Can the Feds track where you go on the internet? Can they gather potentially embarrassing information about you based on the sites you go to and the things you type anonymously online? Can they single out a computer—yours—and record all of your internet activity? What level of surveillance are they actually capable of?
I once heard a man from the government caution a group of workers about visiting any URLs that may have been connected with terrorist groups. He said if you visit any of those sites, you WILL be monitored and FBI agents will show up on your doorstep.
If they can do that, what’s to stop them from running surveillance to monitor your activity at sites that, while not illegal or terrorist, would nevertheless be embarrassing?
(Apologies: I remember there was a GQ thread asking this question once, but I couldn’t find it after searching for it.)
Revtim, I have heard of cases like that happening. But the question I was asking concerned the Feds’ ability to monitor your activity in realtime. For example, if they wanted to, could they pick up on this very message as I type it or as I send it? Could they record your visited URLs directly without having to get them from your ISP?
One question is whether this is technologically feasible for them. Another question is whether the Patriot Act or similar legislation permits this form of wiretapping without a warrant.
Beyond the methods via ISP, I don’t really know. It wouldn’t surprise me if they could monitor it at some higher level than the ISP. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the Internet’s structure could provide some info.
I don’t think they could do that to just any old person without making prior arrangements. They could, if they so desired, try to pick up on the TEMPEST radiation being emitted by your monitor, or use other “real-world” methods to see what you’re doing. Alternately, they could install “spy software” on your computer such as a keylogger, but I don’t think there’s a foolproof way to do that without your knowledge, assuming your computer is properly patched and up-to-date. So my opinion is that your visited URLs or typed messages can’t be extracted directly from your computer remotely.
As for reading something as it is sent: maybe, but I sort of doubt it. When you send data over the Internet, it passes through a series of routers on its way to the destination server (and this series may not always be the same). If someone knew what path your data was going to take, and was able to view all data passing through a certain router on that path, then they could find your message given enough storage space and time. I have no idea whether the feds can do this for an arbitrary person in realtime - my guess is no.
Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think it’s unlikely you can be watched unless the government already decided it wants to watch you. I’m not a network security professional, so take my advice as merely “somewhat informed opinion”, rather than statements of fact.
Guys, the FBI essentially has infinite resources. An individual ha finite resources. If the FBI were to single out one user, they could monitor not only 100% of his/her computer activities, but 100% of all activities.
Yes, but I think the OP was more concerned with whether Joe Average could get himself placed on a “watch list” or singled out for surveillance, by doing suspicious-looking but legal things.
Implicitly assumed in this post: “Joe Average” is not already under surveillance!
This isn’t that hard. I could, with law enforcement backing, monitor every single thing you access in real time. It would start via your ISP, and then go out from there. Your ISP has the ability to log every single packet that comes and goes to your machine - whether or not they actually do it, or how much they archive, is the only thing in question. IME, from tracking down a couple of stalkers, most all ISPs do not log or store packet-level info unless there is a serious, specific problem with an account.
But the process doesn’t even have to touch your ISP if the Feds want to stay remote - your ISP is connected via a finite number of other routers and switches out there, and the next level of the “cloud” could be monitored as well. Then, on the other side of the ISP, they could also (with court order, as in all the above cases) tap your phone/cable line, putting a splitter or extra link between you and the ISP, and record every single packet you send or receive.
So they could do it, technologically. That’s what I thought.
If they did it, there wouldn’t be any way for us to know, would there? The Patriot Act means they can keep secret all their spying on citizens. On citizens who aren’t even suspected of any crime. They don’t need a warrant, and they can spy on you without letting anyone know. Transparency in this government is dead.
Conclusion: We can assume that anything we say, anywhere we surf, any conversation we have is monitored and stored somewhere.