In: Computers, life. Also: security.

Privacy

Privacy is a basic human right. It represents your right to:

If you want to “tweet”, or “instagram” about any of those above, it’s your right to do so, but it’s unacceptable to be monitored while you’re minding your own business and don’t feel like sharing.

Privacy is normal. No “normal person” ever needs to justify why they want privacy, or feel ashamed for wanting it.

Privacy is a sign of a healthy society. Our society today tries to erode our basic right to privacy, which leads to the conclusion that we live in a sick society.

By default, mobile phones, laptops and their operating systems, gadgets are not private enough.
Why? The creators of these electronic devices make a lot of profit from the data collected from those devices.
Their incentive is to collect as much data as possible, because storing data is cheap and because they will sell it eventually.
When a big company buys a smaller company for X billions, they are not buying the software, they are buying all the private data of their users.

The good news is that the more time you spend tweaking the settings of your device and apps, the safer you will be.
And you don’t have to use websites, or applications that don’t respect your privacy, there’s plenty of alternatives.

It’s a nice idea to become a totally invisible ninja and leave no traces on the web, but you’ll have to spend a lot of time to setup everything and it will be pretty inconvenient for you to continue being invisible. You’ll eventually need to access Google, or Facebook, or a banking app, so you have to be open to that.

In 10 minutes of tweaking the settings of your phone you can achieve quite a lot. Eg:

This is only useful if you do it regularily, because you accumulate digital crap in your phone and you have to cleanup, in the same way you have to wash yourself and take out the trash from time to time.

Quotes

Loss of privacy leads to loss of freedom.

We all care about our privacy, though we might not know it. That’s why we lock the door when we go to the toilet or why we close the curtains to stop people looking into our homes.

My wife asked me why I spoke so softly in the house.
I said I was afraid Mark Zuckerberg was listening!
She laughed.
I laughed.
Alexa laughed.
Siri laughed.
– Anon

Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.
– Edward Snowden

I don’t know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.
– Banksy

Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was.
– Banksy, Wall and Piece

Democracy requires Privacy as much as Freedom of Expression.
– Anonymous

But I have nothing to hide!
My response is:

  • “But do you have curtains?” or “Can I see your credit-card bills for the last year?”
  • I don’t have anything to hide, but I don’t have anything to show you either.
  • If you have nothing to hide, then you don’t have a life.
  • Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
  • If you have nothing to hide, then that quite literally means you are willing to let me photograph you naked? And I get full rights to that photograph – so I can show it to your neighbors?
  • It’s not about having anything to hide, it’s about things not being anyone else’s business.
  • The Canadian privacy expert David Flaherty argues:
    “There is no sentient human being in the Western world who has little or no regard for his or her personal privacy; those who would attempt such claims cannot withstand even a few minutes’ questioning about intimate aspects of their lives without capitulating to the intrusiveness of certain subject matters.”

But saying that you don’t need or want privacy because you have nothing to hide is to assume that no one should have, or could have, to hide anything – including their immigration status, unemployment history, financial history, and health records. You’re assuming that no one, including yourself, might object to revealing to anyone information about their religious beliefs, political affiliations, and sexual activities, as casually as some choose to reveal their movie and music tastes and reading preferences.
– Edward Snowden in Permanent Record

East Germany is the most extreme example of a surveillance state in history. The Stasi – its infamous security agency – employed 90,000 spies and had a network of at least 174,000 informants. The Stasi kept meticulous files on hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens and used this information to psychologically harrass, blackmail and discredit people who became dissenters. But that was before the internet.
Reflecting on the NSA’s current systems of mass surveillance, a former Stasi lieutenant colonel said: "You know, for us, this would have been a dream come true”.
– https://mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article24750439.html

We all need places where we can go to explore without the judgmental eyes of other people being cast upon us, only in a realm where we’re not being watched can we really test the limits of who we want to be.
It’s really in the private realm where dissent, creativity and personal exploration lie.
– Glenn Greenwald
– https://huffpost.com/entry/glenn-greenwald-privacy_n_5509704

Privacy is rarely lost in one fell swoop. It is usually eroded over time, little bits dissolving almost imperceptibly until we finally begin to notice how much is gone.
– Daniel J. Solove, Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide’

Privacy is not a luxury: it is a right - one that we need to defend in the digital realm as much as in the physical realm. We need to stay vigilant to maintain access to that right, though… especially as technology continues to advance…
– Chelsea Manning
– https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/22/privacy-is-a-right-not-a-luxury-and-its-increasingly-at-risk-for-lgbt-people

I have zero reason to take anyone by their word on how they will respect my privacy. Maybe they mean it as of today, but through either neglect or change of mind, they will probably still sell or lose my data at some point, especially if it’s a free service that struggles to find a business model while dealing with increasing infrastructure costs.
– Matthias Nehlsen
– https://matthiasnehlsen.com/blog/2018/03/15/introducing-meo

Apps that respect privacy

A few random apps. Not a comprehensive list.

