10 Monday Dec 2012
Posted in Internet Privacy, Linux
Always entertaining, often enlightening. Read what Mr. Stallman has to say about Ubuntu’s new relationship with Amazon.
One of the major advantages of free software is that the community protects users from malicious software. Now Ubuntu GNU/Linux has become a counterexample. What should we do?
Read the rest of this interesting article HERE.
Later…
~Eric
30 Friday Nov 2012
Posted in Internet Privacy
Email privacy laws have not kept up with modern times.
It’s about time that changes were made to protect the privacy of those who use email for business and pleasure on a daily basis.
Later,
~Eric
28 Tuesday Feb 2012
Posted in Internet Privacy, Tech Newsflash
Tags
ACTA, Big Brother, DRM, freedom, government intrusion, Internet, PIPA, piracy, SOPA, technology
This article is so important, in my opinion, that I’m posting a link to it on all my blogs.
This is about freedom, pure and simple. If you read nothing else the next month, you should at least read this article by Eric S. Raymond. It is 24 carat TRUTH. It’s not just about technology and the Internet. It’s about your future and the future of your children and their children. Read it!
An Open Letter to Chris Dodd – by Eric S. Raymond from his blog.
Later…
~Eric
25 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in Internet Privacy, Tech Newsflash
Tags
capitalism, choice, data sink, freedom, Google+, greed, Microsoft, No-Opt-Out, privacy, Privacy Policy
Well, they want ALL of your Internet usage data, anyway.
In yesterday’s news, stories were published all over the Internet regarding Google’s new upcoming NO-OPT-OUT Privacy Agreement due to hit the streets in early March. Google, in their ever widening, ever more frenetic feeding frenzy to control every bit of data on the Internet, has decided that they will now combine ALL of your data across all of their apps, that you are already so addicted to using, into one nice and easily (for them) accessible pile.
BIG BROOGLE, er… I mean Google will now be able to track your activity online from your Gmails to Auntie Em all the way to that stash of Uncle Bob’s tinfoil hat designs that you have sitting in your Picasa account. So, is that cool or what? Google is a giant seine net that scoops up every bit of cyber data that you so kindly make available to them on a daily basis. They use this data to ENRICH themselves, their shareholders, and their business partners. If you ain’t in any of those categories, you ain’t seeing any $ showing up in your bank accounts, even though it’s your data providing them with that money.
So, is there something wrong with making a buck? No, of course there isn’t. That’s the capitalist way, comrades. It’s what has made America China great! I don’t have an issue with companies and individuals making money. Hey! Money makes the world go ’round. Commerce is good. However, when you are forced to agree to terms by a bully in the schoolyard who takes your baloney sandwich that mom packed for you, well… that just ain’t right.
I’m not naive. I know that Google isn’t the first evil empire to do this stuff. There was Microsoft before them, forcing folks buying computers to use their OS… or at least pay for it. Once you got the system home, you could wipe that OS off the drive and put something good, like GNU/Linux on there. 
You still had some choice, if you were knowledgeable enough and had the motivation. The sheeple just used Windows; just like the sheeple will continue to use Google. That’s the way of the world, I s’pose. Doesn’t mean I can’t bitch about it, though.
Choice is yours folks. Remember the saying, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” Free minds, free knowledge, FREEDOM! Only the greedy feel the need to use profit/loss columns to determine something’s worth.
Later…
~Eric
Further reading:
Google announces privacy changes across products; users can’t opt out – Washington Post Business
Google Privacy Police Change: How Does It Affect You? – International Business Times
Google’s Privacy Policy: A Wakeup Call, But That’s It - PCMagazine
Related article:
Google Won’t Pwn Me! - Nocturnal Slacker v1.0
Image credits: Google is watching you – ownership unknown. If you own the copyright to this image, contact the author to amend usage here.
17 Thursday Nov 2011
Posted in Internet Privacy, Tech General
This is something every one who uses the Internet and values free exchange of knowledge and information should know about.
Get involved. Write your elected officials. Pass out flyers. Post articles on your own blogs. Censorship of the Internet could spell doom for the way of life that we’ve come to know and cherish.
Read about this at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Read about it at Tumblr.
Read about it at AmericanCensorship.Org.
Don’t let them turn the lights out on us. Don’t let them restrict how we participate online. Don’t let them limit your rights to the free exchange information and knowledge in ANY way.
Raise HELL!
~Eric
12 Monday Sep 2011
Posted in Internet Privacy
Tags
Arch, browsers, copyright, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Firefox, Foxy Proxy, Internet privacy, Linux, proxy servers, Seamonkey, Slackware, Tor
Do you have a need for a bit of privacy when online? Do you want to be a ninny moose? Well, Tor can help you with that.
From Tor’s website:
Individuals use Tor to keep websites from tracking them and their family members, or to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers. Tor’s hidden services let users publish web sites and other services without needing to reveal the location of the site. Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.
Pay attention to what I’m going to say now… You do NOT have to be a software pirate, a hacktivist, or a foreign operative of some sort to need a bit of privacy. It’s perfectly legal and normal for you to want to protect your privacy when online. You don’t paint your name, address, and phone number on the side of your minivan, do you? You don’t exchange personal data with the clerk at the mall shoe store, do you? Do you tell every caller who calls you on your phone the numbers of the last 10 people you spoke with?
Of course, you don’t do those things. So, why should you do them on the Internet. Your web browser, in many cases, is not your ally in your ongoing effort to protect your privacy online. Often, it is giving away all kinds of interesting info about you with every link you click on. That’s just how it was designed. It’s not an evil conspiracy by the government to track your Internet movements. Although, it is possible for them to do that should they want to. When TCP/IP and the WWW first came about, browsers were required to do these things to function.
If you want a tool that can give you a bit more privacy when you need it, try Tor. Read HERE to understand a bit better how Tor works to protect your privacy. BE AWARE, though… Tor is not the do-all, be-all privacy tool. It has foibles. However, it’s better than having your rear area totally exposed out there in the breeze. Below I will briefly explain how I got Tor up and running in Slackware and Arch Linux using Firefox and Seamonkey browsers with the Foxy Proxy Basic addon.
That’s it. You can start the Tor service by typing “tor” in Run Program (Xfce) or at the command line in terminal. Once it’s running, you can use the Foxy Proxy button to turn on the Tor proxy. Once you’ve done that, you can test by using THIS site.
There you go. Simple in Arch, huh? This is wee bit of a project for a neophyte Linux user, but it’s not really that difficult. In Slackware, there are always different ways to do things. If you’re running Slackware, odds are you ain’t no neophyte. In Arch, it’s easier to install and set up. Plus, there’s a Tor section with step-by-step in the always EXCELLENT Arch Wiki to help you.
Enjoy your privacy. Remember, practice safe intercourse, er… I mean Internet.
Later… gotta’ go pirate* some vids now. Just kidding!
~Eric
* The author in no way supports theft of copyrighted materials of any type. A creator’s output is his own to do with as he pleases. If he chooses to freely share, that’s wonderful. If he chooses to limit the sharing and protect his creations by using copyright or other laws, that’s his right also. Taking something that isn’t yours without permission is stealing. Can’t get much plainer than that.
+ Some further reading should you be interested
–> EFF’s Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
–> Copyright – Fair Usage
