Internet Security and other stuff

[dangerousdon]

Thought I would go ahead and start a thread on this topic. It's always a good idea to see what others are doing.

I just recently started using Brave web browser for my laptop and phone and I have to say that I am pretty impressed. I was using Duck Duck Go for the most part, but I didn't like the idea that DDG was just an extension or add on, on top of Chrome or Edge. I moved away from Fire Fox a long time ago as I just don't think they are what the used to be. Anyway, Brave so far seems like the complete package. And while I am sure there are issues with it...anything has to be better than Chrome or Edge.

Just looking for thoughts and ideas.

 

[Scuttlesoap]

Brave is a great browser and the one I use on my Windows machines (I am primarily a Mac user and there are some significant security enhancements in Safari - so I use that). The Iridium browser is another good choice.

Just for full disclosure - I am an IT engineer/architect by trade with security certifications - and privacy is a big deal to me because in addition to nefarious elements out there that could jeopardize finances, important files, etc - your internet providers, app developers, search engines, etc are collecting data and building profiles of your activity. For those of the ilk that believe “If you aren’t doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about” - you pay these providers and app developers money already why should they profit off of you without your real consent - plus we don’t have guarantees that the third parties who are buying your data are on the up and up.

I would recommend setting your Brave browser to clear its cache each time you close the app - which will clear the tracking cookies. While the cookies serve a purpose of giving you a better, more fluid experience on a particular site, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, etc don‘t have a right to know what other sites you go to, shop at, etc.

A more important security tool is using a VPN. I highly recommend not only using this - but also getting one that does not save logs and it not US based. This prevents your ISP from tracking you and yes, they do sell your data to 3rd parties. Ever wonder why you get specific spam in your email or mailings in your post office box? It isn’t Alexa - it’s your ISP. The non-US based / no logs is important - because as a US citizen - you are protected by the 4th Amendment of the Constitution and that document is the law of the land - and cannot be overridden by a policy or executive order. This isn’t a political statement - I love my country but there have been abuses. I support federal agencies and my counterparts that are feds would recommend the same thing. In fact, fed agencies use VPNs for the very same reason regular people should. Two of the better ones Are Vypr VPN and ExpressVPN.

 

[dangerousdon]

Brave is a great browser and the one I use on my Windows machines (I am primarily a Mac user and there are some significant security enhancements in Safari - so I use that). The Iridium browser is another good choice.

Just for full disclosure - I am an IT engineer/architect by trade with security certifications - and privacy is a big deal to me because in addition to nefarious elements out there that could jeopardize finances, important files, etc - your internet providers, app developers, search engines, etc are collecting data and building profiles of your activity. For those of the ilk that believe “If you aren’t doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about” - you pay these providers and app developers money already why should they profit off of you without your real consent - plus we don’t have guarantees that the third parties who are buying your data are on the up and up.

I would recommend setting your Brave browser to clear its cache each time you close the app - which will clear the tracking cookies. While the cookies serve a purpose of giving you a better, more fluid experience on a particular site, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, etc don‘t have a right to know what other sites you go to, shop at, etc.

A more important security tool is using a VPN. I highly recommend not only using this - but also getting one that does not save logs and it not US based. This prevents your ISP from tracking you and yes, they do sell your data to 3rd parties. Ever wonder why you get specific spam in your email or mailings in your post office box? It isn’t Alexa - it’s your ISP. The non-US based / no logs is important - because as a US citizen - you are protected by the 4th Amendment of the Constitution and that document is the law of the land - and cannot be overridden by a policy or executive order. This isn’t a political statement - I love my country but there have been abuses. I support federal agencies and my counterparts that are feds would recommend the same thing. In fact, fed agencies use VPNs for the very same reason regular people should. Two of the better ones Are Vypr VPN and ExpressVPN.

Thanks Brain!

I used to have some pretty good training and used security features quite a bit. When I left my old job in 2017, I kind of got out of the game. If you do that for even five minutes everything changes on you.

The wife and I decided to go ahead and get a VPN. Now it's just a matter of deciding which one. Any recommendations? I am leaning toward Express VPN, Nord VPN, or Surf Shark. Each has their pros and cons but I believe all three are no log services. I know there are a ton of them out there, so I am definitely open to suggestions.

