Get! Off! Gmail!
Do it right NOW!
This is NOT a club you want to join.
I had not talked to Kirtaner in some time when that search warrant was active, which was no later than 1/1/2022. I checked a number of my Gmail accounts (they’re free, compartmentalize!) and I found nothing but some stuff related to my precedent setting 1st Amendment case in Texas.
I don’t really worry much about Gmail … because I don’t use it for anything other than free, medium security compartments. You get a new one with every burner phone, they’re protected with an OTP app like Authy, the only real hazard with them is the one Kirt is currently experiencing.
ProtonMail is free, you will never receive a notice like that from them, and there’s even a tolerable free VPN that comes with the base account. I am aware of precisely ONE instance where Proton responded to a legal process request, and it was a curiosity - the individual the authorities were investigating lived in the same Swiss jurisdiction where Proton’s datacenter is located.
My needs are a bit more complex, so I submerged in Proton’s deep, dark Swiss data lake quite a while ago. The annual cost is due to the domain that hosts this Substack.
Expansion:
I’ve written on lone actor accounts and device security often enough that I think all but the newest of you are already aware that I do this. Since Disinfodrome’s days are numbered, I’m going to replace that slot in the masthead with a “best practices as of xx/yy/zzzz” article.
One of the things I have to say is this:
If you can’t afford the protective equipment …
…. do NOT play the game.
And it really is just that simple.
Moving from Gmail to Proton costs only time.
OTP apps like Authy are free.
Google Voice remains the way to shield real cell phone numbers.
Signal should replace the cellular network for private activity.
Talkwalker Alerts on your name, phone number, etc are advanced warning.
If you are not already doing those five ENTIRELY FREE things, you are either just a spectator, or you’re a walking, talking, leaking hazard to everyone around you.
Conclusion:
Kirt is just as reckless as every other self-appointed front man from the scene, but I find him likable. He’s a standout in a couple of technical areas, he’s not a great big jerk about it, and when he doesn’t know something, he’s not shy about admitting it. Canadian Exceptionalism is the best Exceptionalism.
Right away when we met my first thought was “not cautious enough”. He was jacking in again after a very long absence and his situational awareness of the hazards of the moment was lacking. Until he came along none of the other people I’d been close to over the years ever got in any legal trouble. While his difficulties predated our meeting and were purely a thing within the Toronto metro area, I was already distancing from the scene. What happened in 2021 is going to begin again shortly, but what I know of it will be due to the various publications in my Inoreader feed.
Some of you who are reading this are likely going to ignore my advice and Join The Resistance Lemmings.
If both the real you AND your nom de derp are not protected to the most basic level described in this article, your shitposting is gonna splatter, all over you AND those around you. Feeling nihilistic is just 21st century zeitgeist, but you bring shame to the game if your downfall sets off a chain reaction of trouble for fellow travelers.