Thanks for this pragmatic reminder to disentangle ourselves from the enablers. Catherine Austin Fitts often recalls the day when she was writing a check from her Wells Fargo (I think) account and suddenly realized she was empowering the very villains she was attempting to bring to justice. It took her several years to sever all of the tainted connections, but she felt much freer and happier for it.
I have been using Duck Duck Go for a while but recently discovered their results seemed a bit skewed on certain topics, disappointingly. I have started using Qwant and was impressed by the relevance of the results and the absence of apparent tampering by shadow-banning or manipulating counter-narrative content.
CJ, interesting, I’d never heard DDG bases its results on Google—I don’t think that’s the case as the results are very different for any given search term. I sometimes search Google in incognito mode to compare the results across search engines (e.g., against DDG and Qwant), and they’re all strikingly different.
Holly—I already have! Hence my recent switch to Qwant. But I definitely appreciate the informative video from Sarah! She is a sensible lady and a good ally to have on our side.
But the bigger point is, "privacy" is simply not the same as "fairness". Of course DDG censors. Maybe they don't censor quite the same as Google or Bing, but if they filter for content "quality", they're absolutely filtering for politics. I use them as a default search engine myself, because they're convenient. But when investigating any "controversial" topics, I go elsewhere.
I split up with Google about seven years ago. It can be done. It's even possible, although inconvenient, to live without an Amazon account. I've found that, among deeply "technical" people, especially those who live and breathe "open source" / "free" software, there's a sizable minority who go to surprising lengths to avoid all megacorps. "Don't be evil" was always doublespeak, and Google (now "Alphabet", wink wink) was always aligned with the deep state. It's not what they "be", it's what they do.
Don't use stock Android, either; LineageOS is a workable alternative. Block all ads, everywhere. I don't really trust Apple, but they're probably not so bad if you steer clear of their cloud services.
There's a deeper and more universal principle that one can apply. It's well known among tech workers: if you're not the customer, you're the product. Any "free" service that makes money has no real incentive to act in your interest, or even be honest about what they're doing with your data. If it's not genuinely free, with no profit motive, you're much better off paying for it yourself.
What I've come to understand is that this isn't really about advertising, it's about influence. It's about the power to censor and promote. It's all about thought control. It's about countering the destabilizing tendencies of inherently decentralized internet tech, an attempt to shore up and ultimately succeed the control. capabilities of the crumbling non-participatory legacy media. Most of these giants were built on Sand Hill Road venture capital, with little concern for profit, and they're all ultimately owned by the same people.
And don't believe a word of that little puppet play with Apple some years back where Apple pretended the government can't access your information. That was just hilarious and everybody bought it. Really? The FBI is going to admit on prime time cable that they cannot access the data on an Apple phone. Right. All Apple phones have proprietary silicon and you have no idea what they are doing in there. I suspect there is a small NOR flash chip that can store unencrypted data before it passes through the encryption engine on your way to the primary storage. One little signal from the Apple servers - that you are constantly connected to - and it can store unencrypted data. It's very simple to transfer large amounts of data hidden in standard network messages if you control the whole system.
I have a drawer full of old phones, Lineage, AOKP. I was really hopeful for Sailfish back in the day. No matter what path you take they are disposable computers and the fuss of managing an OS is a massive endeavor. Google and the manufacturers have ensured it's a no-win battle. I've finally settled on a Nokia 3310 with KaiOS. I've since learned that Google has invested millions of dollars in that company. There is no Google services on this particular phone and it doesn't have a data connection, but still.
When you take all those steps and more, you eventually spend all your time buried in technical details, spending hours finding bugs and deep technical problems. It is a rabbit hole that never ends. The one promising thing I found was https://e.foundation/
It's more than just thought control. It's complete control. They know where everybody is at all times. They are ALL moving into medical devices and medical information systems (I work in the industry).
I'm considering creating my own phone at this point. Many companies are going down the same "general compute" road as Android, iOS and the like. It's too large an endeavor and Google, Apple and too much control over every aspect of phones all the way down to the supply. I am investigating a function specific device. Basically a cross between an old nokia and a 10 MP camera that has Bluetooth, Wifi and 4G. It would be sold with a small computer that would contain "Cloud software" such as OwnCloud and your phone would automagically send pictures to your own server.
