home PC software What is an information footprint on the Internet. Information security in the network: Sweeping the digital trail. Ilya Stechkin: Who owns our “digital footprint”

What is an information footprint on the Internet. Information security in the network: Sweeping the digital trail. Ilya Stechkin: Who owns our “digital footprint”

The deseat.me service, with which any Gmail user can remove all information about himself from social networks and various services. Lenta.ru finds out why more and more people are erasing their digital footprints.

Web Suicide

According to the Swedish developers, in order to completely disappear from the network, it is enough to go to their deseat.me service through your Google account. The program will automatically detect all subscriptions connected to e-mail, and the user will have to choose which profile to get rid of. After desired positions are defined, the program redirects you directly to the resource page, where you can delete your account with one click. However, keep in mind: deseat.me deletion is final and irrevocable - it will not be possible to restore the information.

Less radical users, as well as those who do not have a Gmail account, will have to be content with deleting profiles manually. So to hide your presence in Facebook , Twitter or during "In contact with", you need to go to the page settings and delete your account yourself. After some time (from two to four weeks, depending on the rules of the social network), the account and all publications associated with it will disappear from the Internet.

Calculate by IP

Few people think about how much information about ourselves we leave in open access. And it's not at all about discrediting pictures and videos - today it is absolutely not necessary to be a seasoned hacker to find out the phone number, address and even the location of any person.

In July 2016, the workers of one of the British cafes social experiment. They offered passers-by a free drink in exchange for a like on Facebook. And while the participant of the action made an order, his data was quickly collected on the network. As a result, visitors received a short dossier on themselves, including contact information, as well as data on education, work and religion.

Video: Cifas / YouTube

Moreover, there are many special programs to search for user data. So, with the help of face recognition systems, you can find out the name of a person from just one photo, and by the most ordinary e-mail, you can find out the IP address and location. And for each new acquaintance or business partner, we first of all “break through” in Google, simply entering the first and last name in the search bar.

This phenomenon has long been noticed by Boston University professor and author of the book “Everything that happens in Vegas stays online” Eric Kualman. According to him, due to the abundance of constantly stored data about users, it is necessary to behave online as if "your mother, boss, coach and enemies are watching you." “Basically, that’s how it is. Whether it's in your personal life or your career, your reputation on the Internet today determines your reputation outside of it, ”the researcher believes.

The dangers of storing user data were discussed back in 2009. Then the famous American marketer Tony Fish in the book "My Digital Footprint" noticed that with the help of analysis network activity Users can not only be forced to use interest-based advertising, but they can also be easily manipulated.

digital footprint

Fish identifies two types of digital footprints: passive and active. Passive ones are formed on the basis of data unintentionally created by the user - visits to various sites, social networks and resources. This kind of information is automatically stored on the servers of providers, in web archives and data centers.

Of course, de jure it is available only to resource administrators visited by a particular user. But in reality, it is thanks to the passive digital footprint that netizens are haunted by intrusive targeted advertising, subtly hinting to them that they recently visited a site with sneakers or household appliances.

Active digital footprints are online actions taken directly by the user. For example, publishing a photo, post or comment. Such information is not only automatically stored on special servers but can be used by anyone.

Fish predicted that users would demand the removal of their personal data from search engines, and his prediction is coming true.

Right to be forgotten

Since 2014, the European Union has adopted a law on the right to be forgotten. Now all EU citizens can demand that Google remove information discrediting them from the issuance results. The law applies to links with inaccurate or irrelevant data about the applicant.

The legal case of the Spaniard Mario Costeja Gonzalez against Google, considered in May 2014. Gonzalez demanded that the corporation remove several media publications defaming him. The court of the European Union satisfied the claim of the Spaniard, because, according to the court, the storage of personal information without the consent of the user is contrary to the EU directive on the protection of personal data of 1995.

In Russia, the Internet entered into force on January 1, 2016 in the form of an amendment to the federal law “On information, information technology and on the protection of information. An exception is information about events containing signs of criminally punishable acts, the terms for bringing to responsibility for which have not expired, and information about the commission by a citizen of a crime for which a conviction has not been removed or extinguished.

Only in the first three months of the law, Yandex received more than 3.6 thousand applications from 1348 people, but 73 percent of the applications were rejected. "Yandex" explained this by the fact that it cannot verify the accuracy of the information. This, in particular, applies to doctors who demand to remove links to resources with negative reviews about them.

