Resources to Divorce Yourself from Big Tech

I suddenly miss AOL groups
Ahhh

a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

I took an old desktop and installed Linux Mint but even with that software is is slow as Christmas. I tried upgrading the ram on it but I ordered the wrong chip set and it wouldn't run. I think I would be better off buying a new cheap desktop with Linux or even no operating system at all. What processor?

a reply to: CharlesT

AMD Ryzen is what I would choose (in fact I did recently choose) for a new desktop.

a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

The way to divorce yourself from big tech is to not just buy it from someone else.

Make up a bootable USB with a relatively 'footprintless' and free to download open OS on it. You can then move around anonymously from hardware to hardware. Easy peasy.

Then you can still use some of those network services, but in a way that doesn't put you in the pocket of big tech.

originally posted by: SleeperHasAwakened
a reply to: CharlesT

AMD Ryzen is what I would choose (in fact I did recently choose) for a new desktop.

Sounds like the Christmas gift my Brother gave me.

originally posted by: darkbake
I think this is the correct response to Big Tech censorship. Good luck!

You are right that private companies have the right to a TOS. However, I'm not sure banning services to someone because of their skin color or gender is justified. That sounds like prejudice. Amazon made a rational argument for banning Parlor, including listing quotes posted on there about violence and overthrowing the government that was not taken down.

Free speech has always had limits. I doubt we are free to conspire to take over the government or commit murder.

Nonsense.

When the US Supreme Court reversed Colorado’s decision against the Christian baker, it was because of HIS right to practice his religion, not because he owned a private business.

That means constitutional rights apply to interactions between private parties, not just people and their government.

originally posted by: chr0naut
a reply to: SleeperHasAwakened

The way to divorce yourself from big tech is to not just buy it from someone else.

Make up a bootable USB with a relatively 'footprintless' and free to download open OS on it. You can then move around anonymously from hardware to hardware. Easy peasy.

Then you can still use some of those network services, but in a way that doesn't put you in the pocket of big tech.

I agree this is a good idea, but somewhat tangential to my point.

Freedom of expression and anonymity are orthogonal. You can effectively mask your identity when using Big Tech, but what does that actually achieve when it comes to communicating your ideas to others without the message being removed and your account being purged?

The only effective way to influence the behavior of these corporations is to deprive them of profit. Some of them get paid on ad revenue per page load/per click; it makes no never mind if they do or don't know who you really are (although for sure selling personal info is a lucrative trade as well).

Dicks's Sporting Goods is blacklisted for being anti- 2nd amendment.

This goes for general privacy and snooping by big tech (ex investigative journo into defence)

www.dsei.co.uk... - Is the world's biggest arms fair hosted in the UK specialising in selling spying/monitoring equipment; their catalogue showcases the most cutting edge civillian surveillance available giving insight in how to avoid it. A lot of speakers are also ex spy-intel heads, mainly UK and US. The main customers at the fair are dictatorships and brutal regimes (been part of setting up a fake stall there myself).

Once you have a fully secure internet - look up a company called Telestrategies ISS World in the US to find out what companies the NSA and CIA use to spy on US citizens - the public can attend their lecture held in Wash DC every Sept if they buy tickets.

SpiderOak, Tresorit and JungleDisk are industry for secure data storage - avoid all other Cloud things or TruCrypt. They're not secure.

All US phones and internet is bugged and up for sale by Channel Islands telecoms companies- this is a US and World National Secuirty threat, please consider wtitng to local politicians and relevant bodies to report these fragrant abuses of international law - more info here: Private spy companies tracking private phonecalls from around the world via Channel Islands

Be warned Whatsapp has had a huge back-door for a while and is part of Facebook. I think it's this week they demand users link it to their facebook profile in order to use the app.

Signal is the best of the lot but does have one ackdoor, albeit hard to use one.

DuckDuckGo has changed it's policy a few months back and now tracks user searches and is increasingly acting like google.

I would strongly advise against any social media but if you have used them - this is a good article on how to scrub them: www.wired.com...

www.openrightsgroup.org... catalogues some great software.

tweetdelete.net... ca be used to scrub old tweets

Mobile phones track location even with battery removed - removing a sim card in an old brick phone stops this but smart phones can be tracked without either.

Never use a Nokia or Seimans phone.

Semaphor and Matamost are great platforms ad programs for secure chats - avoid all others, especially Slack.

There are free online courses here giving cutting edge means of avoiding the big tech and surveilance state. These are aimed for journalists exposing multi-billion fraud, international political corruption, exposing cartels and creme-de-la-creme of info: ssd.eff.org... - securityplanner.consumerreports.org...

Golden rule - if it's electronic/digital it is spied on.

Have more but need to dig stuff out; not 100% up to speed with social media or messaging things as don't use them and have a brick mobile from the mid 90s.




EDIT: Tor and similar (I2P) have been omprimised since at least 2013.

a reply to: bastion

Great stuff bastion!

I will add none of my critical data, or nothing of real significance, is kept off "my own cloud", a personal Linux NAS on a 4 Terabyte LUKS RAID 10 driveset (of which I will make an encrypted backup of from time to time).

The problem is, this is not accessible tech to everybody.

Like I said at the outset, there are degrees of "secure" just like there are degrees of "tolerance of opposing views" and degrees of "acceptance of personal expression".

I think anyone that feels that the Googles, Facebooks, Twitters, Apples and Amazons need to be brought back down a notch from utter social, technological and commercial hegemony, should consider looking at post #1 in this thread and find appropriate alternatives, even if you're only shifting your money/data to a lesser of two evils

[SPOILER ALERT] There are no Utopian tech companies on the face of Earth that are utterly secure, or more importantly, give a @#$! about you as a person to value your point of view, freedom of expression and capability to think differently. As such, read the first post in the thread, and channel your tech usage accordingly.

Excellent resource list! Thanks

DuckDuckGo has changed it's policy a few months back and now tracks user searches and is increasingly acting like google.

DuckDuckGo does not keep a record of your search terms, but they have no control over whether or not your browser is configured to save what you’ve searched for; that’s your responsibility.