{"id":42167,"date":"2014-05-24T14:41:25","date_gmt":"2014-05-24T13:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=42167"},"modified":"2014-05-24T14:48:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-24T13:48:15","slug":"silent-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/silent-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

With All the Sharing, You Don\u2019t Have a Ghost of a Chance<\/h2>\n
\"\u201cDitto\u201d<\/a>

\u201cDitto\u201d<\/strong><\/em> — Sam Wheat, \u201cGhost,\u201d<\/em> Paramount, 1990<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The Internet \u2013 the network of networks \u2013 was formed in the early \u201850s to enable people to share information \u2013 initially scientists, engineers and then it was opened to commercial use and regular people who wanted to share.<\/p>\n

The Facebook, Twitter and the social media scenes came into being so people could share their information and amass followers in their communities.<\/p>\n

Along the way, things sorta\u2019 got out of hand.<\/p>\n

Followers became stalkers, stalkers became trackers and a few of the stalkers\/trackers became hackers.<\/p>\n

It was okay when there were only a few thousand dedicated folks, but then it became 100K, 100M and now several billion,<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-2\"<\/a>Getting Social<\/strong> \u2013 Give a person a connection and suddenly they want to be social with folks around the block, around the world. The great thing is they\u2019re using any connected device they have \u2013 computer, laptop, smartphone \u2013 communicating words, photos, videos and it will only grow more.<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Oda Mae said, \u201cAh, shut up, nobody’s talking to you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

But trust me, I\u2019ve looked at your Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other profiles (maybe not yours specifically, but enough of \u2018em) and they aren\u2019t that interesting.<\/p>\n

Face it, people put the dumbest things online like no one will notice:<\/p>\n

– Folks put their extramarital affairs online
\n– Criminals post their latest \u201csuccesses\u201d online
\n– People gossip about work and classmates online<\/p>\n

Overshare<\/strong>
\nWe share so much that a Pew Research study found we overshare.<\/p>\n

\u2022 66% of internet users said a photo of them was online
\n\u2022 50% said their birth date was available
\n\u2022 46% said their email address was available online
\n\u2022 44% said their employer name was online
\n\u2022 38% said bylined pieces were online
\n\u2022 30% said their home address was online
\n\u2022 29% said their groups and organizations are online.
\n\u2022 24% said their cell phone number was available
\n\u2022 21% said a video of them was online
\n\u2022 21% said their home phone number was online
\n\u2022 20% listed their political party or affiliation<\/p>\n

The most common answer though was, \u201cAh-h, I dunno.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Untitled-3\"<\/a>Protect My Stuff<\/strong> \u2026 But \u2013 Worldwide, if you ask people what they really want with their online presence, they\u2019ll say they want privacy. Unfortunately, they share way too much and it\u2019s there for anyone\/everyone to see (and use) \u2026 good guys and bad guys.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve shared so much that now we\u2019d like to have our privacy back.<\/p>\n

Oda Mae looked at the situation and said, \u201cHe’s stuck, that’s what it is. He’s in between worlds.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Constitutional Rights<\/strong>
\nIn the U.S., some are demanding their constitutional right to privacy back (BTW, privacy isn\u2019t in the Constitution).<\/p>\n

True, it\u2019s also not in the Constitution that the government has the right to read\/listen to everything you write\/say; but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n

Pew Research recently reported that 59 percent of the respondents said they should be able to use the Internet anonymously. Internet users reported:<\/p>\n

– 18 percent say they use the Internet in a way that hides\/masks their identity
\n– 81 percent obscure at least one or more of their online activities
\n– 86 percent have tried to be anonymous online to avoid being followed\/tracked
\n– 14 percent have taken steps to encrypt their email
\n– 14 percent use VPNs (virtual private networks) or proxy servers<\/p>\n

