#441 – The Expat Files: Cybersecurity, Online Privacy, and Expatriate Life in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wander Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right, then let's start today with a little email complaint. First of all, let's set this up You know PRN the big home station was hacked big-time a couple weeks ago In fact, we know now it was no error accident It was a malicious attack because they not only got through a couple of firewalls

[00:48] They wiped or ruined two backup drives, too Again, these problems were not caused by flaws or bugs either Oh, and by the way, do you know why they call electronic problems bugs? Some people you know say it goes back to the horse and buggy days, you know driving someone buggy Bouncing around and rattling your brain and all that well in the engineering and electronic business way back when during World War two and before those vacuum tubes in the backs of high fives and radios and TVs got very very hot Very cozy places for animals and bugs to live Yes, those tube units and everything was tubes back then before transistors They got very hot inside, but when they cool down when you turn the unit off They'd still retain some of their warmth and sometimes more often than not bugs would wander in and make a home for themselves

[01:40] Then when you fired the thing up again They'd fry and as they were sizzling you'd smell it Believe me every time I opened up one of those old tube guitar ramps like a fender There were always plenty of dead bug chassis in the chassis. So anyway, it's not the bug itself that does the damage It's when they fry and liquify and their guts cross Terminals and make bad connections and momentarily short out things not to mention they were vacuum tube killers If a moth for example fried out on one of those glass vacuum tubes That would cause a hot spot and eventually fry the tube and that's when spare parts would really cost you because The tubes were the most expensive part. So when a tech would open up one of the chassis He'd say up bad news lots of bugs, but I digress boy. Did I digress?

[02:29] Anyway, along with the malicious hacking problem at the main PRN station our specific website expect wisdom calm Was having problems too with so many extraneous downloads coming from if he addresses Like Chinese Russian even alphabet agencies we think so we had that as well as some mass spammings Like I said before I get sometimes 500 spams a day and these days It takes a lot more time to weed those guys out because they're getting really clever those spammers Sometimes they actually use keywords and phrases that I talked about in my show and they put it in the subject line So it looks real enough and I think it's coming from a real listener and instead it's coming from some Russian dating service I'm not kidding you I must have got about 300 Russian dating service spams in the last two weeks with very cleverly written subject lines

[03:20] Suffice it to say I don't think there are all too many young female Russian ladies with doctorates. Yep, isn't that something? They're all doctors and engineers. Don't you know they say they are anyway, and they're all tall blonde and good-looking they send photos and they come in two flavors Svetlana and Olga and Naturally, they're all terribly attracted to gringos and wanna marry yours truly Yeah, like I said, I don't think there's too many PhD Russian female microbiologists drinking vodka in the kitchen or picking potatoes on the outskirts of Moscow listening to the expat files I Kind of doubt it just like I kind of doubt these photos weren't heavily Photoshopped so anyway to eliminate a lot of those weird downloads and spam garbage and all that we at the expat wisdom

[04:07] Dot-com site have been trying to figure out a way to get you guys all these shows for free and still not Continuously get spammed hacked and downloaded to death So at least temporarily for the time being anyway We've initiated a password to get in and download shows now I know a lot of you've been having trouble with that and I assure you we've come up with a much better solution That should be instituted maybe even by now Meaning you'll have to register then you'll get a password that works for all downloads of all shows Anyway, it looks like that password thing has ruffled some feathers in the listening audience And I have an email on that subject to read you right now So here goes this one comes from a listener named Billy G Baker And this one definitely caught my eye because in the subject box it says password my ass

[04:56] So mr. Baker starts out angrily and says that password. It's everything you are against sign up Give your info. What are you doing selling it all to third parties? What if an alphabet agency hacks your expat wisdom site Johnny? And then all those on your list all of us guys that sign up and give over our info Get put on their list and tagged as extremists then we to get slated for harassment That's what they do, right? I've done enough stupid things myself to put a few targets on my forehead over the years So that said as long as your show is available without any sign up. I'll be a loyal listener via PRN and potbean just playing the devil's advocate here Johnny

