Internet Privacy
- Thread starter RickWhite
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PadawanBater
Guest
I saw a story a while back where they "monitored" over a years worth of email and phone logs from customers of verizon (or AT&T). I was pissed about that, that was during the telecom immunity deal that was going on in 07 or 08.
I would guess they can/do monitor people all over the net.
I don't really have any concrete evidence though, so it's really just my guess.
Stoney McFried
Well-Known Member
You can always use a proxy to log into any website you'd rather didn't have your ip. You can clear your history in your browser and delete cookies to help a little bit, but the very best way to delete all data is to reformat your hard drive and do a clean operating system install. You can back up the things you want to keep on a zip drive. There's also a free tool called clean disk security that is supposed to clean all traces of your history without having to reformat.http://download.cnet.com/Clean-Disk-Security/3000-2092_4-10052111.html
I've also heard about virtual machines...basically, it's a computer within your computer...you install it, then install an operating system on it and use it every time you surf. If you get a virus or want to delete your browsing history on it, simply delete the virtual pc and start again. I've never personally done this, but it seems a good idea.
If you are downloading pirated software, your ip usually catches you because of your upload speed,not your download speed. So you have to limit your upload speed on whatever you're using to download that torrent, like utorrent.
If you have a two way firewall like comodo,you can see what kind of inbound and outbound traffic you have going...if it's something unrecognized, it might give you a heads up that you're being spied upon. Some viruses install keyloggers which record keystrokes,which is a way to get user names and passwords for bank accounts.
Basically, participating in a forum isn't illegal,unless it's one of those child porn rings or something...but if cops find out you grow they may be able to obtain a warrant to confiscate your pc for the purposes of gathering evidence.
You can also supposedly change your ip address. http://www.wikihow.com/Change-your-IP-Address-(Windows)
I use the ipconfig/release/renew thing a lot because it seems to speed up my connection when it's really dragging. Just make sure you print the instructions first so you don't forget how to reconnect your internet.
I've also heard about virtual machines...basically, it's a computer within your computer...you install it, then install an operating system on it and use it every time you surf. If you get a virus or want to delete your browsing history on it, simply delete the virtual pc and start again. I've never personally done this, but it seems a good idea.
If you are downloading pirated software, your ip usually catches you because of your upload speed,not your download speed. So you have to limit your upload speed on whatever you're using to download that torrent, like utorrent.
If you have a two way firewall like comodo,you can see what kind of inbound and outbound traffic you have going...if it's something unrecognized, it might give you a heads up that you're being spied upon. Some viruses install keyloggers which record keystrokes,which is a way to get user names and passwords for bank accounts.
Basically, participating in a forum isn't illegal,unless it's one of those child porn rings or something...but if cops find out you grow they may be able to obtain a warrant to confiscate your pc for the purposes of gathering evidence.
You can also supposedly change your ip address. http://www.wikihow.com/Change-your-IP-Address-(Windows)
I use the ipconfig/release/renew thing a lot because it seems to speed up my connection when it's really dragging. Just make sure you print the instructions first so you don't forget how to reconnect your internet.
bobsgreen
Active Member
He's right the best way to delete data is to get a program that deletes and writes over the data you want to delete multiple times..I was amazed when I downloaded a data recovery tool and could access things that were deleted from my recycling bin a year ago(might be an exaggeration..this was a while ago..months at least)
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PadawanBater
Guest
I think any cop clever enough could find out the name and location of anyone on this site.
doc111
Well-Known Member
This is something I'd really like to know as well. I tend to believe that everything that goes on is being monitored in some way. It seems like there are so many ways to be "gotten" on the internet that it scares the hell out of me quite frankly. I have good security software but I doubt it's enough. I've tried using proxy sites to log on here but I can't log in when I use one so..............it's a risk worth taking for me but I still get paranoid about it from time to time.
NuteGreenwitch
Well-Known Member
Yes - isn't it real sad, though, that our police are wasting our tax dollars and valuable resources to catch growers of plants.... I cannot believe we, as a supposed established country, must deal with bullies of the law looking for opportunities to breach our Constitutional rights by using the "law" to break "laws" to catch us breaking "laws"?!
