Security Recommendations
Some security recommendations for a world in which everyone is watching
Digital privacy has never been more important
“Free” services aren’t free, they just trade in a different currency
Recommendations for phone and video calls, texting, email, web browsing, web searching, and general encryption (VPN)
A compromised device undermines secure applications
This article, which is more practical than analytical, was originally written in early 2021. The outgoing president, Donald Trump, had sabotaged not just his own career but the liberty of the entire nation by outsourcing his job to unelected, authoritarian medical bureaucrats; Joe Biden had just been installed as his replacement in an election so replete with mismanagement and fraud that it resembled something out of the third world; and House Democrats had opened the congressional session by proposing bills aimed at both federalizing elections and punishing churches that resisted the sexual deviancy agenda.
We were clearly on a tyrannical trajectory and there was little doubt that the incoming Biden administration would collude with leftist tech giants against the American people, just as the Obama administration had done.
And yet I noticed that nearly all of my friends and family were routinely using digital services offered by these very companies — companies that hated their values and spied on their content. Being in the tech sector and having at least a modicum of security knowledge, I figured I should offer recommendations for how to better navigate an increasingly perilous digital world.
Dear Family and Friends,
Although it is my intolerable habit to do so, there's likely no need for me to comment on the state of our country. Indeed, many of you would consider it a small mercy if I did not.
So, in lieu of what would certainly have been a work of astounding genius, I'll just relay a few concerning facts and make recommendations for how we should accordingly adjust our use of technology during this time:
Legal persecution of biblical churches is coming. The groundwork was laid with 2018's "Equality Act," most of which has since been enshrined into law by the Supreme Court. Full implementation, which now seems certain, would force churches -- under penalty of civil rights law -- to accept sexual deviants in leadership. Churches that refuse to comply (which would be any church worth attending) will likely be shut down, which is presumably the intended purpose. Expect the "separation of church and state" to suddenly disappear from the Left's lexicon.
Those holding to Christian or Conservative beliefs face censorship, unemployment, surveillance, and the ever-growing threat of physical violence.
The word "terrorist" will (again) be defined to mean those having Christian or Conservative beliefs. This will permit the government to use existing anti-terrorism laws against critics and opponents, just as it did under the Obama administration.
Our national security agencies and military brass have been taken over by the political Left, thanks in no small part to Barack Obama's purge of patriotic leaders. The FBI, for example, which has done precious little to stem the tide of communist revolution or the joining of marxist and islamist forces, is instead expending its effort tilting at such windmills as "white supremacy."
The CCP Virus (aka: COVID-19) is already being used to justify the creation of "isolation" camps within the United States. Gov. Cuomo of New York and other prominent politicians and pundits have already floated the idea of involuntarily committing citizens to such imprisonment. Whether this fate will be restricted only to those with COVID is anyone's guess, but the smart money says otherwise.
The Democrats have already introduced legislation to require registration of guns and ammo, and effective disarmament is planned by the new administration.
Our personal communications are easily monitored by both government and commercial entities who, under a Leftist administration, frequently share the same goals.
As crazy as these may sound, none of them is imaginary. Each has already taken place, is currently taking place, or is officially being considered for future implementation. And while all of it is concerning from a national perspective, it is the last point -- personal communications -- at which nefarious forces interact with each of us directly. That is, however, also the point at which our personal behavior can have the most immediate impact. Allow me to elaborate:
Our electronic communications are largely open to the prying eyes of others. I'm not referring simply to the government's ability to surveil us at will, but to the fact that every email and text message you send is effectively a postcard -- completely readable by any of the computers used to relay it.
Worse still, many email services analyze every one of the emails you send or receive. From these they are able to build a very accurate profile about you, as well as your friends, family, and associates.
Companies such as Google, Facebook (aka: Meta), Twitter, Instagram (owned by Facebook/Meta), WhatsApp (also owned by Facebook/Meta), and TikTok (effectively owned by the Chinese Communist Party) offer their (allegedly) free services in order to siphon your personal information for their own ends. So while Gmail costs zero dollars, it comes at the expense of your privacy which, once lost, is far more difficult to regain than lost money.
In short: most people are hemorrhaging personal information online, which is not only of interest to companies intending to monetize us but also to the current political administration that intends to subjugate us. And while many will bravely face such persecution, there is little wisdom in voluntarily walking into the buzzsaw.
So in an effort to avoid attracting the wrong kind of attention, I highly recommend that everyone transition to reliable encrypted communications platforms. Below, I'll provide a list of recommendations along with links to the appropriate web sites.
