[Gijs]

https://thedaywefightback.org/international/

Today, February 11th, 2014 is The Day We Fight Back against mass surveillance!
See my message below as to why I think privacy is important.

Why is our privacy important?

In short Google, secret services and big data companies can gather so much data about you that they know exactly what you do and who you are.
This can be used for good and bad..
In my opinion collecting all information about everyone can be as dangerous as nuclear fission, and should be heavily regulated or even prohibited.

I don't believe agencies, companies and their employees only have good intentions with collecting data, so protecting your privacy is very important.

By just looking at the past you can see that even data that is only intended to be used for the good can be used against you. (for example when someone with bad intentions hacks in to their computer systems and gains access to this data)
An example of this is how The Netherlands has a good civil record/register of its citizens but when the NAZI's invaded The Netherlands in WW2 they used it to easily find the Jews and send them to concentration camps.

Since the past has shown us that bad things can happen and since there will always be people with bad intentions, I'm pretty sure something bad will happen by collecting data from everyone.
And let's not forget that sometimes people do things which we believe are good, but later we find out it was a very bad decision.

(For example nuclear fission)

"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of
thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If
only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."
- Albert Einstein

That's why I believe privacy is important and encourage everyone to protect their privacy!

Don't believe me or want to know more?
I highly suggest you read the book: Big Data by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier and also watch the NSA leaks from Snowden.

The rest of this post will be dedicated to maintaining privacy:
I've recently read in CT magazine(I'll get a quote ASAP) that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer utilize the DNS system build in Windows and this DNS system has a flaw which allows agencies and big corporations to redirect you to their own servers without you knowing it and gathering all the data.
Firefox has its own DNS system and it was suggested in this article to use Firefox instead.
Mozilla the open source community behind Firefox is a big supporter of online privacy and one of the many supports of the thedaywefightback.org program.

Because Google and Microsoft are big data company's I don't suggest using their browsers.
Firefox is opensource and not backed by a company which is interested in our data, so I highly suggest using Firefox instead.

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This step is to configure Firefox and install addons to protect your privacy:
First we need to disable third party cookies as explained here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/disable-third-party-cookies
Also click: Tell websites I don't want to be followed.
Now I suggest installing HTTPS everywhere, which enables HTTPS encryption on more websites and improves your security (Also recommended on laptops and other devices which use public WiFi)

This is very important when we make use of a VPN or TOR so that those end point servers can't read our data since its encrypted.
I also suggest installing addblock plus and enabling the privacy filter. (If you don't get this option when installing adblock plusalready you can add the filter from here: https://easylist.adblockplus.org/en/ )
Note: if you've been using adblock plus in the past or are still using it, you might not have the above rule added.

The next step is to install the BetterPrivacy plugin and setting it to delete flash cookies when closing Firefox

Note: The plugins with a * can cause rendering issues with certain websites.
Only recommended for advanced users who can configure the plugins with whitelists.

*Now we install the notrace plugin, which blocks cookies which ignore the do not follow option.
We disable META cookies and redirects and cookies and referer in java script code
On the Web Tracking page we check everything except third party javascript, images and top 10 objects
On the last page we check everything but filter out advertisements. (it's bugy and adblock plus already does that)

I've tested these settings and they work fine with nearly all websites, it caused some issues with Google Analytics but you can choose to whitelist it with the orange claw icon on the right.

*The last step is to install the Firefox plugin: Firegloves which makes it harder to track us by randomizing data. (download @ http://fingerprint.pet-portal.eu/?menu=6 )
We've set it to Disable Plugin and mimeType lists
Use Document Fonts
Limit offset value queries
Enable do not track header, DOM Storage, HTTPS cache, Offline cache

We are now nearly untraceable on the internet, now all that needs to be done is hiding our IP address which can be done by using an encrypted VPN, proxy or TOR.

[csb26]

Just a couple of more things , few weeks ago i came to know the news that  Facebook android app ( i myself don't use it ) have access to all of your SMS and MMS , and can send the  emails to guests without the owner's' knowledge , so be careful using it (i think kaspersky revealed it )
also if someone had buyed any adobe product online from their credit or debit card their info has been leaked as their adobe accounts got hacked ( old news ) , almost half of them got hacked or maybe more...

And yeah respect the privacy .... the biggest con of internet is Privacy!