Patrick Townsend
patricktownsend.bsky.social
Patrick Townsend
@patricktownsend.bsky.social
Interested in computer security and privacy, native plants and gardening, cats, and peace and justice.
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.
October 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
AI – I am here to help; would you like to chat?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) of one type or another is now a part of most of the applications and services we use on the Internet. In spite of AI’s helpful features, there are hidden dangers in most of the common AI applications and services.
September 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
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 sustaining a dictatorship.

#Security #Privacy #Resist
September 15, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Protect your privacy – browsers and search engines

Surveillance has always been a core part of fascist regimes. This is still true today, but is even more dangerous due to new data aggregation and AI technologies. The Internet sites you visit and the things you search for become a part of the
August 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
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. Caving in to autocrats has its downsides. More here:

eurostack.eu

#EuroStack #Technology
Euro Stack | Building Europe’s digital future
A European Industrial Policy initiative bringing together tech, governance and funding for Europe-focused investment to build and adopt a suite of digital infrastructures
EuroStack.eu
August 21, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Assessing security and privacy

I sometimes get asked how I think about and evaluate the security and privacy of Internet services and applications. For me, a number of factors come into focus when assessing the privacy of an application or service.

#Security #Privacy
August 1, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Protect your email privacy – Start now with Proton Mail

Just a reminder that autocracies always implement broad surveillance methods in order to identify and punish resistance. Surveillance can take many forms including the capture of your email messages and attachments.
July 29, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Protect your privacy – Start now with Signal

Autocracies always implement broad surveillance methods in order to identify and punish resistance. Surveillance can take many forms including the capture of your social media posts and email, monitoring your connections to web sites,
July 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
My Personal Privacy - Achieve Better Online Privacy

The right to privacy is a well-established, fundamental human right. It is necessary for a safe and just society. It is especially important in regions where intolerance and discrimination are backed by autocratic regimes.

#Security #Privacy
July 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
I've been pretty quiet here lately, but I've not been goofing off. I am leveraging what I've learned about security and privacy over the last two decades to create guides for the non-technical person.

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June 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
CECOT in El Salvador is a concentration camp. We should call it what it is:

encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a...

I've walked the grounds of Dachau. No one should have any doubt about the direction and intent of this administration.

#Holocaust #ConcentrationCamp #Trump #Resist
Nazi Camps
Nazi Germany and its allies established over 44,000 concentration camps and incarceration sites during the Holocaust. Read about the Nazi camp system.
encyclopedia.ushmm.org
April 15, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The stories about SignalGate are funny, sad and infuriating. But let's not forget that Signal is the most secure and private message, file sharing, and video application publicly available to at-risk individuals and groups. Meredith Whittaker and her team at Signal are awesome.
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March 31, 2025 at 6:57 PM
@resistancerangers.bsky.social
Awesome group at the Resistance Rangers protest at Mt. Rainier National Park! We love our national parks and our dedicated rangers!
March 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Now is the time to get a secure email account that you can trust. I suggest Proton Mail which you can get here: proton.me. You don't have to give up your Gmail or other email account, but those are not going to be dependably private. Google just caved to political pressure. Proton won't.
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Proton: Privacy by default
Over 100 million people use Proton to stay private and secure online. Get a free Proton account and take back your privacy.
proton.me
January 29, 2025 at 12:46 AM
My IT security background is in encryption for data protection and I am learning my way into other areas of online security and privacy. I am impressed with the security and privacy of Proton Mail for email, and Signal for messaging. They are in a class of their own when it comes to protecting you.
January 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Whelp, I stumbled around and found my way to BlueSky. Still active on Mastodon. Left Twitter when you-know-who took over. Still figuring out how this works (sorry).
December 23, 2024 at 11:29 PM