Google Fights Back

Re:Google Fights Back by marssaxman on Wednesday May 08, 2019 @02:23PM (#19861533)

This has always seemed pretty straightforward to me, so I simply don't store things that need to stay private on other people's machines. If I want to keep it private then I keep it to myself, and that's that. If I put it out into the world, I assume it's out there to be seen, and it doesn't really matter what privacy guarantees people claim to make today because policies may always change tomorrow.

I do make one exception to this, in that I have a long-standing business arrangement with a company that manages my mail and web server, but I am paying them for a specific service which they have been completely reliable about providing, so I feel generally comfortable with that.

I feel badly for people who haven't had the advantage of growing up with all this stuff and are therefore having to learn these lessons the hard way. Lots of painful experiences out there.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Google Fights Back by glenneroo on Wednesday May 08, 2019 @03:44PM (#19862188)

I have a feeling such privacy-conscious decisions will eventually have consequences, akin to the social-ranking systems from that episode of Black Mirror, or in China[0], where in both instances various forms of punishment are dealt to those not contributing "positive" data to the cloud.

It seems like there aren't very many people who really care about privacy... and they would be easy to single out and punish.

On that note, enjoy your semblance of privacy now... while you still can!

[0]: https://www.businessinsider.de/video-china-train-warns-citiz...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Google Fights Back by CamperBob2 on Thursday May 09, 2019 @12:39AM (#19865445)

This has always seemed pretty straightforward to me, so I simply don't store things that need to stay private on other people's machines

But what's the definition of "other peoples' machines?"

If you run Windows 10, it's not really your machine. You don't have full control over it, do you? It updates and reboots when Microsoft tells it to, not when you tell it to.

If you use a smartphone, that's not your machine, either. If you can't read and write every byte of storage from the baseband processor to the video chipset, but the company who sold you the phone can, then that means it's their machine, and not yours.

If you use a Linux box or a Mac, I hope you never plug an Ethernet cable into it, because that effectively turns your machine into a dumb terminal on a system that isn't yours, just as the Oracle (Corporation) foretold.

"Keeping it to yourself" gets a little less practical every year, it seems.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Google Fights Back by marssaxman on Thursday May 09, 2019 @07:59AM (#19867386)

Yeah, it's a challenge, all right. No, I don't use Windows - not at all. I'm aware of the issues with baseband processors, and therefore make very limited use of phones; I know that basically everything I do is, or could be, snooped on. I try to manage the risk of using the phone as a communication device by using Signal, but I understand it's not a panacea. I'm currently using a BlackBerry KeyOne, because I really like the keyboard, and because they actually seem to put some effort into device security. Every little bit helps, eh?

My devices all connect to a wifi router at home that I bought and configured myself, which bridges to my ISP's modem. Has it been hacked...? Well, I hope not. I do the best I can. My laptops have all been ThinkPads running Linux, for years. I love the maintainability, and the fact that I can turn off wifi with a physical switch is a nice bonus. I'd like to try out a Purism laptop someday, if I can ever afford it.

I take comfort in the fact that nobody really cares what I am doing and I am not worth the effort of a focused attack. If I ever got involved in politics or activism, I might manage my risks differently. It is frustrating for me that the world continues to drift further away from the way I'd prefer it to be, in this arena, but my desires are extreme, so I suppose that's to be expected.

[ Parent | on HN ]