That’s a screenshot of the new GPS tracking software by Sense Networks called Citysense.

Basically it’s a program you download and run on your iPhone or Blackberry that gives you a live feed of where to find people around the city with similar backgrounds and interests.

It does this by automatically tracking where everyone goes at certain times of the day and then lumps all the data into a heatmap overlay of the city, instantly allowing you to see where certain kinds of people are likely to be found at certain times of day.

Everyone’s profiles are recorded and tracked by the GPS chips embedded on the mobile devices then logged into a database over the wireless network. After that, finding out where people are right now is as simple as doing a Google search.

And since most people these days wouldn’t be caught dead without their beloved cell phone (seldom turning them off), all the data is crisp and accurate.

Of course the general idea with this software is to help people find hotspots of local activity where they’re most likely to meet people similar to them, and hopefully make some new friends…

…but how easily would it be for someone to take this simple idea… and turn it into a systematic method of hunting down:

1. Political opponents?
2. Personal enemies?
3. Rival gangs?
4. Rape victims?
5. Any “undesirable” group of society?

Thankfully right now the software is opt-in only and the personal details are anonymous. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting to make new friends.

But you know how these things go: It’s only a matter of time before the right person gets ahold of the ideas and technology and soon all those anonymous features begin to erode away.

The best time to protect your privacy is NOW, by designing a comfortable lifestyle off the radar without giving up the things you enjoy today. Joe Decameron shows you how in his new course, The Perfect Privacy Solution.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMChO0qNbkY

I’ve always loved The Onion for their brilliantly biting sarcasm on every issue from politics to dating.

But I wanted to share this video with you because it drives home a lie you’ve been fed about privacy protection.

A lot of people… ignorant people… have shouted from the rooftops for years that “privacy in America is dead” … but don’t you fall for the rhetoric.

Yes, privacy can be difficult if you don’t know the tricks and sometimes inconvenient -- but dead?

No. At least not yet.

And to make matters worse, a lot of business owners and ordinary folks today don’t value their privacy until it’s too late.

Heed my words: The more successful you are in business and in life, the hungrier the eyes watching you from the darkness.

Most of the privacy claptrap out there is rigged by shameless fear mongers, crazies hiding out in some RV in the middle of nowhere, and special interest groups to confuse and overwhelm -- leaving you paralyzed not knowing who to trust or what to do.

Services like LifeLock fuel the fire by promising “identity theft prevention and protection” when in reality all their eRecon service does is a few periodic automated searches of “known criminal websites” desperately groping for clues to thieves trading your information.

Now c’mon… do you really believe today’s computer-savvy identity thieves are going to openly trade your information via a public website scanned by LifeLock? Geez…

What’s more is if you notice on the LifeLock website, most of their “customer success stories” focus on people who ALREADY had their identity stolen… and LifeLock rushed in to “save the day.” Read between the lines and you’ll realize LifeLock only sortof helps after the fact and charges you a smooth $110 per year for the privilege.

Well, plain common sense should tell you:

None of this should ever happen to you in the first place!

Thieves should’ve never had your home address in the first place, they should’ve never had access to your mail in the first place, and they DEFINITELY should’ve never had access to your bank account.

It is our goal at The Legal Secrets Report to lay out a clear plan of action to help you take back control of your private life and protect your money from those who have nothing else better to do than leech off the success of others.

Good examples of these leeches are lawyers, insurance companies, government agencies (especially the IRS), and ordinary criminals… Not to mention the occasional jealous ex-lover or vengeful employee.

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, consider yourself lucky. But if you don’t think it could ever happen to you, let your little inner voice of wisdom whisper into your ear:

Don’t be so sure. Don’t be so sure. Don’t be so sure.

Since all it takes is one “good” privacy breach… one roll of the dice to ruin your life for years… sometimes forever… I would feel better if I at least played a small part in helping you be prepared for whatever threats may come.

That’s why our resident privacy expert, Joe Decameron, created The Perfect Privacy Solution. Consider it your “one stop shop” for a comfortable, private lifestyle off the radar.

And you won’t have to move to a remote village to make it happen

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They’re basically the head honchos of law enforcement here in the United States – the King of Cops. Their motto is “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity” … though I sometimes doubt that last one.

That’s because during their criminal investigations, ordinary innocents like you and me get caught in the crossfire. Not only is this a serious breach of your privacy, but if they don’t like what they see (and it seems these days that could mean anything)… it could be the beginning of the end for your little enterprise.

