OT: Internet Privacy

[BobbyJones]

I was just reading an article about Calibra, Facebook's cryptocurrency.

Within the article, it brought up the privacy issues that Facebook regularly faces, ie Cambridge Analytica gaining access of up to 87 million FB users without their consent.

The big question I have is how many people really care about stuff like that? Is it just a small segment of watchdogs that raise the flag?

Sure, read an article, talk about it for a day or two. But how many people actually DO something about it... cancel accounts, unplug from services, etc.

Thoughts?

[dave thompson]

I feel that if you're now becoming concerned about your privacy and are thinking of doing something about it, it's too late.

[Tony T]

I always Google "incognito", and I Facebook with an alias.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Tony T

I always Google "incognito", and I Facebook with an alias.

Just an FYI, if you're talking about an incognito mode like in chrome, that only prevents any records of your activity from remaining locally on your computer.

Rest assured, google knows exactly what you're searching for in incognito mode.

If you want more anonymity in your searching, you need to use a VPN, a different search engine, an anoymizing plug-in, or a combination of those.

[PQJ]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

Just an FYI, if you're talking about an incognito mode like in chrome, that only prevents any records of your activity from remaining locally on your computer.

Rest assured, google knows exactly what you're searching for in incognito mode.

If you want more anonymity in your searching, you need to use a VPN, a different search engine, an anoymizing plug-in, or a combination of those.

This in spades. Firefox + VPN at a minimum. For those of you with more . . . er . . . eclectic pastimes, you'll need VPN + Tor, and maybe even Tails.

[Elefantino]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...=.b180922918f9

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...=.b180922918f9

disclaimer, i work in tech. these articles are often fear-mongering and prey on non-tech saavy users. chrome doesn't explicitly set any cookies on its own -- it's a browser. hell, you don't even need cookies to uniquely identify an end-user anymore, browser fingerprinting is probably more accurate than that ever was.

i would take an article published on a site owned by amazon with a grain of salt when it's critiquing a competitor (admittedly, that doesn't discredit the factual parts of that article)

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by thegunner

disclaimer, i work in tech. these articles are often fear-mongering and prey on non-tech saavy users. chrome doesn't explicitly set any cookies on its own -- it's a browser. hell, you don't even need cookies to uniquely identify an end-user anymore, browser fingerprinting is probably more accurate than that ever was.

i would take an article published on a site owned by amazon with a grain of salt when it's critiquing a competitor (admittedly, that doesn't discredit the factual parts of that article)

Editors at the post could give a rip about Amazon because they're not owned by Amazon. They're owned by Bezos, who also owns Amazon. It's like the Boston Globe, which is owned by Red Sox owner John Henry. The Red Sox don't own the Globe.

This is unlike Warren Buffett, whose company Berkshire Hathaway actually owns the Omaha World-Herald.

[Dude]

The topic around do people care is hard to measure. If you measure it in "steps people take to be more private"...no they don't care (or know) because they aren't taking steps.

As an easy start, install the duck duck go browser extension (duck duck go is a search engine that doesn't track you). You'll also realize that the google universe makes for a very pleasant, seamless experience and that's why they are so ubiquitous. Try using Openstreetmap for all of your mapping needs.

As others have mentioned a VPN is also important. Because your bytes, before they are seen by facebook/google/whoever are seen by your ISP. The VPN will sit between you and your ISP.

As someone who works in digital marketing, cookies, not fingerprinting, are what our technologies rely on. But, there are many large, large "tech giants" that do rely on fingerprinting.

Facebooking with an alias might make it harder for you to find on facebook, but facebook doesn't care what your name is or whether or not you're really you. They just want to serve you ads that you are more likely to click on than not click on.

[thegunner]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

Editors at the post could give a rip about Amazon because they're not owned by Amazon. They're owned by Bezos, who also owns Amazon.

you have more faith in impartiality (on the tech front) in ownership from a bezos owned publication than i do. i'm actually quite a fan of wapo in general -- but not with regards to their coverage of topics in tech, more specifically in privacy and ethics in tech.

[fiamme red]

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-tracking.html

What did we find? The big story is as you’d expect: that everything you do online is logged in obscene detail, that you have no privacy. And yet, even expecting this, I was bowled over by the scale and detail of the tracking; even for short stints on the web, when I logged into Invasive Firefox just to check facts and catch up on the news, the amount of information collected about my endeavors was staggering...

Basically, Internet privacy seems to be a myth.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-tracking.html

Basically, Internet privacy seems to be a myth.

Would have been more interesting if they contrasted this with the browsing of someone using a VPN with a combination of PrivacyBadger and uBlock on their browser, which purport to block trackers and ads, respectively.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Basically, Internet privacy seems to be a myth.

i always presume this to be a basic truth.

it's like girls who text naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriend. then they are shocked, SHOCKED that the pictures wind up on the 'net.

once it's digital and has traveled off your device, you have no control over it. that's the way i see it.

[skiezo]

I have never been on FB,twitter or any other social network but I do pay for and use a VPN as well as other browsers besides safari and google. I am sure that there are still my digital footprints out there but I do feel safer in my approach. I am not a tech guy so not real sure how to check what I do leave behind.
I think FB is evil and they have way to much info about what people do and where they are at any given time. I would not doubt that they are listening to conversations.

[NYCfixie]

Digital/Internet Privacy is a myth because laws in the USA are not as strong as other countries and our lobbyists (and the political systems in which they work) will make sure it stays that way. As such, companies do not even do the bare minimum to protect your data because they treat it as their property, not yours.

There are simple things you can do to protect yourself but do not get confused between hackers who want to steal your information and big corporations that you gladly hand over everything to each and every day.

After the Equifax breach did you lock your credit report? If you have no idea what I am writing about then go read up on the breach and then contact the three reporting agencies and lock your credit report. Not a temporary security lock but actually lock it so nobody can access it without your consent and passcode to unlock it.

Do you have mutli-factor authentication on every account (or at a minimum your email, health, and investment/bank accounts)?

What protection(s) do you have on your smartphone?

Have you checked the privacy settings on all your social media accounts?

Do you use a VPN and proxy service as mentioned above so nobody can track you?

How about ad-blockers and anti-virus software?

There is nothing you can do (currently) about what data is already out there about you and in some cases nothing at all such as with credit cards (every time you buy something that information is shared with about 1,000 different companies) but you should try some basic protections rather than do nothing at all.

You can also talk to your congressperson and senator and tell them to change the laws to make them stricter like the European Union GDPR so companies stay out of your data and your life.

Americans simply have no idea what the government can do via the Patriot Act (put into law by Bush, expanded and renewed by Obama, and you can imagine where Trump stands on the topic). The government spying on its citizens has no political affiliation.

So, unless you want to sell all your electronics and go live off the grid, stay informed, stay current, stay protected, and be mindful of what you share with anyone and everyone.

Before you think I am writing this post while wearing a tinfoil hat in my basement bunker, know that I have worked in the technology field for more than 25 years, hold a CISSP, hold a CISM, and just completed a master's degree in information management with a focus on information and cyber security via the #1 program in the field.


Happy (web) surfing!