Today, I’d like to have a look at security concerns I’ve encountered in using various online services. While to some privacy is obvious to most, others certainly leave something to be desired when it comes to security.
E-commerce
Most of us would agree that the internet has helped to bring the world closer together, making it easier to do things and see things we normally would not have seen.
However, e-commerce needs to be protected as much as possible. Many online markets like Amazon and Uber have little to guarantee it is safe. However, it seems to be pretty obvious that a person who uses to be a few steps ahead is likely to still be at risk.
The steps we take online have shifted from day today. The logic behind people browsing websites has moved from “theoretical” to “practical”.
It’s not hard to make a good assumption that much information is being taken from us and that many of us have no idea why it is being shared. When combining such facts, it’s easy to see why many people have concerns.
Knowing more about e-commerce would help us identify where there is an issue with privacy and fraud protection. Also, as a human being, I’d like to know that I’m not trusting anything and putting all my money in the wrong hands.
Government information
Data gathering is proving to be a growing problem with the government, even affecting our chance to vote. The Department of Justice is behind many policies that are not taking into account user’s privacy.
For example, the “Supervised” program is designed to record you and help you look a lot like you are a member of the government.
This kind of data makes it possible for the government to track one’s behavior. Seeing this is indeed a scary thought and how does the government even do this?
The authorities have more access to private data than we will ever know. This makes it quite difficult to accept, but knowing it means it shouldn’t be happening.
I think my deepest worries come when my friend asks me if I’m known online or not.
After all, I’ve shared my photos with Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, and many other social media platforms.
I guess that’s the price I have to pay for being open with everyone.
Social Networks
The term “social media” is not even really an accurate term, it’s more of a phenomenon. Be that as it may, the likes and comments we post on Facebook and other social media platforms do expose us a bit.
We tend to copy, comment, or comment out of sympathy. This kind of automatically builds up the confidence of strangers and in doing so spreads viruses and malware onto your computer.
The best way to limit the viruses is to opt-out of Facebook and keep your comments and likes off of sites I would rather not have them on. However, this is still not an option.
Content Rating
All the right reasons! Every time I share a link on my Facebook, my account is checked to see if it has a bad reputation or otherwise. If it does, it’s taken down.
Here’s the deal, if a site has to abide by the strictest social rules, the content a user shares will be kept under a set of “community guidelines”.
There are, of course, other social nets, including the likes of Hootsuite and WordPress, but sadly, these sites have gotten less positivity since, and now many of the content creators post content that makes me very glad I don’t follow them.
Conclusion
There are several things I would like to see better about our internet. There is just so much that needs better control and we have no evidence it’s going to get better soon.
One thing is clear, there is a lot of common sense that has been lost. I believe we need to reconsider how we continue to use the internet and what our attitude towards it should be.
When having conversations with my friends, they show very little concern for online privacy and a very high level of respect towards authority figures. This kind of attitude also makes me very nervous.
I hope this helps and I hope my article doesn’t cause any issues for anyone I’ve missed out on.