Managing the New Digital You

How to manage your accounts and yourself, in order to socialize and surf safely on the internet.

How Safe Are You?Most people who utilize the internet today, probably think that they are able to do so while still

maintaining their privacy. So lets take a quick little test to see if you are at risk:

1. Do you use the internet for any of the following: A. Posting on social media sites, blogging, etc. B. Web browsing, shopping, newsfeeds, etc. C. Emails/texts only D. All of the above

2. You feel safe posting on the internet because:

A. You have added proper privacy settings to your accounts

B. Most of your posts are innocent in nature

C. You trust others to not post/repost things about you

D. All of the above

3. Do you think your privacy is protected because:

A. My computer has spywareB. I only use secured sitesC. Laws protect your right to privacy D. All of the above

4. You feel safe communicating through emails and texts because:

A. I do not use these forums to conduct any illegal activity.

B. My email site is able to protect me because it’s a secured site.

C. I only email and text friends and family.D. All of the above.

How Did You Do?

FACTS• Companies today utilize your time on the internet to gather and accumulate information

about you so they can sell it to businesses.• Companies can extract data from your smartphone to get personal information such as;

your email, where you live, your contact list and your phone number.• Even if you are using a ‘secured site’, old operating systems can have ‘leaks’ through which

your information will find its way around.• Privacy settings do not provide you with absolute privacy; Facebook and other social media

sites sell your information for profit.• Once you post something on the Internet, it becomes a permanent fixture.• Your own personal practices, may be making it easier for you to become a target.

If you were able to find a suitable answer to any of the questions on the previous tile, then chances are you are at risk of being; scraped, mined, gathered and raked for your

data. But the good news is you are not alone.

Through social media Surfing the internet

Online shopping

Online gaming

Texting

EmailsWork

Blogging

Image postingApps

Dating sites

Banking

Data is mined from the things we doonline as part of our normal routine.

Music

What Information Are They Getting?

• Your location• Your address• Your income/what you do for work• Places you like to shop• Your friends/family• Your image/photo• Your name• Your phone number• Your email address• Your habits/hobbies• Your SSN• Your banking and medical information• Your political/religious affiliations…..

Where Is My Info Going? As mentioned earlier, most companies want your information so they can make you a better, more frequent consumer

of products. Media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., sell your data to business and they in turn use this information to determine your interests, your lifestyle and your partialities to assist with product/ad placement.

Your work: information is used by potential employers to identify the type of individual you are external from your resume.

Businesses gather your information to determine if you have any impending ‘life events’; if you are getting married, graduating, have a birthday coming….people want to know.

The NSA (National Security Agency) uses it for surveillance; your information can be used to track you, where you have been and where you are going.

The NSA also wants to know what you look like, in as many different ways as is possible.

Netflix and iTunes want to know your music and movie/TV preferences to help them know what you like so they can inform you of potential matches.

Your communications let others know who is in your network; your friends, family and even, friends of friends of friends.

Thieves want to gain access to your accounts, your personal facts and your identity.

Why are companies/people allowed to‘steal’ my information?

First of all, we need to acknowledge that a majority of information we willingly place onto the Internet, is not stolen, because well….we put it there. Regardless of your intention, the Internet as a whole is not set up to protect you, its there to gather and share information; some of that information, just happens to be yours.

• Data mining is part of our nation’s defense plan. Some information is used to ‘protect’ us.

• People assume they are safe because they are using ‘reliable’ sites on line that indicate that they are a ‘secure’; the reality is that many sites use dated systems that can’t protect you from information leaks.

• Another reason companies are able to steal your information is because people, as a whole, do not do enough as consumers of the Internet product to protect themselves from theft.

• Currently there are no laws that prohibit the practice of data mining in the USA.

• Your right to privacy, is really now your responsibility for privacy.

So…lets explore a few things we can do to protect ourselves…..from…..ourselves.

Social MediaMost of us use it every day to communicate with others….but what are we really saying

and who are we saying it to?

First rule when posting on the Internet….remember your ‘extended’ audience

Not just your friends/family have access to your posts/information.

What/who is my extended or ‘invisible audience?

