Sogi Campaigns sogi_admin, Author at Sogi Campaigns

5 Online Security Steps to Take Now!

November 28, 2015

These days, online security is as essential as the basic security measures you would take for yourself and your material possessions in your daily life. With reports of government surveillance on activists, academics, and civilians on the rise, taking security precautions to assure you and your data are safe online is a necessary step. Here are our five must-do tips on how to maintain data security online and resources for why online safety and digital freedom are, in fact, an LGBT matter.

Install ToR and browse LGBT-related content through the ToR Browser. By bouncing your communications off multiple networks, the ToR browser ensures your location, identity, and the content you’re browsing to only be known by you. The ToR browser can be used on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux (as well as launched through a USB) without the need to install software.
You can download it for your computer here.
For Android devices, try ToR’s project Orbot.
Use an anonymous email on ALL social media sites.

Nowadays, all social media sites demand an email to log in and to create a profile. Many apps also require you to sync with your Facebook or Gmail. All these profiles and apps store information and can make tracking your movements online easily discoverable by governments or other parties interested in your information. It is best to create an email address that is anonymous and separate from your personal email.Unfortunately, the most popular email services are not known to be the safest in terms of online security as companies and governments can request access to your information or cater advertisements based on your cookies and search history (if you are browsing online and don’t want record of it in your search history – make sure to browse incognito!).These steps for anonymity online are particularly important when organizing around sensitive subjects such as gender and sexual and bodily rights. Unlike corporate email services which rely on advertisements and corporations to maintain their services, RiseUp is a non-corporate, volunteer run email service. While RiseUp offers less space than corporate email service providers, they encrypt incoming/outgoing traffic, do not disclose your location/IP address, and don’t log your internet addresses. RiseUp has been used by organizations and groups globally to ensure safe and encrypted communications. Join the movement for Digital Security and switch to RiseUp here.
Mask your IP Address.
Your IP address is just like your home mailing address in that it is your personal unique identifier. Since every device on a network has it’s own IP address, you may prefer to mask your IP when browsing websites (particularly on sensitive subjects such as LGBT rights). To do so, you would need to use a proxy server to bypass your network and operate outside of it as well as mask your IP address. Proxy.org has an abundant resource of proxy servers available for your use. Make sure to check the pros and cons to any proxy server you intend to you as each offer different services and varying degrees of anonymity online.
Set up two-step verification for ALL of your social media and email services.

Due to hacking, identity theft, data leaking, and other online security risks; most big online companies have adopted heightened security measures with a two-step verification policy. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, and Evernote each have an option for two-step verification to ensure your accounts are only accessed by you. This requires users to have a security code which is usually automatically generated and sent via text to the users phone as well as enter their password to access their information.

Here’s how to set each one of them up:

Facebook: To turn on your two-step verification on Facebook you need to enable login approval. Go to Settings > Security > Login Approvals and enter your cell phone number. Once this has been enabled, Facebook automatically sends you a text with an access code every time your account is accessed from an unknown device.
Twitter: To set up two-step verification on Twitter, go to Settings > Account Security > “Require Verification Code When I Sign In”. This will require you to confirm both an active email address and cellphone number to your account. Each time you access your account from a new device, twitter will send you a fresh code to that number.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn tends to hold a lot of personal professional information as well as what you share with your connections and the general public. If you have a profile on LinkedIn (as well as all your social media accounts), it is advisable to set up two-step verification. To do so go to Account & Settings (scroll over profile icon for options to appear) > Privacy & Settings > Account tab > “Manage security settings”.
Google: To set up two-step verification on Google, login to your account on google then scroll to the top right corner of Gmail and click on Settings > Accounts > Change account settings.
Apple: Two-step verification on Apple takes slightly longer to set up then some other accounts. To do so go to “Manage your Apple ID” > “Password and Security” >”Get Started” > follow the onscreen instructions. Apple will then send you an email in three days, with instructions on how to finalize the two-step verification process.

*Be wary of your “location settings” and “app access” (also located in your general settings and your app settings) on all of these social media sites.

5. Use Alternative Chatting Sites to Communicate and Organize*

In the 21st Century, most of our communication and organization is done online. When the Arab Spring took place in Tunisia and Egypt, most organization and coordination for the protests took place on Facebook groups and chats as well as Twitter. However, these are not the safest modes of communication to use as these sites are increasingly cooperating with governments to share information when requested. In order for you to organize and communicate openly without the fear that your conversation is being logged or stored somewhere.

Here are some alternative chatting sites / apps you can use to make sure your information is as secure as you can possibly make it:

Cryptocat is a fun, accessible app for having encrypted chat with your friends, right in your browser and mobile phone. Everything is encrypted before it leaves your computer. Even the Cryptocat network itself can’t read your messages. Cryptocat is open source, free software, developed by encryption professionals to make privacy accessible to everyone.

