February 18 Blog: Internet Security and Epstein

Dear Friends:

Likely all of us have been starting to take steps to try to protect our on-line privacy. As more and more comes out about how tech companies are aiding and abetting the Regime, this is a good time to think even more about internet security and privacy. I am no expert at all, but more and more regular people who never thought they’d have to fear government surveillance are realizing nothing is safe.

I’ve been doing what reading I can and talked to a number of people and have concluded that, as much as possible, it is wise to start moving to platforms and services that are not American companies and that are not for-profit. While I usually do not try to hide my identity and never do anything illegal, and I am not dropping all my old accounts, I am starting to build a substitute network that I can turn to quickly if and when the American for-profit platforms become too dangerously, or too unpleasantly, toxic. 

Here are a few I’m trying and can recommend.  If my readers have recommendations, I’d be very happy to hear them.   

Search Engines: I’ve been using DuckDuckGo as my default browser instead of Google or Safari. It prevents tracking when you search on it and is always telling me how many trackers it has blocked in my everyday searches for information or going onto sites. Sometimes a site will not allow me in because it insists on tracking everyone for their own profit. In that case I sometimes switch back to search on Safari. And sometimes I decide I do not need that site after all. Because DuckDuckGo is based in the US and operates for profit, I would like to find another search engine, but for the moment this seems better than many others. 

VPN’s (Virtual Private Networks): These hide your identity so that when you search or send an email you go through the VPN and the only information shown is the location of the VPN, not your individual identity and location. I’ve been using Mullvad which is a non-profit based in Sweden. Sometimes it, too, creates resistance and to get to the site you have to turn off the VPN. It is easy to turn off and on. And I again make a decision whether I really want to use that site or not.

E-Mail Servers: I’ve gotten a simple ProtonMail account which is free for a basic service. ProtonMail is based in Switzerland and is a non-profit. I’m not using it much at all at the moment, but I plan to slowly migrate some of my email there. It is there for me when I want it or if I should need it. ProtonMail also offers secure spread sheets and calendars, but for a small monthly fee.

Social Media: As I’ve recommended for a while now, Mastodon is a non-profit based in Germany. It continues to expand and is a much healthier on-line experience than having to wade through the slop that is served up now on Facebook, X, etc. to get to what you want. While many people like Bluesky, Bluesky is not secure because it is an American company and for-profit. Its investors demand it make money and the way to do that is by making its users its commodity using ads and algorithms to earn more and more money. I expect it to degrade as Facebook and Twitter have. It most likely would (already has perhaps?) cave to demands from the Regime to turn over all their user information.

Meanwhile, it certainly seems that the Epstein scandal is entering a new stage.  As I write, some powerful people here and in Europe are losing positions because of their revealed association with Epstein, and we’ve learned that Donald Trump is mentioned over a million times in the pages that have been released. More and more horrifying and lurid details are coming out. And Pam Bondi says the Justice Department won’t release the rest of the files, which is close to half of them.

I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering what is in that unreleased half that must be worse than what is already released. Despite the Regime’s best efforts, a lot more will continue to trickle or pour out. I found this podcast by Ezra Klein interviewing Anand Giridharadas very instructive in showing how this is about a whole lot more than Jeffrey Epstein. He discusses the danger posed by the “Epstein Class” which global elite depends on networks and connections rather than land and property for their status. Defeating the Regime is just the beginning of the end. We have a whole lot of work to do before decency and humanity can prevail. 

Yours in peaceful resistance,

Libby