Network contraception

In order not to deal with deleting accounts, communicating with technical support of social networks and statements in Yandex, you should be extremely careful on the network. For example, use the Adblock blocker, which not only allows you to get rid of intrusive advertising, but also, according to Edward Snowden, protects against disguised malware.

Personal correspondence on social networks can also easily become public, because hacking an account on Facebook or VKontakte is not so difficult - in Russian-language Tor it will cost from 2.5 thousand to 7.5 thousand rubles. Unfortunately, even the most complex password will not give a 100% guarantee of data protection.

In addition, for safe exit On the Internet, you can use a virtual private network or VPN, where traffic is redirected through a chain of servers. However, firstly, the services of most VPN clients are not free, and secondly, they readily transmit information about users at the request of intelligence agencies. For short and inconspicuous access to the network, there are free services, such as VPNBook with support for Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android and iOS.

The most reliable solution to the problem of anonymity on the Internet is the anonymous Tor network, which operates on the "onion routing" technology. The information in it is encrypted and passed through big number intermediate systems, but this results in an extremely low page loading speed. In addition, according to rumors, the intelligence services of leading countries have already managed to figure out users in Tor and are actively developing a method for deanonymizing the entire network.

"People do not understand what their "footprints" on the Internet that they leave mean, and where the information they provide about themselves can get to," - as part of the event to complete the survey as part of the educational program "Digital IQ of a student", conducted by by Samsung, in an interview with the DB portal, the head of the Latvian Center safe internet Maya Katkowska.

“It is important that a person seeks help in a situation where he does not know how to cope with a problem that has arisen as a result of his actions on the Internet, however, it should be understood that if he, for example, sent someone a photo where he is naked, and then wants to destroy it on the Internet, then it is unlikely that you will be of any help here - it could “leave” in many sources. It is impossible to get rid of this completely, and someday it may come up, ”says Katkowska.

She advised Internet users to regularly check what exactly they can find about themselves on the Internet. In her opinion, employers should also talk with their employees about what information they publish about themselves on social networks - as this affects the company's image, and there are things that cannot be published. “Perhaps you should start cleaning up your social media profiles before spring arrives!” she calls.

It is also necessary to explain to young people that they still need to think about what exactly they put up on social networks, as this may interfere later in their lives and in their future work. “There are a variety of cases. For example, a 14-year-old boy came to us, who at the age of 11 published on YouTube video, for which classmates now laugh at him, and he no longer remembers the password. He cannot remove it. Parents should watch what exactly the child does on the Internet. They need to know passwords that are important to him, etc., especially for young children - 7-9 years old - to help remove content that is unpleasant for the child, ”Katkowska believes.

Half of Latvian youth post the most important information about themselves: birthday, names of family members and school, one in three notes their location and almost one in two at least once sent a defamatory photo to a friend in private correspondence, it turned out in a survey conducted by Samsung Skola nākotnei. At the end of the Skolēna Digitālais IQ educational program, experts urge us to think about and evaluate what digital footprint we leave in the virtual environment and what risks we expose ourselves to because of this.

“Nearly half of the young people in the study admit to having been bullied or insulted on social media, for example with a nasty comment or photo. The same number of young people regretted publishing any of their photos or posts on the Internet. This means that young people are already facing the risks associated with the digital footprint, not to mention such potential threats as, for example, the impact on career growth or Internet attacks and blackmail,” says the head of the department of pedagogy of the Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Art Professor Zanda Rubene of the University of Latvia, emphasizing: “It is important to realize that each of us has a digital footprint, it would be very difficult, and there is no need to try to avoid its appearance. However, everyone should learn how to create it thoughtfully and positively.”

The digital footprint appears even if we don't realize it.

The digital footprint is made up of different parts: our social media activities, email and instant messaging, banking and shopping, sharing our photos and videos with others, playing games, listening to music, watching movies, using various apps. , including navigation and transport, even seemingly anonymous commenting on articles - and other actions.

It is important to remember that the digital footprint of each of us is created both actively and passively and imperceptibly to ourselves. An active footprint appears when a person consciously publishes information about themselves, and a passive footprint is the information that various sites and gadgets accumulate about a person's actions on the Web, for example, visited home pages, IP address of the device, physical location at the time of connection, viewed or goods purchased in the online store, etc.

