NSA, Prisim, Safe search engines, apps, ect..

[Professor T]

In the interest of keeping your current interests private, even if you have nothing to hide, don't you want that basic right?

So here's a thread to post/share links to any search engines, apps, or similar that will allow you to search and surf the net without having your interests snooped on and shared with people you've never met and wouldn't trust..

I don't know any.. but found this search engine that allows your searches for interests/articals to be safe & anonymous.

https://duckduckgo.com/

[SHaYap]

FF has the no tracking option ... ? use to have that surf anonymous option but I guess its not there now ver. 21 ... too many sites won't honor the function

but the 'no tracking' option is still there but then again its up to the sites to decide whether they will or will not ... so no guarantees i guess ...

best is just to visit sites that are reliably recommended and trust fellow surfers ... little else to do or can do now ...

`

[Professor T]

Here's another search engine that's anonymous.

https://www.ixquick.com/

I think this one is slightly better because it also has an images feature.

[SHaYap]

well my mantra has always been ...

anything but IE ...

`

[Wickian]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_%28anonymity_network%29

The best method I know of to browse the internet semi-anonymously.

[SHaYap]

http://en.wikipedia....nymity_network)

The best method I know of to browse the internet semi-anonymously.

Actually that's worse ... they tagged you as anonymous and then they 'really' pay full attention on you ... as long as you are online in the same session //

Unless you flush your DNS often ... there is no point

`

[Professor T]

Firefox, browser..

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

I've actually been using IE over the years..

Fire Fox is pretty good.. & more secure it seems..

[SHaYap]

Firefox, browser..

http://www.mozilla.o...US/firefox/new/

I've actually been using IE over the years..

Fire Fox is pretty good.. & more secure it seems..

I've been on FF for years ... on my hardware ( PentiumD and 2G RAM ) it fits the needs ... as long as you don't do much of the torrents or Java and Flash its fine

... else Chrome looks the better choice ...

`

[Professor T]

Meh.. I'm a bit dodgy on Chrome...

Given it's a google product I imagine it would be tailored for advertising & advertisers as opposed to browsing users..

Google have made their intentions quite clear.

[SHaYap]

Meh.. I'm a bit dodgy on Chrome...

Given it's a google product I imagine it would be tailored for advertising & advertisers as opposed to browsing users..

Google have made their intentions quite clear.

THere is nowhere to run or hide from them Prof ... no browser or site is immune ... at least Chrome is designed to handle them all well ...

`

[XingWi]

What third_eye just said. Anonymity on the internet is a myth. If you want to remain completely anonymous then don't use the internet.

[XingWi]

Even if you set up the best of multiple VPNs still you cannot hide from your ISP.

The only viable secure communication so far is encrypted p2p (that it is practically viable to certain extent) but that doesn't work for browsing the web. The rest is all marketing gimmiks, proxies or VPNs or anything.

[Dark_Grey]

Still setting up my proxy, still not using Google, still watching what goes through my "public" email account.

Use SRWare Iron if you want a browser that's identical to Chrome, (uses the same coding so it's identical,) but without all the tracking implementation.

[Professor T]

Granted.. 100% Annonimity is virtually impossible..

But still, given that 1 government (a failing superpower) has decided to track and trace the on-line activities of it's citizens and the rest of the world as well I'm going to do my best to make sure I make it hard for them to track and trace me.

My actions since Prism's announcement has been to change my Browser to Fire Fox, and to dump Google search in favour of ixquick.. Sure it down't guarantee annonimity, but it does supposedly guarantee that what i search for and my interests are now only my business and no one elses...

Sweet..

Edited June 26, 2013 by Professor T

[SHaYap]

~snip

My actions since Prism's announcement has been to change my Browser to Fire Fox, and to dump Google search in favour of ixquick.. Sure it down't guarantee annonimity, but it does supposedly guarantee that what i search for and my interests are now only my business and no one elses...

Sweet..

NOt to like burst your bubble PRof ... what you want is to evad the adtrackers ... SpyBOt search and destroy does that best ... but still no guarantee because most sites will still ask for a 'confirmation' YES or NO before they allow browsing on their site ... if Prism or any other organisation wanted to track anyone .. all they need is 3 or 6 hours tops to know where you've been clicking for the past months ... regardless whether your flushed your history or or not.

