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Interesting post/numbers, but I have to say that honestly, I don't care that much about surveillance. I've resigned to the fact that on a statistic level, I'm b

Interesting post/numbers, but I have to say that honestly, I don't care that much about surveillance. I've resigned to the fact that on a statistic level, I'm being watched. I don't care. I have nothing to hide, and if I did, I'd use SSL/Tor...problem solved. People forget that the interwebzzzz is a public network. Anybody can connect, and it's fairly easy to set up a sniffer and grab info from people. You don't need to be the NSA. Also, cell phones are sending their signals through the air. You don't even have to splice a cord. If you want private calls, use a landline. People want to have the comfort of complete anonymity but also have the conveniences that comes with using the least private forms of communication. Pick one or the other, and understand the trade-offs. Another thing, the NSA doesn't give a rats ass about you. They're looking for specific patterns/keywords that set off "hmm we should listen more closely to that call" triggers. They don't care what you had for dinner or that your grandpa just had a heart attack. In fact, very few people do. People want to feel special and unique, which I feel like is the main source of the sensationalism around privacy issues, but honestly, nobody but your close friends/family cares about your secrets or what's going on in your life. I guarantee the NSA doesn't either.

true_religion 15y ago
> In fact, very few people do. This is an odd attitude. Just because few people want to commit a crime, doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried about crime. And make no mistake, domestic spying is a criminal act.
- mcrider 15y ago
  Plus -- what a waste of money. What I could do with that datacenter!
- orthecreedence 15y ago
  "In fact, very few people do" as in "nobody cares about what's going on in your life" not "nobody cares about crime being committed." Also, domestic spying is a waste of resources, yes, a crime, depends on the definition I would think. Like I said, these are open networks.
redthrowaway 15y ago
>I have nothing to hide, and if I did, I'd use SSL/Tor The NSA is probably the one agency TOR wouldn't protect you from. I would be very surprised to learn they weren't operating or had compromised, if not a majority of the TOR exit nodes, then at least enough to render it vulnerable. They have the resources, the know-how, the mandate, and the motivation.
- __alexs 15y ago
  Isn't that what HTTPS if for? I guess you'd probably want to make sure the server was using perfect forward secrecy too but even without it you are significantly safer.
mh_ 15y ago
Nothing to hide, nothing to fear is a pretty well understood fallacy (http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/the-data-trust-blog/2009/02/debunking-a-myth-if-you-have-n.html http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/the-data-trust-blog/2009...) (which im kinda sad to see on HN). As for patterns and keywords, your "guarantee" is pretty shallow and baseless. A reasonable time i guess to quote Niemöller: First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- orthecreedence 15y ago
  Sorry, I don't quite understand how sending data over public networks and expecting to be monitored (either by government or corporate entities) equates to the rise of the nazis. Kinda sad to see parallels made between these two on HN.
BlackNapoleon 15y ago
Whats a reasonably good way to learn about this stuff? SSL?

true_religion 15y ago

> In fact, very few people do. This is an odd attitude. Just because few people want to commit a crime, doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried about crime. And make no mistake, domestic spying is a criminal act.

mcrider 15y ago
Plus -- what a waste of money. What I could do with that datacenter!
orthecreedence 15y ago
"In fact, very few people do" as in "nobody cares about what's going on in your life" not "nobody cares about crime being committed." Also, domestic spying is a waste of resources, yes, a crime, depends on the definition I would think. Like I said, these are open networks.

redthrowaway 15y ago

>I have nothing to hide, and if I did, I'd use SSL/Tor The NSA is probably the one agency TOR wouldn't protect you from. I would be very surprised to learn they weren't operating or had compromised, if not a majority of the TOR exit nodes, then at least enough to render it vulnerable. They have the resources, the know-how, the mandate, and the motivation.

__alexs 15y ago
Isn't that what HTTPS if for? I guess you'd probably want to make sure the server was using perfect forward secrecy too but even without it you are significantly safer.

mh_ 15y ago

Nothing to hide, nothing to fear is a pretty well understood fallacy (http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/the-data-trust-blog/2009/02/debunking-a-myth-if-you-have-n.html http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/the-data-trust-blog/2009...) (which im kinda sad to see on HN). As for patterns and keywords, your "guarantee" is pretty shallow and baseless. A reasonable time i guess to quote Niemöller: First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

orthecreedence 15y ago
Sorry, I don't quite understand how sending data over public networks and expecting to be monitored (either by government or corporate entities) equates to the rise of the nazis. Kinda sad to see parallels made between these two on HN.

BlackNapoleon 15y ago

Whats a reasonably good way to learn about this stuff? SSL?