Surviving 1984 — Don’t let them watch you!

If you have read Orwell’s masterpiece “1984” where he describes his dystopia, you must have noticed that the world we live in today is very un-1984-ly where you can exercise freedom of speech and political rights. Until you realise that it isn’t!
In 1984, the big brother was watching the subjects of that authoritarian state. Thankfully we don’t have a big brother. However; to access this very article, you ought to be using some sort of computer/mobile phone, a web browser or a mobile app of some sort, and to get access to the content itself you must be using an internet service provider. All these are big brothers, and they are watching every single thing you do, they log every action you do on the internet, and every action you don’t, they log when you move your mouse. If you type something then delete it, it’s permanently logged somewhere on the internet. If you are using an android phone, then your location is being recorded from the moment you turn your phone on until you turn it off, even if you ask your phone not to do so! The tech giants are constantly and consistently analysing your online activity, your online purchases and even your thoughts. They even recommend for you what to read, what to watch, what to buy, what to think, and how to think of it!
You are ALWAYS being watched on the internet no matter where you are, in some countries, if you search for something that the government doesn’t like, they will get notified and will start to watch you closely. But in some less fortunate countries, everyone is being watched by default. One of the most staggering examples is China. The country has its own search engine and chat app, which you use to pay even for your groceries etc. The government knows everything about all humans that live inside its borders (at least in the biggest cities).
But if you are not doing anything illegal, why care? Well even in that case, having a big brother watching and controlling you is certainly unpleasant, I come from an authoritarian country (Egypt) and I am telling you I didn’t really enjoy it! So what can we do?
What you can do is completely disconnect from the internet and never come back…
No I’m just kidding, please don’t :) You would certainly be safe, but you will be missing out heaps, You can instead be safe if you do the following:
- Don’t use Google — Google tracks everything you do and search for, they are the biggest brother of all. As a search engine, you can instead use DuckDuckGO, they don’t track anything you search for.
- Use Ad-blocker, I can’t believe some people in 2018 still don’t use ad blockers, use a *&*^ ad blocker man! They block most notorious ad and tracking providers. Ublock origin is good, but you can use whatever.
- Use Signal, Signal is an open source messaging app that is encrypted end to end. Most messaging apps (i.e. Whatsapp, Viber, Line etc) now use end to end encryption but they are owned by companies that could be forced by governments to give them backdoors into their systems. Signal is open source and is not owned by any company, and governments can’t do anything about it!
- Use a VPN, you will need a VPN to hide your browsing activity from your internet service provider and the government behind it. Opera gives you one for free, but if you live in China VPN is illegal, you must use one that’s not known to the government.
- Use Pseudo-identities, i.e. if you are filling a form online, buying something online, registering for a website, don’t use your real identity unless you completely trust where your details will end up. Use fake emails and names if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your details. You can also use 10minuteemail it gives you an email valid for 10 minutes which you can extend. You can use this to register for websites to test out and stuff.
- Use TOR, If you are a tech savvy, you must have heard about the deep web and the dark web, this is your gateway to them, just be careful, it’s scary in there, and by the way, use a VPN to access TOR, you don’t want the government to know that you were in the deep web.
- Use Cryptocurrency. If you don’t know what that is, go read my article about cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency will definitely be used by the public soon enough, be an early adopter. Venezuela is an example of a state where the currency became so worthless and people found that cryptocurrency is the last resort agains the massive inflation that resulted from the corruption of the government. If you follow the best practices of using cryptocurrency you can go completely anonymous and the government and the big corporates will not know what you are paying for.
- Store the keys of your cryptocurrency in paper wallets or as tattoos on your body.
- Use Tails. Tails is a live Linux distro made for privacy. It uses Tor, DuckDuckGo and ublock origin by default
To conclude, The internet is a terrifying place my friend, be very careful and don’t let the machines and the people behind the machines have a copy of your life. You may think you are just a random person that the government doesn’t care about, but maybe one day you will be important and governments will use your history against you, and they will have all of it! Protect yourself mate, or disconnect!