Thinking of getting on board with Proton Mail also. It has become increasingly clear that unless you have your own servers you don't control your own email.

Very interested in your thoughts on a lot of this.

 

[August West]

Good stuff. You know, if we worked together to dismantle the Corporatocracy and the surveillance state along with assuring equity among our peoples, we wouldn’t need these gimmicks. You may call me a dreamer…

 

[dangerousdon]

Corporatocracy

You mean idiocracy...right?

 

[woodpusher]

I've been using SurfShark VPN for over 6 months now, 2 year prepaid plan, on my computers and TV. I don't use it on my phone at present. The only thing I have found with VPNs in sites that use 2-factor auth, then I simply disconnect the VPN, sign in to the site, and reconnect. I find that simpler than entering the texted code, but maybe that's just me.

If you want to try SurfShark for 30 days: Friend - Surfshark
Disclaimer: If you do end up signing up with them after that, I get my subscription extended. If not, you still got to try it for a month.

 

[August West]

You mean idiocracy...right?

Indeed

 

[dangerousdon]

I've been using SurfShark VPN for over 6 months now, 2 year prepaid plan, on my computers and TV. I don't use it on my phone at present. The only thing I have found with VPNs in sites that use 2-factor auth, then I simply disconnect the VPN, sign in to the site, and reconnect. I find that simpler than entering the texted code, but maybe that's just me.

If you want to try SurfShark for 30 days: Friend - Surfshark
Disclaimer: If you do end up signing up with them after that, I get my subscription extended. If not, you still got to try it for a month.

Thanks Sam! I haven't gotten around to it yet...but I definitely appreciate your thoughts on it. And yeah...if we do try it out...I'll definitely use your link!

 

[dangerousdon]

Okay @Scuttlesoap I have been using Brave for over a week close to two weeks now. And I like it. It seems to be a pretty seamless transition from the other browsers. I am using it on my phone and on my laptop.

I tried to test out the TOR browser and that I was a little less excited about. Actually, I couldn't connect at all. Not that I really have much of a need to use TOR but I thought I would check it out anyway. It might be something on my part. I'll have to tinker.

So another thing that is kind related to a lot of this, I guess, is hardware.

I have a six year old laptop that is still going but is starting to have some issues. I might be in the market for new laptop or other computer in the near feature. Anyone have any ideas on a solid performing laptop (or other computer) that is more nuts and bolts and doesn't have all the "bloatware" that most have preinstalled? I know I can always go in and remove stuff myself, but man that takes a lot of time. And like I mentioned before, what limited skills I did have, are a bit more diminished.

Thoughts? On anything in this thread so far? Or other thoughts?

 

[Scuttlesoap]

Okay @Scuttlesoap I have been using Brave for over a week close to two weeks now. And I like it. It seems to be a pretty seamless transition from the other browsers. I am using it on my phone and on my laptop.

I tried to test out the TOR browser and that I was a little less excited about. Actually, I couldn't connect at all. Not that I really have much of a need to use TOR but I thought I would check it out anyway. It might be something on my part. I'll have to tinker.

So another thing that is kind related to a lot of this, I guess, is hardware.

I have a six year old laptop that is still going but is starting to have some issues. I might be in the market for new laptop or other computer in the near feature. Anyone have any ideas on a solid performing laptop (or other computer) that is more nuts and bolts and doesn't have all the "bloatware" that most have preinstalled? I know I can always go in and remove stuff myself, but man that takes a lot of time. And like I mentioned before, what limited skills I did have, are a bit more diminished.

Thoughts? On anything in this thread so far? Or other thoughts?

Hey my friend - I fully agree with you - Brave gives you a great web experience. TOR, and other web wrappers that use TOR, are less optimal for several reasons - but mainly they are built for privacy and not features.

First, the way TOR masks your identity is to pass your web traffic through at least 3 diffevent relays - and these relays are all over the world. Your web traffic never takes the same path (that way entities trying to capture your data can’t guess where your traffic is going). By comparison - if you are doing a typical web request - you would go to your internet provider (which acts like an internet post office) and then sends you to whatever site you want to go.

