Is 'Owning Your Identity' important to you?
It's such a shame that all the helpful and niche things you can learn via targeted advertising. I've been using UBlock for browser and haven't looked back for the most part. It's a shame that I don't have the funds to support the content creators that I like. On the opposite side, however, just diving into all the stuff they do have on you via searches, location, voice, ect. Can be very creepy looking back. It honestly seems like it is one or the other extreme IMO.
These are very intriguing thoughtful questions. In a world in which we have grown accustomed and comfortable with the speed of instant communications, I've found myself being stopped by the very security set into place in order to prevent invasions into my life, & personal accounts.
I agree, all of our extra layers of security are necessary in order to keep our identities, bank accounts, and MalwareTips members, free from falling victim to theft/or mayhem should our personal spaces (either business or recreational) be breached.
Prior to posting, here, Spawn's words prompted me to revisit an annoyance, & difficulty, I'd run into when I'd tried to log onto my little used Facebook account. Months ago, & from my Smart Phone, I was neither able to access my Facebook account, nor recall my password.
After numerous attempts (3 or possibly 4) I was promptly locked out.
I was given the option to ask (3) Facebook Friends for help, but only two responded. Darn.
Well,
I'd thought to myself,
I don't do anything on facebook other than entering our giveaways plus most of the time I've been using Twitter for that.
Still, this bothered me. Even if I don't really use Facebook often, my account would still be standing around like an abandoned tool shed, no longer used, and forgotten, but not by 'me'.
So, just now, I popped over to Facebook, but even with LastPass, here, on Firefox, I was still faced with
1.) Ask 3 friends for help to log in. ...or wonderfully (and to my surprise) 2.) Log in with your Goggle Account.
Now, I have my Facebook account back.
I'd then decided to go into the LastPass vault, and learned the password assigned was actually a jumble of numbers, letters, and characters, generated, and then saved by LastPass (something I'd forgotten which was done a long time ago).
I see that identity, and anonymity, have their places, and as our usernames here, can be fun & creative while further keeping us secure even when we are very visible!
PS I use uBlock too!
I agree, all of our extra layers of security are necessary in order to keep our identities, bank accounts, and MalwareTips members, free from falling victim to theft/or mayhem should our personal spaces (either business or recreational) be breached.
Prior to posting, here, Spawn's words prompted me to revisit an annoyance, & difficulty, I'd run into when I'd tried to log onto my little used Facebook account. Months ago, & from my Smart Phone, I was neither able to access my Facebook account, nor recall my password.
After numerous attempts (3 or possibly 4) I was promptly locked out.
I was given the option to ask (3) Facebook Friends for help, but only two responded. Darn.
Well,
I'd thought to myself,
I don't do anything on facebook other than entering our giveaways plus most of the time I've been using Twitter for that.
Still, this bothered me. Even if I don't really use Facebook often, my account would still be standing around like an abandoned tool shed, no longer used, and forgotten, but not by 'me'.
So, just now, I popped over to Facebook, but even with LastPass, here, on Firefox, I was still faced with
1.) Ask 3 friends for help to log in. ...or wonderfully (and to my surprise) 2.) Log in with your Goggle Account.
Now, I have my Facebook account back.
I'd then decided to go into the LastPass vault, and learned the password assigned was actually a jumble of numbers, letters, and characters, generated, and then saved by LastPass (something I'd forgotten which was done a long time ago).I see that identity, and anonymity, have their places, and as our usernames here, can be fun & creative while further keeping us secure even when we are very visible!
PS I use uBlock too!
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If we lose our own (unique?) identity then we're all in danger of becoming the same, almost clones if you disregard physical differences. I prefer variety, it makes wider society richer IMO. I do value my identity and try to protect it as best I can.
Imagine that you are a long way from home, you have an accident that leads you to have amnesia, you can't remember where you live, your name, what you do or who you know. That is an example of where you lose your identity, without any clues to your former past you have to start over again, imagine trying to do that later on in life. It would probably be easier to start again at a younger age. You have no idea about your family, whether you have children, whether you have huge debts, or riches. All you know is that the clothes you hopefully can stand up in are yours, probably. If I'd formerly had lots of debts, a bad job, didn't get on with my family etc it might not be a bad idea to start over again, but who am I? Nobody where I am knows me. Even a bad identity might be preferable to no identity.
The above deals with the real world, online it can be a very different case. Stopspying is not the name my parents gave me! There are advantages in having anonymity here, as there can be in the real world. Other parts of my online life require me to be me - using the name 'Stopspying' won't gain me access to my online bank. account.
Imagine that you are a long way from home, you have an accident that leads you to have amnesia, you can't remember where you live, your name, what you do or who you know. That is an example of where you lose your identity, without any clues to your former past you have to start over again, imagine trying to do that later on in life. It would probably be easier to start again at a younger age. You have no idea about your family, whether you have children, whether you have huge debts, or riches. All you know is that the clothes you hopefully can stand up in are yours, probably. If I'd formerly had lots of debts, a bad job, didn't get on with my family etc it might not be a bad idea to start over again, but who am I? Nobody where I am knows me. Even a bad identity might be preferable to no identity.
The above deals with the real world, online it can be a very different case. Stopspying is not the name my parents gave me! There are advantages in having anonymity here, as there can be in the real world. Other parts of my online life require me to be me - using the name 'Stopspying' won't gain me access to my online bank. account.
By being online, people automatically give up some of theirs privacy. Even when ISP can see only, that users have VPN, it makes them traceable.
It is about finding the right balance, that you feel comfortable with. I use the real name, I block obvious trackers, but I do not mind targeted ADs.
I for one would not mind using personal ID to login to social services to avoid trolls and scammers. I sent my ID to FB to get verified badge, but I am not a public figure. Thus the reason I use the same username all over the internet. Whatever I post online I do not mind telling anyone face to face.
Of course there are times, when I want to keep my actions private. Not that they would be illegal, but people were fired or detested for less.
So in a sense, people, who want some privacy, live double lives. One public and one private, some more than one. It is sort of a necessity.
Separate concepts.
Anonymity I'd define as the absence of any identifying information about an individual.
Privacy I'd definite as the ability to control access to anything relating to an individual; whether that be themselves physically, the actions they perform, or any information relating to them.
The issue with anonymity is what classifies as identifying information is rather ambiguous.
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