Category: Privacy & Encryption

Letter Re: How to Bypass Blocked Web Sites

Dear JWR: In response to the posting by Tamara W., I would like like to furnish an addendum. The post references an “Internet Kill Switch” which has recently been signed into law. As I am sure that you and most of your Internet savvy readers are aware, there are two distinct ways that the PTB (Powers That Be) can “kill” the Internet. The first is relatively trivial. This is by corrupting or otherwise disabling the DNS (Domain Name Server) system where human readable URL’s (Universal Resource Locator) such as SurvivalBlog.com are translated into computer readable IP (Internet Protocol) addresses such …


Two Letters Re: How to Bypass Blocked Web Sites

Sir: I have several friends in China under different guises, work or school visas for instance, but their main purpose is evangelism. When we e-mail them we have to be very careful about what we say because the Chinese government reads incoming e-mails. For instance “I’m praying for you” would be written as “I talked to Dad about you”. Just so we aren’t thinking all our e-mails are secure. – Richard C. Mr. Rawles, I would like to say the article “How to Bypass Blocked Web Sites, by Tamara W.” was technically correct, and I will not question the legality …


How to Bypass Blocked Web Sites, by Tamara W.

Web sites can be blocked for many reasons. Employers block web sites to protect productivity. Parents block web sites with violence, pornography and illegal activities to protect to their children. Internet Service providers block web sites with child pornography because of the law. Some nations block certain web sites with opinions that dissent from those of the predominant political powers. Unfortunately, whether it is through the proposed “Internet kill switch” that the federal government has proposed or a deployment of government Internet censorship as China and Iran already employ, there is a possibility that those in the “free” world will …


Letter Re: OPSEC and Pattern Analysis

Dear SurvivalBloggers: The concept of operational security (OPSEC) is simple. You conduct yourself in a way that doesn’t give anyone the impression that you’re doing anything out of the ordinary. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It’s not. Everything you do and say is an indication of the things that are going on in your life. Most importantly, people tend to operate in predictable patterns. It’s called a rut. When you get into one, you define who and what you are. If someone has an interest in you, all they have to do is watch and establish that pattern. If you make …


Letter Re: The A.N.T.S Network– Institutionalized OPSEC Naivete

James Wesley: Do you want to see a serious breach of operational security (OPSEC)? Then go to the “ANTS Group” web site and click on their map. Zoom in on some of the names and addresses of folks with supplies just waiting to help others. I’m glad to see folks (“ants”) ants willing to help [others], but I’m sorry to see folks getting setting themselves up [as targets] for the [the depredations of the] not so trustworthy or “Golden Horde” (a.k.a. Grasshoppers)! Regards, – M.T. JWR Replies: Thanks for sending that illustration of how not to keep a low profile. …


Limiting Your Carbon-Copy Footprint, by Matthew S.

Most of us that live in the post-modern era have undoubtedly heard the term “carbon footprint.” This is a term that has come to the forefront of most of our daily lives due to a streamlined and tenacious push to increase the green mentality. We have seen posters, commercials, testimonials, political rants and even legislation on this topic. The idea is to keep your impact on your local environment small so that you minimally affect the “worsening global condition.” I will not go on any type of tirade about how those that impose these ideas don’t follow it themselves (multiple …


Service Recommendation from JWR: Mara Helland

You might have noticed that a CPA service advertising on SurvivalBlog. Her name is Mara Helland. Since it is now tax season, I thought that it would be appropriate to give my personal recommendation, and let you know what services she offers. Like many other CPAs, Mara mainly does tax accounting. But what sets her apart from other CPA firms is absolute privacy. I know that this is crucial for a lot of people, especially fellow SurvivalBlog readers. I don’t know what privacy issues are like in the big cities, but I do know that in small towns, people who …


Letter Re: Nefarious Uses of Google Earth

Howdy Mr. Rawles, I had two comments to add to the conversation about thieves using Google Earth to steal koi. First, when we typed our address into Google Earth, it popped to a house about a 1/4 mile from us (we checked that fact many times, not just once, so it was not a typo on our part). That was just ducky with the family, as it helped our farm stay invisible. After reading about the koi thefts, I decided to check on Google Earth again. I was so disappointed when it popped right to the farm this time! The …


