Good day, Hugh,
I recently switched over to TOR as my web browser. I am now using Proton mail as my email address, and I now use Signals as my SMS text messenger. My bases are covered. These are also recommended actions by Snowden himself:
- TOR sends your search through a relay of servers, making it extremely difficult to find your true IP Address.
- Proton mail is an encrypted server that prevent your messages from being intercepted.
- Signals is an app that prevents text messages to other persons, other than the person you sent the message to, from being read.
Why do I care? I am aware the government, through the NSA and more specifically the PRISM program, is compiling a comprehensive database. Because billions of phone calls, text messages, and emails are recorded each week. There is no denial of this. The facts are on public record.
To put it simply, my Internet decisions should only be privy to the Creator and myself. My personal morality and self beliefs are guided by something deeper than the current political party and their new laws. The founding fathers built this nation and this Constitution on their faith in God. That is personal belief.
I would also like to address the lack of apathy in the general public. Between the writers of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, there exists two camps: Orwell’s position is that the threat of fear and punishment will put man in permanent servitude. Huxley beliefs are that the abundance of sources, of desire, and of pleasure will leave the masses in a state of permanent sleep. I believe that both are going on, subjecting the masses to complacency and inaction.
To the readers: Wake up now and take appropriate steps to preserve your freedom and integrity. God bless – Sheepdog and son
I agree 100%. I don’t even recognize most of the people I interact with each day as Americans. They are mostly just brainwashed, self-absorbed, entertainment seeking idiots. So sad what is happening to this great country.
Thanks Tom, I am glad you feel the same.
Maybe you need to move then;)
WICKR is another encrypted messaging app and better than signals as you don’t link a phone number or email address when you sign up. Simply chose a username. Best to tell people your name offline in a non digital way for extra security.
Messages also self delete on a pre-determined time.
Our group uses that and like it much better than Signals.
Rick thank you, I will look into your reccomendaction.
i thought tor had been compromised?
Joe, according to Snowden it has been however in isolated incidents.
I’ve been using protonmail for a while and it’s fantastic. Will check out Tor. Thanks.
I have been using this as well and have been very pleased. My son is in Cyber Security and said its one of the better ones because it is based out of Switzerland which has very tough privacy laws.
Your welcome JR, it only took a few minutes to install and I certainly feel more protected.
Ronin, good to hear
I hope you folks do not really believe these measure are totally secure. And going into hiding on the web is a good reason for someone to try to find out what it is you want to hide.
DWW, it’s not that I want to hide. As a hunter I do not like being tracked.
TOR *HAS* been compromised, I am convinced the feds run a lot (perhaps most ?) of the Tor nodes, can’t prove it, just a gut feeling I have. I do use Tor but realize it isn’t perfect. Layer that with a good VPN is about all most folks can do. For anyone of a technical bent look into I2P as a Tor replacement, or augmentation. I too use ProtonMail but I have to remind myself that unless the receiver is also on ProtonMail (or some other client using the same encryption and keys) the encryption is only one sided. This is the default behavior. However Proton Mail does have the option to send secure emails to non ProtonMail users, but when you compose an email be sure and click the “Encrypt” button, then the receiver has to know a password you enter in the dialog it presents.
[Copy editor hat kicking in] “the lack of apathy” I think you mean “the abundance of apathy”
Scott, thanks for your reccomendactions, you could be right. By my understanding some nodes are well outside the US.
Scott, haha another typo by spellcheck. Thanks for your editing as well.
Proton mail does not encrypt metadata (to, fro, subject, date and time). Try Tutanota. I use both but am weighted to Tutanota. They are both OK but always monitor. Once the biggies buys them over, do change.
However, pls note that nothing is 100% secure over the net. Gov has their tools.
Thank you Mack, I will look into your suggestion.
