[ale] I have fallen in love with Truecrypt

[JD]

> It's like a seatbelt: I'm not planning on getting into a wreck, but
> I'll wear my seatbelt anyway.  Never know when it will come in handy.
>
> (Oh yeah, and I have this crazy notion that the 1st, 4th, and 5th
> amendments -- among others -- still apply to me.)
Exactly.  If nobody uses encryption except people breaking laws, the 
police will assume anyone using encryption is breaking the law.  If all 
citizens used encryption, then we protect the people who really need 
it.  This goes doubly for encrypted email and web traffic.  We all need 
to do our parts as often as possible by encrypting everything regardless 
of whether we need that protection or not.

I'd ask this ...
"why does almost everyone use a first class letter and not postcards all 
the time?"

How is computing any different?  If I wanted the world to know 
something, I'd post it on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, my blog or on this listsrv.

The real reason I encrypt my laptop ... it is a portable device. When it 
is lost or stolen or stuck at Chinese customs, I'd like to know that my 
private data isn't accessible to anyone unless they have many thousands 
of computers to put at the task for a few years.  OTOH, I wouldn't take 
my main laptop to China. I'd take a throw-away Eee and if it left my 
sight, I'd sell it on eBay when I got home.  Same for a cell phone on 
that trip.