| #: |
From / Date: |
Question / Answer: |
| 5156. |
Fran
Springfield, Massachusetts)
Age: 37
Dec 26, 2008
|
Re: #5153 Buying Used Laptop
I love buying used from craigslist & ebay, but with laptops, I have several concerns. Jack, you're right--there could be child porn or something else sinister on the hard drive. This could be rectified by either using Evidence Eliminator to securely erase the hard drive or replacing the hard drive all together (or not buying it with the computer to begin with). The hard drive is the only place that can hold incriminating evidence.
It is common for thieves to sell stolen computers on the internet. If you unknowingly buy one, this could put you in contact with the police (a big privacy no-no in my book). You could lose the purchase price or even be prosecuted just for having it.
My final concern is that so many things could be wrong with a computer that could render it useless to you that you wouldn't be able to find out before you buy. A repair might be expensive or it might turn out to be more economical to just throw it away, leaving you without money & without a computer.
|
| 5155. |
Greg
Glenview, IL
Age: 31
Dec 26, 2008
|
Spyware
I took my desktop computer in for service at a honest, reliable and trustworthy shop. When I picked up my computer from the shop, the fellow there told me he did a spyware scan of my hard drive using a free product called Super Anti-Spyware and that it found about 40 pieces of spyware on my computer. I was shocked to hear this as I have NOD32 anti-virus, a good (or so I thought) firewall (hardware and software) and I just started using Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy. I keep all of those products up to date. I cannot understand why the products I use couldn't catch all that spyware. I have a wired system - no wi-fi. Any ideas? Thanks.
|
| 5154. |
Michael
Billings, Montana
Age: 23
Dec 26, 2008
|
Flat broke, need quick answer!
I'm a musician who has been out of work long enough to drain my savings account dry. I will be starting a new job Monday the 29th (nothing to do with music) but I won't get paid for two weeks and my girlfriend (whose computer I am using) is pretty much out of cash as well.Do you have any suggestion at all for how to get some immediate cash? Like, uh, tomorrow? I know this is probably asking too much but I don't know what else to do, Mr. Luna, and you seem to be a compassionate guy.
...
Some of you readers may think that I should not have allowed this post, because it has nothing to do with privacy. However, as you will see, there may be a privacy angle here after all.
Also, the idea of immediate cash goes along with my e-book Skip College: Go into Business for Yourself.
Since you are a Montana musician, you gotta have a guitar, right? And I just googled pawn shops in Billings and I see there are ten of them. No matter what the interest rate charged, hock your guitar. And now for a bit of personal information:
... In 1949 I was selling H&A insurance with a crew in Montana. Working with me was an alcoholic ex-bank leader from California named Chuck Berry (no relation to the famous Chuck Berry.) One week, when sales were slow, he sold me a used Martin guitar for $40. A year later, when I had my own problems, I pawned the guitar and later redeemed it. In the years to come, I pawned that Martin three or four more times. I still have it, even though I no longer play it. I figure that if all else fails, I can always hock the guitar!
And now for the privacy angle. When you hock your guitar (or violin or drum set or whatever), I assume the man will ask you for some ID (unlike the days of yesteryear). See if you can get by without giving your true home address. (If any of you readers have been to a pawn shop recently, perhaps you could let us all know what information was required.)
|
| 5153. |
Dave
Solvang, CA
Age: 22
Dec 26, 2008
|
Buying a used laptop computer
I see a couple of ads on craigslist where someone got a new laptop for Xmas so they are selling their old one. Do you see any danger in buying someone else's computer, as long as it is in good working order?
...
The biggest single danger is the remote chance that it might have child pornography lingering on it somewhere. Other readers may wish to add additional comments about this.
|
| 5152. |
Moses
Atlanta,GA
Age: 21
Dec 25, 2008
|
names on credit cards
I recently visited a dinner and the most disturbing thing happen. Upon paying for my meal with a credit card, the waitress called me by my first and last name.She then called over to another worker who happen to share the same last name. This caused me a great discomfort because I was the center of attention throughout dinner.I am trying to practice some of the HTBI habits.My question is simply, how can I avoid this from ever happening again? I know paying cash is the best way to avoid these type of situations. But, are there any alternate routes in reference to having a name on a credit card? thanks
...
Paying cash is the best way to avoid problems, so why not pay cash? (Many a waiter has secretly run a customer's card through his or her own little machine, and then used it to steal from that account.)
|
| 5151. |
Hamish
Salem, Oregon, USA
Age: 65
Dec 24, 2008
|
RE: #5147, E-mail
Osvaldo, I have used www.netaddress.com for several years, and am pleased with them.
