"Browsing with Privacy"

Browsing with Privacy:

Last updated September 30, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Summary
    1. [LINK] Dislaimer: I am not tracking you on this site. But I bet someone else is.
    2. [LINK] The importance of your browsing data
  1. Why is this important?
    1. Why do I need privacy if I'm not doing anything illegal or wrong?
    2. Why do I need privacy if I'm not doing anything confidential or out of the ordinary?
    3. Why do I need privacy if I don't think anyone would even be interested in my boring life?
  1. Who has access to my data when I use the internet (and what data could they see)?
    1. Your ISP's DNS server: What sites you go to; What those sites send back to you
    2. Sites you visit: Watching what you do on their site; Following you with cookies; Fingerprinting your unique identify
    3. Your email server: Mining your email data
    4. Everyone using your home network: What sites were accessed
    5. Family members who you share a device with: Sites you visit (your history); What those sites provided to you (your cache)
    6. Those who can obtain your passwords: Your accounts on social media, email, etc.
    7. Why do I need privacy if I don't think anyone would even be interested in my boring life?
    8. Who has access to my data when I use the internet (and what data can they see)?
  1. What do others want with my data? And why is that a problem?
    1. Hyper-personalized advertising: Anonymous data often isn't really anonymous
    2. Political identification: Some may want to expose your beliefs as what Orwell coined "Thoughtcrimes"
    3. Curiosity: Significant others spy out of fear or jealousy
  1. How to increase your privacy, even if you aren't a computer expert
    1. There is no practical way to have 100% privacy online.
    2. Privacy settings on your operating system (Windows, iOS, MacOS, Linux, etc.)
    3. Privacy in your browser (Internet Explorer or Edge or FireFox or Chrome vs. Brave)
    4. Privacy in the search engine you use (Google or Yahoo vs. DuckDuckGo or StartPage or Qwant)
    5. Privacy over email
    6. Privacy for your internet traffic using a VPN
    7. Privacy for your internet traffic using The Onion Router (Tor)

I. SUMMARY:

I.1. Disclaimer

If you look at the source code of this page, you'll find that it is written in "old school HTML". It's basically just plaintext. I don't use any scripts, cookies, or anything else to track you.

However, this page is hosted for free. Undoubtedly, the host of this site is watching you. As are others. I hope this site helps you become more secure with your browsing data.

I.2. The importance of your browsing data

When the internet first became mass-market popular in the '90s, people's lives changed. There was value in being able to quickly find information, connect with others, and transact purchases. The everyday way of life began to shift from print and voice to digital.

Chatrooms, instant messaging, email, search engines, and other online applications exploded in popularity. Network, compute, and storage capabilites evolved to support the growing demands.

The first search engines of the internet indexed sites like a directory. This provided new advertising oppotunities: promoting paid sponsor search results; running banner ads; etc. This advertising revenue has led to a modern day gold rush: companies strive to index data created by people's usage and create new competivite advantages and revenue opportunities.

Today, essentially every provider, website, and government has a reason to want data generated by your internet activities. This site aims to educate you on how you can continue to use the internet while protecting your privacy.