[05:45] Signed Billy Baker rocking the boat whenever I can okay, then Billy's got a couple of good points there now come to think of it I'm looking at his email right now, and you know what the initials of his name are B B Billy Baker Hmm B B well, maybe we'll just have to be aware of mr. Baker Now that said apparently he hasn't listened to all 441 of my shows I mean really who has or he would have certainly remembered way back when in a show or two that I did How expats wannabes and gonna bees should be handling the internet and their email accounts? So now that he brought up those testy points Let me go over a few things for you, and maybe this will jog your memory Billy now listen carefully

[06:34] Here's something you're not gonna like at first But you're probably gonna love it later because well nobody likes change right unless it's money now one of the ways to remain a very happy and content expat is to always try to maintain a low profile as Well as maintaining a very small footprint on the web now I know most people out there use your standard web services like Gmail and Yahoo etc In fact I have an email account with Gmail the expat files at gmail.com However if I actually lived in the US I'd never have a Gmail or Yahoo or free email account the main purpose is to just collect data on you And bombard you with ads and try to sell your crap you really must be aware of all that as mr. Baker so aptly points out now my advice to everyone out there

[07:24] I don't care if you're an expat or not do go ahead and set up your Google and your Yahoo and your free email accounts But never never connect them with your real name your real phone number or your real address And if at all possible, and I highly recommend this sign up at one of those IP changer sites or get an IP tunnel So that when you sign up for any of these data collecting spy email accounts like Google and Yahoo That way your Gmail or Yahoo account Whatever aren't even connected to your real IP address and from then on always log in using that IP tunnel or IP changer So what does all that do well? They got nothing to collect but crap and disinformation on you So then you should be glad to give out that email address every time some legitimate

[08:15] Website asks you for that address before they'll send you let's say a report because you know that's more and more common these days You see a nice report or PDF document available on the internet and in order to get it you have to give an email address That's also true when you sign up for newsletters, etc Then they send you a code or a link and you're off to the races. So that said I'm a hundred percent in favor of giving out Disinformation when signing up for your typical free email sites Go ahead and stick it to them. Screw them. They're doing it to you So yes, I would say if you don't do that and you put all your real data down for one of these Gmail accounts For example, I would say beware mr. Baker bad things will be coming your way At least I predict you'll be quite irritated with that slew of spam and all those love letters from Olga and Svetlana

[09:06] Or not. However, if you'd been following my advice that I mentioned so long ago I think it was around show a hundred or something like that Why not just smile and gladly give out that email address when it's necessary to receive some kind of report or service? Knowing that in your own small way, you're contributing a bit of chaos to the data collectors on the web What's not to like about that and to carry that web security thing a bit farther? I hope you all know I never use Google search I always use start page calm because it's a Google search, but it strips off your IP address So you get no pop-up windows no ads no banners No, nothing and thus there's no connection like when you do a Google search between Google and your regular email service

[09:53] Like Google Chrome or whatever and of course that means there's no Sharing of information between your search engine or any of the websites that you're visiting miracle of miracles, huh? That's it. I suggest you go right away to start page calm That's www start page calm and make it your home page So as soon as you start up your computer, you don't get that Google Chrome browser, but you get start page What's not to like about that thus totally eliminating all of Google's intrusive data collection While still allowing you to completely take advantage of a Google search engine And by the way, I don't think I'm making a cent off of this. I'm not it's free. Check it out So again, if you want to browse the web with complete privacy and anonymity Just do it through start page and by the way, they're servers

[10:40] I believe are in the Netherlands, so they're out of the reach of any US authorities or pressures that said mr. Baker By all means sign up for Google Yahoo, etc But give them tons of disinformation and here's another bit of advice when using those email services Don't say anything too personal or give away a lot of specific details about you or your friends lives I'm talking about when using those free email services now. In other words, just give Google and Yahoo the light inconsequential stuff So yes Go ahead and use Gmail to send funny jokes and stories to people to talk about the golf game or Monday night football It's the perfect place to disseminate grandma's fudge recipe and aunt Emma's miracle holistic cure for bad breath and noxious farts But don't ever discuss finances or where you actually live