For additional privacy, I am considering opening an account with mailvault.com, though, as they provide offshore servers and an easy interface for PGP encryption.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.mailvault.com/...
|
| 5150. |
Sebastian
Knoxville, TN
Age: 58
Dec 24, 2008
|
Class III firearms and LLC
I know someone who bought a Class III firearm using a trust and he is not in the security business. Based on what he had to provide to the ATF, the only benefit that using a New Mexico LLC would be not paying a yearly fee for the LLC. You don’t have to pay a yearly fee for a trust either. The only thing that is different when using a legal entity is that you don’t have to get approval from a local official to buy the weapon.
|
| 5149. |
John
Virginia Beach, VA
Age: 39
Dec 24, 2008
|
Re: Tommy 5148
Tommy,
I would ask the people that should know the best...the gun dealers. These types of weapons and "accessories" are closely regulated by the A * T * F so I would think that an LLC would not be allowed unless it was for a business entity such as a security agency or other business that might have such a need for these weapons. You might also check the agencies website and see if they address what forms of ownership are allowed.
|
| 5148. |
Tommy
Wichita Falls, TX
Age: 30
Dec 23, 2008
|
NM LLC and Title 2 firearms
Hello, has anyone here used an LLC for the purchase of a Title 2 (Class 3) weapon (suppressor, sbr, machinegun etc)? I have read that it somewhat common to use a trust, but I can't find much info on using a LLC (though that is one of the entities allowed to own title 2 stuff. Just wondering if their needs to be specific language in the articles of orginization.
|
| 5147. |
Osvaldo
Florida
Age: 50's
Dec 23, 2008
|
E-mail
I used to have a few swissinfo.org e-mail accounts, but as you know, they closed them. Do you have any recommendations for an e-mail account? Or, if you had to choose between Gmail, Yahoo Mail!, MSN Hotmail, & Hushmail, which one would you recommend?
...
I have no e-mail recommendation, sorry..As for your list, I don't use any of them.
|
| 5146. |
Jordan
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 24
Dec 23, 2008
|
cars in the city
I live in Brooklyn and so don't need a car every day, but do need one occasionally for a day or just a few hours. Ignoring cost considerations, which is more private: to join a pay-by-the-hour car-sharing program like ZipCar or Mint, to rent from a traditional car rental company like Alamo or Hertz, or own my own car with a NM LLC? Also, does anyone know about the feasibility of using a pseudonym (or a NM or locally-based LLC) to register for a car-sharing program or to rent a car?
|
| 5144. |
Ken
Anacortes, WA
Age: 32
Dec 21, 2008
|
RE: post 5073 by Nona
Actually the Windows OS (operating system) makes many copies of files depending on your use. It does so for recovery and diagnostic reasons, but it is a nightmare when concerned about privacy. The only way to combat this, if using Windows, is use a whole-disk encryption programs like TrueCrypt which will encrypt the entire hard drive's contents.
TrueCrypt is open-source and therefore free.
TrueCrypt can be used on thumbdrives too, but be warned... You need to encrypt a thumbdrive from the beginning of use! Most thumbdrives these days will automatically discover and quarantine bad memory sectors (after copying any information on those sectors.) But those quarantined sectors still have the original information on them which can be recovered.
Lastly, any encryption program is only as strong as your passphrase. Breaking passphrases is done by "tokens" and not the number of characters in your passphrase. For example: The password "Loves2walk!" is only four tokens: Loves, 2, walk, and !. The password "Jon_says,Two+2=four" is nine tokens and includes less commonly used symbols, but can be easily remembered.
|
| 5143. |
Dean
Livingston, TX
Age: 53
Dec 20, 2008
|
Protecting Data
Nice review of data protection.
Submitted Link #1: http://lifehacker.com/5113886/top-10-ways-to-lock-...
|
| 5142. |
Osvaldo
Florida
Age: 50's
Dec 20, 2008
|
Fire Proof Safes
Do you have any suggestions on fireproof safes/filing cabinets for the home? Like where to order them (privately), etc. Thanks.
...
I bought mine at Office Max, for cash.
|
| 5140. |
Jake
Long Island, NY
Age: 25
Dec 18, 2008
|
non-NM LLCs
[Edited for length] What are the advantages of a NM-registered LLC when it comes to vehicle and real estate purchases? That the state doesn't require annual reports (which require accurate, updated information), and that the state doesn't require the names of members or managers? Are there any other states like with similar privacy-friendly rules? I mean, it would be easier for me to find my own registered agent and principal place of business in the northeast (or in the midwest, where I also spend time). ... Regardless of which state, I imagine a locally-formed LLC draws fewer questions at the DMV or title company than does one from halfway across the country. And fewer questions means fewer potential for problems, no?
...
You neglected to include an email address but I will comment briefly:
The unique features of a NM LLC have been discussed many times before. There is NO other state that offers the same privacy. Period. If you use your own resident agent, he will know YOU, right? As for trouble at the DMV or title company, I have never had a question raised or a comment made about the LLC being from out of state. In fact, the DMV will not know what state the LLC is from unless you tell them.
