After a couple of hours of spinning my wheels going nowhere this morning, my Samsung A5 2017 android phone is now free of all Google and Samsung apps.
After some consideration of both privacy concerns particularly relating to google described here and more general security concerns described here I looked into replacing the Google-provided operating system on my Samsung phone. One of the side benefits is to rid myself of all of the annoying and bloated Samsung apps that can’t be deleted by an everyday user.
^Well, it’s significantly less dramatic than ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’.
As we prepare to relocate from a small rural property that has been home for the past 11 years to a much smaller, domestic house and block closer to children we’ve begun clearing out/throwing away/tidying up what we brought with us 11 years ago and the extra that has accumulated in those same years.
As I’ve been clearing up the shed and carpeted man cave I’ve paused to reflect briefly on some of the items being thrown away or otherwise disposed of.
We come to the final chapter, and final post on my comments and reflections on the book of the prophet Micah.
Micah 7 begins with a brief lament by Micah as he seeks righteous people in Israel but, like a fruit-picker arriving after the harvest, finds little joy (verse 1). Instead he finds people who are violent, seek opportunities to undertake violence, and do it well (2-3). He finds rulers and judges who are corrupt and can be bought with the bribe. The one offering the bribe is described as a ‘great man’1 who speaks what he desires rather than the truth and the corrupt officials make it happen (3-4). But it gets worse! Verses 5 and 6 speak of neighbours, friends, family and household members being or becoming enemies because they treat each other with disdain, contempt and mistrust. It’s an ugly picture all around.
Micah chapter 6 is very much a chapter in two parts. Whilst the chapter and verse divisions in the Bible make it easier to find specific sentences, sometimes the divisions run counter to the narrative and make it more difficult to understand. The chapter divisions in use today were added in the early 13th century, and versification we use was added in the mid-1500s.
Micah 6:1-8
The first three verses are a recap of the indictment of the Lord against His people, Israel. The Lord pleads His case to the mountains and the foundations of the earth - for they were there before Israel had been formed. They are poetic witnesses of what the Lord has done for Israel.
The early verses (from 2 through 4) speak of the coming Messiah. The words prophecy that one will come from Bethlehem, from the tribe of Judah and will become the ruler of Israel. Interestingly Micah also recognises or speak that this ruler is “from the days of eternity”.
Verse 4 is worth quoting in full:
And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:4 from the NASB®)1
This is a follow on post to the one the other day on internet security. In many ways the issues of security and privacy go hand in hand, but you cannot guarantee privacy without ensuring security, so security needs to be dealt with before or concurrently with privacy issues.
When I think of internet privacy the primary offenders that come to mind are Facebook, Microsoft and Google (and their myriad products). It reminds me of the saying that if you’re not paying for the product then you are the product.
Around twelve months ago I came across a reference to a website, have i been pwned?, which details data breaches where user data such as ones email address, password, date of birth and other information had been stolen and then made available to other people.
I entered the main couple of email address that I use1 and discovered that I had, in fact been pwned. I couldn’t tell anyone because I didn’t know how to pronounce ‘pwned’. Despite that I did pass the site information on to family members so they could check their own addresses.