Angela D autohosts

Auto update AD-blocking hosts file on linux and mac systems
Automate hosts file updates. Block Firefox telemetry, Google snooping and web trackers at the root:
https://github.com/angela-d/autohosts

crypt.ee

A private & encrypted place to write personal documents, notes or journals, and store your photos & other files.
Mobile & desktop apps for all OSes.
https://crypt.ee
https://github.com/cryptee

Encrypted storage

hBlock

Improve your security and privacy by blocking ads, tracking and malware domains
POSIX-compliant shell script that gets a list of domains that serve ads, tracking scripts and malware from multiple sources and creates a hosts file, among other formats, that prevents your system from connecting to them
By default replaces the hosts file of your system, consider making a backup first if you have entries you want to preserve
https://hblock.molinero.dev
https://github.com/hectorm/hblock
https://github.com/hectorm/hmirror

Hostsblock

An ad- and malware-blocking utility
A POSIX-compatible script designed to take advantage of the /etc/hosts file to provide system-wide blocking of internet ads, malicious domains, trackers, and other undesirable content
https://github.com/gaenserich/hostsblock

hosts-blocklists

Automatically updated, moderated and optimized lists for blocking ads, trackers, malware and other garbage
https://github.com/notracking/hosts-blocklists

Maps

Save Maps apps/ websites:

Maza

Local ad blocker. Like Pi-hole but local and using your operating system.
https://github.com/tanrax/maza-ad-blocking

Pi-hole

A black hole for Internet advertisements
DNS sinkhole that protects your devices from unwanted content, without installing any client-side software
https://pi-hole.net
https://discourse.pi-hole.net
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole

Session

Send messages, not metadata
Session is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that minimises sensitive metadata, designed and built for people who want absolute privacy and freedom from any form of surveillance
Mobile (Android, iOS) and Desktop (Mac, Windows, Linux) apps
https://getsession.org

Skiff

Privacy-first collaboration platform with expiring links, secure workspaces, and password protection
Alternative to Notion/ Google Docs.
https://skiff.org

Standard Notes

A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life’s work.
A free, open-source, and completely encrypted notes app.
https://standardnotes.com

Steven Black hosts

Consolidated hosts files from several well-curated sources
Block adware, malware, social, tracking sites, porn:
https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

Taler

https://taler.net
We provide a payment system that makes privacy-friendly online transactions fast and easy

Taler is developed as part of the GNU project for the GNU operating system

uBlock uAssets

Resources for uBlock Origin “uBO”: static filter lists, ready-to-use rulesets, etc
uBlock Origin is not an ad blocker, it’s a general-purpose blocker. It blocks ads through its support of the Adblock Plus filter syntax + extends the syntax and is designed to work with custom rules and filters
https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uAssets
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

Articles

Why I wrote PGP, by Philip Zimmermann

It’s personal. It’s private. And it’s no one’s business but yours. You may be planning a political campaign, discussing your taxes, or having a secret romance. Or you may be communicating with a political dissident in a repressive country. Whatever it is, you don’t want your private electronic mail (e-mail) or confidential documents read by anyone else.
There’s nothing wrong with asserting your privacy.
You don’t have to distrust the government to want to use cryptography. Your business can be wiretapped by business rivals, organized crime, or foreign governments. Several foreign governments, admit to using their signals intelligence against companies from other countries to give their own corporations a competitive edge. Ironically, the United States government’s restrictions on cryptography in the 1990’s have weakened U.S. corporate defenses against foreign intelligence and organized crime.
The government has a track record that does not inspire confidence that they will never abuse our civil liberties…
https://philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html

Without a Trace: How to take your phone off the grid

By Monique O. Madan and Wesley Callow, posted October 25 2023
https://themarkup.org/levelup/2023/10/25/without-a-trace-how-to-take-your-phone-off-the-grid

Without a Trace: How to keep your phone off the grid

By Monique O. Madan and Wesley Callow, posted December 13 2023
https://themarkup.org/levelup/2023/12/13/without-a-trace-how-to-keep-your-phone-off-the-grid
We answer the questions readers asked in response to our guide to anonymizing your phone

‘Our health data is about to flow more freely, like it or not’: big tech’s plans for the NHS

By Cori Crider, posted Thu 14 Sep 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/14/our-health-data-is-about-to-flow-more-freely-like-it-or-not-big-techs-plans-for-the-nhs
The government is about to award a £480m contract to build a vast new database of patient data.
But if people don’t trust it, they’ll opt out - I know, because I felt I had to.

