Incidentally, you can assign it any address you like . . . even one that doesn't actually exist.

Using a $15 pre-paid phone, hackers in Europe modified its firmware to let it eavesdrop on ANY call to the local cell tower.

GSM is the cell technology used by AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile and Cingular Wireless in the U.S. It is also the dominant cell technology everywhere else in the world except Japan.

Treat cell phones like Jack says to treat cordless phones.

Submitted Link #1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12094227...

All,

Has anyone used the new prepaid American Express cards? These are the ones that let you load an amount between $5 and $500 (instead of the older cards that had a fixed amount). The packaging is a dark color and the card have words like "splurge" on them (seriously!)

I'm interested in using these for online purchases and wonder if there is a way to assign a "billing" address/zip code to them. It DOES say on the packaging that they won't work for recurring type services and utilities, which is pretty standard for these types of cards.

I'm not going to divulge my secrets about which email service or email encryption to use but take this to heart:

1. Never use email programs that are US based (Such as Google, Yahoo, Hotmail,etc) or Canadian, such as hushmail.

US (Canada) mail services are all controlled by the government; this is true for most countries, esp in England.

2. Never use an email service that uses an email name that raises suspicion (Hushmail) etc. People assume these are private and secure when in reality this service is heavily monitored by the government because they realize that people are stupid enough to believe this service protects you; it doesn't.

3. Always use offshore email services; in particular, countries that have strong privacy laws and will not kowtow to Washington DC. But be careful not use an email service from a country that the US considered a "terrorist state" (this may raise a strong suspicion).

4. Only use offshore services that promise anonymity, not "privacy." If you are not anonymous, you are not really private.

5. In almost all cases, a good email service will cost you money; so be prepared to pay money.

6. Make sure the service offers PGP, as Seth wrote about, public and private keys, which are virtually unbreakable (with the right password).

7. Know, however, that the NSA (echelon) monitors all signals- electronic-in the world.

To answer M. Luna on why email encryption? Simple: if you get online bank statements, credit card statements, if you engage in private (legal) conversations that you don't want some person finding out about (such as your girlfriend, wife, husband, boyfriend, etc). Regular mail is great but there is an advantage to secure email in some very important ways.

Remember, encryption alone is not cause enough for the government to watch you or spy on you. You must come under their attention in other ways. Merely using encrypted email will not result in a government investigation.

KEEP A LOW PROFILE!!!

You don't need a provider with encryption, you need a public-key encryption program for your computer.

Be advised that ALL commercial encryption products offered in the US, either as a part of a browser program, as an add-on to an email program, or sold OTC are vulnerable to government snooping.

Encryption systems are classified as "munitions" by the government, and they are regulated, particularly for export purposes. Taking a computer out of the US with an encryption program that has not been approved by the government for export is a crime, and a serious one. Most off-the-shelf programs are cleared for export, and will say so in the documentation, because they are not particularly "strong" encryption that can defeat the NSA supercomputers.

That being said, there are plenty of good commercial encryption programs out there that will prevent non-government snoops from decrypting your emails, but never trust that the US government does not have "back door" encryption keys to a commercial program, and know that they can "brute force" decrypt all but the most sophisticated programs.

The only way to be SURE that there are no backdoors is to use an open-source encryption program like PGP (Pretty Good Privacy), where you can inspect the source code for trapdoors. Of course, that requires a lot of skill in programming, and most people don't bother, they just download it from a "reliable" source and assume its safe.

Bad plan...if you're trying to keep the government out of your business. You see, the more you try to hide your data from the government, the harder they try to break it, and they have massive resources to dedicate to cracking encoded messages they find suspicious, and they usually succeed, one way or another.

Get them interested enough in the encrypted material you're sending and they will Tempest attack you (detect the electronic signals from your keyboard as you type your message, or detect your screen output the same way) or they will "snoop and poop" in a black-bag job and install key-logging devices on your computer. Or, they will just bag you and hold you till you give up the encryption keys, which they can legally do.

So, you need to decide what level of security (or more properly insecurity) your willing to tolerate, and tailor your encryption to that.

If you're trying to keep snoopy neighbors, wives or business competitors from intercepting your email, there are easier ways than using encryption, but almost any off-the-shelf encryption will do the job for casual snooping. Try Pretty Good Privacy, now available as a commercial product and add-on module to most email programs.

If you're trying to encrypt kiddie porn or terrorist plans though, you're not going to get any help here.

Recognize, as JJ has said in the past, that if you pique the interest of three-letter agencies, you're pretty much screwed.

So, why do you need to encrypt your email?

... I too ask: "Why do you need to encrypt your email?"

FYI, I never encrypt e-mail because (a) I do not trust the encryption program and (b) it may raise a red flag. If I have any confidential information to share, I use the U.S. Postal Service.

I closed my account at a large bank a few months ago, but find that I can't cash an IRA distribution check drawn on Chase bank with my ID only (limit $3,000 only) but need to deposit the check/wire into an account opened in MY name (so they can track it I'm sure).

I'm also worried that if I take out much or all of the money in cash, they will send in the report on a $10,000 cash movement, or a SAR.

Any suggestions? Lately I've been thinking that I should choose a small semi-local bank and open an account, get it deposited there, and take it out in smaller increments. And, hopefully it won't be reported that I have an account there on a national basis somewhere.

I've thought of check cashing services, but I don't know if they do large transactions, and whether they are allowed to cash these IRA distribution checks for tracking reasons.

Recommendations? Also, are individual bank accounts reported on a national basis where PI's can get a hold of it? Safer to work with a very small bank or does it make a difference? Thanks for any help you can give me! p.s. I do have the book, several of Rosie's LLC's, a Canary Island address and have had success in registering several vehicles in Arizona titled under NM LLC's WITHOUT EIN.

... Perhaps you can transfer it to a faraway small bank (following the instructions in my e-book INVISIBLE MONEY) and take the cash out when you need it via ATMs.

No credit check was ever run on me, since I have credit freezes on all three bureaus and never saw the inquiry on my accounts. I gave an Alaska PO box for my mailing address. No questions asked. I was also very clear that my name and info are not be shared with anyone, and even got a signed letter from a district manager stating that my info would not be shared. My auto insurance policy is also through Farmers. Even though my vehicles are registered in a NM LLC, because they are only used by "members while vacationing", they were put under my personal policy. It sounds like some insurance companies are more intrusive than others.