Is this a good reason to encrypt your email and private files on your computer?
According to the article at this link
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67159,00.html
using encryption would appear to be a good idea, due to the story about the portable drive being stolen. Not necessarily to protect you from a government agency, but it could protect your private data from the common thief.
I have read the debate about encryption Sitri initiated in "The Lounge" during the middle of last year, which was an interesting debate. It does make me wonder as to the safety of the 128-bit SSL in our browsers if you choose to purchase something over the Internet.
PhaedrusZ
Re: Is this a good reason to encrypt your email and private files on your computer?
On my laptop I have built in encryption with something called FileVault (comes with OS X.) Dunno about that so I went and bought my favorite standby PGP. I also tend to use GPG on my linux servers.
I try to get people to use encryption on their emails - but they don't unless they are like me.
This one gal, she likes talking about the herb - and I am like - man, you really should encrypt those emails! It is well known the FBI is listening in out there! Hopefully they got more important things to do, like blow up tourist's luggage at the capital.
Re: Is this a good reason to encrypt your email and private files on your computer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhaedrusZ
Not necessarily to protect you from a government agency....
If your motivation for encrypting is protection from a government agency, you've likely long-since passed the point where you should have done your homework and thought whatever it is you're doing through before you did it - and you've now reached the point where you ought to be able to figure out that you not only have been, but will continue to be reliant upon nothing more than statistical odds and sheer, dumb luck... regardless of encryption. There is NOTHING, BUT NOTHING you put on and/or transmit via the internet that the government can't get - and thanks to the Patriot Act, they don't need probable cause, they don't have to get a warrant, and neither they nor the provider of the information (usually your ISP) has to inform you of their activities (in fact, the provider of the information is expressly prohibited from telling you about it). And if you think there's an encryption program out there they can't break once they've acquired the file, take a look at what they've managed to do to Al-Q's finances worldwide....
Re: Is this a good reason to encrypt your email and private files on your computer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhaedrusZ
According to the article at this link
using encryption would appear to be a good idea, due to the story about the portable drive being stolen. Not necessarily to protect you from a government agency, but it could protect your private data from the common thief.
I have read the debate about encryption Sitri initiated in "The Lounge" during the middle of last year, which was an interesting debate. It does make me wonder as to the safety of the 128-bit SSL in our browsers if you choose to purchase something over the Internet.
PhaedrusZ
Dang, that must have been before I retired... But be aware that U.S. methods will allow anyone in the U.S. gov. to break your code. I know that from working in the area that companies like Siemans A.G. will use products from Japan like Nokia to protect their secrets.
Fortunately, I have no secrets worth getting..