I've become extremely paranoid. I can't trust that even things that claim to be free and open source aren't spying on us. Software/hardware such as Linux distros, Yubikey and LastPass are all very popular, with millions of customers placing their trust in these private companies that may as well be the government's puppets. (I think both GNU and Linux are non-profits but they're still are used in the world most critical servers and etc. and are prime targets for attacks). How can I trust any piece of technology again? Installing backdoors and telemetry doesn't seem to be a challenge for the FBI, NSA or any other agency?
Or should I just give in? Is there no way of resting easy other than reading every line of source code and checking every diode on every device I use?
How do you deal with it? Am I just being unreasonable? Sorry if this is stupid, it's just been bothering me lately.
so what do you think about paid software? are they more trustworthy? i think you should write your own OS and all the software you use if you want to be safe.
Liam Martin
>How can I trust any piece of technology again? unless you made every bit of hardware and software yourself and don't ever fall asleep or leave it unattended then you can't reasonably know it's not backdoor'd
you are a goldfish in a bowl at the pet shop, you should be grateful the NSA doesn't tap on the glass too often
Landon Gonzalez
Funny enough I thought of making my own distro using "Linux from scratch" multiple times; I was just to lazy to actually do it.
Paid software is all the same. People paid for Apple iPhones and Windows only to find out the FBI has a back door and the NSA has a hush deal with both.
Bentley Clark
Are you ok just accepting that fact? Have you done anything yourself to ensure safety like encrypting your harddrive or placing 2FA and everything?
I don't understand why we go through all this trouble to "secure" our systems if someone powerful and resourceful enough can just break in with ease. Passwords protect against nosy roommates but not against the people that it matters to protect against?
Elijah Young
follow Terry Davis' way he created his own OS
Zachary King
The world doesn't need more people like Terry, and I sure don't want to be like him. I want to be subdued by this thread if anything.
Sebastian Reed
And now he's homeless.
Landon Wright
saw the news already poor guy, he's a lunatic
Juan Richardson
Use computers as little as possible and go enjoy the world. Install a minimal linux distro and browse on anything as long as you clear cookies and all other leftovers when your browser closes. In short: store as little personal information anywhere as possible, and, you know. Do whatever.
You could also have a computer offline all the time/by default?
Lincoln Parker
Relax and trust strong encryption with good implementations and free software. Remember the NSA has slides on how much they hate it due to it stopping their spying.
Owen Ortiz
Link please.
Ian Hall
>Remember the NSA has slides on how much they hate it due to it stopping their spying. exactly what the NSA wants you to think
similar to iphone encryption. let everyone think they're safe. when nsa needs a conviction all they need is to parallel construct a story
Nicholas Moore
+ to add to my above post, i'm not saying don't use strong audited encryption. i'm just saying never trust it 100%
Lincoln Anderson
Elaborate please
Nathan Martin
Make use of your paranoia to learn and get control over your devices. Don't blindly trust open source. Read, understand and check what you use.
Jeremiah Roberts
Don't, the state of liberty in the USA isn't as bad as you think it is (although it is pretty bad). Don't go this way, you'll end up like Terry Davis; schizophrenic and on the street.
If you're actually hearing voices go see a doctor.
think of enigma in WW2. it was far more valuable to keep it a secret that the code was broken going even so far as letting your own ships get sunk by germans despite knowing an attack was going to happen. the risk of intervening and having the germans catch on that you broke their encryption was too high
i believe its the same today, NSA has pretty much everything covered. they stand to catch more "criminals" by making it seem like there are secure channels.
