Question about 'big brother'

[308win]

Maybe the government believes your name is immaterial.

 

[Marshall]

I would go as far as to say that, if we don't think the Gov is already monitoring, to some extent, websites, checking keywords, etc; we're naive. I would imagine, this, THR, would be one site of decent probability.

And I'm not a conspiracy guy.

 

[junyo]

With all the new laws being passed post 9/11 and individual rights being lost...

You haven't lost any rights post 9/11 that weren't already an illusion. The wire tap and snoping provisions from the Patriot Act that have everybody so worried are only possible because they started building hooks into the hardware and software to make it possible or easier decades ago. The fact that more people are aware of it now is actually an improvement.

Americans have been the most researched, documented, and dossiered people in the world since sometime in the middle of the Cold War. The average person is data in a file to more people than they will ever be flesh and blood. Your SSN, student ID, club card, gym membership number? That's what database programmers call "keys", unique identifiers that bind and allow the cross referencing of your records. You want to believe the NSA can't monitor everything? The Tooth Fairy's real too. Access to a few privately controlled credit or banking systems will build a decent picture of your life. Add in a few government sources and there's a DB somewhere that could spit out a query with more info than you know about yourself. Literally, since you're not aware of, or in control of all the data that exists regarding yourself.

But I'm not that worried about it. The biggest bit of obscurity that you have is the volume of data. Even the finest tuned query will generate tons of false positives, and while the government's got a lot of hardware to throw at it, there are a finite number of people to look into your online porn downloading habits. In fact, the more data they collect, the better. Contrary to common logic it's a lot easy to hide in a city than it is on the top of a mountain. So unless you try really hard to raise yourself out of the noise, your records will get poked, prodded, examined, and scanned, but never flagged.

And there's always cash, disposable email accounts, off shore proxy servers, and internet cafes.

 

[AndyC]

Andy, I'm not very knowledgable with all that stuff, but wouldn't the At&T/NSA set-up circumvent that?

"There are no surprises in the AT&T documentation published Tuesday, which consist of a subset of the pages already published by Wired News. They include AT&T wiring diagrams, equipment lists and task orders that appear to show the company tapping into fiber-optic cables at the point where its backbone network connects to other ISPs at a San Francisco switching office. The documents appear to show the company siphoning off the traffic to a room packed with internet-monitoring gear."

Well, I'm sure that the NSA is very much the bee's knees when it comes to monitoring; however, my point was that if all someone has is your IP-address by which to trace you, that would lead them to your ISP - and only the ISP would have the records to show whose account was using that IP at that particular point in time.

That information should only be released when a subpoena is submitted; right-to-privacy and all that. Then again, if you know the right people inside the ISP...

 

[KLDimond]

Jeepmor: I personally have not seen it, but a friend of mine in law enforcement tells me that helicopter-based FLIR can see right into your bedroom. Must be different gear than you used.

Beatnik: It's not science fiction. It's current events. Virtually everything you do electronically can be and is--at least by some sample rate and trigger words--recorded.

I know that's awful news, but better to be informed than happy.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

The giant eye sees most of it--but it still blinks.

 

[209]

I have to imagine that certain key-words, phrases and such get flagged. I have it on good authority that magazine subscriptions were a way .gov kept track of things back in the 70s and 80s. I doubt they aren't tracking the internet. There are mining programs out these days that track sites quite well.

I kind of believe in the "walk softy and carry a big stick" concept. Relating that to the internet, change "walk" to "type" or "post".....

 

[FourNineFoxtrot]

I always assume that anything I type online...

And anything I say in public, is being monitored. I already know that the eye in the sky is watching, basically any time I leave my home.

One of the most serious problems with recent technological development is that it is becoming increasingly efficient and cost-effective to monitor more people, more of the time. They don't need to be actively watching you. They only need to have recorded you, and they can watch what you've already done.

Welcome to the Panopticon.

 

[Torque]

That said, it's NOT against the law for a private company to form these random databases, and keep them up-to-date. It's also not illegal for some alphabet agency to contact that private company and purchase any specific data on a particular person...

ie, Like Microsoft?

lol


edit*

I'm sure it is being done. And I'm sure the British had stoolies there whenever the colonists met to discuss their grievances.

Your post brought up a good point to me. Internet is international. If our government can't 'wire' tap it citizens, maybe another government can for them. An english speaking government, opps should I say 'England'. Just kidding, but it could come to this soon...

Naw that would be too obvious, it probably is Windows. I mean, isn't a window something that can be peered into? Like a peeping tom?

Man I am paranoid.

 

[Torque]

Shooting a few rounds with my lawyer.

Just a double post later, all I have to say is I am going to the range this weekend. If I can spot a 'Big brother', I will know (besides sateillite). With that said, I am going to bed. I've already been in bed a long, long time.

What really hurts me is the 'croonies', don't really know what they are doing.

What I mean is, our friends (law and military) don't realize they are helping to take away OUR rights. Some are family, mine included. But they have to do what they are told.


It really does hurt.