Category: Privacy & Encryption

Letter: Understanding Bank Transaction Reporting in the U.S.

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers: I have noticed over the last few weeks a couple of articles discussing banking and transaction reporting etc. I would recommend (if one is having trouble sleeping at night) that everyone who is interested read the audit manuals for the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which includes currency transaction reporting (CTR), suspicious activity reporting (SAR), and monetary instrument logs (MIL). Bank’s are required by law to perform these on all customers based on activity and the bank’s teller system analysis. Most people know about CTRs – deposit or withdraw more than $10,000 in cash – but they do …


Letter: SurvivalBlog’s 185.8.177.142 Dotted Quad Backup Address

Greetings, Mr. Editor: I just tried to log on to your new “backup” dotted quad address: 185.8.177.142 and my Firefox browser reported: “Your connection is not secure.”  Is it safe for me to ignore this message?  Thanks, Michael S. JWR Replies: Yes, it is perfectly safe to set a permanent security exception for SurvivalBlog’s main site and for our dotted quad direct server address (185.8.177.142)  Please be sure to jot down this dotted quad address and carry it in your wallet or bugout bag, but please continue to use “survivalblog.com” URL for your bookmark that you use to check SurvivalBlog …


Letter Re: Comms Using Photos – Would This Work?

Hi Hugh and James, I just finished reading The Religion War by Scott Adams. It’s a short, very good book about Christianity vs. Islam in the future as both sides prepare for war. In it, he wrote something that made me curious if it would work. In order to defeat the use of computers scanning emails to find key words or phrases, his characters do something I’ve never thought of. “Cruz’s intelligence forces electronically searched every message that crossed the Internet, but their sniffing programs were looking for text, keywords, key phrases, and encrypted files. (His people) thwarted the filters …


Letter Re: Prepaid Phones

HJL, Yes, criminals use prepaid phones, but patriots do too. I have been using a monthly, no contract, prepaid phone for over 15 years. Why? Because I do not like contracts, hidden fees, data charges, et cetera. I use Virgin Mobile. For $35 a month, I get unlimited calls, messaging, and Internet. There are no hidden fees or surprise charges, and I do not have to surrender my personal information or SSN. I like having to NOT give up my personal information every chance I get. So, understand, it’s not just criminals who use these phones; it’s also the poor …


SSL On Your Web Server – A Certificate is Just the Start, by Peter S.

If you are running a web server for your business and taking orders from customers, then you have probably acquired a certificate to encrypt the network traffic between your customers’ web browsers and your web server. However, how well are you really doing it? The SSL Labs website offers a free service to test how well your web server is configured for this goal. Someone may have already run the test and made a decision about your business just based on the results. Remember, if your web server is exposed to the Internet, then anyone can run this test. You …


Red List, Blue List, Black List, You List

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There has been a lot of conjecture in the past 40 years in patriot circles about the existence of government “round up lists”. Large-scale disaster and war planning exercises, like REX-84 (Readiness Exercise-1984) and Jade Helm 2015, have stimulated endless discourse about whether or not the government maintains a so-called “red list” and “blue list” of people that they deem to be dissidents who they might target for harassment, travel restrictions, or even detention without due process of law. Because any such lists would presumably be developed and updated under the wraps of a security classification and the Need To …


Letter Re: Algorithms

Sirs, I was particularly interested in your 1/9/16 link to an article regarding The risks — and benefits — of letting algorithms judge us. Algorithms are convenient tools and are more ubiquitous in society than you might think. Those maddening automated telephone answering scripts that lead you through a labyrinth of options that do not address what you are calling about are an excellent example. Many businesses and healthcare venues (or providers) regularly use algorithms to help them maintain a minimum standard of service. That is fine, if you are satisfied with a minimum standard of service. I tried, at …


