DeepseekerADS
Gold Member
- Mar 3, 2013
- 14,880
- 21,725
- Detector(s) used
- CTX, Excal II, EQ800, Fisher 1260X, Tesoro Royal Sabre, Tejon, Garrett ADSIII, Carrot, Stealth 920iX, Keene A52
- Primary Interest:
- Other
1. Remember To Log Out of Facebook
Here's an alarming fact about Facebook I want to share with you. Facebook can track the online activity of users who stay logged on to their Facebook account. This means, if you happen to leave a Facebook tab opened on your browser as you surf elsewhere, webpages that contain the ‘Like' button can track and collate data about your activities (even if you didn't click it). What's even more chilling to know is they are no longer doing this through the conventional cookie tracking system where your identity is at best an anonymous IP address; rather, they are now basing it on your unique Facebook user ID.
2. Google Yourself Periodically
Some people may think that the vanity search is narcissistic, but it is more practical than you might think when it comes to online privacy concerns. The internet is indeed free for anyone to post anything or say anything they want, and that includes information and malicious information about you. If possible, many of us would want to know when someone out there mentions something good or bad about us, so that we can respond to the statements. To enable email updates when new content about you surfaces online, you can use Google Alerts.
3. Use secure browsing (HTTPS) whenever possible.
HTTPS prevents others from snooping on your wireless connection. It's particularly useful when you're using insecure wireless connections, like those in cafes or airports. You'll know that a site is secure and using HTTPS when you see a lock icon next to the URL of the site you're visiting.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) offers a helpful & free tool for Chrome and Firefox called "HTTPS Everywhere".
4. Stay Updated On Privacy Policies
Most websites you encounter have privacy policies available for visitors, indicating what information they collect from your computer and who they will share this to. Because these policies are usually lengthy and full of jargon, people do not actually read them at all.
Most users mistakenly assume that having a privacy policy on a site they visit is as good as having their privacy protected. Truth is, the reason why a website even has a privacy policy is usually because they want to spell out (as clearly as possible) how far they will only go to protect the users' privacy, so as to excuse themselves for violating the very policy they set.
5. Checking In
Frequent check-ins puts your online and offline privacy in jeopardy and make you an easy target for actual stalkers. Location-based services provided by Facebook, Foursquare, RunKeeper and more let you reveal where you are and what you are doing at a particular time of the day.
Another way of looking at this is someone else can have a rough sense of what your general schedule is like based on the data they have collected from your habitual check-ins. If you check-in where you live, and announce that you are going off on a trip, it is not hard to put 2 and 2 together and figure out when it is a good time to break into your home.
6. Revealing Location Info
The technology involved in location-based apps services is GeoTagging, which traces your location via Global Positioning System (GPS). This ‘feature' is pretty much an intrinsic part of many of our digital devices today.
Your location data can be captured, along with other details like date, time, camera settings, etc in the EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) data, stored within the image. Run a check by going into the Properties of some of your old photos taken with your smartphone and you will find the GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken. Key in the numbers into Google Maps and yes, that's the exact location where you took the photos! These images when uploaded to photo-sharing sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook or even your blog,can be downloaded by strangers. The obvious solution is to turn off GPS for the device or the camera appto prevent your location from being tagged involuntarily.
7. Beware Of Open Wi-Fi Hotspots
If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to connect to an open Wi-Fi hotspot. By default, open Wi-Fi sources in public areas have no encryption, which means that someone near your location can capture data you transmit online such as your passwords, bank accounts and emails. This is made worse if you reuse the same passwords for all your online accounts because this means that the hacker just needs to see you logging into one account to be able to access the rest.
8. Beware of posting under your real name.
Whether you're posting in a forum, social network, news article, or online group, there's a good chance your comment will persist forever. If you decide to post something under your real name, ask yourself: "If this content were ever publicly released, would I be okay with seeing it on the cover of the New York Times?" If the answer is "no", use a pseudonym. Note that some websites, like Facebook, actually require in their Terms that you use your full legal name to sign up. If that rubs you the wrong way, avoid them or rebel by using a realistic-looking pseudonym.
