Your privacy was just sold: 5 steps to protect what’s left of it

You’ve probably heard the news already, but if you haven’t then know that the House quietly voted to undo rules that keep internet service providers — the companies like Comcast, Verizon and Charter that you pay for online access — from selling your personal information.

How the Republicans Sold Your Privacy to Internet Providers

What websites you visit, your location, everything they can get from you now is theirs to sell to the highest bidder.
Yay freedom!
Anyway, there’s not a lot you can do but every little helps. These are just five simple things the average Joe can do to protect at least some of that privacy.

1)Start Using Firefox
It’s the best browser anyway.
Here’s a link with some of the ad ons and set up to improve your privacy.
https://vikingvpn.com/cybersecurity-wiki/browser-security/guide-hardening-mozilla-firefox-for-privacy-and-security
 
2)Stop using Google
Yes, it can be done. Use Duck Duck Go instead as your main search engine. To be honest I still use Google when DDG isn’t giving me good results but not using google is probably the biggest step toward privacy. DDG basically uses Google, but it does it for you while remaining anonymous.

3)Stop using Whatsapp
Since it got sold to Facebook you know what to expect. Shameless abuse of your privacy. Telegram is pretty much the same thing and just as simple to use, but you get to keep your privacy.

4)Stop using Facebook
I’ll be honest. I don’t use it, and those of you that do probably see I hardly keep up with it. My blog posts are automatically reposted on Facebook but I just don’t know how to use 99% of it. The thing is, even if you do like and use Facebook, its as creepy as a company can be, with no regards whatsoever for your privacy of course. At the very least, try not posting vital information like your address, birthday, when you go on holydays or when you make big financial decisions. All of this isnt just about privacy, its about physical safety.

5)Cover the camera of your laptop
My wife first started doing this years ago. I thought she was a complete lunatic. “I don’t know who’s watching” she said. “baby, no one’s watching you” I said back then. Oh, I was so naïve its even cute now that I think about it. Yes, they do spy on you, they use facial recognition technology on you to get your biometric data and God only knows what else, how you react to different data, different products or ads? Disable your camera and microphone when not in use, or as Mark Zuckerberg does and FBI Director James Comey advices people to do, put some tape on it.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

(Free) New US Air Force SERE Manual

The new Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) Operations Manual is available free online and it’s actually pretty great. It’s a rather large file so rather than opening it with the browser I suggest to right click and directly download the PDF.
AF Handbook 10-644 SERE 21 March 2017
The USAF survival manual has always been a solid survival literature staple, often used as reference or downright plagiarized by more than a few survival manuals out there. This latest version is packed full of good updated info.
Keep a copy in your PC, you phone and flash drive, heck, take the time and print a hard copy of it as well.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Home Owner’s son kills 3 Home Invaders with AR-15

 
The three The three home burglars that got killed
23 year old Zachary Peters shot the 3 intruders with an AR-15 rifle after they broke into his home, carrying weapons and wearing black clothes.
The link to the story includes more info and the audio of the 911 call, which is worth listening so as to understand better what happens when talking with 911 during such situations.
This goes to show how important it is to teach our kids safe gun use from an early age. I know of much younger children, even pre teens that have used their father’s gun  to protect themselves and their families.
Also its important to remind everyone about the risks of gun handling by children that are too young or not mature enough to handle such responsibility. Be extremely careful with this given how common that type of accident is when it comes to children and firearms.
If your child is old enough, besides safe gun handling the KEY thing to teach  is proper identification before shooting any target. This right there saves lives and avoids tragic shootings of friendly fire.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Reply: A few thoughts about today’s Terrorist attack in London

Hi FerFAL, thanks for the great advice. I am a regular visitor to your site. Regarding point number 6, I don’t think it is fair to say that when terrorist attacks occur there’s always a “religion of peace” representative involved. Just look at the recent terrorist acts carried out by Anders Breivik in Norway or Thomas Mair in the UK. Extremists of all persuasions are a threat to us all and so we always have to be on guard. Also, I am from the UK and I know from experience that the majority of Muslims abhor such acts carried out in the name of their religion and would inform the authorities immediately if they were able to prevent a terrorist act and bring terrorists to justice. We even have a Muslim mayor in London doing so right now. The mainstream media may portray a particular group as our enemy when in actual fact they may be people we should work with for the greater good. Terrorists have no religion or morals as far as I am concerned and represent no one but themselves. I think that as survivalists we should always think outside the box in these matters
-Ssmith

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Hello Ssmith, thanks for your comment.
You’re right. As survivalists we should look at potential threats objectively even if there are certain red flags to look for. And its true we’ve seen mass shootings or terror attacks by people of all religions and extreme political views.

In the case of Muslims you are right about the great majority of them not being evil, terrorists, etc. They do hold I must say, certain values that are essentially different compared to western ones. I do my best not to judge, especially since as an immigrant myself I’ve been in that place before and do not appreciate it. The differences though, they are real.  I’m not going by what the mainstream media is telling me, I’m saying this based on numerous personal, first hand observations. In general, and even for the young, more open minded Muslims, their treatment of women is just deplorable. Even in the hottest days of summer when walking along the beach women aren’t allowed to uncover their heads, their arms and legs are covered down to their hands and feet, including ankles and wrists. All while their husbands or boyfriends walk right next to them shamelessly staring at topless or bikini wearing women. Even the younger, more westernized Muslims treat women like scum. Their idea of being “romantic” is treating women like animals, controlling them as if they had no rights as a person, telling them how they can or cannot dress and who they can go out with. Even hitting women is pretty much accepted, or at the very least being physical and roughing them up a bit if they don’t do as they are told.  Again, things I’ve seen myself, nothing more, nothing less. This is just the complete opposite from the culture I was brought up in, where treating women like this isn’t just illegal, it’s the kind of thing that probably gets you beaten up pretty bad too.

I’m sure there are people that aren’t like that, and I at least measure people individually, no matter their skin color, religion, even their politics, but those have been my observations so far.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Choosing the right shotgun ammo for home defense