC Settlement Empowers Farmers Right To Repair: https://fighttorepair.substack.com/p/the-deere-dam-just-broke-ftc-settlement
Justices rule that cellphone location histories are protected by the Fourth Amendment: https://therecord.media/supreme-court-geofencing-ruling-fourth-amendment
Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/celebrating-500-episodes/

Further Info

Countdown to FDSD500!! https://fdsd500.com
Get your FDSD500 merch!! https://fdsd.me/merch
Hacking the water supply: https://www.wired.com/story/what-happens-if-china-hacks-the-us-water-supply-war-game-volt-typhoon
My book: https://fdsd.me/book
My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter
Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support

0:00:07: Intro
0:01:07: Quick headlines
0:03:18: News rundown
0:04:40: Chat Control 1.0 is back
0:09:27: Apple Hide My Email exposes real address
0:13:15: New creepy Meta patent
0:19:16: Intercept loses Signal account
0:23:52: Papa Johns knows when your fridge is empty
0:27:54: Opera implement ClickFix protections
0:32:49: Google foils residential proxy maker
0:38:23: John Deere forced to allow user repairs
0:41:06: SCOTUS restricts location data, again
0:46:04: Tip of the Week
0:53:17: Wrap-up
0:55:01: Hacker summer camp
0:55:42: Patron podcast preview
0:56:13: Looking ahead

Article Links

Further Info

Table of Contents