[11:30] Banking credit card stuff phone numbers passport and drivers license numbers And if you do expect the worst expect Citibank sprint and every other kind of cold-caller To ring you up and plant text messages and spam the hell out of you. That said could I be describing your life right now? No, not you. Mr. Baker. I mean that as a general statement However, if that's your reality right now Unfortunately, you're stuck with it and it's only gonna get worse unless you dump that email service and get another one But remember when you do sign up for a new one start using that disinformation fake names fake addresses fake phone numbers Start right now making a practice of it make it a game even it's fun Believe me then if by chance you do get a cold call or any email address to your new pseudonym

[12:21] For example, mr. Beo skunk breath and note the BO doesn't stand for Barack Obama though It could anyway, you automatically know your sign-up information was bought by a third party Don't you so then is that illegal spreading disinformation all over the web? Opening email accounts in the name of BO skunk breath Hillary snot sphincter or perhaps George P Brainbush oh and by the way, my apologies to all you skunks sphincters and P brains out there Anyway, as far as being illegal Unless you're required by law to give out your information to a government agency or perhaps a utility company or a bank There's certainly nothing illegal about disinformation and laying down a false trail come to think of it

[13:09] Why is it legal for the government to do that and yet we can't do it when dealing with the government? Hmm So that said don't break the law, but don't give your info out either So then what do you do about your sensitive communications your sensitive emails? We have to send out personal data like we all occasionally have to do Well, then I suggest you sign up for an encrypted email service that might cost you a little money But because you have to pay for it, they won't be collecting any of your data either like for example Here's one of the best ones I found so far start mail. That's start mail calm So then what's so good about these encrypted email services? Well, for one thing many of them like start mail have one click PGP encryption as well as automatic PGP encryption

[13:57] If you're sending an email to someone else who's got start mail, too Not to mention if you send an email to someone who doesn't have start mail You can still encrypt it and in that case the receiver will only be able to unlock the encryption if they can answer a personal Question that you've tagged along with the encrypted email For example, if you're sending an email to a friend from college, you could say what was the name of the bar right off campus? That gave away free chicken wings on Wednesday nights or perhaps something like what guy did you vomit on at your bachelor party? Oops, sorry about that. I take that back. Maybe that wasn't a proper question Yeah, might not remember that night or maybe there was more than one Anyway, you get the idea talking about start mail I think the absolute best thing about it is that it allows you to create

[14:48] disposable email addresses Say what? disposable email addresses that allows you tremendous anonymity and great flexibility when sending emails It's also the perfect spam blocker Meaning for those times you don't want to share your email address With start mail and some of the others you can create temporary email addresses on the fly instantly And if you so select you can even assign a self-destruct Time and date so that you can receive reply emails for a while and all of a sudden that email address Just doesn't exist anymore. It disappears So in effect with a service like start mail and there are others You really don't have a need for any of the other free email services like Google or Yahoo at all

[15:38] that means you could use it for your serious sensitive email stuff as well as later things like disseminating and Emma's life-saving elixir and that also means if some other website requests an email address to set up a code or a password you could create a Temporary email address on the fly and eliminate it when necessary. Okay, let's change gears a bit Here's a short email from Anna who I don't think has been listening to too many of my shows or I'm sure she'd know the Answers to this already. She says dear Johnny, you know I'm about to graduate from college with a degree in business marketing and Spanish I heard about your show the expat files and was wondering if you had any advice about pursuing a business career in South America

