Is the government spying on us through our beloved internet?

[Draxion]

So, I'm reading "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown, and I start to wonder if I'm really secure on the internet. In the book (which has a LOT of accurate information in it about the US government and all that), there is a computer called "TRANSLTR". Supposedly, "TRANSLTR" takes everything moving through the world wide web and scans it for any information. In other words, ANYTHING you do oline...send an email, post a thread in a forum, have a conversation through instant messaging...anything, can be seen by the government at any given time. I started to wonder if there really is such a thing--or at least some 'internet spies' that oversee the goings on of the virtual world we've all become slave to.

So basically I'm wondering if the renowned Bush Administration is being loyal to its citizens...or is Mr. "Dubya" pulling a curtain of false security over our eyes and having big fat guys watch our every move from in front of their monitors in their swivel chairs while they complain about how they eat too much, and their fourth wife just left them because their sweat smelled like mayonase and salty crab legs, and....ahem..anyways... What do you all think?

(P.S.-I'm looking for a nice WACOM tablet that will work with Mac OS X and Windows XP...just throwing it out there.)

[fryke]

"moving through the world wide web" ? ... ah, well. okay. Maybe with AJAX, that's now possible. Either way, "the government" (I guess you're talking about the US government) probably _does_ spy on you. Be aware.

[Qion]

...but don't fret about it. If anything, they're expending their computer resources on finding traces of some, er, "weapons of mass destruction". I'm guessing you'll be alright as long as you don't say "I have weapons of mass destruction in an Altoids tin hidden in my basement that I don't have."

Oh shit. I just set myself up...

[ora]

Short answer: yes cf ECHELON etc etc

A note though, please take ANYTHING Dan Brown says with a pinch of salt. Whether you like the books or not (and I really don't), he does _just enough_ research and happily fictionalizes over the gaps, which is perfectly reasonable but means its best not to take him literally. CERN provide a nice example (they are featured in Angels & Demons) on what was true and what was false here.

[Draxion]

Originally Posted by fryke

"moving through the world wide web" ? ... ah, well. okay. Maybe with AJAX, that's now possible. Either way, "the government" (I guess you're talking about the US government) probably _does_ spy on you. Be aware.

FRYKE YOU!! XD

Anyway...I agree wiht Qion about the whole security thing (kinda reminds ya of school, no?)

An I know the Dan Brown Books are like...um...*snores*

*wakes up* FISH PRETZELS!

[scruffy]

Is the government spying on you? Yes - Echelon was mentioned, plus all the various laws the US Feds are passing to make it easier to snoop on more and more of their citizens' activity, to make it illegal for companies to tell you about this activity, etc.

Does Digital Fortress make sense? I haven't read it, but still found this page amusing:
http://math.cofc.edu/kasman/MATHFICT...llnumber=mf340

For a technically and mathematically accurate novel with a cryptography theme, try Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson (it's a great read, and the ending isn't even a letdown like most of Stephenson's endings...)

[hawki18]

Always people around who are parnoid freaks, get real and worry about something real

[AhhChoo]

Originally Posted by hawki18

Always people around who are parnoid freaks, get real and worry about something real

Hmmm........ an insightful rejoinder from an obviously deep thinker.