Taking control of your most valuable asset.. privacy
There is often discussion about private messaging apps and the relative pros and cons, but privacy is a concept that can have different meanings to different people. Here we lay out a framework for thinking about privacy in the context of messaging apps. Privacy is best understood as private from whom . There is also a [ ] Read more
Great article in Scientific American pointing out that in the 2020-2021 winter flu season, the flu has completely disappeared. Some will attribute this to all the dutiful citizens obeying the myriad of government decrees put in place for Corona. But those who can think clearly will realize this is because, as was known from the [ ] Read more
On April 5th, 2021 Justice Thomas wrote an opinion for the Supreme Court that for the first time correctly frames the debate around internet censorship, or its politically correct euphemism “content moderation”. The censorship by Big Tech of individuals is not a matter for the much discussed Section 230, but a matter of common carriers [ ] Read more
Announcing the new Scorched Web Wiki project to have a community resource for all items about privacy, federated social media, and the decentralized and distributed Web 3.0 There is a ton going on in this space, and we felt that a community contributed wiki was a resource people could use to track what is going [ ] Read more
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/05/1020376/resist-big-tech-surveillance-data/ That is a fascinating article from MIT about how to fight back against the surveillance economy of Big Tech by poisoning the data that they are using. I think this is wildly interesting because it strikes at the Achilles heal of Big Tech, it requires your voluntary submission to their system. Yes you can [ ]…
As we talked about in Purge Gmail before Gmail Purges You, Google will lock you out of your account. It does and will happen, don t believe us, read here: What it’s like to get locked out of Google indefinitely by Business Insider Business Insider Medium https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/03/08/when-google-locks-you-out-of-your-account-begging-the-internet-for-help-is-your-first-and-last-resort/…
I came across in a discussion forum and it was very thought provoking, if for no other reason than as a reminder that nothing we are experiencing today is new. Comments appreciated Paradox of tolerance Wikipedia Read more
Exit the Goolag and Googles grip on your privacy Read more
Would you be wiling to forward me all your email? Can I have the password to your Gmail account so that I can read all your email you have ever sent or send in the future? If you use Gmail for your email you have already answered YES to both of those questions. By using [ ] Read more
The two best known providers of un-censored, freedom and privacy respecting email services are Fastmail and ProtonMail. I currently use them both and can say that they are fantastic. Fastmail tends to appeal to the casual user who cares about ease of use and their UI is better than anyone, even Gmail. Protonmail tends to [ ] Read more
Today is the day that big tech fully crossed the Rubicon. They have used power to marginalize people, they have abused the innocent and taken advantage of the system. The future is federated. The future is decentralized. The future is freedom Read more
https://thefederalist.com/2020/12/30/we-cant-get-back-to-normal-if-people-think-spreading-covid-equals-murder/ Read more
It is articles like this that are shredding the credibility of government and the scientific establishment. Any person who has spent two minutes on a subway or crowded bus knows that it is the perfect environment to spreading viruses and germs. You don t need to be a rocket scientist (or epidemiologist) to know that. It [ ] Read more
This post will be continuously updated with resources from others on alternatives on how to remove Google, and other centralized spying as a business model service from your life: https://wiki.scorchedweb.com/doku.php?id=switching_from_google Read more
There is a solid history in the US of consumers banding together to effect (or is it affect?) change by using the power of the purse to reward or dissuade companies from there political practices. In that vain I would like to suggest that a list be formulated of preferred companies for those that believe [ ] Read more
Burner email Services Create fake (burner) email addresses that can be used for services that require email for you to sign up, but you don t want to give your real email. This is the equivalent to how people used Hotmail back in the day. Burner Mail https://www.burnermail.io/ Mail Drop https://maildrop.cc/ Proton Mail [ ] Read more
In addition to these secure and private email hosting services previously profiled (www.fastmail.com and https://protonmail.com/) there is an open-source software alternative called MailPile that allows you to host your email on your own desktop or server and then use a web interface to access your email on your computer. This way there is no leaking [ ] Read more
There are things you can do right now to take back your privacy. These are specific applications you can start using today to do exactly what you want (text, mail, communicate) without having to go through the gauntlet of the surveillance economy companies (GMail, etc). These web sites offer general advice on how to use [ ] Read more
If you are a supporter of a more democratic, less censored web, where privacy is the foremost importance, then there are organizations you can join and support that are working to advance these causes. While not all of the organizations support everything you may believe in, and they may support things you don t (I certainly [ ] Read more
Would you let complete strangers know everywhere you have been? How about where you are planning on going today, would you let them know that and your exact route on how you want to get there? How about every place you are thinking about going but haven t decided yet? If you use google maps you [ ] Read more
Here are four articles that are good reads on the usual privacy and how to best safeguard yourself from companies in the business of stealing your privacy and selling it for a profit (aka: Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc ) https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363302,00.asp https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-really-is-spying-on-you-just-not-through-your-phones-mic-1520448644…
If you want a frightening read, from ACLU who I personally dislike, on how Facebook, and we can assume all others in the surveillance economy, monitor and track you even if you never signed up for Facebook. This is truly disturbing. https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/internet-privacy/facebook-tracking-me-even-though-im-not-facebook Read more
Google, Facebook, Amazon they are monopolies pure and simple. Since their business model is predicated on the network effect it is not possible to argue otherwise. And just like the oil barons before these monopolies must be broken up. We the people have broke up illegal monopolies (see: Sherman Anti-Trust Act) before and we will [ ] Read more
Why escape from the Goolag? If you wouldn t let a stranger listen to all your phone calls, read all your mail, and spy on your photos… then you should not be using Google, Facebook or Amazon. Would you allow random strangers to view all your photos? All the photos of your children? Can I read [ ] Read more
If you are not already using Firefox as your browser, here is one more reason you should (as if making sure that Google doesn t record every single key-press you type while using using the web wasn t enough reason not to stop using Chrome ) Firefox has an extension that will sandbox your Facebook experience so you can [ ] Read more
Would you let a stranger read everything your child does at school? Know every web site they visit? See a copy of every photo they take and know about every book they read? How about a group of strangers, because that is what happens when children use Google classroom and school issued Chromebooks. Do you [ ] Read more
Citizens Against Monopoly is an excellent organization working to battle the monopolies of the internet. From their about section: We are a growing movement to protect this country s economy and democracy from gigantic corporate monopolies that undermine opportunity, competition, choice, and freedom of expression. We believe our democracy hangs in the balance and it will [ ] Read more
How much would you need to be paid to let someone know where you are every moment of the day within 5 yards and then sell that information with thousands of companies and people you don’t know? Probably more than zero. But if you leave your location tracking option on your phone to ON then [ ] Read more
The internet as your personal source of news has taken many forms, and unfortunately where we have ended for most people is a place where others decide for you what you should be thinking and reading. In the beginning the web was simple, you just went to the web sites that interested you. Then the [ ] Read more
DuckDuckGo published this excellent blog post on their version of how to exit the Goolag. Many of the recommendations are the same, but always good to get multiple perspectives: https://spreadprivacy.com/how-to-remove-google/ Read more
The CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo, a completely private search engine that is a suggested replacement for google, wrote a great entry on why you should use their service: https://www.quora.com/Why-should-I-use-DuckDuckGo-instead-of-Google Read more