[16:24] Even if you could point me to the most relative blog post that would be appreciated I really have no idea where to begin my search. I would appreciate your help Anna. Well, Anna Thanks for that email. And since you're just now graduating and since you said you have no idea where to start I would have thought you would have done at least some basic research I mean the internet itself is a wealth of information And if you really are clueless like it sounds you are not off to a very good start in your career That said I will try to help by the way You're not the only one who's kind of in the same boat surprisingly enough I had a phone consult about three weeks ago With a young woman from Boston who had a newly minted Spanish and get this

[17:10] Psychology degree now that's daddy's money down a rat hole, isn't it? And I told her that when she gets down here, she'll get hired All right, and she won't have to settle for a waitress job at Starbucks either She'll certainly land a job in human resources at a company down here, but she'll only make about 500 700 bucks a month and I believe with that 55,000 bucks she has in school loans. She should be able to pay that off in about 260 years Like my dear old mother always said the funny you have in college is Inversely proportional to the amount of money you're gonna make when you get out and she would know she's a retired University college professor. Anyway, it's way too late to tell What is it 70 or 80 percent of college kids that they're gonna have to find a place for those

[17:58] Liberal arts books when they graduate and move back home with mom and dad. Oh, and by the way speaking of phone Consults if you want to have a one-on-one with me Just go to expat wisdom calm and click on the consultation link. Anyway about ends questions I can tell you there are three routes to finding a job within your career in Latin America South America specifically for you Yes, what you have there is a workable combination Spanish and marketing So step one checking out the back pages of the Chicago Trib the New York Times the London Financial Times and in the back pages of business magazines like Forbes Businessweek the Economist, etc That's where you'll always find trans national companies

[18:44] Advertising for qualified people like yourself, especially people who speak Spanish They're always looking for professionals to send to their foreign subsidiaries For example, take a company like Bayer or Siemens catalogs even Mercedes-Benz They're always advertising in those papers and journals I just mentioned and the big advantage is they pay first-world salaries and they'll give you relocation money, too However, they almost always want people with experience which you have zero because you're just graduating So go ahead and check out those ads But I hold out little hope for your success on that at least until you've had a year or two of experience in the field Now there's a second way to find a job down in South America or Latin America From the comfort of your home in Cleveland You just go online and check out the classifieds and help wanted ads in the big Latin American

[19:35] Newspapers in areas that you want to get a job For example, if you want Medellin Colombia or Lima Peru Just go online and check out any one of the three four even five daily newspapers and note for some reason usually Monday is the big Day for help wanted ads and note those ads will tell you precisely what they're looking for and how to submit your resume So follow those directions precisely and note when they select you for an interview You'll have to go down when they tell you and on your dime. These are local papers. They're not recruiting internationally Which gives you the advantage really because they'd rather have first world talent for sure now because you're actually a Spanish major And your Spanish has to be pretty good There is a very good chance they'll hire you because like I said your first world talent even without experience

[20:25] You have that gringo advantage. Remember? However, do know if you get a job by this method. You're not gonna get first world money. I've seen it I know people who've done that they come down here They get a management or executive job and they're still making about a quarter of what that same job would pay up in the states For example price water house, you know the big accounting firm that's down here in almost all big Latin American cities and they advertise all the time for executives and They want business management people great, huh? However, what do they pay about anywhere between fifteen to thirty thousand bucks a year whereas the same job up in the states Surely seventy five to a hundred grand Nevertheless, you shouldn't be discouraged because down here in Latin America As long as you don't live near embassy row or in a high-end business district

[21:13] Where there are a lot of first world hotels and convention centers. So first world prices prevail Just locate yourself a bit outside of those areas Then I assure you you will be living as if you're making 75 to 100 GZ year Perhaps even double that because you will not be paying first world taxes so maybe then you come down here and take a job like that for a year or two and you Reapply in those first world magazines like Forbes and the Financial Times Now you have the required experience and you possibly can get that first world salary on Contract from the home office up in New York Chicago or Cleveland However, personally and from experience I don't much care for those first two approaches because you know some of the happiest executive type expats

