23rd February, South Wales UK.
Received anonymously:
“Mole decapitation traps removed from st marys church, marshfield, Newport.”
MOLE TRAPS DESTROYED.
TEN THOUSAND PARTRIDGE MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEAR FROM A GAME FARM.
10th February, Spain
According to a hunting newspaper, ten thousand partridges have mysteriously disappeared from a farm that was raided by the ALF eight years ago. They say that some hundreds of birds have appeared dead alongside graffitti reading “animal liberation”, and that the police is still unsure if the attack had anything to do with the ALF or if it could’ve been a robbery.
HUNTING SOCIETY BUILDING SABOTAGED MULTIPLE TIMES.
January, France.
via: Attaque
According to mainstream media, in the space of four months, in Villeneuve, France, the premises of the Gergy Hunting Society, chaired by Jérôme Sarre, have been damaged three times.
PASSWORD MANAGEMENT
We have talked in the past about how important a passphrase is to unlock your smartphone, instead of a numerical code, or if you’re still not up to date with how law enforcement abuses their powers, especially don’t use biometrics like your fingerprints or FaceID.
If you have not read about smartphone passphrase, you should start here: https://unoffensiveanimal.is/2021/03/16/creating-a-safe-passphrase-for-your-smartphone/
Now that you have read that, we MUST talk about all other passwords you use to log in to every other account you own.
Passwords are normally stored in the servers of those accounts (let’s say Facebook for example), as hashes. That means that people cannot simply access your password as plain text. But many tools are able to unhash and find your passwords.
So how do we protect ourselves from a major data leak, that would release into the internet the key to open every account you own?
Firstly, we need to visit a few rules:
- You should NEVER reuse your password. It doesn’t matter if it is for an account you don’t care about. Just DO NOT reuse your password. If it leaks for one account, it will leak for all accounts!
- Your passwords should be complicated and should be lengthy. There are many ways of “creating” passwords, but we will explain a very simple one later on in this article.
So once we have learnt those two rules, how can we create, manage and memorise very long, complicated passwords, that are single-use so you do not repeat them in every single account?
The answer is using a password manager.
A password manager is a vault that keeps all those passwords safe and away from prying eyes. For most of our readers, whose threat level is probably low, we will recommend a cloud-based password manager due to its ease of use, but if you believe you should go a step further, once you’ve read about password managers check KeePass, a completely off-cloud alternative.
Our recommendation for a cloud-based password manager is Bitwarden. Bitwarden is an open-sourced password manager capable of storing all the information you need, but also able to generate new passwords on demand and synchronising within all your devices if so you wish.
Storing all your passwords in a single drawer sounds like a huge, scary thing doesn’t it? This is why you should think before you even create a new account with Bitwarden.
1- Create a new, never-used-before email address. Only use it to create that password manager account, so it doesn’t leak. That means it is more difficult to try to brut force the password manager credentials if the attacker doesn’t even know what email address you could’ve used.
2- Create a MASTERPHRASSE. Remember how we talked about a passphrase for your smartphone? Follow those rules, but double it, or even triple it in size. Write it down for a few weeks until you are 100% sure you will not forget, and practise using it. Make it the longest, most complicated password you can create whilst being able to remember it because it is the password that will rule all the passwords.
Now, you can log in to Bitwarden, and start storing all your account’s passwords. And because we know what your like, this is the moment we prompt you to CHANGE THE 6-YEAR-OLD PASSWORD YOU’VE NEVER IN YOUR LIFE CHANGED. Seriously, go on Facebook, change your password. Go on your proton mail, and change your password. Go on your amazon account and CHANGE-YOUR-PASSWORD.
You will find this a very good little tool within Bitwarden. When you’re changing a password in whatever account, you can click on “generate password”, choose the length and how complicated you need it to be, and the software will create the password for you. You copy it, change the password in the account, then save the new credentials in your Bitwarden and voila! You are done!
But I can imagine more than one person complaining about putting all the vegan eggs in a single, steel basket, and hoping that that does not fuck things up.
And you people are right. That master passphrase could be broken. All your accounts, compromised. And we also have remedies for those problems.
In a future instalment, we will talk about 2FA and how to use it (not the one where google sends you a text with a code mind you!). but for now, this is a cool little trick you can use to secure your accounts a step beyond the password manager.
