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Cake day: June 22nd, 2024

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  • Once triggered, StarDict sends the selected text in plaintext over HTTP to third-party servers in China, namely dict.youdao.com and dict.cn. And to make matters worse, these requests are made over unencrypted HTTP, making the data visible to anyone monitoring the network—whether on a local LAN or through a compromised router.

    Finally, to wrap things up, it’s worth pointing out that this StarDict behavior can only happen in an X session. If you’re running Debian 13 with Wayland, then you’re safe, thanks to the protocol’s sandboxed design. And at this point, I guess folks who think Wayland is some kind of big tech conspiracy being forced on users without good reason might want to rethink that stance.