Debunqed

Tag: crime

  • Anonymous Surfing

    Anonymous Surfing

    You don’t have to be an online arsonist, hacker, or international cyber-terrorist to hide your online identity. Likewise, concealing your PC’s web address or your Internet Protocol address (IP address), making it unknown to the public, does not necessarily mean you are up to no good online.


    We will, therefore,  build a case for why it is important at times to conceal your private online location using VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).


    A VPN is a connection method used to add security and privacy to your private and public networks. This includes your Wi-fi Hotspots and access to the Internet. They are most often used by corporations to protect sensitive data but now also by people like yourselves for the same purpose.

    VPN-Protect-you

    Click on the image to view a quick video


    Let’s get back to the importance of your IP address. It is probably something you rarely think about but is crucial to your online lifestyle even as an individual. How so? You might still ask.


    Well, without an IP address, you wouldn’t be able to get the current weather, check the latest news, or view videos (streaming) online for instance.

    The uses of VPNs

    Your IP is also used to access every online service you partake in including very private things like your internet/mobile banking or online trading activity.  Think of it as your physical address and how important it is when getting things delivered by post or using it when you need to make applications for loans, jobs, etc.

    “Without a public IP address, online service providers like Netflix, BBC, or Amazon wouldn’t know where to send the information you asked for. They wouldn’t be able to get it to your computer.”


    Imagine how naked you must feel if you have nothing to protect this address from the advent of a hack without adequate data encryption.  Also the just the haggling by overzealous online marketers, spam, malware, and even ‘419 scammers’!


    Now the argument for whether using VPNs is illegal is highly debatable for some of the valid reasons highlighted above. It should, however, be a given right to be able to use it. And even though it is commonly used by cyber-thugs to mask their clandestine and often dark activities, it should not be outlawed altogether.

    The case for VPN

    The legitimacy of VPNs debate, therefore, carries on into a grey area.
    We will, however, investigate a few VPN providers that are ‘paid for services’ and even offered by established companies such as AVG (which primarily offers Antivirus protection).


    The directive is to help the everyday consumer surf the web without ‘virtual’ salespeople bombarding them with offers based on personal information gathered in an ‘unsolicited’ manner.


    Policies like the European-based GDPR law were put in place to protect consumers from the non-consensus use of their data. Even your Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can track your online activities via your IP and sell your browsing habits.


    Some forward-thinking people and companies, however, have long been shielding themselves manually using VPNs.


    One direct benefit for you as a consumer is the ability to access content (information, products, and services) from different servers. A good VPN service can enable you to obtain access to other geo-locational content despite being on a different continent.

    It is perfectly legal provided you are paying for the service. The burden falls on the provider of the service and not you if it came down to a legal “scrap”.

    Rationale for using them

    If you perform these tasks frequently, you need a VPN:

    • Hide your IP address (to enable anonymity from marketers and hackers)
    • Change your IP address (to avoid identity theft)
    • Encrypt data transfers (private and financial data)
    • Mask your location (to access other services)
    • Access blocked websites
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    A word of caution when navigating websites blocked by governments with a VPN. Unless you are a high-profile journalist working on a case and backed by good legal aid – it’s not a wise thing to do.
    Do some research if you are not sure because accessing such sites could land you in some hot water. Rather use a known privacy service like Tor to ensure full anonymity to gain access to restricted sites if you really must.

    Top Virtual Private Network Protocols

    VPN protocols and available security features are numerous. The most common (best) protocols are:
    ExpressVPN – the acclaimed best offshore VPN for privacy and unblocking.
    IPVanish – great for P2P and Torrenting.
    VyprVPN – the best choice for those looking for security.
    NordVPN – security is its middle name.
    TunnelBear – dubbed the easiest VPN to use.
    Windscribe – a VPN which gives you unlimited connections.
    Hotspot Shield – an awesome solution for online browsing.
    KeepSolid VPN Unlimited – the jack of all trades of VPNs.
    CyberGhost – rich clients and ease of reconfiguring.
    ZenMate – user-friendly VPN that caters to the newbies to VPN.
    PureVPN – take advantage of easy to use apps and access to many servers.

    Source: www.itproportal.com, PureVpn

    Making the choice

    Picking a VPN service can be a daunting task as there are now literally hundreds of them to choose from. Landing the right one means striking the right balance between what you are offered, the ease of use, and naturally, the price.

