Suzanne Bearne
Technological journalist
Bbc
The rise of AI makes a little more careful on their online profile
Anita Smith has always been careful about what she shared online.
But his concerns increased following an abusive relationship with a partner, who then tracked him down.
Although the police intervened, she left the United Kingdom and also reduced her online profile.
“I have erased my online presence as much as possible, in particular by deleting the locations of certain articles, and a few Instagram accounts,” explains Ms. Smith, whose name has been modified for this article.
Ms. Smith, who works in communications, always has a LinkedIn account but does not use her full name.
“I also deleted a lot of things on my LinkedIn, many things that were based on the location, although some messages remain.
“I recently published because I try to build a brand although I am skeptical about my sharing.”
She kept an original private facebook account: “I clean it once a year and I check the photos and the privacy of the messages and where I was tagged.”
Ms. Smith has also become more aware of the terms and conditions of social media platforms.
“I am the trends of AI and I know that many images form AI models and we do not have ethical guidelines on how they can be used. This is another massive factor for which I will never put my child on social networks because the images can be used for what we do not want.”
As scams become more sophisticated, research suggests that more people are concerned about the information they share online.
In a Statista report, 39% of respondents said they were concerned about how companies used their data online, while a quarter (26%) admitted to having used a VPN.
There are a number of reasons why people may want to reduce their profiles online.
“First of all, people underestimate confidentiality,” explains Vytautas Kaziukonis, CEO of Surfshark, a security software company that encrypts user’s online data and aims to secure navigation.
“What could be innocent information at the moment could bring you difficulties at 10 years, for example, if there is a change of laws or a political environment.”
Another problem is the explosion of AI, explains Mr. Kaziukonis.
“Fraud is getting better and better, and something that is essential for all scams is to have data,” he said.
AI arrives at the stadium where it can pretend to be people close to you. Add to this capacity all the personal information shared online, so you have a “deadly combination”, explains Mr. Kaziukonis.
In addition, the information shared online on us is collected by the data brokers and sold to advertisers.
Mr. Kaziukonis says that information is also available for crooks. “It’s the West Far there,” he said.
Experts recommend cleaning your browser cookies
So what can we do to minimize our footprints?
First, it is important to think about the amount of information you share online.
“Do not share your personal address anywhere, for example, the accidentally filming of a video with a laptop in the background on sensitive information, and when you go online, do not add all the details on each random website, for example, your date of birth,” explains Mr. Kaziukonis.
“It could be disclosed and used against you.” He also advises to use a different e-mail address for the websites you register. “It limits spam.”
It should be recalled that, under the data protection law, you have the right to ask a business which data they hold you and ask you to delete.
“They must comply, otherwise they can receive huge fines,” explains Mr. Kaziukonis.
Gus Hosein, executive director of Charity Privacy International, recommends several ways to reduce your digital footprint.
He suggests using a VPN (virtual private network) which, for a price, offers a user more online confidentiality.
He also recommends cookie blockers and selection of web browsers with privacy checks.
“The underlying solution remains that we must maintain pressure on our governments to have solid laws to protect everyone,” said Hosein.
Karen Renaud is a computer scientist at Strathclyde University working on security and privacy.
Last year, she studied 15 Documents of Privacy Policy, which have what a company will do with your data.
She found that the most complicated of them would have 32 minutes to read and would require college education to understand.
“The situation is quite disastrous,” she said.
She advises that it is a good idea to clean the cookies of your browser from time to time and reduce the cookies you accept.
“In addition, you can stop a follow -up. Google, for example, helps to follow up on your research.”
Amanda Unterreiner
The Amanda Unterreiner company helps delete personal Internet data
Some people turn to services such as Deleteme and Surfshark, which help delete personal information from the data brokers.
Amanda Unterreiner, product manager of the data deletion service based in the United States, says that high-level people such as video players and judges use their service as a safety measure.
“In the case of judges … because if they announce a decision, someone could come to their homes.”
She also mentions the case of the murder at the beginning of last year of the director general of United Healthcare, Brian Thompson.
“Stories like this kind of spark of ordinary people to think that I would better be protected.”
Ms. Unterreiner followed the process of deleting her data when she joined the company.
“You could see all the other places I had never experienced, each phone number I have ever had, each email address, on Google’s first page. If someone wanted to steal my identity … they could cause real personal damage.”
The company also offers a service to hide your home on Google Maps.
“You can watch Street View, but this special property will simply be very pixealized.”
Collingwood set
Saam Collingwood has improved its online safety
There are several reasons why SAAM COLLINGWOOD, who lives near Stratford-Upon-Avon, has reduced his online profile over the years.
The first followed an incident at work in which she had included her personal Facebook account on an email to a client and her employer was unhappy.
“They could see photos of an evening,” she said. “It didn’t go too well.”
In another incident, she was trolled by an online foreigner after having published a video of herself learning a dance routine on YouTube.
In addition, the increase in online fraud convinced her to further reduce his online profile.
She has not completely erased her online presence but she no longer regularly publishes on Facebook, reducing her about twice a year.
“I don’t like when people are tagging me, people knowing that I’m not at home. Most of the time, I remove the label.”
She says she has improved her antivirus and security software with a Norton online security company service.
“I wanted to make sure that the websites did not take my contact details. It makes me more comfortable.”
But are there disadvantages not to be so present online?
“I get bored to see old friends (on Facebook) and people I would contact once or twice,” said Ms. Smith.
Mr. Kaziukonis says that it is common to hear people say that they do not care about privacy, but he thinks that it is a defective argument.
“They say that I have nothing to hide. But it would bother to share every email they have sent? We have curtains at home, we want to feel private. It is human nature.”
More business technology
Source link
