This is an interesting and highly relevant issue. I always run into people
not understanding why I want to bother with the not always so easy to use
free alternatives. It's really strange to me that people take it so light.
I live in Denmark where we are used to consider our selves as a free people
and a leading nation when it comes to freedom, democracy and human rights.
Most people seem to not really care or even believe that our privacy is under
attack. Some do complain but when it comes to action they're numb. Actually
many often kind of laugh at me for taking the steps I do. They complain about
companies, governments and organisations crawling in on their private life
but laugh at people who take the more cumbersome road to defend them selves.
It doesn't make sense.
Albertoefg, thanks for a very relevant input. I often end up in
political/ideological discussions about free/libre software (or even OSS)
with no chance to 'win'.
I still think that there is no way to avoid the talk about ideals though. For
most every day users of Windows or IOS it is impossible to convince them
about the ease of using linux. First time they meet any problem they blame it
on the immature or amateur attempts to copying MS or Apple.
I like https://myshadow.org (thanks to root_vegetable) but for many people is
fa over the edge - cough cough tinfoil cough...
On the website of the Danish IT engineers (version2.dk) I read that Bruce
Wynn (mentioned as a security expert) demonstrated a 120$ device that can
imitate wifi networks that your mobile phone or computer is listening for. In
that way people - or rather their devices - are easily tricked to connect to
a network under eve's control (In Danish:
https://www.version2.dk/artikel/sikkerhedsekspert-saadan-opretter-du-250-falske-wifi-netvaerk-paa-sekunder-744406).
I imagine that cases like this could get people out of the bushes. If you
know stories or cases like this, please share them. It would be really cool
to make some kind of event or demonstration where people without a clue and
off guards would see and experience on their own body/device what can happen.
And of course cases that could illustrate how and what kind of data is
collected would be relevant too.
Unfortunately I don't have the knowledge and skills myself, but I also think
that a sharp pencil drawing lines to history and political philosophy could
help to clarify how privacy and freedom are indisputable necessities in
maintaining, not to say building, a democratic society.
Thanks for taking up this discussion.
