Thread by @mikefarb1

#unhackthevote
For Companies Like Facebook and Google and others you are not their customers.

You Are Their Product.

How To Protect Your Personal Data.

Thread

Recent stories regarding the use of people’s Facebook data and it’s use by Cambridge Analytica/Trump campaign has many thinking about their privacy.

A good rule of thumb : if massive corporations offer their services are free, they must be making money in some fashion. Often this is through using your data to gain advertising customers.

A few easy steps can greatly improve your online privacy, and keep the amount of data these companies are collecting from you to a minimum.

First and foremost, keep your software up to date. Whether using a Mac or PC, when you get alerts for software updates, do them. If running an outdated version of Windows or macOS, consider upgrading if possible.

Unless you have compelling reasons not to, if you’re using a PC and haven’t upgraded to Windows 10, you should. It’s a change, but the newer security features (particularly in Windows Defender) are worth the learning curve.

Same applies to macOS. The current version of Safari added intelligent tracking prevention, designed to prevent companies from tracking your online behavior.

Most browsers offer some form of extensions or add-ons. Many of these can be useful. Ghostery, NoScript, and others are designed to allow you to see/block tracking that sites are attempting to carry out.

As an alternative to Google, consider using @DuckDuckGo for searching. Same functionality without the privacy concerns.

Same thing applies to email. Many people’s personal needs can be covered with a free @ProtonMail account, and their plans are affordable if you need additional features.

Use a VPN. There are free ones out there, but typically your paid options are going to give a better degree of privacy. @ExpressVPN is affordable and very easy to setup and use.

If you want to use social media, familiarize yourself with the privacy settings, and read the privacy statements so you know precisely what the company is allowed to do with that data, and what third parties can do as well.

Companies aren’t charities. They’re making money from something, and if you’re not paying them you’re not their customer. At best you’re a user, at worst you’re the product. Keep this in mind when deciding what data you trust these companies with.

If you are interested in our online security thread it is here.

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by @mikefarb1 view original on Twitter