Never-Googlers: Web users take the ultimate step to guard their data

guest · Jul 29, 2019

Never-Googlers: Web users take the ultimate step to guard their data
Abandoning the tech giant's services, like Gmail, maps and Chrome, offers some privacy gains, but it's not easy to do
July 27, 2019
http://www.startribune.com/never-go...-ultimate-step-to-guard-their-data/513299772/

Kelly is one of a hearty few who are taking the ultimate step to keep their files and online life safe from prying eyes: turning off Google entirely. That means eschewing some of the most popular services on the Web, including Gmail, Google search, Google Maps, the Chrome browser, Android mobile operating software and even YouTube.

Such never-Googlers are pushing friends and family to give up the search and advertising titan, while others are taking to social media to get the word out. Online guides have sprouted up to help consumers untangle themselves from Google.
These intrepid Web users say they’d rather deal with daily inconveniences than give up more of their data.
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Minimalist · Jul 29, 2019

As mentioned in article - it's not that easy to do it. For me biggest problem is switching email to other provider - not my email account but those from family and friends. They are so used to Gmail that I could hardly convince them to switch provider.
Other things are more simple to implement - like replacing Chrome with Firefox and installing adblocker.

guest · Jul 29, 2019

Typical example of privacy fanatics trying to undo what cannot be undone, just wasting their time spitting on a nuclear fire hoping to extinguish it.
They don't even get that whatever they do, their data will be collected in a way or another. They have no control of what others parties share about them.

sukarof · Jul 29, 2019

I moved on to a paid email provider 5 years ago and only use duckduckgo for searches. My next phone will probably be a iPhone since there are no other alternatives to android I guess. I need a phone where identification app and a pay app we have here in Sweden work, and they only work on updated IOS or Android... ublock and different privacy extensions on Firefox of course.

mirimir · Jul 29, 2019

guest said: ↑

They don't even get that whatever they do, their data will be collected in a way or another. They have no control of what others parties share about them.
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Sure they do. They just need to compartmentalize. The only link between my meatspace identity and Mirimir, for example, is the nested VPN chains that I use. Nobody who knows me in meatspace knows that I'm Mirimir, and nobody who knows me as Mirimir knows who I am in meatspace. That is, unless they got data from multiple VPN providers, and did traffic analysis. Or used their global intercept cluster. And the same applies to my other personas, especially the ones that also use Tor.

guest · Jul 29, 2019

mirimir said: ↑

Sure they do. They just need to compartmentalize. The only link between my meatspace identity and Mirimir, for example, is the nested VPN chains that I use. Nobody who knows me in meatspace knows that I'm Mirimir, and nobody who knows me as Mirimir knows who I am in meatspace. That is, unless they got data from multiple VPN providers, and did traffic analysis. Or used their global intercept cluster. And the same applies to my other personas, especially the ones that also use Tor.
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Hacking groups with high resources and skills get caught by law enforcement without too much efforts.
So unless you do nothing to attract attention you won't get "hunted" but then what is the point to hide yourself.

You and other privacy advocates should worry more about meatspace, it is where you lost privacy first.
You were born. You have parents. You have a drivers license, a bank card, a telephone number, went to school, maybe a wife or fellow partners, have a doctor... all that personal data is out there on insecure 3rd party systems and every last bit of it is directly attached to meatspace Mirimir. All just being hacked to death and shared with data miners. So much for privacy and anonymity. Lol.

imdb · Jul 29, 2019

guest said: ↑

...You and other privacy advocates should worry more about meatspace, it is where you lost privacy first.
...
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+1.

this* is what mr. schneier's got to say about these issues (yeah, "the" bruce schneier) :

GAZETTE: What about corporate surveillance? How pervasive is it?
SCHNEIER: Surveillance is the business model of the internet. Everyone is under constant surveillance by many companies, ranging from social networks like Facebook to cellphone providers. This data is collected, compiled, analyzed, and used to try to sell us stuff. Personalized advertising is how these companies make money, and is why so much of the internet is free to users. We’re the product, not the customer.
...
GAZETTE: It seems that U.S. customers are resigned to the idea of giving up their privacy in exchange for using Google and Facebook for free. What’s your view on this?
SCHNEIER: The survey data is mixed. Consumers are concerned about their privacy and don’t like companies knowing their intimate secrets. But they feel powerless and are often resigned to the privacy invasions because they don’t have any real choice. People need to own credit cards, carry cellphones, and have email addresses and social media accounts. That’s what it takes to be a fully functioning human being in the early 21st century. This is why we need the government to step in.