Maya Katkovska, head of the Latvian Safer Internet Center, emphasizes: “It's good if we think about the fact that all our activities on the Internet are sufficiently public. However, our experience shows that people often post information and photos on their social media profiles, and then they are surprised: “How does he know so much about me?!””

Can we take control of the situation?

“To ensure that online activity does not resemble the behavior of an elephant in a china shop, which can interfere with later life or make you feel bad, it is important to follow a few basic principles. The first of these is to know what you can find about yourself on the Internet and what kind of impression it can give others about you. The second is to actively shape your digital footprint so that you yourself are satisfied with it. Check passwords and privacy settings on gadgets, apps, and social networks, and think about what you post and share. The third is to monitor all this regularly, because this is an ongoing process, says the head of the Samsung Skola nākotnei initiative in the Baltics, Egle Tamelyte. – These and other issues are addressed in the educational program, which has been available to everyone at www.skolanakotnei.lv since September last year. We are very pleased that over 4,000 young people from 83 Latvian schools have registered on the page during this time.”

In an experiment, young people study the digital footprint of Latvian celebrities

At the end of the Skolēna digitālais IQ project implemented by Samsung Skola nākotnei, an unprecedented experiment took place today: young people from the 3rd Riga State Gymnasium, led by new media expert Krišs Kupruks, researched and estimated the size of the digital footprint of five people. The experiment involved Karmen Stepanova, producer of the Pieci.lv program Pilnīgs vakars, musicians Justs Sirmais and Aminata Savadogo, as well as schoolgirls Samanta Samarska and Anita Ramka, representatives of the Riga Schoolchildren's Council. It turned out that Samantha (69%) and Aminata (67%) have the largest digital footprint, Yusts' digital footprint is a bit more modest (54%), and Anita (46%) and Carmen (41%) have the least footprints, who admitted that consciously form their virtual identity.

Aminata shares her impressions: “The results of the experiment surprised me: I found out that I have profiles on social networks in which I have never registered. They were created by someone else instead of me. For example, on the Ask.fm website, someone not only uses my identity and photos, but also answers questions from fans on my behalf. This is not only unpleasant, but, unfortunately, can negatively affect not only my life, but also the lives of my loved ones. In the future, I will be much more aware of what information about me can be found on the Internet, and say goodbye to profiles and posts that are no longer relevant to me.

Assessing his digital footprint, the musician Eusts says: “I always try to be mindful of what I post online, especially now that social media is a big part of my daily work. I reflect on what kind of example I set for my subscribers. I try to be honest with both myself and the people who follow me. It's hard for me to remember a time when I posted something wrong, but it often happened that the information was misinterpreted. For example, Wikipedia says that I started studying jazz at the age of 6. Of course, this is around the same time that I started playing music, but I only became interested in jazz in my teens. Most likely the most big mistakes connected precisely with the first interviews, in which I didn’t really know what to say, and used to talk some nonsense or go into too much detail.

The Skolēna digitālais IQ program is still available online

The Skolēna digitālais IQ program implemented by Samsung Skola nākotnei has come to an end, however, all educational materials will continue to be available on www.skolanakotnei.lv, where they can be used and mastered by everyone, both schoolchildren and adults. The Skolēna digitālais IQ program includes 5 courses, each of which is dedicated to a specific topic. Course "Create!" helps young people to become authors of quality content. Course "Communicate!" calls to think about the security of communication, digital identity and the digital footprint left in the depths of the Internet. Course "Work!" introduces skills that can be useful in the future working life. Course "Participate!" expands the horizons about the tools of participation and democracy available in the digital environment. Course "Think!" Encourages you to use the possibilities of technology to facilitate the learning process and everyday life, as well as improve your critical thinking skills.

The content of the program was created by Samsung Electronics Baltics in cooperation with the Iespējama misija (Possible Mission) movement, Cube digital solutions agency, media education expert Liene Valdmane, photographer and graphic designer Linda Rutule, producer of Pilnīgs vakars on Pieci.lv radio Karmen Stepanova, creative association Piparmētra, head and coach of the DHC studio Kaspars Ozoliņš and European champion in public speech Davis Golds.

Direct access to popular internet services and mobile devices, allowing them to keep track of all users. Our gadgets themselves can tell a lot about the adventures of the owner. For those who want to avoid surveillance, Lenta.ru has put together the simplest ways to mask your location.