Along comes your friend,

who comments on the picture,

Blah Blah Blah

The comment and the picture now goes out to her group of friends

One of her ‘friends’ likes the comment, sending the image to her group of friends.

Say you post on Facebook, a photo of yourself on

vacation

And so on……

Until this guy gets it; and he now knows your name, your address and that you are away on vacation.

Your invisible audience can be a lot of other people who aren’t one of your ‘friends’….like, your boss

No not this boss…

This boss….

And he is less than amused that your ‘illness’ is really an extended weekend at the beach

So….before you post anything…..

Why Be So Secretive?Its not about keeping secrets, its acknowledging that the information you give out freely may seem to be innocent comments and pictures at first, but they can easily be taken out of context and/or used by someone in a way you did

not intend.Jenny is having a party?

Why wasn’t I invited?

Phat party Saturday at Jenny’s house!

Did she just call me fat?

I thought we couldn’t hang out Saturday because she was going to see her mom?

I hate it when people use outdated slang!

Mary sure does party a lot.

Simple Practice of Posting Success

The first thing people need to do when posting online is to stop and consider what it is they are about to post and the potential current and future implications of that

post.• Will it offend anyone? • Will it effect my cultural currency? (How will people view my online personality? This

includes: employers, family, groups, co-workers and the invisible audience of potentially millions of viewers)

• Do I really want this photo/text to be online forever?• Will this post be taken in the right context? (not everyone reads the same information,

the same way)

• Am I posting out of emotion? (emotions change, but posts are forever)

• What does this post/image say about me as a person?• What do the posts my family and friends, say about me as a person?• Will my post allow someone else to exploit me? (through theft or slander)

Be your own best privacy settingThe fact is, you have ultimate control over what others can access, its up to you to take the proper

precautions to ensure you’re own online safety.

Have open discussions with friends and family who use social media sites. Talk about what you are comfortable and not comfortable with posting online. Make certain they follow the don’t tag/don’t

post rule, without checking in first. Offer the same safeguard to them in return.

Here are a few more recommendations on things you should avoid posting online:

• Birthdates of friends and family- Why give away free data that helps thieves to know you better and/or steal your identity?• Your home address- Again, free personal information that can be used for a variety of reasons.• Your current location-People often give away their location when ‘tagging’ in at certain spots, this will only attract thieves Risky photos

of yourself- Sure you are adorable when you are drunk standing in a fountain, but your boss might not think so, or a potential employer. Remember, you are creating an image of yourself for others to see, make it a good one.

• Pictures of children- Photos often get passed around on the internet without thought. Posting pictures of children can present them as potential targets for those who might do them harm

• If you are going away for vacation/event- this tells thieves the best time to strike• The layout of your home- This can also make you a bigger target for theft, people can see not only what you own, but the best way into

your home• Complaints about work/boss- Yes, your boss is probably a jerk but don’t let him know you think that, unless you want another job.• Political or religious preference- Good advice at a party as well. Hot topics online create a lot of attention and can result in strong

debate, not always having a positive affect. • Profanity- Sure people do it all the time, but words vanish…when you post it, you make your language immortal and they become a

reflection of you.

Privacy SettingsIf you are going to use social media, aside from self monitoring, using privacy settings can help you to narrow your invisible audience (people you don’t know, who have access to your page)

Remember that the messaging systems on social media, can also be scraped for information.

Here are a few links to get you started on your way:

• http://www.facebook.com/help/445588775451827• https://twitter.com/privacy• http://www.techlicious.com/guide/the-guide-to-facebook-privacy-settings-2013/• http://www.cio.com/article/2413757/social-media/5-linkedin-privacy-settings-you-need-to-

know.html• http://www.ehow.com/how_2303697_change-settings-myspace.html

Just remember that these settings will not provide 100% protection; in the world of social media, there is no such thing!!!

Other Ways We Can Protect OurselvesWe also provide a lot of free information and access while using the Internet for other aspects of our lives. Whether its; banking, surfing, shopping or sending an email to a

friend, without protection, our personal information is at risk of being stolen.

