Paranoia or safe computing?

Not sure if I’m overreacting or just exercising good computer privacy, but I’m tempted to wipe out all my social media and Big Tech email accounts. I worry about the government spying on me and collecting data on me. Down to online banking and whatnot. Even thought about leaving all forums I’m a member of, including this one. I’m considering using TAILS to cover my tracks and listen to local music only. What do you all think?

It’s part paranoia, part reality. The government does track online usage by certain people. At least some government agencies do. I don’t know what they track or how many citizens they track. I thought that passwords and user names prevent anyone from getting your personal info. If you’re not doing anything illegal online, you shouldn’t have to worry about being tracked. Everybody must put up with it. Big Brother and all that. I don’t know what tails are.

Mass surveillance is real, but unless you’re doing something highly illegal, you have nothing to worry about. Why would the government focus on you out of millions of people?

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Just so you know (and not that you really care :slight_smile: ), TAILS is an anonymizing and encrypting distro of Linux that is probably the most secure operating system on the planet that is available to the general public. Edward Snowden used it at the NSA to conceal what he was doing. Highly secure.

It’s just paranoia, bud. I get that way too when I stream “Hajime no Ippo: Rising” which is technically illegal but everyone does free streaming. Like the studio is gonna victimize me of all ducking people and fine me for not paying 20$ to watch a season of their show on DVD when Google search handed me it for free on a silver platter.

See? It’s just no. They don’t care. And I hope they saw the sexting I did today so they know how big my willy is. I hope they saw that.

Unless you have been funding ISIS I think you’re just being paranoid.

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I’m the king of online paranoia. I just spent 30 minutes going back and forth on whether I wanted to put my “Location” on my profile for this forum. I ended up with “In A Tree,” which is supposed to be in reference to the fact that my screen name references a tree fruit. Ha, ha, ha…Snore.

My commonsense always tells me that the more you do to cover your tracks, the more flags you probably raise. My paranoia tells me that there are people watching me and that I need to protect myself.

Based upon what you’ve told me in your post, do I think you are being overly paranoid? Probably. But I totally understand it.

Personally this is the only tie i have to the rest of the digi-world (besides playstation and email). I like to have the same philosophy i do with meds. The lowest dose that is the most effective is the best. I just find no use in facebook or twitter, just seems like people on those places are desperate for recognition.

It is harmless for anyone to trace which songs you loved listening, unless it has something to do with money, and privacy. As pointed out by 77Nick77 and Bipolar_Bear, you need not to worry too much unless you are doing something illegal. With that said, it is always good to practise safe computing.

I don’t really know how it works in the US, but here they don’t give a ■■■■ about us. They block the sites we’re not suppose to see and leave the rest to our choosing. You’re not under investigation, and I’m sure you won’t be because you’re a good egg, so I wouldn’t worry about survailance on you.

“They” win if we get all paranoid and affraid, it’s what “they” want.

And we’d miss you here, so please don’t go. Who’s going to put me in my place saying I don’t have morals for downloading? :smile: I stopped downloading, you know?