Home » The Art of Data Protection » #securechat Top Tweets – Do Web Browsers & Search Engines Go Too Far?

Here are some of the top Tweets from last week’s #securechat. The topic was “Privacy – Do Web Browsers & Search Engines Go Too Far?” The discussion questions guiding the chat were:

Q1: Does your browser or search engine make suggestions or have personalized ads based on your browsing history? Tell us what browser or search engine you’re using

johnRquinn: For those unfamiliar with remarketing, heres an overview: bit.ly/rRGGP3. Works really well.

Q2: Are you ok with the amount of info browsers & search engines collect on your online habits?

grecs: Overall privacy is lost cause. If U want to interact with world today, U have to accept U have no privacy.

Q3: Are there benefits to personalized ads & suggestions? When is it ok with you?

jenatsafenet: If I’m already on a site like Amazon, I’m ok with suggesting other products. Just gets weird on 3rd party sites.

kcgeek: Never. Like the wise Bill Hicks once said “all marketing people should just kill themselves” I gest.

Q4: Where is the line between browsers and search engines being helpful vs. invading your privacy?

securitytrends: Helpful = Nearest CVS/Walgreens. Suggesting brands of male enlargement pills at CVS = Invasion of privacy.

EnzOnInfoSec: If I cannot opt-out (EASILY), it is past the line.

grecs: @EnzOnInfoSec Lol, if everything was opt-in … no one would opt-in.

JohnRQuinn: Companies that collect my data other than to benefit me are over the line. Apps do this, sometimes.

Q5: What can you do to increase your privacy?

securitytrends: A5 – Live under a rock. Next question…. There are forensic tools out there to dig out treasure trove of info. Clearing history, cookies do only so much.

EnzOnInfoSec: you can use stateless virtual machines to browse, Tails OS, Tor, etc. but what the heck fun is that!

russdietz: While there are good tools and plug-ins to stop most covert collections, many folks that collect data go around to prevent poor user experience.

You can read the full transcript at HashTracking.com (just click the Transcript tab).

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