![]() ![]() The New York Times wrote that Haystack "makes it near impossible for censors to detect what Internet users are doing." The newspaper also quoted one of the members of the Haystack team saying that "It's encrypted at such a level it would take thousands of years to figure out what you’re saying." Haystack was the brainchild of Austin Heap, a San Francisco software developer, who the Guardian described as a "tech wunderkind" with the "know-how to topple governments." In 2009, media outlets around the world discovered, and soon began to shower praise upon Haystack, a software tool designed to allow Iranians to evade their government's Internet filtering. Cryptocat is an interesting, open-source tool created by a guy who means well, and usually listens to feedback. Haystack was at best, snake oil, peddled by a charlatan. You can get the widgets here.Preface: Although this essay compares the media's similar hyping of Haystack and Cryptocat, the tools are, at a technical level, in no way similar. Spice up your blog or Website with Reason 24/7 news and Reason articles. But it is a move toward greater awareness of privacy risks - a move that seems to be spurring the development and distribution of privacy protecting policies, products and services that may help to create a new normal online.įollow this story and more at Reason 24/7. ![]() Is it a revolution in the way people use the Internet? That's doubtful. Ixquick, a smaller Dutch search engine known for not recording users' data, is unveiling encrypted email that even the company can't access.Īcknowledging that not everybody is up on the technical details of minimizing their exposure online, some savvy people are hosting cryptoparties "to show people how to operate online more privately." He's using a Canadian email provider and avoiding hosting sensitive documents in the cloud. The article quotes an attorney opening a new tax planning firm. DuckDuckGo's website warns of the pitfalls of Internet search engines, including third-party advertisements built around a user's searches or the potential for a hacker or rogue employee to gain access to personal information. Gabriel Weinberg, chief executive of DuckDuckGo, said the NSA programs reminded people to consider privacy but that government snooping may the least of an everyday computer user's concerns. Ixquick and sister site Startpage have gone from 2.8 million searches per day to more than 4 million. DuckDuckGo went from 1.8 million searches per day to more than 3 million per day the week after the NSA revelations came to light. Two search engine companies billed as alternatives to Google, Bing and Yahoo are also reporting significant surges in use.ĭuckDuckGo and Ixquick both promise they don't collect data from users or filter results based on previous history. "I don't think I should have to worry," he said.Ĭryptocat said it nearly doubled its number of users in two days after Snowden revealed himself as the source of leaks about the NSA's programs. Others are switching to providers based outside the US (and presumably less subject to American government pressure) adopting encryption technology, or using services that just don't store data.Ĭhristopher Shoup, a college student from Victorville, Calif., has been encouraging friends to converse on Cryptocat, a private messaging program that promises users they can chat "without revealing messages to a third party." Shoup isn't worried that his own behavior could draw scrutiny, but said the mere idea that the government could retrieve his personal communications "bothers me as an American." Some people are becoming more selective about what they post on social media sites (never a bad idea) - especially those that have been listed among the firms that readily surrender data to the NSA. It's not a majority of us us by any means, and it's certainly not enough, but a good many people and businesses are changing their online behavior in response to revelations about National Security Agency snooping. ![]()
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