I whole heartedly believe that all efforts to maintain privacy is necessary and useful. I also believe that all efforts to do so are in vain. The simple fact is that there is NO method or technique that is secure. All protocols and encryption mediums are compromised. If the NSA, CIA or DIA or any of the other 30 not-so-secret organizations focus on you they will read your “mind” through metadata before you make the next key drop. It is important to understand that the No Such Agencies are years ahead of the public and indeed other governments in the communication game. They baked in their code at the inception of computing, long before, decades before the public even had access to an internet. No electronic device is secure. All electrical and electronic are hackable. All they need is the desire to focus on you and they will have your whole history before them. Fortunately having a warehouse full of Cray Super Computers wont help them sort through the cagillions of data points enmass. I am reasonably safe because I am one ant in a prairie full of ant hills. The only safe and secure method of living is to do away with all electronic devices- especially smart devices. A goal I am near reaching. Metadata is far more invasive than NSA eavesdropping and far more dangerous to our way of life.
Carney,
Interesting suggestions. Again as a hunter I would prefer to do the tracking, or make an attempt even in vain.
Protonmail is good (better now with 2FA, but I’m sceptical of the 1 password mode). Swiss privacy laws are not encryption, and if you read what threat models they were designed to protect or not, there is at least some snake-oil there. You cannot have “self destructing messages” – if your recipient can read them, they have been decrypted so the text can be copied, if nothing else by taking a screen shot, with a camera if needed.
The Swiss had good financial privacy laws then caved. I don’t know how good their personal privacy laws will fare.
TNO – Trust no one. Including the Swiss, as there are always holes, even in Swiss Cheese.
The only thing about no security is thinking you are secure when you are not.
Security is hard.
Tz, thanks for the information.
you might also want to install “https everywhere”, “ghostery”, and “privacy badger” in your non-tor web browsers.
Longest, I like ghostery as well. It confirmed to me that Survivalblog.com has the least amount of trackers on the major sites by far.
Proton mail keeps you out of the massive global add networks compared to most other free email services. I am considering buying their VPN service for secure browsing.
You do have to check to see if your VPN is leaking.
Brave is a new browser that I have been testing. It is pretty cool in that it allows you to have another level of security by blocking adds and trackers, scripts,fingerprint methods and some other things.
Torr does not turn me on. Tails is something I need to experiment with.
All in all, you can protect some of your privacy but avoiding the NSA? Forget about it. If you are that important to them get ready to die with your boots on or got to prison for a long long time.
David thanks for the VPN suggestion.It is that I am important, but the values that I stand by are. These make me who I am, and are worth defending ;even in the cyber realm.
@David “You do have to check to see if your VPN is leaking. ”
YES! I can confirm that CryptoHippie does not leak.
The problem is Tor is in US. You might want to look at Startpage and Startmail. Secure and located outside of US.
Abby thanks I will look into your reccomendtions. It is to my understanding that TOR has nodes all around the globe.
” I believe that both are going on, subjecting the masses to complacency and inaction.”
Amen brother! I believe the public is both asleep at the wheel, as well as apathetic due to the constant pursuit of personal pleasure and self-gratification.
Great letter! You are educating those who are awake and those in the process of waking up.
Plainjaneprepper,
Thank you brother, best of luck in your preps,
The gravy train is over! I and many others have gotten used to lots of ‘free service’ mail, file storage, etc… We are the product and breaking away is going to be both expensive and painful.
Anyone know of a good free private / secure DNS – it’s easy to track web browsing via your dns logs.
Thanks,
Reed
Hi Reed,
how about No-IP as a suggestion for a free and secure DNS.
A few other things to think about, since the USG is not squealing like a stuck pig about TOR and other alternatives makes me think they already own them.
Loopix Anonymity System is another new system to try but it is located in England which is one of the Five Eyes that watch ALL planetary communications systems.
I have read a report that Kaspersky software closed some three letter agency back doors that were found with the Wikileaks release of the governments hacking software.
I read that they went to Microsoft first and Microsoft refused to patch their systems (big surprise there) so they applied the patch themselves for those who own their software.
The USG went nuts hence the lets get the Russian company because they have Russian back doors. Kaspersky is know as the best protection software there is by industry professionals.
Interesting how that works.