LOL, I'm wearing the same tinfoil. I was carrying a variety of janky old Nokia phones for years after they were unsupported. Set up bootleg toolchains to run sketchy russian homebrew apps on them, even. Blackberries, too: another sad story.
You'd probably like what Bunnie Huang has been up to lately.
My tech skills are terrible but my circle of friends includes uber-cyber Blockchain infosec geeks who guide my application use and moved me to Protonmail years ago.
The recommended browser is Mozilla/Firefox and Duck Duck Go was the search until recently when I was switched to Presearch which is far better in results and turns up results the others bury as well as having a crypto earnings potential. https://presearch.org/signup?rid=2068309
Maybe the easiest change is adding Signal for the phone to encrypt all text and calls. It also lets you call anywhere in the world to other Signal numbers regardless of the calling plan. Ed Snowden uses Signal so that's a perfect endorsement for me. https://signal.org/en/
Interesting story I may write an article about sometime: I was the world's largest trader of presearch's cryptocurrency during 2018. I recognized a bot trading pattern, and though it was updated, I kept updating my strategy to play against it in order to manuallly step in front of nearly the entire market's liquidity for a while.
I know you've already got a million things to research & write about, but please add more about Crypto. I'm very interested, but feel totally lost and don't know who to trust. You're a voice I trust.
In the pinned article is a 120+ page educational doc with hundreds of links. Not my best organizational job or work, but it's something. Filled in it would be 1000 pages, so it'll never be complete now that I'm working on so much pandemic research.
I have a signal edu group on Bitcoin. Email me if you want to join it.
Awesome, I'm so glad to hear it's better for other folks too.. almost feels like searches in 2007 when results are ranked by relevance not a third party preference! :~)
And the routers, and the DNS services, and the fiber network. They have control of the mobile networks, the land lines. But they don't need any of that because TLS is susceptible to man in the middle attacks. All the new security standards for 5G communications have backdoors for the mobile network operators.
My journey mirrors this, as I've wanted to a) reclaim my privacy and b) increasingly vehemently have nothing to do with the whole "Don't be Evil" crowd.
I'm quite sure you're well ahead of me; but as you refer to Web3.0, I feel there will need to be an unassailable "Freedom" tech architecture developed and implemented (maybe that's what Steve RIP wanted all the time?)
MAIL: I migrated (from Outlook 2007 can you believe it) to ZohoMail. I also use protonmail for stuff I want to be more private about. Zoho also have a broad ecosystem of products that I find useful as a small business, and they seem straight-up, but I can't vouch for their Freedom credentials.
VPN: protonVPN
BROWSER: Brave / TOR / Chrome when it's just too much hassle (Netflix)
SEARCH: I still mostly default to Google; else DuckDuckGo; thanks @Margaret for the QWANT reference, I'll try it out
CRYPTO / Local Currencies: I'm a newbie here, but DEFINITELY want my banking life (personal and work) to migrate to crypto (tx for the MetaMask reference). Crypto-based local currencies might also become important?
MESSAGING: Trying to leave Whatsapp in favour of pref Signal, or Telegram
MOBILE: I'm slowly thinking if / how I can do less on my phone; and revert to laptop / web-based. a) to slow life down a bit and b) my uninformed opinion is that phones are much more attacked / tracked. So might look at getting a good ol' feature phone, maybe as my primary device
FIN PLATFORMS: bancor.network seem to be doing some interesting work; and I'm sure there are many others
I've been off of Chrome off and on, but more strictly for the past six months, except for work. I delete my history/cookies daily. I was using Ecosia, but now I'm using Duck Duck Go. This was motivated by the program the Social Dilemma (Netflix) and solidified with the censorship/paid links observed re: Ivermectin. We cancelled our cable yesterday (we're trimming the budget in prep for looming job loss(es). I very rarely look at FB, and post even less often. I use my iPhone sparingly, but I do need it if I am able to work on-call next winter. I've refused to have any spying device in our house (Alexis), and I made my husband leave in the box a similar device he "won" from a case of beer. He loves "free" stuff, so he did so grudgingly. When discussing sensitive topics on cell phone, my BFF and I speak really quickly in Pig Latin (thank goodness for childhood). True story; we're both fluent :)
Gone are the Amazon Alexa devices. Gone is Facebook. Use duckduckgo but am suspicious as it seems like a honeypot. Rarely use chrome. Use opera or brave mostly. Sadly still have an android phone and use Gmail and Google docs a lot.
