June 25, 2009 at 23:35The illusion of privacy
Recently, the press has been filled with hysterical articles about the Big Brother’s offensive on our personal lives. Open any fresh newspaper and read about espionage planes hovering above your house, about microchips embedded in your garbage container and about hidden cameras that monitor your every step from the bushes.
The main idea of such articles is clear - this government is trying in any way to collect information about us. However, in reality everything is a little different. Yes, our privacy really loses its confidential status, but it’s not the officials who are to blame. We are to blame.
We voluntarily post information about ourselves on social networks, we are delighted to buy cameras that mark our whereabouts at the time of filming and transmit this information directly to the Internet. Modern technologies allow us to record and store detailed information about us, our habits, interests and actions, and, if necessary, transmit this information to interested parties. And not always - in our own interests.
New technologies appear every week, and each of them wants to know more about us - right down to our appearance. A new exterior recognition program is already built into the new laptops, allowing the computer to literally recognize its owner. And the latest version of the Firefox Internet browser can actually track your every move while you are online.
In fairness, it should be noted that this is just one of the options for the browser that the user can activate independently. But how can you resist the temptation, because it is so nice when colleagues instantly find out which country you went on vacation to, and websites constantly tell you where the nearest coffee shop is. However, behind all these advantages, there are a lot of pitfalls that cast doubt on their true value to the consumer.
The founding father of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, developed the concept for the development of the Semantic Web. According to his assumptions, in the near future, all of our Internet movements will be recorded and used, and most of the Internet traffic will be the exchange of information between various programs that manage every aspect of our daily lives.
However, back to reality. Leaving a little information about ourselves on each of the sites, we sincerely believe that this fragmented information does not pose a threat to us. But what happens if someone can combine all this data? “You communicate information about yourself, believing that it will be used for any one specific purpose,” says Danny O'Brien, an employee of the American Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which protects privacy and freedom of speech. “And you expect that you can manage this data, control its distribution.”
“However, think about it - first you fill out a questionnaire on one of the social networks, say, on MySpace, then use a browser that tracks your location, then turn on an Internet service that stores information about your purchases ... Gradually, a whole system of data about you, your life, your friends and interests, and all this data is carefully monitored. ”
But why would anyone need this information at all? Since we are talking about commercial companies, the answer is simple: targeted advertising. Amazon.com first took advantage of targeted marketing when it began recommending new books to its customers based on their previous purchases. The system works simply: the more data we report about ourselves, the more offers we receive in return, raising sales of companies to sky-high heights.
Now this principle is used everywhere. Last.fm records all the songs you listen to, helpfully offering similar tracks - and links to paid download albums of your favorite artists. And besides this, judging by the latest gossip, it also provides this information to the RIAA. Are you registered with GMail? As soon as you log in to the system, it will begin to record every page you open, analyzing your habits and interests and offering potentially interesting products and services to you - this advertising scheme brings Google millions of dollars a year.
Now few people worry about this. But according to O'Brien, the consequences of the new system will soon begin to show themselves.
Are you sure that companies are able to reliably protect their databases? “It’s not difficult for a company to store the data, it’s pointless to destroy it,” says O'Brien. “But leaks of such information are not uncommon.” We call this the “Information Shipwreck" - the company is crashed into a metaphorical iceberg, and all information about its customers is splashed into the open sea. And when this happens, no one is responsible for privacy. ”
Although O'Brien does not claim that we have before us a deliberately planned scenario similar to the 1984 dystopia, the direction of technological development does not exclude this possibility. Especially considering the recent legislative changes in many European countries. “The government will always find a way to force companies to disclose their databases,” he says. “Previously, they had fewer opportunities for this, but now companies will actually act on behalf of and in the interests of the state.”
In general, the described picture is really capable of turning even the most balanced person into a paranoid, but the choice, in any case, is only ours. The next time, before you connect another attractive service, ask yourself the question - do you really need these “new features”? And are they worth it to give their privacy for them?
Habersledders. Check how much the web knows about you?
via guria
The main idea of such articles is clear - this government is trying in any way to collect information about us. However, in reality everything is a little different. Yes, our privacy really loses its confidential status, but it’s not the officials who are to blame. We are to blame.
We voluntarily post information about ourselves on social networks, we are delighted to buy cameras that mark our whereabouts at the time of filming and transmit this information directly to the Internet. Modern technologies allow us to record and store detailed information about us, our habits, interests and actions, and, if necessary, transmit this information to interested parties. And not always - in our own interests.
New technologies appear every week, and each of them wants to know more about us - right down to our appearance. A new exterior recognition program is already built into the new laptops, allowing the computer to literally recognize its owner. And the latest version of the Firefox Internet browser can actually track your every move while you are online.
In fairness, it should be noted that this is just one of the options for the browser that the user can activate independently. But how can you resist the temptation, because it is so nice when colleagues instantly find out which country you went on vacation to, and websites constantly tell you where the nearest coffee shop is. However, behind all these advantages, there are a lot of pitfalls that cast doubt on their true value to the consumer.
The founding father of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, developed the concept for the development of the Semantic Web. According to his assumptions, in the near future, all of our Internet movements will be recorded and used, and most of the Internet traffic will be the exchange of information between various programs that manage every aspect of our daily lives.
However, back to reality. Leaving a little information about ourselves on each of the sites, we sincerely believe that this fragmented information does not pose a threat to us. But what happens if someone can combine all this data? “You communicate information about yourself, believing that it will be used for any one specific purpose,” says Danny O'Brien, an employee of the American Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which protects privacy and freedom of speech. “And you expect that you can manage this data, control its distribution.”
“However, think about it - first you fill out a questionnaire on one of the social networks, say, on MySpace, then use a browser that tracks your location, then turn on an Internet service that stores information about your purchases ... Gradually, a whole system of data about you, your life, your friends and interests, and all this data is carefully monitored. ”
But why would anyone need this information at all? Since we are talking about commercial companies, the answer is simple: targeted advertising. Amazon.com first took advantage of targeted marketing when it began recommending new books to its customers based on their previous purchases. The system works simply: the more data we report about ourselves, the more offers we receive in return, raising sales of companies to sky-high heights.
Now this principle is used everywhere. Last.fm records all the songs you listen to, helpfully offering similar tracks - and links to paid download albums of your favorite artists. And besides this, judging by the latest gossip, it also provides this information to the RIAA. Are you registered with GMail? As soon as you log in to the system, it will begin to record every page you open, analyzing your habits and interests and offering potentially interesting products and services to you - this advertising scheme brings Google millions of dollars a year.
Now few people worry about this. But according to O'Brien, the consequences of the new system will soon begin to show themselves.
Are you sure that companies are able to reliably protect their databases? “It’s not difficult for a company to store the data, it’s pointless to destroy it,” says O'Brien. “But leaks of such information are not uncommon.” We call this the “Information Shipwreck" - the company is crashed into a metaphorical iceberg, and all information about its customers is splashed into the open sea. And when this happens, no one is responsible for privacy. ”
Although O'Brien does not claim that we have before us a deliberately planned scenario similar to the 1984 dystopia, the direction of technological development does not exclude this possibility. Especially considering the recent legislative changes in many European countries. “The government will always find a way to force companies to disclose their databases,” he says. “Previously, they had fewer opportunities for this, but now companies will actually act on behalf of and in the interests of the state.”
In general, the described picture is really capable of turning even the most balanced person into a paranoid, but the choice, in any case, is only ours. The next time, before you connect another attractive service, ask yourself the question - do you really need these “new features”? And are they worth it to give their privacy for them?
Habersledders. Check how much the web knows about you?
via guria