Online privacy is of the upmost importance now a days. With the Gov't over stepping their grounds and making deals to gather intelligence on the general population through ISP such as AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Fairpoint, etc etc. It's best to protect yourself with security potocols and be safe rather than not do it and be sorry later. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that's located out of the U.S. and if possible, out of the U.N. reach as well. If your short on cash for free you can use TOR browser which is an onion based router system that hides your IP (I use this). It's open source so no company can be forced to give data. It is VERY slow though. Encrypt your entire harddrive using truecrypt. Best to do a dual boot hidden partition so if your shit is taken and your legally compelled to give the password, they'll only get the data you want them to see. (one side do your average legal stuff, the other you use only for sketchy business) Use KeyPass to generate and store different passwords for different sites/programs. (NEVER use same password in more than one place) Keep your antivirus and firewalls up to date - Best way in to a computer is malware, and yes police do exploit this if they have a warrant to do so. USE ALIASES! Never use your real information! EVER! Use fake b-day, ssn, name, and address. For purchasing items, use a GHOST ADDRESS. Find a location that has a bunch of small metal outside mailboxes (usually found in old apartment buildings or business buildings) and simply install an identical mailbox with a non-existing unit number. Order things with prepaid visa GIFT CARDS. They require no personal information to activate. Simply place whatever ALIAS name and GHOST ADDRESS in billing info on site ordering from. Never, and I mean NEVER speak over ANY phone about ANY illicit or illegal actions. THEY ARE LISTENING!!!! Best way to protect yourself online is to not EXIST online. Hope this helps my fellow underworld dwellers.
The main problem is laziness. There is plenty you can do if you're tech-savvy, but the shit the government gets away with is literally criminal. Hacking into Google's fiber-optic network (look up project muscular), forcing companies to hand over customer data, bending homeland security laws laid down after 9/11, establishing a "secret court" that will pretty much give the NSA the ability to do whatever they want: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/03/politics/nsa-surveillance-appeal/ You'll never be 100% secure, but there are things you can do. Otherwise the darknet wouldn't exist and deep sites like Silk Road wouldn't exist. - Ditch proprietary OSes, get Linux (not Ubuntu) and encrypt your HDD. - Use TOR to browse the net, add a VPN for added security - Only use open-source applications: https://prism-break.org/en/ Email is the big issue as the NSA has also weakened encryption standards so they can crack most encryption keys. If any companies get around it, govt shuts them down (Lavabit). But you can get relative protection through encrypted emails like hushmail, although they admit they will turn over your information if requested by authorities.
Great Advice ^^^^ The object we're both trying to get at is realistically there is no way to stop the government from accessing whatever data you have if they really want it. The only real defense is to make getting that data as expensive as you can for them. If whatever your doing isn't illegal enough to justify using thousands of dollars of tax payer money, they simply will give up/ not try. If your an international drug dealer that's funding some sort of terrorist organization, your online activity is definetly not going to stay private for long. Keep a low profile and encrypt everything you can. I mean you wouldn't grow your plants on the front lawn in a state its illegal in right? So don't flaunt your illicit activities without hiding your tracks. Simply common sense.
theres millions of posts being sent ever day on cannabis web sites,,,,every thing you write or post is logged,,the cops/feds aren't really bothered about this site or any other,,but that not to say dont be carefull ,if you dont feel like posting pictures of your grow dont ,cuz you'll only feel paranoid when you do,,,,,,,ive been growing and posting on cannabis forums for years,,,and my self never heard yet of any one getting bust over what they have put on a cannabis site,,,,,,Now face book never post any pictures of weed on that site ,people have been pulled by the cops when they posted on there ,,,,and youtube,,,just be careful,,,mac
This is especially true. The reasoning behind this is that most people on here are small time enough to be below DEA and FBI watch lists, and quite frankly, local police simply don't have the budget to track down whos who on these forums. Facebook on the other hand allows the police to search for people by town, and despite swearing they don't, they creep the facebooks of those they deem to be suspicious. Not to mention facebook is public so anyone who doesn't like what your doing just needs to pick up the phone and notify the police. They'll look it up on your profile, and low an behold they'll have all the evidence they need for a warrant, (Probable Cause), AND your name and address. It's just stupidity to post illicit things on facebook. There is no annonyminity there.
You can order and visit any website, aslong as it doesn't contain any child pornography you will not be a threat. Gore isn't even being a warning anymore, so cannabis sh*t will be like stealing 20p from under the sofa, mate...