Web Surfing for the Paranoid!

[big_teee]

Do you have a Pacemaker?
If so you may want to read this?
Ransomware for Pacemakers.
Over 8,600 Vulnerabilities Found in Pacemakers
T

[salvarsan]

For anonymous browsing and computer location obfuscation, there is the Tor browser which uses a network of Tor servers. It's like anonymous remailing in realtime.

Tor Browser Download Link

[bob p]

I'm a little reluctant to mention this, because most PC users are complacent that problems don't exist when they can't see them. Most people don't like to believe how pervasive automated computer spying really is. For example, years ago I was accused of being an alarmist when my network's extrusion detection system recognized that Ubuntu Server was configured to phone home by sending information packets to Canonical, every time that the root account was logged into the system. I had hard evidence that they were remotely monitoring root user activities on servers, but nobody was willing to consider that to be a problem because Ubuntu is a charitable organization run by a magnanimous billionaire who brings free software to the world. People accused me of wearing a tin foil hat.

Years later, people seem to be waking up to the fact that free software isn't really free when it's been embedded with spyware.

I recently found something bothersome about firefox -- the web side API gives web developers the opportunity to turn-off what they arbitrarily deem to be "malicious" plugins -- for example: plugins that interfere with the execution of their HTML coding and embedded java scripting.

I noticed this when files with names like blocklist-addadons.json, blocklist-plugins.json, and blocklist-*.json started appearing in my hidden .mozilla/firefox user profile directory every time that I visited a particular site.

This feature is not openly documented for public review, so finding information via google is difficult. But because web developers are manipulating this feature, it seems to be documented only in an API that isn't made available to the general public. From what I have found through my research, it looks like mozilla gives web developers a backdoor into your broswer configuration, allowing them to arbitrarily override your selections and disable plugins that they deem to be undesirable, because the plugins interfere in some way with what the web developer is trying to accomplish.

I normally surf with script blocking enabled. Much to my surprise, a major tech company that specializes in portable document readers and analyzing surf metrics took it upon themselves to invisibly disable my script blocker, thereby allowing the scripts that they provided to be run on my system, even though i had specifically configured my system to disallow them.

There isn't much that you can do to avoid spyware when they have the ability to silently turn off your script blocker.

It happens on the Tor browser too.

[Chuck H]

And who knows where any spied material actually ends up. I'm envisioning that ubiquitous government office with two hundred agents monitoring phone calls that trip any tag phrase or subject. So you might want to avoid using terms like nuclear bomb, tax cheats, firestone conspiracy, catcher in the rye, etc. And certainly never lump these things together.

Oh crap.

[Leo_Gnardo]

And who knows where any spied material actually ends up.

NSA has a couple building complexes in Utah & New Mexico, crammed with computer memory racks. Of course there's not enough time in the universe to examine everything that's in there so it's another one of those expensive gummint follies. Consider FBI is still trying to translate telephone intercepts from 20 years ago in Arabic dialects, Pashtun, Swahili, Farfisa and Olde Gibberish plus they have a habit of not hiring / firing translators who don't measure up to their standards, like they won't wear a tie & jacket & shiny shoes to the office or belong to the wrong church, won't get a haircut, like that. So much for "intelligence." Firestone conspiracy, gonna have to look that one up. Were they trying to gain a tire monopoly or what?

[Chuck H]

I pulled that out of a hat because I read some buzz about how they were once a big part of keeping fossil fuel consumption at higher levels when smaller companies and independent groups were trying to reduce it. Nudging out more environmentally conscience companies by controlling policy with their financial power and other things like buying up design patents for more efficient carburation systems and then shelving the designs so they couldn't be used. It's so long ago now I can't even remember the source.

[Leo_Gnardo]

they were once a big part of keeping fossil fuel consumption at higher levels when smaller companies and independent groups were trying to reduce it.

No big secret that major oil companies for the last decade or so have been gearing up to be your "energy" companies, no matter what the source. BP, Shell, Exxon & others mention this on their websites and in their annual stockholder reports. After all who wants to be totally left behind when solar, wind, geothermal etc gain a larger slice of the market. OTOH who can blame big oil for continuing to try & make big bucks the "easy way" they already know how. One illustration of how hard it is to maintain that balance is to follow Exxon/Mobil's stock price over the last couple years. They hit a peak but now floundering some 20-25% below that peak instead of charting new highs. All while paying out a high and ever increasing dividend which is in fact greater than their annual profit margin. Hmm, how do they keep that going? It can only happen when you have an awful lot of cash plus huge untapped oil reserves. Another XOM story, you know the recent troubles with Qatar? Guess who teamed up with Qatar to revamp a natural gas dock in Texas, now prepared to load gas ships with USA product & ship to overseas buyers? Yup, XOM in a $ billion + project. Now XOM's ex prez is USA secretary of state, it's his aim to keep that project viable, don't want to lose income for either XOM or Qatar. You know what's important - profit! Nothing new about that.

