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Digital Paranoia: Fear Mongering for Freedom of Speech as Cyberterrorism

There is an Article on Forbes that discusses the CyberSecurity act of 2012, yet another Bill in the battle for Internet Censorship. We won’t go into detail here about how this Power Grid shutdown theory is more than likely not true, for if it was true, something would have been done about it already (When bugs in programs are found they are patched, not left open for abuse). Not to mention that Anonymous has never harbored any ill will against the general people, only corporations and government, leaving one to wonder why the media is claiming they are going to engage in a malicious act against the people. This seems very similar to the DNS Server DDoS  Attack Rumor also being promoted throughout the internet. It almost seems that someone is trying recruit the minds of the public to view Anonymous as a Terrorist group that is a threat to the people, not just a threat the MPAA, RIAA and Child Pornographers.

This is a huge attempt to create fear in something that most people in the United States understand even less than the Middle East…the internet, and the internet elite.

Fear mongering is terrible, I can’t believe they are using Broadcast Media to make people fear Anonymous; It’s a very aggressive power play by both those in political power and corporate interests, if we are not careful they will strip grotesque amounts of freedom from us through well funded media campaigns and rumor mills.

Both television media and the internet are outlets for news media and information; the internet however, actually has public input and feedback. What the government doesn’t understand is in 2012, people will not just see The One Truth of Broadcast Media, but instead be faced with reports, information, and conversation online that may refute or contradict the nightly news. These mixed messages will either confuse or enlighten the people. Eventually online sources will discover and start reporting on the fear mongering found in Broadcast Media and general press. But will it do anything? Is the amount of people who use the internet as their primary news source at critical mass?

This is a very scary time for the net, and for technology in general.

With the way things are going, the only clear government solutions are extremes. Block this, ban that, monitor these.  I have a simpler two step solution:

1. Ban the use of technology except to authorized government officials that are allowed to use, develop, or heck, know about tech.
2. Dumb down whatever tech we need to use day to day, so that you won’t ever have to understand how it works.

Sarcasm aside, extreme measures like this seem to be the only way the government knows how to control Cybercrime and piracy, because they do not understand it. Their methods and ideology of control and enforcement methods are outdated, archaic, and dangerous!

If anything like this were to pass, it would be a huge step in the wrong direction. Even without it, the constant stream of Proposed Censorship Bills coupled with News Articles on “Cyber Terrorism” and “Online Piracy” are having a huge effect. It is creating an effect of Digital Paranoia in businesses as well as at home.

I can already feel the fear of expressing myself online building. Even as I talk about privacy, piracy, freedom of speech and other issues in Google+, I fear I will be grouped up as an Anonymous member, supporter, etc, of which I am not.

But soon, even discussing these issues will be synonymous with Terrorism. That is what they are trying to do, isn’t that frightening in it of itself?

I am afraid that all those who tweet and have tweeted about SOPA, PIPA, and Piracy will be monitored by the government (at least more heavily than everyone else.)

I am afraid for kids who retweet posts by Anonymous and hang out in their IRC channel thinking they are “cool”, not knowing that a yet to be known Bill could pass, grab records of their past yet innocent involvement (even if just looking, guilty by association) and end up losing their internet access, freedoms (jail), careers, and more.

I am afraid of the stand that I took against Internet Censorship on January 18th, along with millions of other concerned citizens in the USA and around the world; because it may label me a “target“, “threat” or “collaborator“.

I am really afraid of what is coming, and I am not sure if it can be stopped. Has the will of the people been sapped so much, by years of direct message marketing and politicking through television media advertisement, that it cannot make a change?

Congress continues to push Bills through the system to try and get “something” passed, and lately a real heavy focus has been on the topic of “Internet Control“. Yet, the same senators who have been defeated continue to bring up Bill after Bill, under the guise of different names, ethics and subjects. These politicians receive no retort for their actions, only funding from their corporate friends and lobbyists. They have never stopped to consider that the people, the internet, may want to be left alone to express themselves freely.

Why is it that when companies and politicians finally join the international playground that is the internet, the first thing they want to do is seize control of the swings and kick the cool kids out?

MegaUpload Takedown Heralds New Age of Digital Paranoia

Today heralds a new information age, not one of expansion and freedom, but one of fear and contraction. MegaUpload was taken down today by the FBI.

Not only is MegaUpload not based on the United States ( It had only 2 servers in VA, allowing the US to claim jurisdiction over the whole site), but it was one of the top 10 to 15 websites visited daily in the world. Over 50 million people used MegaUpload daily.

It is generally known that MegaUpload is a haven for pirated content, as users are not restricted when they post. MegaUpload complies with DMCA noticed when asked, but probably not as much as it should have. I would like to say I do not support MegaUpload in any endeavors of piracy.

The problem is not the piracy, its the real users, and the message that was sent today.

Any data stored online, legal or illegal, can disappear in an instant without warning due to United States government ruling.

