Privacy and Modern Intrusion – Digital Security Vol.1
In an increasingly interconnected world, our digital life has become an extension of our physical existence. With digital expansion, online privacy has become a growing concern, bringing the important need to protect our online privacy, whether it's data we expose ourselves or data that is captured from us without our knowledge or consent.
So where do we begin?
Let's start with general internet browsing.
NOTE: this article contains details considered extremely important for our online security, so colours will be used to indicate their level of importance, as follows:
- Green for Good
- Orange for Caution
- Red for Danger
General Internet Browsing
Browsing the Internet is a daily activity for most people, but often we don't realise the ( digital footprint or digital fingerprint ) we leave behind. Every website visited, every link clicked and every piece of information entered can potentially be tracked or intercepted.
From secure connections to Cookies, public Wi-Fi, browser extensions, or other problems such as Phishing and Scams, dangers or uncertainties exist everywhere.
But should we distrust everything and stop living? No, otherwise we wouldn't be Living at all.
So this article aims to share some basic knowledge and to warn about some of the most common dangers.
How Is Data Captured and Used?
Browsing the internet may seem like a harmless activity, but every click, every search and every site visited can reveal private details about your habits, interests and even our identity.
Companies, service providers and other kinds of sites use various techniques to capture data during general web browsing.
Don't get me wrong, some of these ( some ) are needed, because it was through much of this data that we've come to the conclusion that it's increasingly important to take an interest in and understand how to browse the internet and to care about our Digital Footprint and Digital Privacy.
Invisible Tracking
When you visit a site, small files known as Cookies are stored in our browser. While some are genuinely necessary for certain basic site functions, others are used to track our online activity.
Pixel Tracking and Fingerprinting
Techniques such as pixel tracking or fingerprinting are even more discreet. And they exist not only on websites but also in emails. Their goal is to obtain information about the user, such as:
- Information about the device
- Browser type
- Language settings
- Screen size
- Other preferences
This information aims to create a ( digital fingerprint ) of us, which is then used to manipulate the kind of information presented to us
Consequences for Users
For users, the consequences mean nothing more and nothing less than a significant loss of privacy. The information collected can be used in ways that go far beyond advertising, potentially influencing opinions and behaviours without our consent.
Can We Protect Our Browsing?
The truth is Yes. Up to a point.
To protect our internet browsing it is essential to use privacy tools, such as ad-blocking extensions ( advertisements ), privacy-focused browsers, VPNs, regulating cookie permissions, privacy settings on our devices and our online accounts and with service providers, and browsing in incognito mode.
Let's now move on to a little more information about certain topics within online security and privacy.
Cookies and GDPR: Understanding the Basics
Cookies ( as already mentioned under Invisible Tracking ) are small files that sites store on our device to remember our preferences and browsing activity. Although useful for a personalised internet experience, they can also be used to track our online behaviour in an invasive way, and these are only the tip of the iceberg.
Many people don't know it, but the holders, authors, companies, services or website owners, by using Google Fonts, or sharing videos or other posts from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook ( to name the best known ), among others, are inadvertently sharing and giving access for these to build a profile ( Digital Fingerprint ) of us.
The GDPR, a European Union regulation, aims to give us control over our personal data, requiring explicit consent to collect data and offering greater transparency.
Tip: Regularly clear cookies and adjust the browser's privacy settings to limit tracking.
The Terms and Services Trap
Terms of service and privacy policies are notoriously long and complex, but understanding how your information is collected, used and shared is essential. Many entities, many companies collect excessive data under the pretext of "improving services".
By creating accounts on platforms or websites without reading those terms, we may be consenting to invasive data-collection practices, misuse of personal information and even sharing with third parties, without ( our explicit knowledge ), but BEWARE… we did, after all, accept that consent.
The habit of ( I Accept, Accept All, Okay, Close ) without reading can have lasting or disastrous consequences, compromising not only our privacy but also our ( digital footprint ) or digital autonomy.
In the EU, by law, platforms and sites must have 3 buttons:
- Accept
- Reject
- Customise
Likewise, any website or platform that requires a ( Registered Account ) to use certain features must have a method by which the User can request that their data be Deleted or Requested, for example, on our platform Data Request.
This gives us a choice over what we want to accept or not when participating in, using, browsing, or registering on a given platform or website.
The Lack of Online Security
With data breaches becoming common news, online security has never been so crucial. These breaches expose sensitive information that can compromise security both online and offline. Generally, and on most platforms ( at least on shopping platforms ), our information is associated, and along with it there may or may not be information such as:
- Addresses
- Tax numbers (NIFs)
- Bank cards
- Names
- Identification numbers
- Among others
Security Measures
- The first security measure, at least for online payments, is to check whether the site or platform has SSL ( I leave here a brief explanation of what SSL is )
- Then another step to keep in mind is passwords and authentication ( payment platforms or addresses ): never link or Log In ( sign in ) or register with ( Log in with Facebook, Log in with Google, Log in with platform X ); if you're reading this article, you can probably guess why?