By way of disclaimer, I should say that while I am not a security expert, I cleared most of the following with someone who is. And that's hopefully enough to release me from any legal liability.
Should you have trouble performing any of the following steps, simply ask the nearest fourth-grader for assistance.
Phone Calls, Video Calls, and Text Messaging
In order to send secure text messages or have a secure phone/video call, use Signal. Signal is free, and it can run on your mobile devices and/or computer. It can only be used to communicate with other Signal users; you can't use it for regular texts or phone calls, but that's just an incentive to get your other friends and family members signed up.
Signal also allows you to place your contacts into groups, making it easy to share communications amongst family, or friends, co-workers, etc. Now, the wisdom of creating a text-messaging group with many members is debatable, but your device(s) should allow you to hide/mute notifications should others' chattiness disturb your repose.
Signal can be downloaded at https://signal.org/download/
When you open Signal on your phone, be sure to give it access to your microphone, camera, and contacts list. I would normally advise against doing any of these, but they're safe in the case of Signal as it's open source software that's been audited for vulnerabilities and privacy concerns by many respected experts.
Email
I recommend getting an email account with Proton (formerly ProtonMail). Emails sent from one Proton account to another are encrypted and cannot be read by anyone other than the sender and recipient; not even by the Proton company itself.
Proton offers a free account, although it is fairly limited in size and features. For the casual emailist, however, it will likely prove sufficient.
For $4/month, you get far more more of everything than is offered with the free account, and the benefits go up vastly for the $10/month subscription. Details are available at https://proton.me/mail/pricing.
Now it may seem silly to pay for an email service since Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and others have offered "free" email services for years, but as I stated earlier, those services aren't free, they just trade in a different currency. Proton will not (and cannot) spy on you, and will also prevent others from doing so.
There is a major caveat here, though. If you use ProtonMail to communicate with a non-Proton address (one at Gmail, for example), the email will not be encrypted; if it were, the person you're communicating with would be unable to read what you sent. So, as with Signal, encourage friends, family, and associates to get Proton accounts so you can communicate securely.
You can sign up for a Proton account at: https://proton.me/mail/pricing
If you decide to sign up for a Proton Plus account, be sure the currency is in US Dollars (USD) and not Euros (EUR) before making your purchase.
Web Browsing
A web browser is the program you use to look at web sites. Some common examples are Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox.
I would recommend using Brave, which is built specifically for security and privacy. Mozilla Firefox is a solid option as well, but the company is so far on the political Left that I have reservations about using any of its products.
Brave can be downloaded at https://brave.com/download/
When you open it, go into the Settings, and make the following changes:
In the "Social media blocking" section, disable all options
In the "Search engine" section, make sure the search engine is set to "Brave"
Web Searching
A search engine is the most common means of finding information on the Internet. Google is, by far, the most popular search engine but probably the most nefarious, as well.
I currently recommend using Brave Search (https://search.brave.com) to find content on the web.
VPN
A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. In effect, it encrypts your Internet traffic so it can't be read by others. If you have a mobile device that you use on networks outside of your home, a VPN is absolutely essential, unless you're the rare breed of person that enjoys the challenge of trying to rebuild your life in the wake of identity theft.
Even if your devices only ever connect to your home network, you should at least be aware that your Internet Service Provider (e.g., Spectrum, AT&T, Ting, Google Fiber, etc.) can see everything that goes over the wire (well, except for the content of your ProtonMail and Signal messages, of course).
If you were to visit firearms-related websites, for example, and the Biden Harris (spoiler alert) administration were to instruct ISPs to report people looking at such content (which is not beyond the realm of possibility), you would be reported. Were you to use a VPN, however, the ISP would be blind to your activity.
Not all VPNs are created equal, though, and some engage in practices that undermine privacy to varying extents. Consequently, I recommend only the following services (choose just one):
ExpressVPN: https://www.expressvpn.com
ProtonVPN: https://protonvpn.com/pricing
NOTE: Those who purchase an account with Proton for their email will also get ProtonVPN.
Some Parting Words of Caution
Encrypted apps, no matter how sophisticated, can be rendered effectively pointless if used on a compromised device. Since every piece of software on your computer, phone, tablet, etc. is a potential point of ingress for attackers, I recommend removing all non-essential apps/programs. No achievement in Angry Birds is worth a late-night visit from the ATF or FBI, or worth having your identity stolen by some even less savory element.