Yes, police are automatically members of the Good Ole Boy Network and stick together like street hoodlums and will, at the expense of protecting their jobs and their buddies jobs, knowingly break REAL laws to entrap, torture, convict, and cover-up. You would think that with the advent and popularity of small digital cameras and cell phone cameras the message would be clear and less idiot, redneck troublemakers would be interested in joining "the force" because citizens have smartened up and started documenting police corruption... but no - these bumble bees with badges just get angry and group together and plan how their next victim will pay. You know what though? Bumble bees will sting you but they will die after the fact. Cops are the same in this respect. It takes a sting and a death for a lesson to these idiots. But, unfortunately, history repeats itself and they hire more idiots, re-group, and then sting their next poor victim.
Message to cops: Do they train you and pay you to enforce laws or are you indoctrinated with redneck philosophy and propaganda to unknowingly break down the fabric of what used to make America a very unique and independent power? Forget it... if you are a cop on here reading this, your next step will more than likely be a convoluted sting to take down a vicious grower of plants. Then, you and your buddies can brag about it in front of your girlfriends and add a stripe to your ego. I say "girlfriends" because we all know cops don't stay married long. Cops say it's the nature of the job that ruins relationships. I think they are right. Cops are generally vindictive lying bullies and more than likely beat their wives into divorce!
Yes, police are automatically members of the Good Ole Boy Network and stick together like street hoodlums and will, at the expense of protecting their jobs and their buddies jobs, knowingly break REAL laws to entrap, torture, convict, and cover-up. You would think that with the advent and popularity of small digital cameras and cell phone cameras the message would be clear and less idiot, redneck troublemakers would be interested in joining "the force" because citizens have smartened up and started documenting police corruption... but no - these bumble bees with badges just get angry and group together and plan how their next victim will pay. You know what though? Bumble bees will sting you but they will die after the fact. Cops are the same in this respect. It takes a sting and a death for a lesson to these idiots. But, unfortunately, history repeats itself and they hire more idiots, re-group, and then sting their next poor victim.
Message to cops: Do they train you and pay you to enforce laws or are you indoctrinated with redneck philosophy and propaganda to unknowingly break down the fabric of what used to make America a very unique and independent power? Forget it... if you are a cop on here reading this, your next step will more than likely be a convoluted sting to take down a vicious grower of plants. Then, you and your buddies can brag about it in front of your girlfriends and add a stripe to your ego. I say "girlfriends" because we all know cops don't stay married long. Cops say it's the nature of the job that ruins relationships. I think they are right. Cops are generally vindictive lying bullies and more than likely beat their wives into divorce!
UNICRONLIVES
Well-Known Member
www.cryptohippie.com check it out!! to me its worth every cent!! just like piece of mind is!!!
RickWhite
Well-Known Member
WTF is with all the anti-white racism? If someone else wrote this and replaced the term "redneck" with "nigger" would it offend you?
I agree that cops are deranged individuals but the references to being "good old boys" and "rednecks" is nothing but racism. Just because it is the in thing to do, doesn't make it right.
Now, let's return this thread to the topic at hand please.
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PadawanBater
Guest
lmao when has that ever stopped Johnny Law?
greenpeace31
Well-Known Member
do you guys have ANY IDEA how manny things is on the net that thy would LOVE to make a bust on? there is NO WAY in hell thy can keep up with all of them!! you would have to do something REAL BAD or poke at the wrong person for them to come after you this way!! the fta world thats in the millions now is being hit with these typ of tackticks by dish network because there sats keep getting hacked and it is a BIG BIG COST to them. theres pot sites,porn,FTA,hacking sites,phone hacking sites and so on the list gos on. then you have whats going on with terrorism!! sorry guys there not after the LITTLE pot guys here at RIU. a good site to go to to learn about hacking and HOW thy do things like this visit a FTA sites like fta-gods.com (dont forget the dash-) there PROS when it comes to things like this.
RickWhite
Well-Known Member
While it is true there is safety in numbers, that doesn't stop your local PD from spying on people in their jurisdiction. And while they don't care about hacking phones or illegal FTA, they do like to bust neighborhood grow ops.
For secure browsing, you can use a proxy service, but you can't be sure the proxy is trustworthy. It could be a honeypot. Or it could be legit, but they'll turn over their records under court order. Best bet is to use Tor/Vidalia.
For secure file storage, you'll want to use full disk encryption. You could pay for PGP's product. But there is also Truecrypt, which is free and just as good. Of course, the courts could compel you to give your password. To get around that, you would use a hidden operating system. Basically it's an encrypted OS within an encrypted OS. They'll know the first one is there, and you can give the password to that if compelled, but they will have no way to prove the second OS is there (as long as you follow certain rules (deniability for anything you do is of utmost importance)). Use the hidden OS to hide all of your super secret stuff.
