What if there was a little box that could be placed in your home that could…..
…. track every Google search that you ran?
…. see who you email?
…. see from whom you receive emails?
…. watch your keystrokes to learn all your passwords?
…. turn on a camera and watch you at any given time?
…. gather information about your likes, dislikes, political affiliations and religious beliefs?
…. dispense all of the above personal data to fusion centers, whose
only purpose is to put together profiles of you and your family?
As it turns out, there is such a box, and if you are reading this,
you’re on it right now. You not only voluntarily brought this device
into your home, you paid good money for it. Your computer is spying on
you.
The home computer is bar none the greatest information sharing device
ever created. We can study anything our little hearts desire. We can
meet other people anywhere on the globe who have similar interests to
us. We can be kept constantly up to date with news, communication with
friends and family and updates to our inboxes about myriad topics.
Unfortunately there is a dark side to having a home computer. A home
computer means that someone else could have constant access to US.
Here are just a few little tricks that your computer may be up to, unbeknownst to you.
GOOGLE:
Google has the best reputation in the world as a search engine
extraordinaire. But the times are changing and Google is becoming less
and less trustworthy.
First there is the Gmail scandal. If you are a user of the free
email service, you may have noticed that the ads running down the side
of the homepage seem uniquely targeted to your current interests. That
is precisely because they ARE – Gmail scans every single email sent,
gleaning information for “advertisers”. That’s right, every single
email you send through Gmail is read. Apparently it is read by a
computer, but the point is, your emails are not private. Password,
smassword.
Next there is the issue of censored searches. Unless you
specifically use keywords that will hook you up with alternative news
sources, Google searches are now directing you towards the most
politically correct answers. Gone are the days when you can simply type
in, for example, 9/11, and find information that is provided based on
ratings – now you actually need to already have the source that you want
the information from to get a clear picture…for example, “Infowars
9/11. Some websites, like Infowars, are no longer coming up in Google
searches unless you include them in your search terms. At the end of
2010, Google blacklisted Infowars and Prison Planet
from it’s search aggregates, despite the fact that those sites get more
hits than many mainstream media sites that show up front and center.
Finally, let’s talk about Google’s new “privacy policy.” As it
turns out, that policy isn’t keeping very much private at all. As of
March 1, in an effort to its ads to the tastes of individual consumers,
Google will integrate information from all of it’s services, including
the search engine itself, Youtube and the aforementioned Gmail. Google
refers to this as a “more intuitive Google experience.” Unfortunately
for users who prefer more privacy, there is no option to “opt out” of
this information gathering and sharing. Check out THIS ARTICLE that recently appeared in The Washington Post for more information on the new lack-of-privacy policy.
YAHOO
Not to be outdone, Yahoo also “analyzes” the content of your
emails. And according to their guide for compliance with law enforcement
officers, Yahoo hangs on to your information for far longer than the
privacy policy states they will. Here are some alarming statistics,
directly from Yahoo, wrapped up in a menu-priced
17 PAGE GUIDE
~ All IP addresses that you use to log into your Yahoo mail account
are retained for one year, giving an excellent way to track your
movements, find your workplace, or see who you visit.
~ Instant messages and chats are logged for a minimum of 60 days.
~ The information provided to law enforcement agencies is not a matter
of civic duty – the major communications companies all have “price
lists”. The US Marshall Service admitted to having PRICE LISTS FOR DATA INTERCEPTION SERVICES from Yahoo, Verizon, Cox Communications, and ComCast.
FACEBOOK
Over half a billion people worldwide voluntarily provide information
about their personal lives, their friends, their families, their
religious beliefs and their political agendas on Facebook.
Nowhere can be found a bigger fountain of personal information. As a
way to increase the information Facebook learns about it’s users, when a
person is logged into Facebook on a computer, a cookie tracks all other
sites visited on that same computer. If you are logged into Facebook,
the door to your home computer usage is wide open.
Facebook uses facial recognition technology to “tag” people in
photographs. Facebook is also like the evil town gossips, making
assumptions about you based on who your friends are. Ads that are
targeted to your “friends” can also make it onto your own page. Facebook
figures you’ll have the same interests.
Facebook uses GPS technology to post the location where photographs
have been taken and/or uploaded, making even your physical location
public information.
Skype
Purchased in May of 2011 by MICROSOFT,
Skype is the world’s #1 provider of VoIP services. Two years before
making the purchase Microsoft began efforts to patent technology to
intercept VoIP calls.
The information can be used in many ways. Criminally speaking,
credit card numbers, social security numbers or other personally
identifying information can be easily procured. Information and
keywords gathered from phone calls can be used in legal proceedings.
Data-mining techniques can be used to gear advertisments and marketing
based on conversations that you think are private.
Even more alarming is the fact that once Skype is downloaded on your
computer, it is possible to turn on your webcam from a remote location.
That’s right. You might be sitting there reading the latest blog from
your favorite afghan-knitting granny and somebody, somewhere, might be
looking back at you.
You owe it to yourself and your personal security to learn as much as
you can about how your computer, your home and even your thoughts, if
you are careless enough to type them in somewhere, can be accessed.
FUSION CENTERS
Finally, know that fusion centers really do exist and they are the
final clearinghouse for all of this information. Sometimes loosely
cloaked as “marketing research” facilities, they have systems for
corralling the information gleaned from your computer usage that will
provide a very complete profile of you. That profile may contain
information about your relationships, your sexual orientation and
fantasies, your political ideologies, your religious beliefs, your
family, your friends, your bank accounts, where your money comes from,
photo recognition profiles….absolutely everything there is to know about
you.
The fusion centers are the real threat – if personal freedoms
continue to erode at the current rate, you may one day be deemed an
enemy of the state based on your Facebook status updates. Information
compiled there could, potentially, make you a target of the government.
Personally, I have no intention of ceasing my usage of the internet.
The internet and the continuous access to knowledge make this a great
time to be alive. I will continue to do my research, I’ll continue to
share my opinions and information. But I will do these things knowing
that nothing is private anymore.
Big Brother is not just watching – he’s making a scrapbook.
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