A radical proposal to keep your personal data safe

By Richard Stallman, posted 2018-04-03
https://youbroketheinternet.org/radicalstallman
The surveillance imposed on us today is worse than in the Soviet Union. We need laws to stop this data being collected in the first place.
When it accepts digital payments, it should do so through an anonymous payment system.
An unjust state is more dangerous than terrorism, and too much security encourages an unjust state.
To restore privacy, we must stop surveillance before it even asks for consent.

You broke the internet

https://youbroketheinternet.org
Can we fight mass surveillance with antitrust laws?

French cops can now secretly activate phone cameras, microphones and GPS to spy on citizens

By Tyler Durden, posted Jul 07 2023
https://zerohedge.com/geopolitical/french-cops-can-now-secretly-activate-phone-cameras-microphones-and-gps-spy-citizens
Cops in France have been granted the authority to remotely activate a suspect’s cellphone camera, microphone and GPS, after the passage of a provision in a wider “justice reform bill” on Wednesday night.

A tiny blog took on big surveillance in China - and Won

By Amos Zeeberg, posted Apr 4 2023
https://wired.com/story/surveillance-china-security-camera-giant-ipvm
Digging through manuals for security cameras, a group of gearheads found sinister details and ignited a new battle in the US-China tech war

Make the FBI happy: install an ad blocker

By Enrique Dans, posted Dec 25 2022
https://medium.com/enrique-dans/make-the-fbi-happy-install-an-ad-blocker-c6f3ba2ef3a2
The growing numbers of people around the world now using ad blockers - over 300 million on computers and 530 million on mobiles - now have the support of an unexpected ally: the FBI, which has just officially recommended in a PSA the use of ad blockers to strengthen personal cybersecurity, citing the risk of inadvertently clicking on the many fraudulent ads that plague websites.

Hence, Google’s recent efforts to sabotage the use of ad blockers by redefining the advertising ecosystem and relying on the dominance of its Chrome browser is not only a breach of antitrust law, but also irresponsible. Just because Google’s business continues to rely on advertising, does not mean that all web users should be subjected to a business model that is not only generally annoying, but also an invasion of our privacy that exposes us to vulnerabilities.

What should you do as a user? First, ditch Chrome. Using the same browser 65% of other people use is dangerous, because criminals have a great incentive to look for vulnerabilities in it; and secondly, a problem for your privacy if the company that develops it also lives primarily on advertising. Second, install an ad blocker: AdBlock, AdBlock Plus, Ghostery, uBlock Origin or some other. You will gain a better browsing experience, free of ads even on YouTube, but also potentially safer. And if you also recommend it to or install it for other users with less experience than you, you will be doing your good deed of the day, which will also make the FBI happy.

Why privacy is important, and having “nothing to hide” is irrelevant

This affects all of us. We must care!
https://robindoherty.com/2016/01/06/nothing-to-hide.html

Glenn Greenwald on Why privacy is vital, even if you ‘Have Nothing To Hide’

https://huffpost.com/entry/glenn-greenwald-privacy_n_5509704

A dad took photos of his naked toddler for the doctor. Google flagged him as a criminal.

By Kashmir Hill, posted Aug 21, 2022
https://inkl.com/news/a-dad-took-photos-of-his-naked-toddler-for-the-doctor-google-flagged-him-as-a-criminal/EbYLJlcYkxY
https://nytimes.com/2022/08/21/technology/google-surveillance-toddler-photo.html

Mark noticed something amiss with his toddler. His son’s penis looked swollen and was hurting him. Mark, a stay-at-home dad in San Francisco, grabbed his Android smartphone and took photos to document the problem so he could track its progression.
Mark’s wife grabbed her husband’s phone and texted a few high-quality close-ups of their son’s groin area to her iPhone so she could upload them to the health care provider’s messaging system. In one, Mark’s hand was visible, helping to better display the swelling. Mark and his wife gave no thought to the tech giants that made this quick capture and exchange of digital data possible, or what those giants might think of the images.
With help from the photos, the doctor diagnosed the issue and prescribed antibiotics, which quickly cleared it up. But the episode left Mark with a much larger problem, one that would cost him more than a decade of contacts, emails and photos, and make him the target of a police investigation.

