Well, it has occurred to me that many people are sharing so much of their personal information on the internet via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or whatever else. This is fine as long as you understand that ANYTHING that you post on the internet, or even send as an email, is no longer private, and if un-encrypted, not secure at all.

But what if I run PGP Mail encryption, a VPN or the TOR network?

Well, you are a bit more secure when using any of these tools, HOWEVER, it is still not bulletproof. You information -could- be taken by the operator(s) of the exit server on your VPN or TOR network. YOU ARE RELYING ON THEIR HONESTY! Also, in some cases, information can be obtained by law enforcement. PGP Mail encryption is pretty good (PGP = Pretty Good Privacy) but the encrypted email can still be cracked before too long using a supercomputer.

In the days when we used only radio (or mobile telephone) to communicate, we considered anything that went to air NOT TO BE PRIVATE. Your landline telephone is also not as private as you might like to think as there have been documented cases (in Australia) of various telco employees and likewise, law enforcement officers eavesdropping on peoples private phone calls. Law enforcement are meant to have a Warrant to do this, but who is to say that they don’t sometimes have a listen just for shits and giggles? This is why you should avoid financial transactions over the phone – not only are you relying on the honesty of the person at the other end of the call, but also, who knows who is listening? (This is exactly WHY people might like to listen to phone calls – it’s a great way to obtain credit card details)

The same concept is true of the internet.

Privacy in the information age does NOT exist.

73 and thanks for reading….