Security & Privacy with technology in (2016-2019, depreciated and needs updating)

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valis
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

I know for a fact that most of the web analytics products including Google analytics include this functionality, but it seems there’s a lot of third party platforms for tracking this as well now:

Almost Every Website You Visit Records Exactly How Your Mouse Moves
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by garyb »

Remain calm- All Is Well!

https://youtu.be/zDAmPIq29ro
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

garyb wrote: Sat Feb 08, 2020 5:28 pm Remain calm- All Is Well!

https://youtu.be/zDAmPIq29ro
:lol:
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by fra77x2 »

Why on earth this thread is pinned? Valis is there any reason this thread that is full of right wing propaganda to be pinned in a forum related to an electronic device? If you can explain this to me it would be a miracle but you can try...
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

RIght wing propaganda?

Personal liberty and privacy is right wing? The EU isn't right wing and led the privacy charge with the GPDR, and I swear the 'liberal' side of politics once stood for 'liberty' not 'technocracy' but perhaps I was mistaken?

Please clarify.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by garyb »

it's not good to tell others about privacy in off-topic?
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by fra77x2 »

It's not a big deal. Do as you like, I wonder why it is pinned when the matter of privacy with digital devices is a known issue i.e. there is no privacy but in a similar way that there is no privacy in the middle of the town square. I just saw it pinned read some of the "sound designer" replies and made me wonder why this prominent position for a post that attracts a certain type of replies.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

In 2018 (start of this thread) much of the information about facebook & other players here wasn't covered yet, at least not to the degree it has been now. Much of what was initially posted in here was as the news broke. And while I recognize that this seems redundant and old news now almost 2 years later, that's most likely a good thing as it means people are more aware.

This isn't just a 'hey being online can expose you to credit card fraud' issue. Given my 25 years of working in entertainment, what once took a degree of finesse is now done with ease by exploiting people's devices and online profiles to find their weaknesses and .. let's say particular tastes. In entertainment arenas, it's likely a good thing to limit your exposure. Sure, not all 'leaked pics' are accidental, and infamy can move some farther than fame. But even for those who are 'made', leverage is still a concern. It's a royal court out there, so to speak, when you're in the public eye. And the problem isn't the town square, it's that the town square has now been brought into most of our living spaces on top of the fact that many will happily take every facial recognition test and post up every questionnaire that asks exactly the sort of questions you find in your account recovery options for your (free, online & ad supported) email provider.

Also, looking over the thread most of the info is from NYT, EFF.org, Wired & etc. So I am asking for clarification for good reason, imho, as that hardly seems 'right wing' at all. In I think I heard more from the democratic camp about such topics, whereas the current Administration just says "we're looking at these companies" and implies bad things. MS was once investigated by the DOJ, as was Google. That hardly stopped their growth, but likely added a few tentacles between each of these parties (DOJ & Fed included).

Anyway, It could be worse, I could be posting info like this:
https://passwordbits.com/salting-passwords/

or this
https://privateproxy.me/all-you-need-to-know-about-browser-fingerprints/

You'll note I've avoided all discussion about using wireshark & other tools to watch network traffic emanating from your 'smart' devices, or how to create a passive LAN Tap to really get an idea for what a device is doing. So no rabbit holes here. Rather, the idea is to help inform about basic habits and the broad strokes, which was then followed by posts that are proof positive that the initial info is worth paying attention to. What you do with it from there is an individual choice, there's plenty of other places out there to dig in and find info like I've linked to in this post.

I suppose I could be posting up links about positivity (though that reeks of a lobster in a pot trying to 'bliss out' to me) and 5 dimensional living (which oddly enough seems to come down to being willing to live in a tent-sized communal space and live like a pauper). But that would not only be inauthentic (for me), it also invites anyone who lives & dies by baby back ribs and half pound burgers to chime in with soy-boy taunts and "Roll Coal" with their oversized truck that likely spends its nights in the parking lot of an apartment complex or suburban home where it's vastly underused. How droll all that is anyway...it's a game for pawns imho.

So...right wing propaganda? Right vs. left, naturalist vs. 'earth destroyer', capitalist vs. 'community member'...

Again, let me be clear: Polarizing people is a game for people who would be king, Courtiers jockeying for position and those who use power to extract income while distracting with 'issues'. For the rest? Pick a team, knock the other guy down for points and stick to a confined defined reality tunnel of consensus with the rest of the followers, be they sheep or goats. That's not what we're here for, right?

What I *do* care about is what works, what's true, and when it comes to threat models I am certainly aware of what's being deployed against me and the people under my care. So yes, I pinned this to the top of the off topic forum at a time when I thought this was prudent to discuss. Thankfully a lot changes in 2 years.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by fra77x2 »

It's a long response and I'm not sure what to address of it and I don't like to contribute in this thread anyway. My personal view of the world is a bit complicated and I can't really use terms as "facebook users" in general, would be kings, royal courts, goats sheeps. I mean this sounds no offence kind of medieval to me. Facebook was a way to get people in the digital technology and communications era without having to be programmers. Like my mom the other man's grandpa you get the idea. And it was kind of succesful, because we like to take part in the same stuff as a community even when the level of expertise is of completely different level. Of course spending money to gather everyday's man digital habbits and exploit them is a complete nonsense. I laugh with people /companies that do it, I wonder how pathetic would be their lives or their algorithms. It is one between the most redudant type of information. Because you know my mom just reads some newspapers sees video about knitting and that's it. Things you don't have to survail anyone to know it. It's common sense. Internet is a fantastic tool, it's main usage for me is as an extended library in my pocket an advanced phone and some free newspapers (and movies forgot). That's it. It has some drawbacks, someone can gather this information. Well yes do it, check that I'm interested in a number of subjects, like music, programming, philosophy, politics etc, learn that I read these newpapers alongside some million people and (to the person or companies that do it) shove this data in your hidden parts. By using Adblockers I have no disturbing shit polluting my view. When I write my revolutionary pamplets I use pencil and sheets of paper.
In general I don;t care about security stuff because I consider kind of a cop's job. (no offense for cops) It's not my job, I try to be an artist. Now when I made a modular vst environment and thought about how to sell it and protect it I had to learn a bit about digital security and what I knew was true, there is almost no guaranty for any way to fully protect ones data. So that's it. Knowing this you work with it, as these companies can collect your data someone interested can collect theirs and so on... It has already be done... I can't write more because I'm bored. It's my birthday today and very few people have invaded my privacy to wish me ;-)
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by garyb »