Someone is always listening is my belief. Smart phones, "smart tv" , echo or Google assistant or siri. Etc.
Tor browser seems to be the most secure. It will teach you patience. I use Brave a lot; it can be a pain as it does a lot of updates that require me to re-set things. Could certainly host your own email for relatively cheap prices, with a less censorious/intrusive ISP/Hosting place (easyDNS is one.) I use PM, but don't have any expectation that it is hugely secure. Eagerly awaiting a de-centralized capability from the crypto community for all these services.
On a side note, I've been trying to come up with a name for those of us in dissent of the authoritarianism. We're smeared by the mainstream as flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers. The term Resistance lost all meaning since TDS took over and their lies became the norm. A little humor and a viral meme that captures our effort would be a banner for us.
And, on an even side-er note, Tessa had this description in her latest piece in Tessa Fights Robots (https://tessa.substack.com/p/loving-our-elders-from-the-heart) "...The Great Reset has a political face but its essence is spiritual brokenness. The Great Reset is a culmination of the mechanistic, fearful, reactive approach to life. It’s a neurosis-driven attempt to establish total control to avoid pain..."
Don't know if that idea explains the Kunlangeta, but it does help explain the acceptance of them.
The one thing that's not being considered enough, in my mind, is the control (via persuasion) of mass media like TV shows, movies, (most?) modern non-fiction and mainstream music.
They all are very good at "product placement," where it's not a "thing" but an idea that they keep repeating, over and over, until we accept it as truth.
Stopped reading non-fiction decades ago and find most pop music to be so repetitive that, I'd rather listen to silence than live radio. They are now making shows from earlier decades (centuries even) and placing modern wokeness spins in it. It's subtle but there if you're mindful enough.
Finally getting my husband to "see" the constant placement of "woke" ideology but he, like many, are addicted to the silver screen. (hoping that when our TV finally dies - has some screen issues - it will happen when the supply chain issue for TV's has the shelves empty.)
If you're referring to the Hong Kong protests, I get what you're saying, but they have been conclusively shown to be another NED color revolution op. CIA man Brian Kern was photographed numerous times grooming and leading these students, and the Singapore International School got reports from several parents that their children were approached in online gaming forums and Dischord groups and offered $2,000 HK per event for their participation. The disaffected, upper crust kids were easy prey.
Gibiru is a decent search engine and even has a listing for censored content. The brave search engine is just as bad as google or bing.
Trying to secure email is a pointless endeavor. All messages are routed through a couple of large stakeholders. Due to the way email works it is impossible to protect your content without using PGP. Email one person on gmail and all your work is undone.
Then there is the whole DNS mess... Every request that you make is tagged with your IP and MAC address. Everyone "important" is well aware of what you are doing online unless you are always on a VPN. However, if you ARE using a VPN then the VPN provider (potentially) knows everything you are doing. Are you SURE your VPN provider is legit?
The system is gamed against us. I appreciate what you are tying to do (and I have tried myself), but it's very difficult to hide anything on the internet if you want other people have access to it. The NWO has spent the last 20 years spying on us and ensuring there are very few holes in their net. The few of us that are able to hide *some* of our content will not change the trajectory of the problem.
Excellent points, although I think you may be addressing a different set of problems than Matthew. He's mostly concerned with monopoly power and censorship. Anonymity is somewhat orthogonal to that.
I for one don't think Firefox is doing us any favors by routing all DNS through Cloudflare. But I certainly don't trust my ISP's DNS either.
I wouldn't trust any random VPN, but at least with VPNs there's an economic disincentive for them to violate their terms of service, which are generally privacy-centric. I'd like to see independent audits and third-party certification of these services.
