So if I download encryption or browser protection

[FirstLight]

Isn't that a big red flag to the PTB?

Otherwise, isn't it a good idea for most of us to go ahead and do this to protect ourselves from the snooping? or, how effective is it?

Anyone here well versed on the whole encryption/private browsing thing?

Forgive the just wondering if it would be well advised to try it...

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. secured web browsing

is done by millions of people every day... that is not a red flag. encrypted communication today is so commonplace i don't think it is even an issue.

sP

[backscatter712]

2. Very true. Encryption is how it's relatively safe to do things like Paypal and banking online. n/t

[FirstLight]

3. From Freedom Press Foundation

https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/encryption-works

Defending yourself against the NSA, or any other government intelligence agency, is not simple, and it's not something that can be solved just by downloading an app. But thanks to the dedicated work of civilian cryptographers and the free and open source software community, it's still possible to have privacy on the Internet, and the software to do it is freely available to everyone. This is especially important for journalists communicating with sources online.

I am a journalism student, and do happen to have quite a penchant for activism...the link is to a white paper that has LOTS of info about how to clean up your browsing ...especially since journalists are more easily targeted than many.

[bemildred]

6. Good stuff. nt

[delrem]

4. encryption is necessary for many businesses, large and small.

Suppose you're working with a distributed team on something potentially very valuable, something e.g. that would be of interest to Microsoft if they put the finished product out first. You have to communicate your work, but you also have to keep it internal. You encrypt with the strongest encryption available.

The need for privacy is essential to our economies.
People who reduce it to "well, if I don't do anything against the law than what have I to worry about" are idiots.

[Whisp]

5. That is very true.

And that is why there has to be someone working against things like this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5071124/Chinas-global-cyber-espionage-network-GhostNet-penetrates-103-countries.html

China's global cyber-espionage network GhostNet penetrates 103 countries
A vast Chinese cyber-espionage network, codenamed GhostNet, has penetrated 103 countries and infects at least a dozen new computers every week, according to researchers.

The discovery of GhostNet, which is designed to infiltrate sensitive ministries and embassies - and is known to have succeeded in many cases - is the latest sign of China's determination to win a future "information war". A ten-month investigation by the Munk Centre for International Studies in Toronto has revealed that GhostNet not only searches computers for information and taps their emails, but also turns them into giant listening devices.

Once a computer has been infected, hackers can turn on its web camera and microphones and record any conversations within range.

The study revealed that almost a third of the targets infected by GhostNet are "considered high-value and include computers located at ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, international organisations, news media and NGOs". This global web of espionage has been constructed in the last two years.

[delrem]

9. Well, that and the fucking NSA.

It's an unregulated field.

[bemildred]

7. I use NoScript and Ghostery. I only use encryption when I go to a secure site online.

Like a bank. No reason to.

However, I would not hesitate to use it if I had a good reason, lots of people do, companies do, governments do, they won't come hunt you down, they won't come bother you at all, without more of a reason than that.

[PowerToThePeople]

8. Download encryption? What do you mean by that?