Protecting your online privacy is important, and data collection by companies and government agencies is highly concerning to many of us
Share on X

Luckily, the internet is full of free tools that will help you secure your online privacy without spending a penny. While you should avoid free versions of some essential privacy tools like VPNs (virtual private networks), as these could potentially log and sell your data, in this article we look at the various online privacy tools you can safely use for free.

While traditional browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are sufficient for most users, those who are especially concerned about online privacy will want to consider using browsers with built-in security features
Share on X

Best free browsers for online privacy

While traditional browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are sufficient for most users, those who are especially concerned about online privacy will want to consider using browsers with built-in security features

• Tor Browser. The Tor Browser is an essential cybersecurity tool for maximum privacy when browsing the web. It routes all your traffic through TOR (The Onion Router), a network of servers that make web traffic almost impossible to trace. While Tor is the most secure browser, the major drawback of it is that it can make browsing the web painfully slow. As such, most users limit their usage of TOR to only when they want maximum protection.
• Avast Secure Browser. Although most famous as an antivirus software provider, Avast has broadened its reach to also offer a secure web browser too. The Avast Secure Browser is their answer to issues surrounding not just keylogging and data tracking, but also helping users block out ads during browsing and watching videos online. The browser’s customisable, letting users toggle when to block ads – and how intensively – when to safeguard bank details being typed in, and so on. Avast also claims that their browser doesn’t sacrifice speed for safety.

it is a good idea to use security-focused operating systems when traveling abroad in a country with internet restrictions
Share on X

Best free operating systems for online privacy

While switching from Windows or Mac to an entirely new operating system for online privacy may seem like overkill, it is still a good idea to consider using security-focused operating systems in certain situations – like when traveling abroad in a country with internet restrictions.

• Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System) is a Linux Debian-based operating system that routes all connections through the TOR network. When using Tails there is no risk of any internet activity ever bypassing TOR, ensuring full online privacy. It also functions as a live operating system, meaning that you can run it straight from a USB-stick or a DVD – a good thing to factor in if hard drive hogging operating systems are a bugbear of yours.
• Qubes is a free Linux-based operating system that separates all of your programs into virtual machine compartments. This means that if your ‘personal’ virtual machine is compromised by malware, for example, your ‘professional’ virtual machine will still be safe. And of course, keeping professional and personal computing separate in this way is often good to ensure no crossover of sensitive data, passwords or company files from one area of your digital life to the other. Qubes can also run together with Whonix, an OS that uses TOR to secure all network connections.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are handy privacy and cybersecurity tools
Share on X

Best free data leak tools for online privacy

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are one of the most important privacy and cybersecurity tools – but they are not all alike. There are two major types of data leak that can expose your internet activity even from behind a VPN, which are WebRTC leaks and DNS leaks. Luckily, these two tools below let you easily check if you are vulnerable.

• WebRTC leak tools. HMA!’s free WebRTC leak test lets you discover if you are vulnerable to having your IP address leaked through WebRTC in just a matter of seconds. The test also gives you instructions on how to prevent WebRTC leaks if you are vulnerable.
• DNS leak tools. Use the accompanying free DNS leak test to check if your DNS (Domain Name Server) requests are being leaked by your browser, and allowing your internet service provider to see your web activity even from behind your VPN.

While Google is by far the most popular search engine, there are some major privacy concerns associated with it
Share on X

Best free search engines for online privacy

While Google is by far the most popular search engine, there are some major privacy concerns associated with it. Google does not hide the fact that it makes most of its money by collecting data about its users and allowing advertisers to target their ads using this information. If you are concerned about having your search history and other data collected, consider switching to a more private option.

• DuckDuckGo is a privacy-first search engine. It does not track your search history or allow targeted advertising, allowing you to keep your online activity private from marketers.
• StartPage uses Google’s search algorithm – allowing for great search results – but unlike Google, does not collect personal data or filter search results based on its idea of what you would like to see.

Common and easy-to-guess passwords are a serious security risk
Share on X

Best free password tools for online privacy

Common and easy-to-guess passwords are a serious security risk. They make it easy for any cybercriminal to gain access to your accounts and expose your data – if not steal your money, too. Creating and remembering secure passwords is hard, but luckily there are many tools available to take the stress away from remembering passwords.

• Although it also has a premium version, users can get a decent amount of cost-free protection out of LastPass when it comes to storing and recalling passwords. Nowadays we are expected to remember more login credentials for more websites and services than ever — yet LastPass collates those into one secure service. Notably, the free version of LastPass still enables users to implement two-factor authentication, as well as having a password generator that removes the potential for forgetfulness, human error or simply being unable to think up an uncrackable password on your own.

• Have I been pwned. Many people reuse their passwords across multiple sites, which is convenient but also a serious security risk. Have I been pwned is a site which lets you enter your email address and then see if sites you have signed up to with that email have been compromised, exposing your login details. If any results come up, you will know that it is high time to change the rest of your passwords.

Many online users believe that submitting their safety to free tools alone will offer them less protection than paid solutions and tools
Share on X

Should you pay for online protection?

