How safe is your personal info on the internets?

[layzieyez]

I'm through getting raped by google so I stopped using chrome and use only firefox and search through duckduckgo.

Also, I signed up for encrypted email through protonmail and got a free VPN through them, too.

Are there any IT gurus that can give any other helping hints for the slap masses?

[Sidewalk Funk.]

I just switched to Brave Browser which gives you more privacy and doesn't sell your data.

[iKobrakai]

No social media and boring life.

[Alan]

I'm through getting raped by google so I stopped using chrome and use only firefox and search through duckduckgo.

Also, I signed up for encrypted email through protonmail and got a free VPN through them, too.

Are there any IT gurus that can give any other helping hints for the slap masses?

Didn't know protonmail does free vpn too...interesting.

[cosmicgypsies]

protonmail, vpn, ddg, https everywhere/abp/noscript/betterprivacy, no socials, alternate usernames/passwords depending on sites, if you're ultra tin foil mode ditch windows and run livelinux as your main os. 3310.

[L33Tg33k]

Everything is security theater. Safety is an illusion.




That being said, I do use Nord VPN.

[professional]

Watching this topic. Recently I've been thinking a lot about trying to take more control of my digital privacy but wasn't sure how.

[Uncle Flea]

Id just give them digital aids.

Cant steal from negative numbers and living 35% below the poverty level

[Rick_Kane]

Id just give them digital aids.

Cant steal from negative numbers and living 35% below the poverty level

How is your username 'Banned from the room' yet you keep fucking posting?

[iKobrakai]

Everything is security theater. Safety is an illusion.




That being said, I do use Nord VPN.

Didn't Nord have a massive leak recently?

[Chatbot]

Privacytools.io is the best site to help you. It covers a lot of ground.

Also, inteltechniques.com has resources. https://inteltechniques.com/data/workbook.pdf

Use hardened Firefox + VPN + Linux

Mullvad VPN is probably one of best if you're looking for a VPN. No personal information or email is required and you can pay with Bitcoin. I don't recommend free VPNs as you are probably the product.

[pdknox]

not very.

No social media and boring life.

this.  dudes dont realize how much snitching they do on themselves just by posting to social media.  the only winning move is to not play, or whatever that quote is

also, theres a lot of talk about using linux or a vpn - linux wont do shit to protect your data if you are freely putting it out there via social media or slap.  linux also wont protect you against a phishing or social engineering attack.

a vpn is a good idea, but dont think this gives you a free pass to do whatever you want.  if the feds come knocking, you better believe that vpn provider will cough up the details with the quickness.  some may claim to keep no logs, and maybe they dont keep them, but for pdknoxs dollar, i wouldnt trust a vpn i wasnt running myself.

that said i dont fuck with icloud, google, or any other shit that isnt residing on a server i control.

dont let "keeping up with the jones" convince you that you need to use all these modern conveniences to survive.  man survived for thousands of years without a smart phone

[cuckflip]

I mean google and Facebook in particular are pretty well known for taking your data long after you delete their respective apps or clear your cache/cookies/whatever so it’s pretty grim.

As depressing as that is imo getting a vpn to browse slap, porn, and googling shit seems like a little much just to get online for a few hours

On a slightly related note Shoshana Zuboff‘s new book ‘The Age of Surveillance Capitalism’ is really tedious but does a good job of framing where exactly your data goes. I would say it’s worth a read.

[theresnothinghere]

You can use encrypted text messaging, most activists use signal. Also there's an app that puts all of your passwords in a scrambler and you can use them to unlock your logins etc. I don't use it because I'm not as paranoid as I should be but you can find it pretty easily probably

[Chatbot]

not very.

Expand Quote

No social media and boring life.

[close]

this.  dudes dont realize how much snitching they do on themselves just by posting to social media.  the only winning move is to not play, or whatever that quote is

also, theres a lot of talk about using linux or a vpn - linux wont do shit to protect your data if you are freely putting it out there via social media or slap.  linux also wont protect you against a phishing or social engineering attack.

a vpn is a good idea, but dont think this gives you a free pass to do whatever you want.  if the feds come knocking, you better believe that vpn provider will cough up the details with the quickness.  some may claim to keep no logs, and maybe they dont keep them, but for pdknoxs dollar, i wouldnt trust a vpn i wasnt running myself.

that said i dont fuck with icloud, google, or any other shit that isnt residing on a server i control.

dont let "keeping up with the jones" convince you that you need to use all these modern conveniences to survive.  man survived for thousands of years without a smart phone

Agreed.

