Online Privacy

Discussion in 'Hints & Tips' started by gormo, Apr 15, 2018.

  1. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    G`day Folks,
    I am gradually taking steps to reduce the amount of data that is being collected regarding my online presence, my searches, my likes, my dislikes, travel arrangements, model railway video views etc.etc.,.......the list is endless.
    After the recent revelations about the Facebook data hack and just Google in general, I have had enough.
    The point is I have nothing to hide, I have nothing worth stealing, yet I resent the fact that I may be looking up the availability of hotels in Wagga Wagga , and the next thing you know I am receiving subtle suggestions via my Gmail account, Facebook account, my wife`s Android tablet, my Andoid phone etc.etc.etc. of possible hotels that I may be interested in.
    I am not a Facebook user as such. I have an account which was set up to receive updates when RMWeb was down, and every time I have tried to use the blessed thing, it basically annoys the living daylights out of me. I canceled a page I created and then was told it could take three months to be fully removed.......what the ??????????
    I am not interested that my friends or relations went to the shops today and bought a loaf of bread and then shared pics of it to their friends list....who cares.???
    I have an Android phone, which is normally off, however it was on full time last year for a couple of weeks when we had a holiday in Scotland. I recently looked at my Google account on line and found that I could tell you where we were on any given day on that holiday on a daily point to point basis, even though GPS tracking is turned off. Google tracks the phone even if there is no SIM inserted. If the phone is on, it can be tracked..........what the heck for.???????
    Anyway.......as I said I am gradually putting alternative arrangements in place to block the tracking.
    This long winded lead up is all about one of the arrangements. I have changed over to Duck Duck Go ( yeah...it`s a weird name ) as my search engine on my Firefox browser.
    Duck Duck Go.....does not track you and or try and pump you full of advertising suggestions.
    Their moto is....
    The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs.
    https://duckduckgo.com/
    So if you feel like I do.....it may be worth a look if you want to take back some control over your online history.
    Here are some screenshots from my browser showing their policies in brief ,with the usual disclaimer, I have no affiliation with Duck Duck Go.

    Screenshot at 2018-04-15 20-47-32.resized.png Screenshot at 2018-04-15 20-47-20.resized.png Screenshot at 2018-04-15 20-47-10.resized.png Screenshot at 2018-04-15 20-46-57.resized.png Screenshot at 2018-04-15 20-46-23.resized.png



    :tophat:Gormo
     
  2. Davoetype

    Davoetype Full Member

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    Thanks Gormo

    I have enabled DuckDuckGo as like you I have had it with invasion of what I do on the Internet and seemingly everywhere else. I have had far too many experiences of receiving garbage on even Lovely Wifes Ipad that relate to "Dear Davoetype". How can that be as I do not use her Ipad? I live in the electorate of Bennelong and during the last byelection we received all sorts of political garbage from both sides of politics on our emails, iphones, home phone, ipads. How is our residing in Bennelong tracked as none of our aquaintances received this unsolicited garbage. Gone now are our supermarket and other similar cards. All we are doing is telling them what and when we buy so they can screw their suppliers with this information. On page 15,692 (or thereabouts) of the operation manual for Lovely Wifes new car and written in font 1 is the simple notation that subject to the requirements of the relative authorities, appropriate vehicle operational data must be supplied to them. So even the ?@$%? car has recorded every movement since it was made, where and when since it arrived. Dear George Orwell, you only suspected the future! Facebook???? get the ??@@ out of here.

    Cheers

    and here's to my own privacy

    Richard
     
  3. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Thanks for the attached Gormo. I will be having a look at DuckDuckGo.

    Cheers

    Toto
     
  4. Davoetype

    Davoetype Full Member

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    DuckDuckGo has enhanced PFM1 from D to C on my system. Has blocked 12 browsing intrusions.

    Cheers

    Richard
     
  5. cmcan

    cmcan Full Member

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    Hi

    I have been using duck duck go as a search engine and brave as my browser for a while. Brave blocks a lot of things as well.

    Regarding smart phones tracking you. I work in mental health and know emegency services can track you, locate your phone without the sim or power in order to find those who are intending to harm themselves. There are far more nefarious reasons our intel communities would aware of.

    I read the following statement recently around zuckerburg appearing before the US senate - if its free you are the product.

    Cameron
     
  6. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    GPS on phones is always on for calls and locating towers/signals. When you turn off your GPS, it only turns off the search tool. Another words, if your GPS is turned off, your phone will not give you instructions to get to a certain location. It will however, let the communications company know where you are at any given time.

    One question though, how do you get around your internet provider not selling your details ?? As you are aware, Telstra owns all the phone lines in Australia and the lesser communications companies lease the lines. Optus, Dodo, IInet, IPrimus, Vodafone, TPG, who ever, do not own the line, they are providers and they on sell your information...

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  7. chiefnerd

    chiefnerd Full Member

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    Sorry Gary but that last comment I found a little wide. Firstly while Telstra own a lot of lines they do not own them all. Secondly companies like the ISP I work for do not sell your information. Never have and never will!
    Also everyone needs to be aware that emergency services can geo locate you in an emergency via the location of your telephone service ie PSTN. When you change over to VOIP on the new NBN that tracing disappears. If you have a stroke and can't advise the operator where you are you are stuffed.
    Andrew
     
  8. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    Duck Duck Go consistently blocks 9 trackers for me on P 1 MRC......and varies up or down with other sites.......so that seems good to me.
    I will also have a look at Brave.......must admit I had never heard of it until Cameron mentioned it.
    :tophat:Gormo
     
  9. Wolseley

    Wolseley Full Member

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    I've never received anything like that from political parties, but then we live in one of the safest Liberal held seats in NSW, so I guess they're not really interested in cultivating our support, as the result in this electorate is a foregone conclusion.

