We Speak for Freedom - Off the Grid, Blog

Ask John Twelve Hawks!

kiakanpa — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:48:43 +0000

A few new members have joined the site recently, and I have noticed that many of them are disappointed to have missed the live chats we have ran in the past with John Twelve Hawks.

How I feel on privacy and computers

rainetheharlequin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:10:32 +0000

We all know how conveinent that Android Ipod touch or Iphone you have is. It can help you get into your car if you lock the keys in. Pay for bills and do banking on the go. Activate your home secuirty. Hell, it does so much you could easily forget that it's a cell phone.

However, the conveince comes at a cost, the device's GPS data is saved in your phone company's database and stored up to a year. Now this being wespeakforfreedom, and me being one against the injustices of the vast machine, I strongly disagree with it.

Aung San Suu Kyi on the BBC

steffers — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:12:37 +0000

Some of you may already know that the BBC managed to record this brave lady for this year's Reith Lectures, despite the BBC being banned in Myanmar (Burma). Here is a link to the relevant BBC Radio 4 page. I'll be following the lectures and will report back for those of you unfortunate enough to miss them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio4/2011/06/reith_lectures_2011_lecture_on...

The first lecture is on LIBERTY and will be broadcast at 9am BST on Tuesday 28th June 2011.

Latest Hacking roundup

kiakanpa — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:58:37 +0000

It seems that the number of high profile websites being hit by hackers lately has gone through the roof - or at least the media has started to make it a more frequent news item.

Below is the latest round up of hacking related activity:

Has your Account/Password been leaked by LulzSec?

kiakanpa — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:02:33 +0000

Following hot on the heals of their recent attacks on various websites, including the CIA site, LulzSec have just released the details of 62,000 random people from the internet.

The giant dump of data includes login information for a number of different (and sensitive) sites - Gmail, Facebook, PayPal and even World of Warcraft accounts - probably places you don't want others snooping.

Thankfully Gizmodo have released a quick tool to check if you're affected, just enter your email to their checker and you'll know if you're in the clear!

Citigroup Hacked

kiakanpa — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:15:32 +0000

Hot on the heels of all the recent hacking attacks against Sony comes the news that banking company Citigroup has had the names, email addresses, and account numbers of 200,000 customers stolen. Whilst Citigroup have stated that other sensitive customer information has not been lost (such as pin numbers, date of birth etc.) this is still a worrying situation.

Citigroup released the following statement:

“During routine monitoring, we recently discovered unauthorized access to Citi’s Account Online. A limited number – roughly one percent – of Citi bankcard customers’ account information (such as name, account number and contact information including email address) was viewed. The customer’s social security number, date of birth, card expiration date and card security code (CVV) were not compromised. We are contacting customers whose information was impacted. Citi has implemented enhanced procedures to prevent a recurrence of this type of event. For the security of these customers, we are not disclosing further details.”

Set your computing free - Installing Linux

kiakanpa — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:22:21 +0000

We covered some of the reasons for switching to Linux from Windows or OSX in our last article in the 'Set your computing free' series, in this article we will cover the basics of getting Linux up and running on your computer. Firstly, a word of causion; following this article will alter the filesystems on your harddrive, and could potentially damage any operating systems which you currently have installed on your computer. Personally, I run only Linux on my computer, but it is possible to install it alongside Windows or OSX. Just back stuff up - just in case. Okay, disclaimer over - on with the show.

Background

This article covers the basics of getting Linux installed on your computer, either as the primary operating system or 'dual boot' with either Windows or Mac OSX. Linux comes in a variety of 'flavours' known as distributions (or 'distros') - most of these are available for free, but some are available for purchace with a variety of additions or support. For this particular installation guide we will be working with the Ubuntu distribution of Linux - I have selected this version for the guide as it is freely available, community driven, and has good, free, online support available. Before we get started, you will need to have the following available:

Broadband internet (to download Ubuntu)
A backup of anything you do not wish to lose! (just in case)
A blank CD and CD Writer (or a USB stick and a computer which can boot from USB)
At least 2GB harddrive space free (for dual boot, installing Ubuntu as your only operating system will wipe the whole harddrive)

Set your computing free - Operating Systems

kiakanpa — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:56:37 +0000

Much is written on this website in relation to freeing yourself from corporate restraints - yet many of us remain shackled in our daily computing lives to two of the largest, and most aggressive destroyers of computing privacy; Microsoft and Apple.

In the first part of a series we will be running called 'set your computing free' we will be looking at operating systems. These are the primary pieces of software running on computing devices, the most famous of which is probably Windows, but there are others - and they don't just run on computers, but on phones, tablet devices, game consoles, PVR's - almost every piece of electronic equipment.

In this post we will primarily be focusing on computers and consumer electronics.
Before we discuss the alternatives, let us have a brief look at what makes these two companies so detrimental to our privacy.

Sony, Nintendo, Is data ever safe?

kiakanpa — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:08:47 +0000

Playstation Network - 77 million users

Sony Online Entertainment - 25 million Users

Sony Ericsson website in Canada - 2,000 users

Sony Music Entertainment website in Greece - 8,500 users

Most people will have heard by this point about the hacking of many Sony website, and the subsequent loss of millions of user’s data - including credit card information. It has also just come to light that Nintendo have recently suffered from server hacking, though at this time they claim that no user information was stored on the compromised infrastructure.

In another recent attack on Sony Pictures, LulzSec, a hacking group have stolen, and then subsequently posted online the names, birth dates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and passwords of 1,000,000+ people.

The invidious, insidious Controllers

steffers — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:52:14 +0000

Recently I went to a public meeting in support of the “YES to AV” campaign. For those of you who have no idea what this is, a brief summary: there is shortly to be a referendum in the UK to decide whether to end the “First past the post” voting system and replace it with “Alternative Vote” see here:http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/referendum_2011.aspx

The vote isn’t mainstream WSFF stuff, but it is hoped that a change to AV might make our parliamentary representatives more accountable, harder working and more willing to work together with people who have different views to the party line.

This was one of many rallies, and probably the smallest, comprising of around thirty activists of all ages, across all political persuasions (except for the very far-right). Typical British apathy meant that most people we could see were going shopping, rather than thinking about the future political landscape. There was some tension in the group, and I was asked if I was a “kosher Yes voter”. I bit my tongue on my first answer, which was to reply: “Not kosher, actually, but definitely Bona Fide”, and simply nodded. But I was puzzled – did they think I was an undercover spy? Later, standing arm-in arm with the purple-shirted man next to me, we looked into the camera and smiled. “Good thing my wife isn’t here.” he said “Perhaps she’ll see the photograph” I suggested. “If it’s printed.” He said bitterly. “The media are against us.” Which was when I realized that the man taking pictures was not a journalist, but a local politician. And that was odd. There may only have been a few of us but this was still a major event for a small market town. Where were the press? A few questions led to the opinion that the local paper was owned by a prominent NO2AV supporter, and therefore the rally wouldn’t get a mention at all. Far from it – the Media, they said, was gently pushing people towards a No vote. I gently suggested that, by clubbing together, the protestors could raise enough money to publish something themselves, but enthusiasm had stalled at the prospect of opening wallets.