It’s the age-old question – many online users believe that submitting their safety to free tools alone will offer them less protection than paid solutions and tools.

Yet online security is an issue that is always shifting, and relying on the old adage of getting what you pay for isn’t always the best approach. Often, free tools such as those discussed will have everything you need to stay safe in whatever corner of the web you choose.

There are frequently premium options if you want to bump up the support and peace of mind, but there’s no reason to feel as though throwing money at the problem is all that’s required to solve it – there are some fantastic cost-free solutions out there for every netizen today.

The post Best Free Tools for Online Privacy appeared first on Tech Trends.

“Mozilla has taken advantage of the Quest’s higher performance capabilities to deliver the best VR web browsing experience to date,” says Janice Von Itter, Staff Program Manager at Mozilla.

This follows from the release of the Firefox Reality browser for other 6DoF (Six Degrees of Freedom) headsets including the HTC Vive Focus Plus and Lenovo Mirage.

Firefox Reality is available in 10 different languages, including Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, with more on the way
Share on X

Firefox Reality is available in 10 different languages, including Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, with more on the way. Voice search is also enabled to make browsing faster and easier.

Voice search is also enabled to make browsing faster and easier
Share on X

Whether you’re watching immersive video or meeting up with friends in Mozilla Hubs, Firefox Reality takes advantage of the Oculus Quest’s boost in performance and capabilities to deliver the best VR web browsing experience.

You can now try the new featured content on the FxR home page or build your own to see what you can do in the next generation of standalone virtual reality headsets.

Firefox Reality takes advantage of the Oculus Quest’s boost in performance to deliver the best VR web browsing experience
Share on X

Like all Firefox browser products, Firefox Reality is available for free and users can get it now from the Oculus Quest store. In the coming months Firefox will also be rolling out support for the nearly VR-ready WebXR specification, multi-window browsing, bookmarks sync, additional language support and other exciting new features.

Like all Firefox browser products, Firefox Reality is available for free
Share on X

Privacy Please

Enhanced Tracking Protection on the Firefox Reality browser automatically blocks sites from tracking you, and the icing on the cake is that all these protections work unobtrusively in the background and actually make the browsing experience faster.

“To protect our users from the pervasive tracking and collection of personal data by ad networks and tech companies, Firefox Reality has Enhanced Tracking Protection enabled by default. We strongly believe privacy shouldn’t be relegated to optional settings,” says Von Itter.

This is part of a broader move by the company to make all of its browser versions much more privacy (and user) friendly and set a new standard for the industry where it come to protecting our data
Share on X

“What if I told you that on nearly every single website you visit, data about you was transmitted to dozens or even hundreds of companies, all so that the website could earn an additional $0.00008 per ad!” asks Peter Dolanjski. Product Lead, Privacy & Security at Firefox, who says their research has shown that Firefox users are seeking out privacy protection, particularly through the use of Firefox’s Private Browsing mode. In fact, nearly 25% of web page loads in Firefox take place in a Private Browsing window. The good news for these users is that Firefox’s Private Browsing mode has long put users first by blocking tracking. Yet privacy features such as Chrome’s Incognito mode do not actually prevent third-party tracking, and a recent study found that users don’t understand this and think their data is being protected, when it is, in fact, anything but.

The hope is that by setting a new standard they will force the tech industry at large to also change and put the user’s interest first
Share on X

This approach will not come as a surprise to anybody familiar with Mozilla. A while back Tech Trends covered a story about The Glass Room – Mozilla’s Black Mirror-like installation in London – which used a range of creative installations to force users to confront their complex relationship wth data, privacy and identity, and to open their eyes to how closely the companies they interact with are monitoring their every move.

The burden of due diligence, according to the Mozilla ethos, needs to shift from the consumers to the companies
Share on X

The burden of due diligence, according to the Mozilla ethos, needs to shift from the consumers to the companies whereby the complexity of privacy settings shouldn’t be placed on users to figure out. The approach taken by Firefox is beautifully simple: align your product with customer expectations rather than the other way around. They are now rolling out enhanced tracking protection on the browser, so that new and existing Firefox users will have much stronger privacy protection on their default settings from the moment they install. The hope is that by setting a new standard they will force the tech industry at large to also change and put the user’s interest first, because, as they put it, “consumers deserve better.”

After Cambridge Analytica and other debacles over recent months and years, I don’t think many people can disagree with that.

Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies, individuals and brands in effectively leveraging existing and emerging technologies in their business strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Firefox Reality Launches on the Oculus Quest appeared first on Tech Trends.

We are at a crossroads where we’ll need to decide if the Internet is written in pencil or ink.

There has – quite rightfully – been a lot of discussion recently around the question of how our data is collected, shared, and used. Who owns data, and what do those ownership rights actually entail? The new GDPR regulations are a brave attempt to start framing some of these issues in legislation, and the landmark “Right to be Forgotten” case which Google has just lost raises the question of how to balance an individual’s right to privacy with the public’s right to know about their activities, where it might – rightfully – inform and impact their decision on whether or not to engage with said individual.

