Traversing a path to freedom

Posted on by

In the light of on coming onslaught of government surveillance (or otherwise), how does one prepare to live life in freedom — freedom from your privacy being infringed upon? Essentially, how to live life on your own terms and how to free yourself from depending on the government for your needs?

Here are some thoughts on activities in daily life, and their freedom respecting alternatives:

  • Paying people: cash or cryptocurrency
  • Electricity: install solar panels
  • Food: If possible, grow your own. You cannot know what pesticides and agro-chemicals you are consuming when you purchase from the market.
  • Internet: No ISP is better than another. Satellite internet might be slower, but probably better suited for privacy. Use cryptography to beat surveillance. Use ssh tunnels, VPNs, the Tor network etc.
  • Desktop Operating System: GNU/Linux, hell yeah! Fedora Linux is best (avoid Ubuntu)
  • Laptop: Any laptop that doesn’t have proprietary firmware is good. I use Thinkpad, but this is not the best choice.
  • Mobile Operating System: This is tricky. Android relies on Google Play Services, and is hence non-free at its core. After careful deliberation, I find Jolla’s Sailfish OS as the best freedom respecting mobile platform. I use Windows Phone (Lumia 1520) and Sailfish 2.0 (Intex Aquafish).
  • Mobile phone: A prepaid SIM, perhaps that came out from a vending machine, is best (this works in USA). In some countries, such a choice is not possible (India). Pay phones (with a coin drop slot) are perhaps the only option. Where legal, satellite phones (illegal in India) might give you ultimate freedom from surveillance. Do read Stallman’s views on this issue.
  • Maps: Good support for offline maps on mobile devices is in the works. Soon, OpenStreetMap would suffice for all user needs. With OpenStreetMap, you can own the data and you can run every service (search, geocoding, routing etc.) offline. Commercial equivalents will remain easy to use, but will aggressively collect your location data.
  • Mail: Probably best to setup your own server. I need to figure out strategies against failures, but it should be doable. Open protocols like IMAP, SMTP support end to end encryption, and it should be secure from surveillance.
  • Browser: Firefox preferably, otherwise Chromium if you can’t live without it.
  • Chat: IRC rocks. One can setup IRC bridge to use Slack through an IRC interface, which can help you avoid the proprietary Slack client. On the phone, I see no alternative of Whatsapp (which is non-free). Telegram is no better. Best to avoid these for now. On the desktop, I use XMPP clients like Pidgin / Empathy.
  • Travel: If you can pay anonymously and travel legally without an ID, that is the best. Indian Railways makes it possible. Traveling in your own vehicle is not the best either, since your number plate is prone to tracking and surveillance.
  • Social media: Avoid putting up photographs on social media as much as possible. Facebook and government agencies are known to be building massive facial recognition databases.

For insights into my inspirations, check out the lifestyle FAQs of Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation.

So, all good, Ishan. How much of this do you follow yourself? Not much, unfortunately. But knowing what is good for you is better than ignorance. And trying to achieve what is good for you is worth it.

102,726 thoughts on “Traversing a path to freedom”

  1. I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and
    amusing, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the
    head. The issue is an issue that not enough people are speaking intelligently about.

    Now i’m very happy that I came across this in my hunt for
    something concerning this.

  2. Heya i am for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful
    & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.

  6. Hi! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to look it over.
    I’m definitely loving the information. I’m
    bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
    Superb blog and great style and design.

  10. Бывают моменты, когда деньги нужны сразу. В один из таких моментов помог Yandex, указавший мне на сайт wikzaim. Среди многочисленных проверенных МФО 2023 года, я выбрал оптимальный вариант и мгновенно получил займ.

  13. It’s actually a cool and helpful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you just shared this helpful information with us.
    Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for
    sharing.

  18. Yoga is not only a physical practice; it’s a holistic journey that encompasses
    your head, body, and spirit. Many individuals find solace and balance in yoga and want
    to talk about its transformative benefits with others.

    This desire often leads them down the path of becoming an avowed yoga teacher.
    In this informative article, we’ll explore the primary aspects of yoga teacher training,
    from its significance to the curriculum and the profound impact it may have on the aspiring teacher and their future students.
    Yoga teacher training (YTT) is an important step in the journey of those that need to teach yoga.

    It’s not merely about perfecting asanas (postures) or learning the art of sequencing; YTT dives deep in to the philosophy, history,
    and science of yoga. Here are a few reasons why YTT is significant:Yoga teacher
    training is not really a certification; it’s a transformative
    journey that equips people with the data and skills to generally
    share the profound benefits of yoga with others. Whether you aspire
    to instruct professionally or just wish to deepen your practice and knowledge of yoga, YTT is a
    significant step that will result in personal growth, new opportunities, and a lifelong link with the yoga community.
    It’s an investment in yourself and something special you can share with the world.

  20. Yoga is not really a physical practice; it’s a holistic journey that encompasses your
    head, body, and spirit. Many individuals find solace and balance in yoga and want to generally share its transformative
    benefits with others. This desire often leads them down the path of becoming a professional yoga teacher.
    In this article, we’ll explore the primary areas of yoga teacher training, from its significance
    to the curriculum and the profound impact it can have on both the aspiring teacher and their future students.
    Yoga teacher training (YTT) is an essential part of the journey of those who
    need to teach yoga.

    It’s not merely about perfecting asanas (postures) or learning the art
    of sequencing; YTT dives deep to the philosophy, history, and science of yoga.
    Below are a few reasoned explanations why YTT is significant:
    Yoga teacher training is not just a certification; it’s a transformative
    journey that equips people with the knowledge and
    skills to talk about the profound advantages of yoga with others.
    Whether you aspire to teach professionally
    or simply just want to deepen your practice and comprehension of yoga, YTT is really a significant step that could result in personal growth, new opportunities,
    and a lifelong link with the yoga community. It’s an investment in yourself and a gift you
    are able to share with the world.

  21. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be
    really something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me.
    I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

  24. Yoga is not only a physical practice; it’s a holistic journey that encompasses your head, body, and spirit.
    Many individuals find solace and balance in yoga and want to
    fairly share its transformative benefits with others.
    This desire often leads them down the path of becoming a certified yoga teacher.
    In this information, we’ll explore the primary aspects of yoga teacher training, from
    its significance to the curriculum and the profound impact it may have on the aspiring teacher and their
    future students. Yoga teacher training (YTT) is an important part of the journey
    of people who need to teach yoga.

    It’s not merely about perfecting asanas (postures) or learning the art of
    sequencing; YTT dives deep in to the philosophy, history, and
    science of yoga. Below are a few reasons why
    YTT is significant:Yoga teacher training is not just a certification; it’s a transformative journey that equips people who
    have the knowledge and skills to fairly share the profound advantages of yoga with
    others. Whether you aspire to instruct professionally or
    simply desire to deepen your practice and understanding of
    yoga, YTT is a significant step that will lead to personal growth, new opportunities, and a lifelong
    connection to the yoga community. It’s an investment in yourself and a gift you are able to tell the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

301 Moved Permanently

Moved Permanently

The document has moved here.