# FBI searching internet history



## indianroads (May 14, 2020)

Considering the research I do for my writing, this could be an issue.


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## CyberWar (May 15, 2020)

I really doubt you'd be of much interest to the authorities, unless the FBI has a reason to think you plan on applying that "research" in practice. They are no doubt aware that the overwhelming majority of people who take interest in questionable things do it for legit reasons, their job being to root out the handful of crazies who might actually harm people with that knowledge.

Frankly I don't get what the problem with this "invasion of privacy" is - a lot of people complaining about it these days already post their lives on social media for everyone to see and share their interests with anyone who cares to hear. The job of authorities like the FBI has frankly never been easier before.


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## CyberWar (May 15, 2020)

Biro said:


> A lot of people also do not post their lives on social media.  Most are not that stupid.



Well, good on them. Unless of course you are reading about their privacy concerns on social media or an internet forum.

Any content, even entirely fictional, that you post online does tell something about you and with enough material can serve to construct your psychological profile. You absolutely don't have to be an avid social media whore to provide sufficient material to work with. Your comments in online forums, your search history, even your likes and dislikes on YouTube or Facebook, tell a lot more about you than you'd care to reveal a stranger on your own. All that information can be easily accessed and compiled without infringing on the existing privacy regulations. The prevalence of social media whores these days just makes it all the more easier.

Long story short, if you don't like the idea of being tracked and profiled, there ain't much you can do about it short of fully renouncing any and all of the modern amenities requiring Internet connection. Good news, however, is that the average Joe is far beneath the notice of the authorities and concerns them little more than as another source of macro-data. So unless you actually have something to hide, you don't really have anything to worry about.


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## CyberWar (May 15, 2020)

Tracking by government authorities is frankly the least concern. It's the possibility of tracking by third parties that people really ought to be worried about.


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## Xander416 (May 15, 2020)

Yeah, um, is this really the right forum to post this thread in? I'm not trying to backseat mod here, but this is more a discussion of current events than writers' research.


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## CyberWar (May 15, 2020)

Yeah, I've tried that as well with some friends. Google and whatnot have been using this eavesdropping feature for some time now. Doesn't bother me much because I detest smartphones with a passion and use an old-fashioned push-button Nokia without internet access, but I certainly see why that can be concerning. I can understand the authorities keeping tabs on people, because they wouldn't be doing a very good job if they didn't, but private companies doing the same is much more troubling. Unlike governments, they are motivated solely by profit, meaning there's nothing keeping them from selling private information to unscrupulous third parties who might use them for ill ends - and even if their own intentions are lawful, there's still always the risk of data leaks, as the recent experiences with Facebook well attest.

So I think the issue is not with spying on people itself, but rather on who does the spying, and the lack of coherent regulation on the matter.


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## CyberWar (May 15, 2020)

Double post, my mistake.


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## RWK (May 15, 2020)

Biro said:


> A lot of people also do not post their lives on social media.  Most are not that stupid.



There you are so, sooo wrong.

My agency starting creating dummy accounts and friending the local maggots on a tip from other agencies, and you would not believe the information that people posted. We cleared felonies, to include input on murders, tracked drug transactions, established group memberships, located angry girlfriends (every cop's best friend), and more.

Posting on social media is such an ingrained habit for many that they simply can't help themselves.


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## Irwin (May 15, 2020)

indianroads said:


> Considering the research I do for my writing, this could be an issue.



I always go in incognito mode for searches that might look weird to those who don't know it's just research. If you're really concerned, use the Tor network and browser. That's completely untraceable, unless someone is logging your access times and they match it up with a threat somewhere. 

That's what happened at a university where a student made a threat and was caught. I don't remember the details, but it's good that he got caught. Too many people these days seem to believe it's okay to make threats when they're online and anonymous. Most of them are innocuous, but it's despicable nonetheless.


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## indianroads (May 15, 2020)

I had an idea for the novel I write after my WIP - I'm going back to writing about outlaw bikers - anyway, at the start of the story I want the MC to kill a snitch by pouring wet concrete through a tube down into his stomach. It needs to kill him slow enough that the MC can smoke a cigarette while watching him die... and he'll leave behind a butt he's taking from someone else that he wants to frame for the murder.

Obviously, I need to do some research on how that can be accomplished.


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## Foxee (May 15, 2020)

Xander416 said:


> Yeah, um, is this really the right forum to post this thread in? I'm not trying to backseat mod here, but this is more a discussion of current events than writers' research.


Considering some of the alarming things that writers research, it seems okay here still. The question is really, with this happening will it be safe for writers to research?


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## RWK (May 15, 2020)

indianroads said:


> I had an idea for the novel I write after my WIP - I'm going back to writing about outlaw bikers - anyway, at the start of the story I want the MC to kill a snitch by pouring wet concrete through a tube down into his stomach. It needs to kill him slow enough that the MC can smoke a cigarette while watching him die... and he'll leave behind a butt he's taking from someone else that he wants to frame for the murder.
> 
> Obviously, I need to do some research on how that can be accomplished.



It won't work. The person would strangle fairly quickly.

It has been tried. Not by bikers, so far as I know, because they tend to be traditionalists.

Have you interacted much with outlaw bikers? Whatever you do, don't base them on the silly TV shows like SoA.


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## RWK (May 15, 2020)

Foxee said:


> Considering some of the alarming things that writers research, it seems okay here still. The question is really, with this happening will it be safe for writers to research?



Yeah. The Feds use an updated version of Carnivore, and the Carnivore series looks more at linkage and attachments than content. We used Magic Lantern (the Dollar Store version, so to speak).


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## hvysmker (May 16, 2020)

I'd hang him from a Walmart Sky Hook*, arms tied and up on his toes, making it ALMOST impossible to breathe. Maybe occasionally looking into his eyes while laughing and pushing down on his shoulders. Leave him alone and he'll slowly strangle to death.

* A rope hanging down from a cloud, with a sturdy hook at the other end.  $17.95 at your local Walmart.


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