Personal information collecting

Thanks for the reality check. BTW, as one who has been helped several times here, I would like to make a donation. How can I do that?

 

Several years ago I experimented a little with the TOR browser on a computer with Windows Vista. Does anyone here have any comments, good or bad, on using TOR? Any reasons not to use it?

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/do-donts-tor-network/

 

A lot of Websites now can tell if you are using "TOR"

 

Is that a problem?

 

Wow! I guess we're not in Kansas any more! (With apologies to "The Wizard of Oz")

 

Selling your Web Browsing History, is a small price to pay for the wealth of information at your fingertips, on the Internet.
There is no such thing, as a free lunch.
Anyone remember when you had to spend hrs at library, trying to find information you required for say a school project.
If one stays away from the dark side, the internet can be very rewarding.
Give a little, take a little.
I have nothing to hide.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with all of this.

I remember well the hours at the library finding very limited, outdated, and often biased information. With the internet, we've got all the world's knowledge readily available in an instant. I would pay a heck of a lot more than my browsing history to keep such an invaluable collection.

 

Yes, the Internet is free, and yes, the wealth of info that's just a couple of clicks away is beyond astounding. (Of course, you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff.) My concern, and the reason for this thread, is the chance that some nefarious character could assemble enough personal info to, for example, tap into my financial resources. I have taken whatever precautions I can think of- for example, I do not use plastic online and pay for purchases with PayPal or a bank check (personal checks have routing and account numbers). If a site wants personal info, I make it up. And I, for one, would not be averse to paying for use of the Internet if the trade-off were some form of identity protection. For the record, as Cindy E has said,I have nothing to hide either.

Re the telemarketers, we have two landlines in our house, one a carryover from my business days. Between the two, telemarketing calls are 6-10 per day. The "Do Not Call" list? It is to laugh. We long ago stopped answering the phones unless we recognize the caller on the screen. And if not near a phone (there are several) we don't move ourselves to see who's calling. People who know us also know to start leaving a message and if home we will pick up.

 

Post removed by DSTM (Dougie)

Reason: Information obsolete.

 

Privacy? I don't have anything to hide.
Over the last 16 months, as I've debated this issue around the world, every single time somebody has said to me, "I don't really worry about invasions of privacy because I don't have anything to hide." I always say the same thing to them. I get out a pen, I write down my email address. I say, "Here's my email address. What I want you to do when you get home is email me the passwords to all of your email accounts, not just the nice, respectable work one in your name, but all of them, because I want to be able to just troll through what it is you're doing online, read what I want to read and publish whatever I find interesting. After all, if you're not a bad person, if you're doing nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide." Not a single person has taken me up on that offer.

Glenn Greenwald in Why privacy matters - TED Talk

 

None of that makes sense for 2 reasons:

1) Your email address can only be had by people and sites that you give it to.

2) Search engines and the like don't try (and can't) get your passwords. That's just ludicrous.

Glenn's sentiment is understandable, but completely misguided.

The only "private" information a search engine can get, is your search history. The only time that will have any relevant affect on someone, is if they're doing something illegal.