Monthly Archives: February 2018

Electronic Privacy and Security

Someone is watching you. Seriously… they know what you say, where you go, and what you’re thinking.

What if I told you I was watching everything you did? I know every web search you make. I know when you leave your home, and when you come home. I know when you go to visit the doctor, and how long you spend there. I know when you visit that website you shouldn’t. I know when you go to the liquor store, and I know when you visit with friends and can even pinpoint the friend you visit with and how long you were together.

Would that creep you out? I (personally) do not know all those things, but Google does. Facebook does. How? They own your cell phone.

I’ve known that this is possible for a long time. Previously working at Intel, I am tech saavy, and have had a friend on the cell phone team. When asked whether a company or agency could track us using our cell phone, he answerd, “It’s just software, Shan, and you know software.” Wow.

The amount of tracking was underscored by a recent video on how Google will track you even when your cell phone is not available because you turned on airplane mode. This is important because it underscores the possibility that Google could track us even if we put our phones in privacy sleeve or possibly even if we have our phone off.

I have many upstanding friends who say, “I have nothing to hide; why should I care?” To that I respond asking how they know they have nothing to hide? There is a huge amount of federal criminal law, state criminal law, and even local laws that can land one in jail. I guarantee that if we lived in a world where law enforcement was 100% effective at identifying and imprisoning those who committed any crime, we would all be behind bars. We’re going to leave it up the the discretion of those in some government to determine whether they want to prosecute us? Or are you saying you agree 100% with every law and everyone in government? There are thousands of examples of abuses in this area. No thanks.

As someone who values the security of living armed, the idea of reducing my attack surface to corporations, individuals, and agencies who might wish to do me harm is attractive. It helps me further protect myself and my family. If I ever decide to take a higher profile role in the community, it helps me protect them as well.

As a result, I’ve decided to increase both my security and privacy. I’ve decided to improve my cell phone security and privacy as part of this journey. I did it once, years ago, with the now-dead Cyanogenmod (note that it has a direct successor — Lineage OS). Perhaps you’re interested in how I do it? If so, follow along as I share some of my experiences.

Next article: Options to increase cell phone privacy and security.

Concealed Carry Pistols and Accessories, Holsters

Which Inforce APLc for your Sig Sauer P320?

Perhaps you already have a Sig Sauer P320 and are looking to get a weapon mounted light. While there are lots of good options on the market, the Inforce APLc is a popular one because of a few reasons.

The light itself is small, and has a mostly snag-free design. This is an important carry consideration as designs with big levers or arms can snag on clothing and necessitate a larger holster to carry.  The light has 200 lumens, which is adequate for most situations (I would advocate carrying a handheld light as well for situations where you don’t want to point your pistol at something you wouldn’t want to shoot — but that’s a whole different topic), and the runtime is adequate at 1.5 hours.  Finally, the switches are available on both sides, allowing you to manipulate with strong hand or reaction hand.  This all adds up to a very popular package for users.

But there are 2 different versions of the APLc.  There is an “APLc” and “APLc for Glock“.  The difference between the 2 is not immediately obvious, but if you look close, you’ll see that the APLc for Glock places the screw (which goes through the rail slots) further forward than the regular APLc.

This might make you think that you must purchase the APLc for your Sig Sauer P320. However, that is not the case.

APLc for Glock
APLc

As you can see from the above pictures, the screw may be positioned differently, but the light appears to be mounted in the same position.  Why is this?  It’s because the APLc for Glock and the APLc simply have their screw travel through different rail slots; the rail slot spacing is the same as the spacing difference between the different versions of the APLc.

Why is this important?  Say you have a number of different pistols you may choose to use your weapon mounted light with?  Perhaps you’re not sure if you’re going to run your APLc on your Sig or your Glock?  You can purchase the APLc for Glock, and use it on either pistol.  Similarly, perhaps you’re wanting to switch your light between the P320 and the HK VP9sk (the APLc for Glock won’t fit this HK), then get the regular APLc and you’re covered.

While this article is in relation to the popular Sig Sauer P320, it likely applies to a number of different pistol models.  If you choose carefully, you can maximize the interchange of your APLc on various pistols.

Here is a video showing what is discussed above.