If you need to securely erase files, get Eraser ( http://eraser.heidi.ie ), but this should only be done when full disk encryption is not an option, or if you didn't realize you should be using it.
For secure email, use something like Thunderbird with the Enigmail plugin. You're looking to use what's called Public-key/Private-key encryption and signing.
For secure IM, use Pidgin (for Windows and Linux), with the Off The Record plugin (there's an Encryption plugin, but it's not as good). If you have a Mac, you can use Adium, which comes with OTR built in.
With any form of communication, you need to realize there is a risk from what's called a Man In The Middle attack. Learn how to defend against that. Also, you can't always be sure who's reading on the other end, or who's sending, if the other party has been compromised. That's just part of the risk. Find your own creative solution to this (e.g. secret authentication code).
For secure VOIP, use ZFone (make sure your VOIP software will work with it).
For all online stuff, use SSL where possible/applicable.
Don't trust Skype, Hushmail, or any other service that claims to offer encryption. They're either not very secure, not trustworthy, or can be compromised by court order. Your best bet is to stick with what I listed above.
Never ever say anything incriminating over the phone. Ever. No hints. Be careful with code words. You can get encrypted cell phones, all parties in a call must be using them. I won't recommend these as I've not looked into them too much. The contents of your conversation may be safe, but the record of the calls isn't. And don't even think about using text.
Be careful what you say online. Anything you write will give Them a better idea of who you are. What seems like innocuous conversation online, even with all the security measures in place, helps Them build a profile of you, if they become interested in you. They'll be able to narrow down where you live, your gender, approx how old you are, what your politics are, what kind of work you do, your hobbies and interests, etc. This isn't much by itself, but if they think they have other info on you, this stuff will help corroborate that. I don't mean to sound paranoid... I'm not high right now, and haven't been for quite some time... few of us would do anything to warrant that kind of attention.
Just want to give you an idea of how to protect yourself.
Hope that helps as a starter.
More details below:
https://ssd.eff.org/
For secure file storage, you'll want to use full disk encryption. You could pay for PGP's product. But there is also Truecrypt, which is free and just as good. Of course, the courts could compel you to give your password. To get around that, you would use a hidden operating system. Basically it's an encrypted OS within an encrypted OS. They'll know the first one is there, and you can give the password to that if compelled, but they will have no way to prove the second OS is there (as long as you follow certain rules (deniability for anything you do is of utmost importance)). Use the hidden OS to hide all of your super secret stuff.
If you need to securely erase files, get Eraser ( http://eraser.heidi.ie ), but this should only be done when full disk encryption is not an option, or if you didn't realize you should be using it.
For secure email, use something like Thunderbird with the Enigmail plugin. You're looking to use what's called Public-key/Private-key encryption and signing.
For secure IM, use Pidgin (for Windows and Linux), with the Off The Record plugin (there's an Encryption plugin, but it's not as good). If you have a Mac, you can use Adium, which comes with OTR built in.
With any form of communication, you need to realize there is a risk from what's called a Man In The Middle attack. Learn how to defend against that. Also, you can't always be sure who's reading on the other end, or who's sending, if the other party has been compromised. That's just part of the risk. Find your own creative solution to this (e.g. secret authentication code).
For secure VOIP, use ZFone (make sure your VOIP software will work with it).
For all online stuff, use SSL where possible/applicable.
Don't trust Skype, Hushmail, or any other service that claims to offer encryption. They're either not very secure, not trustworthy, or can be compromised by court order. Your best bet is to stick with what I listed above.
Never ever say anything incriminating over the phone. Ever. No hints. Be careful with code words. You can get encrypted cell phones, all parties in a call must be using them. I won't recommend these as I've not looked into them too much. The contents of your conversation may be safe, but the record of the calls isn't. And don't even think about using text.
Be careful what you say online. Anything you write will give Them a better idea of who you are. What seems like innocuous conversation online, even with all the security measures in place, helps Them build a profile of you, if they become interested in you. They'll be able to narrow down where you live, your gender, approx how old you are, what your politics are, what kind of work you do, your hobbies and interests, etc. This isn't much by itself, but if they think they have other info on you, this stuff will help corroborate that. I don't mean to sound paranoid... I'm not high right now, and haven't been for quite some time... few of us would do anything to warrant that kind of attention.
