A common response to tracking is “so what, they aren’t going to do anything bad with that data”. Somehow, people think that since they don’t understand, or even know, what Microsoft would do with the tracking data that there’s no risk in letting them track us. Many people are that trusting. I have personally been… Read More »
I’m glad I actually read the release notes this time. Simple QR is a good QR code reader on Android. There are no network permissions needed so I sort of trust it to work without wrecking my privacy. The recent update made a switch so that when you scan a QR code that is a… Read More »
It’s always irritated me when I talk about retaining my privacy by avoiding spyware, online ads, phone tracking, etc., and people respond by saying they don’t care because they have nothing to hide. I always saw that as a really shortsighted and ignorant way of viewing it but I couldn’t concisely articulate why. This quote… Read More »
I’m not too keen on this creepy idea. It’s bad enough that your phone has to “look at you”, but then to tie it to your logins makes it worse. That makes your phone the controlling device of any login, even on your computer. People mistake this for security because there are no more passwords,… Read More »
If you’re hoping to optimize your battery charging on the iPhone and you thought that simply turning on the “Optimized Battery Charging” switch would make that happen, you’re about to be shocked. That’s only the beginning of how you turn it on. And Apple doesn’t tell you that when you switch it on. Once you… Read More »
Recently, I have made a great effort to increase my online privacy. This theme does not have any trackers. No Google fonts, no Google analytics, no FontAwesome fonts, no CDN hosting for code, and no Facebook scripts or trackers. It’s a clean page, except for the Disqus comments, but those are there by my choice,… Read More »
Before After
Background: CBS News Law enforcement groups have discovered another way to make their lives easier at the expense of your privacy. Now all that they have to do is get enough congressmen (who accept cash and checks, by the way) to agree with them and the deal is done.
It seems most unusual that a banking application would need to access my camera on my phone. Are they watching me check my balance? There are no camera functions in the application, at least that I was able to find. This is most unusual. So, I sent an email to US Bank at mobile@usbank.com. It reads:… Read More »
Depending on your level of purism, devotion to privacy, and reason for hopping off the surveillance grid, the non-Google solution that appeals to you will vary. For those who are hooked on Google’s results, there are options that mask you from Google, making your search basically anonymous. For those who don’t want to “feed” Google their inner… Read More »