    Some providers offer free you VPN services while some like AVG charges for their VPN service. Paid VPN providers, however, are preferred to the free service providers as they offer robust gateways, proven security, additional free software, and unmatched speed.

    The key is to find the best VPN that meets your immediate needs while matching your budget.

  • Criminal mindedness

    Criminal mindedness

    One fundamental and often ignored view within economics is that humans have the propensity to display irrational behaviour in the decision-making processes.

    Based on this notion, one can conclude that we have a fundamental tendency to act corruptly and be generally criminally-inclined except maybe the virtuous few.

    How advanced our economy or society is, depends on what measures or incentives we enforce to deter or punish criminals.
    In most cases, we find that in countries where punishment is severe (e.g. in Central Europe or Nigeria), the criminals end up moving to less strict countries.
    The economics of crime, especially violent crime experienced in countries like South Africa and Brazil, is something that requires adept research if anything is to be done.
    In the US, studies were conducted to access the impact of legalized abortion on the level of crime. This was discussed in detail in a best-selling book by Levitt and Dubner’s called Freakonomics.
    The study found that legalizing abortion (seen by many as legalized killing equivalent to death sentences) reduces the level of drug abuse and subsequently other criminal activity.

    The real problem

    Perhaps there is no relevance here but for instance, abortion is legal in South Africa yet a high crime rate prevails. So, what’s the problem then?
    Part of the problem lies in the fact that the incentives/benefits of committing crime far outweigh the “costs” and chances of being caught and convicted by the judiciary.
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    John Nash through his renowned works (well at least amongst economists), devised what he called “game theory” or “the prisoner’s dilemma”.
    Cheating occurs through degrees of severity from a classroom test or examination all the way to the plotting and execution of murder or indirectly killing individuals by selling users addictive drugs.
    Then you have your white-collar crime such as insider trading, corporate espionage (unlawfully acquiring recipes, formulas, and technologies from rival companies).
    Or simply ‘cooking the books’ or siphoning off profits from a company’s coffers.
    Nash’s rationale for such cheating behaviour boils down to the attitude of: ‘if I don’t, someone else will, and leave me with the short end of the stick – so given the option, I’ll always cheat’.
    His explanation is one ‘formally proven’ reason for human ‘irrational’ behaviour – or rather, could we say it is rational if the outcome is to favour the decision-maker in the short or long term? This is instinct is innate in human behaviour of not such a few.

    Crime and law enforcement

    Back to the subject of crime: higher than usual levels has often been blamed on the poverty caused by poor and exclusionary fiscal, social and monetary policies.
    There are of course more layers and underlying factors unique to the history of political climate and resource allocation.
    Further studies (such as that in the Freakonomics book) need to be carried out such as the potential effects of police presence in deterring crime in the diagram below:
    Police officers per 100,000 population by regions and sub-regions (medians)

    Crime deterrant

    Source: www.unodc.org

    Also, highly recommended if you are a law enforcer, economist, government official, or student, is a book entitled Economics of Crime by Erling Eide, Paul H Rubin & Joanna M Shepherd.
    This book covers the theory of public enforcement including probability and severity, fines and imprisonment, repeat offenders, incentives of enforcers, enforcement costs and enforcement errors.
    It might shed some light as to how criminally-inclined people can be dealt with once and for all. Because as we know – whatever government is doing to fight crime now is clearly not really working!

    “When crimes are left alone long enough to fester, a second economy is borne.”

    The proceeds from a ‘secondary’ economy because of criminal activity never benefit society. Even though people like Pablo Escobar were seen by locals (in his Colombian town) as philanthropists, their assistance came at a price. Such contributions which are naturally tax-free generally are referred to in economics as ‘social ills‘.
    A third market is formed – one comprised of the need to feel secure.

    Dealing with the scourge

    But fighting fire with fire (with more guns & police who are sometimes corrupt themselves) will not alone solve the problem.
    Criminals simply become more aggressive when met with a more confrontational approach as seen in South Africa. The Jeppestown (Johannesburg) shoot-out in 2006 for example, left several police officers and criminals dead.
    It’s time to get ’smarter’ about crime and look to the accuracy and conclusive study of human behaviour and the use of incentives.
    As crimes continue to ravage communities, cities and countries, we can question why government officials have relatives who own or have stakes in security companies.
    It basically places less of an ‘incentive’ for officials to do much about crime.
    So, conceivably, those with such vested interests in the third economy would need to be weeded out of the system for crime to be curbed.

    That would be the first major step in order to bring about some rationality to society.
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