NSA surveillance may cause corruption of US computing economic

As interesting as those are, they are actually of little use.

They are not going into your computer, so HDD encryption is of little use.
Same with OS, they are not intruding into your system, simply monitoring what you send over the internet.
And encryption is of little use in reality, unless you are transmitting information point to point. You can't encrypt a request to Google for example, or to Wikipedia.
And the sites is also pointless, if they can capture the packets mid-stream.
And the biggest capture point is VOIP, or phone calls.

VOIP from your cell phone or POTS system is the biggest data harvest point for agencies like the NSA. It is 99.98% unencrypted, in the clear data packets that can be harvested and put back together to hear an entire conversation. None of what you discussed would do anything about that.

The only way to ever be secure from something like this is to live 100% off the grid when it comes to phone, cell phone, internet and even cable TV. Because everything nowadays from Dancing With The Stars to your phone call is nothing but IP traffic, that anybody between point A and point B can capture.

 

More broadly, the police have the power to coerce us into telling them our passwords.

Computer security is not only about the government.

Using a VPN is indeed very useful. You can make it so Google doesn't know who you are. Sure, anyone snooping will still be able to see that someone searched for "xxx babes", but they'll hit a roadblock at the VPN. Unless you're into some seriously messed up stuff VPNs are one of the best things you can do to protect yourself.

Again, use a VPN. Also, this is more so to protect against Google and Facebook's horrible privacy policies than anything else. Most people aren't willing to go up the wall with this sort of thing. Startpage is a good start, so is HTTPS everywhere.

I don't use VOIP, and only rarely use phone calls. There are apps that encrypt your phone calls. Use them if you're concerned. Again, it's not foolproof, but it's better than nothing. Only useful if the other person has the same app, so impractical for everyday use.

You underestimate modern encryption and tunneling techniques. I've never claimed you'll be 100% secure, but you'll be far better off than most. If you connect to a communications network there is simply no way of knowing that your data won't be intercepted. Putting yourself out there inherently carries risks. Good security is about mitigating those risks as best you can, not eliminating them.

[hr][/hr]

This is not a government issue. In the extremely unlikely scenario that we're able to stop their programs, that doesn't stop other private citizens. Using the internet (or any communications network) will always, without exception, carry some risk. Lobbying government is a noble cause, but it's not the end of the story.

 

Really? Example, please.

No kidding, that is what field I am in myself. I am much more worried about malware then the Government.

*shrug*

OK, what exactly are we talking about here? You say VPN, but it sound much more like what you are actually talking about is a Proxy Server. VPN is between your computer and another for a secure data communication path. Essentially an Intranet piggybacking on the Internet (via a protocol like PPTP, CHAP, or my favorite IPsec).

Proxy Server is where your traffic goes to another point first, to spoof your location for various reasons, for anonymity or to hide your country of origin.

Different things here, but I think you mean Proxy Server. And that still does no good if the data packets are captured before it even gets to the Proxy.

Again, that is a Proxy Server. And does no good if the data is captured before it even gets to the Proxy.

And no, HTTPS does almost nothing to protect you. That uses Public Key-Private Key to create a secure passage to prevent "man in the middle" attacks. Certificates are inexpensive, and readily available. HTTPS will help prevent somebody else from jumping in as you access your bank.

However, SSL will do nothing to protect you if you have a keylogger, or if the individual has already worked out the hash to decrypt your keys. And if you have been redirected to a spoof site with fake credentials, HTTPS will not protect you either.

Aps are only good if both you and the other person have the same app, and the same encryption key. And if you use a phone call at all anymore, it is VOIP. Land line, pay phone, cell phone, it is all VOIP.

You do not realize you are using it, but you are because that is how the phone companies transmit your calls, whether you know it or not.

Yea, Data Security 101 there. But there is security, and there is paranoia. The best security is simply keeping your OS and all software patched, having a good AV, and good malware programs and using them.

And avoiding questionable sites, like porn, gambling, warez and torrents and other P2P. That there eliminates almost all threats.

And I am actually not worries about the Government. They are simply data mining, and since I am not breaking any laws, there is nothing of interest they will find on me. My worry is the malware creator, the man in the middle hacker, and the fishers.

And sorry if I find almost all of your advice rather laughable.