Tired of People Tracking Your Life. - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

CDavidNeely · #1 (**permalink**) 05-17-2007

Namaste,

Do you tire of people watching you? Are you afraid of the government tracking you? Do you think someone is watching you? What do you do about it?

Simple solutions to Surveillance.

Quote:

Personal counter-surveillance

Counter-surveillance is reliant on good information security planning. Protecting information is the first stage of counter-surveillance. But counter surveillance must also be seen as a balancing of opposing objectives.

If you are very good at restricting all information, that state or corporations will have problems monitoring you. However, you are also likely to become more isolated and secretive in the process. Therefore, like information security, counter surveillance requires an effort to protect those activities or information that are sensitive, while giving less emphasis to those activities that can be open to all.

Information security is primarily based on protecting equipment with security procedures and barriers. Personal counter-surveillance is based on much the same process, but instead you provide security and barriers around your own personal habits. As humans we are creatures of habit. If we exhibit very predictable habits, this makes monitoring of our activities easier. But if on certain occasions we break our habits, it can also give away the fact that we are doing something at that time which is not part of our everyday work.

The best way to begin thinking about avoiding surveillance is to think about breaking the regular patterns in your life. This masks regular activity, so making it harder to practice routine surveillance. But it also masks the times when you may undertake activities out of the ordinary.

Breaking regular patterns does not mean going to bed at different times, or working different hours everyday. Instead it requires that any activities you wish to avoid being the subject of surveillance are integrated into the other events in your life — but not to the extent that they become predictable. If you change the route you take to work or to shop on a random basis, you make it more difficult to monitor your movements. If you build irregular appointments into activities that might involve surveillance, it creates a background "noise" in the pattern of your activities that masks any change in your habits.

Securing the information on your computer will help your overall security. If you have a portable computer you are presented with a whole new problem because you move that system outside of your ordinary systems of security and access barriers. Therefore special care should be taken with portable computers:
The system should be secured with a BIOS password to prevent booting;
Use encryption of the hard disk, where possible, to prevent access to the contents of the hard disk if it is removed from the machine;
Ensure that your portable computer has different passwords than those used on your static equipment.

Securing your information is fairly easy. But the main issue you will have to deal with when considering personal surveillance is how to carry out meetings, and networking with people, when you need to discuss sensitive issues.

