March 25th, 2020
In the digital world, free isn’t free. It may appear to be. You probably didn’t pay anyone for your email address. The invitation you sent to a dozen friends didn’t cost you a dime. Those terrifying rogue-wave videos you watched when you couldn’t sleep? The open Wifi signal at the coffee shop? No fees, but not without a price.
Just about every service you engage online comes at… Continue reading >
March 13th, 2020
Following are seven simple steps you can take to improve your digital security. Protecting yourself can seem impossibly complicated. It doesn’t have to be. These are steps you can take today to defend your privacy and improve your security. They’re simple and effective. Let’s go.
1) Get off social media. The less you “share,” the more secure you’ll be. Even private accounts aren’t really private: What’s stopping a follower from taking a screen shot… Continue reading >
March 3rd, 2020
In an analog world, the personal address book was gold. They were curated, edited and sprinkled with exclusive numbers that weren’t widely available. Contacts who gave you their unlisted numbers gave you, by extension, their trust. Close your address book and put it away, and no one could read it.
That was then. A digital address book doesn’t reside safely in a desk drawer. It’s in your phone, labeled “Contacts” and as vulnerable to… Continue reading >
February 26th, 2020
They’re tracking you. Right now. Everywhere you go, your movements and your online purchases and meanderings are likely being recorded and stored in the cloud. Big Tech is watching. Think you’ve slipped their gaze by turned off location-based services for Facebook or other main apps or websites? It’s not as simple as that. They’re tracking you. Here’s the lowdown on tracking and some tips to reduce your exposure.
Retailers Are Building a Digital… Continue reading >
January 28th, 2020
If you’re new to password managers, an introduction is in order. A password manager is an application that you use to automatically generate unique passwords for each of your accounts. You provide security for all of these passwords by entering a single master password into the privacy manager itself.
Why are password managers useful? Think of all the apps, online stores, banks, social media accounts you regularly use. There are a lot, right? Each… Continue reading >
December 24th, 2019
Sobering words from the New York Times on tracking you: “Now, as the decade ends, tens of millions of Americans, including many children, find themselves carrying spies in their pockets during the day and leaving them beside their beds at night — even though the corporations that control their data are far less accountable than the government would be.” If that doesn’t get you thinking about opting out, it should.
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December 18th, 2019
Privacy Parent’s founder has taken to the radio recently to emphasize the importance of protecting your family’s digital privacy and security. “Information is power,” he told WKIP’s Uncle Mike. “And once you can collect information and create profiles of people, it’s easy to serve them ads, manipulate them, whatever it might be.” Click here to listen to that interview and here for a conversation with Tom Sipos, host of Hudson Valley Focus. “We’re the Guinea… Continue reading >
December 16th, 2019
It’s time to start thinking of products like Roku as two-way devices that provide services in exchange for information. Switch on your Roku Ultra and it’s watching you and your family watch it. Understanding the privacy agreements from entertainment services like Roku can help you better understand the technology and enhance your family’s private security.
What Is Roku?
Roku makes devices and services that allow you to watch internet content… Continue reading >
December 5th, 2019
Private companies are tracking your every online move and using that data to rate your behavior as a consumer. It’s valuable information, and it’s now available for you to see. As explained in this recent piece in the New York Times, you can request your file—the records that determine your secret consumer score—and find out just what these companies know about you. Fair warning: They know a lot. And if you want to try to shake… Continue reading >
December 2nd, 2019
If you don’t like the notion of faceless companies gathering information about you and your children for the benefit of their advertising strategies, you can opt out of their tracking efforts. Your data is yours. It isn’t always easy to do, but if digital privacy concerns you, opting out is an important step.
As a recent report from the Washington Post put it, “data brokers are building profiles about you, using… Continue reading >