Lets think outside the parnoid box for a minute

Discussion in 'privacy general' started by firefox2008, Mar 19, 2010.

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  1. firefox2008

    firefox2008 Registered Member

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    I am guilty of being paranoid too. My hd is encrypted with Truecrypt and I run my internet connection through an encrypted connection? Why? I don't know. But is all this stuff necessary? Am I really being targeted? Who am I hiding from? I don't know......

    Who is our enemy? And what are the chances of us getting caught doing things that aren't illegal? I don't download cp, I don't go to terrorist sites. Explain to me why I feel as though I should be protected from who knows who.
     
  2. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    On a serious note: whether you're hunted/watched or not and what kind of activities you engage in, in relation to local and federal laws in the country you life, well ... it's something that no one but you can answer. Personally, I think most of the privacy is overinflated or taken too seriously.

    On a funny note: 150mg seratonin (not to be confused with serotonin) twice a day, you'll feel much better.

    Mrk
     
  3. tobacco

    tobacco Frequent Poster

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    As one of the most respected members here, i was alittle shocked to see this comment from you.

    People living in what is supposed to be "Democratic Countries", are having their privacy invaded at an alarming rate. Every time we just bend over and take it, they do and come back for more. I don't care if it's something such as the likes of Google, Yahoo, etc scanning my email to make more advertising money or Big Brother doing it - ~Possibly offensive phrase removed.~ "It's my business, not theirs"

    And firefox2008 - i think your smart encrypting your hard drive as identity theft is rampant in case your rig ever got stolen.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 19, 2010
  4. Carver

    Carver Registered Member

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    This is a little off topic but being paranoid just saved me from Jail for doing something that might be illegal and hard to disprove. Another worker got himself in big trouble. The company started ID checks being paranoid helped me stay out of trouble at work.
     
  5. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

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    That would be pretty neat if you could buy seratonin.
     
  6. SteveTX

    SteveTX Registered Member

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    Step back. Take a deep breath. Now let it out.

    Yes, you are being watched. Yes, your phone is tapped. Yes, all your internet traffic is being sniffed. Yes, all your purchases are being scrutinized. Yes, your social interactions are being calculated. No, I am not kidding.

    The issue is not if it is being done. It is. To think the NSA is spending 45 billion dollars a year and not using the <5 billion it costs to do all these things is simply willful ignorance. The issue is, are you interesting for intelligence, politics, violence, power, or wealth. No? Then you fall back into 99.9% of the rest of the population who are under passive surveillance. Is this information being stored? Yes, at various levels. The data evidence against you has already been collected, filed, catagorized, cross-referenced, and indexed, all awaiting prosecution.

    The only thing left to destroy you is incentive to ruin your life, scape-goat you, or go after you, the rest of the work is already done. The threat isn't physical, per se, it is much worse. The real question is, do you want yourself, your family, your liberty, your integrity to be at the mercy of your government?

    Personally, I can't recall a single power we've given our government that hasn't been abused. Of course, you may find government to be more trustworthy than I do, or simply like to gamble with the highest personal stakes possible.
     
  7. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    Steve, I suspect that you're right. Hey, that's why I'm a customer. OTOH, I'm curious. Unless you're not really that Steve from Texas who this and that and whatever else one can find online, you're probably the least anonymous person on Wilders. Anyway, just sayin'.
     
  8. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    Your chances are extremely good.
    You've been caught posting at Wilders again, and that aren't illegal; But in a few years, who knows.

    Who came up with the phrase, "Think outside the box!".
    It is an empty directive used to put responsibility onto the directed.

    Computers have made this level of citizen monitoring possible.
    Will they actually use it against US citizens?

    As for paranoia, I don't call it paranoia, I call it hyper-vigilance. C.Y.O.A.
     
  9. ploder

    ploder Registered Member

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    Indeed. Paranoia is irrational/unfounded suspicion. If these things are actually happening then it is not paranoid to guard against them. Even if they weren't it would be good practice. It only appears to be paranoid to the unitiated/ignorant. Many years ago it may have been seen as paranoid to shred documents containing personal information. Now it is standard practice and recommended for citizens as well as businesses.
     
  10. SteveTX

    SteveTX Registered Member

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    Hiero,

    Yes, it is me of course, i can sign a message if you like. The problem with most anonymity providers is they confuse their customers with themselves. Many of them choose to be anonymous but it is not required to provide anonymity. Infact, that, I suppose, is my unique thing. I'm out in the open, and I'll answer and ask the hard questions.

    Searching,

    The have spent the time, money, and development; and they continue to do so. It is not if, it is when, and the when was the 1960s, sadly.
     
  11. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    @Steve

    Yes, that's a good point. You're the public face of XeroBank, not a customer. Indeed, as I understand it, you may have nothing important to hide, in that you're firewalled from the people who manage XeroBank. It's a good system.

    And FWIW, Hierophant is just a pseudonym. I don't say or do anything as Hierophant that I wouldn't as myself. I'll leave that for others ;)
     
  12. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    SteveTX is a pseudonym also. For all we know his real name could be Luke Wilson. :D
    99.5% of us use pseudonyms when signing up.

    @Luke
    Are you talking about Communism/Mcarthyism where people were jailed, expelled or blacklisted from working because of suspected links.

    So when I visited Temple of The Screaming Electron to peruse the Anarchists Cookbook, though its a Secret Service Honey Pot, this may be used against me at a later date as evidence of radicalism, terrorism or whatever they choose to charge me with when it becomes fashionable to do so.
    Being visited by that Secret Service agent a week before the President was to land at a local Military base doesn't preclude me from future problems?

    Allah willing, I will get Xerobank soon. :D
     
  13. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    @ Searching_ _ _

    What I meant is that hierophant is just pseudonymous, and not anywhere near anonymous. Also, although Steve could have many other pseudonyms and/or truly anonymous identities, it seems pretty clear that SteveTX is the Steve who represents Xerobank, and there are online traces of that Steve going back over 20 years. Indeed, the fact that he has a reputation to protect is my main reason for trusting XeroBank. Although it's possible, I suppose, that XeroBank staff collectively use the SteveTX pseudonym, that would be pointless (IMHO).
     
  14. chronomatic

    chronomatic Registered Member

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    "Yeah so just sign up for our VPN where you will be safe. That is unless the NSA sends the MIB's to our headquarters and demands logs, which we will happily provide."
     
  15. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    AFAIK, there isn't any "headquarters" for XeroBank, unless you count Steve's office, and I'm sure that you wouldn't find anything useful there. I'm pretty sure that XeroBank is just a "front end" running on leased resources. Management is distributed. Information is compartmentalized and firewalled. Providing logs would require consensus among multiple administrators, in different jurisdictions. Some of them may be mutually anonymous.
     
  16. Searching_ _ _

    Searching_ _ _ Registered Member

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    That's just plain silly. Everyone knows the MIB's don't work for the NSA. MIB's are several paygrades above them.
     
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