Surveillance by default

Modern smartphones and tablets can tell a lot about their owners, who sometimes do not even know about it. When you first start the device, the user may not track the checkmark in front of the geolocation function, and it will record all his movements. The Android OS allows you to view its routes throughout the day, and also fixes them on Google maps in the Timeline section. Most people use the same functionality. iPhone owners, iPad and devices on Windows phone. Also on modern smartphones at the first start, it is proposed to enable the option to search for a smartphone in case it is lost. This will help you find it or even track the thief's movements in case of theft, but if it's important to you not to let strangers track your every move, you should turn off location services.

To disable geolocation on the iPhone, go to the "Settings" menu, select "Privacy" and "Location Services" in sequence, move the slider to the left and confirm the action in the pop-up window. Here you can also configure the use of the geolocation service for various applications: if you disable positioning completely, many programs will not be useful, so a reasonable compromise is the “work when used” item, when you exit the service, the determination of coordinates stops. It is worth remembering that Apple gadgets also track information about your frequently visited places, so this feature will have to be disabled additionally (“Settings” - “Privacy” - “Geolocation Services” - “System Services” - “Frequently Visited Places”).

Screenshot: "Lenta.ru"

On OC Android, in the settings you need to select "My location" and uncheck the tracking points by network coordinates and GPS satellites.

As for applications, first of all, you should pay attention to mobile clients. facebook messenger, the VKontakte social network, and the Instagram photo app: they don't need to know where you are right now. Alas, now almost any application stores data about your location.

Word as evidence

It is also undesirable for your personal correspondence to fall into the hands of third parties. A 100% guarantee of its safety cannot be given even by the most strong password, but a messenger with encrypted data transfer will drastically complicate access to it. In Russia, the Telegram created by Pavel Durov, already in use by terrorists, and Signal, Edward Snowden's personal, are gaining popularity.

Another tool for extracting non-public information about the user can be personal mobile assistants Siri, Google Now and Cortana. If for Siri the ability to predict the user's question based on previous requests appeared only in new iOS 9 then Google service Now already has deep data mining capabilities - like incoming messages, and actions. To help the user, the assistant takes into account the daily routine, the main routes of movement, search terms and even an online shopping list. The same can be said about Microsoft's new mobile assistant: Cortana actively collects data about user actions in order to return the most relevant results when requested.

This was done, in general, for the good, but an outsider, following the prompts of an assistant, can predict your intentions and preferences.

You can disable Siri in the main iPhone settings. To disable Google Now, you will have to completely abandon Google search by successively going to the sections "Settings" - "Applications" - "All" - " Google search» - «Disable». Cortana is also turned off in the settings, where under " Voice Features” you must uncheck the box “Enable speech recognition service”.

Such a dangerous internet

It pays to be vigilant even when easy way out to the global network. In Russia, many access points public wifi are already subject to government decree No. 758, according to which the telecom operator must enter the number before allowing access to the Internet mobile phone, to which the data verification code is sent. This means that when you connect, you are automatically authorized, and since the SIM card is in your name, your identity becomes known to the provider. Moreover, most operators can also track the time and place of your appearance on the network.

Public hotspots carry another danger. Experts warn that attackers can set up their own hot-spot with the name of public Wi-Fi, and through it distribute a malicious application disguised as an update of one of the typical programs on a laptop. If a wireless connection is not password protected, there is a danger of intercepting your data using a sniffer - a program for recording and analyzing network traffic.

A simple request to Google or Yandex can also provide information to attackers, since modern targeting advertising mechanisms adjust to the results. search results. If you were looking for some information or wanted to know where to buy a certain product, for some time you will have to watch advertisements that are most relevant to your query. To confuse the tracks, you can regularly drive in some extraneous requests - for example, about the availability of nails in London.

Blockers such as Adblock help you get rid of intrusive ads. According to Edward Snowden, every Internet user should install them, since many advertisements can be disguised malware or contain spyware.

From "user" to "anonymous"

The main problem of those who want to avoid surveillance remains the very architecture of the Internet, in which each device entering the network has its own unique identifier - its IP address. It is necessary for the correct routing of data, and with its help you can determine where the device itself is geographically located and, accordingly, its owner.

However, the IP address can be hidden with several accessible ways. First of all, these are online services that provide the capabilities of a free anonymous proxy server, that is, a remote intermediary computer for accessing the network. Services such as Hide My Ass or Proxy Networks additionally provide a secure SSL connection that provides encrypted access to the requested pages. However, access through a proxy server significantly reduces page loading speed.

