Big Brother and SBO
- Thread starter rgranger
- Start date
You guys... your all conspiracy thinkers.
And here I thought it was only me.
John, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they are not out to get you.
We would all benefit from reminding ourselves about the fundamental attribution error:
Yeah all of the above. But I still love my Nest cams that let me see when a package was delivered and whether the dog walker came, or check the dog is sleeping in the usual spot. After a motion alert I caught someone casing my house and sent a still image to the local PD just as an FYI (archived the video just in case, but fortunately nothing has come of it). The guy arrived on foot (no visible vehicle) and walked around the outside looking the house over.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,663
Dave, I have not felt it was a paranoia, just a healthy dose of caution.
Maybe it is a case of Tomato or Tomato...
Which when I am back in Maryland are delicious.
Someone wrote me a private message asking my further take on security: I decided to post the reply in the forum (with minor edits) so others might give it some thought:
Hi xxxx-
Unfortunately the topic of Internet security is a vast one and far beyond the scope of what I can provide here. I'm going to post this publicly.
If you use "open" networks I strongly advise you to refer to my prior suggestion to get NordVPN. It will encrypt your traffic end to end, and give you privacy over the connection between yourself and the NordVPN server. Without such a service every keystroke and screen can be easily intercepted.
Site you choose to connect to are not covered -- so additional caveats apply as noted in my prior post.
PS I can't comment on other antivirus vendors but I manage well over 1000 computers and have used Webroot SecureAnywhere for over 2 years without seeing any successful infections (plenty of successfully quarantined incidences of suspected malware).
I also recommend LastPass password manager. Using a convenient password manager enables you to NEVER use the same password or variation of a password in two sites - so if your password is compromised in one site you won't be impersonated in others. (Never login with Facebook)
Your password for email (email is used for password resets) should be long (20 characters or more) and easy to remember. Use multi-factor (2-factor) authentication if your email service supports it. (Gmail and Hotmail and Office 365 do.) Your LastPass Master Password also should be long -- for long passwords I recommend you choose a normal sentence with capitalization, spaces, numbers and letters. A computer will take a LONG time to crack a very long password so don't add clever variations such as substituting 3 for E nor put capitals in the middle of words unless it makes sense to do it (not words like toMato) -- because in a long sentence you will forget crazy clever variations at some point and have a problem, but it won't matter to a computer trying to crack your password using algorithms and compute-power.
PS - you can also use LastPass to store made-up answers to "personal" questions that are no longer personal (everyone with access to Facebook knows your favorite teacher or pet's names, and any distant family member who has posted your family tree in a genealogy site enables bad guys to know your mothers maiden name). Just don't forget your master password or you will be SOL.
Banking sites should be handled as their own case -- no passwords stored anywhere except your head. Long memorable passwords that you change at least quarterly.
One other tip -- Life insurance -- DO NOT enroll in electronic billing. If you die your surviving family might find out about a policy by opening your mail.
Edit: I see that Webroot also now offers a VPN service. I haven't used it but I would trust them, it might be worth it if bundled with their AV software.
Hi xxxx-
Unfortunately the topic of Internet security is a vast one and far beyond the scope of what I can provide here. I'm going to post this publicly.
If you use "open" networks I strongly advise you to refer to my prior suggestion to get NordVPN. It will encrypt your traffic end to end, and give you privacy over the connection between yourself and the NordVPN server. Without such a service every keystroke and screen can be easily intercepted.
Site you choose to connect to are not covered -- so additional caveats apply as noted in my prior post.
PS I can't comment on other antivirus vendors but I manage well over 1000 computers and have used Webroot SecureAnywhere for over 2 years without seeing any successful infections (plenty of successfully quarantined incidences of suspected malware).
I also recommend LastPass password manager. Using a convenient password manager enables you to NEVER use the same password or variation of a password in two sites - so if your password is compromised in one site you won't be impersonated in others. (Never login with Facebook)
Your password for email (email is used for password resets) should be long (20 characters or more) and easy to remember. Use multi-factor (2-factor) authentication if your email service supports it. (Gmail and Hotmail and Office 365 do.) Your LastPass Master Password also should be long -- for long passwords I recommend you choose a normal sentence with capitalization, spaces, numbers and letters. A computer will take a LONG time to crack a very long password so don't add clever variations such as substituting 3 for E nor put capitals in the middle of words unless it makes sense to do it (not words like toMato) -- because in a long sentence you will forget crazy clever variations at some point and have a problem, but it won't matter to a computer trying to crack your password using algorithms and compute-power.
