lol I wish I could just throw my phone into a lava pit! My modern day IT job has me on a digital leash.
Data is and has been the new oil for a very long time. Default and weak passwords are just the tip of the iceberg. If a product and/or service is not designed with security in mind, then it will undoubtedly be hacked. These flock cameras that are popping up all of our cities are accessible to anyone and everyone who is curious enough to try accessing these devices. https://youtu.be/vU1-uiUlHTo
The best thing to do, if you haven't already fallen into the convenience trap, is to use little to no smart devices in your house, car, and on your person. If the device is accessible to the internet, then it has the potential of being compromised. Ring cameras, front door locks, baby monitors, nest devices, Google devices, alexa devices, smart watches, smart TVs, smart whatever, etc. Smart is just a synonym for hackable.
The plan is to put us into a digital prison with the help of these huge datacenters and the use of AI. Project Stargate is Project Prisongate. The less data that you give to these systems, the better. At this point, it seems almost impossible to stop, but it can be with massive non-compliance. Say no to the Real ID, stop letting TSA and other agencies take your pictures, remove the digital internet connected front door lock that you were crazy enough to put their in the first place, and stop feeding these cloud environments all of your data in the form of pictures, videos, and browsing history. Massive non-digital compliance Rosa Parks style! Let's go!
The first and most important one is ditch the REAL ID! I didn't realize that I had it! I went to the DMV (yes, I did!) last week and switched it out for a proper DL. No questions asked! Easy peasy. The only downside was I had to cough up $37.
Second, please, please, Do Not let them take your pic when going through TSA or border control! There are signs as you enter that literally tell you that you can opt out. Be nice to the agent and say you are opting out! Stand away from the camera!
You're on your own with passwords. I change mine all the time.
If you must have Smart/Stupid shite then do not interface with wifi/internet.
My new pick up truck (which I adore because it’s kick ass, run you over if you piss me off) keeps asking me to connect every single morning and I have to click ignore. Pain in my arse.
Get the feck off of Fakebook, IG, X and whatever other BS social media platform you're currently wasting precious time on! It’s literally raising your BP and robbing you of time you could spend walking in nature.
This might be the dumbest question ever asked, but can you actually "undo" Real ID? I got mine unknowingly as well... when we moved to TX and went to get our new licenses, I just thought TX was way more dramatic than CA. We had to order birth certificates with raised seals and get actual, physical SS cards (I hadn't needed to show one of those in ages) and basically show up with thirty-seven forms of ID plus a spleen in a jar. So they literally have all of that info in my file! Do you honestly believe they will erase it or unlink it to me just because my physical card doesn't have the little star? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm dead serious!!!
This seems like an *excellent* question! When I moved to South Dakota they didn't say anything about getting a "Real ID" driver's license. It was just a royal pain in the arse to satisfy them! Seriously? Who keeps a little piece of paper (physical SS card) for fifty years that you have NEVER needed to have before? (trivia: I recently *found* mine! It's amazing it hasn't disintegrated.)
What is the point of identification? Wasn't a drivers license before "real ID"? It always worked before!
Why does the government need a "file" on me? Can't they just let me live my life in peace? I promise I will be an obedient slave and never fly again.
I think you are correct Jenna, there is no motivation for them to delete your information! This is all about linking info about you all together instead of being in many, many other places.
I have the same questions, plus, my DL is expired. I unknowingly got the little star years ago as well. Unless I’m remembering incorrectly, I think I had no clue abt this until reading a your substack abt it months ago?
We have files with our SS cards, birth certs, marriage license, passports, etc. but I never imagined needing any of these things for any reason, other than perhaps my passport.
I picture the DMV going, “Yeah, for $37 we can erase this”, and laughing all the way to the vending machines.
If/when your spouse dies, you will need SS cards and marriage certificate to claim benefits from his SS (assuming you qualify). If you have minor children at home, you'll need their birth certificates and SS cards to claim survivor benefits for them.
Unfortunately I know this from recent firsthand experience.
No. But here's a thought. From the time you were issued a social security number they had your number, so to speak. That is how it has always worked. Lots of people think it just started happening when the Information Super- highway blew up. I used to run and work the big punchcard tabulators the government had back in the late 60's. You weren't even born yet! Computers have been around for a very long time. They have just been improved upon and modernized as time moves forward. The punchcard system was invented in 1890. Punchcards were the main vehicle for data storage since the early 1900's and look at it now! So sorry sweet girl. You not only donated your spleen but probably a kidney as well.🫢
Yes, they've had our "number" but it's only recently that they have started to request to see a physical SS card. In the past, all you had to do was memorize your number.
"Downgrading your license simply changes the status of the card you hold; it does not erase the fact that you once provided that documentation."
Effect: "The card is no longer valid for boarding domestic flights or entering federal facilities."
By downgrading all you do is hurt yourself. The data is not deleted (at least not in Texas). It's still part of your "permanent record".
Your identity verification data remains stored for at least 5 years after the downgrade. Supporting documents you submitted (birth certificate, passport, utility bills, etc.) are retained for 3 years.
The downgrade itself is recorded in your permanent file. (you naughty dissenter!)
Unfortunately, it's now unreasonable to expect the government to behave and be nice to the citizens.
In Minnesota, at first, when "real ID" was new, it was pitched as a "feature", something extra you could get that would make it easier to fly within the USA. I never bought their sales pitch and stuck with a normal driver's license. So it was a surprise in South Dakota that I was issued a "real ID" without even telling me. I had assumed that South Dakota DMV was just a royal pain in the arse and inferior to Minnesota.