- Strong passwords and 2FA ( two-factor authentication ): a complicated password is …. complicated …. for us, but if it's complicated for us it means it's also complicated for others. (dog's name) or ( year of birth ) is the example of a terrible password. Simply because it is.
But if the password is something like @87#&84^!!/##-$@&6677, that's a different story.
( yes… and who's going to remember a password like that? the article's author is a bit daft…. )
A good password manager? Protected and covered by all the EU regulations + Switzerland's nFADP ( new Federal Act on Data Protection ) is the app Proton Pass, and best of all, one of the plans is completely Free; more about passwords and password managers in Part 2 of the article.
Best Browsers for Privacy
For those concerned about privacy while browsing the internet, the browser ( internet browser ) is one of the first things to consider: which one to use, and why.
First let's talk about proprietary browsers, that is, those whose code is closed and which outsiders cannot see, and then let's talk about open source browsers, those whose code is open, and which anyone who understands that programming language can view, access and contribute to.
Proprietary Browsers
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Apple Safari
- Opera
- Vivaldi
- Samsung Internet
- there are more….
These browsers are secure ( to a certain extent considered secure ), because the companies behind them have many layers of protection against hackers and other threats, BUT, should we trust them because of that?
The Business Model of Google (Google Chrome) is basically to invade our privacy so it can better serve ads to us ( targets ), whatever the type of Google service, and there are many of them.
Microsoft (Microsoft Edge) also makes money from ads served to specific ( targets ). This targeting thing works roughly like this.. they don't want to show a Nike ad to someone searching for Cars…. so they need a way to filter who searches for what, and serve the right ad to the right person.
Apple, Apple (Apple Safari) has always declared itself in its marketing as the Champion of privacy; however, they cooperated 100% with the PRISM programme) (I advise you to read carefully the link provided here about PRISM, you may be surprised..) that Edward Snowden exposed in 2013
In other words, we don't know to what extent these ( Secure ) browsers invade or collect our information, and which information, and to what extent.
Open Source Browsers
Open Source browsers are not the miracle cure we've been looking for… be aware.
There is a lot of code and a lot that would need to be inspected, but the very fact that companies or organisations have their code open for anyone who wishes to view, test or contribute is indeed an aspect of ( those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. )
Now, in talking about the open source browsers mentioned below, I'll clarify 1 super important point so there are no problems… Apple forces all browsers that run on iOS or iPadOS to use Apple's WebKit… which means a lot of code is transformed by that WebKit, and every opinion given below automatically excludes any version used on Apple products
Firefox: Firefox is Google's biggest competitor in terms of web browsers.
It can be fully audited, has several privacy options, and even more options in development, in a huge ecosystem for those who like to use extensions to make their daily lives easier, and it uses less memory than Chrome. It's a bit vulnerable when it comes to digital fingerprinting, which requires the use of some extensions to better secure that side…
Brave: Brave was developed by the former CEO of Mozilla ( Firefox ) and also inventor of the Javascript language, Brendan Eich, and Brave was developed with one big motivation: PRIVACY.
It has really good protection against tracking, anti-fingerprinting, with a built-in VPN + Firewall ( although the VPN is paid ), it's one of the best at blocking cookies by default, and it's also considerably lighter than Firefox or Chrome. It blocks all sorts of ads and pop-ups appearing and disappearing, prizes and other kinds of intrusions that show up on our screen…. For those who like extensions, Brave can use almost all of Chrome's extensions, and another Brave tool is Tor integration, meaning we can browse the Tor network through Brave.
Tor Browser: it's a version of Firefox ESR that routes all connections through the Tor Network; it also has far more advanced privacy than other browsers, and when Tor is used with the Tor Network, it possibly offers the best ( anonymous system ) in existence; however, I advise never to consider anonymity to be 100%…. and of course, don't forget that browsing through the Tor Network is neither as easy nor the same as browsing the internet as we know it.
And that's all for Part 1 of this topic; it's a very big subject with a lot to talk about, which I'm limiting quite a bit, whether due to technical terms or to keep the information accessible to all levels.
In Part 2 of this topic, "Digital Preparation – Privacy and Modern Intrusion", we'll cover the following sub-topics:
- Add a little more about passwords and authentication methods
- Security in the Gaming Universe, where there is a Double threat
- Applications, permissions and app privacy
- Common internet threats such as Phishing and Malware
- A little about digital education, what to keep in mind regarding our own education on these kinds of subjects and staying up to date.
- A summary of ( recommended basics ) to adopt for slightly safer and more private browsing.