Checkout Rob Braxman's discussion on email security and many of the other topics you mentioned. Maybe that's where you got some of your ideas? Anyway, if you're not familiar with his work, I've linked to his latest video in another comment below.
Mozilla makes desktop Thunderbird which you can setup to download/manage emails (from multiple services BTW) but space on desktop (phones) is limited. So, if you (like my husband) keep thousands of emails in your folders, that won't work very well overtime.
Recommend to start cleaning up your gmail folders, first. Empty your trash and spam folder regularly and completely. Unsubscribe from sources you seldom read, it's cluttering your inbox (and your mind).
Setup a new (free) email and use it for the truly necessary emails. And here's another important BUT do NOT forward from Gmail but select "Update my preferences" at the bottom and enter new email address.
Matt, I have been on DDG. But happy to look at Brave. I am spoiled as I have for different devices at the office(s), homes, (2) laptops, and Chrome syncs to all ....
Do you know if Brave offers this feature?
I established a proton mail account and just have not closed the 4 others I have! I have nothing to hide but prefer privacy and wish evil on the Silicon Valley devils.
Thanks for this pragmatic reminder to disentangle ourselves from the enablers. Catherine Austin Fitts often recalls the day when she was writing a check from her Wells Fargo (I think) account and suddenly realized she was empowering the very villains she was attempting to bring to justice. It took her several years to sever all of the tainted connections, but she felt much freer and happier for it.
I have been using Duck Duck Go for a while but recently discovered their results seemed a bit skewed on certain topics, disappointingly. I have started using Qwant and was impressed by the relevance of the results and the absence of apparent tampering by shadow-banning or manipulating counter-narrative content.
CJ, interesting, I’d never heard DDG bases its results on Google—I don’t think that’s the case as the results are very different for any given search term. I sometimes search Google in incognito mode to compare the results across search engines (e.g., against DDG and Qwant), and they’re all strikingly different.
You may want to rethink DuckDuckGo
https://odysee.com/@SarahCorriher:6/duckduckgo-hates-us:7
Holly—I already have! Hence my recent switch to Qwant. But I definitely appreciate the informative video from Sarah! She is a sensible lady and a good ally to have on our side.
Wiki sus ;-)
But the bigger point is, "privacy" is simply not the same as "fairness". Of course DDG censors. Maybe they don't censor quite the same as Google or Bing, but if they filter for content "quality", they're absolutely filtering for politics. I use them as a default search engine myself, because they're convenient. But when investigating any "controversial" topics, I go elsewhere.
I split up with Google about seven years ago. It can be done. It's even possible, although inconvenient, to live without an Amazon account. I've found that, among deeply "technical" people, especially those who live and breathe "open source" / "free" software, there's a sizable minority who go to surprising lengths to avoid all megacorps. "Don't be evil" was always doublespeak, and Google (now "Alphabet", wink wink) was always aligned with the deep state. It's not what they "be", it's what they do.
Don't use stock Android, either; LineageOS is a workable alternative. Block all ads, everywhere. I don't really trust Apple, but they're probably not so bad if you steer clear of their cloud services.
There's a deeper and more universal principle that one can apply. It's well known among tech workers: if you're not the customer, you're the product. Any "free" service that makes money has no real incentive to act in your interest, or even be honest about what they're doing with your data. If it's not genuinely free, with no profit motive, you're much better off paying for it yourself.
What I've come to understand is that this isn't really about advertising, it's about influence. It's about the power to censor and promote. It's all about thought control. It's about countering the destabilizing tendencies of inherently decentralized internet tech, an attempt to shore up and ultimately succeed the control. capabilities of the crumbling non-participatory legacy media. Most of these giants were built on Sand Hill Road venture capital, with little concern for profit, and they're all ultimately owned by the same people.
