The safety and security of the Internet impacts us all. We should be able to understand what is happening to our data, and hav

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Jodiendo
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Iscritto: 01/09/2013

https://internethealthreport.org/v01/privacy-and-security/

The safety and security of the Internet impacts us all. We should be able to understand what is happening to our data, and have the ability to control how it is used.

From the phones in our pockets to the biometric databases that identify us to government officials, our personal stake in digital security is growing. You can have ‘nothing to hide’ and still not want to be targeted by aggressive advertisers or snoopers.

Our Web browsing is tracked and logged, online cameras are ubiquitous in cities, and we are welcoming more Internet connected devices into our homes. We have gained endless daily conveniences and ‘free’ services from these innovations, but the data they generate is crunched, archived and repurposed for marketing and surveillance.

We face risks now that were unimaginable only a decade ago, and many companies and governments are acquiring and using data in ways that do not have people’s best interests at heart. Unfortunately, those we trust to handle our data sometimes fail us.

Better security – and more choice – is the antidote for a decline in trust of online services. We need to push for more lean data practices, meaning that less personal data is shared and logged in the first place.

Healthy

Public awareness about privacy being under threat in the digital sphere appears to be growing, and this is a helpful precursor to pushing for better rights and services. Lawmakers in many countries are engaging positively with online privacy issues, especially in Europe.

Hundreds of millions of people are taking charge of their personal Web experience by installing ad-blockers. One of the top three stated reasons for blocking ads is security, given that ads can be a channel for malware. This presents challenges for publishers, but also creates a strong incentive for the industry to make online ads better.

More messaging apps, including WhatsApp, now offer end-to-end encryption, meaning that conversations are protected from eavesdroppers, including the service provider.

Web traffic encryption is rising too. One factor is the launch of Let’s Encrypt, a new certificate authority that makes it easy and free to add HTTPS to any website. This helps protect the privacy of users, and offers some guarantee they are not looking at spoof pages. Also driving adoption, search engines and browsers are now subtly rewarding HTTPS websites.

Unknown to most, Internet communication will be more private, and possibly also faster, due to an upcoming new version of the cryptographic protocol called Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3) that is used to secure all communications between Web browsers and servers.
Unhealthy

In 2013, US whistleblower Edward Snowden opened the world’s eyes to the full extent of government sanctioned, global digital mass surveillance, even in democratic countries. There is more public scrutiny of surveillance laws than before, but it hasn’t stopped greater snooping powers from being proposed in Britain, Pakistan, France and several other countries.

As cars, refrigerators, toys and all manner of devices connect to the Internet, the risks for both surveillance and malicious hacks are growing. In November 2016, a malware program called Mirai mobilized 100,000 connected devices, including webcams and baby monitors, in a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDOS) that briefly took down parts of the Internet. The owners of those compromised devices may never know (or care) what happened, and cheap and insecure devices will continue to be manufactured, unless safety standards, rules and accountability measures take hold.

Data breaches can lay bare the passwords of millions of people when the information is posted online or sold to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, breaches can go undiscovered for years, even when as many as 1 billion accounts are compromised. Which means… you may never learn the source of that identity theft that led your credit score to plunge.

Ransomware that hijacks computers and demands immediate payment to avert deletion, has grown into a multi-million dollar criminal industry with victims ranging from regular users to hospitals, schools, businesses, and one day perhaps critical infrastructure. Just one false click in an email purporting to be legitimate, can be enough to cause real damage.
Prognosis

The Internet depends on the security and trust of its users to function in a healthy way. Will the safety and privacy measures developed for software, networks and devices match the threats? We need to push governments and software makers to ensure that they do.

Through everyday interaction we are generating lifelong digital footprints across a range of corporate and government databases. At the personal level, we should take safety precautions with username and passwords until we have a better form of authentication.

Above all, we should be more critical about what information we share voluntarily. Will the online dating profile you posted 6 years ago ever get deleted? How long do the online ads you view track you? Even if you’d like to know the privacy conditions of online platforms, they are usually not written in language an average person understands.

Technology can be a real source of freedom and empowerment, but it can also be a tool of authoritarian control. No matter where in the world, we need to rein in the ability of officials and corporations to archive every movement and uttered word, for today and the future.

Jodiendo
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Iscritto: 01/09/2013

Calmstorm

You said planned obsolescence should be illegal.

definition of planned obsolescence?

What is 'Planned Obsolescence'

Planned obsolescence is a purposefully implemented strategy that ensures the current version of a given product will become out-of-date or useless within a known time period. This guarantees that consumers will demand replacements in the future, thus naturally supporting demand. In some instances, this can even motivate multiple sales of the same object to the same consumer. Obsolescence can be achieved through introduction of a superior replacement or a product design meant to cease proper function within a specific window, or by cultivating desirability of new versions over older ones.

Calm-storm
Ill give you a good example: of planned obsolescence

Car makers made in japan and American

It all depends on the cost of gas in the pumps per liter and how much could you save on filling up with your budget in the gas pumps..

American car industry in 2008 got hit hard and big snag during that time. The American car industry was suffering in losses in millions of dollars.
Why? It was super expensive to fuel up an SUV so Americans trade in their big 6 cylinder engine cars for 4 cylinder engines to help the cost and savings to their own pocket.

Most cars makers that produced effective gas savers engines where the Japanese makers. Yet we competitive real hard with new design and fuel saving cars. While Ford was becoming a good option, besides Japanese cars, Chevy was getting sanctuary help from the feds.

I end up buying a 2009 Honda accord city 1.8, 4 cylinder for my dad, it last it 14 years until my dad wreck it totally during a bad snow storm. Then my dad bought a 4 cylinder KIA car, that still serving well today.

Then I bought a 2013 Ford pickup truck 4 cylinder which I traded for a Tesla electric sedan after 9 years. Still have the cars and I end up donate to my brother. His Chevy was giving him more headaches in repairs and the bills for replacement parts was giving him a heart attack. We got rid of the car. The 2013 Tesla Still running and serving my brother economically and safely. Never bought a Chevy again in my life.

Then I bought a Ford Ranger 4x4 2010, diesel 2.8 engine made in Thailand, nice truck and economical so far. That was my best investment ever made when it comes to safety and savings. I only got 69 thousand kilometers so far.

Still I will like to see more innovations in the electric car industry. Unfortunate our government is killing the incentives you get when you bought an electric car, stupid it is? why? because our gas prices drop radically when Canada open up the sand oil deposits. Yet in my opinion electric cars will jump again, nothing is permanent when it comes to fossil fuels.

Jodiendo
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Iscritto: 01/09/2013

CalmStorm

Dammed tesla!
Well, Ill guess I will be riding my Fred Flintstones car. ....