June 2013
| Business World Magazine | 11
ficult to completely prevent practices from stalking
forces with the resources of NSA/CIA, yet there
are solutions that do assist with privacy. For exam-
ple, establishing your own email server as opposed
to using some third-party service can help stymie
the filing of secret court orders that empower co-
vert access to confidential files. Programs such as
“Cloudfogger” can help shield files stored online
through applications such as “Dropbox.” Typical
browsing online allows for broadcasting of a user’s
IP address, but tools such as “Tor” assist in mask-
ing users’ identities. The Tor Project also provides
a virtual private network for connecting to the
Web, as does “Ixquick,” which not only claims to
never log IP addresses or search terms, but also de-
nies sharing information with third-party interests.
When transmitting email on service such as Yahoo
or Google, messages can be encrypted with “Pretty
Good Privacy” or “GPG” which is free. Programs
such as “Jitsi” can be deployed to allow for encrypt-
ed peer-to-peer video calls. Window users can also
use a plug-in such as “Pidgin” (or “Adium” for Mac)
for encrypting chats via instant message.
While much of the news prompted from this
disclosure has focused on de-
terminations as to whether
Edward Snowden is a whistle-
blower or a treacherous rat,
as well as his general where-
abouts because there’s some
people whowould like to have
an
up-close-and-personal
conversation with him (such
is the price of fame), the fact
remains that this situation has
put a spotlight on the vulner-
ability and accessibility of our
communications. You don’t
have to be Paula Dean to understand how private
words can come back to haunt in very public ways.
Rest assured, all the talk generated from this leak
has got tech forces talking about new solutions to
plug-up holes for improved privacy.
