I use a baby VPN called tunnel bear but any one using a VPN or anonymizer like TOR could now be put on an FBI watch list. I started using tunnel bear after scanning topics on protecting my location from prying eyes. I'm posting this here to see what others have to say about this. I could have gone to the politics board to post but feel here I will get a bigger and broader picture of how this community feels about how this new rule relates to us.

Please read the link I have posted and do any search you feel will help you with your summation  

Kisses Haley

Am I the only one who uses no vpn, and still uses gmail, which google and any feds can read?

Certainly not, but it's not in your best interest or the best interest of society as a whole to happily and ignorantly give away your rights to privacy with no complaint.  

to have the FBI sniffing around your computer than those that don't use it.  You can be assured that the NSA and FBI can see anything on your computer.  They just need a court order to come get ya.  I would suggest buying a mobile home and keep it rolling.

Until they manufacturer some secure anonymous browsing device.

I rather have privacy than technology.

Of course the government can track us and see what we are doing at any moment if they REALLY want to, online or not but do we really want to give away the last shred of "control" to privacy that we have left without a say in it?  That's what gets me.  Why isn't the public allowed to privacy anymore?  This is extremely scary if you ask me as it could be used for good or bad or who knows what else.  But, what can we really do about it?

END OF MESSAGE

I suppose the only consolation is in the law of averages.

But remember, just because you aren't paranoid, that doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you.

FBI getting into everything.

You do realize that the NSA and DARP funded TOR initially and the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are some of the major users of TOR and similar technologies, right?

I agree with the comment about just giving away our rights and don't see how this doesn't run afoul the Due Processes and blanket sweeps to catch the one bad guy -- but then I'm not a constitutional lawyer. I also think it's fairly reflective of our government and representatives that have been using this type of tactic -- If no action is taken something most people find objectionable will happen ( a bit like how they pushed though some of their raises when everyone want to see more fiscal responsibility...). Also this is one of those areas where our legal system has good and bad -- Judges are NOT supposed to be making law in the criminal space. But with all these special regulatory courts that seem to exist behind the scenes ...

It's also one of those areas where I flip flop a lot -- trying to hide can attract attention to one's self. Moreover, while people brake quite a few laws on a regular basis quite often they are simply ignored because it's really not hurting others.

Also, the use of a VPN is going to be problematic as just about every corporation that allows their employees to connect remotely will have VPNs established. I'm not completely sure there will be that much interest in just requesting the warrant just because one of these tools are used. And, if I have this right, it will also depend on the type of warrant that is issues as to it being a problem for us. I think a number of these warrants allow this type search but only for the specific crime in question and the evidence of other types of crimes cannot be used or shared with another investigation to allow an arrest. Let's keep this in perspective for most of us -- we're committing misdemeanors in most locations.  

I think the issue is really more about the type of society were living in and what powers we want the government and police powers to have; keeping in mind to old saying about power corrupting...

All cute acronyms. Unless you are talking about terror related stuff do you really think the govmt is interested whats on your computer?  

Money talks in all walks of life. They wont allocate resources, man hours/aka $$ for people that like to screw for "tips". Much bigger problems in the World.

Except what were the NSA analysts doing when they were recording all the communications regardless of law? Based on every impartial report I heard about that program of just sweeping everything up netted us 0 terrorists. What did it net for us? The guys working there spying on their lover interests to see if they were being faithful or trying to pick up information that they could then use to get on the girls good side. THAT was what we ended up spending all the money on.

The simply fact is we're still behind the curve because we continue to believe that technology is a substitute for old fashioned hard work -- but that means you have people at serious risk and more and more the intelligence agencies seem to want to avoid that (plus the person is a risk as well if they turn to the other side but that's a different issue).  

Lets take the points here and then think back to FBI Director Hoover -- some felt he exerted way too much power on elected officials from all his black files.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/23/the-domestic-spying-of-hoover-s-fbi-is-an-eerie-prequel-to-the-nsa-s-snooping-today.html

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/19/hoovers-fbi-todays-surveillance-state