“Off-the-Record” Software can be added to free open-source instant messaging platforms like Pidgin or Adium. On these platforms, you’re able to organize and manage different instant messaging accounts on one interface. When you then install OTR, your chats are encrypted and authenticated, so you can rest assured you’re talking to a friend.

ChatSecure: Encrypted Messages on iOS and Android. ChatSecure is a free and open source messaging app that features OTR encryption over XMPP. You can connect to your existing accounts on Facebook or Google, create new accounts on public XMPP servers(including via Tor), or even connect to your own server for extra security.

All of the above chat software and apps require an Internet connection provided by either Wifi or your mobile carrier. As we witnessed with the Arab Spring and other moments of national political tension, governments can switch off or limit connectivity in public spaces to make communications about public actions, safety protocols, and other information between activists and citizens even harder to share to the widespread audiences that social media platforms provide. This is where FireChat comes in.

FireChat is the messaging app that works when and where others cannot. FireChat uses peer-to-peer mesh networking technology to connect people and mobile devices even when no Internet connection or mobile data service is available. FireChat has been among the top 10 social networking applications in 124 countries. From Burning Man to Taiwan, HongKong, Delhi, Moscow, Manila, Paris, Srinagar, Kuala Lumpur and Austin, pro-democracy protesters, disaster relief organizations, leaders, and artists are choosing FireChat to stay connected to their friends and communities.

*Always check what each service provides, what information – if any – is stored, and if your traffic is encrypted.

Further Reading

Egypt jails eight men after ‘gay marriage’ ceremony on Nile

Russia bans five online LGBT youth groups under anti-gay law

‘Perfect Surveillance,’ Says Edward Snowden, Could Have Snuffed Out the LGBT Movement. He’s Right.

Digital Freedom Is an LGBT Issue

IP address: What is it and How can I mask it?

November 27, 2015

What is an IP address?

If you were to send a letter to a friend of yours through the mail, you would need to write their address on the envelope for it to reach them. Similarly, each computer has its own IP address which is the machine’s unique identifier when sending data out to other computers on a network.

Generally, most networks and all computers on the internet use a TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) as a standard communication language or protocol over a network. Every computer’s unique identifier is located within the TCP/IP protocol.

The standard IP addresses come in two formats. The first – that all computer with an IP address currently use – is the IPv4 (IP version 4) address which is made up of 32 binary bits that creates a unique code for each device such as 96.35.982.692

The IPv6 (IP version 6) address uses 128 binary bits. IPv6 addresses are denoted by eight groups of hexadecimal quartets separated by colons in between them.

Here is an example of a valid IPv6 address: 2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652

How can I keep my IP address hidden?

Whether you are researching sensitive information, organizing with other activists, or just prefer to keep a low profile online there are ways to mask your IP address from prying eyes.

A proxy server is a server that acts as the ‘middle person’ for requests between an individual and the resources on the intended server which is being accessed. As well as masking your IP address, using a proxy allows you to bypass restrictions to websites. In short, once you have connected to a proxy server, you are “outside” of your network and any ‘traffic’ or data being viewed or uploaded/downloaded appears to be coming from the proxy server rather than from your direct network.

Each proxy server offers different services and it is well worth researching which one may be right for your needs. Proxy.org offers a comprehensive and regularly updated web proxy list of the proxy servers out there that you can use.

Secure & Encrypted: Virtual Private Network (VPN)

November 26, 2015

What is VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (commonly referred to as VPN) is a “network technology that creates a secure network connection over a public network such as the internet or a private network owned by a service provider.” Basically, a VPN is a group of computers that network ‘privately’ together over the internet – a ‘public’ network. VPN is an important tool while browsing securely online as it is a method for securing and encrypting communications when on an untrusted public network. While you may think that this is an excessive step to take while online, with increasing government surveillance and intrusion into individual’s private information, it is a vital technology to ensure your security while researching, organizing campaigns, uploading/downloading content, or simply just browsing online.

Whether you want to access sensitive information remotely, websites/movies/files that are blocked in the country you reside in, research controversial subjects, or just don’t want any record of your online presence – VPN is the way to go.

The most important thing for you to remember is that using a Virtual Private Network secures your computer’s internet connection. This guarantees that all of the data you’re sending and receiving is encrypted and secure from prying eyes.

Check out this video to better understand VPN – What is it? How does it work?

Which VPNs are the Best?

With so many sites on the internet, it’s hard to know which VPNs are the best. Here are some reliable VPN service providers that can help you on your way to securing and encrypting your data online.

TorVPN

Private Internet Access

Privilege: What is it and How do you Keep it in Check?