The second reason of your experience was not optimal (not being able to get any site you typical would) - is that the TOR network is basically a completely separate internet. Yes - you are traversing the same hardware, cables.etc, but you are going to separate servers altogether. Think of it as two highways that share the same road for a stretch- for instance, where I live here I-70 and US 40 are the same road for a length and then diverge near Baltimore. TOR does not use the typically suffixes (.com, .net, .biz etc). TOR sites end in .onion (TOR stands for the onion router - because it uses layers of security). Most information and social media sites have what is called a mirror site on TOR - the same content as their .com site - but with a .onion address. You cannot get to .com, etc sites using TOR.

as far as hardware is concerned, I would recommend an Apple product, it is Linux-based is the operating system, virtually no learning curve coming from windows and you can run windows on the Mac machine if you wanted to, no Bloatware, and the machines last forever- my last 3 macs have lasted over 7 years each. they are a little more expensive- but the gaps with windows machines are narrowing - because video cards are so expensive.

The other option is to buy a Windows machines in your budget regardless of whether it would come with bloat - and then reload the windows OS on it cleanly. You’d just need a thumb drive. Since you have a young family and little time, this might not be the best option, it would probably take you about an hour to do

 

[dangerousdon]

Hey my friend - I fully agree with you - Brave gives you a great web experience. TOR, and other web wrappers that use TOR, are less optimal for several reasons - but mainly they are built for privacy and not features.

First, the way TOR masks your identity is to pass your web traffic through at least 3 diffevent relays - and these relays are all over the world. Your web traffic never takes the same path (that way entities trying to capture your data can’t guess where your traffic is going). By comparison - if you are doing a typical web request - you would go to your internet provider (which acts like an internet post office) and then sends you to whatever site you want to go.

The second reason of your experience was not optimal (not being able to get any site you typical would) - is that the TOR network is basically a completely separate internet. Yes - you are traversing the same hardware, cables.etc, but you are going to separate servers altogether. Think of it as two highways that share the same road for a stretch- for instance, where I live here I-70 and US 40 are the same road for a length and then diverge near Baltimore. TOR does not use the typically suffixes (.com, .net, .biz etc). TOR sites end in .onion (TOR stands for the onion router - because it uses layers of security). Most information and social media sites have what is called a mirror site on TOR - the same content as their .com site - but with a .onion address. You cannot get to .com, etc sites using TOR.

as far as hardware is concerned, I would recommend an Apple product, it is Linux-based is the operating system, virtually no learning curve coming from windows and you can run windows on the Mac machine if you wanted to, no Bloatware, and the machines last forever- my last 3 macs have lasted over 7 years each. they are a little more expensive- but the gaps with windows machines are narrowing - because video cards are so expensive.

The other option is to buy a Windows machines in your budget regardless of whether it would come with bloat - and then reload the windows OS on it cleanly. You’d just need a thumb drive. Since you have a young family and little time, this might not be the best option, it would probably take you about an hour to do

Thanks for the info!

I was an intel analyst for our state police at my previous job and was the Human Trafficking subject matter expert. I did some International Terrorism Domestic Terrorism stuff also...but human trafficking was my bread and butter. With it was also a good bit of child pornography (I leave that stuff for later...not a happy topic obviously). I was often working in the .onion sites, though the avenue in which we analyzed thing on the Dark Web was rudimentary and I think was just Firefox. So I have a little bit of experience with it. Out Dated though. But using Brave I wasn't able to access at all. Like I said...I probably just need to tinker a little.

I was leaning toward an Apple product as well. I understand they are a little bit more, but you get a lot more with it. Anyway...again thanks for the info.

 

[Scuttlesoap]

Thanks for the info!

I was an intel analyst for our state police at my previous job and was the Human Trafficking subject matter expert. I did some International Terrorism Domestic Terrorism stuff also...but human trafficking was my bread and butter. With it was also a good bit of child pornography (I leave that stuff for later...not a happy topic obviously). I was often working in the .onion sites, though the avenue in which we analyzed thing on the Dark Web was rudimentary and I think was just Firefox. So I have a little bit of experience with it. Out Dated though. But using Brave I wasn't able to access at all. Like I said...I probably just need to tinker a little.

I was leaning toward an Apple product as well. I understand they are a little bit more, but you get a lot more with it. Anyway...again thanks for the info.

Roger that my friend - my apologies about my explanation of TOR - I misunderstood what you were saying. TOR is a definitely a double edged sword - def needed to get real info to those who are not in democratized countries - but the dark side really turns your stomach.