Primarily, when dealing with sensitive information, avoid generating any kind of documentation or opportunities for surveillance. Think about implementing the following as part of your work:
Travel —
If you are traveling to a sensitive meeting take a different route going there and coming back, and if possible do not use the same bus or station when going to or leaving the location you are traveling to. This lessens the likelihood that your destination will be identified.
If traveling on sensitive business, try to use public transport. Using your own private cars will provide a traceable identity.
To avoid the CCTV systems in public places move with the crowd; don't rush, don't cut corners, and don't look around for CCTV cameras.
If you can build in other events/appointments as part of your journey, that will help provide an alternate motive for traveling to that area of a town or city.
Facial recognition systems work primarily on the configuration of facial features. To work they need to get a good view of the face. Looking at a slight angle towards the ground, and wearing a hat with a brim, helps fool the system.
If you travel using public transport, roaming tickets are preferable to tickets for a specific journey — they give you more flexibility over the route, and they are more difficult to associate a route traveled with a particular ticket purchase.
If you have the time available and you can obtain a roaming ticket, build in some extra time to your journey and change trains to make it hard to piece together your journey from CCTV and surveillance sources.
If traveling in a town, avoid moving through the major shopping areas, or "controlled environments" such as shopping centers. These have the highest level of CCTV coverage.
Always assume that public transport vehicles have CCTV installed — traveling during peak hours will help mask your presence.
To make following you in person or via CCTV more difficult do not wear distinctive clothes or carry distinctive objects — blend in.
Darkness aids anonymity, but is not a foolproof solution to the latest CCTV cameras that can see in the dark.
Mobile phones —
If in doubt, turn it off. Better yet, remove the battery or leave the phone in a place far enough away or contained so that if its microphone is remotely activated, it won't be able to pick up your conversation.
If travelling to a sensitive location, in an urban area do not use your phone within two or three miles of the location, or in rural areas do not use it within ten or fifteen miles of the location. This will prevent the creation of a trail that associates you with that location on that day.
If the location you are going to is nowhere near a route you regularly travel, turn off your phone before you start your journey there.
However, do not always go to places far from your home. A truly random sequence will include clustering. If you are always going locations far from your home, they can be able to back track you to your home or office based on the locations you are avoiding.
If you desperately need to mask your location, let someone else carry your phone around for the day — but this is only realistic if you take all precautions to prevent generating other document trails while you are moving around.
Payments —
If you are travelling to a sensitive location, don't pay by credit/debit card or take money from a cash machine.
If you need to spend cash when travelling to/working around a sensitive location, do not spend the notes taken directly from the cash machine (their sequential numbers may be logged). Keep a supply of notes received as change elsewhere and use those.
If you need to buy something when travelling to/working around a sensitive location, do not give any loyalty cards or personalized money-off tokens as part of your purchases — they are traceable.
Communications —
If you need to make a sensitive phone call that must not be directly associated with you, do so from a public phone box. But beware, if you are associated with the person at the other end of the call, and the content of their calls (rather than just the data) is being monitored, your location at that date and time will be discovered.
If using public phone boxes, try to use them randomly across an area rather than the ones that are closest to you. Also, try to avoid phone boxes on direct transport routes to your home or place of work.
If you wish to send something sensitive through the post, wear gloves to prevent creating fingerprints when producing/packing the item, do not lick the envelope or stamps to prevent creating a DNA sample, and post it in a different location to where you normally post your letters (the further the better) using stamps bought on a different day.
If you print something, use a printer that can not be traced back to you. With printer steganography it may be possible to find out when, and where a document was printed.
If you need to send a sensitive fax, use a copy shop/bureau that has a self-service desk.
If you desperately need to keep in communication, buy a pay-as-you-go mobile phone and only use it for a day or two while you are engaged in sensitive work.
Online —
Maintain a number of alternate personas on the Internet that give you access to web mail and other services should you ever need to use them.
If you need to use the Internet, use a public access point, such as a cybercafe, a public library that doesn't require an ID, or a college computer lab that doesn't require an ID. Make sure that you do not access your own Internet services from the cybercafe — use an alternate persona.
If you need to view material that you do not wish to be associated with as part of the server logs of your Internet service provider, use a cybercafe.
If you use cybercafes as part of your communications, try not to use the same one.
If you have a laptop computer, and you wish to mask your location, let someone you trust use it online while you are away on sensitive work.
Meetings —
When organizing a private meeting, if you cannot send details to all involved in ways that will not be intercepted always try to agree on meeting in one location near to the meeting place. You can then direct people to the correct location as they arrive. By keeping the location of a private meeting limited, you lessen the likelihood of the location being surveiled.
If meeting in the home or building of another person or organization do not make a phone call from their phone to a number that is identified with you, or from a public phone box near to that building.
If the people going to a private meeting are likely to have mobile phones, ask them to turn them off before travelling to the meeting place (if all the mobile phones of a groups of people are in the same cell at the same time on the same day, it can be assumed that you have had a meeting).
If you require a private meeting place, do not keep using the same one. Alternate it as much as possible. Also, if you meet in a public place, pick somewhere with a high level of background noise, and with as many obstacles or partitions around the point where you meet, to prevent your conversations being overheard.
If you must pay for something while having a meeting, use cash. Or, if you cannot, get one person to pay. In this way you will not generate paper trails linking you together.
Meeting in public spaces, streets, in parks, or on public transport is not a good idea — many of these areas are surveiled by CCTV. But bars, cafes and restaurants tend not have their CCTV systems linked to a central control room, and what CCTV systems are installed are concentrated around the till.

