Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

They are not interested in anything we type here but that’s not the point.
If the government passed a law that said a civil servant could enter your home at will and stand watching over your shoulder as you browsed the web or composed and email there would be rioting in the streets about it. We should not be prepared to accept this level of intrusion into our personal lives from afar.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I agree whole heartedly where does it stop. Its good point if you allow inch of privacy thew ill take a mile. Before we know it we will have camera's hidden in devices.

There was stink awhile back about that Cisco was going to put camera in there cisco boxes for targeted advertising. So technology there go much further not sure I would not under estimate that they want to monitor everything.

America NSA very intrusive would assume we use this model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nsa

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

Read carefully the privacy policy of your "free" antivirus program should you have one installed, particularly Avast. Your browsing history potentially tracked under your nose with carte blanched to do with it whatever they want assuming you accepted the EULA.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I wouldn't be too sure of that. Hi, Echelon!
I agree entirely; it throws the most fundamental principle of justice - presumed innocent until proven guilty - in the bin. But my question is this:

Since they're the ones in power, making the rules and the laws, how the bloody hell can we stop them?!

And please don't naively say 'We can vote them out' - two problems with that: 1) Until the General Election comes up we can't, so what happens in the meantime? 2) Who's to say the next lot will be any better? I'm not holding my breath.

What's the use of using VPN for everything? They'll just take that as an excuse to say 'Ooh, what's he got to hide, then?' - failing to understand, as the last several UK governments have failed to understand, that there is a qualitative difference between a desire for privacy and having something to hide! Next thing you know, using any secure communication method will be outlawed to all but the powers that be. Oh, they'd love that, wouldn't they? I wouldn't put anything past them. In the US, for example, the NSA's atttitude seems to be that no-one except the US Government, i.e. they themselves, should be allowed to use encryption. Criminal suspects are required by law to surrender encryption keys...yet there's no mention of the good old Fifth Amendment.
Newsflash, peeps: this has NOTHING, NOTHING WHATSOEVER, to do with terrorism, and it never did! They have read 1984 and seen it not as a warning, but as an instruction manual!

Mertle asked 'what are they scared of' - the answer's very simple: their own citizens.

I only wish we had the power to give them a reason to be scared,

Once again I note in passing as a precautionary measure that I do not intend to disappear at any time in the near future.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I said they are not interested, not they are not listening.

If you think that putting a cross on a ballot paper every 4 or 5 years is our only contribution to democracy then we would all live in a dictatorship.
Complain if you are unhappy about something the government is doing or not doing. Write to newspapers, write to your MP and make you feelings know. If you feel very strongly on a particular subject find others and get organised. Make others aware of the problem and ask them to write and complain also.

Right now the only people using VPN are people that have to for work or people that have something to hide, so it's a short list of people to investigate if criminal or terrorist activity is suspected. If they start monitoring everyone who is transmitting in the clear then more people will start using VPN's and it becomes harder for the security services because the list of people keeping secrets is larger.

I suspect monitoring everyone will do little to prevent terrorism and if it goes through my guess is we will be reading in the papers in a year or twos time how it has been misused.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

The main real reason non-work related VPN is used it to safeguard against eavesdropping when using somebodies or some companies wireless access point and yes it stops your own IP address being splattered across the Internet. I use my own VPN server, which runs on a PC at home, as standard when I'm using my iPad away from home. VPNs outside of work use have plenty of legitimate uses, security being the most common one.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I could have phrased it better but what I meant was. The use of VPN’s are not that widespread, and assuming one is trying to conceal illegal activity using a VPN would make sense. Therefore any law that results I many more people using a VPN makes it harder for the security service to weed out potential suspects from the crowd.
It’s not that using a VPN makes you more likely to be a criminal. It’s that a criminal is more likely to use a VPN.

The Chinese can’t monitor everyone but if you’re encrypting your emails they assume you’re up to no good.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

Semi-agree. I do think that making a law like this will make VPN use far more common if only because people are paranoid about their privacy, even if it's just down to not wanting the government to know their sexual, political or religious persuasions. The government can give all kinds of reassurances but civil servants looking over our shoulders will be how it is interpreted. This is déjÃ* vu since Labour tried this before and I think I made the same argument then. I really don't think this will pass with the current parliamentary makeup, but who knows what future elections will bring.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

Write to your MP complaining about this, and get your friends and family to do this as well.

This proposal was wrong before, and it's wrong now.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I'm all for it but with the amount of internet use will they be able to monitor it?

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

I don't think that using the excuse "it will help in the prevention of terrorism" will wash with most people .As things stand at the moment we have a very good track record at preventing terrorism in this country and see no reason to clamp down further

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

Terrorism is just an excuse for everything they want to do. just the same as blaming another party for why they have to make cuts and introduce new and raised charges is.

unless they showed us proof that this country was at serious risk of a major terrorist attack, then there's no reason for it.

we're not stupid. the olympics is a major event and an opportunity for terrorist activity. if that goes by with no major incident then there's no need for it.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

Or the security in place prevented a major incident....

That's like saying you don't need a burglar alarm, window locks, or strong locks on the doors of your house, because you have never had a burglary (even thought the burglar alarm, window locks, and strong door locks deterred/prevented the burglar....).

Anyhoo, the Daily Mash's take on it is quite amusing, imho.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

What gets me the country broke thats what they keep bashing us. Yet we not too broke for madcap ideoligistic policies. dining rich or giving them nice tax relief.

The reports it will cost 2bn it more likely cost more and yearly costs would be not cheap.

Re: Government to monitor Internet Use
 

The £2bn figure is over 10 years and most of that is required anyway under EU rules.