I definitely push for Apple from a desk/laptop point of view - especially from a durability / support - ease of use. Unless you;re a gamer - then Windows is the way to go

 

[August West]

Thanks for the info!

I was an intel analyst for our state police at my previous job and was the Human Trafficking subject matter expert. I did some International Terrorism Domestic Terrorism stuff also...but human trafficking was my bread and butter. With it was also a good bit of child pornography (I leave that stuff for later...not a happy topic obviously). I was often working in the .onion sites, though the avenue in which we analyzed thing on the Dark Web was rudimentary and I think was just Firefox. So I have a little bit of experience with it. Out Dated though. But using Brave I wasn't able to access at all. Like I said...I probably just need to tinker a little.

I was leaning toward an Apple product as well. I understand they are a little bit more, but you get a lot more with it. Anyway...again thanks for the info.

Human Trafficking Task Force busts are making for splashy headlines here. Every week they shut down another massage parlor, investigate for human trafficking, nobody talks, and the joint is opened again in a week under new management. They do nail the child porn perps quite well, but they seem tragically recidivistic. Rumor on the street is human trafficking is an area of law enforcement that gets a great deal of support from the general public in these times when funding has come under scrutiny. It’s where the money is now that the war on drugs has waned.

 

[dangerousdon]

my apologies about my explanation of TOR

No apologies necessary. I have just been out of the game for so long who knows what I am thinking or doing these days.

 

[dangerousdon]

Human Trafficking Task Force busts are making for splashy headlines here. Every week they shut down another massage parlor, investigate for human trafficking, nobody talks, and the joint is opened again in a week under new management. They do nail the child porn perps quite well, but they seem tragically recidivistic. Rumor on the street is human trafficking is an area of law enforcement that gets a great deal of support from the general public in these times when funding has come under scrutiny. It’s where the money is now that the war on drugs has waned.

There are a lot of good things going on right now. A lot of kids being saved from some really horrible stuff.

The massage parlor stuff is a really tough thing to crack. And nine times out of ten in those cases, the actual victims (the sex workers) are getting arrested, then deported to their country of origin (South Korea and China for the most part). Only to find themselves back in the US doing the same thing because they haven't paid off their debt yet. The people who run the places know very little and the most of the massage parlors are part of a greater system. Law enforcement will raid the places and there is little money in the establishment. No records of where the money goes to. We did find a couple of places that had a couple hundred thousand dollars buried in the ground near the businesses.

The Hispanic brothels are the ones that really get me. Those are the tough cases to crack because of the close knit community that doesn't talk to strangers. Most of the girls that work in those places are under age and will likely never get out of some sort of human trafficking/indentured servitude. When they become too old for the brothels they end up working at hotels and restaurants. The girls who work in the brothels will live and sleep in the same place they are sexually used. The people who work at the hotels and other places will get dropped off at their jobs and picked up by the same people to be taken to an "apartment" only to live in a two bed one bath unit with about 20 people.

There is the underage prostitution, forced prostitution, forced work, personal sex slaves, and so many other aspects. I have been pout of that area for over four years now...but I know more about that stuff than the average citizen will ever know in their collective lifetimes. It's a real thing that has many facets and is largely ignored. It hasn't been until recently that significant money has been thrown at it.

The child pornography stuff has gotten down to a science with law enforcement. But even then, many of the people who are caught are really the low hanging fruit. It's the producers of that content that are often times the really hard ones to catch.

The public support for Human Trafficking enforcement., I am sad to say, really started to gain momentum, after the Liam Neeson movie Taken. Then every mom in the world was affaraid that their daughter was going to be sold off to someone in Europe. That kind of stuff happens, but it is more rare than the rest of what goes on.

Sorry guys...get me talking about that kind of stuff and I usually don't shut up. If you can't tell, it is something I feel pretty passionate about.

 

[August West]

There are a lot of good things going on right now. A lot of kids being saved from some really horrible stuff.

The massage parlor stuff is a really tough thing to crack. And nine times out of ten in those cases, the actual victims (the sex workers) are getting arrested, then deported to their country of origin (South Korea and China for the most part). Only to find themselves back in the US doing the same thing because they haven't paid off their debt yet. The people who run the places know very little and the most of the massage parlors are part of a greater system. Law enforcement will raid the places and there is little money in the establishment. No records of where the money goes to. We did find a couple of places that had a couple hundred thousand dollars buried in the ground near the businesses.