A more effective way to anonymously access the Internet is virtual private network or VPN. Traffic in such networks is not only encrypted, but also redirected through a chain of servers. However, many of the VPN clients are paid, and also provide information about users at the request of intelligence agencies. For short-term inconspicuous access to the network, there are also free services, such as VPNBook with support for Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android and iOS.

Perhaps the simplest and most reliable solution is to use the anonymous Tor network, which operates on the onion routing technology: information is encrypted and passes through a large number of intermediate systems. To access the network, you must install and configure Tor browser. Although there are suspicions that the FBI is already “digging” under users, the method of their deanonymization.

Victims of civilization

Although modern electronics allow you to turn off geolocation tools, and programs to encrypt data, the use of anonymization technologies entails a loss of functionality - for example, without knowing where you are, a mapping application will not be able to plot the desired route. Therefore, one has to choose: the fruits of civilization with the risk of turning personal information into public information, or freedom without the usual consumer amenities.

Ilya Stechkin: Who owns our “digital footprint”?

The public debate about who really owns data about our online behavior is getting hotter every day. It would seem that states and corporations have no right to claim the results of users' activities. But not everything is so simple.

“We leave a digital footprint with every action we take online. There is a direct link between it and biological DNA.”- With this thesis, on January 24, top manager of Kaspersky Lab Evgeny Chereshnev took the stage of one of the most prestigious world forums designed to spread ideas that are significant for the development of mankind, - TED(Technology, Entertainment, Design).

“Biological DNA contains factual information about the risks, for example of certain diseases, or that a person has blue eyes - no matter what he does. Digital DNA is in a sense [another] biological layer, since it contains factual information about a person’s behavior, his personality, and this information can be used to predict a person’s behavior in certain situations with high reliability”, - explains Chereshnev in a conversation with the JOURNALIST portal.

WHOSE TRAIL?

There are three points of view on who owns our “digital fingerprints”:

1. Footprints belong to the “surface” on which they are left, that is, companies that provide various Internet services.
2. Right to “digital fingerprints” of users has a country whose citizenship the user has.
3. The one who leaves traces and is entitled to them.

2. STATE

The author of the second approach is considered to be Natalya Kasperskaya, a major Russian IT entrepreneur and pro-government public figure (member working group under the Administration of the President, responsible for the direction “Internet and Society”).

In an interview with Novaya Gazeta, she stated: “A person in Russia now has a feeling when he leaves some information on the Internet that he controls it. Actually it's not like that<…>And I advocate imposing restrictions on big data so that the state can carry out its functions and guarantee security. Just imagine: around a person, a user of the Network, such a cloud of data is going<…>And someone is trading this cloud behind your back”*.

The weakness of this approach (and its strength) is in deliberate paternalism in relation to the citizens of the country: “Fifty million people we [active users] - yes, they can’t do it on their own”. It's like a compulsory medical examination. It is believed that people themselves are not able to bear responsibility for their health. The problem is that the mandatory medical examination turns into a profanation and creates the conditions for a lot of abuse. Paternalism in the area of personal data is all the more dangerous.

Natalya is concerned that agents of hostile influence will be able to control the behavior of responsible officials in Russia, including through blackmail. And I'm more afraid of the image of a petty boss who has gained access, for example, to the search history of some unlucky student.

I do not idealize fellow citizens. Most Internet users in Russia are disastrously ignorant. They, by and large, do not care about who and for what purpose uses their data, if we are not talking about access to a bank account. And for many, state protection would be a good alternative to personal responsibility.

But personally, I prefer the idea of developing educational programs for digital literacy. Exactly literacy and not security. because the first to cultivate knowledge, and the second - fear. Unfortunately, in real educational practice one has to deal with the latter more often. And the quoted interview with Ms. Kaspersky gives an understanding of the roots of this approach.

As a result, attempts at media education in schools often turn into horror stories. In this case, the opposite effect occurs: as in a pioneer camp, when the elders told stories about a coffin on wheels or red curtains. Adrenaline, high! And cryptic words like “cybersquatting”, “cyberbullying”, “phishing”, etc. acquire a romantic halo, instead of being relegated to the level of banal hooliganism. From “gopniks in the district”, such “educational projects”, together with mass culture, turn cybercrime figures into Robin Hoods, pirates of the 21st century.