And don't believe a word of that little puppet play with Apple some years back where Apple pretended the government can't access your information. That was just hilarious and everybody bought it. Really? The FBI is going to admit on prime time cable that they cannot access the data on an Apple phone. Right. All Apple phones have proprietary silicon and you have no idea what they are doing in there. I suspect there is a small NOR flash chip that can store unencrypted data before it passes through the encryption engine on your way to the primary storage. One little signal from the Apple servers - that you are constantly connected to - and it can store unencrypted data. It's very simple to transfer large amounts of data hidden in standard network messages if you control the whole system.
I have a drawer full of old phones, Lineage, AOKP. I was really hopeful for Sailfish back in the day. No matter what path you take they are disposable computers and the fuss of managing an OS is a massive endeavor. Google and the manufacturers have ensured it's a no-win battle. I've finally settled on a Nokia 3310 with KaiOS. I've since learned that Google has invested millions of dollars in that company. There is no Google services on this particular phone and it doesn't have a data connection, but still.
When you take all those steps and more, you eventually spend all your time buried in technical details, spending hours finding bugs and deep technical problems. It is a rabbit hole that never ends. The one promising thing I found was https://e.foundation/
It's more than just thought control. It's complete control. They know where everybody is at all times. They are ALL moving into medical devices and medical information systems (I work in the industry).
I'm considering creating my own phone at this point. Many companies are going down the same "general compute" road as Android, iOS and the like. It's too large an endeavor and Google, Apple and too much control over every aspect of phones all the way down to the supply. I am investigating a function specific device. Basically a cross between an old nokia and a 10 MP camera that has Bluetooth, Wifi and 4G. It would be sold with a small computer that would contain "Cloud software" such as OwnCloud and your phone would automagically send pictures to your own server.
LOL, I'm wearing the same tinfoil. I was carrying a variety of janky old Nokia phones for years after they were unsupported. Set up bootleg toolchains to run sketchy russian homebrew apps on them, even. Blackberries, too: another sad story.
You'd probably like what Bunnie Huang has been up to lately.
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/precursor
It's where my hopes are highest, in this particular stretch of occupied turf.
My tech skills are terrible but my circle of friends includes uber-cyber Blockchain infosec geeks who guide my application use and moved me to Protonmail years ago.
The recommended browser is Mozilla/Firefox and Duck Duck Go was the search until recently when I was switched to Presearch which is far better in results and turns up results the others bury as well as having a crypto earnings potential. https://presearch.org/signup?rid=2068309
Maybe the easiest change is adding Signal for the phone to encrypt all text and calls. It also lets you call anywhere in the world to other Signal numbers regardless of the calling plan. Ed Snowden uses Signal so that's a perfect endorsement for me. https://signal.org/en/
Interesting story I may write an article about sometime: I was the world's largest trader of presearch's cryptocurrency during 2018. I recognized a bot trading pattern, and though it was updated, I kept updating my strategy to play against it in order to manuallly step in front of nearly the entire market's liquidity for a while.
I know you've already got a million things to research & write about, but please add more about Crypto. I'm very interested, but feel totally lost and don't know who to trust. You're a voice I trust.
In the pinned article is a 120+ page educational doc with hundreds of links. Not my best organizational job or work, but it's something. Filled in it would be 1000 pages, so it'll never be complete now that I'm working on so much pandemic research.
I have a signal edu group on Bitcoin. Email me if you want to join it.
This sounds amazing, thank you, but where are you saying this is pinned?
Aha! Thank you! I found it now. 😊😊
Just tried Presearch - looks really promising, thanks for the tip!
Always my pleasure, knowledge is power that multiplies when we pass it on! :~)
I also tried it for some medical research. Wow, way superior to the garbage I was getting from Google, Brave, etc.
Awesome, I'm so glad to hear it's better for other folks too.. almost feels like searches in 2007 when results are ranked by relevance not a third party preference! :~)
Who controls the satellites?
And the routers, and the DNS services, and the fiber network. They have control of the mobile networks, the land lines. But they don't need any of that because TLS is susceptible to man in the middle attacks. All the new security standards for 5G communications have backdoors for the mobile network operators.
Yesssssss!
My journey mirrors this, as I've wanted to a) reclaim my privacy and b) increasingly vehemently have nothing to do with the whole "Don't be Evil" crowd.