The Hispanic brothels are the ones that really get me. Those are the tough cases to crack because of the close knit community that doesn't talk to strangers. Most of the girls that work in those places are under age and will likely never get out of some sort of human trafficking/indentured servitude. When they become too old for the brothels they end up working at hotels and restaurants. The girls who work in the brothels will live and sleep in the same place they are sexually used. The people who work at the hotels and other places will get dropped off at their jobs and picked up by the same people to be taken to an "apartment" only to live in a two bed one bath unit with about 20 people.

There is the underage prostitution, forced prostitution, forced work, personal sex slaves, and so many other aspects. I have been pout of that area for over four years now...but I know more about that stuff than the average citizen will ever know in their collective lifetimes. It's a real thing that has many facets and is largely ignored. It hasn't been until recently that significant money has been thrown at it.

The child pornography stuff has gotten down to a science with law enforcement. But even then, many of the people who are caught are really the low hanging fruit. It's the producers of that content that are often times the really hard ones to catch.

The public support for Human Trafficking enforcement., I am sad to say, really started to gain momentum, after the Liam Neeson movie Taken. Then every mom in the world was affaraid that their daughter was going to be sold off to someone in Europe. That kind of stuff happens, but it is more rare than the rest of what goes on.

Sorry guys...get me talking about that kind of stuff and I usually don't shut up. If you can't tell, it is something I feel pretty passionate about.

Reality.

 

[Scuttlesoap]

I; glad there are people like you that help stop this stuff

 

[HMan]

There are a lot of good things going on right now. A lot of kids being saved from some really horrible stuff.

The massage parlor stuff is a really tough thing to crack. And nine times out of ten in those cases, the actual victims (the sex workers) are getting arrested, then deported to their country of origin (South Korea and China for the most part). Only to find themselves back in the US doing the same thing because they haven't paid off their debt yet. The people who run the places know very little and the most of the massage parlors are part of a greater system. Law enforcement will raid the places and there is little money in the establishment. No records of where the money goes to. We did find a couple of places that had a couple hundred thousand dollars buried in the ground near the businesses.

The Hispanic brothels are the ones that really get me. Those are the tough cases to crack because of the close knit community that doesn't talk to strangers. Most of the girls that work in those places are under age and will likely never get out of some sort of human trafficking/indentured servitude. When they become too old for the brothels they end up working at hotels and restaurants. The girls who work in the brothels will live and sleep in the same place they are sexually used. The people who work at the hotels and other places will get dropped off at their jobs and picked up by the same people to be taken to an "apartment" only to live in a two bed one bath unit with about 20 people.

There is the underage prostitution, forced prostitution, forced work, personal sex slaves, and so many other aspects. I have been pout of that area for over four years now...but I know more about that stuff than the average citizen will ever know in their collective lifetimes. It's a real thing that has many facets and is largely ignored. It hasn't been until recently that significant money has been thrown at it.

The child pornography stuff has gotten down to a science with law enforcement. But even then, many of the people who are caught are really the low hanging fruit. It's the producers of that content that are often times the really hard ones to catch.

The public support for Human Trafficking enforcement., I am sad to say, really started to gain momentum, after the Liam Neeson movie Taken. Then every mom in the world was affaraid that their daughter was going to be sold off to someone in Europe. That kind of stuff happens, but it is more rare than the rest of what goes on.

Sorry guys...get me talking about that kind of stuff and I usually don't shut up. If you can't tell, it is something I feel pretty passionate about.

That's some heavy stuff Don, good there are folks working on it.

Apple just had a huge brouhaha over implementing some child porn security measures, I'm not sure where they ended up, but I'm all for it personally.

 

[HMan]

Ok, I'm a huge internet user, but have never had a VPN.
Can anyone explain why I'd want one, other than to be able to watch BBC tv shows?

 

[dangerousdon]

That's some heavy stuff Don, good there are folks working on it.

Apple just had a huge brouhaha over implementing some child porn security measures, I'm not sure where they ended up, but I'm all for it personally.

The technology with combating child porn grows exponentially every year. And the people who do that stuff are really good at their jobs. Preventing images and videos of child pornography from getting passed around too much is getting better. But like I said...it's the producers of the stuff that are really hard to find.