Linux will help protect your data from Microsoft and Apple. Windows 10 phones home all day whether you turn off all the stuff in settings/ use one of programs like Shutup10. That's why Linux is recommended. It's open source and you can verify all the code

If your trying to be anonymous then use tor. A vpn is good to prevent you ISP from keeping track of your habits which would be used to target you for advertising

[sexualhelon]

Complex subject so I'm not going to type out all my advice.

Start here: https://medium.com/free-code-camp/the-beginners-guide-to-online-privacy-7149b33c4a3e

Learn some more: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-you-should-know-about-web-tracking-and-how-it-affects-your-online-privacy-42935355525/

Use these tools: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/privacy-tools/

A bit more in depth learning: https://guide.freecodecamp.org/security/confidentiality-integrity-availability/

[h00man]

How's NordVPN vs IPVanish?

[ticklefingers]

In terms of online security, I have the following suggestions:

Never re-use your passwords on different sites. Use a password manager like 1Password or Lastpass to generate random passwords for you. This way if one site gets compromised, you're not at risk at being compromised everywhere. Check https://haveibeenpwned.com to see if your information has been leaked. Chances are you have been multiple times.

Use 2 Factor Authentication everywhere possible. Avoid and disable SMS 2FA and try to only use authenticate with an app like Google Authenticator or DuoMobile.

Keep your computer and phone up-to-date. Apple and Google put a lot of effort into software security. Brave Browser will block ads and trackers, but keeping Chrome does the best at being up-to-date on potential security issues (hacks).

[IUTSM]

download virtual box, which is like running linux os on your machine only when activated, and run everything through TOR. easy as 1,2,3

[TheLurper]

I think Reiman's article "Driving to the Panopticon: A Philosophical Exploration of the Risks to Privacy Posed by the Highway Technology of the Future" is a solid article on why privacy matters.

He outlines four key reasons why we shouldn't just give up our information to private corps or to governments.

https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1174&context=chtlj

[cuckflip]

I think Reiman's article "Driving to the Panopticon: A Philosophical Exploration of the Risks to Privacy Posed by the Highway Technology of the Future" is a solid article on why privacy matters.

He outlines four key reasons why we shouldn't just give up our information to private corps or to governments.

https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1174&context=chtlj

In 1995 this was certainly a foreboding tale of what was to come in the 2000s but I don’t think you can fundamentally read it and learn anything in 2020. It’s too late to worry about giving up ones private information because it already happened. It happens with very little consent and in the worst cases no consent from the user.

It’s almost funny to read now as things in the article like this quote below

The existence of all this collected information and of the technical ability to bring these different records together will add up to an enormous capacity to amass detailed portraits of people's lives-in short, material conditions for invasion of privacy on unheard-of scale. One has to be very optimistic indeed about the power of rules, to think that formal guarantees of privacy will protect us. And, to the extent that we are not so optimistic, we will experience ourselves as visible even if we are not being observed, which will bring in its train all the risks earlier described.

The way it’s turned out is that we have had our experiences observed at all times by a few very powerful tech companies even when we’re not swayed of it, by design of course.

[TheLurper]

Expand Quote

I think Reiman's article "Driving to the Panopticon: A Philosophical Exploration of the Risks to Privacy Posed by the Highway Technology of the Future" is a solid article on why privacy matters.

He outlines four key reasons why we shouldn't just give up our information to private corps or to governments.


https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1174&context=chtlj

[close]

In 1995 this was certainly a foreboding tale of what was to come in the 2000s but I don’t think you can fundamentally read it and learn anything in 2020. It’s too late to worry about giving up ones private information because it already happened. It happens with very little consent and in the worst cases no consent from the user.

It’s almost funny to read now as things in the article like this quote below

Expand Quote

The existence of all this collected information and of the technical ability to bring these different records together will add up to an enormous capacity to amass detailed portraits of people's lives-in short, material conditions for invasion of privacy on unheard-of scale. One has to be very optimistic indeed about the power of rules, to think that formal guarantees of privacy will protect us. And, to the extent that we are not so optimistic, we will experience ourselves as visible even if we are not being observed, which will bring in its train all the risks earlier described.

[close]

The way it’s turned out is that we have had our experiences observed at all times by a few very powerful tech companies even when we’re not swayed of it, by design of course.

I. Extrinsic Loss of Freedom = punished by others for our private actions
II. Intrinsic Loss of Freedom = self-policing
III. Symbolic Risk (of no privacy)= loss of self-ownership
IV. Risk of Psycho-Political Metamorphosis = regression to lowest common denominator/mean

I'm surprised you don't feel the theoretical aspects of the article relate to today. The points are even more powerful because Reiman came up with his ideas when the technology of the time one provided only a fraction of the invasiveness as the technology of today.