I'm quite sure you're well ahead of me; but as you refer to Web3.0, I feel there will need to be an unassailable "Freedom" tech architecture developed and implemented (maybe that's what Steve RIP wanted all the time?)
MAIL: I migrated (from Outlook 2007 can you believe it) to ZohoMail. I also use protonmail for stuff I want to be more private about. Zoho also have a broad ecosystem of products that I find useful as a small business, and they seem straight-up, but I can't vouch for their Freedom credentials.
VPN: protonVPN
BROWSER: Brave / TOR / Chrome when it's just too much hassle (Netflix)
SEARCH: I still mostly default to Google; else DuckDuckGo; thanks @Margaret for the QWANT reference, I'll try it out
CRYPTO / Local Currencies: I'm a newbie here, but DEFINITELY want my banking life (personal and work) to migrate to crypto (tx for the MetaMask reference). Crypto-based local currencies might also become important?
MESSAGING: Trying to leave Whatsapp in favour of pref Signal, or Telegram
MOBILE: I'm slowly thinking if / how I can do less on my phone; and revert to laptop / web-based. a) to slow life down a bit and b) my uninformed opinion is that phones are much more attacked / tracked. So might look at getting a good ol' feature phone, maybe as my primary device
FIN PLATFORMS: bancor.network seem to be doing some interesting work; and I'm sure there are many others
Thanks again, Mat
I've been off of Chrome off and on, but more strictly for the past six months, except for work. I delete my history/cookies daily. I was using Ecosia, but now I'm using Duck Duck Go. This was motivated by the program the Social Dilemma (Netflix) and solidified with the censorship/paid links observed re: Ivermectin. We cancelled our cable yesterday (we're trimming the budget in prep for looming job loss(es). I very rarely look at FB, and post even less often. I use my iPhone sparingly, but I do need it if I am able to work on-call next winter. I've refused to have any spying device in our house (Alexis), and I made my husband leave in the box a similar device he "won" from a case of beer. He loves "free" stuff, so he did so grudgingly. When discussing sensitive topics on cell phone, my BFF and I speak really quickly in Pig Latin (thank goodness for childhood). True story; we're both fluent :)
I use the Signal app for texting AND CALLS as much as possible.
Gone are the Amazon Alexa devices. Gone is Facebook. Use duckduckgo but am suspicious as it seems like a honeypot. Rarely use chrome. Use opera or brave mostly. Sadly still have an android phone and use Gmail and Google docs a lot.
Someone is always listening is my belief. Smart phones, "smart tv" , echo or Google assistant or siri. Etc.
Definitely listening. Haven't you received snail mail about a product you were just discussing?
Tor browser seems to be the most secure. It will teach you patience. I use Brave a lot; it can be a pain as it does a lot of updates that require me to re-set things. Could certainly host your own email for relatively cheap prices, with a less censorious/intrusive ISP/Hosting place (easyDNS is one.) I use PM, but don't have any expectation that it is hugely secure. Eagerly awaiting a de-centralized capability from the crypto community for all these services.
On a side note, I've been trying to come up with a name for those of us in dissent of the authoritarianism. We're smeared by the mainstream as flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers. The term Resistance lost all meaning since TDS took over and their lies became the norm. A little humor and a viral meme that captures our effort would be a banner for us.
And, on an even side-er note, Tessa had this description in her latest piece in Tessa Fights Robots (https://tessa.substack.com/p/loving-our-elders-from-the-heart) "...The Great Reset has a political face but its essence is spiritual brokenness. The Great Reset is a culmination of the mechanistic, fearful, reactive approach to life. It’s a neurosis-driven attempt to establish total control to avoid pain..."
Don't know if that idea explains the Kunlangeta, but it does help explain the acceptance of them.
The one thing that's not being considered enough, in my mind, is the control (via persuasion) of mass media like TV shows, movies, (most?) modern non-fiction and mainstream music.
They all are very good at "product placement," where it's not a "thing" but an idea that they keep repeating, over and over, until we accept it as truth.
Stopped reading non-fiction decades ago and find most pop music to be so repetitive that, I'd rather listen to silence than live radio. They are now making shows from earlier decades (centuries even) and placing modern wokeness spins in it. It's subtle but there if you're mindful enough.
