The weakest link to any system is the human factor. Most people live their lives and read about breaches of governments, corporations, financial institutions, and small businesses including other peoples privacy. Yet, we don’t think twice that we are the ones making our privacy vulnerable and breach it ourselves.
Why do we put our privacy at risk? We risk our privacy for free applications and services because of legalized social engineering attack close to “Baiting”. Baiting is the promise of an item or good to entice for the exchange of our privacy.
Who hasn’t heard of tech companies such as Microsoft and Google, yet their business models violate our privacy. For some time now, Windows 10 has been free for those that are upgrading from Windows 7 and 8. Windows didn’t used to be free and nothing in life is ever really free, right? This month Microsoft announced its Q3 results and stated the free operating system created a $1.5 billion hole in its revenues. If Windows 10 is “free” why the hard lining Windows 10 upgrades for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users (see video below)?
Using default settings gives Windows 10 an incredible amount of user data, although anonymized, and absolute control over updates and the installation of new features and services. Microsoft clearly feels more entitled to use Windows 10 to push users towards its own products. Several Windows 10 updates switched user preferences back to Microsoft solutions, then automatically deleted some third party apps and tools. Since then the company has declared all attempts to use rival search engines in the Windows 10 search bar would be blocked and all results must load in Edge, no matter the user’s default browser (Kelly, 2016). You can help protect your privacy by reviewing your settings, http://lifehacker.com/what-windows-10s-privacy-nightmare-settings-actually-1722267229.
When you use Google, you are making a deal. You get to use services like Gmail, Drive, search, YouTube, and Google Maps for free. In exchange, you agree to share information about yourself that Google can share with advertisers so their ads are more effective. No longer content to vacuum up, scan, index and sell analytics based on the content of our texts, emails, searches, locations and more, Google now has a new target: tapping, mapping and colonizing the networks wiring our lives. An example, being sued by 38 states, Google admitted that its cars outfitted with roof cameras facing four directions were not just taking pictures; they were collecting data from computers inside homes and structures, including “passwords, e-mails and other personal information from unsuspecting computer users,” the New York Times reported. Another example is, a federal judge refused to dismiss a potential class-action lawsuit brought by Gmail users who objected to its practice of analyzing the content of all the messages on its network and selling byproducts to advertisers (Rosenfeld, 2014). You can see what Google is watching, what Google thinks it knows about you, and what it's telling advertisers.
Here is some of the things companies/brokers collect about people (some are more common than others):
- Name, age, birthday, and gender
- Physical address, phone numbers, email address
- Social Security Numbers and drivers license
- Height and weight
- Language you speak
- Marital status
- Who lives with you
- Education level and occupation
- Political party
- What you buy
- Friends on social media
- How much social media you use: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Note: To see a more complete list of data that is collected visit, http://time.com/money/2819049/data-brokers-online-privacy-tools/.
This in not an exhaustive list. The mass population doesn’t know that it only takes two data points of personnel identifiable information to uniquely identify someone. How do companies know that? Whenever you post information online, register on a website, shop, or submit a public record like a mortgage or voter registration. Data brokers collect information and then turn around and sell what they have on you.
The only way to fully protect yourself is to live in a box and never crawl out of, however there are some actions that a person can take to reduce the data leak that they created themselves:
- Delete Cookies: cookies let websites collect information about what else you do online.
- Log Out of Social Media Sites While You Browse the Web
- Change Your Smartphone’s Privacy Settings
- Employ Advanced Online Tools: disconnect.me, DuckDuckGo, Tor
- Opt-out of Data Collection
- Digital Checkup: check privacy setting on popular sites like Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter
- Online Profile: never give out any real information about yourself unless absolutely necessary and create a disposable email account
- Delete your unused online accounts
- Block "third-party" cookies
- Go private with your browsing
- Use anti-tracking software (Ghostery)
- Use HTTPS whenever possible
- Sign up for a VPN service
- Do not reply to spammers
Remember that YOU decide what information about yourself to reveal: when, why, and to whom. Note, this topic mentioned two services that may garner attention from government authorities. Newly approved rule change (Rule No. 41) by the U.S. Supreme Court will allow FBI to search and seize any computer around the world, found to be using privacy tools like VPN or Tor (TechWorm, 2016).
References:
Kelly, G. (2016, April 29). 'Free' Windows 10 Reveals Its Expensive Secret. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2016/04/29/free-windows-10-cost-expensive-secret/?utm_medium=email
Rosenfeld, S. (2014, February 5). 4 ways Google is destroying privacy and collecting your data. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://www.salon.com/2014/02/05/4_ways_google_is_destroying_privacy_and_collecting_your_data_partner/
Google. (n.d.). One account. All of Google. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from https://history.google.com/history/
Google. (n.d.). Control Your Google Ads. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from https://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous?hl=en
Brandeisky, K. (2014, June 5). 7 Ways to Protect Your Privacy Online. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://time.com/money/2819049/data-brokers-online-privacy-tools/
Mitchell, R. L. (2014). The paranoid's survival guide, part 1: How to protect your personal data. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://www.computerworld.com/article/2488068/data-privacy/the-paranoid-s-survival-guide-part-1-how-to-protect-your-personal-data.html?page=4
McCandlish, S. (2002). EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from https://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy
TRUSTe. (n.d.). Personal Privacy Tips - TRUSTe. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from https://www.truste.com/consumer-resources/personal-privacy-tips/
Prabhu, V. (2016). Tor & VPN users labeled as criminals will be hacked & spied by FBI under new law. Retrieved May 06, 2016, from http://www.techworm.net/2016/05/tor-vpn-users-labeled-criminals-hacked-spied-fbi-new-law.html
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