Slashdot Mirror
Just How Much Privacy Do We Have?
stuffman64 writes: "Popular Science is running an excellent article on just how private our daily lives are. The article chronicles a typical day of a make-believe Graphics Designer from Chicago. Throughout his day, he unwittingly supplies companies with information that can potentially be used against him. And with GPS-enabled cell phones just starting to hit the market, our privacy can only continue to deteriorate from here. A must read."
For Mark, he has other issues:
9:14 am: Instant messaging
Mark IMs his girlfriend: "Don't worry about last night. I'll get tested. Love you."
I'd say privacy should be the least of his concerns.
Sent from your iPad.
In North Dakota where, we had a total of 5 murders last year, they are installing cameras all over, privacy is gone in public. Noone really even put up a fuss either, strange. On a good note we just approved a law preventing all banks from selling any of your information. First in the nation from what I understand, to be approved in a proposition.
It's not the OS it's the user that sucks. If it's user friendly, you get stupider people. - clinko
To allay suspicion, be sure to buy pork or alcohol every time you go to the store.
You say that now. Wait till you try running for office. Your opponent bribes someone to get you spending habits and finds out that you like the gay porn. Your opponent then lambasts you in media as against family values and tradition and what not. You lose. There was nothing wrong with what you were doing, but then again, it wasn't anybody else's business either.
I know I personally wouldn't want some of the strip joints I go to, to become common knowledge. While I may enjoy the naked women, I wouldn't want a potential employer (or even my current employer) to know what I'm gonna be doing with that money they'd be(en) paying me.
Too much information can color an impression of an otherwise honorable person. You may say something like, "I have nothing to hide, so this doesn't bother me." Don't fall into that trap. Something will come up that you would rather not be public knowledge. Maybe you wet the bed till you were in high school. Do you want your boss to confront you about that herpes test you had last week? Do your co-workers know how you REALLY feel about Star Trek/Star Wars/Buffy/Simpsons? What would they say about ALL that memorabelia that you have? What were you DOING down in the seedier parts of town last night? Buying drugs? No...just seeing those stippers...again. Does your Mom know about your subcription to Playboy/Penthouse/Hustler/Big'uns? All those things and more will become easier and easier to discover, just because you say you have nothing to hide.
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
Don't be an idiot. As soon as the authorities adopt an exlcusive rule -- "We won't stop grandmothers" -- they open up a huge hole in their procedures, one which will get exploited. How many people ever crashed 767 into skyscrapers after hijacking them with paper cutters? The only way such procedures as searches can be effective is if they are either (a) universal or (b) truly random and very frequent. Any pattern employed can be used against the search. Why do you think Al Queada is trying to recruit "ordinary" Americans??
From where I sit, all this whining about "They even search gradmas, for Pete's sake" seems to come from people who are all for waging war but don't want to pay even the tiny price of extra time in the airports. "Let's you and them fight, but as soon as this 'war' involves sacrifice on my part, we need to reconsider." And generally it's not really the 76-year-old grandma that they want excluded from the search -- it's the safe-seeming white middle class.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
That's shortsighted as hell. Maybe nothing you do is "bad" now, but maybe something you do will be illegal tomorrow. There are plenty of things that are perfectly legal that are unpopular as hell. Voting is legal, but the idea of the secret ballot is the only thing that makes it work. Privacy is more vital to our lives than simply not going to jail.
Remember: If we let Bush and Ashcroft tear up our Constitution, then the terrorists have already won.
I spent a year in Iraq looking for WMD and all I found was this lousy sig.
1. Use cash, not credit cards, for a start. Take out the most the ATMs will allow at any one time.
2. Buy a prepay mobile phone, pay cash for the top-up cards.
3. Set up free email addresses with Yahoo and the like. Use one address to get others.
4. Don't use encryption. Or alternatively, get *everyone* else to use encryption, but don't raise a flag over your mails.
5. Don't bother with store loyalty cards. I mean, are you really bothered about 5p off a product?
6. Support/use your local family grocer or market rather than the big chain stores.
There's more you can do, but doing the above is simple and will reduce your information profile significantly.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Lessons Learned:
For thieves and low-lifes only:
Does anyone know where I can download that "Caught In The Act" video?
"If you're not doing anything wrong, you shouldn't be concerned with people watching you."
False. You should be concerned with people watching you because they can harm your interests even if you are not doing anything wrong. Just for example, if somebody could see how you voted, they could harass you or bribe you. That's why voting booths have privacy curtains. Privacy is essential to democracy and freedom.
If you buy valuable objects (electronics, jewelry, whatever), you are doing nothing wrong. But if the wrong people get ahold of that information, you become a target for theft. How do you keep information like the addresses of people with valuable items out of the hands of criminals? You keep it out of the hands of companies that collect it. They almost never have your security at heart, and they often have lax security procedures. Privacy is essential for security.
How do you keep your competitor from learning your business plans? You keep the plans secret. You do not want information about what you are buying or whom you are meeting to get into your competitor's hands. How you keep them from learning that information? You keep it out of everybody's hands. Privacy is essential for business.
How do you protect yourself from sexual assault? You don't let strangers know your address. You don't let every peon employee who sees a pretty woman in a store find out where she lives. How do you keep strangers from getting her address? You don't let companies collect it. Privacy is essential for safety.
How do you keep telemarketers from bothering you? You don't let them have your phone number or information about your interests and purchasing patterns. (They may still call randomly, but this decreases targeted calls.) How do you keep them from getting that information? You don't let companies collect it. Privacy is essential for peace and quiet.