Joe Kissell - Take Control of Your Online Privacy (2.0)

Welcome to Take Control of Your Online Privacy, Second Edition, version 2.0, published in May 2015 by TidBITS Publishing Inc. This book was written by Joe Kissell and edited by Geoff Duncan.

This book explains potential privacy risks in everyday online activities like Web browsing and sending email, and suggests strategies for avoiding common pitfalls and improving online privacy.

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Copyright 2015, alt concepts inc. All rights reserved.

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To review background information that might help you understand this book better, such as finding System Preferences and working with files in the Finder, read Tonya Engsts free Read Me First: A Take Control Crash Course, available on the Web or as a standalone ebook in PDF, EPUB, and the Kindles Mobipocket format.

Version 2.0 of this book brings it up to date with the latest developments in online privacy and adds information on some particularly hot topics. The most significant changes are as follows:

• Added to the list of people who might want your private data
• Explained how to
• Included a sidebar, , that discusses this special flavor of malware designed to display intrusive advertising
• Added the topic
• Updated
• Expanded the discussion of how to with information on proprietary encrypted email services
• Added a new chapter, , about additional privacy considerations when using a smartphone or tablet with a cellular Internet connection
• Added a new chapter, , on privacy for objects not normally considered computing devices

A book about online privacy? Thatll be pretty short! my friend joked. It was his way of saying, We both know theres no such thing as privacy on the Internet.

Hes not far from the truth, but to be fair, the illusion of privacy extends far beyond the world of computers and networks.

If you want complete privacy, go live in a remote cave without any electronics. Dont build a fire, because the smoke could give away your location. Never step outside, because a satellite or a passing drone might snap your picture. And avoid all human contact, because you never know who might be a spy. I hope you packed plenty of food, water, and clothing, tooyou wont be getting any more!

In other words, theres essentially no such thing as total privacy, online or otherwise. People have to interact with each other to survive, and every interaction reveals something about each participant.

I dont know about you, but I wouldnt want it any other way. I like having family and friends who know me well, and who can get in touch with me whenever they want (or need) to. I like sharing thoughts and opinions with a wider audience online. And I like the convenience of using my computer, phone, or tablet to communicate, find directions, and make purchases anywhere in the world. All these things involve revealing information about myself, so I wouldnt want complete privacy.

And yet, the Internet turns many of our everyday assumptions about privacy upside down. If Im at home, I can close the curtains and feel reasonably confident that whatever I say or do inside my house wont be seen or heard by anyone else unless I (or a family member) choose to reveal it. Not so with electronic communications. Whether Im sending email, browsing the Web, or doing a video chat with a friend, the only safe assumption I can make is that strangers might be able to see that informationnow or in the future.

Once something has traveled over the Internet in any way, its potentially out there foreverand potentially public. You can delete a file from your computer, but once data has gone into the cloud, theres never a guarantee that all copies of it have been eternally expunged. In fact, its far more likely that any given piece of data on the Internet will live on indefinitely. Not only that, but data tends to escape even strong restraintshence the saying information wants to be free.

To be brutally honest, someone who wants badly enough to learn what youve transmitted or received on the Internet can probably do so, given enough time, effort, and skill. Part of the reason for this book is to explain how your words, personal information, and activities could become known to individual strangers or even the publicand that knowledge may lead you to make different choices about how you use the Internet. But Im not saying you must give up any hope of basic privacy. On the contrary, common-sense strategiesthe Internet equivalent of drawing the curtains and locking your doorcan significantly reduce the risk of having your personal information fall into unwelcome hands. And, when you have more sensitive or valuable data to protect, you can take appropriately stronger measures.

Of course, there are often trade-offsyou may lose convenience, valuable social interaction, and even (paradoxically) personal safety if you choose to keep certain information private. For example, the same technology that can reveal your whereabouts to advertisers could also help someone trying to rescue you during a natural disaster or other emergency. Privacy cuts both ways. Thats why I dont recommend attempting to lock down all electronic communication, all the time. You need the curtains open to see the sunlight, and you need the open Internet too.

This book isnt a guide for the paranoidor for people with outrageously sensitive or scary secrets to protect. Its a book for ordinary people with ordinary privacy needs. You want to go about your business, enjoying the many benefits of modern technology without worrying that someone is snooping on youwhether to sell you something or for more sinister reasons. Thats what Ill help you do, regardless of whether you use a Mac or PC, iOS or Android device, set-top box, cell phone, or any of a thousand other network-enabled gadgets.

I focus more on general principles than on nitpicky settings, particular apps, or elaborate technological rituals. I offer examples and pointers to more information as appropriate, but I dont dwell on minutiae. The lack of detailed, step-by-step instructions may come as a surprise to some readers, so let me spell out my reasons: