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The short answer is you, the taxpayer. The explosive growth in automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) has caught many communities off guard. This is especially true as details about their capabilities far beyond simply flagging stolen vehicles become widely known. Yet few citizens stop to ask the foundational question: who is paying for this rapid expansion? As the old saying goes, whenever in doubt, follow the money. Background on ALPR TechnologyALPR technology is not new. Law enforcement…
Twenty years ago, one of our members learned a hard lesson about software updates. It was a cool fall afternoon in the corporate headquarters. They sat in an open cubicle area arranged in a U-shape. From their central seat, they could see every monitor around them. Suddenly the computers started going haywire and dropping offline one after another. It was malware spreading rapidly from machine to machine. They yanked the network cable, shut down their PC, and watched as the company sent…
One of our favorite YouTubers is the LockPickingLawyer. From the channel’s own description, he aims “...to educate consumers about weaknesses and defects in security devices so they can make better security decisions.” And he delivers on that promise over and over again. The incredible speed at which he defeats all kinds of locks is honestly terrifying. It does not matter whether it is a cheap lock or an expensive one. He can open it in seconds, often by completely bypassing the normal keyway.…
Sometimes we go quiet for a while. We recently celebrated the United States 250th birthday, but unlike the 200th anniversary, several events were canceled at the last minute because of bad weather. At least we enjoyed time with our families. On top of that, we've been busy working on some new projects and upgrades that we hope you'll find interesting. Here are a few of them. Mini PC UpgradeOne of our everyday workhorses is a budget Beelink SER5 Mini PC. It has performed reliably for two years,…
"Two is one, and one is none" is a military adage, most famously associated with the Navy SEALs. It simply means you should always have a backup for anything that truly matters. The same principle applies to your privacy tools and overall tech setup. Whether you are moving away from Big Tech for better privacy, or you simply want services that are not tied to one specific solution or even country, having a solid migration plan is essential. It prevents you from getting locked into yet another…
Imagine you are standing at a busy city intersection during rush hour. Cars stretch out in every direction, barely moving. From where you stand, what do you actually know about the vehicles and the drivers? Almost nothing. You might assume every driver has a valid license, proper insurance, and is allowed to operate the vehicle they are in. But is that always true? In most cases, drivers do go through training and testing to get a license. They usually renew it on a schedule, sometimes with…
We love the 1995 comedy The Brady Bunch Movie for several reasons. First, it delivers a hilarious spoof of the campy original TV show that still pops up in reruns everywhere. Gary Cole’s version of architect Mike Brady is spot-on, especially his signature running gag. No matter what the client actually needed, Mike would offer a slightly tweaked version of the same famous Brady house. (Side note: the real Studio City house used for exterior shots was bought by HGTV in 2018. They renovated it to…
It's no secret that we love Brave browser. We rely on it daily to block the worst things the internet throws at us: fingerprinting, ads, trackers, and malware (including the sneaky kind that hides inside fake ads). It also lets us watch YouTube without interruptions from video ads, while still showing the ones creators put in themselves. We keep Brave installed on every device we own because it works great across all our platforms, including Linux (Ubuntu and Zorin OS), iOS/iPadOS, and macOS.…
While writing this series on Firewalla, we wanted to highlight why it is worth considering for improving your home network security and privacy. Firewalla was built with a clear mission: to make secure, intelligent, and privacy-focused networking accessible to everyday users without requiring enterprise-level expertise or complex configurations. By combining powerful hardware with an intuitive app-based interface, it delivers enterprise-grade controls such as device grouping, granular rules,…
In our post "Privacy Tool Spotlight: Firewalla Purple and AP7" we introduced you to the Firewalla Purple and Access Point 7 (AP7). Firewalla is a professional-grade cybersecurity and networking appliance designed for homes, small offices, and small businesses. It aims to make advanced networking accessible to everyday users by simplifying complex setups. Founded by ex-Cisco engineers, it works as a next-generation smart firewall. You can plug it into your existing router or use it to replace…
Privacy is not optional. It is a fundamental human right. It is the hill we will die on. It is the fire that gets us out of bed every single morning. It is the filter through which we judge every decision, every tool, and every word we publish. Without it, freedom is an illusion. Privacy is the oxygen of personal autonomy - the sacred space where you get to become you without Big Tech, governments, advertisers, or your nosy neighbors watching, judging, or manipulating. It is the "right to be…
