How To Chat With Friends On-line Without Being Tracked By The NSA

How To Chat With Friends On-line Without Being Tracked By The NSA

The latest scandals with Edward Snowden, news about Internet users were spied on by law enforcement agencies in a number of countries and the rumors regarding the fact that many large Internet companies leak confidential information on network users are a wake-up-call to the users who require reliable, private and state of the art security services. Any downloading software, as practice shows, can be equipped with the so-called “backdoors” for data interception. The phones also ping cell towers all the time as there's no other way for them to function. Pinging means those cell towers know the phone's location which, essentially,  makes it a tracking device.

All those events made us think of searching for an alternative and safe channel of communication with friends and business partners, anonymous web surfing and file sharing solutions.

So is there any way to stay anonymous during the age of the Internet?

An obvious answer to that would sound something like this: 'Throw your phone, laptop, desktop out of the window, pay for everything with cash and don't talk to strangers'. Of course, that approach (even though it's actually the safest option) wouldn't work for most users which leaves us with extreme to-be-or-not-to-be types of choices. This article explores ways of preserving both: your digital life and your privacy.

Choose your software carefully

You may find many recommendations on-line on how to tune your PC to protect yourself from viruses and phishing scams. They all may or may not achieve the same goal but the primary question is, “can you really trust the software that you are protecting you from viruses and can you be sure it's not a major tracking virus itself?”

There's a lot of info on the web about ‘how famous software companies report all the bug-fixes to the NSA'; which sounds like a scary thought.
This, of course does not mean there's 100% assurance that all systems do not give info away. It is a fact that alternative OS's do not have as many viruses as the most popular ones.  Therefore, if you're a security geek it is a good idea to consider shifting to a different OS. One great example is Qubes OS, a Linux distribution that runs its programs inside dedicated virtual machines reducing the amount of potential vulnerabilities.

 

Browser Wars

This time it's not about speed, it's about security. Having the concept of an OS tracking should make you avoid private web-browsing on native browsers such as Internet Explorer or Safari. The latest versions of all four major browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari, were hacked at Pwn2Own Hacking Competition 2015. To save your private life online you can use alternative browsers, like the Midori Web browser, which, by the way, features the anonymous search engine 'DuckDuckGo' by default, Epic browser or open-source project Chromium. It's just so happens that Firefox started “safe internet” and still epitomizes it.

 

Use a VPN

Virtual Private Networks are getting more popular. The popularity of these services is justified by the level of anonymity they're able to provide. A VPN server encrypts all of your traffic. They will hide your IP address and location by giving you their own IP address. Surf securely without footprints and leave your online privacy untouched. You can choose to be a resident of South Africa, Argentina or Belize if so desire. If your VPN provider has decent encryption there's no way to track where you really are.
 

The conversion itself, however, can easily be logged by chat services, like Skype or Google Hangouts, so it is a good idea to review secure alternatives.

Chatting

Most chat services work by using a central server. This means that all of your text or audio words and sent files are stored on the server of the provider. If the NSA wants to gain access to this data, it will have no problem.

There are a great number of services offering secure and anonymous encrypted chat rooms.

Privatoria offers a bundle of web security and anonymity services including secure data transfer, anonymous e-mail, Proxy/VPN and of course secure chat.

The peculiarity of this service is the absence of a central server. Their chat technology is based on WebRTC; meaning there's a direct connection between browsers without transferring data or logging information on the servers unlike traditional chat solutions like Skype, Google Hangouts, etc... So, no one can access your different ways of communication.

You will be able to communicate with all of the advanced features like text messaging, voice and video calls, file transfer, etc...

• Cryptochat is an app for Android users for secure chatting that allows end-to-end password-protected encryption.

• CryptoCat offers group chat, file sharing and provides encryption for doing so. Extra features include Facebook integration and the ability to send photos.

• Surespot is an open source mobile messaging app with 256 bit end-to-end encryption. It does not require registration and allows sending voice messages from multiple accounts on a single device.

The Choice is yours

Trying to sum it all up, we can firmly state that the world of technology is constantly evolving and that the government wants to control this process. There are no guarantees that you are not being tracked while reading this article or watching Youtube videos.

There are ways to preserve your privacy or at least give Uncle Sam a hard time when he tries to spy on you. To secure yourself you may want to try using a VPN, alternative OS's, secure chat solutions to transfer your encrypted messages or even set up your own private server machine with cloud storage, a chat server and other useful stuff.

FBI Plans to Keep Apple iPhone-Hacking Method Secret

The Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to tell the White House it knows so little about the hacking tool that was used to open a terrorist’s iPhone that it doesn’t make sense to launch an internal government review about whether to share the hacking method withApple Inc.

The decision, and the technical and bureaucratic justification behind it, would likely keep Apple in the dark about whatever security gap exists on certain models of the company’s phones, according to people familiar with the discussions.

At issue is a hacking tool FBI director James Comey has said cost the government more than $1 million and was used to open the locked iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook. Mr. Farook and his wife killed 14 people and injured 22 others in a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, Calif., in December before they were killed by police. The FBI wanted access to the data on his phone in hopes of finding information on any additional crimes or associates.

The confrontation was defused when a still-undisclosed third party approached the FBI with a way to unlock the phone, prompting the agency to say it no longer needed Apple’s help.But the phone led to a high-stakes legal confrontation as the Justice Department sought a court order to force Apple to help investigators open the device. The company resisted, saying it would have to write software to open the phone, and that would endanger the privacy of millions of other iPhone users.

The agency is preparing to send a formal notification to the White House in coming days saying that while the agency bought the hacking tool from the third party, officials aren’t familiar with the underlying code that runs it, these people said.

