Sun Tzu would tell you to plan for the future, even though you know not what it may bring yet....
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Sun Tzu would tell you to plan for the future, even though you know not what it may bring yet....
I think I'll be fine :) Normal day people don't live in fear of the world and almost all of them end up fine.
Combine a normal person's lack of fear of the world with computer/internet/privacy common sense (don't yell outloud your bank pinn number, but know that your name doesn't mean a damn thing) and you are as secure as someone who won't put a firewall on their computer because they've denied access from the outside already.
And that means damn secure, since the only other way is for the person themselves to mess it up. And if I do that, then it is my fault, and something I will have to learn from.
But I won't play Chicken-little anymore.
I totally agree with Tiger on this issue...
Things you have done in the past will sneak up and bite you later...It has happened to me and I am much more carefull now.
There are some REAL whackos out there.
My perception also changed once I became responisble for other people (my kids)...and other peoples data ( my job ).
My kids are now old enough to have their own email accounts and surf the internet...use msn messager etc. I have seen some really weird stuff in their mail boxes cause they have registered at ...what they thought...a harmless site one comes to mind www.funnyjunk.com.
Not to mention the spyware infestations.
I am teaching them to not trust anyone on the internet...cause your REALLY dont know WHO they are...... :eek:
MLF
If you have done things in the past that are going to bite you, then you've already done something you shouldn't have, or didn't cover your tracks well enough where it counted.Quote:
Things you have done in the past will sneak up and bite you later...It has happened to me and I am much more carefull now.
note: where it counted, not everywhere
Havn't had a peice of spyware in -years-. Internet common sense is just that, common sense. Some have to learn it the hardway.Quote:
Not to mention the spyware infestations.
Yeah. That's great :P Let's build a world of fear and distrust, because that'll help change the way the internet works.Quote:
I am teaching them to not trust anyone on the internet...cause your REALLY dont know WHO they are......
I refuse to go "underground" again, or start going on a mass encryption spree to protect my data and name. The things I've done in the past that warrented me needing to keep information closed has been done. But we need to understand that any sort of extreem is bad. Too little care and too much care. Some things really truely matter when it comes to information cracking, and some things just don't matter. Social security for one. Yearly net income, for another. Age, Date of Birth. However, checking account numbers, bank statements, cc numbers, those do matter.
Why? Because I've seen what information can do and what some information simply can not do. Sure, we can live in a fantasy world and say "but any information can lead to leverage against you!" and then run because the sky is falling. Or we can look at this logically and see the process of what happens when someone actually tries to use your social security number, and how incredibly easy it is to combat it. I'm not talking out of my ass here, I've just been in far too many information related companies (government research included, for those who know me) to be bluffed into thinking information disclosure on the whole is bad.
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And tiger :Sorry :P He wouldn't. He planned for events one at a time without too much worry of the future. Not only because he was Taoist, but because too much on the generals mind would mean he left the current state of time without the amount of thought that it needs.Quote:
Sun Tzu would tell you to plan for the future, even though you know not what it may bring yet....
Thinking one step ahead is fine. Thinking 400 steps ahead is not. Knowing your enemy (what information is perfectly fine and what isn't) versus preassuming and over/under estimating your enemy (having no clue in reality how the systems work regarding information) is a sure defeat on the general's end.
There's a fine line between caution and fear. "I can't see it, so it's not there" is also definately not the conclusion to come to. Coming from my background, I've learned of some crazy crappin' stuff. For starters, it's more common than many think, and second, you shouldn't only prepare for what's likely.Quote:
Yeah. That's great :P Let's build a world of fear and distrust, because that'll help change the way the internet works.
You shouldn't be afraid, but it is wise to be cautious. Like Tig said, we're not afraid, we just don't want to deal with the wackos.
You may want to reread my entire post just above yours, as it never says a single thing about dismissing everything.Quote:
There's a fine line between caution and fear. "I can't see it, so it's not there" is also definately not the conclusion to come to. Coming from my background, I've learned of some crazy crappin' stuff. For starters, it's more common than many think, and second, you shouldn't only prepare for what's likely.
Touche, point noted, it just seemed to lean that way since you're talking about not having had any problems. But for the benefit of other readers, there are too many who hold to that kind of thinking. You've never been cyberstalked, never known anyone cyberstalked, so surely cyberstalking isn't such a big deal.
My overall point though was that you indeed shouldn't be afraid, but there's no harm in caution, and I don't think we're going into the overcautious in this arena.
According to my posts above, and the one above that. I have dealt with it. And like I said, if it happened again, I would destroy them again.Quote:
You've never been cyberstalked, never known anyone cyberstalked, so surely cyberstalking isn't such a big deal.
Just like my seven year record without viruses and without virus protection, my three year record without spyware (and no prevention solutions), and my uncracked (still) XP box... if and when someone can find a way to beat my own system, especially in this case regarding understanding what information is safe and what isn't... I'll stick with my point of view. And why will I be so stubborn? Because I don't trust in paranoia. I trust in my ability to learn how systems work before saying what is and isn't bad, and thus trying my own self to improve.
You keep saying caution but did you even actually read the above post? I don't mind caution, and I said that any extreem (too much worry or none at all) is a bad thing. But let's not go around screaming "PERSONAL SECURITY !!111five" without actually knowing what information matters and what information doesn't matter.
I've got work to go to. Just remember, even if none of us budge, there is a difference between being afraid because people tell you it's dangerous, and actually understanding which parts make it dangerous and which parts are FUD.
I understood that the first time you corrected me. ;) Note I said "for the benefit of other readers". I'm sure you do have your own way of "dealing" with it (just hope it doesn't involve that shiny sword in your profile).Quote:
According to my posts above, and the one above that. I have dealt with it. And like I said, if it happened again, I would destroy them again.
I think what you don't realize is I'm trying to respond to benefit our less-experienced readers, not just yourself. As I have no doubt that with your experience and security methods you don't have to exercise quite the caution the rest of us do, at the same time I wouldn't recommend to the rest of the world being that confident. You have to remember that people like you are the minority.
Absolutely.... But from my experience working in intelligence, (just a year), you'd be surprised which little piece of crap information you give out about yourself is the one that gets you screwed....Quote:
I've got work to go to. Just remember, even if none of us budge, there is a difference between being afraid because people tell you it's dangerous, and actually understanding which parts make it dangerous and which parts are FUD.
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some things just don't matter. Social security for one. Yearly net income, for another. Age, Date of Birth. However, checking account numbers, bank statements, cc numbers, those do matter.
... is a pretty naive statement in the USA... SSN???? Pooh, there's a whole _big_ difference between living a "normal" life in the USA and living outside the system.. You sacrifice your future for today if you leave the SSN system..... You may think it's fine today.... You have that "zen" thing going on.... There is a fact of life in the US - You are either in the system or you aren't..... Should you need the system in the future it will reject you as quickly as you seem to reject it. BTW, it ain't that easy to fix identity theft - It took a friend of mine 2 years before she was back to _almost_ where she was..... The **** she went through in the meantime really wasn't worth it.....Quote:
I refuse to go "underground" again,
FYI, I ****ed with the IRS and was "winning"... But then circumstances changed.... Then, even though I was "winning" it became illogical.... It wasn't in my best interest in the long run.... The details are irrelevant.... I negotiated, (won, IMO), and can now live a "normal life.... Your circumstances will change..... Don't ever think they won't......