“I knew that these companies were watching and that privacy is not what we would hope it to be,” Mark said. “But I haven’t done anything wrong.” Police agreed. Google did not.
After setting up a Gmail account in the mid-aughts, Mark came to rely heavily on Google. He synced appointments with his wife on Google Calendar. His Android smartphone camera backed up his photos and videos to the Google Cloud. He even had a phone plan with Google Fi.
He filled out a form requesting a review of Google’s decision, explaining his son’s infection. At the same time, he discovered the domino effect of Google’s rejection. Not only did he lose emails, contact information for friends and former colleagues, and documentation of his son’s first years of life, his Google Fi account shut down, meaning he had to get a new phone number with another carrier. Without access to his old phone number and email address, he couldn’t get the security codes he needed to sign in to other internet accounts, locking him out of much of his digital life.
“From Google’s perspective, it’s easier to just deny these people the use of their services,” she speculated. Otherwise, the company would have to resolve more difficult questions about “what’s appropriate behavior with kids and then what’s appropriate to photograph or not.”

The day after Mark’s troubles started, the same scenario was playing out in Texas. A toddler in Houston had an infection in his “intimal parts,” his father wrote in an online post that I stumbled upon while reporting out Mark’s story. At the pediatrician’s request, Cassio, who also asked to be identified only by his first name, used an Android to take photos, which were backed up automatically to Google Photos. He then sent them to his wife via Google’s chat service.
Cassio was in the middle of buying a house, and signing countless digital documents, when his Gmail account was disabled. He asked his mortgage broker to switch his email address, which made the broker suspicious until Cassio’s real estate agent vouched for him.

‘They are watching’: Inside Russia’s vast surveillance state

By Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano, Aaron Krolik and Aliza AufrichtigSept. 22, 2022
https://nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/22/technology/russia-putin-surveillance-spying.html
A cache of nearly 160,000 files from Russia’s powerful internet regulator provides a rare glimpse inside Vladimir V. Putin’s digital crackdown

A new attack can unmask anonymous users on any Major Browser

Researchers have found a way to use the web’s basic functions to identify who visits a site—without the user detecting the hack
By Lily Hay Newman, posted Jul 14, 2022
https://wired.com/story/web-deanonymization-side-channel-attack-njit

The lost word of privacy

The exponential increase of data transactions
Privacy as a Human Right
A monitored internet a threat to creativity and reassessment
Collected and stored data is a threat to privacy
Privacy is the right of each individual to define his boundaries in which he feels safe to think, behave and evolve
“There is a big difference between secrecy and privacy” Dick Durbin
https://blog.telios.io/thelostwordofprivacy

Messaging and chat control; The end of the privacy of digital correspondence

The EU decided to let providers search all private chats, messages, and emails automatically for suspicious content - generally and indiscriminately
The stated aim: To prosecute child pornography. The result: Mass surveillance by means of fully automated real-time messaging and chat control and the end of secrecy of digital correspondence
A majority of the Members of the European Parliament adopted the chatcontrol regulation on 6 July 2021
For autumn 2021, European Commission announced that it will propose a follow-up legislation that will make the use of chatcontrol mandatory for all e-mail and messenger providers
This legislation might then also affect securely end-to-end encrypted communications. However, a public consultation by the Commission on this project showed that the majority of respondents, both citizens and stakeholders, oppose an obligation to use chat control
Over 80% of respondents oppose its application to end-to-end encrypted communications
https://patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/message-screening
https://patrick-breyer.de/en/posts/message-screening/#AdditionalInformation

Australia: Unprecedented surveillance bill rushed through parliament in 24 hours

Australian police can now hack your device, collect or delete your data, take over your social media accounts - all without a judge’s warrant
Politicians justify the need for the bill by stating that it is intended to fight child exploitation (CSAM) and terrorism - the usual lies
The new Australian surveillance bill signals the end of respect for Human Rights in Australia…
Surveillance is power, and that is a threat to our free and open societies!
https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/australia-surveillance-bill

We need more protection from government surveillance, not less

The ability to communicate securely via encryption is essential to the protection of democracy and human rights
https://politico.eu/article/we-need-more-protection-government-surveillance-not-less

Google, Meta, and others will have to explain their algorithms under new EU legislation

The Digital Services Act will re-shape the online world
https://theverge.com/2022/4/23/23036976/eu-digital-services-act-finalized-algorithms-targeted-advertising