Because of that, the FBI plans to tell the White House, its agents aren’t aware of a software vulnerability that should be reported to the Vulnerabilities Equities Process panel, an interagency group that decides whether to notify software makers of security weaknesses, these people said.

Such a move, tantamount to deciding not to share the vulnerability with Apple, is likely to anger privacy advocates who contend the FBI’s approach to encryption weakens data security for large groups of customers in order to preserve technical options for federal investigators.

Asked for comment Wednesday, an Apple spokesman referred to previous comments made by a lawyer for the company, who said Apple was confident the vulnerability the FBI apparently found would have a short shelf life, and that the company would continue to make security improvements to its phones.

Despite the end of the court fight over the San Bernardino iPhone, the larger policy battle between the government and technology companies over privacy and security continues. But Mr. Comey has said he is glad to see the San Bernardino litigation conclude, because that could lead to a calmer, broader discussion about policy choices surrounding encryption.

At an appearance at Georgetown University on Tuesday, Mr. Comey hinted at the FBI’s plans regarding the iPhone vulnerability. He suggested that despite paying a high price for the hacking tool, his agents may not know enough about how it works to begin the broader White House review that would determine if the security gap should be disclosed to Apple. Mr. Comey said the government was “close” to deciding whether to start that review process.

The question, the director said, is whether the FBI is “aware of a vulnerability, or did we just buy a tool and don’t have sufficient knowledge of the vulnerability’’ to launch the White House vulnerability equities process.

That process involves a number of government entities, including intelligence agencies, who review security vulnerabilities in software and then decide whether to alert the manufacturer or the public about the weakness. The panel’s decisions are based on such factors as the number of people who may be vulnerable; the likelihood of the vulnerability being exploited by malicious hackers; and the value to national security and law enforcement of keeping the security hole secret.

Obama administration officials have said the process leans toward disclosing vulnerabilities so they can be patched, but some privacy groups dispute that, saying the system is in fact weighted in favor of national security and law-enforcement officials who want to continue exploiting any software vulnerabilities for their investigations.

Recently, the Justice Department notified Apple of a different, unrelated software vulnerability in its products, according to people familiar with the discussions. That marked the first, and so far only, instance in which the government has notified Apple of a security vulnerability, these people said.

The vulnerability was relayed to Apple on April 14, according to these people, and centered on a vulnerabilities in iPhone and Mac computer software. Company officials believe they had already fixed those issues in September, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Within the FBI, a number of officials have argued that the tool used to crack Mr. Farook’s phone—a 5C model that isn’t as widely used as the company’s other versions—shouldn’t be provided to Apple, because the company would then patch the security hole and continue to stymie criminal investigations, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Privacy advocates blasted the FBI’s planned move as another indication the agency is willing to sacrifice consumers’ data security if it helps agents pursue investigative leads in specific cases.

Christopher Soghoian, chief technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the planned move by the FBI shows that the government process for reviewing software vulnerabilities “is riddled with loopholes.’’

“If the government can circumvent the process merely by buying vulnerabilities, then the process becomes a farce,’’ Mr. Soghoian said. “The FBI is not interested in cybersecurity.’’

In his appearance on Tuesday, Mr. Comey said the FBI is working to reduce computer-security vulnerabilities by being “more predictive but less reactive’’ to hacking incidents—developing better relationships with victims and potential victims of hacking so that companies can beef up their security measures and be ready to respond quickly in the event of a hacking attack.

Hacker group Anonymous shuts down KKK website

Hactivist groups attack the Ku Klux Klan's website

Awebsite of white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan has been shut down by hackers affiliated with hacktivist group Anonymous.

The affiliate, known as Ghost Squad, launched a full scale Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack which overwhelmed the site of the White Knights of the KKK - one of its most militant and extremist chapters - and brought it down. As of writing, the website remains offline. 

According to one of the hackers responsible, the reason for the attack was the KKK's “blunt racism”, using free speech as an excuse. 

They told security blog HackRead: "We are not fascist but we certainly do not agree with the KKK movement. They are the Fascists and they are the Racists.”

Anonymous is known for its cyber attacks against controversial organisations and individuals including Isil and Donald Trump, and this isn't even the first time it has targeted the KKK.

In November, Anonymous leaked the identities of 1000 people who they claim are sympathisers or affiliates of the Klan.

The data leak was part of Anonymous' year-long Operation KKK, which is a reaction or a "form of resistance" to the racial violence threatened and incited by the KKK in 2014, against those protesting over the killing of a young black man in Ferguson, Missouri.

In the data release, Anonymous said, "We defend free thought and free speech. The anons responsible for this operation will not support *acts* of terrorism and *acts* of hate inflicted upon the public."

The details include names, aliases, Facebook and Google+ profiles, among other identifying details.

The data collected for Operation KKK was gathered over approximately 11 months, and those included on this list were identified by human sources - "through both overt (interviewing expert sources) and covert (digital espionage / social engineering) methods," Anonymous said.

Individuals on the list were also pinpointed using publicly available information, like social media profiles and other multimedia on the internet.

Other social causes Anonymous has taken up include supporting democracy advocates in Hong Kong and the Arab world, and organising hacking attacks against American agrochemical corporation Monsanto.

What is it?

An internet-based collective who claim to hack computers and computer networks to defend internet freedom, human rights and freedom of information.

Who controls it?

 Anonymous does not have a leader or controlling group, but operates as a loose collective who share similar ideals and aims.

Their slogan:

WE ARE ANONYMOUS.

WE ARE A LEGION.

WE DO NOT FORGIVE.

WE DO NOT FORGET.

EXPECT US

Who they have targeted:

• The Church of Scientology
• Government agencies of the US, Israel, Tunisia and others
• Child pornography sites
• Westboro Baptist Church
• Corporations including PayPal, MasterCard, Visa and Sony
• Isis
• Donald Trump