The first thing I thought when reading up on the situation about MegaUpload was: What about Dropbox? What about any of the sites that I store files in the cloud? What if some jerks want to store pirated movies in Dropbox and Dropbox gets shut down?

I should take my data off the cloud! It’s not secure!

That is the message they sent today!

MegaUpload didn’t just store infringing videos and music, it stored documents, user created movies and music, as well as other files that may even be critical to Business! Where did they go? What if they didn’t have a backup? What do they do now? What if most of their business surrounded non pirate use of Megaupload?

This is such a step backward, we were making so much progress moving further and further into the cloud, making things secure, connecting people and data in a wonderful weave of free flow information and now….this…this takedown sends us right back to where we were. Now we will have to hide our information on our own devices, keeping it off the cloud not for fear of theft but of legislation that threatens to cause unreliable service!

It’s bad enough that the ISP’s have enforced Bandwidth Caps, but now there is no point to store data in the cloud at all! You cant upload or download it all due to bandwidth caps and if you do manage to get it there a government takedown threatens to disintigrate your data in an instant.

If you keep taking down major websites at a whim, with no public notice, even after years of private investigation you are going to destroy the consumer trust in the cloud that has been painstakingly built over the past few years! Stop this! It has to stop now! Put MegaUpload back up!

We cannot innovate on the net if we cant rely on the connection to one another, if you keep destroying websites that matter to people, how will we know what websites will be there tomorrow? Which ones can we trust? Which ones can we invest in?

Any application that stores any information online is at risk! Because if content can be stored, then piracy is possible, not to say it is done, but possible.

So we are now saying that if a certain fantastical and made up number or % of the traffic or storage on a service is pirated and infringing copyright, (which would take YEARS to prove) we can shut down a service completely, without warning, and disregard any of the valid files that people might want to back up?!

The decisions for cloud products will no longer be based on price or quality, but based on who passes MPAA / RIAA inspection!

To imagine that SOPA and / or PIPA would expedite the process of taking down / blocking sites like what we just saw with MegaUpload, with even less notice to both users and the infringing site, not to mention not even needing much proof!

Can I get a MPAA / RIAA Seal of Authenticity or Badge to show on my website to ward off authorities? Throw us a bone!

The Plot: Why Take Down MegaUpload a Day After SOPA Protests?

If you have been paying attention to the internets today, you would notice that Anonymous launched an all out attack against the music industry and any copyright related websites including the justice.gov, fbi.gov, copyright.gov, mpaa.com, riaa.com, wmg.com, bmi.com and more. You can see pictures with timestamps in my Google+ Album here.

Over 5600 Hackers gathered together to choreograph this attack after a very prominent website, Megaupload, was taken down for copyright infringement. No details of the copyright infringement have easily surfaced, but Megaupload is a relatively simple channel to trade pirated virtual goods, knowingly or unknowingly.

Just a day ago, protests broke out on the internet regarding SOPA and PIPA, two bills, which if passed, would ruin the internet as we know it and make it a playground for frivolous claims of copyright infringement from the entertainment industry and its affiliates. And heck, it could been be used as a weapon by competiting businesses to knock people out of the game. The protest was held by major players, everyone from Wikipedia (who blacked out completely for a day) to Google had some sort of protest or message.  Thousands of online businesses and websites also followed. A list can be found at sopastrike.com where my company Esotech is also listed. Millions of letters went out and thousands of phone calls were made to local house and senate representatives as a result of these efforts.

“Guilty until proven innocent”

This is the fundamental tenet behind SOPA, your website goes down before you are notified, and then you have to fight the legal system to get it back up. Win or lose, you get nothing as compensation. There is no bond here folks. Whether you are Facebook.com or hosted at Geocities; if you have anywhere that someone can upload copyrighted material to your site, or if you use it yourself, knowingly or unknowingly, you are liable, and immediatly bannable from the United States DNS servers (Also destroying any trust we have in DNS, but that’s another story). There are plenty of articles on why SOPA is Bad.

The protests seemed very successful, just check out this chart.  It looks like we were making progress…then suddenly…Megaupload is gone. They didn’t even need SOPA to be active to do it! But Why? Why NOW? Why a Day after a huge public uproar about Censorship?

The internet was outraged of course, millions visit megaupload every day. Out came the hackers, and the new modified low orbit ion cannon began to fire, this time with both unwilling and willing subjects creating a DDoS on government and music industry sites. The firepower came from the people. Links to the cannon on Social Media sites such as twitter,  hidden as updates on the whole Operation by Anonymous, allowed millions of computers to bombard these websites shutting them down for minutes if not hours at a time. Some were hit harder than others, and some bounced on and off. But the point was made, people are pissed.

We come back to the simple question of why today?

I believe the reason has to do with discrediting the opponents of SOPA, the tech guys, as being anarchistic nutcases that are against the American people. I think it also had to do with the government wanting to show the technology community, that it can do whatever it wants. Big or small, they can bring up charges of copyright infringement and shut you down, with or without SOPA.

