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Thread: Smartphones for Liberty Lovers

  1. #1

    Smartphones for Liberty Lovers

    Hi all,

    Just spent a little while searching for an answer to this, and couldn't find any good directions: For a libertarian / constitutionalist / Ron Paul-ist, what smartphone should I buy? Are there any that will limit government spying, protect my privacy?

    What are your thoughts / recommendations?
    Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.
    --Thomas Jefferson



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  3. #2
    BLACK PHONE!
    https://www.silentcircle.com/product...tions/devices/

    Its an android based phone, expensive tho, and totally dedicated to privacy. They dont require you to log into Google to dial your $#@!ing kids, they dont use the Google Play store as they have a custom store, and the reviews I have read indicate it is an appropriate balance between privacy and functionality.

    $#@! Google. Do no evil. Yeah, I trust Google as much as I trust a $#@!ing Rattlesnake with a $#@!ing "Pet Me" sign hanging around its $#@!ing neck.
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.

  4. #3
    I think your best best is to use a secure app.

    http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=silent+circle

    KENNETH WHITE, SECURITY RESEARCHER
    Known the world over for his security research, Kenneth White barely missed a beat when he responded to my question with one of his own.

    "Secure from what?" he said. And he made a good point.

    Everyone has an adversary, whether they know it or not: malware, a vindictive ex-partner, petty theft, criminal hacking, and mass surveillance just to name a few.

    "The advice I'd give a curious in-law at a suburban holiday party is probably significantly different than what I would tell a journalist working in a highly sensitive environment," said White. "It's a security first-principles dilemma: the most secure device is likely to be the least useful to the average person."

    "It's a security first-principles dilemma: the most secure device is likely to be the least useful to the average person."

    — Kenneth White
    With that, White said a "disposable pre-paid feature phone" would float to the top of his list, but described it as "not terribly useful" for the web and email access.

    Listing his second option, White said the iPod touch (6th generation) with certain features disabled, such as location services and iCloud, and with an always-on virtual private network (VPN) service and third-party apps, like Signal, for voice and messaging. The downside? You need Wi-Fi, otherwise it's basically useless. But for those who need an always-on connection, a prepaid iPhone 6 with a similar configuration would land in third-place in White's view.

    If petty theft is the biggest concern, White said a modern Nexus 5 or iPhone 5s or newer with a decent six-digit PIN or more to activate the default full-disk encryption, with an auto-lock after 5 minutes, would be the way to go.

    Oh, and don't forget to "update early and often" he said.

    JEREMY GILLULA, EFF STAFF TECHNOLOGIST
    Gillula, who lives and breathes security and privacy, also took the "it depends" approach.

    One of his main criticisms is not about the apps, or the devices themselves. It's the means in which we transmit our data across the networks.

    "Cellular voice communications are terribly insecure, especially if you're on 3G or 2G networks -- so the only secure way to communicate is to use a third-party app," said Gillula, a staff technologist at the privacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Since most end-to-end encrypted apps are available for both platforms, the question of security comes back to which platform is the most secure against attackers being able to break into your phone -- either locally or remotely -- in order to bug it, tap it, or take control of it."

    He explained that advanced users can compile their own trusted Android code, whereas iPhones offer software patches that are independent of carriers -- so they are updated more frequently.

    Gillula too said Apple's walled garden approach to apps has benefited the platform, but also opens up the prospect of attackers aiming at iPhones because of their popularity.

    JOSEPH COX, JOURNALIST
    White wasn't the only one to consider one of the newer iPod touch devices. Joseph Cox, a London-based security writer, said it was "the most secure way to communicate."


    With an iPod touch, says Cox, users avoid the insecure voice communications issue because it doesn't have a SIM card, and retains the security of the software that runs on iPhones and iPads.

    "There are no phone records associated with it, providing a significant privacy advantage over the iPhone and other phones, and making it less of a tracking device in your pocket," he said, writing for Wired.

    There's a catch -- a big one. Wi-Fi isn't always accessible, nor is it secure. In any case, you can still use encrypted apps and messaging services that can't be read by anyone else on public Wi-Fi networks, so long as the cryptography in use is strong.

    "Whenever you make a decision around security, the most important thing to consider is the adversary you face," said Cox. "But for the vast majority of people who want to be confident that their communications are secure, a properly handled iPod Touch is the best option for now."

    DAVID GORODYANKSY, ANCHORFREE CEO
    Gorodyansky built AnchorFree, his multi-million dollar company, off the back of providing Hotspot Shield, a free VPN service, to hundreds of millions of users.

    With privacy and encryption almost always front of mind, Gorodyansky knows better than anyone how to keep data safe and protected.

    Picking up his iPhone during a conversation in our New York newsroom, he said it was the most secure phone for the mass market, but also the most expensive.

    "Apple's business isn't selling your data like Google's is," he said. "But that said, we're not going to have the next five billion people buy a $700 device. While the iPhone is great and relatively secure, 85 to 90 percent of people will be on Android," he said.

    DAN KAMINSKY, SECURITY RESEARCHER
    Famed hacker and security researcher landed squarely in the iPhone camp. In a short email, he explained that in many cases malware will be used to eavesdrop or steal data.

    Kaminsky said it's "much harder to get code into an iPhone in the first place," compared to Android, which can install from sources outside the Google Play app store.

    LORENZO FRANCESCHI-BICCHIERAI, JOURNALIST
    Vice reporter Franceschi-Bicchierai was driven away from Android because of its approach to software updates, which remains one of the best ways to devices keep safe and secure.