Letter Re: Being Anonymous, by Spotlight

HJL, One note on this. I’ve had a “mailbox” (mail receiving service) for longer than I’ve been at any address. It started when important documents ended up with the wrong carrier and were “returned to sender – address does not exist”. A full service private mail receiving service can (for a fee) forward any mail, as well as UPS or FedEx packages to your mail. (Note: Wyoming allows PO Boxes as an address for the drivers’ license last I checked.) Also, with E911, you can’t avoid tracking, at least with cell towers. GPS can be jammed/blocked. Note that 315MHz is …


Letter Re: Being Anonymous, by Spotlight

HJL: It’s well written, and he makes good points. Many are things I do. On the other hand, I routinely wear a tie, appear on television commercials promoting my business, and am active on social media. I have even run for political office. Having an excess of energy, I actually knocked on 4,500 doors. I should be out of luck by Spotlight’s standard. Interestingly enough people seem to be so socially conscious about position that you are simply not recognized by people you work with regularly (not friends) when you switch from your coat and tie brand to a paint-stained …


Letter: Unintended Exposure Through Bank Debit Cards

All, When giving an analysis of bank debit cards and the advantages and disadvantages of their use, we come across quite a bit of useful information. There is indeed a shift from the use of checks and cash towards debit cards. According to the Federal Reserve Payment Study (2013) “Over the years, payments have become increasingly card-based. Card use may have replaced check use for certain payments” (P.6). The use of cards is of great end use convenience to account holders as swiping a debit card is faster than writing checks. Debit cards are almost universally accepted in today’s market, …


Letter Re: Digital Communications Capabilities for Prepared Families, by Prairie Dweller

I would like to add a small bit of information to the fine work Prairie Dweller provided about digital modes in Amateur Radio. One of the things that has kept me from exploring digital modes has been the requirement for a laptop or desktop system, generally running Windows. Firstly, I don’t do Windows. Secondly, two is one, one is none. How will you repair your laptop after TSHTF? How many laptops can you inventory? Do you have large enough Faraday cages? Given the above, I would like to suggest creating your digital mode hardware setup, using a Raspberry Pi B+ …


The Surveillance State 2015- Part 2, by Kass Andrada

Police and government have also been using cell phone jammers in a number of places. The Federal government has discussed implementing in-car jammers in order to enforce anti-texting and hands-free laws,[1] in part, at the urging of articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association.[2] While the FCC insists that use of cell phone jammers is illegal[3] at least one commercial site offers cell phone jammers for use in prisons[4] and at least one corporation has been caught using cell jammers to prevent it’s employees from communicating while on the clock.[5] License plate readers have been deployed in fixed …


Keys = Access = Power, by B.C.

My last parent passed away, and I’m dealing with the estate/inheritance. I was the close child and trustee/executor (personal representative). It’s a miracle that all the siblings are still friendly (though there is still money to be paid out)! I will also warn you that it is a LOT of (thank-less) work. One of the projects was to sort out all of their keys. It was no small task, as my father owned his own business. I also decided to do my keys at the same time. I’ve tried to hit all the points, but it is hard to organize …


Letter Re: Tails for MacBook Users

HJL, Regarding “Tails for MacBook Users: Anonymity for the Survivalist, by Losttribe”, almost every Mac made, since around 2006, has been Intel-based. From a name perspective, the products were renamed with the shift. Earlier product names were PowerMac, iBook, or PowerBook. Intel-based product names are: Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, et cetera. The only two devices that didn’t get a name shift were the Mac Mini and the iMac. You can see full details at these wikipedia links, and to figure out which mac you have, you can go under the Apple Menu to “About this Mac” and …


Letter Re: Regarding the Tails for Mac Users article

HJL, Almost every “Mac” made since around 2006 has been Intel-based. From a name perspective, the products were renamed with the shift. Earlier product names included PowerMac, iBook, and PowerBook. Intel-based product names include: Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, etc The only two devices that didn’t get a name shift were the Mac Mini and the iMac. You can see full details at these wikipedia links, and to figure out which mac you have, you can go under the Apple Menu to “About this Mac” and it will tell you both the model as well as the processor …