Signal can help you organize a group

I have been amazed at the stories about neighbors helping neighbors in Minneapolis and in other towns and cities. Nothing can replace the courage and kindness of the people who have risen to the occasion to help others. And one tool they use to organize their neighbors and friends is Signal.

You might think of Signal as a messaging app. It is that, but it is so much more. In addition to messages, Signal supports private video meetings, phone calls and file distribution. And it supports Groups! Signal groups provides an online meeting place for a community and it supports the security and privacy that Signal is famous for.

Once you know how Signal groups work, it becomes second nature as an organizing platform. The biggest challenge? The initial work of learning how to set up and organize Signal Groups can be a challenge. And that’s the focus of today’s announcement:

A new guide is now available to help you organize your work to create and manage a Signal Group. You can get it for free here:
https://mypersonalprivacy.net/pdf_files/how-to-create-and-manage-signal-groups/

The guide includes practical suggestions on how to organize your work that include creating different Signal groups for your organization, designing a code of conduct, vetting and on-boarding new members, and managing the group. There are also step-by-step instructions on creating and configuring Signal Groups. This guide should be helpful for anyone who is new to Signal Groups and wants to organize a group. Of course, you can get information from Signal directly. The intent of this guide is to provide a source that can be downloaded in one PDF and shared with others.

This guide, and all of the other guides on the My Personal Privacy website, are free to download and share. There are guides for private email, browsing, search, virtual private networks, AI and other applications. You can access them here:

https://MyPersonalPrivacy.net

We are surrounded by those who courageously stand for justice, humanity and kindness. This work is in honor of them and dedicated to them.

#Privacy #Security #Signal #Organizing #Resist

Wow. Our neighbors really want to learn about Internet privacy.

My local neighborhood group invited me to make a presentation on privacy at their monthly meeting. I was a little hesitant at first. I have done a lot of classes and seminars in corporate conference settings over the years. But these were my friends and neighbors and most of them are not technical in matters of security and privacy. I was not sure I could give a talk that wasn’t totally nerdy and boring. But I could see and feel the need and agreed to do it.

The response was incredible!

People filled up a living room, kitchen and hallway of the host family. What I thought would be a quick 20-minute presentation turned into an hour-long animated session. There was clearly a strong desire to use more private applications on the Internet, and a willingness to jump in and give it a try.

So, this is a call-out to all of my colleagues in the IT space. You have a role to play in defending our democracy and

YOU ARE NEEDED!

Here are some thoughts that might help you get started:

• Find a local neighborhood group that might be open to a short presentation, talk to the leaders and schedule a time and date.
• Plan on a 30 to 45 minute presentation. (Hint: it might go longer).
• At the meeting introduce yourself and your background. This builds trust.
• Explain the difference between Security and Privacy. (Hint: Google and Facebook are secure, but not private. Signal and Proton Mail are secure AND private).
• Keep it simple – focus on 3 to 5 applications to recommend. (See note below).
• Leave time for questions! There will be questions.
• Take a handout. One page or two pages with suggestions and resources should be enough.
• Remember – Privacy covers a lot of territory and you will only scratch the surface. That is OK. You will help people get started and this will empower them.

Have fun! You nerds are going to make new friends!

Here are the applications I recommend:

• Signal for messaging, phone calls, video calls and groups.
• Proton Mail for email (also has a suite of applications like Google).
• A VPN from MullVAD, NordVPN or Proton.
• Browsers from Tor or MullVAD with the DuckDuckGo search engine.

You will find other recommendations for AI, 2FA and Burner phones on the My Personal Privacy website (see below).

Some suggestions on the meeting presentation:

• There will be things you don’t know – don’t fake it, just tell people you will do the research and get back to them. This will build trust.
• The presentation does not have to be technical or use technical jargon. Keep it simple.
• Don’t spend too much time on any one question. If a question needs more time to answer, I suggest doing a one-on-one after the meeting, or follow up via email.
• Have a hand out. This will help people remember your comments after the meeting is over.
• If you are comfortable with this, give people your email address (Proton Mail, of course.)

Here are some resources you can share with your neighbors:

My Personal Privacy website. There are free, downloadable guides for privacy applications that you can hand out:
https://MyPersonalPrivacy.net

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (but warn people off of WhatsApp):
https://ssd.eff.org/

If you have questions you can DM me here, or contact me at this email address (Proton Mail, of course!):

[email protected]

Stay safe.

Patrick

Have you downloaded Signal and Proton Mail yet? Now is the time.