There’s a widespread internet surveillance technique the FBI is using right now to collect a steady stream of data on Americans. Every last one of us.

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing – the FBI’s got their fingers in your pot of honey. And it’s high time you know what their game is, so you can tilt the scales of justice back in your favor.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

If you listen to their propaganda, er… I mean “official statements” on the matter, it’s easy to walk away believing they really are only out to grab the secrets of legitimate criminal suspects, then go back and use this data as evidence in their investigations.

But in reality what happens is they gather internet information on thousands and thousands of people at the same time (that means you, whether you’re involved or not), lock it up in some remote government database and practically throw away the key.

These information stockpiles are held indefinitely, which means any “questionable” online activity you did years ago can come back to bite you anytime in the future.

And nowadays, who’s to say what “questionable” really means? Especially as Uncle Sam seems to clamp his bony death grip around our throats a little tighter with each passing year.

The information they have on you includes your name, e-mail address, and what you like to search for on Google, Yahoo, MSN and others. Sadly, it doesn’t take a genius to translate that information into more sensitive data like your home address, date of birth, or social security number. From there, the sky’s the limit.

The Software That Started It All

Years ago the FBI developed an in-house software system called Carnivore, which was later renamed to DCS 1000. (I guess they figured a name like “Carnivore” was a little too close to the truth.) But even Carnivore is child’s play compared to the wicked deal they’ve now made with the devil.

The “devil” in this case is your Internet Service Provider (ISP) – the likes of AOL, Yahoo, or even the rinky-dink local outfits spread all over the country. They’ve all sworn the legal equivalent of a blood oath to routinely betray your trust and privacy by handing over any and all logged information to the FBI.

Some people call this the “vacuum cleaner” method because they suck up everything in sight. I say it just sucks, period.

Once this data is in-hand, they run it through sophisticated software to crank out a clear list of web browsing habbits, e-mail communications, and instant messaging conversations.

A lot of academic types scream this is a serious violation of our 4th Amendment search and seizure rights under the Constitution. It’s the modern-day version of British redcoats storming every house in the neighborhood to flush out a lone gunman they think “might” have done something wrong.

And that, my friends, makes them wrong.

Oh, and get this…

The FBI doesn’t even use Carnivore anymore. Abandoned the project years ago. Why? Did Santie Claus punish them for being bad little girls and boys? Did they have a change of heart and become White Knights of Justice?

No, of course not.

They did what any modern American organization would do: they outsourced it.

Because even the Federal Bureau of Investigation knows private enterprise can do things far better, faster, and cheaper than dear ol’ Uncle Sam could ever dream of.

It’s ironic how the wonders of our private enterprise system – the very thing that has brought us generations of wealth and happiness – harbors a growing cancer that will destroy us all from within if left unchecked.

The First Steps To Secure Your Online Privacy

#1. Make it harder on government goons by connecting to the internet through Anonymizer.

When you’re on the internet, your computer is identified primarily through a unique number called an IP address (Internet Protocol Address.) What Anonymizer does is connect you through their vast pool of IP addresses and swaps your online identity for a new one every few minutes, making it a royal pain in the ass for any bloodhound to sniff you out from all the rubble.

#2. If you’re worried about internet searches, try Scroogle.

What Scroogle does is perform Google searches on your behalf and sends back the results. I wouldn’t do this for everything, but if you’re wanting to search a “questionable” topic you’d rather keep hush-hush, this is one way to mask it.

#3. To mask sensitive browsing, try Anonymouse.

Anonymouse will actually browse the web on your behalf and then send you back the results. Whereas Scroogle handles search results, this allows you to browse anywhere with a relatively good measure of privacy protection.

However, these basics are only the beginning. To truly construct a privacy forcefield around your life now and into the future, our own Joe Decameron has mapped out a complete plan for you to do just that. Check out The Perfect Privacy Solution for more details.

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But what about your physical home address?

Sure, you can make good use of P.O. boxes, CMRA’s, and even ghost addresses – but those strategies will only divert unwanted junk mail away from your main location. They won’t solve the large issue of getting the stuff in the first place.

That’s not to say I’m anti-direct mail. I’m not. In fact I like the pleasant surprise of getting an offer in the mail from time to time for something I’m interested in that I never would’ve known existed otherwise. And using targeted direct mail for your own business is just smart commerce.