Rather than wringing your hands and demanding that the government (and sites) make you less visible online, there are a lot of steps you can take.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-4\"<\/a>Run Silent, Run Deep<\/strong> \u2013 After a while, even fame, fortune and visibility become boring and people take moves to become less visible online. Many try so hard they use 2-4 of the strategies.<\/em><\/p>\n

While anonymity sounds sorta\u2019, kinda\u2019 good, what about:<\/p>\n

– Cyberbullying that has claimed the lives of men, women, children?
\n– The snarky, even vicious, comments that flood the iNet following an article?
\n– An idiot makes a stupid comment during an interview or post or Tweet?
\n– The really bad party photos you so proudly posted\/shared with folks?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t care what you say, anonymity in these instances is just plain criminal, wrong, stupid!<\/p>\n

Or as Oda Mae said, \u201cIf you didn’t have an attitude, you would not have raised your voice at me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Those who are serious about keeping their identity under their control generally use a number of the tactics.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-5\"<\/a>Not You<\/strong> \u2013 There are obvious people most online users like to avoid such as hackers and criminals. Most people don\u2019t think much about government\/law enforcement snooping because there are other people out there you want to avoid \u2026 really!<\/em><\/p>\n

Most people routinely clear their cookie\/ browser history, disable cookies, quickly leave websites that ask for their name\/contact information and increasingly encrypt their email (this really \u201cirritates\u201d government peek-a-boo agencies).<\/p>\n

Cleaning Up<\/strong>
\nWhile people are concerned about protecting their personal information and behavior online, the CCIA (Computer and Communications Industry Association) found people were far more concerned about being hacked.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-6\"<\/a>Bad Guys<\/strong> \u2013 Hacking\/cybercrime has become big business very quickly and it\u2019s very profitable. Poor privacy\/security practices make people\u2019s data\/information especially vulnerable. There is less concern about targeted advertising because often there are favorable considerations for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

And you should be because according to Kaspersky Labs (anti-virus vendor) and Malwarebytes (anti-malware provider), hacking, hijacking and cybercrime are multi-billion dollar businesses that are growing in leaps and bounds and becoming more complex.<\/p>\n

Bad folks literally lease out thousands of infected computers \u2013 or jump on the back of yours – that have been updated with the latest vulnerabilities to empty bank accounts or take valuable personal\/business information.<\/p>\n

One of Kaspersky\u2019s executives grimly said, \u201cAll of us are potential targets of cybercriminals. If you own a device connected to the Internet, you\u2019re a target.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Credit cards, user names, passwords have dollar signs printed all over them for those up to no good; and most of the time, the crime goes undiscovered or unreported. Many financial institutions would rather write it off as a cost of doing business rather than damage their reputation as a safe, secure organization.<\/p>\n

True, when Target loses card data for more than 40M people and TJMaxx loses it for more than 90M customers, it\u2019s a little tough to sweep under the rug; but they\u2019re the exceptions rather than the rule.<\/p>\n

Most hackers, cybercriminals think smaller and dream big.<\/p>\n

Yeah, Sure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The CCIA found that consumers were so concerned that:<\/p>\n

-83 percent said they put passwords on their devices
\n– 76 percent said they use different passwords for each service
\n– 68 percent have adjusted their privacy settings on a social network or online account
\n– 65 percent said they have set their browser to disable cookies
\n– 65 percent said they read the privacy policies for websites they visit (honest!)<\/p>\n

Oh, and BTW, most of your passwords suck.<\/p>\n

Oda Mae didn\u2019t like the way I told you that and said, \u201cYou can’t just blurt it out like that!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Adobe\u2019s annual security report, some of the most common passwords are:<\/p>\n

– 123456
\n– 123456789
\n– Password
\n– Admin
\n– Qwerty
\n– 111111
\n– abc123
\n– iloveyou
\n– aaaaaa<\/p>\n

While you\u2019re on your own here, Molly had someone looking out for her.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled-7\"<\/a>But eventually, we all have to stand on our own; which is why Sam said, \u201cits amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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