[rjb]

And who knows where any spied material actually ends up.

I used to avoid watching Al Jazeera on FIOS, because I knew Verizon was keeping track....

-rb

[Enzo]

Yep, most of us have a grossly inflated notion that their web surfing is of the slightest interest to anyone. As to 200 guys, it would take way more than 200,000 guys to put the tiniest dent in the collected data.

[Justin Thomas]

So you might want to avoid using terms like nuclear bomb, tax cheats, firestone conspiracy, catcher in the rye, etc.

True story, even if I'm not sure of the cause... Background: one of the local weekly papers had what was called a Rant Line, where anyone could call anonymously and spout off for 60 seconds. Then they'd print the best each week on the back of the paper. (I actually became known as the "29 North Ranter," I learned from the editor)

So one day, I kept hearing a bunch of people on the radio talk about "Muslim Terrorists," and how all the terrorists EVER in the history of the world were apparently Muslims. So I called my friendly Rant Line and spouted off for my 60 seconds. It was something along the lines of "name a group of people or a historical event, then call it like I saw - terrorism." Waco, Krystalnacht, Oklahoma City, Khmer Rouge, the IRA, (to a lesser extent) the US Census Bureau threatening me with jail and fines, then I find out they are lying... Bullying, basically any instance of threats, coercion, or violence to get their way.

So, after using the word "terrorism" about 30 times in a minute, I hung up. About a minute later, I decided to call my Mom & see if I could visit. I'm in the middle of town, full battery, full bars, just got off another cal... nothing. My phone, calling-wise, is dead as a doornail. Tried calling a few more times in the next few minutes. About ten minutes later, I got through.

A few years before this, I worked with a guy whose "dad was in the CIA." He explained that, while no one is actively listening 24/7/365, if you use certainly n trigger words enough times in a row, it trips an alert that lets "Them" know something might be up. So if you pick up the phone and say "bomb bomb tree bomb bomb car bomb bomb" etc. then a light goes off "somewhere" and they tap in.

Did I mention the National Ground Intelligence Center is 10 miles north of town? That's where they analyze intercepted enemy communications. Or so I'm told - they won't let me past the gate without a security clearance.

Either way, it creeped ME out...

Justin

[Enzo]

"Terrorism" is not likely a big trigger word, as one suspects Al Qaeda doesn;t refer to itself as terrorists.

They are looking for patterns, and moreso than the words, they are looking for patterns in connections. If all of a sudden your phone started calling numbers in Saudi Arabia, that would be interesting. Someone who regularly calls Syria, all of a sudden calls three times as often, that is interesting.

Bomb is a word you never want to utter in an airport. I remember in the 1960s, we all thought our phones were tapped, so we cleverly referred to a pot score as "finding an L-B". I had friends who called their dope "folk dance records". as a code. No one picked up the phone and said, "Hey, I need a pound of marijuana." If I were to bomb something, I am sure it would be discussed in terms of "the package", or something. SO hearing bomb a lot isn't that suspicious.

As to the dead phone, post hoc ergo propter hoc is a logical fallacy.

[Justin Thomas]

Aw, come on, can't we have any fun? Next you're gonna tell me Elvis really <IS> dead, and that Hillary Clinton really <IS> a Reptilian... and, well, Bigfoot doesn't believe in you, either!

Justin

[Chuck H]

Remember that it's the US government we're talking about here. Sure they pretty much know that a bomb is probably going to be a "pizza" or that terrorists don'tdiscuss acts of "terror" or "terrorizing" (I don't know why I'm laughing right now). But our government, rocket scientists that they are, almost surely kept the words bomb and terrorist in the screen list. That alone should tie up a whole butt load of effective monitoring and keep them off the actual trouble makers while they listen to people who are just complaining about problems. Your tax dollars at work.

[Chuck H]

Aw, come on, can't we have any fun? Next you're gonna tell me Elvis really <IS> dead, and that Hillary Clinton really <IS> a Reptilian... and, well, Bigfoot doesn't believe in you, either!

Justin

I have only two words... Crab people!

[Enzo]

I have been accused of being one of them...

"Hey you kids, get off my lawn."