The thing with Real ID is less the amount of info they have, it's that Real ID is part of the infrastructure where your ID's access can be turned off or on at any time. It is possible to get a different ID, maybe you can't reverse that they have your info (and your spleen), but the more people who have the Real ID - the closer the closure of the control grid is.
I’m only on X and block idiots. Since we are the media now it’s one of the only ways to see all sides. Some sides are insane but not all of them.
I have a newish Maverick and while it’s illegal to use your cellphone while driving, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a massive screen right in the middle of the freaking dashboard. No distraction there at all.
Every smart thing in the house has been turned off, including my washing machine. It wanted to connect; I politely declined.
I try to avoid appliances with any real electronics in them, connected or not, as it is just another potential point of failure. Does your fancy Korean-made washing machine really get your clothes that much cleaner than my 25-year-old Maytag? Maybe, but I can repair mine (and have) whereas if you get 5 years out of one of the new ones you're doing pretty good. I also carry a flip phone, fwiw.
If they could come up with a way to get the clothes out of the dryer (PRiOR to wrinkling) and hang/fold themselves and stack them neatly to be put away, I’d give them every piece of data I’ve ever possessed, a lock of my hair, tell them whether my bellybutton is an innie or an outie, and hand over my children’s baby teeth.
My washer and dryer can connect to wifi and send notifications to my phone when the cycle is complete. But my friend’s w/d not only send notifications to her phone, they also communicate with each other. Her dryer automatically chooses settings based on what settings were chosen for the wash that just completed.
Had the giant screen is a distraction discussion with our adolescent recently. Agree it can be just as distracting as a phone. And perhaps more dangerous because of the illusion of safety!
I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now. A couple family members have Teslas w/a 17” size laptop screen right where you said yours is, and it’s perfectly legal for the driver to use it while driving, but let a driver get caught using their cell phone & its ticket time. I get chastised for using my phone but it’s a-ok for them to poke that screen. And EVERYTHING is controlled on that thing. Even the A/C. SMDH
As for the camera on my smartphone…I keep a star sticker over the front facing one. You know, the stars teachers put on school papers. Cheap & serve a great purpose. I get asked why I do it. Most peeps tell me, “I never thought about that.” Some roll their eyes. And I just laugh at their ignorance 😆
Here’s the deal. As long as you carry that REAL ID with the chip, you are connected in every which way to the surveillance state. You are right to believe they have all your info now and likely won't delete it, but with the old DL I am not connected. Does that make sense?
Btw, I never gave the DMV anything like you had to do in Texas. Nothing, nada! I lost my DL in 2024 and needed a replacement and they sent me the Real ID without my knowledge.
Please chime in if my red neck logic makes zero sense!
Perhaps we should explore further. "Real ID" cards do NOT have embedded chips (too expensive). Real IDs have: "visual security elements (holograms, tamper evident designs, etc), barcodes and standardized personal information printed on the card.
"Enhanced Driver's licenses" (issued by Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Vermont) contain RFID chips. These are not the same as standard Real ID drivers licenses.
I got a new license upon returning after a year in South America. I did not specify no Real ID at the time I just wanted a new license with my new address. ( Moved back to the same state, different town.) I thought this would update my license but it didn't expire until 4 months later. I went back to renew and had the Real ID removed, easy peasy. I was aware that my Real ID info would not be removed as my guy is is a retired data base administrator for the DMV, but as someone mentioned above, the old style is less intrusive. I have a current passport so one less piece of info into the matrix. They already have my biometrics and everything else to get into South America but anything I can do to prevent being "low hanging fruitcake" I do.
Yes and how about all the patient portals your doctors require for you to sign in and/or get your medical reports etc. Drives me insane. And now CVS has computers at every register and at the pharmacy to sign in so they can tell you you need to get your jabs! So much ugh 😩
It might be worth looking on the secondary market. If you are at all handy then appliancepartspros.com is a great place to use to keep them running. Good prices, good selection, and well edited video instructions. I do not work there ; ). You may sacrifice some efficiency but the older models used real steel and beefy motors. My two cents.
Turning their camera technology against them is on a par with their "safe" pagers blowing up in their faces (and hands, and guts) only more lethal. Let's see. . . what other technology in our world can we think of that could turn against us? Hal? Hal, are you there?
I read an X post that said that some dentists worked as spies in Iran and implanted tracking devices in dental work. Probably fake, but interesting concept anyway. Be wary of your dentist.
On that note, ask your dentist if they are using numbing injections that have mRNA in them as many do now. Yes it's true. I asked my biologic dentist and they provided me the one they use verifying no mRNA. Gees its everywhere. DO NOT COMPLY.
When you realize that Amazon products will connect to your neighbor's devices if you try to block internet connectivity to your wifi.
And some smart TV's will have 5G connectivity that bypass your network completely. With microphones, cameras, thermal sensors and sub-audible connectivity with your smart phones. Oh and detection for what you're watching and reporting back what that is.
1. Overwhelm with undesirable targets. Install more cameras in your house to constantly monitor things no one wants to see: dirty dishes sink cam, what’s in my toilet bowl cam, what’s in my rain gutters cam - you get the gist.
2. Confuse the data harvest with things that don’t make sense. Search for things like what is the mating cycle of a common house fly, then how to get sacrificial chicken blood out of an Amish quilt, then how many different types of popsicle sticks are there.
