On 5/31/15, Gadit Bielman <thetransintransgenic@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi.
For starters, you have to get off of proprietary software (such as Windows or Mac) - so, for a student, this could be a good exploratory learning opportunity. This implies some rational conversation with said parents. The best advice is to expect no silver bullet - expect to have to learn a lot if you want some semblance of control over your computing environment. Depending on the situation, there could be a USB keyboard logger - which may or may not be visually detectable by a cursory outside glance. Above all, I suggest endeavouring to begin conversations with said parents, and ideally take an interest in a libre software operating system - Whonix and Qubes may be a good place to start, but really, any GNU/Linux or even *BSD OS is a huge step up from all proprietary software in existence. Go with a bootable live USB stick, generally faster than a live bootable DVD. And get comfy with Truecrypt 7.1a for storing all data to create a persistence layer. This way, as long as the hardware itself is not compromised (eg USB keylogger), then you will have some semblance of independence from the hardware, and as a bonus will be able to trivially carry your computing environment with you wherever you go - just beware the hardware of course. A good part of relationships happen in conversations. If at all possible, settle ones emotions (such as anger and frustration) and start having real conversations with said parents. Long term, we want healthy relationships, not life sucking adversarial relationships. Good luck, Zenaan