NSA can decrypt VPNs?

[stim]

Hi and thanks for the responses.

My question was borne out of technical curiosity rather than paranoia. Your pointers have got me reading....

Cheers again...

 

[RiotSecurity]

If you use non-standard encryption all of a sudden noone can crack you with stock tools until they find out how you're doing it.


Something as simple as interlaced NOTing can throw off brute forcers.

Incorrect. 

It's quite easy for NSA to decrypt it, no matter what encryption because they have huge computers to process it all.

 

[Reece-DM]

Incorrect. 

It's quite easy for NSA to decrypt it, no matter what encryption because they have huge computers to process it all.

Its speculation really.

However I have no doubt they can watch what people are doing via VPN's especially if they're US based.

They've got the UK in there top pocket for Europe!

 

[terafire]

Soon the NSA is going to have access to all camera-enabled devices.

 

[Slownode]

Soon the NSA is going to have access to all camera-enabled devices.

They already do somewhat; iOS, Andriod(sketchy), Blackberry, Xbox, Playstation, Skype, Flash, WindersLive.

 

[KuJoe]

People think I'm crazy for putting tape over my cameras, but when I was in high school I found out just how easy it is to turn on and use somebody else's camera remotely and that was years ago before Google was a real thing. I do like the indicator lights some laptop companies put next to their cameras but tape just works better.

 

[MannDude]

People think I'm crazy for putting tape over my cameras, but when I was in high school I found out just how easy it is to turn on and use somebody else's camera remotely and that was years ago before Google was a real thing. I do like the indicator lights some laptop companies put next to their cameras but tape just works better.

Indicator lights can be turned off, or in cases of social engineering the user may be contacted and told that updates to their system are being made and that the flashing light is an indicator of a 'system scan', or 'cleaning of the system' or something. Average laptop consumers aren't that tech-savvy, they'll buy that and not think twice about that flashing light.

Tape over a camera just seems like common sense. It'd make me feel really uncomfortable having a built in cam always facing me, and 95% of the time I'm fully clothed in front of the computer too!

Now, a phone with front/back facing cameras... Need to obscure that.