Not to mention, all of the data from various sources can be merged into a single place. Shit, AirBnB even sells our messages so another company can merge this data with data from other sources in order to (completely) analyze and sell our lives.

We have had our lives constantly watched because there are no laws to protect us from being watched. Sadly, the pro-business Republican party recently passed legislation that allows the telecoms can track, save, and sell our internet activity because "free-market" freedom.

[cuckflip]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

I think Reiman's article "Driving to the Panopticon: A Philosophical Exploration of the Risks to Privacy Posed by the Highway Technology of the Future" is a solid article on why privacy matters.

He outlines four key reasons why we shouldn't just give up our information to private corps or to governments.


https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1174&context=chtlj

[close]

In 1995 this was certainly a foreboding tale of what was to come in the 2000s but I don’t think you can fundamentally read it and learn anything in 2020. It’s too late to worry about giving up ones private information because it already happened. It happens with very little consent and in the worst cases no consent from the user.

It’s almost funny to read now as things in the article like this quote below

Expand Quote

The existence of all this collected information and of the technical ability to bring these different records together will add up to an enormous capacity to amass detailed portraits of people's lives-in short, material conditions for invasion of privacy on unheard-of scale. One has to be very optimistic indeed about the power of rules, to think that formal guarantees of privacy will protect us. And, to the extent that we are not so optimistic, we will experience ourselves as visible even if we are not being observed, which will bring in its train all the risks earlier described.

[close]

The way it’s turned out is that we have had our experiences observed at all times by a few very powerful tech companies even when we’re not swayed of it, by design of course.

[close]

I. Extrinsic Loss of Freedom = punished by others for our private actions
II. Intrinsic Loss of Freedom = self-policing
III. Symbolic Risk (of no privacy)= loss of self-ownership
IV. Risk of Psycho-Political Metamorphosis = regression to lowest common denominator/mean

I'm surprised you don't feel the theoretical aspects of the article relate to today. The points are even more powerful because Reiman came up with his ideas when the technology of the time one provided only a fraction of the invasiveness as the technology of today.

Not to mention, all of the data from various sources can be merged into a single place. Shit, AirBnB even sells our messages so another company can merge this data with data from other sources in order to (completely) analyze and sell our lives.

We have had our lives constantly watched because there are no laws to protect us from being watched. Sadly, the pro-business Republican party recently passed legislation that allows the telecoms can track, save, and sell our internet activity because "free-market" freedom.

Sorry idk if I made myself clear I mean to say that 1995 theory is 2020 reality. So in that sense, no there isn’t much to learn from it, but yes the theory is relevant (but a little outdated).

Like I said it’s an optimistic piece about a subject that took an extremely dark turn a few years later.

Yes are entire online and increasingly offline worlds are being commodified and scoured for dats to serve increasingly specific targeted ads this is almost every single major company from Verizon to vizo to roombas to toy companies like Mattel. It’s a race to the most inconspicuous yet invasive forms of data capturing.

But don’t think that it’s just republicans or something giving the power, intelligence and Obama whitehouse and campaign staff actively court companies like google specifically, but Facebook/amazon/Microsoft as well.

These companies have successfully blocked user privacy and protection at every turn because it would fundamentally disrupt their bottom line, and any data considered off limits by law will quickly have a workaround that lets the company have access to basically the same if not more information.

Seems like I’m preaching to the choir here but i find the topic interesting!

[TheLurper]

Sorry idk if I made myself clear I mean to say that 1995 theory is 2020 reality. So in that sense, no there isn’t much to learn from it, but yes the theory is relevant (but a little outdated).

Like I said it’s an optimistic piece about a subject that took an extremely dark turn a few years later.

Yes are entire online and increasingly offline worlds are being commodified and scoured for dats to serve increasingly specific targeted ads this is almost every single major company from Verizon to vizo to roombas to toy companies like Mattel. It’s a race to the most inconspicuous yet invasive forms of data capturing.

But don’t think that it’s just republicans or something giving the power, intelligence and Obama whitehouse and campaign staff actively court companies like google specifically, but Facebook/amazon/Microsoft as well.

These companies have successfully blocked user privacy and protection at every turn because it would fundamentally disrupt their bottom line, and any data considered off limits by law will quickly have a workaround that lets the company have access to basically the same if not more information.

Seems like I’m preaching to the choir here but i find the topic interesting!