But they keyword here is TARGETED. That means it’s something you’re going to be hot for the product before you even open the envelope. The problem is, most marketers don’t know the meaning of the word, and that’s why we’re harassed every day with a glut of “pre-approved” credit card offers and a slew of miscellaneous crap.

So here are 4 easy steps you can take to cut down on unwanted junk mail by at least 90%

Step #1. Opt-Out of Pre-approved Credit Card Offers

In credit card industry lingo, this is called the “opt-out prescreen.” How it works is the big 3 credit reporting agencies make a ton of money allowing companies to scan their data files looking for people with certain credit scores or other criteria. Then they buy the addresses and send you a stream of mail for the latest MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express.

To make it illegal for them to use your data for these “pre-approved” offers, go to this website:

http://www.optoutprescreen.com

Then just follow the instructions. You have 2 options. The electroic opt-out lasts for 5 years and does not require a social security number. The other method makes you confirm your opt-out via mail and lasts “forever” though I don’t know exactly what “forever” really means to them.

The potential breach of security with these credit card offers is serious. Anyone could easily snatch some of them out of your mailbox when you’re not at home and glean personal info off them, which could then be used to open up fake accounts in your name. That’s just one reason of many why you should always shred credit card offers with a cross-cut shredder and definitely opt out of this service.

I did, many years ago, and have never gotten a single “pre-approved” offer since. The only people who can mail you after this are those with whom you already carry a card. For example, I have an American Express card, so I still get offers from American Express. Personally, that’s not a big deal to me and sometimes I even look at their stuff to see what they’re up to this time.

Step #2. Axicom

Most of your junk mail can be stopped by a combination of three companies. Axicom is one of them. They’re a data company that sells names and addresses to marketers.

To opt-out, just go to this address below and fill out the form:

http://www.axicom.com/opt-out-request-form

Within a week they’ll send you a package in the mail that has the actual “opt out” form. Once you complete and mail it back to them, the whole thing will take effect in about 2 weeks.

Step #3. Choicepoint

This is another big company that works much like Axicom. To opt-out, just go here and fill out their form:

http://www.privacyatchoicepoint.com/optout_ext.html

Step #4. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The DMA is a sort of self-regulatory board for the direct marketing industry. They do a lot of great things for the industry and also allow you to opt-out of many types of unsolicited mailings.

They’re also some of the people who manage your likes and dislikes among advertisers. You know those little warranty survey cards that come with almost everything you buy? Remember the plastic grocery store membership cards you carry on your keychain? Well, they keep tabs on what you buy, how often, and when you typically like to make those purchases.

To remove yourself from all this, go to http://www.dmachoice.org and they’ll tell you how.

Opting out of these databases is really only “step 1″ of a much larger privacy protection plan. For a more in-depth take on how to live comfortably off the radar, check out Joe Decameron’s “Perfect Privacy Solution.”

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Protecting your privacy from the likes of top-notch private investigators and government officials is an art and a science. Though it can be comforting to have, most people do not need this level of protection.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace have privacy controls, allowing you to choose which people on your friends list can see more intimate details like your address and phone number. And most other types of online profiles also let you cherry pick what information to share.

Personally I don’t think it’s wise to post much, if any, personal details to these sites and if you’re really serious you shouldn’t even have accounts there at all. I deleted mine over a year ago. For keeping in touch with friends, I’ll take e-mail or good ol’ fashioned face-to-face any day.

But these sites aren’t what you should worry about anyway. You could delete all your online profiles today, and there would STILL be mountains of data on you lurking around everywhere.

Because most often, the security breaches in your everyday life come from the sources you’d least expect.

If you’re at all concerned about reining in your privacy, then here are 12 things you should do right now to remove your name, address, and phone number from the internet. That way, you can be more assured that whoever has your information will only be those you actually wanted to have it.

#1. 411.com, whitepages.com, phonenumber.com, whitepages.aol.com

Go to each of these sites in turn and run a search for your name. Click on the results and about halfway down the page you’ll see a little link that says “Is this you? Remove your listing.” Click that and enter some B.S. reason for removal, type the security code, and poof! Your listing will be removed.

#2. Anywho.com

Look up your listing and then go to http://www.anywho.com/help/privacy_list.html and enter the phone number they had for you in the listing. They’ll shoot back a number for you to call. Call that phone number from the same number that was in the listing and you will be removed.

#3. people.yahoo.com

Look up your listing to see what it says. Then head over to http://yahoo.intelius.com/optout.php – fill out the form with the same information you found in the listing and then hit “remove me.”

