Privacy illusion
Recently, the press has been overwhelmed with hysterical articles about the Big Brother’s attack on our personal life. Open any fresh newspaper, and read about spy planes hovering over your house, about microchips built into your dumpster and about hidden cameras that follow every step of the bushes.
The basic idea of such articles is clear - this government is trying in any way to collect information about us. However, the reality is a little different. Yes, our private life does lose its confidential status, but officials are not to blame for this. Blame ourselves.
We voluntarily upload information about ourselves to social networks, we are delighted to buy cameras that mark our location 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, about our habits, interests and actions, and, if necessary, pass 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. In the new laptops have already built a special program for recognizing the appearance, allowing the computer to literally recognize its owner. And the latest version of the Firefox web browser can actually track your every move while you are online.
To be fair, it should be noted that this is just one of the browser options that the user can activate independently. But is it possible to resist the temptation, because it is so nice when colleagues instantly find out exactly which country you went on vacation, and web sites constantly tell you where the nearest coffee shop is located. However, behind all these advantages lies the mass 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 our movements on the Internet will be recorded and used, and most of the Internet traffic will be the exchange of information between the various programs that manage every aspect of our daily life.
However, back in reality. Leaving some information about ourselves on each of the sites, we sincerely believe that this scattered information does not pose a threat to us. But what if someone can combine all this data? “You are communicating information about yourself, believing that it will be used for any one specific purpose,” said 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 their distribution.”
“But think about it - first you fill out a form on one of the social networks, say, on MySpace, then use a browser that tracks your location, then you turn on the 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 even need this information? Since we are talking about commercial companies, the answer is simple: targeted advertising. The benefits of targeted marketing were first used by Amazon.com when I began recommending new books to my customers, selected based on their previous purchases. The system works simply: the more data we report about ourselves, the more offers we get in return, raising sales of companies to transcendental heights.
Now this principle is used everywhere. Last.fm captures all the songs you've listened to, helpfully suggesting similar tracks - and links to paid downloads of your favorite artists' albums. And besides this, judging by the latest gossip, the RIAA also provides this information. Are you registered for GMail? As soon as you log in to the system, it will start recording every page you open, analyzing your habits and interests and offering products and services that are potentially interesting to you - this advertising scheme brings Google millions of dollars a year.
Now, few people worry about it. But according to O'Brien, the consequences of the new system will soon begin to manifest themselves.
Are you sure that companies are able to reliably protect their databases? “It’s not difficult for the company to store the data, they don’t make sense to destroy them,” says O'Brien. - But cases of leakage of such information are not uncommon. We call this the “Informational Shipwreck” - the company breaks down on a metaphoric iceberg, and all the information about its customers spills out into the open sea. And when this happens, no one is responsible for confidentiality. ”
Although O'Brien does not claim that we are facing a deliberately planned scenario, similar to the dystopia "1984", however, the direction of technological development does not preclude such a possibility. Especially considering the recent changes in the legislation of many European countries. “The government will always find a way to force companies to open their databases,” he says. “Previously, they had fewer opportunities for this, but now companies will actually act on behalf and in the interests of the state.”
On the whole, the picture described is indeed capable of turning even the most balanced person into a paranoiac, but in any case, the choice is ours. Next time, before connecting another tempting service, ask yourself the question - do you really need these "new features"? And are they worth giving up their privacy for them?
Habrasledopyta. Check how much the web knows about you?
via guria
The basic idea of such articles is clear - this government is trying in any way to collect information about us. However, the reality is a little different. Yes, our private life does lose its confidential status, but officials are not to blame for this. Blame ourselves.
We voluntarily upload information about ourselves to social networks, we are delighted to buy cameras that mark our location 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, about our habits, interests and actions, and, if necessary, pass 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. In the new laptops have already built a special program for recognizing the appearance, allowing the computer to literally recognize its owner. And the latest version of the Firefox web browser can actually track your every move while you are online.
To be fair, it should be noted that this is just one of the browser options that the user can activate independently. But is it possible to resist the temptation, because it is so nice when colleagues instantly find out exactly which country you went on vacation, and web sites constantly tell you where the nearest coffee shop is located. However, behind all these advantages lies the mass 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 our movements on the Internet will be recorded and used, and most of the Internet traffic will be the exchange of information between the various programs that manage every aspect of our daily life.
However, back in reality. Leaving some information about ourselves on each of the sites, we sincerely believe that this scattered information does not pose a threat to us. But what if someone can combine all this data? “You are communicating information about yourself, believing that it will be used for any one specific purpose,” said 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 their distribution.”
“But think about it - first you fill out a form on one of the social networks, say, on MySpace, then use a browser that tracks your location, then you turn on the 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 even need this information? Since we are talking about commercial companies, the answer is simple: targeted advertising. The benefits of targeted marketing were first used by Amazon.com when I began recommending new books to my customers, selected based on their previous purchases. The system works simply: the more data we report about ourselves, the more offers we get in return, raising sales of companies to transcendental heights.
Now this principle is used everywhere. Last.fm captures all the songs you've listened to, helpfully suggesting similar tracks - and links to paid downloads of your favorite artists' albums. And besides this, judging by the latest gossip, the RIAA also provides this information. Are you registered for GMail? As soon as you log in to the system, it will start recording every page you open, analyzing your habits and interests and offering products and services that are potentially interesting to you - this advertising scheme brings Google millions of dollars a year.
Now, few people worry about it. But according to O'Brien, the consequences of the new system will soon begin to manifest themselves.
Are you sure that companies are able to reliably protect their databases? “It’s not difficult for the company to store the data, they don’t make sense to destroy them,” says O'Brien. - But cases of leakage of such information are not uncommon. We call this the “Informational Shipwreck” - the company breaks down on a metaphoric iceberg, and all the information about its customers spills out into the open sea. And when this happens, no one is responsible for confidentiality. ”
Although O'Brien does not claim that we are facing a deliberately planned scenario, similar to the dystopia "1984", however, the direction of technological development does not preclude such a possibility. Especially considering the recent changes in the legislation of many European countries. “The government will always find a way to force companies to open their databases,” he says. “Previously, they had fewer opportunities for this, but now companies will actually act on behalf and in the interests of the state.”
On the whole, the picture described is indeed capable of turning even the most balanced person into a paranoiac, but in any case, the choice is ours. Next time, before connecting another tempting service, ask yourself the question - do you really need these "new features"? And are they worth giving up their privacy for them?
Habrasledopyta. Check how much the web knows about you?
via guria
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/62950/
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