Category: Privacy & Encryption

Why We Should Dread a Second Civil War

Introductory Note: In a SurvivalBlog essay that I wrote back in January, 2019, I warned that there were signs that a Second Civil War might be brewing. I’d like to update and expand on that theme, in this essay. — The recent release of the first trailer for the scheduled April 2024 release of the A24 Productions movie titled Civil War has prompted considerable conjecture. The film reportedly had a $75 million budget. Commentator Tim Pool posted his thoughts on it, and then followed up with a more in-depth panel discussion, and then another. Dozens of others have also chimed …


A Local Disaster Network – Part 5, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) Cloud Dancing Next, we’ll set up the Nextcloud application. Assuming your laptop and Raspberry Pi are still connected to your GL.iNet router and it has Internet access, open up a web browser on your laptop and enter the following address: ‘http://nextcloud.local’ – depending on your operating system and browser you may get a warning that says the connection isn’t private – just click to proceed anyway (or click on ‘Advanced’ and then ‘Proceed’). The first screen that will pop up is the following:           You’ll notice that there …


A Local Disaster Network – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 3.) Cloud Server Next, we’re going to set up the operating system and Nextcloud cloud application that runs on the Raspberry Pi server. You’ll need to download two or three pieces of software to accomplish this – a utility for loading the Raspberry Pi’s operating system image onto the microSD card, the actual Raspberry Pi operating system/application image file, and a tool for uncompressing the compressed operating system/application image file after downloading it (if you don’t already have something like WinZip or 7-Zip installed). For the Pi’s operating system/application we’re going to use an image called NextCloudPi …



A Local Disaster Network – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) There are two additional items required to run a Raspberry Pi – a microSD card for storage and a power supply. I’ve set up, configured and run dozens of Raspberry Pis since they came out in 2012, and 90% of all of the problems I’ve ever encountered with them are the result of either a bad microSD card or inadequate power supply, so you don’t want to cheap out on either. For the microSD card I strongly recommend using a SanDisk MAX ENDURANCE model of at least 64GB, but bigger is always better, so get a …


A Local Disaster Network – Part 1, by J.M.

There have been a number of articles on SurvivalBlog on the use of mobile devices like cell phones and tablets in survival/disaster scenarios (including one I wrote – ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’ parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). In that article, I briefly introduced the idea of setting up and using a home server/network infrastructure for a disaster scenario, which can provide you with a lot of options for planning, organizing, coordinating, sharing, and communicating information among your team, family, group, or community. In this article, I’ll discuss one possible approach for configuring such an infrastructure for disaster situations. …


Lessons From A Hard Disk Crash

In place of another feature article that I had planned for today, I’m posting a recap of a recent laptop computer problem, with some lessons learned. To start, I should mention that I’ve been a Macintosh user for my home computers since 1986. My first Mac was a Macintosh Plus, purchased just after I got off of active duty as an Intelligence Corps officer. This was before I was ever married.  I’ve owned a whole succession of improved Macs since then.  Since the turn of the century, most of those have been alloy-case MacBook laptops. I’ve always been fairly good …


Invisibility: Increasing OPSEC – Part 4, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Computer OPSEC I’ll let the reader research computer, email privacy, and encryption on their own but I do have two things I’ll pass on. When I hover the mouse pointer over a file in one of my computer folders, a box opens above it showing the author, title (which is actually my LibreOffice template name), computer owner, and date among other things. There are two ways to prevent this from exposing personal information about me than I’d prefer when I share documents or photographs. First, when setting up a new computer I …


Invisibility: Increasing OPSEC – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2.) Social Security Number It goes without saying that our social security number shouldn’t be given to anyone unless we’re legally required to provide it, and that’s not very often. On the other hand, if it’s a private business they can also deny us service. But there’s a caveat. After selling an item to a business for a large sum of money I went straight to their bank to cash the check. The amount of cash was small enough to avoid government paperwork but the bank demanded I write my social security number below my signature on …


Invisibility: Increasing OPSEC – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) Using LLCs An anonymous LLC is the most important tool available to ensure no one can connect your name to your physical address and provides other benefits as well. Using an online agent LLC’s are quick and easy to obtain with some starting as low as $99. Don’t be intimidated by “LLC,” it’s something lots of us non-business little guys have and they’re useful in many ways once you understand how they work. Why an LLC? There are many reasons as discussed below but the biggest reason is that all county courthouses in the US maintain …


Invisibility: Increasing OPSEC – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I recently read an article on advances which have been made using ear recognition as one more way to track us and violate our privacy. Since facial recognition systems are sometimes inadequate due to factors such as faces hidden by hair or covid masks, additional recognition technology using our ears is being developed. I don’t need to mention all the other ways modern technology is being used to violate our privacy or that our rights are being eroded by the day. The article brought to mind a book I read while looking for a place to set up my homestead: …


Mitigating the Drone/RDF Threat – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) A Low Cost, and Simple-to-Operate Simplex Repeater We can use a simplex repeater such as the Argent Data Systems ADS-1 Simplex Repeater. This is essentially a sophisticated digital voice recorder that is superior in quality to the Surecom, and other cheap Chinese renditions. We must have a reliable system especially when it is relatively difficult to access and a linchpin in importance. Using a simplex repeater in conjunction with a cross-band repeater can confuse the RDF analysis further. This ‘repeater’, is actually a digital voice recorder that provides many useful functions. For …


Mitigating the Drone/RDF Threat – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Down and Dirty, Remotely Controlled Transceivers Armed with the axiom that if something is ‘stupid, but works, then it is not stupid’, we can become creative. In the most austere environments where field expedient and unconventional means are the only means, I should mention that a Citizen’s Band (CB) radio with a Public Address (P.A.) function, or a hard wire intercom can also be used with the VOX feature of a transceiver to cause it to transmit. Using these means, we can transmit remotely, yet we can only receive via a transceiver located at the base …


Mitigating the Drone/RDF Threat – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Introduction This is an extension to my recent SurvivaBlog article titled Advanced Field Telephone Techniques, yet it examines and details the topic in the context of a specific threat. It often pays to reiterate and reinforce. While partly an intellectual pursuit, this discussion is grounded in decades of real world experience, sans actual battlefield experience, or military training. With this disclaimer stated, we can rest assured because the method of remotely operating transceivers via field phones was once SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for U.S. military forces. It is well-proven on the battlefield as method of avoiding RDF, and subsequent direct …


CBDCs: From Blockchains to Tyrant’s Chains

Today, in place of my regular Economics & Investing column, I’m posting my predictions for the nascent sovereign cryptocurrencies — now commonly called Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs.)  The CBDCs will use a variant of the blockchain technology that was first created for Bitcoin. But unlike private cryptos that use a fully distributed semi-anonymous network, control of the CBDC will be centralized and monitored. My predictions reflect my views on history, trends in governance, recognition of mankind’s sinful nature, certain chaotic variables, and some historical parallels. I may fall short in predicting some of the particulars, but I feel quite …