    As for supermarket cards, I only have one, and they would have fun working out where I am - in the last two or three weeks I have shopped at Bathurst, St Ives, Winston Hills, Baulkham Hills, Windsor, Pennant Hills and Drummoyne.
     
  10. Wolseley

    Wolseley Full Member

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    I just remembered it was the IGA I shopped at when I was in Drummoyne, and I don't have a card for them.
     
  11. Davoetype

    Davoetype Full Member

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    But they know what you are buying and the frequency of specific products. They know what your email address is so they probably know at least your postcode. Now if you recharge your phone at their store then that is possibly a whole new set of info? I wonder if any information I have on JMRI goes back to them and who can access it?
     
  12. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Our info is being constantly gathered from a huge variety of sources. You use the cashline machine ...... you are mapped ....... your credit card ...... your loyalty card ..... absolutely everything. passport control ....... they know where you are all the time, what you buy right down to when you fart.
     
  13. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    Gents,
    This is the way the world works at the moment. We can`t change that, but being aware of it and understanding how you can do things differently can certainly help if you wish to avoid being tracked.
    Retailers are only going to bother you if they have your email address. If the promotional material becomes annoying you can always unsubscribe.
     
  14. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    I have had a few emails from employment agencies that have used my info before asking me if I would like to be wiped from their records. There are definate moves afoot. I have a certain amount of respect for those that have the courtesy of contacting you to ask.

    One thing that makes me wonder ....... The likes of airlines, if they can watch you tracking flight prices, I wonder if they could be detailing the prices higher for those who they know are watching as they guess you are likely to be in the market to actually purchase. If you get my drift. You may be better going on less often so they don't have you constantly punching in the same dates to see if they have come down. Don't know if that makes sense.

    Toto
     
  15. Sol

    Sol Full Member

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  16. SMR CHRIS

    SMR CHRIS Staff Member Moderator

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    Have got to say it is very hard to get away from all this Big Brother stuff
    I noted when in Sydney Circular Quay My phone provider sent several SMS meassages informing me of there available service in the area even when we went close to the cruise terminal info on service while cruising. Obviously being track by the phones position and knowing it’s a tourist area, would be interesting to know if you visited the area everyday if the messages would repeat.

    Unfortunately it’s near impossible to go Dark these days everything is licenced and controlled at the most basic level and that’s where it all starts. It’s almost impossible to do anything with out some form of electronic thus trackable interactions
    We Humans are a Social Creature and as such like to communicate be it By mouth or as is becoming more common in this super busy age, via some sort of electronic message system.
    Even going dark going to your local bank draw out a wad of cash and think I’m off won’t help you as as soon as you move, someone or thing is watching cameras every where
    Once in the car you covered by thousands of cameras as you go, even rural areas have cameras that record transit “Saftey cameras” and are usually positioned so the average driver can’t bypass.
    Then there’s Public transport travel, it’s near impossible to get a single trip ticket via a face to face transaction, even going to the machine and using cash to get a ticket just got your photo taken, now you tap on tap off knows where you went as that photo is linked to the ticket you just got.

    A recent high profile case in Australia of criminal conduct that lead to a Murder by a former infamous Police Detective that though he could get away with it, Well He didn’t due to basically every step of the crime and cover up being caught on camera.

    So limiting the ways you interact is about the only way to limit your exposure to these, non wanted adds or electronic suggestions but near impossible to do.
    Using programs like those mentioned by Gormo and Cameron are a start.
    But when the government gives all your info to a media co for there own advertising as in Richards situation above with political junk mailing, dose it really stop there.
     
  17. Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Don't you just love it when a new player joins forces with an existing one...

    Untitled.jpg

    Sharing your information, what you look at etc etc with other parties...

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  18. chiefnerd

    chiefnerd Full Member

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    Got a client that sets up a new virtual email address every time he makes a donation to charity and enters that.
    When he gets junk at that address he knows it could only have come from one place and that place sold his email address on a database.
    He then contacts the charity, thanks them for selling his address and advises them as a thank you they have been removed from any future donations of his.
    Just his way of getting even I guess.
    Andrew
     
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  19. Davoetype

    Davoetype Full Member

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    It is so sad that this happens.

    We all support our favourite charities as well as we can but when you get a thank you letter for your donation as well as a request for a donation from the the same charity in the same mail then you naturally suspect that something is amiss. This type of fund raising is just a business and a very large one where all mailing lists are shared. The natural inclination of us all towards helping others is therefore tempered by media reports that around 45% of our donations go to the running costs of these outsourced media fund raising empires. We no longer support any of these fund raising organisations. We give mainly to our local church which gives the funds direct to those who need it.
    We have also found in our travels a few local groups who receive and direct assistance without fee to the community, local schools in Rabaul, PNG, being an example. They are a lovely and friendly people who are happy with their lot in life. The local convenor operates a general store and tourist info centre and has the imprimatur of the local Archbishop.

    You can find a way to help it but takes a little more research . The end result is better.

    Cheers

    and happy modelling

    Richard and Lovely Wife.
     
  20. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    I was approached once, in a shopping center in Brisbane, by a charity representative who was seeking donations. I offered five dollars cash. He rejected that and said that they wanted people to sign up for monthly donations debited from bank accounts. I was prepared to give a one off, but not sign up for a regular donation, so we parted company and I kept my five dollars.
    Now wouldn`t five dollars be more useful than no dollars at all...?????......" A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush "
    So I tend to feel the same as Richard, in that we support our local church community in various ways, and at least we know what the donation is used for.
    :tophat:Gormo
     

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