And if so, then what is the reason why a clearly ineffective prohibitive approach is the basis of state policy in the field of high-tech communication (yes, I also just remembered about the ban in Russia of the social network LinkedIn)?

It is easier to manage a class society. It is no coincidence that the obsession of those in power is to build a vertical of power. Class society is based precisely on the distribution of various social groups in a system of vertical dependence on each other. The basis for the division into classes in the “knowledge society” can be access to information: means of its receipt, processing and distribution**. And you can make it easier: someone produces information, and who controls it. What is not the basis of division?

3. THE MAN HIMSELF

Finally, the third point of view expressed by Evgeny Chereshnev. “I have done enough experiments on myself to have every right to the following professional opinion: personal data is an integral part of the human body and its biological indicators. I propose from now on to consider user data as a layer of biological DNA. Digital DNA, if you will. And treat it accordingly: this information, unique for each of us, recorded in us (in fact, it is so), must physically and legally belong to the person who produces it”," he wrote on his Facebook page on November 30, 2016.

He goes on to explain in detail why no state or service provider should have a statutory right to full and permanent access to a person's "digital DNA" without their express and informed consent: “Because, having access to digital DNA, you can identify any person on the Web without logins and passwords, you can control his desires, his movements, his ability to reproduce, his craving for knowledge, art, his bad habits and addictions. And it's not a joke".

Chereshnev's position is based on the fact that if some company has invented something truly revolutionary - say, gravity, - this does not make it the rightful owner of the gravitational field of every person.

Another significant point, which Eugene draws attention to, is the vulnerability of any centralized data storage: “Everything can be hacked. There is no guarantee that the state or the notional Rostelecom or AT&T will be able to keep the data safe. Therefore, the only sure way - is decentralization and the creation of a tool that provides practically ownership of private data - which is what I'm doing”.

WHO IS RIGHT?

It is interesting that Evgeniy and Natalya's initial positions are quite close: they are outraged by the ultimatum demands of service providers to provide personal data in exchange for access to a particular network service. But they draw different conclusions. The position of Zhenya, who still believes in people, and most importantly, does not seek to “prosthetics” the personal responsibility of citizens, arouses great sympathy in me.

Although, in fairness, I must say that the scenario proposed by Natalia Kasperskaya testifies to her sober understanding of the needs and preferences of the majority of Russian citizens. However, Chereshnev's ideas are aimed at "tomorrow", while Kaspersky's proposals are based on the current state of affairs.

The confrontation between Natalia Kasperskaya and Evgeny Chereshnev is symbolic and traditional for Russian philosophical discourse, as it illustrates the classical contradiction between the interests of an individual and the state.

The problem is that the very concept of “citizenship” as a person’s belonging to a particular country is blurring along with geographic boundaries, including under the influence of the very technologies that force us to leave a digital footprint.

Alexander Tivelkov, one of the active players in the global community of developers of the open cloud platform OpenStack, commented on this situation: “It seems to me that in the post-industrial world, states should turn into a kind of “transnational trade unions of users”, limiting the ambitions of the same transnational corporations”.

It is impossible to exist on the Web without a trace: our “network activity” is essentially the leaving of a “digital footprint”. And the question of its ownership eventually goes beyond economics and even politics. It falls into the department of ethics, because in its most general form it sounds like this: to whom does our life belong?

And if we agree that our life belongs to ourselves and, perhaps, to the closest circle of people (friends and relatives), then our “digital footprint” should also belong to us, our close relatives and friends. Closest relatives and friends. Evgeny Chereshnev is on this position.

* See more Stechkin I.V. Media education at school: horror stories and friends // Collection of articles for the scientific-practical conference “New Media in the Humanities Education” (Moscow, Russian State University for the Humanities, April 17, 2013). P. 37. And also: Stechkin I. Do we need digital citizens? // Everything for the school administrator! 2013. No. 19.

Almost every user leaves their traces on the Internet. To a lesser extent, this applies to users who read the news, to a much greater extent - to those who search for information through search engines, use online services and actively spend time on social networks.

From such "digital fingerprints" you can learn a lot of personal information, for example, about the location, social status, interests and preferences, social circle, daily routine and addiction to bad habits. This information is a valuable find for scammers and robbers, recruitment agencies and large employers, special services and law enforcement agencies. It is not uncommon for photos and thoughtless comments on the Internet to cost a person their job and career.

