The yokes on you (Red or Blue)

Well, I thought I might be finished with my little lectures on personal security, but I think I need to say a little more on the topic.

As a recap, we all know about our personal security that has been compromised by various NSA programs, a point that has outraged most people that are paying attention. The fact that this has been going on for a while has just come to light thanks to our friend Mr. Snowden, but the fact of the matter is, our elected officials have known about these programs for a fair amount of time. I mean, even if you just read Wired magazine, when you see a story about the NSA building a new, very large facility out West, what would you conclude?

So, we can complain about these programs and the result will be nothing. The NSA will continue these programs, just as all government programs, when started, are practically impossible to stop. I’m not saying we should not try to have these programs scaled back to their original scope, I’m just saying we shouldn’t count on it. So what to do?

Protect your personal data yourself, not only from the NSA, but from all the corporations that are collecting even more personal information about you than the government is collecting!

Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from the government and corporations.

• Stop using ‘preferred customer’ cards. I know this will be a hard one for most, but if you are serious about saving money, take the time and use coupons. 
• Turn off the WIFI feature on your phone. Set your phone to manually search for WIFI so if you want to connect, you will have to do it manually, but your phone won’t constantly be sending out pings to find a network to connect to. This will keep you from being traced and will save battery life.
• Get an encryption app for your phone. Depending on your phones OS, you can find a few apps that will encrypt your calls, texts and emails. 
• Use a proxy server for internet browsing. It will most likely slow your browser down a bit, especially on older computers, but this will ensure that your web traffic is less traceable, and in a lot of cases, untraceable. 
•  Stop using free email programs like Gmail, Hotmail, etc. and start using one that has native encryption, or start using PGP encryption. In a lot of cases this is a hassle (thus why more of us don’t use it), but if you want to ensure your emails are not being read, etc, then this is the way to go.

I know this sounds like a lot of cumbersome and sometimes high-tech stuff, but if you do your research, it’s really not that bad, but it does take effort and vigilance. So while you’re raising your concerns about 4^th amendment violations on Twitter, Facebook, etc, just keep in mind that you have some responsibility to make sure your data is secure. No one else is going to do this for you, this is your responsibility, and it’s no different than having the tools to protect your personal property. You have locks on your doors, maybe an alarm system and perhaps some firearms to defend your home, so why not protect your personal data in the same persistent manner?

“You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember, all I'm offering is the truth – nothing more.” - Morpheus