Tech awareness

[biostud]

With the growing collection of personal data, sharing of that data between companies, using the data to act against my own interest and the use of AI to handle the data, I have become more aware of how to limit the amount of data available and how to minimize the influence of said companies. I am not a fanatic, so I still uses services from Microsoft, Google and Meta. Have you done anything to limit access to your personal data?

Currently I've uninstalled all SoMe on my phone, but I still have Messenger, WhatsApp, Youtube and Microsoft365 installed, so I guess much data is stille collected. I currently use Edge as primary browser, but is considering switching to FF. Does it matter if you run FF or Edge in regards to data collection?

Also, besides my TV I don't want any smart devices which can be used to collect data.

So, what about you guys, do you have any concerns in this regard?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

I work in IT. The entire industry is an absolute hellscape of personal identity security failures.

I don't use any social media besides this site, and never will. I don't use any internet connected smart devices aside from a Roku. I avoid giving my information to anyone, anywhere, anytime, as much as I am able.

 

[mikeymikec]

My use of cloud storage facilities is minimal, there's a couple of google docs that my wife and I share access to and that's it.
I use FF and an ad blocker on my PC and my phone.
My phone is set to not sync my data with Google, and I switch off communications on my phone except basic call/text network, only switching on additional comms when I need it.
I run Linux as my primary OS, I have Win11 installed for gaming and not signed in to any MS accounts. Windows is obviously set for minimal comms with MS FWIW.
I minimise installation of apps on my phone, preferring to use a web browser wherever possible. No store apps or anything like that.

 

[lxskllr]

My phone doesn't have a google account, and I use no google services. I don't install (cr)apps when a webpage works, and I could count the proprietary software I use on all systems on two hands(not counting builtin android stuff). Browser's heavily locked down, and I don't use the services of known data thieves. I'm about as disconnected as you can get without living in a cave.

 

[KMFJD]

messenger is the worst application to have installed if i remember correctly, it collects so much data it's ridiculous

 

[dullard]

I don't use any social media besides this site, and never will. I don't use any internet connected smart devices aside from a Roku. I avoid giving my information to anyone, anywhere, anytime, as much as I am able.

Even this site proudly leaks personal data like a sieve. https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/january-22nd-atot-birthdays.2625092/ That is, of course, if you made the mistake of using your actual data when signing up.

I take the opposite approach. I realize that ALL sites and apps will leak data. So, I have a different birthday, address, email, etc on every site. I might be wrong, but I sure hope when hackers find my data that they can't figure out the correct information when every leaked data point conflicts with the other data points. And every site that I sign up for with incorrect and conflicting information just leads to their confusion.

Then of course I completely avoid the obvious data collection methods. "Everyone born in 198_ knows this..." is simply a way to collect your age. "Everyone who grew up in ___ will..." is simply a way to collect your birth town.

 

[Chaotic42]

They're not all just about data collection. I tried this cool "What does your Social Security Number Say About You" tool and it was shockingly accurate - I'm calm, but have moments of frustration, enjoy people but need some personal time, I like to travel but also enjoy just hanging out at home. It's like it knows me!

When I first ventured out onto the internet, I used my real name in a place or two. Good times.

 

[dullard]

They're not all just about data collection. I tried this cool "What does your Social Security Number Say About You" tool and it was shockingly accurate - I'm calm, but have moments of frustration, enjoy people but need some personal time, I like to travel but also enjoy just hanging out at home. It's like it knows me!

Want to see a cool magic trick? Reply to this message with your first 3 digits of your phone number. Multiply by 9. Then add up all the digits. If the result is more than 9, repeat by adding up all the digits again. I can guess the answer! It will be 9. Even more astonishing, try it again but reply with a bigger number, lets say the last 4 digits of your phone number. I can already guess your answer with 1000% accuracy! It will be 9 again.

 

[Chaotic42]

Want to see a cool magic trick? Reply to this message with your first 3 digits of your phone number. Multiply by 9. Then add up all the digits. If the result is more than 9, repeat by adding up all the digits again. I can guess the answer! It will be 9. Even more astonishing, try it again but reply with a bigger number, lets say the last 4 digits of your phone number. I can already guess your answer with 1000% accuracy! It will be 9 again.

 

[manly]

Users took the Faustian bargain eons ago when in exchange for "free" services, we tacitly agreed to become the "product." It's too late to put the genie back into the bottle.

I used to be a huge fan of Google, and between Android, Gmail and Maps, they know plenty about me. But I don't visit brothels or drug dens, so who cares. Having said that, 95% of my web searches are on DuckDuckGo. The results are often good enough, and I can revert to Google for the last 5%.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I self host pretty much everything such as file storage, email, misc web apps, utilities etc. I avoid cloud services, I use a custom rom on my phone, no google stuff.

