To hide or not to hide your identity online?

"The public interest is not always the same as the national interest" 

- Edward Snowden, TED talk.

I cannot agree more. There are multiple occasions in the history where both interests were clashed.

"We shouldn't be criminalizing journalism", said E. Snowden. And while I don't believe what he did what journalism, I don't think he is a traitor either. I do think Snowden is living in the idealized world, where everyone's cooperation could be mutually beneficial. The world, where the government doesn't spy on its citizens, and the citizens in their turn support the government and act as a whole.

It is like the argument between bicyclists and pedestrians: bicyclists say pedestrians cross the bicycle lane at all times, and pedestrians say, bicyclists ride the red lights. If only both sides agreed on following the rules, there would be no accidents.

However, this idealized world doesn't and cannot exist. For that there are always people seeking to enrich at a someone else's account. Therefore, accepting the fact that some of my (and everyone else's) personal data is being tracked by the government, gives me a hope that in case of emergency, i can rely on the government to fight for my rights and security. I could be wrong as well knowing that i grey up in a completely different environment, and some fundamental rights protected by the U.S. constitution are foreign to me.

"Kill the Password: Why a String of Characters Can’t Protect Us Anymore." by Mat Honan opened my eyes on various different issues regarding my online privacy and safety. It came down as a shock, how easy it is to get an access to one's online accounts and pass by the security questions. I caught myself on a thought that many of things that could clue an unwanted perpetrator to my passwords can be easily found online. M. Honan described the step-by-step process of breaking into an account with such ease that it is scary, terrifying. And while a lot (and M. Honan himself) suggested to not panic (because everything can be broken into) but take the basic precautions and not to be stupid by using such passwords as "password1," I am very concerned still. Even though my online presence isn't of much significance.

I found an article on this tech web site that explains how to protect Google Drive documents and going to do just that.