By popular demand, we're diving deeper into the consumer-friendly features of the Firewalla Purple and AP7 we introduced in our previous post, “Privacy Tool Spotlight: Firewalla Purple and AP7”. We highlighted it as one of the simplest yet most powerful privacy and security upgrades you can make to a home network. Today we’re focusing on one of its standout exclusive features: VqLAN (Virtual Quarantine LAN). Think of VqLAN as an easy way to create secure, isolated “safe zones” for your devices.…
Routers are one of those things most people rarely think about until something goes wrong. Maybe your streaming keeps buffering during a movie. Maybe online gaming feels laggy. Or maybe it just sits there, quietly collecting dust until the next firmware update that may or may not come. That is exactly where the trouble starts. Your router is the gateway to the internet, yet it often gets ignored and rarely updated. This makes it an easy target for attacks from the internet. A recent example…
Have you ever tossed a bank statement or a receipt into the trash without a second thought? When people talk about privacy, the conversation usually turns to apps, passwords, and online tools. But physical privacy matters just as much. Those everyday paper documents can be just as dangerous as a weak online account. Even in 2026, we still deal with a surprising amount of paper. Sales receipts, appointment reminders, bills, and other mail still arrive in envelopes. All that information creates a…
In our last two posts, "Privacy Tool Spotlight: DNS" and "Privacy Tool Spotlight: DNS (Part 2)", we covered the basics of how DNS works and the different options available to you. One of the most powerful tools we highlighted in both posts is DNS blocklists. These lists help stop ads, trackers, and malware before they ever reach your devices. You can use them in many easy ways: through browser extensions like uBlock Origin, built directly into browsers like Brave, network-wide solutions like…
In our last post, "Privacy Tool Spotlight: DNS", we covered the key points about the Domain Name System, or DNS: What DNS is: It converts easy-to-remember domain names like "example.com" into the actual network addresses computers use, such as "127.0.0.1". Most people never notice DNS until it stops working. Your internet service provider can see every DNS request you make. Some ISPs collect and use that data for marketing. Switching to a better DNS provider can block ads, trackers, and…
We are not going to sugarcoat this: writing about the Domain Name System (DNS) is rarely an exciting topic. Usually. It either quietly does its job in the background, or it fails spectacularly. That is exactly what happened on May 5, 2026, when a DNS mistake took down Germany's entire top-level domain. Every site ending in ".de" suddenly vanished for millions of users. Yet DNS becomes a lot more interesting when you look at it through the lens of security and privacy. Just because most people…
When we talk about taking control of our privacy, one of the most common questions we hear is about streaming services. People often ask, "Is service X more private than service Y?" The question could be about music, movies, or any other content that you cannot simply store on your own device. In every case, it comes down to using an external service. To understand why streaming and privacy are often in conflict, and why physical formats like CDs and DVDs are making a comeback, it helps to look…
We love sharing our privacy journey and writing about the tools we have adopted along the way. One tool we use every single day is the Brave browser. We have already written a couple of Privacy Tool Spotlights that explain why we chose Brave and installed it across all our devices. We are also excited about some of the new experiments Brave is working on. When something catches our attention, we test it ourselves and share our honest experience. Today we are diving into Brave Origin and…
Loyalty programs used to be simple and mostly private. You might have carried a punch card from your favorite coffee shop or sandwich place. Ten punches and your next item was free. Or maybe you collected something bigger, like Canadian Tire Money from a chain of stores, or S&H Green Stamps that worked across many businesses. These programs stayed on paper, stayed straightforward, and rewarded your repeat business without asking for much personal information. That started to change in the…
Philip J. Fry from Futurama once said, "Sheesh! Forty thousand channels and only a hundred and fifty of them have anything good on." And honestly, that's exactly how cable television was starting to feel. There were hundreds of channels, but very few actually had the shows we cared about. Trends come and go in mainstream media, but we kept coming back to our favorites shows like Futurama, Better Off Ted, tech and history shows, and yes, maybe a few things about cats. So when it was time to…
Discover the Surveillance Accountability Act: closing data broker loopholes to require warrants for government access to your personal data and strengthen Fourth Amendment protections.
Discover the privacy toolbox! Essential tools to keep your data private online.
After the controversial Ring Super Bowl ad, we switched from Ring to Reolink. Local storage, no subscriptions, and no constant cloud uploads for true home privacy.
Discover how AI-powered attacks are changing cybersecurity and why Project Glasswing offers a powerful new defense.
The Privacy Black Hole: How the third-party doctrine erodes your rights by letting governments access shared data without warrants.
Support vital open-source privacy projects today! Donate to your favorites & help keep digital freedom alive.
