# What more for privacy now after the Wiki Leaks' Revelation!



## lorraine walsh (Mar 16, 2017)

I was checking the details on the recent wiki leaks and the details really shocked me. So now I am checking my own tools and steps that I take for my pwn online privacy!
I have started using Tor and already using purevpn mainly because it is based in hong kong and is pretty decent. I have removed the check marks from all the apps (permissions) and have taped my laptop's webcam. Is there anything else? Or all of this doesn't make any difference?

PS also vote!


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## dorsetknob (Mar 16, 2017)

Its not just your Own online Privacy you need to protect
you need to be as pro active as you can with other organizations /institutions and their use/Accumulation and use of your data

For Example have you made Appropriate Recommendations/instructions regarding your Medical info ( Doctor/Dentist. NHS in UK ).


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## qubit (Mar 16, 2017)

If you really wanna be sure that malware won't spy on you with your camera and mic, you have to physically disconnect them. Some malware is sophisticated enough to use them even without drivers, so physical disconnection is the only option. This can involve taking apart your laptop.


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## FireFox (Mar 16, 2017)

lorraine walsh said:


> and have taped my laptop's webcam. Is there anything else?



Yes maybe cover your self too with a black blanket


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## thebluebumblebee (Mar 16, 2017)

To protect my privacy, I didn't vote in your poll because my vote will be publicly visible.


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## dorsetknob (Mar 16, 2017)

Knoxx29 said:


> Yes maybe cover your self too with a black blanket


Naughty boy your just being a burka now


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## alucasa (Mar 16, 2017)

I don't care. My porn collection is stored offline.


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## dorsetknob (Mar 16, 2017)

alucasa said:


> I don't care. My porn collection is stored offline.


 I don't have a porn collection 
Its Educational films


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## Ebo (Mar 16, 2017)

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I dont. I've just made one change since all the stuff on Wiki....every night I go to bed, I pull down my pants and farts at my 55" smart tv......just in case.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 16, 2017)

If you're using social networking services, get off of them.  They're sole purpose in existing is to study and gossip about you.


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## alucasa (Mar 16, 2017)

How about those who cannot live without facebook, Twitter, and whatnot?


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## Easy Rhino (Mar 16, 2017)

alucasa said:


> How about those who cannot live without facebook, Twitter, and whatnot?



those people should get a life.


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## Shihab (Mar 16, 2017)

Digitise the least possible details of your meat-space life, use only the smartest possible machines you need (read: use everything that is dump unless you REALLY need one that can crunch numbers).



alucasa said:


> How about those who cannot live without facebook, Twitter, and whatnot?



Stuff 'em with enough random crap and youtube videos that their algorithms can't build up any remotely accurate profile on you.


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## alucasa (Mar 16, 2017)

On a more serious note, teens nowdays are glued to their phones w/ facebook or twitter or even both, especially the girls.

You simply cannot separate them from their phones. It's literally their lifehood.


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## jboydgolfer (Mar 16, 2017)

Ive  taken "steps" to make sure nothing I don't want shared is... but to be frank it's more of a lifestyle than a process.

 You certainly cant gossip with your old high school friends and trade pictures of your kids and still expect a high level of privacy.


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## laszlo (Mar 16, 2017)

lorraine walsh said:


> I was checking the details on the recent wiki leaks and the details really shocked me. So now I am checking my own tools and steps that I take for my pwn online privacy!
> I have started using Tor and already using purevpn mainly because it is based in hong kong and is pretty decent. I have removed the check marks from all the apps (permissions) and have taped my laptop's webcam. Is there anything else? Or all of this doesn't make any difference?
> 
> PS also vote!



once you powered up your laptop and posted here you're screwed! shut down everything "smart" and move underground to avoid detection&spying !


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## remixedcat (Mar 16, 2017)

Tor has been compromized... don't use it


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

qubit said:


> If you really wanna be sure that malware won't spy on you with your camera and mic, you have to physically disconnect them. Some malware is sophisticated enough to use them even without drivers, so physical disconnection is the only option. This can involve taking apart your laptop.



If you're on a laptop you don't have to physically disconnect the camera. Decent AV software will let you switch the camera on and off. (If you trust the vendor to protect your privacy that is)
And you right about the mic. But the speakers can also be used as a mic.
May as well dismantle the machine, tear out potential spy-hardware and leave only the screen and keyboard.

Fail: The keyboard can be logged.


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

remixedcat said:


> Tor has been compromized... don't use it



Didn't the FBI create it?


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## qubit (Mar 16, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> If you're using social networking services, get off of them.  They're sole purpose in existing is to study and gossip about you.


Rubbish! They're there to reward and enrich your life with new experiences and to meet new people, my friend.

ok, sorry, I can't keep a straight face anymore. 



