[Nrsolis]

No. It's UNDERSTAND YOUR ADVERSARY.

If I'm trying to protect myself from hackers, I choose one route. From my ISP, another. From FB/Google, another.

And from my government or your government, yet another.

What's missing here is honest dialogue about the limits of the technology. The best technology has yet to save people from their own foolishness.

[higherpurpose]

But that seems a little like saying "the Internet is a spying machine - don't use it if you want privacy". I just think that's way too defeatist for my taste. If the Internet is a spying machine, then we need to find a way to communicate securely on it. I feel the same way about the phones.

Both the Internet and mobile phones are here to stay, and billions use them. You can't just say "don't use them". That's a big cop-out.

You can choose not to use certain providers, like using DDG instead of Google, or using Blackphone instead of the iPhone 5S. But you can't just use blanket statements like "don't use anything that's a big part of everyone's lives today."

Security is never a guaranteed thing - with or without NSA. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do your best to secure yourself. I feel the same about Blackphone. Granted, I'd prefer something that's fully open source, and I think those solutions are coming (perhaps an even more secure version of CyanogenMod with TextSecure v2 and RedPhone integrated into it), but I think every little bit helps, and I do think we're moving in the right direction - securing our conversations and networks. It's a process, not a goal.

[nfoz]

We really need to rewrite the entire stack, carefully and with the intent of security, from open-source-DIY hardware up, to have any trust in technology.

[Nrsolis]

You have fun. Get back to me that and see how it goes.