3. Install one cam watching a photo capture from a hostage film showing a person not moving, tied to a chair in a windowless room, probably dead. Then create email accounts that you never check, then send very leading emails to them with cryptic info like: “The FBI was watching this so we’re switching to protocol C” or “The drop off will not happen as planned, too much surveillance, wait for further orders”.
I've got bigger problems, like trying to launch two white boys into this crazy world and 3 elderly parents/inlaws living nearby (MIL in my basement)...while running a medical practice in the midst of a complete crisis of purpose, doubting my entire education.
Stopped reading after the first paragraph to say I HAD COMPLETELY IGNORED THE CAMERAS ON MY HAND HELD DEVICES! I keep a post-it on my computer’s camera (thank you, tin foil hat), but have conveniently disregarded the other cameras in my immediate sphere of influence. Started reading YOU this morning and gasped {remembered there was painters tape on the washing machine (why is there painters tape on the washing machine??) and quickly covered all remaining cameras in the house}. It’s not a perfect solution, but I feel a little bit better.
I’ve always wondered why no one has invented a cover for our forward-facing and back-facing phone cameras. Something simple that slips over the top of your phone so that your cameras are covered or obscured while not in use. Could someone get on that please?
A friend invented such a device but the lenses changed and her cover became obsolete. The trip through mass marketing was a harrowing experience. My computer camera has an optional cover that is constantly engaged but now I need to check my ipad. 😬
Hmm... if you don't hand hold your hand held devices... then the cameras are pointed at the table they are laying on and the ceiling above them... pretty darn boring footage!
Thank you for your online order of a new Yurt using your phone app.
Now that you’ve provided the shipping address, we’ve provided free, at no additional charge the GPS coordinates.
Decimal Degrees (DD): 40.748440, -73.984559
(Latitude: 40.748440° N, Longitude: 73.984559° W)
Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS): 40° 44′ 54.38″ N, 73° 59′ 4.41″ W
Since you also used an additional downloaded online discount coupon (which required you to agree to all terms and conditions), just as an appreciation for your order, please see the satellite image of the ship to location you picked.
Oh, and Have a Nice Day 'escaping' civilization!!
PS: Be sure to ignore the occasional drone flyovers, as well as the constant chem trails overhead. Nothing to see here folks.
I remember watching the German film, The Lives of Others (highly recommend BTW), a few years back. It showed life in 1980s East Germany under the Stasi, the East German government's secret police. A portion of the film showed the Stasi risking everything to secretly plant microphones in a playwright's apartment while he and his love interest were away. A Stasi higher-up ordered the surveillance to find dirt on the playwright so the official could take the playwright's girl. He had his agents hide in listening posts in attics and log every whisper, all because the couple obviously would never have accepted such intrusion openly.
Today, we do the opposite.
We gladly welcome microphones and cameras into our homes—smart speakers, video doorbells, and voice assistants— and pay for the privilege. We speak freely in their presence, forgetting (or just not caring?) that we are feeding our conversations, habits, comings and goings, and secrets into nebulous electronic “clouds” that are routinely hacked and compromised.
What the Stasi had to steal in darkness and fear, we now surrender willingly for convenience. Or is it safety? I forget which.
The walls have not been breached. We have removed them ourselves.
hehe... such a timely article given the FCC's latest missive... Too late. Professional network geek here for 30+ years... Most folks are already 100% owned and have no clue they are. Consumer grade networking equipment was never designed to protect you, but to make it easy. How many people on this sub have a real firewall and intrusion detection capability between them and the Internet? Well there ya go! I'm different in that i've done testing to see how long it takes China to completely own and take over Service Provider grade equipment not properly patched. Answer = less than five minutes. Security was an afterthought 20-30 years ago and we'll pay the price for that approach forever.
I like phrases or album/song names generally - they are easy to remember. There's usually a place to swap a number for a letter. example - Nights in White Satin becomes N1ght51nWh1t3$at1n - Or for the dr office site, Doctor, my eyes = D0ct0rMy3y3$
I used to have to change all passwords at least every 6 weeks for work and I used at least 6 different programs, sometimes more. Trying to come up with stuff you can remember (not writing them down) and not reuse them became a chore, so I started that and it carried over at home. I have to set myself reminders to change them at home now.
But now, EVERYTHING has a flippin userid/password and how many people use their phone's 'password manager' for it? Can we just say - compromised?
I don't have a camera monitor of any kind in the house or at the front door. I'm paranoid about a TV remote that has a microphone. I was, many years ago, paranoid about the baby monitor! I also have a faraday bag for the cell phone and I'm using it more and more and more. (woe be to the intruder who breaks into my house too) Starting to think the reason the left likes drag queens is because the cameras can't recognize them through all of the makeup.
Thanks for the info. I didn't think about the pinging/snooping aspect. I was thinking of an EMP and have always assumed if an EMP hits, there will be no cell service so a cell phone would be useless.
Ok question about faraday bags -- I've seen videos on how to make them and what to put in them. But in a grid-down situation, what good is your phone and other electrical devices? There would be no cell service or electricity. This has always baffled me.
My faraday bag is made for the cell phone. If the cell towers are down *and* the Wi-Fi is out, then your phone is most likely of little use. I have seen situations where the power is out, but the phone still communicates with a nearby cell tower. The faraday bag is more about privacy, and stopping your phone from "pinging" the cell towers. Even in airplane mode your phone is capable of tracking where you are and eventually letting Uncle Sam know.
