The Wired Guide to Protecting Yourself from Government Surveillance

I have bad news. There is really very, very little you can do to avoid government surveillance, and in the end it's almost entirely pointless. Between that amazing tracking device in your pocket that you feed all of your personal information to, data brokers, facial recognition, cameras everywhere, it's pretty much impossible to avoid surveillance.

That said, I think it's important that we do try at least to corrupt that data set any way we can. I've got my local member of congress (and apparently other political organizations) thinking I'm a middle aged person of color; I'm not. Always falsify your information whenever possible and feasible, including tagging other people in photos as yourself, etc.

There is no way to avoid surveillance, government or private, but we can do our best to screw with the data.

Take a page out of organized crime's book. Do not mention real names, use code words for things, refer to places or events as proxies for other things, never talk over the phone or text if you can do it in person, use intermediaries and dead drops, leave your phone at home. Don't tell any more people than you have to.

But the most useful tip: stay off their radar. If you start using a lot of encrypted solutions for things, attend meetings (that are probably surveilled), go to a protest march, etc you are now on their radar. Maybe you'll decide to do these things anyway, but just keep in mind you're making their job easier.

Cell phone providers, internet providers, technology providers, license plate readers, ring cameras, mail package imaging, surveillance cameras, motion hunting cameras, private citizen agencies that can operate outside of law or structure, govt agencies that operate outside of law or structure, five eyes, shadow facebook networking, unlimited funds, dna gathering, thousands upon thousands of employees, including specialists who can interpret the smallest details about you and create an accurate psychological profile.

"Nowhere to run to baby. Nowhere to hide."

I always just operate under the assumption that anything digital may one day be public record, it’s actually way easier to think about.

Like that Ben Franklin(?) quote: “three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead”, if you want something to be a secret just don’t put it on a computer at all, simple and effective.

are there different styles of government surveillance for different systems of government, I wonder if there is a taxonomy.

They mention these Cell Phone message apps, which may be OK. But to me you are better off using email with gnupg if you are really scared.

Or better yet, tor or tails may be the best choice for people truly concerned. I thought it was weird they did not mention those.

For anyone in a group that is worried of being retaliated against due to Trump: it's too late to use any tips in this article.

Even the most private among us likely have decades of data in various data centers about our typical travels, typical social circles, typical shopping practices, etc. They even mention this in the article, albeit at the very end. So, if you are the kind of person that Trump would want to remove via various means, it's likely already too late to suddenly install Signal.

A far better article for the demographic the article is supposedly written for would have focused on how to request what data various services have on you, and how to request it be cleared before January.

Wired used to be a magazine I subscribed and enjoyed reading. Too bad it is now yet another partisan piece.

Government surveillance isn't ramping up under Trump. It was already here under Obama.

> Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions and jail his enemies.

Obama deported over 1.18 million people during his term. Trump tried but was not able to deport as much in his first term.

It's not so easy as people think. Half of farm workers are illeagals. 40 percent of construction workers. 15% to 50% of food processing workers. All these businesses send their lobbyists screaming to Trump. Prices increase and citizen unemployment increases.

Best part of Trump’s win is that we can be openly suspicious of the government again without being slandered as a conspiracy theorist. All the old critiques are back in fashion: election tampering, pharma corruption, authoritarianism. Welcome back !

This is incredibly fear-mongering and reads like hit piece on Trump while offering little actual advice. If you are only now caring about privacy you should reconsider your priorities.

They actually think using encryption, designed by the NSA, will protect them. Laughs in lavabit....