#4. peoplefinders.com

Go to http://www.peoplefinders.com/privacy.aspx to read their procedure. It’s crazy that they ask for address history going back 20 years, but my recommendation would be to look yourself up first and only provide whatever info they already have on the opt-out form.

#5. daplus.us

Do a search for your name and then check the second box to find your listing. Open a new tab in your browser and go to http://www.daplus.us/remove.aspx and complete the form with your information. If they have several variations of your name at the same address, fill out a separate form for each one.

#6. reversephonedetective.com

We here at the Legal Secrets Report love Reverse Phone Detective for looking up callers, but there’s no reason why YOU should be in their database. So go there and type in your phone numbers and see what comes up. If you’re in there, open up a new tab to http://www.reversephonedetective.com/optout/optout.php and submit the form. Be sure to read all the checkboxes because one of them is for e-mail ads.

#7. zabasearch.com

This one makes you jump through a few more hoops. Find your listing and open up a new tab to http://www.zabasearch.com/block_records/block_by_mail.php – they have another option that lets you instantly block your record for $20, but why pay when you can do it through the mail for free?

#8. switchboard.intelius.com

Once again, find your listing and go to http://switchboard.intelius.com/optout.php – complete the form and you’ll be removed.

#9. find.person.superpages.com

This used to be just for businesses but nowadays they over individual people too. Find your listing and click “update listing” under the address. But don’t delete it! Instead, go down to the bottom of the page and click “online removal form.” Enter the security word and click “remove me.”

#10. classmates.com

A long time ago, I was talked into joining this site to keep in touch with old chums from school, class reunions, and whatnot. I’m not interested in any of that anymore, and all it had gotten me so far was a LOT of junk e-mail and zero privacy. So I deleted my account. You can too by going to http://www.classmates.com/cmo/user/remove

#11. intelius.com

I saved the most difficult two for last. One is the huge data company, Intelius. They actually have the nerve to force you to subscribe to their service just for the “privilege” of removing yourself. The best way is to subscribe to their $19.95 24-hour unlimited pass. That’ll give you enough time to search out yourself and all your family, friends, and relatives. All you do is find the listing, print it off, and fax it to them. After that, it’ll be removed in a few days.

#12. ussearch.com

Just like Intelius, these guys make you subscribe to their service to print the listing so you can get removed. Get a $19.95 24-hour unlimited pass and search everyone you know. Open another browser tab to http://www.ussearch.com/consumer/optout/submitOptout.do – then you can send the printout to them via mail or fax.

That should take care of most of your data floating around out there. Ultimately for maximum privacy you should shift all your public addresses over to a P.O. box, a CMRA, or what our privacy expert Joe Decameron calls a “ghost address.”

For a more in-depth take on how to safeguard your privacy and live comfortably off the radar, check out Joe’s new course “The Perfect Privacy Solution.”

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Hell, even the SOUND of it all makes me feel all “cool” and secure.

It’s easy to think that just having all your T’s crossed and I’s dotted will let you walk away scot-free from any cash-hungry bastard who tries to drag you into court.

But you know what? You’d be wrong. Dead wrong.

I’ve been there. And lemme tell you… this whole thing lawyers wrap up and sell as “asset protection” is only made to sound like the easy way out. And if you’ve had any success in business (of course you have, you’re a subscriber to my newsletter aren’t you?) you know that anything that seems “too easy” is often a trap in disguise.

If you rely solely on a fortress of paper separating you from your property, the result will often be the judge awarding a default judgment against you in favor of the guy suing you. This is something that will never go away, and something that will taint your good record like red wine on your best white shirt.

One of the biggest myths out there is that asset protection plans will somehow protect you from frivolous lawsuits. Sure, they may make it harder to get at your goods, but they’re not going to prevent any suit from actually being filed.

Some people falsely believe hiding behind a Nevada corporation or some other kind of legal entity will protect them from judgments. Often, this is just a case of some crummy attorney who likes to call himself an “asset protection specialist” enriching himself with fees for his sham service.

Here in the United States, there’s a bit in the Constitution called “Full Faith and Credit.” And part of what it breaks down to is other states must honor the judgments of others. That means your creditor in California can and will hassle your Nevada corporation till doomsday… and he has every right to do so.

Also, even after all these years there’s still a cloud of smoke and mirrors surrounding Nevada. I’ll write more about this in greater detail in future posts to The Legal Secrets Report, but for now just understand that years of legislation and court decision have eroded away most of what made Nevada so attractive to many in the first place.