PS - you can also use LastPass to store made-up answers to "personal" questions that are no longer personal (everyone with access to Facebook knows your favorite teacher or pet's names, and any distant family member who has posted your family tree in a genealogy site enables bad guys to know your mothers maiden name). Just don't forget your master password or you will be SOL.
Banking sites should be handled as their own case -- no passwords stored anywhere except your head. Long memorable passwords that you change at least quarterly.
One other tip -- Life insurance -- DO NOT enroll in electronic billing. If you die your surviving family might find out about a policy by opening your mail.
Edit: I see that Webroot also now offers a VPN service. I haven't used it but I would trust them, it might be worth it if bundled with their AV software.
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.LOL did you know that "1Password?" is a valid password? ROFLMAO. Thanks. Now I have to change my password.
A few years back I studied all the reviews and comments I could find for a password manager. I had been using eWallet for years and it was time for an upgrade.
I settled on 1Password. At my job they settled on LastPass. I felt 1Password had better features and was more user friendly.
I too am interested on @Captain Larry-DH opinion of 1Password.
I settled on 1Password. At my job they settled on LastPass. I felt 1Password had better features and was more user friendly.
I too am interested on @Captain Larry-DH opinion of 1Password.
1Password seems a little wonky to me. It logs me out sooner than I'd like and editing logins is not intuitive. But, maybe it's just a hair beyond my skill set.
If you get the paid version of LastPass it syncs between your multiple devices, and you can create shared folders with your spouse to keep important information accessible without sharing or recording your Master Password with them.
I use 1Password and have been satisfied with it. Different browsers handle the extension a little differently. It works and they provide frequent up dates.
Slightly off topic, ( but not far) even without Siri,Alexa, someone is listening. My wife and I talking one evening, we both have our phones on the arm rests, I mentioned in conversation a local swimclub that we have absolutely no connection with. Never looked at Thier website, discussed with friends , nothing! 30 minutes later, I'm downstairs at the computer, turn on Facebook, that swimclub pops up in " suggested for you". Yeah, our phones are listening to us!
Every now and then Siri will speak up when she hears something on the computer. Usually I'll be watching a video and she'll pipe up with something like "I didn't understand that Dave."
Sometimes being tracked is good. Many loyalty groups, like frequent flyer groups, use cookies to track purchases made through their sites. This allows them to give points and miles. Amazon uses them to track referrals from affiliates so the affiliates can be properly created with advertising/sales fees.
Tracking, internet or otherwise, is NOT good. Period.
@Brian D it not the tracking that is necessarily bad, it is to what purpose is the date used. Every time you visit a website, basic information is collected, browser type, IP address, time, duration, and so forth. This is done at the server level. It is possible by using VPN to anonymize some of that information, primarily the IP address, but that IP address is still tracked.
While SBO doesn't share tracking data, they know when you were last here and when you last posted something. That's tracking.
You're also tracked on the highway if you use a toll pass, like EZ-Pass. If your ID card is used to enter your work place you're tracked. When you mail a package with a tracking number, you're tracked.
When you open email, you can be tracked. One method mass mailers use is to embed a link to a 1 pixel image that is the same color as the background. When the email is opened the image is retrieved and the sender records the email address, IP address, date, and time the image called. Some may even track the browser or mail program.
Tracking happens and is going to continue to happen. The big question and the big issue is to what purpose the data is used. It can be used for fairly benign purposes, like keeping of what messages on SBO you read or respond to, or can be used for quite nefarious purposes like micro targeting divisive political ads. And there are useful purposes, like remembering logins, remembering preferences for a website and so forth.
Unfortunately, the walls and barriers we erect to protect our privacy are just challenges to those with nefarious purposes.
While SBO doesn't share tracking data, they know when you were last here and when you last posted something. That's tracking.
You're also tracked on the highway if you use a toll pass, like EZ-Pass. If your ID card is used to enter your work place you're tracked. When you mail a package with a tracking number, you're tracked.
When you open email, you can be tracked. One method mass mailers use is to embed a link to a 1 pixel image that is the same color as the background. When the email is opened the image is retrieved and the sender records the email address, IP address, date, and time the image called. Some may even track the browser or mail program.
Tracking happens and is going to continue to happen. The big question and the big issue is to what purpose the data is used. It can be used for fairly benign purposes, like keeping of what messages on SBO you read or respond to, or can be used for quite nefarious purposes like micro targeting divisive political ads. And there are useful purposes, like remembering logins, remembering preferences for a website and so forth.
Unfortunately, the walls and barriers we erect to protect our privacy are just challenges to those with nefarious purposes.