Privacy and security are related, but they’re not the same thing. I would say security enables privacy – for example, using encryption to hide the contents of files and messages. But many companies market virtual private networks (VPNs) as security products, with terms like “military-grade encryption” that are supposed to sound impressive. Much of these
We’ve all come to rely heavily on access to the internet. Our smartphones, in particular, are mostly useless without it. Even games that have no need to connect to the internet to function still require access anyway (pssst: probably because they want to track you to make money). But we also have Kindles and laptops
[Updated: Nov 30, 2019.] The holiday shopping season is once again upon us! And that means it’s time to update my annual gift guide. Unlike other guides, I’m not here to tell you about the hottest Black Friday deals or how to get free overnight shipping on Dec 23rd. My naughty and nice list is
[UPDATE: This is currently free while in beta, but in the future may not be.] This will be a simple one: Mozilla (maker of Firefox) is trialing a new, free VPN for its browser and you should use it. It’s called Firefox Private Network. It’s a free plugin for Firefox (which is the browser you
When we surf the web, there are several ways that our activity can be tracked. But one spy we often overlook is our internet service providers. Not just our home internet provider, but also our cellular service provider. HTTPS Everywhere Thankfully, in recent years, HTTPS has been much more widely adopted on the internet. That
It can be very challenging to hide your tracks when surfing the web, either on your computer or your phone (or really any modern “smart” device). Even if the contents of your communications are encrypted, it’s nearly impossible to hide the metadata: when you communicate, with whom you’re communicating, how long you communicate, etc. Operator,
Rather than write a new article every year, I’ve decided to update my original article on Data Privacy Day. This article tells you how to vastly improve your privacy and guard your data from prying eyes right now. Data Privacy Day 2019 also just happens to exactly coincide with the airing of the 100th episode