User information can be divided into three main categories:

implicitly collected data (numerous services that allow you to track Internet activity);
explicitly collected data (deliberately providing an address Email and other data when subscribing to online services);
publicly available information that may be collected by collecting data on the Internet, such as phone number, address, photos, social media profile.

Unfortunately, there is no way to completely remove information from the network, however, you can still get rid of the most obvious traces. There are a few basic steps for this.

Step #1: Remove unused online accounts.

Many of the services a user subscribes to eventually disappear. After that, the data can be sold to someone as valuable information, the value of which is determined based on the number of users in the database and on the information known about them. Therefore, unused accounts should be deleted in a timely manner.

Step #2: Keep an eye on the aliases associated with the email.

Using an email address, you can set custom aliases that are used on different sites, blogs, forums, and this, in turn, can lead to a real name. Therefore, when registering, you should not indicate the main email address and should use various aliases. In addition, it is necessary to delete information in a timely manner if there is no need to use one or another Internet resource.

Step #3: Keep track of personal information on social media.

Social networks are an integral part of the lives of many modern users, however, personal data from social networks can often be used against us. If you enter the last name and first name of the user in the search engine, while indicating the social network, the search engine will issue a direct link to the profile. By going through all social networks and taking advantage of the fact that profile privacy settings are weakened somewhere, you can collect a lot of information about a person.

Such information can be used to evaluate a person by a potential employer or an attacker who can make a detailed portrait of the victim and use techniques social engineering(for example, send a spam letter on behalf of the tour operator, which the user indicated under the photo at the airport during the holidays). You should not include your date and place of birth, home address or other personal information as it may be used to find out more information. personal information. There are often cases when information about a person on the Internet is enough to, for example, issue a loan without his knowledge.

Step #4Use browser privacy.

Many users do not know that the computer stores information about which sites they visited and what data was reported to these sites (names, addresses, phone numbers, and much more). AT modern browsers There is an incognito mode.

This mode disables the caching of the content of visited sites and the storage of cookies. In other words, after the window in which the website was viewed in incognito mode is closed, no one will receive information about which website was visited. It is important to understand that this mode is not to protect against interception of data or provide anonymous access to sites, but to ensure that data that allows you to track activity on the Internet is not stored on your computer.

Step #5: Use Anonymous Search.

In June 2013, the media for the first time published materials about the surveillance of American intelligence agencies over Internet users. After that, many users thought about how to ensure anonymity on the Internet. One of the tools was the search engine DuckDuckGo and Disconnect. The search engine does not recognize the IP address, does not store cookies and the history of user requests, thus providing an anonymous search on the global network.

Step #6: Read policies and agreements carefully.

The privacy policy of an Internet resource often describes how the resource will process the information provided and what responsibility it bears for its disclosure. An important point when installing any software is the approval of the user agreement, which describes the capabilities of the software, including in relation to the information being processed. Unofficial extensions, such as Android desktop widgets, are freely distributed in Google Play and are not malware, but they may collect information and share it with third parties.

Methods for obtaining personal data are constantly being improved, but to ensure that your personal information is always under your control, it is worth remembering the following recommendations:

less information - more security: limiting information in social network profiles and periodically monitoring sites for the need to post information about you there should become a habit;
the use of many Internet services requires you to provide information about yourself, if possible, you should not provide truthful information, and to register on sites, you should create a special e-mail address;
should not be placed in personal profile your real date of birth, email address, address and phone number;
it is necessary to change account passwords at least every three months, and for each account a new strong password must be created; if a web service was attacked by hackers and lost the database of logins and passwords, it is quite possible that the attackers will already try to use the received combinations to enter other sites;
you should carefully read the terms of the user agreements when installing the software, as well as the privacy policy when registering on the sites;
must always be used official apps and download them from the manufacturer's website; for example, recently the distribution of the WhatsApp program for computers, which was actually malware, began to spread on the global network;
some Internet companies are ready to refuse to collect information about the user if he informs them about it; Most browsers have a special setting for this purpose: for example, in Firefox browser you need to go to the settings and in the "Privacy" section select the item " tell sites that I don't want to be tracked»; similar options are available in fresh versions Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari;
care must be taken in providing personal information and filling out “virtual questionnaires” – there is no guarantee that the data collection or survey was official, and the information will not end up in any user database.

Just about the complex. Programs. Iron. Internet. Windows