    Enabling encryption on your Apple smartphone or tablet is easier than you think.

    As vulnerabilities pop up, they are patched within days or weeks, and rolled out to the masses.

    Except, not in Android's case. That's because carriers have to approve most Android updates. The worst part as an Android fan for many years, he stressed that it wasn't Google's fault: the patches are ready to go, but it's the carriers holding things up.

    "Some carriers and manufacturers are better than others, it's true, but they all pretty much suck when it comes to pushing updates," he said, writing on tech blog Motherboard, likening it to your computer maker or your internet provider having to approve Windows updates before they're installed.

    As a security reporter, he knows all too well the importance of keeping his own personal security up-to-scratch in order to protect others' safety, security, and privacy.

    He wasn't kicking Android out altogether though. He said while users can install CyanogenMod, which offers faster patching and better updating, it's only available on a handful of devices so far.

    Or, he said, "you can give up, switch to Apple and buy an iPhone," which he did, and still has today.

    http://www.zdnet.com/article/want-a-...perts-suggest/
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  5. #4
    Thanks!
    Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.
    --Thomas Jefferson

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by TNforPaul45 View Post
    Thanks!
    Hey, if you go with an app (or different carrier), give us an update about it. I'm secure app/carrier curious.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  7. #6

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by CaseyJones View Post
    Huang’s and Snowden’s solution to that radio-snitching problem is to build a modification for the iPhone 6 that they describe as an “introspection engine.” Their add-on would appear to be little more than an external battery case with a small mono-color screen. But it would function as a kind of miniature, form-fitting oscilloscope: Tiny probe wires from that external device would snake into the iPhone’s innards through its SIM-card slot to attach to test points on the phone’s circuit board. (The SIM card itself would be moved to the case to offer that entry point.) Those wires would read the electrical signals to the two antennas in the phone that are used by its radios, including GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular modem. And by identifying the signals that transmit those different forms of radio information, the modified phone would warn you with alert messages or an audible alarm if its radios transmit anything when they’re meant to be off. Huang says it could possibly even flip a “kill switch” to turn off the phone automatically.

    “Our approach is: state-level adversaries are powerful, assume the phone is compromised,” Huang says. “Let’s look at hardware-related signals that are extremely difficult to fake. We want to give a you-bet-your-life assurance that the phone actually has its radios off when it says it does.”1
    +rep, Good info, CJ
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  9. #8
    Use the Wire app for texting - unfortunately you need to get the people you are texting with on the app..
    "He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me
    "dumpster diving isn't professional." - angelatc
    "You don't need a medical degree to spot obvious bullshit, that's actually a separate skill." -Scott Adams
    "When you are divided, and angry, and controlled, you target those 'different' from you, not those responsible [controllers]" -Q

    "Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes. But let it not be said that we did nothing." - Ron Paul

    "Paul said "the wave of the future" is a coalition of anti-authoritarian progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans in Congress opposed to domestic surveillance, opposed to starting new wars and in favor of ending the so-called War on Drugs."



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  11. #9
    This is a bad question to ask liberty peeps. There are indeed secure communications platforms out there, and semisecure platforms that can be made secure, but the usual penalty for understanding modern phone security is to have some numbnut libertarian get all up in your grill calling you an idiot and claiming that a miniaturized NSA Agent lives inside of every single smartphone ever produced. Apple's iPhone, for example, is a mass-market smartphone that (provided you make some effort in the setting) can be made very secure indeed. It's not the most secure phone in the world right out of the box, of course, but they were kind enough to retain settings adjustments to turn off all or most of the insecure bits. Getting one of them, turning off everything you can and establishing a ridiculous unlock passcode, and then using third party encrypted self destruct messengers and so on and you are pretty much rock solid. But 98% some neckbeard who barely knows how to flip a light switch will instantly freak out on you accusing you of being a member of 'the conspiracy' because you had the audacity to mention the word "Apple" without spitting.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Suzanimal View Post
    +rep, Good info, CJ
    eh I read everything

  13. #11
    glen get off the net and go get laid

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by CaseyJones View Post
    glen get off the net and go get laid
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by CaseyJones View Post
    glen get off the net and go get laid
    Go spend yet another night wandering around town spending way too much money and getting drunk and 10x more depressed than I already am, only to wake up alone with a hangover, having only received hostile and angry looks for the sin of saying "hello?" Pass.

  16. #14
    god don't go to a bar
    go to the library or an art exhibit or something
    you are not a bar guy

  17. #15
    and don't try to pick them up
    let them pick you

  18. #16
    The problem with a lot of it is that if you can't get the people that you associate with to also use secure apps then it's entirely worthless. That's one of my problems; although I would prefer to use a more secure means of messaging rather than, say, text messaging (completely insecure), the majority of people are unwilling to install a new app just to talk to me. I suppose it would be different if more of my coworkers and/or family were either security nerds or privacy-minded.

    Generally speaking, my suggestion is a Nexus 5X or 6P, and then a VPN with an appropriate app on top of that. If you want even more privacy, then use the Silent Circle apps along with ORWALL and ORBOT. Even more privacy than that? Blackphone.
    Last edited by TheCount; 10-22-2016 at 06:54 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Pinochet is the model
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    Liberty preserving authoritarianism.
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    Enforced internal open borders was one of the worst elements of the Constitution.



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