The spy tech that followed kids home for remote learning and won’t leave

Gaggle’s software monitors students’ use of school-issued accounts. But educators may not be prepared to respond to what they learn.
Only about a quarter of incidents were reported to district officials on school days between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., bringing into sharp relief how the service extends schools’ authority far beyond their traditional powers to regulate student speech and behavior, including at home.
Through artificial intelligence, Gaggle scans students’ emails, chat messages, and other materials uploaded to students’ Google or Microsoft accounts in search of keywords, images, or videos that could indicate self-harm, violence, or sexual behavior. Moderators evaluate flagged material and notify school officials about content they find troubling
…cited a middle school girl’s private journal in a success story. The girl wrote in a digital journal that she suffered with self-esteem issues and guilt after getting raped.
"No one in her life knew about this incident, and because she journaled about it” Gaggle was able to notify school officials about what they’d learned
"They were able to intervene and get this girl help for things that she couldn’t have dealt with on her own”
Though most students said they’re comfortable being monitored, 58% said they don’t share their "true thoughts or ideas” as a result, and 80% said they’re more careful about what they search online.
"We are looking for needles in haystacks to basically save kids”
https://fastcompany.com/90677509/the-spy-tech-that-followed-kids-home-for-remote-learning-and-wont-leave

Big teacher is watching: How AI spyware took over schools

The pandemic caused schools to embrace laptops, tablets, Zoom, and an app called GoGuardian that tracks everything students (and, sometimes, parents) do online
Another popular search: "How you bypass GoGuardian,” which is the name of the tracking software Pekin High uses
https://bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-10-28/how-goguardian-ai-spyware-took-over-schools-student-devices-during-covid

This manual for a popular facial recognition tool shows just how much the software tracks people

One school using the software saw that a student’s face was captured more than 1,000 times during the week
"You’ve built a system that’s essentially like putting an ankle monitor on all your kids”
https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/07/06/this-manual-for-a-popular-facial-recognition-tool-shows-just-how-much-the-software-tracks-people

Tracked No More - Goodbye Google

https://マリウス.com/tracked-no-more-goodbye-google
Goodbye Google! For the past couple of years I’ve been using the company’s services extensively, but with the amount of scandals and privacy issues it was time to cut ties

The hidden fingerprint inside your photos

https://bbc.com/future/article/20210324-the-hidden-fingerprint-inside-your-photos

metadata from photos, there’s tons of data in there

Report: Which social media apps collect user data the most

https://mobilemarketingreads.com/report-which-companies-use-most-data

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Tinder, Grindr, Uber, Strava, etc…

Your privacy checklist for the post-cloud era

https://workaround.org/articleyour-privacy-checklist-for-the-post-cloud-era
Secret services are spying on us. Companies call us consumers and consider us slaughter cattle.

What does the US government know about you?

The US government operates the largest and most advanced spying, surveillance, and data collection programs on the planet.
The second is probably the chinese government.
https://privacy.net/us-government-surveillance-spying-data-collection

How to make your offline self harder to find online

You can’t wipe all your info off the internet - but you can make it less available
https://theverge.com/22509928/internet-security-privacy-personal-data

When does sharing become oversharing?

Sharing our personal lives online is important - but it’s dangerous, too
https://theverge.com/22526811/oversharing-social-media-protect-personal-harassment

Is your smartphone really safe from hackers? This is how to be sure

By David McClelland, published Jul 2, 2021
https://metro.co.uk/2021/07/02/is-your-smartphone-really-safe-from-hackers-heres-how-to-be-sure-14858354

MDMs do not solve Personal Data Privacy

https://trunomi.com/blogs/mdm-does-not-solve-privacy

Meet the self-hosters, taking back the internet one server at a time

Tired of Big Tech monopolies, a community of hobbyists is taking their digital lives off the cloud and onto DIY hardware that they control
https://vice.com/en/article/pkb4ng/meet-the-self-hosters-taking-back-the-internet-one-server-at-a-time
It’s no secret that a small handful of enormous companies dominate the internet as we know it. But the internet didn’t always have services with a billion users and quasi-monopolistic control over search or shopping. It was once a loose collection of individuals, research labs, and small companies, each making their own home on the burgeoning world wide web.

The comprehensive guide to quitting Google

Despite all the convenience and quality of Google’s sprawling ecosystem, some users are fed up with the fishy privacy policies the company has recently implemented in Gmail, Chrome, and other services
If you’re ready to ditch Google, or even just reduce its presence in your digital life, this guide is here to help
https://lifehacker.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-quitting-google-1830001964

Google Creep: Google engineer stalked teens, spied on chats

https://gawker.com/5637234/gcreep-google-engineer-stalked-teens-spied-on-chats
We entrust Google with our most private communications because we assume the company takes every precaution to safeguard our data. It doesn’t.
A Google engineer spied on four underage teens for months before the company was notified of the abuses.

