Dropbox email I received today

[rugerla1]

Is this out of the ordinary and just sounds strange because I'm leery of all the happenings these days?

 

https://www.dropbox.com/transparency/principles

 

[frankmako]

just hit the del key when you see this stuff.

[2.ooohhh]

Actually it's kinda important if you value the internet and a certain amount of privacy. Some services have simply closed their doors due to things like the NSA or homeland security data requests. Dropbox is letting you know that going forward they will publish all that they can about government data requests and will fight all generic or blanket requests. They will not allow any back-doors to be knowingly installed into their services.

 

Lavabit closed it's doors rather than give up customer information.

 

Level 3 alegedly did the opposite and essentially handed the NSA all of Google and Yahoo's data on a silver platter.

 

Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and AOL have all stood up for their users.

[ncldwell]

If you put information out on the net you should be aware that it is likely accessible to others.

[sigmtnman]

That is beside the point.

 

The .gov is out of control.

Edited February 21, 2014 by sigmtnman

[sigmtnman]

just hit the del key when you see this stuff.

 

Why would someone just hit delete?  I commend them for notifying their users.

[2.ooohhh]

If you put information out on the net you should be aware that it is likely accessible to others.

Not necessarily, your stuff can be as secure or as insecure as you make it. I have no fear of the .gov reading my gmail, but it would even take the NSA or ORNL a few decades to brute force their way into some of my research data. If just 1% of the american population learned how to simply attach a properly encrypted text file to an email with a strong password the resources suddenly needed to snoop everyone's email content would increase 1000 fold overnight making it much harder on agency's like the NSA.

Edited February 21, 2014 by 2.ooohhh

[Raoul]

Not necessarily, your stuff can be as secure or as insecure as you make it. I have no fear of the .gov reading my gmail, but it would even take the NSA or ORNL a few decades to brute force their way into some of my research data. If just 1% of the american population learned how to simply attach a properly encrypted text file to an email with a strong password the resources suddenly needed to snoop everyone's email content would increase 1000 fold overnight making it much harder on agency's like the NSA.

While in theory that's true, I personally believe the .gov can probably snag anything they want. Users just have to be smart about what's put out and assume anything you post anywhere is being parsed by some piece of .gov software.

 

Be smart about what you make available.

[ncldwell]

I realize there are environments that are hard to penetrate.  My comment above was more directed to online services like Dropbox (which I use by the way).  When you entrust your information to an online service don't do it with blind faith that it will be secure.  And, the government snoops aren't the only ones after your personal data...hackers (I know, dated term) go after cash generating info and sometimes they just like to make people miserable for the fun of it.

[2.ooohhh]

Oh .gov can snag anything that they want and if you are the one at the point of their sword you're likely screwed, I figured it up last time I was up that way that ORNL's new Supercomputer could brute force each of my passwords in a couple of decades but I would have to be holding back something pretty earth shattering for them to devote those resources for that amount of time to little 'ol me.

 

But encryption and strong passwords aren't a theory. Give the NSA "X" more packages properly encrypted to try to get into daily and all of a sudden it overwhelms their resources and they have to pick and choose little encrypted bits to work on. Even the NSA's computing resources aren't infinite and the the above average internet users FAR outnumber the analysts at the NSA.

[Guest TankerHC]

2.oh is right. This is something that has been happening for a couple of years and quite a few online entities have been trying to fight it, unsuccessfully. Since there are Federal Judges in secret courts giving blanket warrants there isnt a "whole lot" that the providers can do.

 

Some of them have been fighting the warrants in Court. But since the Congress (as a body) will do nothing, and since the Supreme Court has made no official ruling on the matter (Specifically) just concider all your data as being collected by the Fed, because it is.

 

This email is just letting you know.

[rugerla1]

Thanks for all the input guys. I know there's not much hidden anywhere anymore, especially on the web. But with all the apps seeking more and more "permissions" these days on cell phones and every other intrusive grab of info, I am just second guessing everything that I see. It just pisses me off that the locations of felon gang bangers with drugs and guns in their houses are well known and seem to have less attention on them that the good guys anymore. If as much attention on us was on the problems, a lot of scum and crime could be cleaned up fast!