Wednesday 8 March 2017

How to protect yourself from Government snooping?

New documents release from Wikileaks provide proof that government can read our emails, SMS, WhatsApp messages, Videos, photos, etc. The government can switch on the microphone/camera in our phone/computer/Laptop/TV for snooping, even if the device is supposed to be sleeping/switched off.

To protect yourself,

  1. Use cash or some crypo-currency like BitCoin for transactions that you want to be hidden.
    Cheques, cards, UPI, etc can be tracked by government.
  2. Use peer-to-peer server-less messaging application like BitMessage.
    WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, Google Hangouts, Microsoft skype, etc can be tracked by government.
  3. Don't permanently attach a microphone or camera to your desktop computer. Attach them when needed and then disconnect them.
  4. Keep a tape over the camera of laptop. This way the government can hear us, but not see us.
  5. Switch off your TV/computer/Laptop at night or when unused for long periods.
  6. Keep multiple phones. Consider using a basic phone for private calls, one smartphone for business, one smartphone for personal use, etc. The basic phone has limited features (no GPS, no camera) and hence is more difficult for Government to automatically switch on microphone, track GPS, snoop on videos, etc.
  7. Use Tor browser or Tails bundle for surfing sites that you want to be private.

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Corruption in India

Transparency International conducted a survey in India to find perception of Indians regarding corruption. These are the results:

  • 85% of police is corrupt
  • 84% of government officials are corrupt
  • 79% of business executives are corrupt
  • 76 to 78% of politicians are corrupt
  • 74% of tax officials are corrupt
  • 71% of religious leaders are corrupt
  • 66% of judges are corrupt

The least corrupt countries in world are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
The most corrupt countries in world are Somalia, South Sudan, North Korea, Syria and Yemen.
India is ranked at rank 79 among 176 countries evaluated on transparency. (Rank 1 means least corruption and most transparent. Rank 176 means most corrupt and least transparent.)

Corruption is dominant in India because taxes are high and their are many unnecessary rules/regulations. When taxes will be reduced and most rules/regulations eliminated; then India will be become less corrupt.