Its a power play, and it can go one of two ways:

1. The acts that happened today are seen as a reason to enable DNS filtering, and those who opposed SOPA  and PIPA are seen as irresponsible and incapable of diplomacy, further fueling the fire of censorship and corporate domination of the internet.
2. The reason for the acts today are discussed: The reasons and effect that a sudden disruption / takedown of a service like Megaupload has on both users and Megaupload as a Business. This disruption could make even more of the nation aware of the issues regarding SOPA and PIPA, ensuring that our internet remains free from censorship as people rally behind the hackers as defenders and retributors instead of anarchists.

…unfortunately the media is on their side and will display it in their favor to bring SOPA back to the table. Remember, they control television and news media. Never has the fight for something like this been so fierce. This is a historic time. This is a fight for something that has never existed, but was expected to be a human right…the free flow of information through technology. Most websites, and indeed, social media platforms developed on the idea of sharing content between users, but SOPA and PIPA oppose this idea, labeling the internet as a medium for piracy, and anything that RISKS promotion of piracy, should be shut down. Imagine the innovation that would have been stifled had this been in effect while Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Google were developing? With a lawyer at every turn, no one is going to want to develop for the internet anymore…it would cost too much just to be compliant with this silly bill.

The entertainment industry is trying to indirectly control the internet by introducing the only things they know they have control over because of their vast wealth: law, lawyers and lawsuits. If these acts change Congressmen’s stance on SOPA and PIPA we could be in a world of hurt, the internet will change as we know it, our favorite websites will disappear in seconds, without notice. The entertainment industry needs to stop seeing its end users as opponents instead of customers.

Indeed, it will be interesting to see how the next few days pan out…I hope you all will be watching as closely as I will.

Legend of Zelda – Navi Android / Droid Notification Theme

Hey! Listen!

I am an avid Android / Droid fan but struggled with putting together a notifications theme.

One of my favorite video game series, as for most, is the Legend of Zelda. I’ve only had the fortune to keep up with it through the Ocarina of Time. Although I did play and complete Twilight Princess; it doesn’t hold as much memory for me as Ocarina and a Link to the Past did, probably because I was so much younger at the time.

Although at times annoying, Navi is one of my favorite characters from Ocarina of Time. She is essentially, Links smartphone, giving him notifications and warnings as to whats going on. I was able to find a great site for downloading Zelda Sounds and grabbed as many Navi and Ocarina of Time related sounds as I could. I have provided them in the following Zip with descriptive file names telling you what sound it is and for what application.

I did not include Ringtones with this theme, but I did provide suggestions in a text file. I purchased and downloaded Zeldastep from Ephixa, which I use for both my ringtone (Lost Woods Dubstep) and alarm (Gerudo Valley Dubtep). I highly recommend buying their CD or digital download,  listen for yourself!

I bundled a copy of my Droid Wallpaper – the inverted Esotech Logo with Navi floating away which came out looking really nice! For those of you who just want Navi, I also included her alone on a black background. Enjoy!

Download navi-droid-theme.zip

Here is a list of the Files and What they do:

• Navi Hello – Google Voice
• Navi Hey – G+ Notification
• Navi Fly In – Twitter Notification
• Navi Listen – Google Talk
• Navi Look – Google Calendar Notification
• Navi Fly Out – Foursquare Notification
• Navi Watch Out – Battery Low Notification
• Ocarina of Time - Gain Heart – Gmail
• Ocarina of Time – Pause Sound – General Notification
• Ocarina of Time – Unpause Sound – Text Message

I am open to any suggestions for improvement!

Confidence and Skill: Tip Toe Past your Boundaries

The best way to grow is to keep your confidence level slightly above your skill level.

Why do I say this? Because it pushes you past your boundaries without breaking them. As a technician, manager or even business owner, if you remain within the comforts of what you know how to do, you stay there.

I am not saying if you are a IT geek, go get a job as a cook, no. I mean, as the IT person who is used to a certain way of programming, or language…step out of those bounds and start working at something you have never encountered or been asked to do. Make small projects for yourself that test your limits, slightly. Try writing in a language you never had before, and let Google be your guide! Search! Learn! Solve!

Doing this keeps you on your toes and forces you to figure out a new way to do things. The only thing that comes out of this is growth, as long as it is done slightly. No sense trying to do something that completely forces you to reinvent your own wheels! You want to grow, not break yourself down.

Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s webspam team takes a similar approach, he has a “30 day” program where you tell yourself you are going to do something for 30 days, and do it no matter what. This is an excellent program however my approach is somewhat different…take what you are good at and modify it so its a bit more difficult, not comfortable. When that becomes easy, move onto something new.

Don’t get caught in a rut doing the same thing day in and day out. The more you can do, the more valuable you are, and the easier it will be to overcome opportunities in the future.