What Tools Can I Use to Protect My Privacy Online?

  • Thread starter Thread starter gravenewworld
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around tools and strategies for protecting online privacy, including software, search engines, and general practices. Participants explore various options and share personal experiences regarding their effectiveness and usability.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested, Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant mentions using startpage.com and Iron web browser for privacy and is considering Tor and Scroogle, seeking feedback on their effectiveness and impact on browsing.
  • Another participant asserts that Tor primarily serves as an IP anonymizer and significantly slows down browsing speed.
  • A claim is made that no search engine is superior in terms of privacy, as they all collect similar statistics and information.
  • Suggestions are offered for further privacy measures, including closing social networking accounts, using PGP for email, and avoiding online transactions that require personal information.
  • One participant emphasizes that true privacy on the web is unattainable, suggesting that online content is permanent and advocating for damage control instead.
  • A later reply highlights Scroogle as a good option for search privacy, noting its lack of tracking.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effectiveness of various privacy tools and practices, with no consensus reached on the best approach to online privacy protection.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on personal experiences and may not account for all variables affecting online privacy. The discussion includes assumptions about the permanence of online information and the limitations of privacy tools.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in enhancing their online privacy, including those exploring different tools and strategies for personal data protection.

gravenewworld
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What are some things you can download, websites you can use, etc. that can help protect your privacy online? Obviously, nothing is 100% foolproof, but at least you can try to protect yourself online. Currently I only use startpage.com as my search engine and stay away from google as much as I can. I also use Iron web browser. I was also thinking about downloading Tor and maybe Scroogle. Does anyone have any experience with these? Does it interfere a lot with web browsing? What are some other things I can use?
 
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Tor is only an IP anonymizer. It slows your browsing speed considerably.

No search engine is better than any other. They all keep the same kind of statistics and information.

If you want to protect your identity, close all your social networking accounts. Use PGP for your e-mail. Never use your credit card or identifying information online.

Privacy on the web in the realistic sense doesn't exist. Since nothing you put on the web (as far as facebook posts, blog posts, purchases, etc) never really goes away, all you can do at this point is damage control.
 
gravenewworld said:
Currently I only use startpage.com as my search engine and stay away from google as much as I can.

Curious to know why you stay away from Google...?
 

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