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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Living in a World of Spy things




What a simple world we lived in before the Age of the Internet. Privacy meant something then and we all said how important it was to us. That was then and this is now.

First came the telephone that could be bugged and recorded so that our conversations could be played back to us in a court of law. We became paranoid as we had to wonder who was listening in when we spoke. For the vast majority the answer was that only the person to whom we were directly speaking was maybe actually listening. We need not have worried.

Now, we need to worry. Once we began to broadcast over air that information was subject to capture by people we preferred not to have it. This includes just about our entire way of life from mobile phones, the Internet, the locking systems for our cars, and the security and convenience cameras in our homes and even in our babies bedrooms.

I have even placed black tape over the camera on this laptop because the awful truth is that some hacker who could really use a life could be looking at me typing right now had I not barred the access. Why do I think anyone would care in the least what I am doing in the privacy of my own home? After all I am of no significance to any government or military organisation.

Well, because I write blogs that identifies me as a person of some interest because I have an opinion and I have the means of expressing it. I must have offended or at least awoken someone's sensitivities as a result of all the stuff I have written over eighteen years. At least I hope so. We bloggers have something to say which we trust will bring around people to change their ways. For instance, last week I wrote that if we all accepted the latest tragedies of death on the road of cyclists to influence our own behaviour as drivers, perhaps far fewer cyclists will suffer harm.

My most important philosophy is that Death is not the End, but rather we simply shed our present bodies in order to effect change. Have I disturbed any religious bodies who are charged with the preparation of making ready their parishioners to meet The Lord when they die? Perhaps!

What about the things you do during your daily routines? Do they call attention to you, or might your own spouse be interested in what you do round the house when that person is out?

The common household appliance that is connected to the Internet can make that happen. I have read an on-line article by a person named Kara Alaimo that is well thought out and presented and far reaching in its breath. Kara is concerned about the many ways in which spy agencies or individuals could use simple domestic appliances or more sophisticated means to spy on every thing we do, but she wants us to be reassured by manufacturers that they will not use the spyware to violate our privacy.

This is a good idea so that when we consider buying a Smart this or that we may be encouraged to make the purchase in the first place. No matter how much reassurances we receive if its possible to be done our paranoia will lead us to believe that it is happening. If you are a U.S. resident  you are living with the Edward Snowden effect about what your government seems to be doing with you in mind.

The problem may not be the trusted company but it will always be the hackers who can break into the communication stream and harvest information for their own use, or even to take it hostage. The simple truth is that we are living in a world that is wonderful in many ways and progressively growing in that direction, while at the same time growing more and more terrible. It does not seem to be possible to accept the good things without the bad side affects. That is just a fact of life.

Something as simple as writing this blog brings with it the responsibility to back it up along with everything else I do to guard against loss.

What a wonderful pain in the ass life has become!

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael