Cellular phone tower
Privacy

Why Cell Phones Are Inadequate For Private Communication

Cell phones (smart phones) are not a good option for private communications. Why? They way cell phones work is that they are actually mobile radios. They communicate with a network of cell towers – think of these as “relays” for the cell phone network. And for calls to be routed properly, the cell network has to know the physical location of your phone at all times – so it can route incoming calls to your phone. That’s right – when your cell phone is not in airplane mode (or turned off) it is constantly reporting it’s location to the cellular network. And that’s the origin of the term “cellular” network – it’s split up into cells covered with radio towers. Additionally, your voice calls are routed through the cellular provider’s network. Cell phone calls are encrypted – in that you can’t listen to them over the air using a generic radio – but your cell provider can of course decrypt and listen in. How about using Internet connected applications? Internet applications like WhatsApp are a better choice. WhatsApp has end-to-end [Read More…]

ProtonMail offers end to end encrypted email, with a privacy first focus
Privacy

Using Encrypted Email for Privacy

Do you use gmail for your email address? Google has very lax privacy rules about the contents of your email. Basically, your personal emails in Google are a treasure trove for advertisers, and Google. For true email privacy, we recommend ProtonMail instead. Why ProtonMail? That’s what we’ll discuss here. By the way, ProtonMail is the secure email that international journalists use to foil Russian security and intelligence agencies. Swiss Privacy – Data Security and Neutrality ProtonMail is incorporated in Switzerland and all their servers are located in Switzerland. This means all user data is protected by strict Swiss privacy laws. From their website: “ProtonMail is outside of US and EU jurisdiction, only a court order from the Cantonal Court of Geneva or the Swiss Federal Supreme Court can compel us to release the extremely limited user information we have.” Having said that, ProtonMail is subject to the rules of law and order in Switzerland – and the Swiss do cooperate with international law enforcement agencies, as you would expect. End to End Encryption – Automatic Email Security In Protonmail, all [Read More…]