10.07.13
New NSA Leaks: US Government Uses Microsoft Windows to Spy on and Harass Anonymous Internet Users
Windows exposes users
Summary: More revelations about how the NSA is cracking down on the act of committing anonymous speech
IT IS no secret and it is no longer just “theory” territories when one alleges that opposition to war is almost like “terrorism” in the eye of state-employed spooks. If you are against CIA drone strikes, for instance, then you are treated as one of the ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’ [1]. The same goes for people who oppose the NSA [2], which is breaking many laws anyway. People are being harassed (with their families) [3] and even arrested [4] for merely criticising the spies [4] (there are many other excuses for harassing and jailing such people).
A person has just explained how a telecom helped the government spy on him and Snowden’s leaks have just revealed that the Tor crack we wrote about [1, 2] was actually the work of the US government and it requires that the users use Tor on Microsoft Windows [5-7].
Remember this: Windows is developed with ‘help’ from the NSA. They are not even hiding it. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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UK detention of Reprieve activist consistent with NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’
A top secret NSA document provides context for yesterday’s abusive detention of Baraa Shiban
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NSA Critics Not Welcome: Anti-Surveillance Activist Barred Entry from US
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My Detainment Story or: How I learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country and Hate Border Agents
Earlier this month, OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman, her family, and her friends were detained for hours by US Customs and Border Protection on their way home from Canada. Everyone being held was a US citizen, and no one received an explanation. Sarah tells the story of their detainment, and her difficulty getting any answers from one of the least transparent agencies in the country.
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Journalist Barrett Brown faces prison for posting hyperlink
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How a telecom helped the government spy on me
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NSA using Firefox flaw to snoop on Tor users
An NSA presentation released by Edward Snowden contains mixed news for Tor users. The anonymizing service itself appears to have foxed US and UK government snoops, but instead they are using a zero-day flaw in the Firefox browser bundled with Tor to track users.
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NSA using Browser Cookies to track Tor Users
Yesterday a new classified NSA document was leaked by Edward Snowden – titled ‘Tor Stinks’ in which ideas were being kicked around for identifying Tor users or degrading the user experience to dissuade people from using the Tor browser.
The NSA had a very hard time while tracking down all Tor users and monitoring their traffic, especially since Tor servers are all over the world, but they make tracking easier by adopting the following techniques:
By running their own hostile Tor nodes
Using zero-day vulnerability of Firefox browser
By tracking user’ browser Cookies -
Snowden Leaks Show NSA Targets Tor
According to new revelations from data pilfered by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency has for years been going after users of Tor.1
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