November 26, 2015

Check your Privilege:

What does it mean when someone remarks on your ‘privilege’ or asks you to ‘check your privilege’? Privilege in this instance refers to the multiple ways that institutions and society automatically favor you as a result of your race, class, gender, sexuality and other classifications based on systems of oppression. It is not about you personally but about the advantages you may have over others because of a history of institutional power and subjugation of certain communities or groups of people.

This doesn’t mean that you haven’t suffered or experienced disadvantages or particular forms of systematic violence in life. It just means that in specific instances, we all are more privileged than some depending on the topic at hand and it is important to accept this, just listen to, and understand those that have experience and lived a form of systematic violence that we have not.

Buzzfeed has provided a simplified test to understand where you fall on the spectrum and why:

How Privileged Are You?

Homonationalism and the Creation of “Executive LGBT”

November 26, 2015

Homonationalism

Jasbir Puar’s book Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times introduces readers to the notion of homonationalism which is a coupling of Lisa Duggan’s Homonormativity. Homonationalism however differs in that it is poststructural critique of nationalism and develops a conceptual framework to analyze and understand how “acceptance” and “tolerance” of lesbians and gay men becomes the litmus test for neoliberal economic and racial practices in the West and a way of rereading national sovereignty, sexual rights, and democracy in the 21st century.

Further Reading:

Jasbir K. Puar, Terrorist Assemblages: homonationalism in queer times (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2007). See also her collected writings at http://www.jasbirpuar.com/.

No Homonationalism – A Collection of Active Writings and Resources for Organic Intellectuals

Gay Rights as Human Rights: Pinkwashing Homonationalism

Problematic Proximities, Or why Critiques of “Gay Imperialism” Matter

Homonormativity

November 26, 2015

Homonormativity

Homonormativity was first coined by Lisa Duggan in her work The New Homonormativity: The Sexual Politics of Neoliberalism where she describes “the new homonormativity – it is a politics that does not contest dominant heteronormative assumptions and institutions [such as gay marriage or the right to serve openly in the military] – but upholds and sustains them while promising the possibility of a demobilized gay constituency and a privatised, depoliticized culture anchored in domesticity and consumption” (Duggan).

Further Reading:

Duggan, Lisa – The New Homonormativity: the Sexual Politics of Neoliberalism

Mapping US Homonormatives

Homonormativity, Homonationalism and the ‘Other’

Gender Trouble: Performativity and Creating Your Gender

November 26, 2015

Gender Performativity

Post-structuralist feminist philosopher Judith Butler first used the term gender performativity in her work Gender Trouble (1990). Butler states that gender, which is a socially constructed idea, is a continuous performance of the mythical notions of what constitutes male and female gender identities. Butler points out that “the body is only known through its gendered appearance”, and therefore gender performativity is the incessant reenactment of the gendered appearance, experience, and personal identification of it (406).

Biopower & Biopolitics

November 26, 2015

Biopower and Biopolitics

The French philosopher, social theorist and historian Michel Foucault, is concerned with how modern society is controlled, subjugated and regulated through “biopower”. Biopower is a complex social theory that examines the strategies and mechanisms by which society is organized and managed through an authoritative regime of power, knowledge, and systems of subjugation. Power is not only something that an elite few exercise over the rest of society. Power is rather decentralized, invisible and diffused through all layers of society so that our very sense of self, our relationships and actions are a product of its force.

Foucault famously juxtapositioned what we know to be “sovereign power” against the notion of biopolitics. Biopolitics, as he defined it, is understood as “a power bent on generating forces, making them grow, and ordering them, rather than one dedicated to impeding them, making them submit, or destroying them.”

Intersectionality: How’s it all Connected?

November 26, 2015

What is Intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a concept coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. It is commonly used in critical theory to illustrate how different forms of discriminationatory and oppressive institutions (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ageism, ableism, xenophobia, etc..) are interconnected and and cannot be analyzed and examined in vacuum of each other. It is a methodology of critical thought that examines “the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations” (McCall 2005).

Further Reading:

Mapping the Margins, Kimberlé Crenshaw

Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice

Gender and Humanitarian Issues

On ‘gay conditionality’, imperial power and queer liberation: Rahul Rao

What do those temporary Facebook profile pictures really mean?

November 18, 2015

As so many of us focus our work around online campaigns it’s really useful to know how social media drives norms (or doesn’t….). Here’s a great article from Scientific American that might help inform some of your future plans!

Also worth reading on the same topic is the Washington Post’s article “More than 26 million people have changed their Facebook picture to a rainbow flag. Here’s why that matters.”

From Scientific American

“We know that online peer pressure is powerful. But what we don’t know is whether that pressure is driving real change.

