An Opinionated Guide to Privacy Despite Authoritarianism
6 months ago
- #digital privacy
- #encryption
- #government surveillance
- George Retes, an Iraq war veteran, shares his harrowing experience of being detained by immigration agents without proper identification verification, highlighting the lack of accountability within ICE.
- The text discusses the Trump regime's authoritarian measures, including labeling political opponents as 'domestic extremists' and targeting ideologies through executive orders, emphasizing the need for digital privacy.
- A guide is provided to enhance digital privacy, recommending open-source and end-to-end encrypted tools like Bitwarden for password management, ProtonVPN for secure browsing, and Signal for encrypted communications.
- The importance of using physical security keys like YubiKeys for two-factor authentication is highlighted to protect sensitive accounts from remote hacking.
- The guide advises against using SMS for two-factor authentication due to vulnerabilities and recommends authenticator apps like Proton Authenticator instead.
- Steps to secure personal data include enabling Advanced Data Protection on iCloud, using Proton Mail for encrypted emails, and migrating photos to Ente for encrypted storage.
- The text warns about the risks of government surveillance through ISPs and recommends using VPNs and privacy-focused browsers like Brave to protect online activities.
- Practical advice is given for securing calendars, contacts, and notes with encrypted services like Proton Calendar and EteSync, and avoiding non-encrypted platforms.
- The guide concludes by emphasizing the importance of reclaiming digital privacy to protect individual freedoms in the face of increasing government surveillance.