Violet Blue - The Smart Girls Guide to Privacy: Practical Tips for Staying Safe Online

The Smart Girls Guide to Privacy

Practical Tips for Staying Safe Online

Violet Blue

The Smart Girls Guide to Privacy. Copyright 2015 by Violet Blue.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.

First printing
19 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

ISBN-10: 1-59327-648-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-648-5

Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editor: Laurel Chun
Cover and Interior Design: Beth Middleworth
Developmental Editors: William Pollock and Jennifer Griffith-Delgado
Compositor: Laurel Chun
Proofreader: Lisa Devoto Farrell
Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services

For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales,
please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly:

No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 415.863.9900;
www.nostarch.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Blue, Violet.
The smart girls guide to privacy : practical tips for staying safe online / by Violet Blue.
pages cm
Summary: Discusses how to protect personal information from online privacy violations. Covers how to set and store secure passwords, monitor online visibility, safely use social media and apps, and create online profiles. Contains emergency instructions for those who have been hacked or had their identity, phone, or laptop stolen-- Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-59327-648-5 -- ISBN 1-59327-648-6
1. Computer crimes--Prevention. 2. Internet--Security measures. 3. Internet and women. 4. Internet-
Safety measures. 5. Privacy, Right of. I. Title.
HV6773.B56 2015
613.6602854678--dc23

2015013420

No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it.

1
Get Smart

2
But Its Just My Phone Number

3
You Got Hacked

4
Female Trouble

5
Identity Theft

6
How to Share

7
People-Search Websites

8
Dating and Sexytime

9
Ninja Tricks

10
I Hate Passwords

At one point I thought changing my name might help with privacy, but that was before the Internet.

OLIVIA WILDE

Social media, online dating, photo sharing, mobile apps, and more can make a modern girls social life a dreamor a nightmare. When you just want to feel connected to friends, family, and romance, the last things you want to deal with are potential dangers like identity theft, online stalking, corporate information sharing, or revenge porn. For many women, getting control of their online privacy is confusing, overwhelming, and stressful.

This book is packed with some serious self-defense moves. Its designed to help you get organized so you can navigate the chaotic landscape of online privacy. In these pages youll find a guide to making sure you dont share too much. Youll learn how to look good to potential employers (or potential dates) and safeguard your privacy from sleazy marketers, unethical megacorporations, scammers, stalkers, bullshit artists, and anyone who wants to silence women online. And it does all this without making you feel judged, paranoid, or like a total newbie.

Traditionally, women havent been taught to stand up for themselves the way men havewhether online or anyplace elsebut this is changing. Today, women are standing up to stalkers and being more careful than ever with personal information. Were getting fierce, angry, and strategic. We dont have time for shame, and the haters are losing. These are significant signs of much-needed changes in womens roles, especially in our role as consumers.

One of the major obstacles we face in protecting ourselves is that most social media websites are not designed to safeguard people who are targets. While there are a lot of amazing female programmers and powerful women working in the security and technology sectors, most sites and social sharing apps are designed by men who dont take into account that half the users will experience particular kinds of predatory behavior. Thus, the rules and structures of these online tools permit them to be used for evil.

In addition, the tech industry is full of corporate greed and douchebags and a whole lot of bad security practices. Most online services, such as bill-paying websites, and mobile apps are made shoddily and leak private information like theres no tomorrow. Its enough to make you wonder why every person you know hasnt had their identity stolen yet.

Privacy can be something you want just to feel safe, or you may have read horror stories about things happening to other women (maybe even your friends) and want to make sure that those things never happen to you. Maybe youre interested in being downright badass about your privacy because youve had a bad experienceor maybe youre dealing with a privacy or reputation crisis right now.

No matter what brought you to these pages, this book will give you control and power over something that would otherwise have the power to hurt you and the people you love. And if youre reading this because youve lost control, theres good news: youre about to get your power back.

In the first two chapters, youll find a lot of suggestions that will help you define what you want to keep private and what youre okay with sharing. Be prepared to take a few missteps as you get startedthere will be a bit of a learning curvebut know that Ill give you the basics to keep what matters, like your home address, from getting into the wrong hands. Once you nail down your boundaries, determine who puts you at risk and what the risks are, and identify the bad guys, your life will feel more like an adventure from a place of freedom and power than a disaster waiting to happen.

Speaking of disasters, its not just provocative or racy photos that can get stolen and ridiculed (or worse) to hurt you online. You dont need to be a flirt to get singled out. For someone who decides to target you, your presence is enoughif you dont protect yourself. When you protect yourself, however, you actually can post or share sexy pictures of yourself and stay in control. The key is knowing what to protect, knowing what sites and apps you can (and cant) trust, and removing from view anything that can compromise you.

You can start taking control of your private information right now. Find out what information is out there about you by searching for yourself. Searching for yourself might be daunting, even scary, and it might bring up negative feelings, but this is where you start getting tough on controlling your private property. Knowing is always betterand saferthan not knowing.