Just want to give you an idea of how to protect yourself. Hope that helps as a starter.
More details below:
https://ssd.eff.org/
whiteflour
Well-Known Member
This is what's known as a jailed environment, and while it can work, if the virtual machine is connected to the internal network there's nothing to stop it from infecting the host. Also any data used on the virtual machine is still saved on the actual disk, actually in a format which makes it easier to extract and transport (this was its true purpose). For security's sake you're really better off saving everything to an encrypted flash disk that you could easily destroy.
This generally is not the case. While you can change your internal IP address at leisure it's becoming more and more difficult to change your physical IP, which is what actually connects to websites. Most modems these days all come pre-equipped with a DHCP router and forcing an IP address change on the computer doesn't reset the IP the router itself is holding.
Now you could reset the router but that in itself isn't enough to force the change either. Often enough your IP address is actually bound to the MAC address (which isn't so easily changed) and will only renew if it's been unused for a predetermined period of time that only the ISP would know. This could be anywhere from a matter of hours to weeks, and some customers are even issued static IPs which never change. So the only way to truly know you've changed your IP is to unplug the modem for quite a while, but until you know what the length of time is, you're stuck in a one step forward two step back process.
EagleEyeHamThrust
Active Member
www.torproject.org
It essentially routes your traffic through two or more other computers, and it can be used in conjunction with encryption. If you are browsing the net with computer A, you send a message to computer B, B sends a message to computer C, computer C accesses the information (such as a website) and then sends it back to B, and B sends it back to you at computer A. It essentially hides your IP address, so that if this site were forced by law enforcement to give up IP logs, or they were tracking it, it would make it more difficult for them to trace back to your ip. You can't use anything flash based, so no youtube, but it will help. No matter what, if law enforcement gets bullshit warrants (which they do every day thanks to crusading judges) they can data mine pretty much everything that is done on the internet and nothing can stop that. There's also the possibility that law enforcement could be operating both computers B and C, and they'd know exactly what you were viewing.
It's a little bit slower than usual internet, but I almost always have pages load in under 30 seconds. Occasionally you get some interesting stuff when a website tries to determine your country of origin. When using it, I've had Google come up in German, and (I think) Japanese.
It essentially routes your traffic through two or more other computers, and it can be used in conjunction with encryption. If you are browsing the net with computer A, you send a message to computer B, B sends a message to computer C, computer C accesses the information (such as a website) and then sends it back to B, and B sends it back to you at computer A. It essentially hides your IP address, so that if this site were forced by law enforcement to give up IP logs, or they were tracking it, it would make it more difficult for them to trace back to your ip. You can't use anything flash based, so no youtube, but it will help. No matter what, if law enforcement gets bullshit warrants (which they do every day thanks to crusading judges) they can data mine pretty much everything that is done on the internet and nothing can stop that. There's also the possibility that law enforcement could be operating both computers B and C, and they'd know exactly what you were viewing.
It's a little bit slower than usual internet, but I almost always have pages load in under 30 seconds. Occasionally you get some interesting stuff when a website tries to determine your country of origin. When using it, I've had Google come up in German, and (I think) Japanese.
While this is technically true, it's beyond the capabilities of most law enforcement agencies. A federal agency such as the FBI, NSA, or CIA may be able to pull this off, but they're not going to expend the resources on smokers, home growers, or political dissidents. Against a terrorist network or major drug cartel, maybe. But there are generally easier ways for them to get the same info.
I don't know a lot. I know proxy servers are a must for people putting up pics n such. To get a proxy server to work you need the program plus a list of working online proxys. I personally know of one idiot that installed the proxy software and did not look up and enter a proxy server list. He was just pranking people online and he was caught and faced harrassment and cyber someshit charges.
Also, a lot of people don't understand how powerful search engines are. Just placing different signs on google or yahoo makes those searches be very specific. So it's possible to use google to crossreference thousands of social sites for similar posts in seconds. If you post the same thing on two websites and one of those sites has your picture, and that picture is also on another site with you tagged, the dots connect themselves.
Journalists are experts at this type of research. Cops are catching on.
Also, a lot of people don't understand how powerful search engines are. Just placing different signs on google or yahoo makes those searches be very specific. So it's possible to use google to crossreference thousands of social sites for similar posts in seconds. If you post the same thing on two websites and one of those sites has your picture, and that picture is also on another site with you tagged, the dots connect themselves.
Journalists are experts at this type of research. Cops are catching on.