There has been a lot of discussion recently around the question of how our data is collected, shared, and used
Share on X

As a technology journalist I am of course deeply interested in these questions, but don’t pretend to have all the answers – I honestly don’t think anyone does at this stage.

As an individual, however, I often think about how the activities I engage in through various platforms are always going to be available for anybody to find and use. I therefore make it a policy that whenever I post something, it is essentially public, no matter what the settings might be telling you. Cambridge Analytica has taught us that.

How do we balance an individual’s right to privacy with the public’s right to know about their activities, where it might rightfully inform and impact their decision on whether or not to engage with them?
Share on X

And while it might well be possible to ask search engines to remove some results, I am dubious about both the effectiveness and the moral justification for those actions. I enjoy the fact that politicians’ old tweets come back to haunt them when they blatantly contradict themselves, and although it might not change the mind of a Trump supporter to see the lies in black and white, the truth, as Fox Mulder would say, is still out there. If we give that up, then we are well and truly in a 1984 scenario of daily news editing.

I rather enjoy the fact that politicians’ old tweets come back to haunt them when they blatantly contradict themselves
Share on X

One recent thing that brought all those issues home for me was a sad and personal story which I’ve decided to share, as I believe it falls under the category of “people’s right to know.”

I am the mother of three furry ginger babies, which is to say I have a small pack of red Staffordshire Bull Terrier cuties. Watson, Missy (short for Mrs Hudson) and Holmes. Collectively they’re known as the Red-Headed League, and if you fail to see the Conan-Doyle references by now, I give up.

I make it a policy that whenever I post something, it is essentially public, no matter what the settings might be telling you. Cambridge Analytica has taught us that
Share on X

Watson and Missy bred, as our intention was to keep one of the puppies from the litter (Holmes) and after exhaustive vetting we found what I thought were wonderful homes for all the remaining pups, 3 girls and one other boy.

While it might well be possible to ask search engines to remove some results, I am dubious about both the effectiveness and the moral justification for those actions
Share on X

That boy – named Mycroft Conan Fudge in his KC registration – went to a person called Nickola Engel, who has a business as a dog behaviourist and trainer called Trainer McPhee.

This so-called dog trainer couldn’t cope with a puppy, and had him put down at the age of five months
Share on X

You can read the full story about what happened to the puppy known as Fudge here. I also wrote a separate article clarifying what I know about the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed, my experience of training them, and countering the ill-informed misconception that people like Nickola Engel advocate that a firm stance and discipline equals cruelty.

There's an ill-informed preconception that discipline equals cruelty, when the opposite is actually true
Share on X

Fudge socializing with strangers – clearly a menace to society

I of course got a lot of trolling from people who clearly didn’t bother to read it, saying that I advocated “beating dogs into submission” and I just have to laugh. If they’d ever been to my house they could see how collectively soft and sociable our human/doggy pack is, but I also know that this is only possible because they are well trained, and because we have conditioned them out of their natural instinct, which comes from being a fighting dog breed, to bully other dogs.

If left unchecked, bullying behaviour can get out of hand, but it is entirely trainable with the right attitude and patience
Share on X

This is the puppy which, according to his owner and trainer, didn’t like to be touched and “was not an affectionate dog”

To sum it up, however, this so-called dog trainer couldn’t cope with the puppy, and had him put down at the age of five months. Below, in her own words, is what happened. She posted this on her own website, but since removed it, as she’s removed all the lovely videos of Fudge playing happily with her son from her Trainer Mcphee and Children and Dogs Safety Facebook pages and requested that the Medium post where I made it available be removed, which they complied with. However, given the fact that Nickola Engel claims on her website that she is able to help owners with precisely the behavioural issues for which she saw fit to kill this puppy, I believe that this information is in the public interest. Whether or not someone chooses to entrust her with their puppy after reading the facts of my story is entirely up to them, but at least they will have those facts at their disposal, which is more than I had when I was doing my background research on the prospective owners.

This is the video I was sent by Nickola Engel – Trainer McPhee as definitive proof of his hopeless aggressive tendencies. While this sort of behaviour is certainly undesirable, it is something that all staffy puppies I have ever come across have exhibited to some degree, it’s the sort of pushy bullying play which their fighting dog breeding makes them prone to. The video below shows how the young pups were always scrapping with each other in a similar way. As they get older, you discourage that sort of behaviour consistently to counter their natural tendencies, and now none of my dogs do this any more. If left unchecked, however, then it will indeed escalate, as it has in in Fudge’s case due to lack of proper training.

For me, little Mycroft will always be an honorary member of The Red-Headed League. And I, at least, will remember him forever
Share on X

Mycroft Conan Fudge – put down at five months of age

If you have been moved by this story, and whatever your opinion about dog training methods may be, if you love animals and feel compassionate towards them (and their humans) I would urge you to support the wonderful work that charities such as StreetVet and NISBTR.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Online Data and the Right to be Remembered appeared first on Tech Trends.