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Privacy: the 21st Century's Newest Luxury Item
chicksdaddy writes: There is a report today on the 21st century's newest luxury item: online privacy The Christian Science Monitor writes about the growing market for premium privacy protection tools available to tech-savvy consumers with the desire for online anonymity — and the means to pay for it.
The piece profiles new tools from companies like Abine that deliver everything from self-destructing e-mail messages to the 21st century's equivalent of Kleenex: one-off "throwaway" online identities to keep advertisers, merchants and government snoops at bay. Privacy experts, however, doubt that the new tools will tip the scales of online privacy in favor of consumers and away from governments and advertisers. "Consumers really don't have a fighting chance," says Andrea Matwyshyn of Princeton University. "Technology moves entirely too fast."
She and others see the need for both bigger fixes and the level of Internet infrastructure and law. "As a consumer protection matter, there needs to be a floor," she said. "Just as there are laws protecting renters from substandard housing, or car buyers from 'lemons,' there need to be regulations that create a buffer between consumers and companies."
The piece profiles new tools from companies like Abine that deliver everything from self-destructing e-mail messages to the 21st century's equivalent of Kleenex: one-off "throwaway" online identities to keep advertisers, merchants and government snoops at bay. Privacy experts, however, doubt that the new tools will tip the scales of online privacy in favor of consumers and away from governments and advertisers. "Consumers really don't have a fighting chance," says Andrea Matwyshyn of Princeton University. "Technology moves entirely too fast."
She and others see the need for both bigger fixes and the level of Internet infrastructure and law. "As a consumer protection matter, there needs to be a floor," she said. "Just as there are laws protecting renters from substandard housing, or car buyers from 'lemons,' there need to be regulations that create a buffer between consumers and companies."
You don't need your TV to monitor your conversation so that you get even less exercise than pressing a button.
You don't need a smartphone if all you do is listen to music and get bus times and stock quotes and news briefs.
Embrace Dumbness. Reject Smart Technology.
Besides, we're already recording you and using your cell and phone and Net providers to track you. Don't help us even more.
This includes answering those stupid FB polls that just let us collect more data on you.
Rip FB out of your phone.
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There are real privacy laws in America.
Just ask Canada. It's a Right in the Canadian Constitution.
Heck, even Mexico has more privacy rights than the US does. ... oh, you thought the US was America. I'll tell Brazil they belong to Europe ...
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There are ways to have privacy, and you are not going to get them by buying some app and letting some company take care of it for you:
1: Unplug. Yes, unless you need that phone on, it goes off, or into airplane mode. The HTC One M8 has an extreme battery saver mode, when combined with airplane mode, makes a useful alarm clock.
2: Learn the basics of OpenPGP [1], and build a web of trust. One can even have keysigning parties, and done right, no computers need to be brought over... public key fingerprints and IDs can be printed on pieces of paper, and people can indicate that the printed item is theirs.
3: Use social networks minimally, if at all.
4: Use OpenPGP tools on top of messaging and other protocols.
5: Use a VPN service, or perhaps TOR behind the VPN service, since it is routine for admins to block TOR exit nodes, or any nodes relating to TOR.
6: Use containers [2] for web browsing, so the social media buttons on one site can't chat with the social media buttons on another.
7: Check your Web browser against Panopticlick, and fix it so it isn't unique.
8: Even if one doesn't use TOR, use a VPN. This at least keeps the ground level ISP from modifying your traffic... they have to either block it, throttle it, or let it through... and (for most purposes) can't modify it.
9: Assume that any data that leaves the machine is available for anyone. Encrypt your stuff, or face the consequences.
Privacy can't be bought. It needs to be "earned" these days.
[1]: OpenPGP can be PGP, NetPGP, GnuPG, or any of those tools that use the OpenPGP format.
[2]: Containers can be VMs, sandboxes, or even separate user accounts.