Security – Be Careful What You Say

By Jonathan Hunt

As time goes by and we converse our thoughts and plans on forums and blogs one issue becomes extremely important… Operational security. In this day and age even someone with modest knowledge of network concepts can learn quite a bit about a person. Let me introduce you to a site called IP-Adress.com. Follow this link and type in your computer’s IP address, it will give you the last known location of that IP. If you don’t know how to find your IP click here.Your IP is logged on virtually every site you visit from stores, to forums to blogs. Anyone with access to these logs can determine your general location within a couple minutes.

If you’re active online here is another thing to try. Take your email address, any websites you are affiliated with, even your name and location and put it into Google to see what shows up. You may be surprised by what you find. There are also many sites that offer detailed information about a person using a phone number or name and location. On these sites you can find past addresses, other contact information, relatives and more.

With a few minutes, public resources and just some scraps of information someone can find out quite a bit about you. Be careful what you say and what you share. As you discuss plans, preps, even opinions, know that this information could be used for malicious purposes. As the future moves towards increasing government control, with the possibility of gun sweeps and people who disagree with the government being pegged as a domestic terrorist, it is time to be vigilant and take steps to protect yourself.

How to Stay Secure

Surf the web using an anonymous proxy server. An anonymous proxy server takes all of your computer’s requests and processes them through that server. In this way your IP appears as the proxy server’s IP. A quick search will show you the mountain of options out there. Some can even be obtained for free but these may block certain content and offer slow connectivity.

Not only is it important to keep you IP anonymous but your other information. Your email addresses, physical location, phone number, even your real name can give people a lot of information about you. It is imperative that you release this information selectively and with security precautions.

Also be aware of the opinions and personal facts you share with others. Today trigger words in phone or email conversations can send a red flag to government agencies for review. In the future, or even the present, your online activity could do the same. In a future of mandatory gun registration, fear of violence from pro-gunners or those against the government direction, any information you say or type could be used against you and place you under investigation. It may sound far-fetched to some, but as we move into these uncertain times nothing should be taken for granted.


Be Careful Out There!