[22:02] I know are the ones that came down here without a job put some boots on the ground and started their own businesses You know what they say? There's nothing like being your own boss Because you know what the trick is you get boots on the ground down here and all of a sudden you've got all these ideas popping through your head and if you're a business major, you're bound to see a lot of opportunities from day one and Since business startup cost here in Latin America can be as little as one the sixth of what you'd pay for a similar business up in The states if it's a small business, you do not need a big cash reserve to get started However, if you're one of those typical US grunts that went through college got a business degree I thought you were gonna walk into a big firm and start your career there and work your way up Well, good luck trying that down here

[22:48] Nearly all Latin companies promote their employees through nepotism favoritism what they call in Spanish clientismo and quayo Meaning the boss's kids family relatives and mistresses Always get the management jobs and move up the ladder before the really qualified people ever get a chance So anyway, Anna, I don't think that's gonna happen unless you qualify as mistress material now speaking of mistress material and the unintended effects of macho society I want to comment on an interview from Paulina Vega who was crowned Miss Universe this year She's from Colombia and this interview just took place in Bogota now when asked about Latin America specifically

[23:33] Colombians obsessed with beauty pageants and plastic surgeries She said in Bogota Colombia the capital population about 15 million people in 2014 the civil police registered 20,000 cases of sexual abuse in the city and there's at least five times as many that haven't been reported She also says about 1,000 women were assassinated in related sexual abuse crimes almost always by the pissed off or jealous husband or boyfriend When asked about the state of the macho society in Colombia And why the majority of these sexual abuse cases and murders are never prosecuted She knows there are men in Colombia that really believe in equality between women and men

[24:24] But she just hasn't met one yet And that wasn't supposed to be a joke either She said on the record politicians and people in the news always talk about their belief in equality among the sexes But the real attitude men from all classes believe is that a woman's place is in the home and in the bed Oh and by the way, here's a good statistic. She said of those 1,000 women murdered last year in sexually related crimes 24 of those women were killed by husbands or boyfriends who were members of the Colombian Armed Forces police or army using their own registered gun to blow away a spouse or a girlfriend Now analysts say one of the roots of the machismo problem in Colombia

[25:10] Especially are those thousands of beauty contests throughout the year In fact at those events girls as young as nine and ten years old appear in bikini contests in Latin America There's no taboo against very young girls parading around in bikinis like that In fact, their mothers and fathers are extremely proud that their little daughters have made it to the stage because you see They all want their kids to be crowned miss Columbia or some such thing and in this interview The new miss Columbia says even being in any contest not even winning Opens doors and gets you close to men who are in power that can help your career and she said who will pay For the necessary plastic surgery to move you to the next level Now, of course these sponsors these men don't do that out of the goodness of their heart

[25:59] Eventually, there's payback and they'll want something in return and that she says only tends to reinforce the macho stereotypes Which in turn perpetuates the inequality of the sexes then get that she says and haven't you heard this one before? She says in Colombia a man is judged by what he drives and as for women They're judged by their physical attributes Unfortunately, she said no matter what professional career a woman might have or how high her educational achievements in Whatever level of society a woman will never be equal to a man. It's a fact. She says that's been Institutionalized in our society and yes, she says there are some activist groups that have forced Legislation for women every Latin American man and woman knows equal opportunity rights exist though

[26:50] They're practically never fully enforced and then she said having a discussion like this with a man has little meaning because you really have to be A woman to know just how important physical appearances are here in Colombia and by the way the title of this article which is in Spanish is Colombia a country caught between the obsession for beauty and The obsession for macho violence. So there you have it proof that some beauty queens have brains, too That's it. I'd like to remind you that I'm having another expat wisdom seminar this time in July So if you want in on the early bird list and special discounts Send an email to the expat files at gmail.com or Johnny at expat wisdom.com You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border

[27:42] Email me the expat files at gmail.com and don't forget to check out expat wisdom.com to sign up for your free Reports on Latin America. See you next time. No swaymos