When you live abroad, you’re not weighed down by the “Full Faith and Credit” hitch that goes on in the United States. In most cases, a default judgment in the states can’t touch you, because they’re rarely acknowledged by foreign authorities – they don’t think it’s fair!

And, well, come to think of it… neither do I.

But you don’t need to afford a jet-set lifestyle to accomplish the same basic protection. In How To Outswim The Sharks, I show you exactly what to say and how to set up the right protection mechanisms – ones that will grow “old and cold” and won’t land you in hot water with the authorities.

Bottom line is this: Asset protection loopholes are not a substitute for insurance and a good defense strategy. If you rely on clever maneuvering alone to save your butt in a legal battle, you’re in for a rude awakening.

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Some of these clever malware programs lie hidden, silently building up a collection of data on you that would make even your mother blush. Others are simply waiting for the right moment to strike… and when they choose, can unleash terrible destruction in milliseconds.

Keep your rig healthy by doing a comprehensive set of scans at least once every three months, because checking out the wrong websites, installing the wrong software, or opening the wrong e-mails can infect your computer (yes, even sometimes with so-called “reputable” companies like Sony.)

These electronic cooties can quickly drag down a PC’s performance and they can even allow thieves access to your personal data.

Four Steps To Cleanse Your Computer of Spyware, Adware, Virii, Trojans, and Particularly Tricky Things Called “Rootkits”

Step 1. Do a once-over good ol’fashioned virus scan – AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is our favorite virus scanner. It picks up a lot of the stuff other scanners miss and also lets you run it “cleanly” without having a lot of junk running in the background hogging your system like Norton Anti-virus and McAfee do. After you install it, do the online update right away so it can recognize the ugly, new faces of the latest virii (viruses) otherwise it won’t catch the stuff that just came out last week.

Do a comprehensive scan of your entire computer; AVG will scour your system and advise you about any malicious software. If any of those kinds of programs are detected, AVG will prompt you to remove the threats.

Step 2. Now go after the Spyware and Adware – Spyware nestles in a system, takes evil little notes about what you do and typically tries to send that information to someone else. Spyware can range from logging your web habbits to stealing your passwords and credit card data. Adware is similar software that usually shoves pop-up ads in your face while you try to browse websites, but it can also record your actions without your knowledge for transmission back to the mother ship.

Both kinds of malware may be detected by an anti-virus program, but we recommend specialized tools to be 100% sure culprits are located and removed. For the best protection out there, go get Spybot – Search and Destroy and Ad-aware. Both are free, and using first Spybot and then Ad-aware increases your odds of bagging all the threats. Be sure to do full system scans with both programs, especially the first time you run them.

Step 3. Weed out the rootkits – Rootkits are programs that have unfettered access to your computer’s operating system at the root level, without your say-so. They’re not always malicious (there are legit reasons for some applications to install similar software) but poorly designed ones can still leave your PC vulnerable to attack. Some rootkits even come from (formerly) trusted sources, like the 2005 Sony BMG copy protection software that automatically installed with audio CDs, which was notoriously difficult to remove and left countless systems open to attackers.

Rootkits may be detected by virus software, but don’t you dare take the chance; try F-secure Blacklight to illuminate these hidden culprits. Be sure to get the graphical user interface version of the program as opposed to the command line interface version. Then run the program and do a full scan.

Step 4. Lastly, set up a firewall on your computer – A firewall is software that acts like a traffic cop between the internet and your PC. It can prevent thieves and perverts from accessing your computer and its files. Best of all, they’re a snap to use.

If you have Microsoft Windows Vista (or maybe WindowsXP) you can enable the built-in Windows Firewall by going to Start->Control Panel and finding it there.

Alternatively, you can always get the best free firewall out there, called ZoneAlarm. Just go to their website and download the free version (they make it a little difficult to do by asking you multiple times if you’re really sure you want the free version instead of the paid version, but honestly the free one is excellent – no need to throw money out the door over a bit of confusion.) Once you have it installed, the default settings should be fine, but if you have trouble with it restricting access to some of your favorite programs, that can easily be fixed in the settings.

Doing these four steps at least once every three months should keep your computer in good shape and keep the bad guys out there from getting a good crack at your system. Once you’ve been given a clean bill of health, you can leave them to run in the background to protect your system in real-time from whatever the script kiddies throw at you next.

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