We really are being spied on!!!

[Joe Cub Cadet]

Apparently this site does it also. After reading this thread, I read the one about the dog wandering off to die. Look at the ad that tractorbynet served me up right on the same page of the lost dog thread:

 

[blee03]

Ya I have smart TV’s, iPhones, Roku’s etc but never will have Alexa or smart locks.

America is slowly becoming China. There are a few documentaries on China about this, they are scary to say the least.

In China they have a social score for each citizen based off of all the data they’ve collected for that person. It ties into EVERYTHING / EVERY SERVICE A person uses.. even the toilet paper dispenser at the public bathroom (do some research)

 

[California]

...While the anti-vaxers on Facebook are in a panic about Bill Gates including a microchip that would track you, in the vaccine.

No need for that! Any government agency can just ask Google, Facebook, Twitter, T-Mobile etc to hand over what they have collected over many years, and get a far broader profile.

 

[hube2]

My full time job is working at an internet marketing company........ Yep, we're some of the folks that use this data to target ads. Please do not blame me, we only take advantage of the tools available and because people do not it off.

But things are changing and this is becoming a lot harder because device and application developers are starting to take user privacy more seriously, many devices like apple phones and browsers now disable this type of tracking by default and you have to turn in on, thus "Opting In"

You might say that I know how much data can be harvested if you do not take precautions.

1) When you are on the web use a browser that does not allow tracking by default = Firefox on android phones and PCs = Safari on any apple devices
2) Even with the above add browser extensions like Privacy Badger and NoScript, (these 2 are for FireFox) don't know if there are similar products for Safari
3) Never, never use Chrome if you do not want to be tracked. Anything google related is going to be a problem.
4) On your phone disable all permissions in all apps unless you are actually using them and they need it. I don't event allow google maps to see my location unless I'm actually using it to get directions.

No, I do not have anything like Alexa in my house and I never will. If you have one and you can't give it up, try turning it off unless you really need to use it. Anything that you can talk to IS listening to you as long as it's on.

I also have "Assistants" that can listen disabled on all phones. No, I don't need to talk to my phone, or my stove, refrigerator, washer or my freakin sink.

It is also why I do not use facebook or any other social site... at least not anonymously. I have accounts on all of them. None of them are tied to me personally and none of them are connected to each other and I also disable all tracking when I have to use them. My wife has a facebook account and I hate it, but I have her computer and phone set up so that she cannot be tracked beyond facebook.

On a plus side, Google just announced that it will be ending it's user specific tracking as well as ending it's cross device/platform tracking. They are starting to phase this out now because there are several law suites in the works is various countries as well as the fact that many countries are in the process of adopting laws that will make it illegal the way the EU already did. It also has something to do with the fact that many people are now becoming aware of how not private their lives have become and are finding ways to stop the snooping, not to mention that all major browsers are now blocking this tracking by default, that is except for Chrome.

 

[SylvainG]

My own personal tips as a guy in the field for a long time:

1. If you're worried about being spied on, the first order of business is to stop using a cell phone. What they know about your travel/shopping/life habits is creepy, even without any data from your apps. Even without real or fictional ways they might be using your camera and microphone. They always know to a few feet exactly where you are.
2. Delete facebook & gmail, use protonmail.
3. Never tie logins to one site, e.g. an RSS news service, to accounts of another, such as gmail. (i.e. "log in with gmail" is evil).
4. Use a VPN. If you're not using a VPN, at least make sure your DNS server isn't google's, but your ISP will still know what you're visiting unless you use a VPN.
5. Alexa is a great tool if you need to help a blind person. I would never have one in my home otherwise.
6. Microsoft isn't innocent. They are collecting data and trying to rope your every activity and system configuration into their ID services. Use open source where possible, and when configuring a new windows machine, keep it off the network until it's "configured" to avoid getting roped into things like Microsoft LIVE, etc. Consider a Linux based computer.
7. Not sure what to say about Apple, never used 'em, never will. Margins are just too high.
8. Every picture you post can and will become machine learning (ML) fodder, and unless you're paying for a private service, the terms of service let the service provider use the photo as they see fit, i.e. that picture of you and your dog could become advertising.
9. Somewhere someone is running ML that could easily identify me from this post by comparing it with other things I have written.
10. TBN knows a lot about us, and no doubt someone is working hard trying to monetize that. I don't have a solution for that.

Have a nice, insecure day!

If you want to add another level of anonymity, for your VPN, find one that you can pay through gift card that you bought with cash (Private Internat Access allows that). Also, redirect your DNS traffic through your VPN and not your provider. This might break some services your provider is offering you (like On Demand TV).

 

[JimR]

Wednesday night, my wife and I are watching a show on Discovery called the Foods that Built America. During a part about Kellogg's and how they invented Granola and then Flake cereal, I told my wife that it would be funny if I started getting adds on FB about Kellogg's cereal. Neither of us have bought or eaten cereal in decades. I forgot about it yesterday, but I was only on the computer for a little bit. This morning, I'm on FB and all of a sudden, a HUGE add appears for Kellogg's Raisin Bran Toasted Oats cereal!!!!! I just about fell out of my seat and I had to get my wife over to see it for herself.

We have Alexa. She is spying on us!!!!!

Shut off your location on your phone. They know when you visit a store.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Ha. Spies always tell the truth. It’s in the spy rule book.

MoKelly

HA! That's a good one.

 

[two_bit_score]

I have yet to find a way to completely deactivate the mic on my iphone and computer when I'm not specifically using it. I know this would stop me from saying "hey Siri..." and getting an answer, but that's a small price to pay. There is a spot in the "settings" that supposedly allows you to control various apps access to the microphone, but I'm not sure it stops the constant monitoring: for instance, there is no setting to adjust that will make the phone not respond to "hey Siri", so you know it's listening all the time anyway.

I disabled Siri and Siri does not respond no matter how often I say "Hey, Siri".

 

[MoKelly]

I disabled Siri and Siri does not respond no matter how often I say "Hey, Siri".

You disabled Siri from responding.

But, are you 1000% sure the mic is off?

How would you know?

MoKelly

 

[Dftodd]

Just mentioned to my wife we needed to get lotto tickets.

Then went onto a forum and the advertisement was for the state lotto

Wished there was a way to shut that feature off on my phone.