Deleting and quitting Facebook

https://robertheaton.com/deleting-facebook

Something weird is happening on Facebook

Massive data harvesting via clickbait
How old are you? Where do you live? What are your entertainment tastes and how far do you live from your hometown?
Properly scrubbed, these answers could probably predict your '16 and '20 Election preferences with 90%+ accuracy.
What data do these posts produce? For each account that interacts with these posts, page administrators can use Facebook Insights to query aggregate information on post reach and demographics, but that’s for rookies.
With a little python expertise responses on my page can be scraped directly from Facebook and stored for analysis.
Don’t take candy from strangers and don’t feed your personal information to bots!
https://politicalorphans.com/something-weird-is-happening-on-facebook

Apple is trying to redefine what it means to violate your privacy. We must not let it

https://ar.al/2021/08/08/apple-is-trying-to-redefine-what-it-means-to-violate-your-privacy-we-must-not-let-it

CURL’S TLS fingerprint

By Daniel Stenberg, posted September 2, 2022
https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2022/09/02/curls-tls-fingerprint
When a network client connects to a remote site and makes a TLS handshake with the server, the server can basically add up all those details and make an educated guess exactly which client that connects to it. One method to do it is called JA3 and produces a 32 digit hexadecimal number as output. (The three creators of this algorithm all have JA as their initials!)
There are many reasons why servers want to limit access to a subset of clients, but I think the general idea is that they want to prevent “illegitimate” user agents from accessing their sites.

TLS Fingerprinting with JA3 and JA3S:
https://engineering.salesforce.com/tls-fingerprinting-with-ja3-and-ja3s-247362855967

Securing your digital life, part one: The basics; Security steps everyone should be taking

We go over some security steps everyone should be taking
https://arstechnica.com/features/2021/10/securing-your-digital-life-part-1/

Securing your digital life, part two: The bigger picture and special circumstances; More detailed steps to protect yourself

We did the basics - now let’s look at some more detailed steps to protect yourself
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/10/securing-your-digital-life-part-2/

German police secretly bought NSO Pegasus spyware

Sources have confirmed media reports that federal criminal police purchased and used the controversial Israeli surveillance spyware despite lawyers’ objections
https://dw.com/en/german-police-secretly-bought-nso-pegasus-spyware/a-59113197

How to check your phone for Pegasus spyware using Amnesty’s tool

https://theverge.com/2021/7/21/22587234/amnesty-international-nso-pegasus-spyware-detection-tool-ios-android-guide-windows-mac

Pegasus spyware used to target phones of journalists and activists, investigation finds

The phones were on a list of thousands of numbers
https://theverge.com/2021/7/18/22582532/pegasus-nso-spyware-target-phones-journalists-activists-investigation

The new warrant: how US police mine Google for your location and search history

Geofence location and keyword warrants are new law enforcement tools that have privacy experts concerned
McCoy later found out the request was part of an investigation into the burglary of a nearby home the year before. The evidence that cast him as a suspect was his location during his bike ride - information the police obtained from Google through what is called a geofence warrant. For simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, McCoy was being investigated and, as a result, his Google data was at risk of being handed over to the police.
https://theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/16/geofence-warrants-reverse-search-warrants-police-google

Every message was copied to the police: the inside story of the most daring surveillance sting in history

Billed as the most secure phone on the planet, An0m ($1,700) became a viral sensation in the underworld
There was just one problem for anyone using it for criminal means: it was run by the police
Almost 10,000 users around the world had agreed to pay, not for the phone so much as for a specific application installed on it
https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/11/inside-story-most-daring-surveillance-sting-in-history

Government secretly orders Google to track anyone searching certain names, addresses, and phone numbers

The U.S. government is reportedly secretly issuing warrants for Google to provide user data on anyone typing in certain search terms, raising fears that innocent online users could get caught up in serious crime investigations at a greater frequency than previously thought
https://washingtonexaminer.com/news/fed-govt-secretly-orders-google-track-anyone-searched-certain-names-addresses-phone-numbers

These are supposedly the words that make the NSA think you’re a terrorist

https://businessinsider.com/nsa-prism-keywords-for-domestic-spying-2013-6
https://attrition.org/misc/keywords.html

