Obsession with Secrecy

[bobbysan]

It's a slow day at work today so I thought I would touch on this briefly.

I don't know that I have an obsession with secrecy, but I definitely believe in the use of encryption and PGP or GnuPG. I use Truecrypt which is a free, open source application for encryption of files, and for Windows systems it can also be used to encrypt the entire system partition. I also use GnuPG sometimes for signing emails with the ability to encrypt them if ever necessary.

The reason that I believe these are important isn't because I have anything to hide. It's because I would prefer that everyone encrypt everything from their financial documents to their shopping lists. If more people did this, it would be in the temperament of the people at large that this is an extension in which they have a right to be secure in their persons, papers and effects. It's always the argument of the statist that, you shouldn't mind being searched, or being eavesdropped on etc. if you have nothing to hide. Bullshit. Not only do I have no obligation to report to the government my business and conversations, it should be recognized as the right of any free person use and those technologies as an extension of their own personal private affairs.

If you guys had picked a warmer climate by the beach, I would come join you! Guess I'll have to carry on wherever I go. 

[voodoo]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCNGaafnAGk[/youtube]

I couldn't be bothered to put an envelope around my check, so I just slapped on a stamp and threw it in the mail. 

Last month.

This month, I was too lazy to even write a check, so I put the stamp on two twentys that I stapled together.

[bobbysan]

I'm not sure if the intention is to make it sound like I was being the sergeant, but the difference is that the video is about someone protecting government property rather than an individual's right to protecting their own own. Some people who lose laptops have financial information about themselves and others that no one else has a right to. Maybe the loss of credit card info or banking info might have an impact on their children. Is it not wise to protect others if not having a care for yourself? Besides, I said that I would prefer more people did that, not that I would require it.

The other is that while stapling two twenties together with a stamp might sound defiant, open and rebellious, you don't actually pay your bills that way.

[voodoo]

No, sorry.  I was agreeing with you.  I use full disk encryption, GPG, and an anonymizer.  Setup is easy and once you set up the apps to use it, it's absolutely transparent.

The bill paying bits were a lame attempt to show how lazy people are about software security.  Since physical security is usually the hardest part of computer security (both to do and to get people to do), I figure people who are so lackadaisical about software and online security probably have trouble making the effort to write a check or use a security envelope.

Lazy security of low-value items makes high-value (and, thus secured) targets stand out like a sore thumb.

[bobbysan]

Sorry voodoo. I'm new to this board and not used to talking about liberty without somebody taking a shot at me personally instead of the principle. I'll try to be less defensive.