GAZETTE: You’re one of the most well-known cybersecurity experts in the world. What do you do to protect your privacy online?
SCHNEIER: I don’t have any secret techniques. I do the same things everyone else does, and I make the same tradeoffs that everybody else does. I bank online. I shop online. I carry a cellphone, and it’s always turned on. I use credit cards and have airline frequent flier accounts. Perhaps the weirdest thing about my internet behavior is that I’m not on any social media platforms. That might make me a freak, but honestly it’s good for my productivity. In general, security experts aren’t paranoid; we just have a better understanding of the trade-offs we’re doing. Like everybody else, we regularly give up privacy for convenience. We just do it knowingly and consciously.
GAZETTE: What else do you do to protect your privacy online? Do you use encryption for your email?
SCHNEIER: I have come to the conclusion that email is fundamentally insecurable. If I want to have a secure online conversation, I use an encrypted chat application like Signal. By and large, email security is out of our control. For example, I don’t use Gmail because I don’t want Google having all my email. But last time I checked, Google has half of my email because you all use Gmail.

GAZETTE: What does Google know about you?
SCHNEIER: Google’s not saying because they know it would freak people out. But think about it, Google knows quite a lot about all of us. No one ever lies to a search engine. I used to say that Google knows more about me than my wife does, but that doesn’t go far enough. Google knows me even better, because Google has perfect memory in a way that people don’t.
GAZETTE: Is Google the “Big Brother?”
SCHNEIER: “Big Brother” in the Orwellian sense meant big government. That’s not Google, and that’s not even the NSA. What we have is many “Little Brothers”: Google, Facebook, Verizon, etc. They have enormous amounts of data on everybody, and they want to monetize it. They don’t want to respect your privacy.

GAZETTE: In your book ...you recommend a few strategies for people to protect their privacy online. Which one is the most effective?
SCHNEIER: Unfortunately, we live in a world where most of our data is out of our control. It’s in the cloud, stored by companies that may not have our best interests at heart. So, while there are technical strategies people can employ to protect their privacy, they’re mostly around the edges. The best recommendation I have for people is to get involved in the political process. The best thing we can do as consumers and citizens is to make this a political issue. Force our legislators to change the rules.
Opting out doesn’t work. It’s nonsense to tell people not to carry a credit card or not to have an email address. And “buyer beware” is putting too much onus on the individual. People don’t test their food for pathogens or their airlines for safety. The government does it. But the government has failed in protecting consumers from internet companies and social media giants. But this will come around. The only effective way to control big corporations is through big government. My hope is that technologists also get involved in the political process — in government, in think-tanks, universities, and so on. That’s where the real change will happen. I tend to be short-term pessimistic and long-term optimistic. I don’t think this will do society in. This is not the first time we’ve seen technological changes that threaten to undermine society, and it won’t be the last.
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*excerpt from an article on harvard.edu.

*****

the fourth amendment:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
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Minimalist · Aug 21, 2019

What does Google NOT know about me?

It is really passé to ask what Google knows about me. Instead, we should be asking ourselves what it does NOT know about us – and how we can minimize the vast amount of personal data it collects on us via its growing array of services and features.
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https://blog.avira.com/what-does-google-not-know-about-me/

Minimalist · Sep 1, 2019

Ditch Google with these privacy-first alternatives

Google is the web's most dominant services company – it's also one of the world's biggest advertisers. If you're trying to protect your data, these are the best alternatives
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https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-alternatives

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