Living off the (electronic) grid

[preppingsu]

I found this a really god article and thus starts my electronic detox............

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376023,00.asp

Most are fairly easy to achieve eg prepaid mobile phones etc but computer is harder. However, a year ago I made the decision to leave facebook and never did. I will now.

[Carrot Cruncher]

Great link Su, I never had a facebook account or anything like that so was feeling quite smug until MrsCC mentioned she had created them for me and was using them for "prize competitions". She kept forwarding messages from people I vaguely knew until I got hold of her passwords and deleted the accounts

I googled someones user name off a forum once a few years ago and in about 1/2 an hour I knew their real name, where they lived, and what they did for a living . If nothing else, make sure you dont use the same user name on different websites. You might not give out personal details on a prepping site but you might not be so careful on another site, one little bit of info off one site added to the little bits off lots of other sites...scary stuff

[itsybitsy]

Oooh - I have no desire to go off the grid. I keep in touch with family all over the globe via skype/facebook/email and so on. Plus, I use twitter for work.

[scoobie]

Nor me.. if I went off the grid entirely I'd have no job...and we wouldn't have a forum

[itsybitsy]

And I like my Tesco points!

[Attack Warning Red]

Good article. I've often thought about how I'd go about going on the run.

I've always known about mobile triangulation. Just switch it off and take the battery out.
Ditch the bank/credit cards (after taking all your cash out).
Don't log-in to anything online.
Grow a beard - or shave it off if you have one. Change your hairstyle or wear a hat. It's amazing how a small change in your head hair can alter your appearance.
Go to charity shops and get clothes in a style you don't often wear.
Remove or add wedding ring.
False name obviously...
Foreign accent - try east European immigrant with broken English when in shops etc.
If travelling across the country, don't travel in a straight line. If your followers discover just a few of your previous locations, they can predict where you're going to. Zig zag, double back etc. They'll be expecting you in Manchester when you're in Birmingham.

Just some suggestions...

[preppingsu]

I think the idea is that sometime in the furture the internet as we know it will be more controlled and we'll see a big brother society. (OK off thread a little but....)
What this article does if give you starting point to living away from all that controls us. How did we manage before the computer age? How would we manage without it?
For those whose jobs depend on it maybe its time to consider another skill that could earn you money if computers were not avaliable.
I won't be going computer free anytime soon but will be closing facebook. Don't have twitter.
I also like supermarket points but I do worry about how much they know about me through my shopping habits!!!
Just a thought!

[diamond lil]

I hate facebook, dont go on there. Never had a credit card, always use cash. Not totally happy about PayPal but sometimes need it. Never had a contract mobile, just PAYG. Not because I'm paranoid, just because I grew up used to cash only and it keeps life simple

[southernPrepper]

Great link Su, I never had a facebook account or anything like that so was feeling quite smug until MrsCC mentioned she had created them for me and was using them for "prize competitions". She kept forwarding messages from people I vaguely knew until I got hold of her passwords and deleted the accounts

I googled someones user name off a forum once a few years ago and in about 1/2 an hour I knew their real name, where they lived, and what they did for a living . If nothing else, make sure you dont use the same user name on different websites. You might not give out personal details on a prepping site but you might not be so careful on another site, one little bit of info off one site added to the little bits off lots of other sites...scary stuff

^^^^ perfectly put.

Separate every identity that you have so that any one will not lead to another. Ideally use individual passwords and email addresses but that is getting a little paranoid.

About 'deleting' your Facebook account. They actually make that a right PITA and instead they suspend accounts. You can check to see if yours has been actually deleted by just trying to log into the old one.

Everything you do on the public, indexed Internet lives forever on Google's servers.

[Ripkin]

I think social networking is important as the friends and family you have are probably spread across Britain and maybe the world it allows you to gather info on the mindset of the people in a given area what they are struggling with etc which allows us to know where to go or not to go in a crisis and perhaps how to help those loved ones.