My understanding is that a “software feature” takes screen shots of your screen surreptitiously to monitor your interests. How do we stop THIS invasion of privacy?
makeup before bed. They’re going to blackmail me some day with loads of Tammy Faye Baker lookalike pics they’ve taken while I’m simply wishing my friends happy birthday on FB every morning. I can see the caption now. “Maybe it’s Maybelline, —her day old eyeliner, smeared halfway to her nostrils.”
I bet they have stacks of pics of my fillings and tonsils from laughing at Jenna’s Side.
Replace Apple & get a de-googled phone. Two good sites for secure online use can be found at Abovephone.com and privacyacademy.com Both are excellent resources. No I'm not affiliated, and LOTS of very valuable info. Remember you are the product they make money on for all that ease and convenience.
I'm sticking with Windows 10 (and will build a new computer on Linux eventually). I haven't followed it closely but as I understand it the uproar was so much that Microsoft backed off, added a ton of security and I think they are pushing it again, but I think in theory users can turn it off.
My IT son warned me a long time ago so I'm pretty good about securing what I have and I don't have ring cameras or anything like that and I cover the cameras on all my devices. So I answered
"bigger problems". But a yurt sounds kinda nice as long as I can take my art supplies with me.
If your "ring camera" is always facing outward (and you rarely ever go out that door yourself) does it actually pose any kind of a security threat (other than to your neighbors)?
We have a ring camera on our front door, a door we never use (unless someone is coming to the house - but us personally? No. We go out through the garage). I like seeing packages get delivered when we're not home.
Exactly! I have security cameras covering the front of my house (which I essentially never use). They are very handy for monitoring when packages are delivered. Not only when you are not home, but also when you are at home. A porch pirate would have to be very, very fast to grab a package before I do.
First suggestion: don't install a "toilet cam" just for giggles.
Having been in cybersecurity for the past 30 years (first person to introduce anti-virus software to Honeywell's corporate HQ back in the mid 1990s), I'd hope I'm not the "easiest target on the block".
The Iran war angle is a new one. Major nations, armed with massive data centers and software that can search this information easily and rapidly is SciFi / spy movie material finally come to life. We can attend to our personal situation, but I doubt we have much influence on convincing Target to update their software and change their default passwords on all their cameras.
The Israeli's are probably the best in the world in this space. Everyone assumes China is, but I think the Israeli's can run circles around them. The list of their cyber accomplishments is pretty long and impressive.
Yes, Israel has a strong reputation for this! China gets a lot of "air time" but it really only takes a few really talented people for any nation or bad actor to get up to mischief.
lol I wish I could just throw my phone into a lava pit! My modern day IT job has me on a digital leash.
Data is and has been the new oil for a very long time. Default and weak passwords are just the tip of the iceberg. If a product and/or service is not designed with security in mind, then it will undoubtedly be hacked. These flock cameras that are popping up all of our cities are accessible to anyone and everyone who is curious enough to try accessing these devices. https://youtu.be/vU1-uiUlHTo
The best thing to do, if you haven't already fallen into the convenience trap, is to use little to no smart devices in your house, car, and on your person. If the device is accessible to the internet, then it has the potential of being compromised. Ring cameras, front door locks, baby monitors, nest devices, Google devices, alexa devices, smart watches, smart TVs, smart whatever, etc. Smart is just a synonym for hackable.
The plan is to put us into a digital prison with the help of these huge datacenters and the use of AI. Project Stargate is Project Prisongate. The less data that you give to these systems, the better. At this point, it seems almost impossible to stop, but it can be with massive non-compliance. Say no to the Real ID, stop letting TSA and other agencies take your pictures, remove the digital internet connected front door lock that you were crazy enough to put their in the first place, and stop feeding these cloud environments all of your data in the form of pictures, videos, and browsing history. Massive non-digital compliance Rosa Parks style! Let's go!
The first and most important one is ditch the REAL ID! I didn't realize that I had it! I went to the DMV (yes, I did!) last week and switched it out for a proper DL. No questions asked! Easy peasy. The only downside was I had to cough up $37.
Second, please, please, Do Not let them take your pic when going through TSA or border control! There are signs as you enter that literally tell you that you can opt out. Be nice to the agent and say you are opting out! Stand away from the camera!
You're on your own with passwords. I change mine all the time.
If you must have Smart/Stupid shite then do not interface with wifi/internet.
My new pick up truck (which I adore because it’s kick ass, run you over if you piss me off) keeps asking me to connect every single morning and I have to click ignore. Pain in my arse.
Get the feck off of Fakebook, IG, X and whatever other BS social media platform you're currently wasting precious time on! It’s literally raising your BP and robbing you of time you could spend walking in nature.
Call me crazy, but it will change your life!
This might be the dumbest question ever asked, but can you actually "undo" Real ID? I got mine unknowingly as well... when we moved to TX and went to get our new licenses, I just thought TX was way more dramatic than CA. We had to order birth certificates with raised seals and get actual, physical SS cards (I hadn't needed to show one of those in ages) and basically show up with thirty-seven forms of ID plus a spleen in a jar. So they literally have all of that info in my file! Do you honestly believe they will erase it or unlink it to me just because my physical card doesn't have the little star? I'm not trying to be snarky, I'm dead serious!!!
Username: Admin
Password: Admin
A.I. Cybersecurity intervenes:
"I'm sorry, those credentials are no longer acceptable. Please enter new credentials."
