Michael Rupp

I Tried Hiding From Silicon Valley in a Pile of Privacy Gadgets


This is a fun romp about how #Surveillance #Capitalism has become as #Omnipresent as the magnetic field of the Sun.

David
I use Google, Facebook, Amazon, Lyft, Uber, Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. I have two Amazon Echos, a Google Home, an iPhone, a MacBook Air, a Nest thermostat, a Fitbit, and a Roku. I shared the secrets of my genetic makeup by spitting in one vial for 23andMe, another for an ancestry site affiliated with National Geographic, and a third to test my athletic potential.
You're an idiot.
David
Audio just finished playing.

The guy's mistake was to buy more gadgets. He makes privacy seem like a lot of work, and something that you have to buy.
  • Replace the full-fledged trackers with 2 flip phones: one always on and always at home, and the other carried whenever leaving home, but only powered on in emergencies. Plan for both phones includes 0 data. This will be much less expensive than buying and using one full-fledged tracker that runs Google or Apple software.
  • Get cash from an ATM every 6 weeks or so, and spend cash for everything. People are happy to take your cash.
  • Run an easy-to-use Linux-based OS on your computer, like Mint. Use only this to connect to the Internet. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Use Ice Cat or Pale Moon as your web browser. Install all the privacy add-ons we all use, like NoScript, uBlock Origin, etc. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Use Tutanota or ProtonMail for email. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Download and use the Tor Browser for email and other such accounts. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Use random usernames and passwords, and let your computer remember them. Never use the same username or password for more than one account. Never use your name as part of a username. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Don't get accounts with anyone who demands your name or other personal information. Asking for an email address is OK because you can give a different one for every account. Set up once, and forget about it.
  • Use Mullvad as your VPN. They neither need nor want your name or email address. This is the only item in this list that actually costs money. You can pay for a whole year at a time, or even multiple years. You can actually mail cash to them, with a note that has your account number. This is very discouraged by postal authorities.
  • Save a huge amount of money by not buying any gadgets that use any software made by Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, or Apple.
  • Save even more money by not buying anything that can connect to the Internet, except your computer running Mint.
Your bank and the DMV will know where you live, but no one else needs to. Your friends will have your phone number, but no one else needs to.

This how I live. I have much privacy and spend much less money than most people.

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