Let’s imagine that the FBI has decided to check out all the nudes you send over Instagram DMs. They try to enter your IG, but they are unsuccessful. Sadly, they find a plaintext of your password manager master passphrase, and they learn that your Instagram login credentials are:
User: @thegreensheepinthehill
Password: z3JtBqGT$ZRjWY!cf&ppaY@xbe *(a very nice password created by the PW generator within Bitwarden!)
When they try to log in, “username and/or password are invalid” prompts the screen!
Why? Because you did not put all the vegan eggs in one steel basket. You kept half an egg to yourself.
That metaphorical egg is “something you remember”, an add on to your password, something extra that you don’t forget.
For example, let’s say that you really like plants, and your favourite plant is a pothos. Maybe that something you remember can be {p0th0%s}, and when you are creating new passwords to all your accounts, you keep adding “{p0th0%s} at the end of the randomly generated password that Bitwarden is giving you.
When you save your passwords, you are not saving {p0th0%s} alongside it, but you simply remember it, so when you need to log in to IG for example, Bitwarden gives you this:
User: @thegreensheepinthehill
Password: z3JtBqGT$ZRjWY!cf&ppaY@xbe
But you remember that the actual password is:
Password: z3JtBqGT$ZRjWY!cf&ppaY@xbe+{p0th0%s}
And tada! You made your life a little safer by spending a couple of days learning a new tool that will really, really help you in the long run.
Enjoy, and for the love of bunnies, stop using “password123” as your password, please.
UA Tech and Sec department.
TWELVE HUNTING STANDS SABOTAGED.
13th February, Belgium
via Animal Liberation Press Office:
“Belgium 13.02.2022 The A.L.F. Save Wild Lives and sabot 12 hunting stand”
HUNTING TOWERS DESTROYED IN MEMORY OF MIKE HILL.
9th February, Germany.
via Animal Liberation Press Office.
“09.02.2022. The A.L.F. save wild life in germany in memory of Mike Hill.and sabot 5 hunting stand”
MC DONALD’S RESTAURANT SABOTAGED.
3rd February, Puebla Mexico
received anonymosuly via email:
ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL SPANISH REPORT:
“February 2019 Animal Liberation Front independent cell.
Mexico.
Claim of responsibility for the sabotage action against a McDonald’s restaurant in Barrio de San Antonio, Puebla, during the night of the 3rd of February 2022.
MEAT IS MURDER!
We claim responsibility for this action. We oppose ourselves politically and morally against a system of intensive production that for long enough has exploited animal bodies, human and non-human, and that has oversaturated us with the death it produces, covering the stench with artificial aromas and bright colours, making us unable to choose or imagine an alternative that doesn’t involve exploitation and death. We oppose them with direct action because it directly confronts the system, because it creates and strengthens complicity and because it brews political rage in more people, so they also start taking action.
This is not an isolated action. We add to the hundreds of actions taken every year around the world with the aim to harm and threaten businesses that build their economic empires on death and suffering. Those actions also aim to liberate non-human persons enslaved and systematically tortured.
Those individuals, violently born in this world with the only purpose of being a consumer product, or entertainment, or work, are never recognised for the key role they’ve played in the evolution of the human society. For that reason we believe this violence against animals cannot be analysed or combated without understanding it as systemic violence.
The animal question is a social problem, deeply rooted to colonialism and capitalism, specially in countries contaminated by neoliberalism like Mexico is.
Since its inception, McDonald’s has been part of every imperialist war that the USA has taken part of around the world. Its political, economic and cultural connections to the wars add to the pillage and exploitation of nature, humans and animals in all the territories oppressed by imperialism. It has also contributed to the destruction of culture in most countries around the world, imposing and influencing towards a lifestyle of aggressive consumption.
For all those reasons we believe it is completely legitimate to attack and sabotage McDonald’s as an act of resistance; human and non-human alike.”
SPANISH ORIGINAL REPORT:
“Febrero 2019
Célula independiente del Frente de Liberación Animal
México
Carta de reivindicación de la acción de boicot realizada contra la sede comercial de la empresa multinacional Mc Donald’s ubicada en el Barrio de San Antonio, Puebla la noche del 3 de febrero de 2022.
CARNE ES ASESINATO!