Username: Username
Password: Password
A.I. Cybersecurity intervenes:
"I'm sorry, those credentials are not acceptable. Please enter new credentials."
Username: Password
Password: Username
A.I. Cybersecurity intervenes:
"Thank you for creating new secure credentials. Have a nice day."
🤣
This seems like an *excellent* question! When I moved to South Dakota they didn't say anything about getting a "Real ID" driver's license. It was just a royal pain in the arse to satisfy them! Seriously? Who keeps a little piece of paper (physical SS card) for fifty years that you have NEVER needed to have before? (trivia: I recently *found* mine! It's amazing it hasn't disintegrated.)
What is the point of identification? Wasn't a drivers license before "real ID"? It always worked before!
Why does the government need a "file" on me? Can't they just let me live my life in peace? I promise I will be an obedient slave and never fly again.
I think you are correct Jenna, there is no motivation for them to delete your information! This is all about linking info about you all together instead of being in many, many other places.
I have the same questions, plus, my DL is expired. I unknowingly got the little star years ago as well. Unless I’m remembering incorrectly, I think I had no clue abt this until reading a your substack abt it months ago?
We have files with our SS cards, birth certs, marriage license, passports, etc. but I never imagined needing any of these things for any reason, other than perhaps my passport.
I picture the DMV going, “Yeah, for $37 we can erase this”, and laughing all the way to the vending machines.
If/when your spouse dies, you will need SS cards and marriage certificate to claim benefits from his SS (assuming you qualify). If you have minor children at home, you'll need their birth certificates and SS cards to claim survivor benefits for them.
Unfortunately I know this from recent firsthand experience.
😭
I am so sorry.
No. But here's a thought. From the time you were issued a social security number they had your number, so to speak. That is how it has always worked. Lots of people think it just started happening when the Information Super- highway blew up. I used to run and work the big punchcard tabulators the government had back in the late 60's. You weren't even born yet! Computers have been around for a very long time. They have just been improved upon and modernized as time moves forward. The punchcard system was invented in 1890. Punchcards were the main vehicle for data storage since the early 1900's and look at it now! So sorry sweet girl. You not only donated your spleen but probably a kidney as well.🫢
I was born in 1969 but I was clueless until fairly recently😭
Innocent as a newborn babe. 😇
Yes, they've had our "number" but it's only recently that they have started to request to see a physical SS card. In the past, all you had to do was memorize your number.
Who's asking? Government agencies? Doctors? Stores? I haven't heard that.
DMV to get your driver's license. Employers to get a job.
Doing a bit of research:
"Downgrading your license simply changes the status of the card you hold; it does not erase the fact that you once provided that documentation."
Effect: "The card is no longer valid for boarding domestic flights or entering federal facilities."
By downgrading all you do is hurt yourself. The data is not deleted (at least not in Texas). It's still part of your "permanent record".
Your identity verification data remains stored for at least 5 years after the downgrade. Supporting documents you submitted (birth certificate, passport, utility bills, etc.) are retained for 3 years.
The downgrade itself is recorded in your permanent file. (you naughty dissenter!)
Dammit, just as I suspected😭
Unfortunately, it's now unreasonable to expect the government to behave and be nice to the citizens.
In Minnesota, at first, when "real ID" was new, it was pitched as a "feature", something extra you could get that would make it easier to fly within the USA. I never bought their sales pitch and stuck with a normal driver's license. So it was a surprise in South Dakota that I was issued a "real ID" without even telling me. I had assumed that South Dakota DMV was just a royal pain in the arse and inferior to Minnesota.
The thing with Real ID is less the amount of info they have, it's that Real ID is part of the infrastructure where your ID's access can be turned off or on at any time. It is possible to get a different ID, maybe you can't reverse that they have your info (and your spleen), but the more people who have the Real ID - the closer the closure of the control grid is.
More info here ~ https://www.cchfreedom.org/national-id/
I’m only on X and block idiots. Since we are the media now it’s one of the only ways to see all sides. Some sides are insane but not all of them.
I have a newish Maverick and while it’s illegal to use your cellphone while driving, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a massive screen right in the middle of the freaking dashboard. No distraction there at all.
Every smart thing in the house has been turned off, including my washing machine. It wanted to connect; I politely declined.
I try to avoid appliances with any real electronics in them, connected or not, as it is just another potential point of failure. Does your fancy Korean-made washing machine really get your clothes that much cleaner than my 25-year-old Maytag? Maybe, but I can repair mine (and have) whereas if you get 5 years out of one of the new ones you're doing pretty good. I also carry a flip phone, fwiw.
Your washing machine wanted to connect? Why on earth would a washing machine need to be connected to the interwebs??
So you can start it running while you're away from home???
Makes no sense, does it?
If they could come up with a way to get the clothes out of the dryer (PRiOR to wrinkling) and hang/fold themselves and stack them neatly to be put away, I’d give them every piece of data I’ve ever possessed, a lock of my hair, tell them whether my bellybutton is an innie or an outie, and hand over my children’s baby teeth.
Elon has a solution for that: it's called the "Optimus" robot. In theory available for sale to the general public next year.
My washer and dryer can connect to wifi and send notifications to my phone when the cycle is complete. But my friend’s w/d not only send notifications to her phone, they also communicate with each other. Her dryer automatically chooses settings based on what settings were chosen for the wash that just completed.
🤦♂️ Great! Now you can argue with your dryer! "No, no, I don't care how I washed the clothes, I do NOT want them roasted dry on high!"
Haha!
