What to do once it is realized that hardware in ones own computer is sharing everything, or that VPN and such do not stop ISP providers from recording everything transmitted through their lines and satellites?

I believe they feign powerlessness more than they are to allow the rebels to feel confident herding exactly where they want them. At the end of the day, the men sending the armies with guns and such will take what they want, when they want.

I doubt there is any escape from them claiming their Caesar possessions short of finding some desolate area and living off the land. The mark of the beast is waiting to claim all who would adorn their lives with its trinkets and ways.