Fatling Posted July 20, 2017 Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 Hi all, I know a lot of people on this forum know more about computers than me and I've been having questions about privacy on computers. It seems to me that both Macs and Windows are taking in more and more information about pretty much everything that is done on them, and it doesn't really seem like that trend will change any time soon. I'm philosophically opposed to that, so I was thinking of switching to linux or maybe buying an old laptop and trying out a few different linux distros to see how that was. So that's my first question, is linux really that much more private than mac or windows? It's open source, but I don't know whether or not it collects data on users. My second question is about internet security and privacy. As far as I can tell there's no way to really use the internet without having some data collected on you. Are there browsers that are better about that than others, or are they all pretty much the same? Also, are vpns really all that helpful? I know there are varying levels of vpn quality, but I'm still kind of trying to wrap my head around what vpn actually does. Is vpn more for security, like protection against viruses and malware, or is it more to prevent sites from taking in data about you? Also if you have any other useful information about protecting privacy (and also security) put it here. To me privacy is more important than performance or ease of use, and it's kind of hard to find helpful information that doesn't go over my head. I don't feel super safe using the internet or using computers in general, it's like that constant question of whether or not the computer is gathering/sending information about me that I'm not aware of Thanks in advance for your help! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elenion Posted July 29, 2017 Report Share Posted July 29, 2017 @Fatling Ok, first off, the disclaimer: I'm not a computer science major or anything like that. I'm just a guy who likes tech. When it comes to choosing Linux vs Mac vs Windows for privacy, neither of them will protect you from applications keeping their own records of your activity. But as for OSs, Linux is your best bet. Both Mac and Windows are put out by corporations, so each collects user statistics so that they can tell what features are being used, etc. Because Linux is open source, there's no corporation storing your data in aggregate. If you're talking browsers, it depends on how hardcore you love security. If you're looking for a standard browser that's less info-gathery than the others, I'd recommend Firefox, because Chrome is run by Google, an info-gatherer. However, if you really want to go hardcore secure use Tor. Tor gets a bad rap as the browser used to access the dark web, but if you're looking for ultimate security there's a reason why those trying to hide from the law use Tor. Triple-encryption, packets bounced around the web, no browsing history, the works. It's slower than the other browsers, but exponentially more secure. So what a VPN does is it encrypts your packets between routers. There are a few uses for VPNs, but one of the biggest is keeping your ISP out of the loop. Internet Service Providers make a lot of money compiling and selling your internet habits, but if you use a VPN all they get is a worthless string of logs of you connecting to the VPN server. However, most good VPNs do have a cost associated with them. In short: if you're looking for a way to tighten your security a little bit, use Firefox and set up a VPN. This keeps Google, Microsoft, Apple, and your ISP mostly in the dark about your browsing habits, without too much change on your part. If you want to go a step above that, though, you're going to want to look into Tor, because I don't know enough about it to tell you if it will fit all of your needs. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 Ok, so I'm a fellow privacy nut with a degree in computer networking. Elenion gave some good advice. You need to determine what your goals are with your computer. Do you game? Do you surf the web? Do you watch videos? If so, where do you watch them? Simply put, everyone will collect all the data they can. Ostensibly (might have spelled that wrong) this is to tune their services to better advertise to you, in hopes they can convince you to spend more money with them. That said, there is no reason to believe they aren't simply tracking you as well. As much as I hate to say it, privacy is dying (if its not dead already). Unless you keep your computer not connected to the internet, and only use it w/out that internet service, you are going to be tracked. If you have a cell phone, you are being tracked. If you have one of those amazon echo's, you are being monitored (no joke btw, those things record all sounds 24/7, and send them back in mp3 form to amazon's servers). Now, you might be able to lessen that tracking/monitoring somewhat. But, in the end, your going to be tracked. In order to make some suggestions, I need to know what you use your computer for. Keep in mind, you will need to do a lot of research on your own. And keeping whatever left of your privacy, is going to be a full time job. Its not a simple program you can install, or switch to a different operating system. Its going to be complicated, time consuming, and frustrating. But, if this is important to you, we might be able to give you some directions to look in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anna Posted October 11, 2017 Report Share Posted October 11, 2017 (edited) On 7/29/2017 at 4:19 PM, Elenion said: When it comes to choosing Linux vs Mac vs Windows for privacy, neither of them will protect you from applications keeping their own records of your activity. But as for OSs, Linux is your best bet. Both Mac and Windows are put out by corporations, so each collects user statistics so that they can tell what features are being used, etc. Because Linux is open source, there's no corporation storing your data in aggregate. Linux kernel developer here. I promise you that we're not collecting data and sending it to giant corporations Other thoughts: Web browsers have "do not track" options these days. Check your settings and turn them on! Viruses sometimes hide themselves in online advertisements, so running something like Adblock Plus could be another layer of security. Check for webpages using https in the address bar when they ask you to log in. It's more secure than http. Only install software from trusted sources, like app stores or package managers. Edited October 11, 2017 by anna 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted October 20, 2017 Report Share Posted October 20, 2017 On 10/11/2017 at 8:10 AM, anna said: Linux kernel developer here. I promise you that we're not collecting data and sending it to giant corporations Other thoughts: Web browsers have "do not track" options these days. Check your settings and turn them on! Viruses sometimes hide themselves in online advertisements, so running something like Adblock Plus could be another layer of security. Check for webpages using https in the address bar when they ask you to log in. It's more secure than http. Only install software from trusted sources, like app stores or package managers. Neat! What distro do you develop for? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anna Posted October 23, 2017 Report Share Posted October 23, 2017 On 10/20/2017 at 3:29 PM, mattig89ch said: Neat! What distro do you develop for? I'm an upstream developer (and one of the NFS filesystem maintainers), so all my code goes directly to Linus Torvalds before trickling down into the distros. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 On 10/23/2017 at 8:14 AM, anna said: I'm an upstream developer (and one of the NFS filesystem maintainers), so all my code goes directly to Linus Torvalds before trickling down into the distros. Is he still working on his kernal? I thought he hated Linux, because of all the fame fans of Linux give him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anna Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 56 minutes ago, mattig89ch said: Is he still working on his kernal? I thought he hated Linux, because of all the fame fans of Linux give him. Linus is still working on the kernel, but I've heard he doesn't write much code these days. He usually handles git pull requests and the release process instead. He keep showing up to the various Linux conferences, so I'm guessing he doesn't hate us too much 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 Just now, anna said: Linus is still working on the kernel, but I've heard he doesn't write much code these days. He usually handles git pull requests and the release process instead. He keep showing up to the various Linux conferences, so I'm guessing he doesn't hate us too much Well, I learned something new today! Though I have no idea what those things he handles are. Still, glad he's still involved. And still showing up to conferences too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted November 10, 2017 Report Share Posted November 10, 2017 ok, I know I'm necro posting. But this sub forum isn't exactly lively, and this is on point to the topic at hand. This is why there is a setting in firefox, about only using sites with HTTPS. And why I never connect to a wifi hot spot that's not password protected. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattig89ch Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 info from the facebook scandal: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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