happy birthday!

i don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with the technology, just the people who run and use it(as opposed to the end users). i don't need a shepherd.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by dante »

Happy Bday @Fra - how old r u - or is that invasion of privacy :lol: I was born before the Beatles got famous. Before that I can only recollect some classical stuff my olds played and some nonsense songs about a lady who swallowed a fly and 10 green bottles hanging in a wall.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

Happy Birthday :)

Also, note I did as was asked:
If you can explain this to me it would be a miracle but you can try...
It’s unlikely I would have shared that last post otherwise. :wink:
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by fra77x2 »

Thank you Gary, Dante and Valis for the wishes. I'm obliged. Dante I closed 43 born in 1977.
Valis it seems you are very knowledgable about the matter and I can't compete in this area.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

It’s not a competition here, so that’s ok. :)
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

We Need to Talk About ‘Cloud Neutrality’
A multibillion-dollar, privately-owned infrastructure is now essential to the modern internet economy.

Who owns your data? It's been mentioned many times that modern computing was making a huge effort to put your data into someone else's hands. Seems Wired & other companies are finally waking up to informing their readers of this fact.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by at0m »

https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/faceb ... ect-atlas/ - tl;dr FB's VPN lets you install root certificate so they can intercept any and all traffic - including TLS (https).
more has been done with less
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

at0m wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:50 am https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/faceb ... ect-atlas/ - tl;dr FB's VPN lets you install root certificate so they can intercept any and all traffic - including TLS (https).
They claimed to have ended this program, and if memory serves Apple revoked their license for a short while this year to bring them in line. I'll see if I can find those links. But you show an interesting point, that they were collecting data WELL beyond anything that should have been collected--especially from teens.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by at0m »

The EFF has a much more extensive version on Facebook's VPN, their abuse, and Facebook getting banned even from Apple's Enterprise Developer program.

Every year, they get fined billions in the EU alone, yet so many sheep are drawn in to their Apps, getting seduced by some generic Push Notifications (the notification could show what happened, but never does. need to click click click, gamification.jpg) which become an addiction of their own.

Like people click I Agree to sign 50-page contracts selling their and their beloved ones' asses to these companies, I vouch we do away with all cumbersome and time-eating exams and certifications. We can people just have sign "I Agree" to traffic rules for their driving permit, to "I Agree" their medical studies stating they understand and know it all sufficiently and simply state they'll be a good doctor, or "I Agree" for their pilots license. This would make life so much easier.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

I see the fines as governments sharing in the profits, at least so far. The punitive amounts seem large to us but are such a small fraction of the earnings that it is more a license to perform these actions and then pay the fine than a deterrent. That's imho.

Also, I think I stated this elsewhere in this thread, but the biggest issue I personally see with these platforms isn't the invasive nature of them. This can be mitigated that with the mechanisms discussed in this thread. As this issue has evolved so has our awareness and the tools we use, for instance the latest versions of Brave and Firefox 74 browsers are now sand-boxing Facebook (& etc) trackers by default so they ONLY collect data relevant to their own presence (if they have a like button on the sites you visit, they'll know you visited, but they won't have access to your other activities on those same sites and off of them).

No, my biggest concern was the way that Facebook (especially, and Google as well) started immediately with the "all roads lead in, none lead out" approach to using their products and services. What we have seen is well beyond just vendor lock-in (which is always a business tactic no matter where you look). Rather rather we can perceive a desire to take us back to the days of Compuserve/AOL and the like where the platform *is* the entirety of what you do.

On the plus side, I think that era is finally receding into the distance. It may take a number of years before enough people have de-platformed themselves from Google/Facebook etc that they start to lose the ability to influence as much as they have. And though I am concerned that these experiences on ALL of these platforms have emerged as technocratic oligarchies who seem to think it's their responsibility to 'Shift' public perception via subtle 'tuning' of algorithms and what they serve up, that's not my primary concern. Rather it's watching us allow OURSELVES to get to point where our reality tunnels are self-reinforced and polarized in pushing blame-driven or victim-driven narratives, rather than open and solution seeking points of view.

In the early days of "the internet" I *clearly* recall my peers and those who came before us sharing an open minded and optimistic view of learning and seeking out new information and new paradigms. Not for the purpose of the few being the gatekeepers of what is permitted, but rather to carve out a niche for freedom.

As much as we can point to DARPA and other similar programs being the underpinnings to the technologies that we use, we can also point to things like the GNU license and easily vetted code as a counterbalance to the draconian and invasive nature that comes with Technology, which we might call Technocracy. So the choice is really up to us, imho.
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Re: Security & Privacy with technology in (2018 and beyond)

Post by valis »

Facebook will reset certain settings like "Off Facebook activity" when they update the TOS. See my first post under the facebook section to know how to reset this.

Also note that I reorganized the first post to improve coherence and organization.
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