Signal and Proton Mail won’t go away, but they might be removed from the Apple and Google stores putting them out of reach for most users. Remember ICEBlock? It can happen. Download Signal and Proton Mail today and ask your friends to do the same. Free installation and configuration guides here:

https://MyPersonalPrivacy.net

#Security #Privacy #Resist #Signal #Proton

Dear IT Friends – We Are Called To Action

If you are like me, you have probably experienced your neighbors, friends and family asking you to help them fix their PCs and give them technical advice. That was always a bit odd for me as I was a big systems guy and relied on our internal IT team for PC advice and support.

But the times are changing, aren’t they?

It feels like we are facing so much new danger. And some groups are definitely targets. In my company our success was largely due to a highly diverse team and the support of family members. And if you are like me, you probably wonder what you can do now to help now.

I recently re-read Timothy Snyder’s comments on this question.

He said “You can do what you can do.”

At first this was puzzling to me. But now it is very clear – we can bring the talents and skills we already have to the fight for democracy and justice. Of course - It is very simple! We fight for democracy using the tools that we have. Simple, elegant and powerful!

For me this means applying what I’ve learned about security and privacy to the applications we use on our PCs and mobile phones every day. It has meant learning some new applications like Signal and Proton Mail and VPNs. And it means reaching out and offering to help those in need. And, wow, there is a big need out there!

If you are one of those IT nerds, I hope you will hear this call, too. There is so much we can do to help. There are so many of our friends who are in danger. In addition to your family and neighbors, I will bet there are small groups in your community who need help. We are the ones who can help them install and use applications that will protect their privacy.

With a focus on both security and privacy, I created this website to help those in need and to help IT colleagues who want to work on this:

https://MyPersonalPrivacy.net

You will find free, downloadable documents on many topics related to security and privacy. These documents will help you choose, install and configure PC and mobile applications that put privacy first. You will also find a Getting Started post that might be helpful in organizing your work. All of this is free of charge and in the public domain. And you can distribute the material as you like.

So, put on your cape and let’s get to work. We have much to offer and we are not alone in this fight. Best wishes to you in your work for democracy.

Stay safe.

#Security #Privacy #IT #InfoSec #Resist

Cory Doctorow gets it – Time to download privacy apps now

The Dictator/Fascist/Authoritarian playbook is well understood. Surveillance is a key part of the effort to dominate and punish individuals who engage in legal dissent or opposition. The recent decision by Apple and Google to remove the ICEBlock application from their app stores is a good example of how this control plays out.

Our mobile phones are the main platform that we use to send and receive text and email messages. Most applications for messaging do not adequately protect your privacy. Signal and Proton Mail are the exceptions. They implement a privacy-first architecture and cannot share the content of your messages with others. This makes them a target of repressive regimes.

We now know that these apps can disappear in a blink. Download them today. Even if you don’t start using them right away, get them while you can. If you use an iPhone, go to the Apple store to download Signal and Proton Mail. If you use an Android phone, go to the Google Play store to get both of these applications.

The leadership at Signal and Proton are deeply committed to privacy. I think we can be confident that they will not bend to pressure to remove the privacy protections in their apps. But we cannot have that same level of confidence with Apple and Google. In fact, they have already surrendered to pressure.

I’ve published privacy application guides here:
https://MyPersonalPrivacy.net

Or, you can get guidance from the Electronic Frontier Foundation here (click on the Tools Guide, but avoid WhatsApp):
https://ssd.eff.org/

Cory Doctorow writes on a number of topics related to technology, business and culture. You can find his article about application censorship here:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/10/20/post-american-internet/#huawei-with-american-characteristics

#Security #Privacy #Signal #Proton #ProtonMail #Censorship

@pluralistic

A Case for Urgency



“Gradually, then suddenly.” – Ernest Hemingway


We live in a rapidly developing dictatorship here in the US. We do not know exactly the details on how this will evolve, but we know that surveillance is always core to creating and sustaining a dictatorship. Surveillance provides the dictator with the foundation for suppressing and intimidating any opposition.



Privacy in our communications reduces the effectiveness of surveillance. Not everything we say or do needs to be private. Public opposition to dictators is one of the primary tools to oppose them. But not every communication can or should be public. We don’t need to make it easy for dictators. 



Take action now to download and set up privacy-first applications. These applications may soon be blocked or made illegal.

You can find free recommendations and privacy guides to download here:

https://mypersonalprivacy.net



These guides will help you choose, install and configure applications for messaging, email, browsing, VPN and other applications. You can easily try these applications without disrupting your current Internet use. There is also a blog on where to start if you need some pointers:
 
https://mypersonalprivacy.net/where-to-start/
 
Stay safe.

#Security #Privacy #Resist

It is not wise to piss off your partners and allies.

The EU is starting an initiative to define an EU-specific technology stack. There is an impressive set of companies and organizations signing on. If you are a US technology firm you need to start tracking this and figure out a strategy. Caving in to autocrats has its downsides. More here:

https://EuroStack.eu

#EuroStack #Technology #EU