J.R. VII - - Surveillance.

This is coolbert:

Extracts taken from the original article of J.R. found here.

With regard to the modern "big brother", surveillance/1984 type society:

"But as of early 2003 we are charting the opposite course-- of implementing across-the-board surveillance upon the innocent masses of our civilian populations."

This is the belief that high technology allows the government to monitor our every activity as they have never been able before. Phone calls, credit card purchases, internet activity, etc. This IS true to an extent. But there are also a whole lot of ways the average citizen can protect themselves from unwarranted eavesdropping too. There ARE a whole host of freeware computer cryptographic software available to the average citizen that allows for secure internet usage. Software for secure e-mail, software for IM [internet messenger] chat, software for anonymous internet surfing, software for a "hacker proof" [??] PC router, and software for secure VOIP [voice over internet protocol] is available. This stuff works and in my opinion DOES give good security. J.R. is not too keen on this idea. That I know. I disagree with him on this matter. Look at these URL's for crypto freeware. Try it out and see how it works. Good stuff. And free too!!

Here are some of them.

http://www.bitwiseim.com/

Above is for secure internet messenger.

http://www.skype.com/

Above is for secure voice of high quality. VOIP.
Very high quality too. Better than your phone. I
wonder why anyone would even use the phone at all
after hearing skype.

http://tor.eff.org/

above is for anonymous web surfing. You must install
both the tor software and the privoxy software and
configure your IE if you are using MS. But that is
easy.

http://www.instantssl.com/ssl-certificate-products/ssl-certificate-index.html?currency=EUR®ion=Europe&country=DE

Above is for free certificate to activate and use
the built in crypto features of your MS Outlook.
Almost no one knows about this.

Free Secure Email Certificates
Activate the security features of Outlook / Outlook
Express with a free Secure Email Certificate. Prove
origin of your emails, maintain integrity and make
sure unintended recipients cannot read your
sensitive emails. Worth ?19.95 - available through
Instant SSL for FREE!

These are good for a year, and then you can get free
reissue each year. Again, for free.

http://www26.brinkster.com/belzecue/clipsecure.htm

Above is for clipboard encryption, that can be set
up easily by the user, to encrypt and decrypt, using
the most advanced algorithms, text or files at will.
Great and easy to use. This is about the easiest one
I have seen yet, and yet, so secure to>>

http://smoothwall.org/

The above is for a discrete hardwall router using a scrap or outmoded PC. Protects against unwanted instrusion.

What more could you want???


In particular, why did the Patriot Act include the provision for the government to examine your library records? Well, there was a specific incident that prompted this measure. It seems that librarians, in the days just after 9/11, refused to allow FBI agents to examine library computers that were known to be used by some of the 9/11 terrorists. The villains were using the computers to communicate with one another, supposedly using steganography [cryptography involving hiding a message in a picture] freely found on the web. These librarians, out of a misguided sense of what is right and wrong, impeded a murder investigation involving 3000 victims!!!

[Lo and behold. The Congress has just stricken, as we speak, this provision to examine your library records from the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was written as a "sunshine law". Meaning periodic review on a regular and frequent basis, rewriting and modifying and improving where necessary. For all of those out there mortified that the Federal government might be interested in your library reading habits, make this guess?? How often did the government exercise this option to examine reading habits of library patrons?? ZERO. That is correct!! ZERO. This was all a mirage that had folks scared in a manner they should not have. As I have mentioned, this provision of the Patriot Act was in response to the foolish and unwarranted actions [inactions] of a very small and misguided number of librarians!!!]

coolbert.