💡 We Are Not Safe (Issue 129)
Protect your communications and activities
Bad things are happening in the U.S. right now:
Students are being asked to self-deport based on campus activism or even simply liking a social media post.
Tech companies are telling immigrant employees on visas not to leave the U.S.
Elon Musk urged authorities “go after the generals” behind Tesla attacks.
We all need to be careful with how and where we protest. Obviously, folks should not be committing crimes (e.g., property damage), no matter how upset they are. Many experts are warning us that this administration is looking for any excuse to declare martial law. So please, don’t give them one!
I hate feeling paranoid. But, boy, oh boy, this administration sure is making some of our worst nightmares come true.
They’ve already illegally seized people off the streets and deported them to offshore prisons. A Republican congresswoman gleefully crowed that you don’t deserve due process if you violate the law, which is blatantly false.
"If you violated the law, you are not entitled to due process."
- Victoria Spartz
Last time I checked, people are innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. But innocent people are arrested every day, so we absolutely need to follow due process so innocent people don’t end up in prison!
However, apparently, the law won’t save us if they decide they want to come after you. So, you need to protect yourself now regarding your communications and online activities (e.g., planning and attending protests with others).
Indivisible.org has a helpful guide with tips on being prepared and safe before, during, and after protest events. Obviously, much of the prep and coordination takes place through online communications and services now. Below, I share some useful apps and services that help you stay safe for these activities, as well as during your everyday life in these challenging and worrying times.
Secure communications
No, your cellphone texting and phone calls are not secure. Your email and typical online messaging services aren’t secure either. I hope you know that.
Instead, use Signal to communicate with the people you care about. State-of-the-art end-to-end encryption (powered by the open-source Signal Protocol) keeps your conversations secure. They can't read your messages or listen to your calls, and no one else can either.
You can install the Signal app on your iOS or Android phone. They also have desktop apps for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux.
Heck, even our government officials are using it to discuss top-secret, classified war plans. Just make sure you don’t invite a reporter to your group chat.
Secure internet
Use a VPN service (i.e., virtual private network) to further protect your privacy when you use your phone and laptop to access the internet, which is pretty much all the time now. Otherwise, your internet service provider sees everything you do and can share that data with the government.
When you activate a VPN, your device creates an encrypted connection (often referred to as a "tunnel") that connects to a remote server operated by the VPN provider (or in corporate settings, your company IT department). All your internet traffic is routed through this tunnel to the server, which sends the traffic off to the public internet as usual. Data coming back to your device makes the same trip: from the internet, to the VPN server, through the encrypted connection, and back to your machine. (source)
There are many VPN services available for your computer and phone. I use TunnelBear on my phone and Proton VPN on my laptop.
Secure web browsing
Finally, you should use a secure browser that blocks cookies, trackers, and ads for a faster, more secure, and more private web browsing experience.
I use the Brave Browser, which has pretty great performance, too. They have apps for desktop, iOS, and Android.
Blocks third-party ads
Blocks cross-site trackers
Blocks third-party cookies
Protects against fingerprinting
Blocks cookie-consent banners
Global privacy control (GPC) enabled
Auto-upgrades to HTTPS
Network state partitioning
Filters query parameters
Blocks bounce tracking
Default private search
Built-in VPN
Built-in, private video calls
Tor browsing
It’s challenging to be 100% secure 100% of the time. For example, some websites don’t behave well if you turn off cookies. Also, some web-based apps seem to get unhappy if you access them via VPN and they think you’re in a different country.
But, the more secure you are with your messaging and internet use, the safer you will be. Good luck out there!
I’m Larry Cornett, a Freedom Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become invincible, and create new opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate!
📕 Check out my Invincible Daily Journals. I have one specifically for Spring!