The full list of words, for your browsing pleasure:
Waihopai, INFOSEC, Information Security, Information Warfare, IW, IS, Priavacy, Information Terrorism, Terrorism Defensive Information, Defense Information Warfare, Offensive Information, Offensive Information Warfare, National Information Infrastructure, InfoSec, Reno, Compsec, Computer Terrorism, Firewalls, Secure Internet Connections, ISS, Passwords, DefCon V, Hackers, Encryption, Espionage, USDOJ, NSA, CIA, S/Key, SSL, FBI, Secert Service, USSS, Defcon, Military, White House, Undercover, NCCS, Mayfly, PGP, PEM, RSA, Perl-RSA, MSNBC, bet, AOL, AOL TOS, CIS, CBOT, AIMSX, STARLAN, 3B2, BITNET, COSMOS, DATTA, E911, FCIC, HTCIA, IACIS, UT/RUS, JANET, JICC, ReMOB, LEETAC, UTU, VNET, BRLO, BZ, CANSLO, CBNRC, CIDA, JAVA, Active X, Compsec 97, LLC, DERA, Mavricks, Meta-hackers, ^?, Steve Case, Tools, Telex, Military Intelligence, Scully, Flame, Infowar, Bubba, Freeh, Archives, Sundevil, jack, Investigation, ISACA, NCSA, spook words, Verisign, Secure, ASIO, Lebed, ICE, NRO, Lexis-Nexis, NSCT, SCIF, FLiR, Lacrosse, Flashbangs, HRT, DIA, USCOI, CID, BOP, FINCEN, FLETC, NIJ, ACC, AFSPC, BMDO, NAVWAN, NRL, RL, NAVWCWPNS, NSWC, USAFA, AHPCRC, ARPA, LABLINK, USACIL, USCG, NRC, ~, CDC, DOE, FMS, HPCC, NTIS, SEL, USCODE, CISE, SIRC, CIM, ISN, DJC, SGC, UNCPCJ, CFC, DREO, CDA, DRA, SHAPE, SACLANT, BECCA, DCJFTF, HALO, HAHO, FKS, 868, GCHQ, DITSA, SORT, AMEMB, NSG, HIC, EDI, SAS, SBS, UDT, GOE, DOE, GEO, Masuda, Forte, AT, GIGN, Exon Shell, CQB, CONUS, CTU, RCMP, GRU, SASR, GSG-9, 22ndSAS, GEOS, EADA, BBE, STEP, Echelon, Dictionary, MD2, MD4, MDA, MYK, 747, 777, 767, MI5, 737, MI6, 757, Kh-11, Shayet-13, SADMS, Spetznaz, Recce, 707, CIO, NOCS, Halcon, Duress, RAID, Psyops, grom, D-11, SERT, VIP, ARC, S.E.T. Team, MP5k, DREC, DEVGRP, DF, DSD, FDM, GRU, LRTS, SIGDEV, NACSI, PSAC, PTT, RFI, SIGDASYS, TDM. SUKLO, SUSLO, TELINT, TEXTA. ELF, LF, MF, VHF, UHF,SHF, SASP, WANK, Colonel, domestic disruption, smuggle, 15kg, nitrate, Pretoria, M-14, enigma, Bletchley Park, Clandestine, nkvd, argus, afsatcom, CQB, NVD, Counter Terrorism Security, Rapid Reaction, Corporate Security, Police, sniper, PPS, ASIS, ASLET, TSCM, Security Consulting, High Security, Security Evaluation, Electronic Surveillance, MI-17, Counterterrorism, spies, eavesdropping, debugging, interception, COCOT, rhost, rhosts, SETA, Amherst, Broadside, Capricorn, Gamma, Gorizont, Guppy, Ionosphere, Mole, Keyhole, Kilderkin, Artichoke, Badger, Cornflower, Daisy, Egret, Iris, Hollyhock, Jasmine, Juile, Vinnell, B.D.M., Sphinx, Stephanie, Reflection, Spoke, Talent, Trump, FX, FXR, IMF, POCSAG, Covert Video, Intiso, r00t, lock picking, Beyond Hope, csystems, passwd, 2600 Magazine, Competitor, EO, Chan, Alouette, executive, Event Security, Mace, Cap-Stun, stakeout, ninja, ASIS, ISA, EOD, Oscor, Merlin, NTT, SL-1, Rolm, TIE, Tie-fighter, PBX, SLI, NTT, MSCJ, MIT, 69, RIT, Time, MSEE, Cable & Wireless, CSE, Embassy, ETA, Porno, Fax, finks, Fax encryption, white noise, pink noise, CRA, M.P.R.I., top secret, Mossberg, 50BMG, Macintosh Security, Macintosh Internet Security, Macintosh Firewalls, Unix Security, VIP Protection, SIG, sweep, Medco, TRD, TDR, sweeping, TELINT, Audiotel, Harvard, 