Letter Re: Cuban Spy Ring Arrests Raises Concern of Ham Radio Restrictions

Jim: This article concerns me: Cuban spies’ shortwave radios go undetected: Low-tech transmissions no big deal for U.S. intelligence. The journalist mentions: “The International Amateur Radio Union said there are more than 700,000 amateur radio operators in the United States.” I hope the governmental paranoia does not try to constrain the best method of rural emergency communications. – KAF JWR Replies: Without mentioning anything classified, I can safely say that they are describing clandestine operatives in in the US. receiving the old-fashioned HF “Numbers” broadcasts from Cuba. These are typically code groups of five numbers, read aloud by a woman, …


Four Letters Re: Firewalls, Anonymity, and SurvivalBlog

Two notes about Some Call Me Tim’s excellent recommendation of JanusVM: 1) Use Decloak.net to verify that you’ve done everything right. It uses a whole host of very strong tests to attempt to locate your computer and will find out if you’ve slipped up somewhere. The place you’ve slipped up is almost always DNS but cookies and other things can give you away too. 2) Be aware that this encrypts the traffic you’re sending and receiving, it doesn’t make it go away. Someone listening in can tell when you’re sending/receiving and how much, they just can’t read it. Timing and …


Two Letters Re: Firewalls, Anonymity, and SurvivalBlog

Dear Mr. Rawles As a network administrator, I spend a fair amount of time making sure my end users cannot access certain web sites from company computers and data lines. I try to make sure we don’t get too draconian in our filtering practices, I do my best to make sure that not streaming audio or video, social networking sites, or other time killers make their way through the network. Recently, a friend of mine told me about a tool called JanusVM, a combination of Internet anonymity tools (TOR, PRIVoxy, Squid, and VPN) that runs in a virtual machine. You …


Good Compsec Practices for Preppers, by T.

Compsec is a subset of OPSEC that is concerned with computer security. It can not be ignored if you plan to use computers now and after a SHTF situation. The personal computer is a powerful tool to help cope with any disaster or survival situation. The capacity for enormous data storage in a very small footprint makes it a valuable resource when the grid and net go down. You will have all the information you need at your finger tips; first aid and medical info, maps and topography, equipment and firearms manuals, personal records and pictures, and the list goes …


Two Letters Re: Questions About FRS Radio Capabilities

Sir: I’ll establish my bona fides by stating that I am a General class Amateur Radio licensee with extensive experience in the VHF and UHF radio bands. While I applaud your promotion of the MURS radio for general use, it is not the best choice for the gentleman residing in the concrete condos in Florida. Penetration of concrete and steel structures is significantly better (by approximately 30%) at UHF frequencies (as used by FRS/GMRS radios) than at the VHF frequencies as used by MURS. Though free air range favors VHF, UHF penetrates obstacles better, assuming the effective radiated power (ERP) …


The Grand Illusion: G8 – 1 = Cold War II?

Perhaps Anatoliy Golitsyn was right. He was a high level Soviet defector that predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, claiming that perestroika and glasnost were charades that had been planned for decades by the Soviet-era KGB leadership to strategically deceive the West into thinking that we had “won” the Cold War. Some evidence: the recent Russian invasion of Georgia, Russia’s nuclear threats against Poland, and Putin’s hints of positioning ICBMs in Cuba. (As I’ve written before, history doesn’t exactly repeat itself, but it often rhymes.) Was Golitsyn right? The West may have been the victim of the greatest dezinformatisaya …


Letter Re: Advice on Preparedness for Travelers?

Mr. Rawles, I just picked up two rugged 4GB USB memory sticks at a rather good price of $15 each. ($19.99 less a mail-in rebate of $5.) Your readers might consider them for their emergency kits to store scanned in copies of their legal documents, insurance, investments and personal records and photos. This isn’t bullets and butter but might just prove more valuable than both when trying to get a replacement social security card or passport. The 10 year warranty is awfully nice so keep your receipt. Maybe you should scan that and save it on the memory stick too! …