If you aren’t living under the rock and familiar with the Snowden revelations; you must already know that the NSA spies on you. Having this said, online privacy is now a thing of the past. Now, whatever you send or receive through the internet is monitored by the government. Today, we are going to dig deep how the NSA spies on you and how to prevent it.(Also see, FCC Net neutrality Repeal: what the repeal means and how a VPN can help?).
How The NSA Spies On You & What You Can Do to Prevent It
How NSA Spies On You?
The NSA is authorized to collect phone records related to investigations of terrorism. This involves all the domestic and international calls. Besides phone records, they also get your records from the popular edge-providers like Google and Facebook.
NSA also has means to hack into your devices and see what you’ve been doing. They keep track of your location by getting information from your phone’s GPS or cell phone towers. The NSA also takes your full details from your ISPs. And they don’t just obtain the information of US-based individuals. There has been news that NSA collects data from other nations as well.(Also see, What is a Phishing Attack and How to Avoid It)
What Can You Do to Prevent To Protect Your Data?
There are several ways by which you can stay safe from NSA.
Using a VPN
VPN comes as the most efficient way to avoid NSA’s snooping and spying. Not, only it saves you from government snooping but also guards you against hackers and cyber-criminals. If you apply the extra layer of security provided by VPN to your connection; no one can see where your data is going; as it passes all the internet traffic via an encrypted tunnel; that not even your ISP can intercept. Therefore, if your ISP becomes unable to retain your metadata; NSA can not spy on you.(Also check, Best VPN With Most Servers)
Look For Google Alternatives
This is a fact that we have all become Google addict; whenever we have to search anything online; we always reach out to Google. But, little do we know, it tracks our activity and monitors a big part of our online activities. To avoid all this, it is good to find yourself a Google alternative. There are many private search engines that you can use for web surfing like Duck Duck Go; and Proton mail as Gmail alternative. Move to Firefox from Chrome. By doing all this, you will make Google unable to track your activities and create a personal profile.
Hard Drive Encryption
However, VPNs do secure your network; but, if NSA takes control over your device; you will not be able to do much about it. For extra security, try encrypting your hard disk too.
Remove the Battery from the Phone When Not in Use
The NSA doesn’t just keep track of your calls but also the cell phone tower your phone is currently connected to. If you don’t want the NSA to know where you go, you can switch off your phone. And if you’re feeling paranoid, you can take out its battery as well.
Conclusion -How The NSA Spies On You & What You Can Do to Prevent It
Make sure you keep your data private. As Snowden put it, “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy just because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”