Sharing your opinions and thoughts online is as simple as clicking a button. But you might want to hold off on clicking that button if your opinion or thinking differs from the at-the-moment sentiment sweeping through your social network. To do otherwise, might bring the ire of your connections, and with it ostracism from the group. While it has never been easier to share online, it’s also never been harder to share things that differ from public sentiment or to not offer an opinion in the wake of emotionally charged events. Peer pressure, which was once categorically regarded as a negative driver of drugs and deviant behavior, has morphed to a broader expression of social pressure in online spaces and is more aligned with maintaining group norms.

Why is this an issue? There is a difference between norms that arise as a result of social consideration and norms that are driven by social momentum. The former are designed to improve a group’s cohesiveness by establishing degrees of sameness through agreement; they can be challenged and debated, and there is room for them to change to meet the needs of the widest possible group set. The latter, however, are driven by emotional responses. They become established quickly and decisively, spreading like wildfire, and bear a violence toward those who disagree. This has rightly been described as mob mentality because there is little discussion or debate; and while some people are relieved to have their beliefs finally expressed publicly, others follow because they are swept along by the expressions of the group or because they are afraid to stand apart from the group. In the online world, this has recently been helpful in highlighting cases of harassment but caution is warranted. There is a speed-to-action online that is troubling in that in quickly establishes a stigma tied to behavior or thinking that differs and forces people to act in less than meaningful ways.

In recent years, both of these circumstances have played out on Facebook. In 2012, Facebook allowed users to indicate their organ donor status. Later that year, Facebook asked users to pledge to vote in the presidential election. Both actions were marked by a sharable status that a user could use to broadcast action/intent to his or her network. The organ donor initiative was meant to help reduce the misconceptions that plague the donor community and prevent donor sign-ups. It drew criticism because it highlighted a personal choice as something a person could not be judged on, calling out a status that may differ between people and matter more than if you both liked the television show Friends. Similarly, “I Voted” was meant to mobilize people based on peer pressure. The idea being that if the majority of your friends had voted, you might want to as well. While most people will agree that becoming an organ donor or casting a vote is not a bad thing, the pressure to indicate that you’re in sync with your community might result in a false reporting of your status. There was no means of verifying that you were an organ donor or that you voted. What mattered, however, was the show of solidarity, which was driven by emotional wave of activism and change, respectively.

Behaviors and thoughts spread much in the same way that viruses do: they’re most powerful, and contagious, when passed between people who have close contact with each other. Within social networks–both online and offline–there is evidence to suggest that in groups where there is a great deal of overlap between members in terms of shared connections and interests, there are higher rates of adoption of behaviors and thinking because members are receiving reinforced signals about certain patterns. In these types of clustered networks, behavior and thought exist as complex contagions, requiring multiple points of contact before “infection” is established.

Researchers Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler gave us a good example of the power of clustered networks by tracing obesity, smoking cessation, and happiness through the Framingham network. This network was revealed following a medical study that collected information on personal contacts, which allowed the participants’ social networks to be mapped years later, and for researchers to trace the spread of certain behaviors. Christakis and Fowler found that:

If a person became obese, the likelihood his friend would also become obese was 171%.
When smokers quit, their friends are 36% more likely to also quit. (Although this effect diminishes as the separation between contacts grow, and loses its efficacy at four degrees of separation.)
Happy friends increased the likelihood of an individual being happy by 8%.

The Framingham data illustrated a potential impact of the connections within a network. Our networks help us establish a sense of what’s acceptable–right down to expanding waistlines. The more social reinforcement we receive that certain actions are appropriate, the more likely we are to adopt those actions ourselves.

The catch here is that the Framingham data represents an offline dataset. So in the case of the smokers who quit and influenced their friends to follow, this happened without a temporary profile picture or an “I quit smoking” Facebook status. This behavior played out offline where it was vetted and assessed before it was adopted. That kind of critical thinking is often missing from the online pressure to conform. What does it mean if your profile picture was not updated? Maybe you’re not active on Facebook often, in which case, you’d probably get a pass. But if you are active, does it mean you condone the attacks? What do we really accomplish with these kinds of acts of solidarity? Ultimately, it sends a message about who we are as people; it serves to distinguish us from an other–it says we aren’t like them, we aren’t bad people. But does it stop there?

Beyond our responses to acts of terrorism, we are establishing new data points upon which we can be judged. In the Framingham study, smokers mingled freely with nonsmokers in 1971 and they were distributed evenly throughout the network. However, by 2001 as groups of smokers quit, those who persisted were socially isolated. What if we required people to list their status as smokers or non-smokers–how would our networks shift as a result of this information? The temporary profile picture is a great way to get people to initially think about what is happening around them. But what does it mean beyond that? How does it drive change in a meaningful way? Right now, it may be a conversation point, but it may also provide an easy way out of having to take action in the real world. There are presently voices online highlighting ways that people can help–but will people feel that need to once they’ve updated their profile picture?”

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