These are 8 useful tips you can use right now to make life harder for people targeting your online activities. While they will not make you "invisible" while online, they will greatly improve your security.
Stay safe. Stay prepared.
Jason Richards
Here's an alarming fact about Facebook I want to share with you. Facebook can track the online activity of users who stay logged on to their Facebook account. This means, if you happen to leave a Facebook tab opened on your browser as you surf elsewhere, webpages that contain the ‘Like' button can track and collate data about your activities (even if you didn't click it). What's even more chilling to know is they are no longer doing this through the conventional cookie tracking system where your identity is at best an anonymous IP address; rather, they are now basing it on your unique Facebook user ID.
2. Google Yourself Periodically
Some people may think that the vanity search is narcissistic, but it is more practical than you might think when it comes to online privacy concerns. The internet is indeed free for anyone to post anything or say anything they want, and that includes information and malicious information about you. If possible, many of us would want to know when someone out there mentions something good or bad about us, so that we can respond to the statements. To enable email updates when new content about you surfaces online, you can use Google Alerts.
3. Use secure browsing (HTTPS) whenever possible.
HTTPS prevents others from snooping on your wireless connection. It's particularly useful when you're using insecure wireless connections, like those in cafes or airports. You'll know that a site is secure and using HTTPS when you see a lock icon next to the URL of the site you're visiting.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) offers a helpful & free tool for Chrome and Firefox called "HTTPS Everywhere".
4. Stay Updated On Privacy Policies
Most websites you encounter have privacy policies available for visitors, indicating what information they collect from your computer and who they will share this to. Because these policies are usually lengthy and full of jargon, people do not actually read them at all.
Most users mistakenly assume that having a privacy policy on a site they visit is as good as having their privacy protected. Truth is, the reason why a website even has a privacy policy is usually because they want to spell out (as clearly as possible) how far they will only go to protect the users' privacy, so as to excuse themselves for violating the very policy they set.
5. Checking In
Frequent check-ins puts your online and offline privacy in jeopardy and make you an easy target for actual stalkers. Location-based services provided by Facebook, Foursquare, RunKeeper and more let you reveal where you are and what you are doing at a particular time of the day.
Another way of looking at this is someone else can have a rough sense of what your general schedule is like based on the data they have collected from your habitual check-ins. If you check-in where you live, and announce that you are going off on a trip, it is not hard to put 2 and 2 together and figure out when it is a good time to break into your home.
6. Revealing Location Info
The technology involved in location-based apps services is GeoTagging, which traces your location via Global Positioning System (GPS). This ‘feature' is pretty much an intrinsic part of many of our digital devices today.
Your location data can be captured, along with other details like date, time, camera settings, etc in the EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) data, stored within the image. Run a check by going into the Properties of some of your old photos taken with your smartphone and you will find the GPS coordinates of where the photo was taken. Key in the numbers into Google Maps and yes, that's the exact location where you took the photos! These images when uploaded to photo-sharing sites like Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook or even your blog,can be downloaded by strangers. The obvious solution is to turn off GPS for the device or the camera appto prevent your location from being tagged involuntarily.
7. Beware Of Open Wi-Fi Hotspots
If I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to connect to an open Wi-Fi hotspot. By default, open Wi-Fi sources in public areas have no encryption, which means that someone near your location can capture data you transmit online such as your passwords, bank accounts and emails. This is made worse if you reuse the same passwords for all your online accounts because this means that the hacker just needs to see you logging into one account to be able to access the rest.
8. Beware of posting under your real name.
Whether you're posting in a forum, social network, news article, or online group, there's a good chance your comment will persist forever. If you decide to post something under your real name, ask yourself: "If this content were ever publicly released, would I be okay with seeing it on the cover of the New York Times?" If the answer is "no", use a pseudonym. Note that some websites, like Facebook, actually require in their Terms that you use your full legal name to sign up. If that rubs you the wrong way, avoid them or rebel by using a realistic-looking pseudonym.
These are 8 useful tips you can use right now to make life harder for people targeting your online activities. While they will not make you "invisible" while online, they will greatly improve your security.
Stay safe. Stay prepared.
Jason Richards