Wikipedia Counter-Surveillance

In Peace,
Eglaelin

Anselme · #2 (**permalink**) 05-17-2007

cool, a bit paranoid, no?

Steve · #3 (**permalink**) 05-17-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anselme

cool, a bit paranoid, no?

3.14 · #4 (**permalink**) 05-17-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eglaelin

Namaste,

Do you tire of people watching you? Are you afraid of the government tracking you? Do you think someone is watching you? What do you do about it?

Simple solutions to Surveillance.

Wikipedia Counter-Surveillance

In Peace,
Eglaelin

All that, and you oppose the Patriot Act fiercely. That would help greatly too.

Beer · #5 (**permalink**) 05-18-2007

All I can say is, I hope they like what they see. I do my best to give them a show now and then. When the next big terror attack hits, they'll be left wondering how the perversion of my privacy compared to the one they should have been watching. Fuck them all.

steveox · #6 (**permalink**) 05-18-2007

Nope im all for it!! Except at Workplaces and wiretapping in your own home.

Beer · #7 (**permalink**) 05-18-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveox

Nope im all for it!! Except at Workplaces and wiretapping in your own home.

All for what? A paternalistic government? Big brother watching you?

I dont know about you, but I am not this scared.

I left the comfort of mommy's crib years ago and I hope more Americans will feel this way.

Western Otto · #8 (**permalink**) 05-20-2007

My only real concern about surveilance is from criminals using the information for things like identity theft. As far as the "Government" goes, I don't feel any need to hide from them at all. You need to understand that the people who are actually running the government are totally without scruples, they are amoral, if they want to "get you" for something--or nothing--they will do so. If they do not have the necessary cctv footage they will forge it, they will plant evidence, or simply do what George the Monkey has been doing, and "disappear" you. There is no protection from people who have vast power, who know no limits, have no boundaries, obey no law, have no conscience, and are afraid of losing their power.

Do I wish it was different? Yes, of course, but there are too many people who are willing to give away their freedom for the illusion of safety.

Fido · #9 (**permalink**) 05-20-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eglaelin

Namaste,

Do you tire of people watching you? Are you afraid of the government tracking you? Do you think someone is watching you? What do you do about it?

Simple solutions to Surveillance.

Wikipedia Counter-Surveillance

In Peace,
Eglaelin

I hope they are watching me, and I hope they are bored stiff. I watch tv. I think, man, you could never watch real people like this. Some one would tell you to go home or take a picture or something. We forget how rude it is to look hard a some one, their features, their figures, their flaws, or their perfect perfections. And then to stick your nose into the intimate details of their lives, their kitchens, their bathrooms, their bedrooms, their relationships, their joys, their pains. Think of all the life we might be missing to have a chance to actually stare at strangers. It is like having a cardboard box as a child with an eye hole. It is the same world as before, only different. I hope it is different for all the peepers that look at our lives. I hope our lives are more interesting than their own. I hope they sleep more soundly knowing I am soundly sleeping.

Beer · #10 (**permalink**) 05-21-2007

Fido, the perpetrators are all low lives. They feel very "double-oh-seven" for their cause. It's gotta be a nice ego boost to have such secretive occupations. At the end of the day, they only have themselves and a deep, unrequited guilt that drains their soul.

chathamfarmer · #11 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007

I always wave at cameras and and give them a big smile and a funny face. I get a kick out of imagining someone in a room looking at monitors and not liking it. It's good advice melting with the crowd though. I hate being spied on. My mom told me she found my house on google Earth. I want to take a paintbrush up there on the roof and write "Fuck Google Earth"

pramjockey · #12 (**permalink**) 05-22-2007

You know you can't spy on people with Google Earth, right?

chathamfarmer · #13 (**permalink**) 05-23-2007

I know google earth is not in real time. So what you see on it isn't happening right then. It's still be fun to paint my roof though.

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