Killerdroid said:


> If you're on a laptop you don't have to physically disconnect the camera. Decent AV software will let you switch the camera on and off. (If you trust the vendor to protect your privacy that is)
> And you right about the mic. But the speakers can also be used as a mic.
> May as well dismantle the machine, tear out potential spy-hardware and leave only the screen and keyboard.


Damn, I forgot about those pesky speakers as mics. However, I think whether this is actually possible to do depends on the design of the hardware that they're connected to.

Yes, the camera can be taped over, but disconnecting it looks better without that bit of sticky tape spoiling the look of the laptop. Also, it ensures that no video signal of any kind can get through, even just light and dark, which could be enough to tell a hacker something useful about their mark.

I also want to temper this, that although such driverless malware exists, I don't know how much there is out there which has this capability. I guess it all depends on how paranoid you are / high profile you are.


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## erocker (Mar 16, 2017)

Hello.

Too late.  Best option is to unplug the cable from your router and power down. The internet never was nor will it ever be secure.


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

qubit said:


> Damn, I forgot about those pesky speakers as mics. However, I think whether this is actually possible to do depends on the design of the hardware that they're connected to.



You can turn regular household speakers in mic's. (_Tears machine open and cuts cables_)




qubit said:


> Yes, the camera can be taped over, but disconnecting it looks better without that bit of sticky tape spoiling the look of the laptop. Also, it ensures that no video signal of any kind can get through, even just light and dark, which could be enough to tell a hacker something useful about their mark.



Black tape on a black laptop looks pretty nice 



qubit said:


> I also want to temper this, that although such driverless malware exists, I don't know how much there is out there which has this capability. I guess it all depends on how paranoid you are / high profile you are.



'Collect it all' was the motto. I don't think you have to be paranoid.


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

dorsetknob said:


> Its not just your Own online Privacy you need to protect
> you need to be as pro active as you can with other organizations /institutions and their use/Accumulation and use of your data
> 
> For Example have you made Appropriate Recommendations/instructions regarding your Medical info ( Doctor/Dentist. NHS in UK ).



I don't think it really mattered when you were given the choice to op out of data sharing with the NHS.
They've been hacked and lost data. I bet they've even sold some of it to ambulance chasers. (I think some of my data was sold because of the phone calls I received from said ambulance chasers)


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## remixedcat (Mar 16, 2017)

Killerdroid said:


> Didn't the FBI create it?


I think so or at least had a hand in it


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

remixedcat said:


> I think so or at least had a hand in it



I'm 99% certain they did.  If that's the case then it must be pretty useless.
(Nice blog BTW)


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## Derek12 (Mar 16, 2017)

I don't use any social networks so at least nobody can enter my private life


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

Derek12 said:


> I don't use any social networks so at least nobody can enter my private life



Your operating system will help you out with that


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## ZenZimZaliben (Mar 16, 2017)

If you really dive into the leaks you will see it is beyond just software. Some of this snooping/spying is being performed at the hardware level. Not much you can do in that sense except have the system completely offline.


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## dorsetknob (Mar 16, 2017)

Killerdroid said:


> Didn't the FBI create it?



Federaly funded and probably with """OVERSIGHT""""

The core principle of Tor, "onion routing", was developed in the mid-1990s by United States Naval Research Laboratory employees, mathematician Paul Syverson and computer scientists Michael G. Reed and David Goldschlag, with the purpose of protecting U.S. intelligence communications online. Onion routing was further developed by DARPA in 1997


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## Killerdroid (Mar 16, 2017)

dorsetknob said:


> Federaly funded and probably with """OVERSIGHT""""
> 
> The core principle of Tor, "onion routing", was developed in the mid-1990s by United States Naval Research Laboratory employees, mathematician Paul Syverson and computer scientists Michael G. Reed and David Goldschlag, with the purpose of protecting U.S. intelligence communications online. Onion routing was further developed by DARPA in 1997



Ahhh, U.S Navy. Now I remember. Thanks.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 17, 2017)

alucasa said:


> You simply cannot separate them from their phones. It's literally their lifehood.


It's an addiction, it's exactly what social media wants, and it has to stop.


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## Derek12 (Mar 17, 2017)

Killerdroid said:


> Your operating system will help you out with that


I have it configured to not to do that.
Besides it doesn't leak so much personal information


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## R-T-B (Mar 17, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> It's an addiction, it's exactly what social media wants, and it has to stop.



Maybe it has too, but you know as well as I do the genie is out of the bottle and it ain't going back in.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 17, 2017)

Like any addiction, users have to make the conscious decision to break it.


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## R-T-B (Mar 17, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Like any addiction, users have to make the conscious decision to break it.