Reivindicamos este gesto, oponiéndonos política y moralmente a un sistema de producción intensiva que durante demasiado tiempo ha saqueado los cuerpos animales, humanos y naturales y nos ha atiborrado de la muerte que produce, cubriendo su hedor con sabores artificiales y colores brillantes, haciéndonos incapaces de elegir o imaginar una alternativa que no implique explotación y muerte. Lo hagamos con las acciones directas, que son acciones de confrontación contra el sistema, por fortalecer y crear complicidades, y por fomentar la rabia política en mas personas, para que se animen en actuar.
Este gesto no es ni será un gesto aislado, sino que se suma a otros cientos de acciones que se llevan a cabo cada año en todo el mundo con el objetivo de dañar y amenazar a las empresas que construyen sus imperios económicos sobre la muerte y el sufrimiento, y liberar a las personas no humanas esclavizadas y sistemáticamente torturadas. A estos individuos, traídos violentamente al mundo con el único fin de servir como productos de consumo, entretenimiento y trabajo, nunca se les reconoce el papel que han desempeñado y siguen desempeñando en la evolución de la sociedad humana. Por esto pensamos que la violencia contra los animales no puede ser analizada y combatida fuera de un análisis y consideración más amplia de un tipo de violencia que es sistemica.
La cuestión animal es un asunto social, conectado profundamente al colonialismo y al capitalismo, especialmente en los países violados por el neoliberalismo, como México.
La empresa trasnacional de Mc Donald’s desde su creación y expansión ha sido vinculada y participe en todas las guerras imperialistas que Estados Unidos ha realizado alrededor del mundo. Su participación economica, politica y cultural en estas guerra contribuye al saqueo y explotación de las vidas naturales, animales y humanas de los pueblos o territorios que son sometidos por el imperialismo. También han contribuido a la destrucción de la cultura en la mayoría de los países intentando imponer un modelo de vida y consumo agresivo a las personas y a la naturaleza. Por lo tanto creemos totalmente legítimo el atacar y sabotear a esta empresa como un acto de resistencia humana y animal.”
NATURAL FOODS STORE TARGETED, $600 OF MEAT SPOILED.
February, Minneapolis, USA.
received anonymously via email:
“We filled a cart with $600 of venison and bison meat at a natural foods grocery store in Minneapolis and left the cart in an aisle and exited the store. Once workers discover the cart, the meat will be spoiled and thrown away.
This was a very simple act of sabotage.
Replicate.”
BRISTOL BUTCHER SHOP WINDOW SMASHED
11th February, Bristol UK.
received anonymously via email, photo submitted by a supporter:
“In the early hours of the 11/02/22 we smashed a butchers window. The butchers are located at 101 Henleaze road, Bristol. Action dedicated to the memory of Mike Hill. Lets see more of this type of thing!
ALF”
WHAT THE FUCK IS UNOFFENSIVE ANIMAL (PART 5, HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED)
By now, you have learned quite a bit about us. We’ve explained our political background, what we do and don’t do and how people send anonymous reports. If you like the work we do there are many ways you can support Unoffensive and help us.
The first one is fairly self-evident. We created a platform so news could be spread over social media, so following, sharing and inviting others to check the content is a huge bit of help. We have had a very tumultuous relationship with the main social media channels and are permanently shadowbanned, so all interaction is positive and very much appreciated.
Secondly, as we have mentioned in previous articles, we work with submissions. People are not only welcome but also encouraged to submit both ideas and fully written articles to be published on our platforms. As long as they are not encouraging illegal activities or promoting any form of bigotry, we are always happy to publish them! We are also happy for folks to approach us with concepts for series or other forms of regular content that they would like to help with.
Lastly, supporting Unoffensive with donations is vital for us to keep going. Not only does it help us with prisoner support, arrest support and campaign support, but also it helps us upkeep website, server and domain costs. We would like to reach a point where we can support more journalistic work through Unoffensive, but unfortunately, donations to the collective have steadily declined in the past two years, and we now barely manage to do half of the money work we once did. We do not take donations for personal money, wages or anything of the like, as we all are volunteers (and more often than not end up putting money in ourselves!)
So if you think we do a good job and want to support our work, please consider donating. You have many different options, from Monero and bitcoin if you want to use cryptocurrencies to PayPal and Patreon.
Paypal: unoffensive_animal(at)tutanota.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/animalliberation
Bitcoin and Monero wallets can be found on our website.
UNTIL WE WIN!
UA.