We have been having some discussion here about various assaults on personal privacy and counter measures. Despite repeated assertions that you can do nothing and "Privacy is dead", there are specific steps you can take to protect your personal privacy, both online and real life. However, they require a change in attitude and habit. Most don't want to and just whine "But its harrrrrd" . Its not that hard (more below)
Bruce Schneier has recently published a book called "Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World." addressing this issue.
For those who don't know, Schneier in the early 90's (along with Phil Zimmerman) risked Federal Prosecution by publishing information and steps to create military / national security level encryption programs to protect digital data at rest and in transit; infuriating the TLAs and making him their target. He has since remained one of the nation's top public cryptographer, computer security and public policy expert.
You will find reviews and articles about the book starting to appear around the net, but he gives a flavor here at Huff Post with some steps below. Its not necessarily the details but the mental shift in awareness about the personal privacy "litter" you leave behind when you browse the Net or when you go about your daily life. How much litter you leave is a personal decision, a cost / benefit analysis of effort vs. convenience.
But if you want a modicum of privacy in your life, you need to be aware of what's falling out of your pocket or your browser and take positive steps to prevent it landing in a govt or corporate database.
Don't whine, Do.
Ridge
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
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1. Avoid Surveillance.
You can alter your behavior to avoid surveillance. You can pay for things in cash instead of using a credit card or deliberately alter your driving route to avoid traffic cameras. You can refrain from creating Facebook pages for your children and tagging photos of them online......
2. Distort Surveillance.
I have my browser configured to delete my cookies every time I close it, which I do multiple times a day. I am still being surveilled, but.....
3. Block Surveillance.
This is the most important thing we can do to defend ourselves. The NSA might have a larger budget than the rest of the world's national intelligence agencies combined, but it's not made of magic. ....
4. Break Surveillance.
Depending on the technology, you can break some surveillance systems. ....