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Monday, February 3, 2014

Spy Alert!

 
    George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in 1949; it was set in Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain), a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public mind control, dictated by a political system euphemistically named English Socialism (or, in the government's invented language, Newspeak, called Ingsoc) under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite that persecutes all individualism and independent thinking as "thought crimes".
     The tyranny is epitomized by Big Brother. Big Brother and the Party justify their oppressive rule in the name of a supposed greater good. Orwell described a future of slavery and manipulation that allowed the government to control the masses. It’s going on now and for the most part is so subtle as to go unnoticed.
     In the Bible, Revelation 13:16-17, speaking of the Anti-Christ reads, “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.…”
     Our cars are being programmed, cameras are being installed everywhere in public, researchers want to start bar-coding embryos and we are moving into a cashless society. It’s easy to see how all this will give the government total control over our lives. Technological advances are a great convenience, but also a real threat. Sound farfetched? According to Forbes these devices are capable of spying on you in your own home.

Televisions: Televisions may track what you watch. Some LG televisions were found to spy on not only what channels were being watched, but even transmitted back to LG the names of files on USB drives connected to the television
Kitchen Appliances: Many recent-generation kitchen appliances come equipped with connectivity that allows for great convenience, but this benefit comes at a price – potential spying and security risks.
DVR/Cable-Box/Satellite: TV Receiver Providers of television programming can easily track what you are watching or recording, and can leverage that information to target advertisements more efficiently.
Modem (and Internet Service Provider): If it wanted to, or was asked by the government to do so, your ISP could easily compile a list of Internet sites with which you have communicated.
Smartphones: Not only may your cellular provider be tracking information about you – such as with whom you communicate and your location.
Webcam or Home Security Cameras: On that note, malware installed on your computer may take control of the machine’s webcam and record you – by taking photos or video – when you think the camera is off.
Telephones: It is common knowledge that the NSA has been tracking people’s calls, and even the changes proposed by President Obama won’t truly eliminate the spying.
Lights, Home Entertainment Systems, and Home Alarm Systems: Various newer lighting, home entertainment, and home security systems can be controlled via Wi-Fi or even across the Internet.
Thermostats (Heat and/or Air Conditioning): Various Internet-connected thermostats are now available. They provide great convenience, but might they also be transmitting information about your preferences to others?
Laundry Equipment: Like kitchen appliances, washers and dryers that connect to the Internet may report information that users may not realize is being shared.
Medical Devices: It is not news that pacemakers, insulin pumps, and other medical devices can be hacked.
iPods or Other Entertainment Devices: Yes, there are still millions of people using specialized non-phone-equipped electronic devices, but these devices are often Wi-Fi enabled and pose similar to risks to smartphones as discussed above.
Coming Soon… Your Handgun: Millions of Americans keep guns in their homes, so privacy issues surrounding firearms are an issue regardless of one’s position in the perpetual American debate about gun control. In the near future so-called “smartguns” – firearms that contain computers with various safety capabilities intended to prevent accidents and curtail unauthorized use – are expected to enter the market. READ MORE

It's probably not much help, but here are three steps you can take to protect yourself from online spying. HERE