We won’t tell you who you are, but we’re going to protect your privacy. Trust us!
That’s the premise of privacy.li. It offers a range of security services including anonymous remailers, encryption software, anonymized proxy servers, and more.
There’s just one problem: How are we supposed to trust them?
On their home page comes this heartwarming prose:
Privacy from the Principality of Liechtenstein, in the heart of the Alps, nestled between Switzerland and Austria. In times of turmoil and insecurity, witch hunt and suspicions, expropriations and diminishing credibility of our world leaders it’s always good to have a place you can turn to. This is the humble effort to provide a place to the privacy and freedom concerned world citizens to meet, discuss, help each other and foster ones desire for liberty and freedom.
Followed shortly by the “company profile”:
Actually, this is not to be published here:-) A privacy service like ours is best if not too many details are known, we hope you fully understand and support this. The makers of this page are veterans at the chosen subject, and will under no circumstances jeopardize your privacy.
Wait, we’re supposed to trust you with our most sensitive communications without even knowing who you are? What do you take me for, a fool?
The DriveCrypt software for sale here is completely proprietary. While it claims to use peer-reviewed encryption algorithms, the source code is not available for inspection. This is vitally important in deciding whether to trust a particular encryption program. If the source is not available, and cannot be inspected, then anyone can place a back door in the program which could allow third parties access to your encrypted data.
In addition, the privacy.li site asks for your email address before it will let you read their privacy documents which they offer for download. Just what exactly are they doing with your address?
I was going to do some investigations into who these people are, but Bruce Schneier’s readers did a far better job than I ever could. Schneier is the author of Applied Cryptography, required reading for anyone who wants to be an encryption expert, and Secrets and Lies, which is for those of us who will never be encryption experts.
My personal assessment of this site is that I would never use any service associated with them in any way, and I recommend if you are using their services, stop immediately and seek out more trustworthy services.
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The end of a war, to most people, means all the troops come home, out of harm's way. It means we stop killing people and getting killed. It means we stop sending troops and armed personnel over and draining our treasury for military operations in that foreign land. But much like the infamous "mission accomplished" moment of the last administration, this "end" of the war also means none of those things.
How could giving more Americans an ownership stake in society be bad? When the housing market heated up to the breaking point everything came crashing down. Those suddenly facing foreclosure saw the reality of government compassion. Truly, when government offers you a gift, you should eye it with great suspicion.
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Anony Mouse
Oct 11, 2005
See the latest in Bruce Schneier’s weblog about them!
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/07/the_doghouse_pr.html
SillyGoose
Jun 12, 2006
Re: privacy.li
Well, well, and there was that poor Silly Goose ready to forgive and forget! …. actually, maybe not quite forgive, certainly not forget (!), but at least file it away as yet another unfortunate lesson of life
But then that stupid conman surfaces again and places yet another confidence-inspiring trap at privacy.li
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he plasters the net with malicious dispersions upon MY character !!
Fancy somebody as anonymous as that conman spreading slander about the Silly Goose, whose identity is accessible to anybody who wants to see!
The full story about Georg Adem, Adminus, Klaus Gruber, Nino Musari, Roman, or whatever name he is using right now, can be found at:
http://www.appleby.net/privacy.html
Jack Heim
Aug 31, 2006
Open Letter to Google Help. Privacy.li runs their servers from Viet Nam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc. There is no dealing with them. The posting of personal, confidential information on myself as well as Anti-Semitic defamatory and slanderous material on their forum must be removed from Google’s search engine.
Both my privacy and civil rights are violated by these “smut” peddlers of the Internet.
Please remove the attached postings on Google as soon as possible. Please also provide your physical mailing address so that I may send a certified letter with return receipt.
Regards, Jesse (Jack) Heim III licensed agent/broker
Licensed in all fifty states. TX # 696602, CA # 0C99460, LA # 265096, UT # 58259. Licensed FL agent # E000048. Member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, # 1265787.
Jack Heim
Feb 28, 2007
Look at the posting below from Anonymous @ www.privacy.li on Bruce Schneier’s blog claiming THEY are involved with laundering money for HAMAS. No doubt!
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/07/the_doghouse_pr.html
btw, you’re having a pissing match with h a m a s and their supporters. In case you didn’t know guns cost money.
Posted by: Anonymous at November 16, 2006 02:10 PM
Natursekt
Apr 07, 2007
Well, well, Jack Heim the insurance thief and Mrs Renate Hensman, the investment embezzler, are probably the last to complain:
Since years there is an outfit on the internet at appleby.net, which is listing some of our domains having been involved to scam the site owner, Renata Hensmann, German, back in 2000. Numerous efforts have been undertaken from our side to get those listings removed, as they plain and simple are libel and far away from the truth. The final word from Renata Hensmann a few years back was: Oh, no problem, please pay my loss (approx. 2000 USD), plus for my time, effort etc, making it 5000 USD!
An outrages effort to extort us, which we of course turned down.
We approached the hosting company, www.tierra.net , but they cover their client Hensmann, although she is in clear breach of the host’s TOS.
We have done a quick due diligence on Renata Hensmann and found the following interesting facts about her:
* escaped from German authorities in 1997, warrant for her outstanding (fraud, embezzlement of small investors in Germany, from 1991- 1996, damage 18 million EURO, at that time about 36 million Deutsch Mark)
* She is currently hiding in Jordan, Amman (no treaty with Germany)
* Her web sites www.appleby.net and www.mideastgate.com are the innocent looking frontpages for a continued fraud and unethical behavior.
We suggest you do not use any of the offered services at www.appleby.net and www.mideastgate.com , even better, stay completely away.
If you want to help privacy.li you may of course write yourself to abuse@tierra.net, complaining about appleby.net.
Buyer Beware!
Jack Heim
Apr 09, 2007
Privacyli, Privacy li, Privacy.li an embarrassment to the WWW. Why not open an account with them. Next they will phish the passwords off your machine, unload your bank account, eavesdrop on all incoming and outgoing email. Offer to set you up with www.1stdigibank.com and so on. Then if you complain the will slander and defame you on their blog. Nice bunch of fellows. And the country of Liechtenstein, they claim privacy.li does not exist there? Now after admiting involvement with HAMAS, the NSA and CIA have surly tapped in! There in no privacy at .li
Haman's Avenger
Jun 16, 2007
What you’re not telling people, Jack, is that you’re a Mossad operative. The FBI has been watching you very closely, my friend. Take care ;)
Jack Heim
Jun 16, 2007
I’m afraid not. You see my lifes an open book. As an insurance broker, my fingerprints, photo’s etc. are recorded in all 50 States. TX # 696602, CA # 0C99460, LA # 265096, UT # 58259. Licensed FL agent # E000048. Member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, # 1265787.
Nice, try.
Jorge Mesca
Jul 31, 2007
Anyone even considering sending money to privacy.li would do well to go to this web site and read the commentary and all the following comments:
Hugo Juarez Juden
Dec 18, 2009
Anyone even considering sending money to privacy.li is clearly a fool!
Jason Juden
Jan 27, 2010
Anyone looking twice at sending even one euro to privacy.li is beyond being a fool – they’re a philanthropist for conmen!!!