As far as privacy my weakness is social media though, FB, Reddit, Youtube, X, etc... but I only use the browser for those, no way in hell would I install any of those apps.

It seems everyone is going to cloud now, even my company. We don't even have shared home drives anymore, they tell us to just put everything in sharepoint. The problem is every couple years they change systems around, so who knows how long sharepoint will be around, until they decide to switch to something else. We just keep stuff on our PCs now but it sucks not having any form of backups. Not allowed to use external drives.

I think this is going to go full circle in years from now, then on prem will be the big thing again.

 

[dullard]

It seems everyone is going to cloud now, even my company. We don't even have shared home drives anymore, they tell us to just put everything in sharepoint....We just keep stuff on our PCs now but it sucks not having any form of backups.

The biggest advantage of Sharepoint to an end-user is automatic infinite backups. Click the three dots, select Version History, and bingo all versions of that document that you ever had. Some of my files are in the thousands of versions that I can select at any time. Not to mention that Sharepoint itself is backed-up better than anyone in my IT department could do it. End result is that your two statements are pretty conflicting. You keep stuff on your PCs to avoid Sharepoint and then complain about not having the biggest advantage of Sharepoint.

 

[lxskllr]

Of note...

 

[Chaotic42]

I hate the UI of the Microsoft apps like Sharepoint, but it is really nice to be able to rapidly share edits. Your IT staff should be doing regular backups anyway and I'd imagine Sharepoint has some sort of diff-based backup thing where it can write changes to an archive somewhere.

 

[mikeymikec]

Of note...

View attachment 115445

I would definitely want some official verification of this policy because basically all of Microsoft's most important products are web-based and it seems to me that only in the last maybe 2-3 years that they've been increasingly pushing MFA.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I work in IT. The entire industry is an absolute hellscape of personal identity security failures.

I don't use any social media besides this site, and never will. I don't use any internet connected smart devices aside from a Roku. I avoid giving my information to anyone, anywhere, anytime, as much as I am able.

You are a bit tighter than I am however I follow your principles. Roku & ecobee are only smart devices in my home. I try to use different browsers for shopping.

 

[mikeymikec]

Not to mention that Sharepoint itself is backed-up better than anyone in my IT department could do it.

Maybe you solely intended this comment to be a damning indictment of your IT department's incompetence, but otherwise you really have no idea how well backed-up Microsoft's system is, or how well that backup system suits your needs when push comes to shove. Every backup system has weaknesses, the difference is that you'll be the last to know how theirs affects you, and you'll only learn of it in the event that disaster strikes.

If the backup system was under your control, then you can choose to investigate its efficacy, to spend time and resources theorising and testing scenarios that could expose weaknesses and their pertinence to your business, etc. If you're relying solely on the likes of Microsoft then all the gaps in your knowledge of their system and their legal liability represent many shortcuts they can take to increase profit.

 

[Muse]

I work in IT. The entire industry is an absolute hellscape of personal identity security failures.

I don't use any social media besides this site, and never will. I don't use any internet connected smart devices aside from a Roku. I avoid giving my information to anyone, anywhere, anytime, as much as I am able.

I also use Roku TVs, one in particular.

I figure myself for a neophyte with regards to tending my data beyond what I keep for myself. I have Facebook, X, Blue Sky, Instagram accounts but mostly ignore them (or check out links mailed to me from those accounts). I almost never post to them. I'm still using Chrome but figure to move back to FF soon. I also use Brave, when Chrome is a problem on some site. I actually have a free trial Youtube Premium account going that I intend to cancel before payment kicks in in a couple weeks. I did that because I thought I would get ESPN, but nope. The only thing it gets me AFAIK is no ads.

I am using AdBlockPlus in Chrome.

I have a Google account.

I've been pretty active in several subreddits the last year or so.

I occasionally do some stuff on various forums.

I have occasionally I let Chrome create a strong password for me, but the rest of the time I create my own passwords for everything and keep them in my own data, but never explicit. Anyone with direct access wouldn't know what to make of it. For some stuff, I use a self-designed password/etc. storage/retrieval system that uses my own encryption system.

I have a local library account. I have no idea if that's secure but I'm not worried if people know what I read, listen to or watch.

I don't intentionally store any data in the cloud. I keep any I care about on my NAS, which gets backed up occasionally offsite.

I tend to stay away from cell phone app usage except a music player. No social media of any kind on my phone.

 

[biostud]

I switched to FF as my main browser both on computer and phone, and installed Privacy Badger extension as well. Hope that helps.