How to not get caught looking at porn!

Every now and then we have the need to go through the web undetected or unnoticed. Could be for any purpose such as banking, ideas, taxes, or even for porn!, Getting your information intercepted is not only a delicate matter but it could diminish your trust in general. On the next steps im going to give you some tools that you can take with you so your more delicate information can be safer.

Starting with your computer itself:

Erase your browsing history and the Saved Files

By going into your setting click on the browsing history options and erase any traces of where have you been and any files that could have been downloaded.

Have a window ready to switch:

This is very important because you never know who can walk in at any time. Along with this memorize the keystroke (Alt+Tab or Commnad+Tab) to change between what you are looking and what you don't mind people looking.

Use untraced Search engines:

There are websites that do not monitor your internet searches and usage. Sites such as Duck Duck Go guarantee that your information is safer rather than other search engines that use "Smart Engines" to memorize what things you see

https://duckduckgo.com

Use Private Mode on your Browser:

Although this does not guarantee 100% of coverage the information that you send back and forth through incognito/private mode will not be saved on your browser. This is usually activated on any type of browser such a Chrom, Safari, Opera, etc.

To open a tab as this use (Command+Shif+N or Ctrl+Shift+N) , very fast way of surfing safer on you computer.

Changing your Proxy:

For this type of security is a bit more on the technical side but very effective. Downloading a proxy changer will disguise the address of your computer. That is, that the location of where you are actually surfing is going to change making your direct internet address (IP) a bit safer.

This software is usually available in both Free and Paid versions, each one having its owns Pro's and Con's. Our personal recommendation ; Elite Proxy Switcher due to the functionality and ways of use

Switch your Realm with a VPN service:

Similar as a Proxy Switcher using a VPN will get you the ability of changing where your computer is by getting into a Virtual Private Network. What this means is that when you activate this your computer is going to transport to a safe place (Network) where you can have different privileges on the internet.

Simplest one:

Hola internet is an add on service that incorporates itself to your browser and lets you think that you are surfing in a different part of the world. Excellent for Netflix or if you are in Asia and can't see that special image that you are looking for you can find it this way!

More complicated ones:

On a more complicated note there are program that you can download that will make your computer itself think that is in another part of the world. This will make all of the surfing and transmitting of the programs think its somewhere else in the world. Pro's and Con's, as any freeware the advertisement will be abundant on a freeware but with a paid version you get faster speeds and less advertisement.

Our Recommendation is GhostVPN due to the fact that starts as freeware but you can have a paid version which bring more benefits.

Overall we have to always be safe with the information we send and receive so on a final note try to not give your WIFI passwords to anyone, change passwords and try not to use public WIFI if you want to be unnoticed. Aside from that happy surfing!

The “Like” Trap

Did you know that by Liking any Facebook link you have likely befallen into a privacy breach?

That’s right. Few months ago, I started my own page for my company, which have gathered traction from our Facebook community. The Facebook page has insights options where you have option to see what are the key statistics in your page. What interests me is the people area. It tells you where exactly are the likers, what is their gender etc. See some screenshots below.

The above statistics is nothing worrisome, true it only tells you about Gender, Age and Location. As a page owner myself, I love this functionality, you now have access to a group of people whom you can advertise your product for free but what bothers me a lot is the fact that since the moment that you become a liker of a page, Facebook is now able to do target marketing for you.

Consider below our Facebook engagement for the past 28 days, the number is growing exponentially and the reason behind that is once people begin to like your page, it creates a direct network effect that will start advertising the product to the people within the network.

Again, it sounds very good for a page owner such as myself because my Advertising cost as my page likers increase is going down (Negative correlation of he numbers of likes and Advertising costs).

However, as a Facebook consumer myself, it also makes me feel worried how far can this phenomena grow in the context of Data Privacy.

One of the hot news right now is the fact that EU data Privacy has becoming getting serious about Facebook’s Privacy Policy  One of the key arguments about this movement is the fact that Facebook is not only tracking us within the realm of our Facebook consumption but is also tracking us in other websites the uses the “Like” button, Facebook Log-in Functionality and the advertising resources. Most European authorities have begun to Question Facebook about this.

Some of the proofs from my page statistics have indeed proven that Facebook can track not only the data I have mentioned above but even behavior.

For me this sounds like having a PC recording device in your computer while you are doing your Facebook. All these insights then become a part of the consumption of the Advertiser who pays Facebook lots of money. This to me becomes very alarming because, our Private data is traded for a monetary term. The fact that Facebook is monetizing our Data is a big deal especially in the context of data Privacy.

The other information that I found interesting as an advertiser is the Impression. Quite interestingly below, the Paid impression is very high versus the organic/non paid subscription is low. And why is that? Very simple, Facebook employs their algorithm, of showing our Information to the Likely audience when you are advertising and showing it to general audience when not paying. Of course the One that Pays gets better results and this is one of the reason how Facebook still has the business.

Once again, as Facebook consumers the key here is for us to be aware that hitting the Like button has to be a conscious decision and not just an impulsive behaviour because you like the page and you like what it shows. Keep in mind the trade offs and the impact of your “Data security” and how is being monetised by Facebook.

How much information is to much? 

Do you ever wonder how much information you are giving out during a normal day? From your bedroom, kitchen, gym or coffee shop  How big is your digital footprint ? Follow  Lauren O’neil and be amazed.

The truth is that every day we are exposed to different devices that take bits and peaces of information without un even noticing. You can consider this a necessary pain, anon of us will be willing to sacrifice technology, communication, connectivity etc, only because they don't know how to clean up their prints.

After watching how deep into a persons life can a third party get just by looking through the prints on the internet you will be as scared as I was. Turns out this people know more abut me than my own wife. I am personally not confortable with this, it makes me wonder if a really have free will anymore or if I am just being guided to take all my decisions. Do I buy things because I need them and like them or because someone was cleaver enough to place the right item at the right time in the right place?.

Personally I think of my self being exposed to this things and I feel uncomfortable, but when I think of what the media could be learning about my nieces and nephews I honestly feel scared. I get the impression that by the time they are 13 they will be so influenced by their own foot prints that none of the decisions that they make will be done without someone else's  influence.

Is this good? Is it bad? Is it just inevitable? Please check it out and give us your opinion.

How much damage can a hacker do

Today in class we analyzed a case that got us all thinking about the retaliation impact that one can have as a manager and as a company. During an interesting case study with our Technology and Inovation professor Kiron Ravindran in today’s session we got the opportunity to look into security breaches and in particular the one of 77 million accounts stolen from Sony.

I wish to share the case with you rather than spoiling the fun. Also I will like to share during the session we had the opportunity to approach the subject from different angle. This gave us a view that it is hard to protect your self against cyber attacks etc. But there are some guidelines that help us fight against attacks on sensitive material. But aside focusing on crating an impressive security system what is very important is the way you communicate with your people, how you keep your clients calmed and happy.

I personally believe that people like Hotz are actually doing us a favor by hacking into systems, because it is showing us where companies’ weaknesses are and will allow them to improve their security. Imagine people that are more villainous what can happen then?

Are people like George Hotz a threat or a hero?  What should Sony have done differently in comparison to what Apple did? What were the consequences of Sony’s actions?. We want to have your opinion on this matter so please feel free to comment below.