Finally getting my husband to "see" the constant placement of "woke" ideology but he, like many, are addicted to the silver screen. (hoping that when our TV finally dies - has some screen issues - it will happen when the supply chain issue for TV's has the shelves empty.)
EDIT: modern fiction
One day maybe substack will give us an edit button.
If you're referring to the Hong Kong protests, I get what you're saying, but they have been conclusively shown to be another NED color revolution op. CIA man Brian Kern was photographed numerous times grooming and leading these students, and the Singapore International School got reports from several parents that their children were approached in online gaming forums and Dischord groups and offered $2,000 HK per event for their participation. The disaffected, upper crust kids were easy prey.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/09/western-media-favorite-hong-kong-freedom-struggle-writer-american-ex-amnesty-staffer-yellowface/
Screenshot of the school letter is here https://bit.ly/3G5D6kc
Gibiru is a decent search engine and even has a listing for censored content. The brave search engine is just as bad as google or bing.
Trying to secure email is a pointless endeavor. All messages are routed through a couple of large stakeholders. Due to the way email works it is impossible to protect your content without using PGP. Email one person on gmail and all your work is undone.
Then there is the whole DNS mess... Every request that you make is tagged with your IP and MAC address. Everyone "important" is well aware of what you are doing online unless you are always on a VPN. However, if you ARE using a VPN then the VPN provider (potentially) knows everything you are doing. Are you SURE your VPN provider is legit?
The system is gamed against us. I appreciate what you are tying to do (and I have tried myself), but it's very difficult to hide anything on the internet if you want other people have access to it. The NWO has spent the last 20 years spying on us and ensuring there are very few holes in their net. The few of us that are able to hide *some* of our content will not change the trajectory of the problem.
Excellent points, although I think you may be addressing a different set of problems than Matthew. He's mostly concerned with monopoly power and censorship. Anonymity is somewhat orthogonal to that.
I for one don't think Firefox is doing us any favors by routing all DNS through Cloudflare. But I certainly don't trust my ISP's DNS either.
I wouldn't trust any random VPN, but at least with VPNs there's an economic disincentive for them to violate their terms of service, which are generally privacy-centric. I'd like to see independent audits and third-party certification of these services.
Tor deserves a mention as well.
Checkout Rob Braxman's discussion on email security and many of the other topics you mentioned. Maybe that's where you got some of your ideas? Anyway, if you're not familiar with his work, I've linked to his latest video in another comment below.
I'm also thinking that there is generally no free lunch...ultimately, we may have to agree to pay for some or all of these services.
Browsers like firefox, brave, vivaldi and bromite are good. Use presearch.org for internet search. Use a de googled phone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3E_H8GeKA4
getting rid of gmail and google photos is hard.
Yes, Rob Braxman is a good source (he's also on Odysee) on privacy.
https://odysee.com/@RobBraxmanTech:6/newtech:5
Getting rid of gmail is gonna be tough. I've been on it since 2006! Somebody needs to create a migration tool. They'd be millionaires.
Mozilla makes desktop Thunderbird which you can setup to download/manage emails (from multiple services BTW) but space on desktop (phones) is limited. So, if you (like my husband) keep thousands of emails in your folders, that won't work very well overtime.
Recommend to start cleaning up your gmail folders, first. Empty your trash and spam folder regularly and completely. Unsubscribe from sources you seldom read, it's cluttering your inbox (and your mind).
Setup a new (free) email and use it for the truly necessary emails. And here's another important BUT do NOT forward from Gmail but select "Update my preferences" at the bottom and enter new email address.
didn't steve have issues with protonmail?
Matt, I have been on DDG. But happy to look at Brave. I am spoiled as I have for different devices at the office(s), homes, (2) laptops, and Chrome syncs to all ....
Do you know if Brave offers this feature?
I established a proton mail account and just have not closed the 4 others I have! I have nothing to hide but prefer privacy and wish evil on the Silicon Valley devils.
I found my answer Brave offers a Sync feature over multiple decices! Bye-bye Google!
Get on gab!