Operational Security (OPSEC) - Anonymize your Digital Life (sort of)

 

Think of online privacy like a new way of life, just as important as your personal beliefs. It's called Operational Security (OPSEC), and it's about protecting your private information from being seen or stolen by others online, whether they're a company or a hacker. It's not just about using a good virtual private network (VPN); it's a way of living where you stay informed and use online habits that reduce the amount of your digital information available for others to collect and sell.

We're in a time where the struggle between keeping things private and making everything public isn't going well. This is because regular people often don't think much about the apps they use or the permissions they give to those apps and their creators. They also don't pay much attention to what happens with their personal information and who buys it.

And it's quite surprising how much power big companies like Google and Facebook have when it comes to collecting data from people.

These days, as a regular internet user, it can be challenging but possible to keep your online activities safe. Privacy is at greater risk than ever, and it's not just cybercriminals who pose a threat to everyday people. Many of us don't know much about how our personal information is gathered and sold, so we can't really control it when we use popular online services.

But the good news is, there are privacy-friendly options available for nearly every popular online service.

Search Engine

We all use search engines every day, no matter what devices we use or how we get online. DuckDuckGo and StartPage are well-known privacy-focused options compared to Google. Unlike Google, they don't track your online activity, so your searches can't be linked to you personally. These search engines don't gather your data or create profiles about you, and they don't use special formulas to tailor your search results to your interests. This is possible because your searches remain anonymous. They don't record your IP address or other identifiers, which makes it tough for others to collect and follow your online actions.

Virtual Private Network Services (VPNs)

Using a VPN can be very helpful, but it's essential to use it correctly. VPNs make your online activity private by hiding it from others. However, if your VPN stops working, your real IP address becomes visible, which defeats the purpose.

Most VPN providers offer a "killswitch" feature. This means that if your VPN suddenly stops working, the app will block all internet traffic, keeping your IP address hidden.

Having a VPN is crucial, especially when using public Wi-Fi networks, which can be risky for sharing sensitive information like passwords or financial details. Additionally, some VPN providers accept cryptocurrencies for payment, which adds an extra layer of protection to your online privacy.

Disabling Geographical Tagging Data

Photos normally include data on where the photo was taken, the geographical coordinates, and other EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data such as the type of camera and lens used, and pretty much everything needed to build a profile of where you visited, frequently visited locations, and more. Turning off geotagging is important to keep your online presence smaller and prevent others from collecting too much information about you. Here are Android and iOS guides on how to turn off geotagging.

Oversharing

Lots of us like to share a lot on social media, but it's important to be careful. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what's private and what's public online. There are people out there who are really good at pretending to be us or our friends on the internet. They use this trick to try to steal our money or access to our accounts.

To protect yourself, you can be smart about what you post. For example, don't share pictures from your vacation until you're back home. Also, avoid posting pictures of things like your flight tickets. This way, you'll reduce the chances of attracting bad actors like stalkers or scammers.

Avoiding clickbait ad tracking

Clickbait is content designed to get lots of clicks, but it often comes with hidden tracking. You can protect yourself from these marketing tricks by using ad blockers like AdBlock Plus, uBlock Origin, or AdGuard. These tools can stop most annoying pop-up ads and banners.

You can also improve your online privacy by turning off third-party cookies in your browser settings. This stops websites from following your online activities and showing you personalized ads.

For even better privacy, consider using Firefox, DuckDuckGo, or Brave as your web browser. These browsers have extra privacy features. You can also enable "Do Not Track" in your browser settings to tell websites not to track you.

Ultimately, the fight for privacy and control over your own data is truly a lifestyle. Although we live in a society where we demand instant gratification and hassle-free access to services, this is how data miners catch users, monetizing clicks and selling your data to manipulate what you see.

So, it's important to always remember that keeping your data safe is really, really important when you're using digital technology. Think of it like a mantra: "Protecting my data is like a religion" to remind yourself how crucial it is in a world full of online dangers and traps.