They want to know everything about you

It is no secret that every advertising-funded site (Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc) works very hard to build a complete profile about you. They want to know as much as possible so they can sell expensive highly targeted advertisements.

Every search you perform, every site you visit, every link you click is recorded and analyzed.

You live in a filter bubble

The profile we talked about above is also used to return information the site believes you will like most (therefore making themselves more sticky). this is the filter bubble problem.

The site (e.g. Google) will return results that it believes are aligned with your view and this is what we call the filter bubble. At some point, you will stop seeing other opinions or points of view. In the most extreme examples, it can reinforce certain questionable points of view such as the earth is flat or other similar prejudices.

How do I search the web privately

There are many search engines that promise private searches but the problem with most is that they crawl the web themselves and their index of the web just isn’t as good as Google. This is where startpage.com comes in. It allows you to search using the Google web index without giving up your privacy.

Startpage.com does not log user activity and does not perform any type of user tracking or profiling
Startpage.com allows you to browse any of the pages returned in a search query anonymously
Startpage.com is based in the Netherlands which has better privacy protection than the US

Ok but are the search results good?

Search results use the Google index so they are as good as can be without profiling you to customize the response
The results layout page is clean and uncluttered
You can search the web, images or videos

You have all of the advanced search options you could need (including words contained, avoiding certain words, dates, domains, language, file type, etc)
Some searches won’t contain ads and those that do clearly mark them with the word Ad
You can browse any search result link using their free anonymous browsing option (called Anonymous View)

When you browse using the Anonymous View, the webpage is surrounded by a blue frame

How it makes money

Startpagecom generates its revenue from clearly marked search ads and affiliate links.

These ads are not targeted (since they do not profile visitors).

The ads are segregated from the actual search results so as not to confuse the visitor.

Tell me more about Startpage.com’s privacy

Since most of its users originate from the US, Startpage.com has search servers located in the US to speed up searches. These servers are said to be hardened and properly secured.

This should be perfectly acceptable to most users but if you are extra paranoid, Startpage.com does offer users the option of choosing non-USA servers.

Their privacy claims have been independently verified (read this).

They have never showed up on any blacklist (that I can find)

They have an A+ rating from the Qualys SSL Labs site

Chinese media demand sanctions against US tech companies

June 4, 2014technologyEdward Kiledjian

Photo by Rene Mensen under Creative Commons License

3 things we know governments will always do are:

Tax
Spend
Spy

The last point, fueled by the Ed Snowden leaks, seems to be keeping the media busy. Now the China-run state-owned media is calling on the Chinese government to sanction the major US technology companies who are "pawns of the US Government".

China Daily and People's Daily have called upon their leaders to "severely punish" the companies mentioned in the Edward Snowden leaks.

“U.S. companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. are all coordinating with the PRISM program to monitor China,”

— Peoples Daily Microblog site

Most companies have openly and vehemently denied working with the NSA. One such spokesperson is Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond

“We cannot say this more clearly - the (U.S.) government does not have access to Google servers - not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box”

I believe the next few month will be interesting. Let's see how (and if) China takes an official position. It is important to remember that Chinese telcom equipment manufacturers were disqualified from bidding on US government contracts because of concerns about spying. Now that the Snowden leaks show the US may be intercepting Cisco equipment to implant its own hidden tools, could other countries start boycotting US telecom equipment manufacturers?

Source : Reuters

NSA is using Google, Facebook, Apple, Youtube, Dropbox to spy on users

June 7, 2013technologyEdward Kiledjian

The Guardian broke one of the biggest most important stories ever. It reported that the NSA has been collecting huge amounts of user data from internet giants such as Google, Apple, Skype, Yahoo, AOL and Youtube. The Guardian alleges that plans are in place to add Dropbox to the list of data providers. To be clear, all this collection seems to be done without a court order and performed with direct access to the servers of these companies.

Based on a document authenticated by the Guardian, the NSA was secretly storing and analyzing search history, emails, file transfers, chats, stored documents, voice calls and more. In a shocking revelation, the Guardian says:

"The document claims "collection directly from the servers" of major US service providers."

Even though the document seems to insinuate that company executives were aware of the PRISM program, all of them have come out denying any involvement. At first glance, it seems like

project was targeting non US people or companies or Americans exchanging with these non-Americans

The law allows for the targeting of any customers of participating firms who live outside the US, or those Americans whose communications include people outside the US.

Update on 2013-06-07 19:31 by Edward N Kiledjian

Just to be clear, all major providers (Google, Apple, Facebook) are vehemently denying involvement in PRISM and are denying the NSA has access to their servers directly.

Astrid Tasks acquired by Yahoo and will be shutdown

May 2, 2013technologyEdward Kiledjian

Yahoo has bought the popular task manager Astrid for an undisclosed amount. Yahoo has been busy buying smaller software manufacturers and revamping its existing properties (Yahoo mail, Flickr, etc).

The Astrid announcement was made on its blog. They have informed annoyed users that the service will be shutdown in 90 days and that they will allow users to download exisiting data.

Astrid was a well designed software that whose loss will be felt in the productivity sphere.

How to secure your online accounts

March 13, 2013InfoSecEdward Kiledjian

What is 2-factor authentication?

One of the most common ways to hijack your online accounts is to steal your passwords. The way to prevent this type of issue is to use a technique called 2-factor authentication. The 2 factors are:

Something you know : your password which is still used
Something you have : a one-time use password that is generated on demand that proves you are in possession of something physical.

You use 2-factor authentication everytime you use your bank’s automated banking machine. You go to their machine, you insert your card (something you have) and then enter your pin (something you know).

Many of today’s most popular services allow you to add this additional level of security to your account such as Dropbox, Google, Lastpass, Paypal, Facebook, Yahoo, etc.

Detractors

Some detractors complain that you need to use a physical device (phone, USB key, token, etc) that can be lost and then causes issues when you try to login.

Their second complaint is about services that email your unique one-time login code to your phone, because they complaint that you have to hand-over your personal phone number to a third party.

My views

I believe more security is better and use 2-factor authentication when available and recommend you do the same. It is an extra step but how much is extra security worth?

How to search the web while protecting your privacy