Harder though when the majority of a population is addicted, yes?

I couldn't function job-wise without my phone, but at least I run my own firmware on mine, and I'm not glued to it.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 17, 2017)

Not really no.  Just close your account and you're done.  If there's something important to discuss, your average dumb phone supports phone calls, texting, and many even emails.

If you're really a stickler for privacy, then go down to just phone calls.  There's a plethora of regulations against wiretapping without a warrant.  It also takes a lot of hardware and software resources to accurately convert speech to text.  Recording conversations is forbidden too without jumping through a lot of hoops.

If you're obscenely proficient on privacy, use burner phones.


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## R-T-B (Mar 17, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Not really no.  Just close your account and you're done.  If there's something important to discuss, your average dumb phone supports phone calls, texting, and many even emails.
> 
> If you're really a stickler for privacy, then go down to just phone calls.  There's a plethora of regulations against wiretapping without a warrant.  It also takes a lot of hardware and software resources to accurately convert speech to text.  Recording conversations is forbidden too without jumping through a lot of hoops.
> 
> If you're obscenely proficient on privacy, use burner phones.



In my case, the inconvenience far outweighs the benefit.

Besides, you ever tried texting on a "dumb phone?"  Not my idea of a fun day.


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## FordGT90Concept (Mar 17, 2017)

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin


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## lorraine walsh (Mar 17, 2017)

Thanks for you votes and valuable comments! 
I really didn't know about TOR... I'm gonna remove it right away. About social media, you're all right about it. But, it is the new cool and honestly a lot of people don't care about their privacy! and the most important part is that social media is addictive.


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## FireFox (Mar 17, 2017)

lorraine walsh said:


> it is the new cool and honestly a lot of people don't care about their privacy!



I don't because there is not privacy.


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## Solaris17 (Mar 17, 2017)

The problem with activists for a secure internet isn't the methods in which they recommend you protect yourself but the idea itself.

The industry has taken an interesting turn since 2013/14. Yahoo is compromised every 2 weeks. Private and govt websites are broken into by parties now as well. You have a different type of social media presence. Wikileaks is something even non-computer literate people have heard of. The "battle for transparency" is something that has been going on for years.

no longer are programmers getting jobs at private security firms or taking a job with AV or research companies. Instead they are the defenders or mercenaries. They use their talent for good or bad depending on the amount of 0's on the check.

Your data is worth more than you know. The climate is such that the battleground is now cyberspace and the web as a whole. Honestly, you would be a fool for thinking you can master privacy on the internet. Remember they are no longer after your FB password. They will simply target the site itself.

It's a shame that I have to conclude that I think this way. This industry used to be much different. Now your baby cams and IoT devices are used in botnets, and surveillance. It's not even the govt doing it.

To be pointed anyone using the internet and demands any kind of privacy is on a soccer field with no clue they are playing a game. From a InfoSec perspective. The most you can do is limit the data you are going to post. You can NEVER post personal data and "protect" it. 

You should be careful online. Taped webcams, VPNs and TOR will keep the ISP from sending you a cease and desist for downloading logan-2017-1080.mp4 and the tape might keep those viruses your ignoring from taking a peek. But they are realistically user end equivalents to wearing a sheet for warmth on a cold night.


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## lorraine walsh (Mar 17, 2017)

There are very few people who on't use social media!

I completely agree with what you said solaris17, but what I can do to protect myself is certainly better than not doing anything about it. I know It might not be 100% fool proof, but still it is a lot better than not doing anything about it!


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## dorsetknob (Mar 17, 2017)

lorraine walsh said:


> and the most important part is that social media is addictive.



Pisss nudge nudge wink you wanna buy some primo facebook time guarenteed not cut $80 a lid Gig



lorraine walsh said:


> There are very few people who on't use social media!


Definitely not me and by the way you can delete those pics of me wearing thongs and fish net stockings you don't have my consent to put then on .......................


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## ZenZimZaliben (Mar 17, 2017)

If the Government really does have backdoors into Intel/AMD then there is nothing that can stop them. Encryption happens above the hardware level so if you have a binary backdoor to a cpu you have no limit on what you can track, audit, record and even inject. The possibility to inject code, files, Images, and Confidential material on your pc and then bust your for it is very real and very scary stuff.


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## Drone (Mar 17, 2017)

Not using social media helps but not much. Every kind of soft/hardware uses tracking in one form or the other


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## jaggerwild (Mar 21, 2017)

Tor was never compromised, the guy who got caught(owner of silk road)used his real life name to log in is how they caught him. Get yer facts straight before you spew dis information. Let me know I can link the video of Deffcon


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## MrGenius (Mar 21, 2017)

NSA said:
			
		

> All your HDD/SSD are belong to us.


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