"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
Had the giant screen is a distraction discussion with our adolescent recently. Agree it can be just as distracting as a phone. And perhaps more dangerous because of the illusion of safety!
I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now. A couple family members have Teslas w/a 17” size laptop screen right where you said yours is, and it’s perfectly legal for the driver to use it while driving, but let a driver get caught using their cell phone & its ticket time. I get chastised for using my phone but it’s a-ok for them to poke that screen. And EVERYTHING is controlled on that thing. Even the A/C. SMDH
As for the camera on my smartphone…I keep a star sticker over the front facing one. You know, the stars teachers put on school papers. Cheap & serve a great purpose. I get asked why I do it. Most peeps tell me, “I never thought about that.” Some roll their eyes. And I just laugh at their ignorance 😆
Here’s the deal. As long as you carry that REAL ID with the chip, you are connected in every which way to the surveillance state. You are right to believe they have all your info now and likely won't delete it, but with the old DL I am not connected. Does that make sense?
Btw, I never gave the DMV anything like you had to do in Texas. Nothing, nada! I lost my DL in 2024 and needed a replacement and they sent me the Real ID without my knowledge.
Please chime in if my red neck logic makes zero sense!
LingOL! As I understood it, allllllllllllllll of that BS is what *makes* the Real ID. Maybe I'm wrong!
Perhaps we should explore further. "Real ID" cards do NOT have embedded chips (too expensive). Real IDs have: "visual security elements (holograms, tamper evident designs, etc), barcodes and standardized personal information printed on the card.
"Enhanced Driver's licenses" (issued by Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Vermont) contain RFID chips. These are not the same as standard Real ID drivers licenses.
Out of curiosity, I scanned my SD driver's license and indeed it does NOT have an RFID chip in it.
I got a new license upon returning after a year in South America. I did not specify no Real ID at the time I just wanted a new license with my new address. ( Moved back to the same state, different town.) I thought this would update my license but it didn't expire until 4 months later. I went back to renew and had the Real ID removed, easy peasy. I was aware that my Real ID info would not be removed as my guy is is a retired data base administrator for the DMV, but as someone mentioned above, the old style is less intrusive. I have a current passport so one less piece of info into the matrix. They already have my biometrics and everything else to get into South America but anything I can do to prevent being "low hanging fruitcake" I do.
100%, Bigodog!!!! Being non-compliant whenever, wherever is super important. Plus it give me a dopamine rush when they give me that "look!"
😂💪
Yes and how about all the patient portals your doctors require for you to sign in and/or get your medical reports etc. Drives me insane. And now CVS has computers at every register and at the pharmacy to sign in so they can tell you you need to get your jabs! So much ugh 😩
Are you serious? CVS is tracking your jabs? I haven't been in a CVS in years.
Yes they just started doing this in my area about a month ago….and if I were to get a jab I’d never do it in pharmacy, but many people do :/
Yes, "smart" is a synonym for hackable!
And the cloud is "someone else's computer".
Yes, I don't put anything on the cloud. They call it the cloud as if it is some heavenly place.
I had a hard time finding a dumb dishwasher. Why would anyone want a dishwasher connected to wifi?
It might be worth looking on the secondary market. If you are at all handy then appliancepartspros.com is a great place to use to keep them running. Good prices, good selection, and well edited video instructions. I do not work there ; ). You may sacrifice some efficiency but the older models used real steel and beefy motors. My two cents.
Stoves/Ovens are now connected as well….
Turning their camera technology against them is on a par with their "safe" pagers blowing up in their faces (and hands, and guts) only more lethal. Let's see. . . what other technology in our world can we think of that could turn against us? Hal? Hal, are you there?
I read an X post that said that some dentists worked as spies in Iran and implanted tracking devices in dental work. Probably fake, but interesting concept anyway. Be wary of your dentist.
Like I needed another reason to dislike going for dental work…
SERIOUSLY 🙈
Another reason to not be a politician (aka "person of interest"). Nobody is going to waste the money to implant tracking devices in common people.
On that note, ask your dentist if they are using numbing injections that have mRNA in them as many do now. Yes it's true. I asked my biologic dentist and they provided me the one they use verifying no mRNA. Gees its everywhere. DO NOT COMPLY.
I have heard this as well… Have not confirmed but certainly do not doubt.🙈
When you realize that Amazon products will connect to your neighbor's devices if you try to block internet connectivity to your wifi.
And some smart TV's will have 5G connectivity that bypass your network completely. With microphones, cameras, thermal sensors and sub-audible connectivity with your smart phones. Oh and detection for what you're watching and reporting back what that is.
Several approaches:
1. Overwhelm with undesirable targets. Install more cameras in your house to constantly monitor things no one wants to see: dirty dishes sink cam, what’s in my toilet bowl cam, what’s in my rain gutters cam - you get the gist.
2. Confuse the data harvest with things that don’t make sense. Search for things like what is the mating cycle of a common house fly, then how to get sacrificial chicken blood out of an Amish quilt, then how many different types of popsicle sticks are there.
3. Install one cam watching a photo capture from a hostage film showing a person not moving, tied to a chair in a windowless room, probably dead. Then create email accounts that you never check, then send very leading emails to them with cryptic info like: “The FBI was watching this so we’re switching to protocol C” or “The drop off will not happen as planned, too much surveillance, wait for further orders”.
Bahahahaha I am SO on board with this!!!
Yes! Excellent advice. Maybe a kitty litter box cam? I can come up with a few winners.