1080H, SWS, Asset, Satellite imagery, force, Cypherpunks, Coderpunks, TRW, remailers, replay, redheads, RX-7, explicit, FLAME, Pornstars, AVN, Playboy, Anonymous, Sex, chaining, codes, Nuclear, 20, subversives, SLIP, toad, fish, data havens, unix, c, a, b, d, the, Elvis, quiche, DES, 1*, NATIA, NATOA, sneakers, counterintelligence, industrial espionage, PI, TSCI, industrial intelligence, H.N.P., Juiliett Class Submarine, Locks, loch, Ingram Mac-10, sigvoice, ssa, E.O.D., SEMTEX, penrep, racal, OTP, OSS, Blowpipe, CCS, GSA, Kilo Class, squib, primacord, RSP, Becker, Nerd, fangs, Austin, Comirex, GPMG, Speakeasy, humint, GEODSS, SORO, M5, ANC, zone, SBI, DSS, S.A.I.C., Minox, Keyhole, SAR, Rand Corporation, Wackenhutt, EO, Wackendude, mol, Hillal, GGL,CTU, botux, Virii, CCC, Blacklisted 411, Internet Underground, XS4ALL, Retinal Fetish, Fetish, Yobie, CTP, CATO, Phon-e, Chicago Posse, l0ck, spook keywords, PLA, TDYC, W3, CUD, CdC, Weekly World News, Zen, World Domination, Dead, GRU, M72750, Salsa, 7, Blowfish, Gorelick, Glock, Ft. Meade, press-release, Indigo, wire transfer, e-cash, Bubba the Love Sponge, Digicash, zip,SWAT, Ortega, PPP, crypto-anarchy, AT&T, SGI, SUN, MCI, Blacknet, Middleman, KLM, Blackbird, plutonium, Texas, jihad, SDI, Uzi, Fort Meade, supercomputer, bullion, 3, Blackmednet, Propaganda, ABC, Satellite phones, Planet-1, cryptanalysis, nuclear, FBI, Panama, fissionable, Sears Tower, NORAD, Delta Force, SEAL, virtual, Dolch, secure shell, screws, Black-Ops, Area51, SABC, basement, data-haven, black-bag, TEMPSET, Goodwin, rebels, ID, MD5, IDEA, garbage, market, beef, Stego, unclassified, utopia, orthodox, Alica, SHA, Global, gorilla, Bob, Pseudonyms, MITM, Gray Data, VLSI, mega, Leitrim, Yakima, Sugar Grove, Cowboy, Gist, 8182, Gatt, Platform, 1911, Geraldton, UKUSA, veggie, 3848, Morwenstow, Consul, Oratory, Pine Gap, Menwith, Mantis, DSD, BVD, 1984, Flintlock, cybercash, government, hate, speedbump, illuminati, president, freedom, cocaine, $, Roswell, ESN, COS, E.T., credit card, b9, fraud, assasinate, virus, anarchy, rogue, mailbomb, 888, Chelsea, 1997, Whitewater, MOD, York, plutonium, William Gates, clone, BATF, SGDN, Nike, Atlas, Delta, TWA, Kiwi, PGP 2.6.2., PGP 5.0i, PGP 5.1, siliconpimp, Lynch, 414,Face, Pixar, IRIDF, eternity server, Skytel, Yukon, Templeton, LUK, Cohiba, Soros, Standford, niche, 51, H&K, USP, ^, sardine, bank, EUB, USP, PCS, NRO, Red Cell, Glock 26, snuffle, Patel, package, ISI, INR, INS, IRS, GRU, RUOP, GSS, NSP, SRI, Ronco, Armani, BOSS, Chobetsu, FBIS, BND, SISDE, FSB, BfV, IB, froglegs, JITEM, SADF, advise, TUSA, HoHoCon, SISMI, FIS, MSW, Spyderco, UOP, SSCI, NIMA, MOIS, SVR, SIN, advisors, SAP, OAU, PFS, Aladdin, chameleon man, Hutsul, CESID, Bess, rail gun, Peering, 17, 312, NB, CBM, CTP, Sardine, SBIRS, SGDN, ADIU, DEADBEEF, IDP, IDF, Halibut, SONANGOL, Flu, &, Loin, PGP 5.53, EG&G, AIEWS, AMW, WORM, MP5K-SD, 1071, WINGS, cdi, DynCorp, UXO, Ti, THAAD, package, chosen, PRIME, SURVIAC, NSA, CIA

Apparently taking about $ makes you a target for the 3 letter agencies.
Also Java, Unix and Unix security. Sounds dangerous to me.

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