It is embedded in the Windows OS :

> www.nsa.gov/ia/_files/os/win7/win7_security_highlights.pdf‎ < I can't access NSA.gov anymore .. maybe you guys can try

Overview

Microsoft's operating systems require all cryptography suites that work with its operating systems to have a digital signature. Since only Microsoft-approved cryptography suites can be installed or used as a component of Windows it is possible to keep export copies of this operating system (and products with Windows installed) in compliance with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), which are enforced by the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

It was already known that Microsoft used two keys, a primary and a spare, either of which can create valid signatures. Microsoft had failed to remove the debugging symbols in ADVAPI.DLL, a security and encryption driver, when it released Service Pack 5 for Windows NT 4.0 and Andrew Fernandes, chief scientist with Cryptonym found the primary key stored in the variable _KEY and the second key was labeled _NSAKEY.^[1] Fernandes published his discovery, touching off a flurry of speculation and conspiracy theories; such as the second key, owned by the United States National Security Agency (the NSA), could allow the intelligence agency to subvert any Windows user's security.^{[citation needed]}

During a presentation at the Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2000 (CFP2000) conference, Duncan Campbell, Senior Research Fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), mentioned the _NSAKEY controversy as an example of an outstanding issue related to security and surveillance.^{[citation needed]}

In addition Dr. Nicko van Someren found a third key in Windows 2000 which he doubted had a legitimate purpose, and declared that "It looks more fishy".^[2]

wiki link

How NSA access was built into Windows

Duncan Campbell 04.09.1999

Careless mistake reveals subversion of Windows by NSA.

A CARELESS mistake by Microsoft programmers has revealed that special access codes prepared by the US National Security Agency have been secretly built into Windows. The NSA access system is built into every version of the Windows operating system now in use, except early releases of Windows 95 (and its predecessors). The discovery comes close on the heels of the revelations earlier this year that another US software giant, Lotus, had built an NSA "help information" trapdoor into its Notes system, and that security functions on other software systems had been deliberately crippled.

link

NSA has total access via Microsoft Windows

WND.com ‎- 2 days ago

Having a secret key inside the Windows operating system makes it “tremendously easier for the NSA to load unauthorized security services on ...

I can't access any of the sites anymore ... let's see if you guys over there have better luck ....

the 'free press' still has it up to the public :

Secret NSA Partnership with Microsoft: Provides US Government Total Access to Windows Computers

conservativerefocus.com ^ | 23 June 2013 | F. MICHAEL MALOOF

Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013 1:51:00 AM by big'ol_freeper

WASHINGTON – The National Security Agency has backdoor access to all Windows software since the release of Windows 95, according to informed sources, a development which follows the insistence by the agency and federal law enforcement for backdoor “keys” to any encryption, according to a report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Having such “keys” is essential for the export of any encryption allowed under U.S. export control laws to foreign users.

The NSA plays a prominent role in deliberations over whether such products can be exported, and routinely turns down any requests above a certain megabyte level that exceeds NSA’s technical capacity to decrypt it. That’s been the standard for years for NSA, as well as the departments of Defense, Commerce and State.

link to freerepublic dot com

Spying on Americans before 9/11: NSA Built Back Door In All Windows Software by 1999

Government Spooks and Microsoft Inc

By Washington's Blog

Global Research, June 08, 2013

Washington's Blog

.... Two weeks ago, a US security company came up with conclusive evidence that the second key belongs to NSA. Like Dr van Someren, Andrew Fernandez, chief scientist with Cryptonym of Morrisville, North Carolina, had been probing the presence and significance of the two keys. Then he checked the latest Service Pack release for Windows NT4, Service Pack 5. He found that Microsoft’s developers had failed to remove or “strip” the debugging symbols used to test this software before they released it. Inside the code were the labels for the two keys. One was called “KEY”. The other was called “NSAKEY”.

.....

link to global research dot ca

NSA says no to Linux in best practice advisory

Windows 7 or connect to iTunes

Top US spooks are advising businesses to upgrade to Vista or Windows 7, claiming that other operating systems do not cut the mustard when it comes to security.

According to a best practices sheet which the National Security Agency sends out, both Windows 7 and Vista provide substantial security enhancements over earlier Windows workstation operating systems such as XP.

Many of these security features are enabled by default and help prevent common attack vectors, it says. In addition, implementing the 64-bit mode of the OS on a 64-bit hardware platform substantially increases the effort of an adversary to attain a system or root compromise. For any Windows-based OS, verify that Windows Update is configured to provide updates automatically, the leaflet claims.

Read more: http://news.techeye.net/software/nsa-says-no-to-linux-in-best-practice-advisory#ixzz2XJG8ltoQ

No ...

Get on board pilgrims ... we're heading to the promise land .... heheheheh

NSA’s super-secure Linux: more details

By Jun. 12, 2002 11:32 am

The NSA has helped to transform Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) into a module which can be installed atop an existing Linux operating system. Grant Wagner, technical director for NSA's Secure Systems Research Office, states that even though SELinux was not meant to be a complete security system, he knew that it would enhance security for those who chose to incorporate it. Although the NSA has been a top contender for some Big Brother awards, it is not only tasked with codebreaking, but codemaking. The NSA Information Assurance Directorate, which handles these tasks, also continues to monitor and release information regarding viruses, worms, and holes in Microsoft software.