Oh I’m loving that! TootsieRoll cam!
Oh so much fun! Retirement should be enjoyable... I can spend the next several decades just "messing" with the authorities.
“How to get sacrificial chicken blood out of an Amish quilt…” 😂
I've got bigger problems, like trying to launch two white boys into this crazy world and 3 elderly parents/inlaws living nearby (MIL in my basement)...while running a medical practice in the midst of a complete crisis of purpose, doubting my entire education.
God bless you…❤️
Hugs.
Stopped reading after the first paragraph to say I HAD COMPLETELY IGNORED THE CAMERAS ON MY HAND HELD DEVICES! I keep a post-it on my computer’s camera (thank you, tin foil hat), but have conveniently disregarded the other cameras in my immediate sphere of influence. Started reading YOU this morning and gasped {remembered there was painters tape on the washing machine (why is there painters tape on the washing machine??) and quickly covered all remaining cameras in the house}. It’s not a perfect solution, but I feel a little bit better.
Thank you, dear Jenna🙏🙏.
I’ve always wondered why no one has invented a cover for our forward-facing and back-facing phone cameras. Something simple that slips over the top of your phone so that your cameras are covered or obscured while not in use. Could someone get on that please?
A friend invented such a device but the lenses changed and her cover became obsolete. The trip through mass marketing was a harrowing experience. My computer camera has an optional cover that is constantly engaged but now I need to check my ipad. 😬
Mic-Lock and camera blocks available at mic-lock.com. they work great!
Electrical tape is great for this. Black and discrete and comes off cleanly when you want to use the camera.
Hmm... if you don't hand hold your hand held devices... then the cameras are pointed at the table they are laying on and the ceiling above them... pretty darn boring footage!
Depends on where they’re laying lol
This is why you don't put a mirror over your bed and lay your phone on a bedside table! 😇
🤭
The microphone is also a problem. Especially if one has any "assistant" turned on. It listens to EVERYTHING. Don't believe the "keyword" nonsense.
mic-lock.com
Hahaha … why stress , it’s too late ….. kinda like the Cheeto as the door lock. Don’t care ,🌞🌞🌞. We have your humor Ms . Jenna ! Bravo 🙌🏼💥💥
Your highlighted links are like little surprise presents on Christmas morning…just never know where you’re taking us!
LingOL! I always wonder if anyone ever clicks on any of them... ;)
Rule number 47 of security: don't click on mysterious links. 😇
Thank you for your online order of a new Yurt using your phone app.
Now that you’ve provided the shipping address, we’ve provided free, at no additional charge the GPS coordinates.
Decimal Degrees (DD): 40.748440, -73.984559
(Latitude: 40.748440° N, Longitude: 73.984559° W)
Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS): 40° 44′ 54.38″ N, 73° 59′ 4.41″ W
Since you also used an additional downloaded online discount coupon (which required you to agree to all terms and conditions), just as an appreciation for your order, please see the satellite image of the ship to location you picked.
Oh, and Have a Nice Day 'escaping' civilization!!
PS: Be sure to ignore the occasional drone flyovers, as well as the constant chem trails overhead. Nothing to see here folks.
🙈🙈🙈
I click them. Thinking of looking into the spy glasses.
Don't order a yurt from Amazon, they put trackers in them. Don't search Youtube for how to build a yurt. Find an actual Mongolian.
LOL!!!~
🤣🤣🤣
I remember watching the German film, The Lives of Others (highly recommend BTW), a few years back. It showed life in 1980s East Germany under the Stasi, the East German government's secret police. A portion of the film showed the Stasi risking everything to secretly plant microphones in a playwright's apartment while he and his love interest were away. A Stasi higher-up ordered the surveillance to find dirt on the playwright so the official could take the playwright's girl. He had his agents hide in listening posts in attics and log every whisper, all because the couple obviously would never have accepted such intrusion openly.
Today, we do the opposite.
We gladly welcome microphones and cameras into our homes—smart speakers, video doorbells, and voice assistants— and pay for the privilege. We speak freely in their presence, forgetting (or just not caring?) that we are feeding our conversations, habits, comings and goings, and secrets into nebulous electronic “clouds” that are routinely hacked and compromised.
What the Stasi had to steal in darkness and fear, we now surrender willingly for convenience. Or is it safety? I forget which.
The walls have not been breached. We have removed them ourselves.
hehe... such a timely article given the FCC's latest missive... Too late. Professional network geek here for 30+ years... Most folks are already 100% owned and have no clue they are. Consumer grade networking equipment was never designed to protect you, but to make it easy. How many people on this sub have a real firewall and intrusion detection capability between them and the Internet? Well there ya go! I'm different in that i've done testing to see how long it takes China to completely own and take over Service Provider grade equipment not properly patched. Answer = less than five minutes. Security was an afterthought 20-30 years ago and we'll pay the price for that approach forever.
{laugh} Yes, there is a reason I have a $1,000 router not some cheap piece of junk from the local electronics store.
"Replace that password you’ve used 2,386 times since 2004 with something that’s not your dog’s name or your date of birth"
Um.... Is my dogs name AND my date of birth ok? Asking for a friend.
I like phrases or album/song names generally - they are easy to remember. There's usually a place to swap a number for a letter. example - Nights in White Satin becomes N1ght51nWh1t3$at1n - Or for the dr office site, Doctor, my eyes = D0ct0rMy3y3$
I used to have to change all passwords at least every 6 weeks for work and I used at least 6 different programs, sometimes more. Trying to come up with stuff you can remember (not writing them down) and not reuse them became a chore, so I started that and it carried over at home. I have to set myself reminders to change them at home now.