Neverthless, if you insist on using an LLC for BUSINESS, then I suggest you use an LLC from your own state, despite the loss of privacy. This will have advantages if, in the years to come, you wish to sue someone.
|
| 5139. |
Dorothy
Topeka, KS
Age: 40
Dec 18, 2008
|
WiFi from neighbors & ghost addresses from relatives
Emphasizing what Jack commented on in a previous post... It is not only private detectives who can ferret out a true address from relatives. Former associates that one is trying to avoid can do the same thing as well, sometimes through third parties. An "ex" tracked me down by getting a mutual friend to call up my mother. The mutual "friend" actually had the gall to tell my mother she wanted my phone number and address to send me a baby gift! Borrowing or buying WiFi from a neighbor is risky !!! What if the neighbor is doing something illegal, then tries to finger you instead? What if the neighbor's cable company suddenly decides to start enforcing its terms of service? The whole point of privacy is to NOT involve third parties whenever possible!
|
| 5138. |
Roger
Annapolis, MD
Age: 20
Dec 18, 2008
|
Ghost Addresses
Is there anything wrong with using the home of a friend or relative for a Ghost Address? (I notice none of the HTBI suggestions involve using friends/relatives.)
...
I don't normally recommend this because PIs have tricks to get relatives to tell them where you really live.
|
| 5137. |
Mark
Barnesville
Age: 35
Dec 18, 2008
|
internet
Tim, If you know of a neighbor that has wireless internet, you might offer them $20/month for access to their signal.
|
| 5136. |
Hamish
Salem, Oregon, USA
Age: 65
Dec 18, 2008
|
Re: #5134, Internet without landline
Some cellular telephone providers (Verizon is one) offer cellular telephone data modems for use with their network. Indeed, some laptop computers come with such modems already installed. You can sign up with an e-mail provider separately. And you can sign up with VPN services separately.
I use the GoTrusted service to encrypt my communications to an "exit node" somewhere in the U.S. I also sometimes use the Tor-like "Secure Sessions" service provided with the Firefox Web browser on my IronKey brand secure flash drive. In either case, your cellular telephone provider will not be able to read the content of packets that you send to the exit node from which a connection is made to the Web site where you are browsing.
I'm using the GoTrusted service now. If Verizon (my cellular data modem provider) cared, they could learn the IP address of the exit node to which I am connecting, but they cannot read the data content of the packets.
If, instead, I were to use the Secure Sessions feature of my IronKey brand flash drive (see link below), Verizon could learn the IP address of the first of the three nodes through which I connect, but they would not know the IP address of the last of the three (the exit node), from which I connect to this site.
Most any e-mail provider can provide a secure socket layer (SSL) encrypted connection to their server (look for the "h t t p s" (without the spaces) in the URL). Some of them also make it easy to encrypt the messages end-to-end between your computer and your correspondent's computer, so that even while the messages are "at rest" in the e-mail provider's servers they are still encrypted. I think that previous posts have mentioned some such providers. I haven't used them - yet - so I shouldn't comment on particular ones.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.ironkey.com...
|
| 5135. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Dec 18, 2008
|
Wireless internet
I have an AT&T dongle for 3G broadband Internet access that I use with my laptop while on the road. I pay about 70/mo for unlimited use.
I had been using it at my old home because I could not get DSL, but the service was iffy.
Having just moved to a new house that I had wired with CAT6 ethernet cabling, I went looking for a way to use my dongle on my home network so I could avoid using wi-fi access. I found the "WiPipe" by Cradlepoint at Best Buy for $250.
This is a router/wi-fi access point that allows you to attach your cell-phone based Broadband card, either a card type or a USB style, directly to the router, which handles all the handshaking with your wireless broadband service provider. They have set it up to work seamlessly with most of the major providers and dongles, including AT&T and Verizon. You can go to their website for a complete list. The router also has ethernet and USB connections, and you can turn off the wi-fi side. It can be used in conjunction with existing DSL service as an emergency backup that will automatically switch to the cell-phone dongle if the DSL goes out, or it can be used only with the cell-phone dongle as a dedicated broadband access point.
I connected my dongle to the router, connected the router to my Gigabit ethernet switches, connected my various computers to the CAT6 house wiring and with almost no setup at all, the unit connected to the AT&T broadband server and I got internet. I really don't need another hardware firewall because the AT&T service is pretty secure, but as soon as I unpack my Netgear VPN firewall, I'll insert it into the chain between the router and the switches.
AT&T only has my old address, which will soon be changed to my new PO box mail drop, and I use a business name for the account, so my name is only found in AT&T files. I could be triangulated by AT&T or the feds, but I'm not worried about them.
So, I have high-speed, broadband service at home, without any wires. I don't even have a phone line connected in the new house, and probably won't. And none of my providers knows my new physical location.
As a plus, I now don't waste 70 bucks a month on a dongle that's sitting in a briefcase not being used, and I don't have to pay an extra 40 bucks or so for DSL service.
As another aside, when building the house, I had a concealed compartment installed in a false wall, into which I put a fireproof media safe. I drilled a hole for a power cable and ethernet into the safe and placed my Mac Time Capsule inside the safe. The Time Capsule automatically backs up all my networked computers on a regular basis, and it's both concealed and safe from fire.
|
|
|
 |
