Knowledge is power. Here, I'll present three levels of privacy postures - one most likely will fit you.
Here's the threat: cookies, applications, email groups, and purchases all work together to paint an accurate picture of who you are. The less information you give "little brother" (corporate America) the better off you are. Little brother likes to talk to Big Brother.
I've never been tempted by a targeted advertisement, but at one time I used to purchase targeted lists for telephone sales. $0.10 a name was the going rate at the time. These lists are broken down to almost every demographic and economic strata.
Low Privacy
- Set Internet Explorer or Firefox to block all but the necessary cookies
- Set browser to delete cookies often
- Ditch Adobe Flash Player - uses persistent cookies that aren't easily blocked. Warning: YouTube will be disabled... can you survive?
- Kill the Google cookie
Medium Privacy
- All the steps above
- Use an anonymizer when cruising controversial websites
- Do you really need to fill out that rebate card?
- Have two computers at home - one for internet use, the other for personal files. The personal computer should not be connected to the Internet.
- Subscribe to usenet groups and blogs with a pseudonym
- Use a firewall security program like ZoneAlarm that allows for in-depth program / cookie control
Very Serious Privacy
- All the steps above
- Make controversial purchases with cash and don't use your club card. That DVD of "V for Vendetta"? Whip out a $20 spot instead of the Visa. Same with any 2nd Amendment purchases also.
- Use shopping savings cards under a psuedonym. Your purchases are stored and sold to dozens of companies
- Have mail delivered to a P.O. box but not your home
- Online purchases made with prepaid debit cards
- Don't answer surveys... and consider carefully what you put on your Census form
- Consider a live CD Linux distro for your Internet computer
- Use TrueCrypt for your personal off-line computer
- Use prepaid cell phones and recharge with prepaid PINs, not your credit card
-- Hugh Farnham
Here's the threat: cookies, applications, email groups, and purchases all work together to paint an accurate picture of who you are. The less information you give "little brother" (corporate America) the better off you are. Little brother likes to talk to Big Brother.
I've never been tempted by a targeted advertisement, but at one time I used to purchase targeted lists for telephone sales. $0.10 a name was the going rate at the time. These lists are broken down to almost every demographic and economic strata.
Low Privacy
- Set Internet Explorer or Firefox to block all but the necessary cookies
- Set browser to delete cookies often
- Ditch Adobe Flash Player - uses persistent cookies that aren't easily blocked. Warning: YouTube will be disabled... can you survive?
- Kill the Google cookie
Medium Privacy
- All the steps above
- Use an anonymizer when cruising controversial websites
- Do you really need to fill out that rebate card?
- Have two computers at home - one for internet use, the other for personal files. The personal computer should not be connected to the Internet.
- Subscribe to usenet groups and blogs with a pseudonym
- Use a firewall security program like ZoneAlarm that allows for in-depth program / cookie control
Very Serious Privacy
- All the steps above
- Make controversial purchases with cash and don't use your club card. That DVD of "V for Vendetta"? Whip out a $20 spot instead of the Visa. Same with any 2nd Amendment purchases also.
- Use shopping savings cards under a psuedonym. Your purchases are stored and sold to dozens of companies
- Have mail delivered to a P.O. box but not your home
- Online purchases made with prepaid debit cards
- Don't answer surveys... and consider carefully what you put on your Census form
- Consider a live CD Linux distro for your Internet computer
- Use TrueCrypt for your personal off-line computer
- Use prepaid cell phones and recharge with prepaid PINs, not your credit card
-- Hugh Farnham
3 comments:
Thank you so very much with this information. I hope many more people will take this post into serious consideration. I have.
Prepaid cell phones... prepaid credit cards... cash transactions... fake names... it's a shame that to protect my privacy in America I need to live like an illegal alien in my own land!
Hugh Farnham emerges from the shadows!
Great information!
I agree with anonymous that it is a shame what we have to do to cover our tracks because of corporate marketers.
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.