But now, EVERYTHING has a flippin userid/password and how many people use their phone's 'password manager' for it? Can we just say - compromised?
That's really clever!
What is your dog's name? Is your date of birth 1/1/11 ? {laugh}
It definitely depends on the information and how it is combined. "longer is better" when it comes to passwords.
I do toss random capital letters and some symbols in there. And I rotate my kids birthdays in too. And my dog isn't named Rover. :D
Length is more important than "complexity". Hmm... that's one way to remember your kid's birthdays! {smile}
I don't have a camera monitor of any kind in the house or at the front door. I'm paranoid about a TV remote that has a microphone. I was, many years ago, paranoid about the baby monitor! I also have a faraday bag for the cell phone and I'm using it more and more and more. (woe be to the intruder who breaks into my house too) Starting to think the reason the left likes drag queens is because the cameras can't recognize them through all of the makeup.
Thanks for the info. I didn't think about the pinging/snooping aspect. I was thinking of an EMP and have always assumed if an EMP hits, there will be no cell service so a cell phone would be useless.
Have you heard of the Up Phone? I have considered switching, but then I develop anxiety about all of my photos on my iCloud & where to store them.
Ok question about faraday bags -- I've seen videos on how to make them and what to put in them. But in a grid-down situation, what good is your phone and other electrical devices? There would be no cell service or electricity. This has always baffled me.
My faraday bag is made for the cell phone. If the cell towers are down *and* the Wi-Fi is out, then your phone is most likely of little use. I have seen situations where the power is out, but the phone still communicates with a nearby cell tower. The faraday bag is more about privacy, and stopping your phone from "pinging" the cell towers. Even in airplane mode your phone is capable of tracking where you are and eventually letting Uncle Sam know.
Fantastic info. I didn't know about the pinging!
Faraday bags have two purposes:
1) Protect your device from an EMP (natural or man-made)
2) Protect your device from snooping / spying
I love my faraday bags! My phone always travels in it's faraday bag.
Reminding me I need to get some. I have put that off for too long.
"Mission Darkness" has some nice ones.
Thank you. Going there now. :D
Food for thought Steve! Food for thought. Drag queen in my future makeup ideas!
Hmmmm. Food for thought!!! 🤣
My understanding is that a “software feature” takes screen shots of your screen surreptitiously to monitor your interests. How do we stop THIS invasion of privacy?
I've heard something similar, like your phone is taking screenshots every 8 seconds or something? IDK if true and no idea how to stop it!!!
Oh my gosh. Now I’ve got to start taking off my
makeup before bed. They’re going to blackmail me some day with loads of Tammy Faye Baker lookalike pics they’ve taken while I’m simply wishing my friends happy birthday on FB every morning. I can see the caption now. “Maybe it’s Maybelline, —her day old eyeliner, smeared halfway to her nostrils.”
I bet they have stacks of pics of my fillings and tonsils from laughing at Jenna’s Side.
😂
Don't worry KC, they replaced those fillings with spyware long ago.
🦷 OMGosh! 😂
They introduced this into Windows 11. The security community had a fit.
Is there anything that can be done about it?
Replace Apple & get a de-googled phone. Two good sites for secure online use can be found at Abovephone.com and privacyacademy.com Both are excellent resources. No I'm not affiliated, and LOTS of very valuable info. Remember you are the product they make money on for all that ease and convenience.
I'm sticking with Windows 10 (and will build a new computer on Linux eventually). I haven't followed it closely but as I understand it the uproar was so much that Microsoft backed off, added a ton of security and I think they are pushing it again, but I think in theory users can turn it off.
My IT son warned me a long time ago so I'm pretty good about securing what I have and I don't have ring cameras or anything like that and I cover the cameras on all my devices. So I answered
"bigger problems". But a yurt sounds kinda nice as long as I can take my art supplies with me.
If your "ring camera" is always facing outward (and you rarely ever go out that door yourself) does it actually pose any kind of a security threat (other than to your neighbors)?
We have a ring camera on our front door, a door we never use (unless someone is coming to the house - but us personally? No. We go out through the garage). I like seeing packages get delivered when we're not home.
Exactly! I have security cameras covering the front of my house (which I essentially never use). They are very handy for monitoring when packages are delivered. Not only when you are not home, but also when you are at home. A porch pirate would have to be very, very fast to grab a package before I do.
Other than the fact that a yurt's walls are round which prevents convenient furniture arrangement, a yurt in the woods sounds nice.
First suggestion: don't install a "toilet cam" just for giggles.
Having been in cybersecurity for the past 30 years (first person to introduce anti-virus software to Honeywell's corporate HQ back in the mid 1990s), I'd hope I'm not the "easiest target on the block".
The Iran war angle is a new one. Major nations, armed with massive data centers and software that can search this information easily and rapidly is SciFi / spy movie material finally come to life. We can attend to our personal situation, but I doubt we have much influence on convincing Target to update their software and change their default passwords on all their cameras.
The Israeli's are probably the best in the world in this space. Everyone assumes China is, but I think the Israeli's can run circles around them. The list of their cyber accomplishments is pretty long and impressive.
Yes, Israel has a strong reputation for this! China gets a lot of "air time" but it really only takes a few really talented people for any nation or bad actor to get up to mischief.
Bad ass. As always. 🤬🍑❤️