When SELinux was announced last year, the goal was to prove that a widely available operating system could be outfitted and hardened with such features as “manditory access controls,” which use information not controlled by the user to verify that user's identity, such as an IP address instead of user-discretionary information like username and password. Wagner stated that adoption of SELinux has exceeded expectations, and caused the writers of non-Linux operating systems to consider implementing some of the same controls in their products.

from a comment on the geek article :

Microsoft Lobbies Hard Against Free Software (2:03pm EST Wed Jun 12 2002)

Open-Source Fight Flares At Pentagon

MICROSOFT TRYING TO GET RID OF OPEN SOURCE IN THE PENTAGON!!!

“Microsoft Corp. is aggressively lobbying the Pentagon to squelch its growing use of freely distributed computer software and switch to proprietary systems such as those sold by the software giant, according to officials familiar with the campaign.”

“In what one military source called a “barrage” of contacts with officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over the past few months, the company said “open source” software threatens security and its intellectual property.”

HERE IS THE FUNNY PART:

“But the effort may have backfired. A May 10 report prepared for the Defense Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded.”

- by Linux is Secure

the wheeling and dealing is on both ends Prof ...

I'm still curious if you guys can get near the NSA documents now ... I used to but now it seems I'm or we're barred ....

`

[Professor T]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Where there's a will there's a way..

That was very informative.. Thanks..

[SHaYap]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Where there's a will there's a way..

That was very informative.. Thanks..

YOu're welcome Prof ... I've been discussing this for years on many forums ... the only way is a private WLAN network .... your own relays, transponders, hubs, transmitters and splitters or the whole set up from the ground up ... and then you'll still need your own OS ... plenty of useable alternate OS for the hardware today with just a tweak or two .... but then you'll have no 'internet' to surf ....

THere was some news of an alternate 'white' pages or alternate internet ... but it drowned in the surge of the internet we know today as far as I know //

BBS boards are a good alternative but it is far from secure too in regards to what you're looking for ...

Its nothing to worry about Prof ... just get use to it and just click on links that you trust ... like crossing a street ... you never know but you almost is always sure

`

[Asadora]

After knowing about Prism, though I'm not surprised by it one bit, I say we use this information to spread dis-information back to the government(s), NSA and whoever else has a finger in our pies.

Maybe if there was a way to find out what the 'trigger' words were then it could be very useful knowledge to use against the government. It's like thwarting at a hand that is reaching for that freshly baked plate of cookies. 'No! Those aren't for you. Noooo cookies for you!'

[RabidCat]

Linux, anyone?

DuckDuckGo is a pretty good search engine that doesn't record your searches, much more popular since the demise of scroogle. However...

As you all know, real security is a forlorn hope in a dream world.

[Professor T]

Linux, anyone?

DuckDuckGo is a pretty good search engine that doesn't record your searches, much more popular since the demise of scroogle. However...

As you all know, real security is a forlorn hope in a dream world.

Yeah, I tried DuckDuckGo, but am finding Ixquick fit's my needs better on account of the pictures/video search options. each to their own I guess.

As for real security being a forlorn hope, I kind of want to cling onto that.. Sure it's a dream world in this day an age, but to abandon hope is defeatist.. Am sure in the light of Prism and the snoops an entire new industry will be born to counter it..

I miss the carefree internet of the 90's..

Hell, I even miss the groovy 70's and my old Fountain Video games..

[RabidCat]

Yeah, I tried DuckDuckGo, but am finding Ixquick fit's my needs better on account of the pictures/video search options. each to their own I guess.

As for real security being a forlorn hope, I kind of want to cling onto that.. Sure it's a dream world in this day an age, but to abandon hope is defeatist.. Am sure in the light of Prism and the snoops an entire new industry will be born to counter it..

I miss the carefree internet of the 90's..

Hell, I even miss the groovy 70's and my old Fountain Video games..

Just on principle, I'll take a look at your favorite. May suit me better, always looking for something better.

As to hope, well, that's a sword with multiple edges. I'd like to think someone will find a way to kick ass on any form of tracking/eavesdropping, since it's my firm conviction that government snooping should be strictly limited. And there are ways to foil that sort of thing, but those are complex, and one way or another you can be tracked etc. If anything needs to be completely secure, internet is not the way to go, phones either. So I limit internet commentary to stuff I don't care if anyone else knows; mostly I just keep my yap shut.

There are still ways to find things that aren't meant as general knowledge (on the web), but it's chancy. I've had occurrances around here that don't make a lot of sense, unless I'm somehow being checked out. Call it paranoid, but I did and do take measures, and those occurrances have ceased.

Hell, I miss the 70s too, what with all the wonderful technological advances I had the opportunities to work on then, also the 80s and 90s and early 2000s. But that is finished, now I'm an old fart with my own ideas to work on (which no one knows of), and that makes me a bit happier.