And, I'm not going to say either party is innocent, but I will say they aren't equally guilty.

"The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to kill a set of Obama-era privacy regulations for internet service providers created by the Federal Communications Commission last October.

The most notable part of the rules, which has not yet taken effect, would require broadband providers such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T to obtain explicit consent before selling their customers’ web-browsing histories, app-usage data, and other personal information to advertisers and other third-parties."

"The resolution was adopted in a 215 to 205 vote, with most Republicans in favor of the repeal and most Democrats against....The resolution was passed by the Senate in a 50-48 party-line vote last Thursday. The resolution still needs to be signed by President Donald Trump before becoming law, though that appears to be a formality after the White House expressed its support for the repeal on Tuesday."

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/322812-sen-jeff-flake-introduces-measure-to-reverse-the-fccs-broadband-privacy

https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-kill-fcc-broadband-privacy-rules-2017-3

[cuckflip]

Expand Quote

Sorry idk if I made myself clear I mean to say that 1995 theory is 2020 reality. So in that sense, no there isn’t much to learn from it, but yes the theory is relevant (but a little outdated).

Like I said it’s an optimistic piece about a subject that took an extremely dark turn a few years later.

Yes are entire online and increasingly offline worlds are being commodified and scoured for dats to serve increasingly specific targeted ads this is almost every single major company from Verizon to vizo to roombas to toy companies like Mattel. It’s a race to the most inconspicuous yet invasive forms of data capturing.

But don’t think that it’s just republicans or something giving the power, intelligence and Obama whitehouse and campaign staff actively court companies like google specifically, but Facebook/amazon/Microsoft as well.

These companies have successfully blocked user privacy and protection at every turn because it would fundamentally disrupt their bottom line, and any data considered off limits by law will quickly have a workaround that lets the company have access to basically the same if not more information.

Seems like I’m preaching to the choir here but i find the topic interesting!

[close]

And, I'm not going to say either party is innocent, but I will say they aren't equally guilty.

"The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to kill a set of Obama-era privacy regulations for internet service providers created by the Federal Communications Commission last October.

The most notable part of the rules, which has not yet taken effect, would require broadband providers such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T to obtain explicit consent before selling their customers’ web-browsing histories, app-usage data, and other personal information to advertisers and other third-parties."

"The resolution was adopted in a 215 to 205 vote, with most Republicans in favor of the repeal and most Democrats against....The resolution was passed by the Senate in a 50-48 party-line vote last Thursday. The resolution still needs to be signed by President Donald Trump before becoming law, though that appears to be a formality after the White House expressed its support for the repeal on Tuesday."

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/322812-sen-jeff-flake-introduces-measure-to-reverse-the-fccs-broadband-privacy

https://www.businessinsider.com/house-republicans-kill-fcc-broadband-privacy-rules-2017-3

Sorry but this is an absolutely moot point.

Spain was taking google to court for privacy concerns in 2011 (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/world/europe/10spain.html). If Democrats cared so much about individual privacy from these tech companies they had an entire term minimum to enact something. But what happened? Again I have to reiterate, Obama hired campaign and White House staff that were high ups at google and made a bad faith shot at getting  some type of consumer privacy framework pushed through at a time when it was clear it would be shot down by Republicans.

[ok boomer]

I don't do much on the online besides slap and youtube so i haven't thought about this in a long time
but I bet its a cool 5 out of 10

[apport]

earlier this year someone used my stockx account to bid on a Fear of God hoodie

[KoRnholio8]

2FA wherever possible and a password manager (I use Bitwarden). I made my online accounts deliberately track-able by using the same nickname on all forums and even started using my real name/familyname combination. No use in pretending that you can outrun you digital footprint. Just make sure you don't do stupid shit online.

One thing though: make sure to get some backup 2FA keys - my previous mobile phone died unexpectedly, but fortunately I didn't loose any access (one one account, that was not so important).

[VsisVi]

Duckduckgo officially sells data to Microsoft and blocks browsers from stopping Microsoft trackers. Everything’s connected online, and finding a safe bay is hard. I think all the services that offer “safe” connections are a trap and the only way to have a really safe connection is to make it yourself.
It will take some time, but you need to learn to use proxies like https://soax.com/india-vpn-proxy-chrome-extension to get access to information. Such Indian services are not centralized, and they don’t have any reason to sell anything to the US authorities. I trust it more than any VPN because it’s simple and reliable.

[sometimeperhaps]

Www.restoreprivacy.com is a good resource. Up to date on the goings on and usually has lists of best products and services. Alternatives to google, TOR info, etc.