We are our biggest information‘ leak’

How many of us: Use the same user names and passwords on multiple accounts? Give intuitive answers to security questions such as; What is your mothers

maiden name? In what city were you born? (Easy information to find online)

Have weak passwords? (123456 or birth dates) Don’t change your passwords frequently? (or at all) Click on email links even if you’re not certain of the content of the link? Keep critical information on your computer without protecting it? Trust sites to maintain/hold personal information? (Online storage)

All of these practices provide an open door for those wishing to get personal information from you. Whether they are trying to sell you something or take something; we often leave a key out to make it easy for them to come right

in.

Our personal habits are what typically make us most at risk

Encrypting Your Life

When we first start talking about encryption, people might instantly start thinking of espionage, as in:

What do I have that’s worth stealing? Your personal identity and your privacy are the biggest thing you have to lose.

For this reason it is important to:

Encrypt the data you store on your computer Encrypt your smart phone data Encrypt your online data storage/iCloud Encrypt your data transmissions Encrypt your browser Encrypt your email

First thing to remember, encryption is a two way street

In order for your encryptions to work, you need the receiver/sender to also be using these techniques. How encryption works:

How to Encrypt Your Digital Life

Encrypting your hard drive:

These products help to keep the data you store on your computer safe.

• FileVault-– http://filevaultusa.com

• BitLocker– http

://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/bitlocker

Encrypting your Smartphone:

Unfortunately there are limited programs to Encrypt smartphones, but here are some sites to help you make it harder for others to steal your information.

• http://www.wired.com/2013/10/keep-your-smartphone-locked/

• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-encrypt-data-on-your-smartphone/

Saphos is an App for your Android Phone that can assist you in protection-• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id

=com.sophos.smsec&hl=en_GB

Encryption Part Deux Encrypt the information on your cloud:

Many people forget about the data they have stored in data banks like the iCloud. This program will help to protect that information.

• Spider Oak– https://spideroak.com

Encrypt your texts and messages:

Texts and the messages you send through messaging systems on your computer, can also be scraped. Protect your right to chat with these links.

TEXTING:iPhone- • Silent Circle -https://silentcircle.com• Wickr -https://www.mywickr.com

Android-• Text Secure-https://securityinabox.org/en/textsecure_main

MESSAGING:Macs – • Aduim -https://adium.im

Windows-• Pidgin -http://pidgin.im

Encrypting Emails

Emails have replaced a majority of our written correspondence (with the exception of texts). They also can contain a lot of private information that we might not wish to share openly.Here are some of the encryption tools that can be used to secure your emails:

• GPG Tools- https://gpgtools.org

• Enigmail- https://www.enigmail.net/home/index.php

• GNU Privacy Guards- https://www.gnupg.org

To protect Emails on your Smartphone:

• Mailvelope- https://mailvelope.com

Key Things to Remember!If you are going to post things on the internet, remember that they have sustainability and searchability: meaning that they are going to be there for a very long time and people can find it if they look.

There are tools available to help you to protect yourself; use them and make sure the people you are corresponding with, use them too.

Be part of your own defense: Talk to friends and family, let them know what you do not want posted in open forums. Explain the risk and ask that they respect your choice to keep some things private.

Conduct yourself as you wish to be viewed by a variety of people; friendly, professional and otherwise.

There is no such thing as absolute privacy when using the internet. Everyday new products are being developed to grab up your information. Your best protection is being an active part in your own security.

Today’s Information Was Stolen From

Site Reference:

• http://www.postplanner.com/9-things-you-should-never-share-on-facebook/

• http://www.citifmonline.com/2014/04/02/5-things-you-should-never-post-on-facebook/

• http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-data-mining-but-were-afraid-to-ask/255388/

• http://blog.sgrouples.com/delete-your-private-information-people-search-databases/

• http://www.websitedatascraping.com

• http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/digital-strategies/e-media-tidbits/102589/how-to-scrape-websites-for-data-without-programming-skills/

• http://www.propublica.org/article/privacy-tools-encrypt-what-you-can

• http://journalistsresource.org/skills/research/chat-peter-singer-brookings-cybersecurity-media?utm_source=JR-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JR-email