How paranoid should I be? i have a bandaid over the camera and mic of my lap top. Is this crazy?

[3 Horse Ranch]

It's simple, don't do stuff you don't want people to know about and don't say stuff you don't want people to hear. If you do it or say be proud and back it up. Living in fear of technology you bought with your own free will is humorous!(smash it and go back to a landline)

Yes it'd very simple, just pretend we are all living in an Eastern Bloc country in the 70s, or George Orwell's 1984, or maybe present day North Korea. Hey, we already have "Newspeak" but we call it political correctness.

 

[Fixastuff]

Yes it'd very simple, just pretend we are all living in an Eastern Bloc country in the 70s, or George Orwell's 1984, or maybe present day North Korea. Hey, we already have "Newspeak" but we call it political correctness.

Lol. That's not what I meant at all. I think most people who talk about 1984 on the internet haven't even read it.

 

[Ken45101]

when the people that work for google put tape over there cameras, so do I. Mine has a convenient metal slide shutter built in!

Oh, you didn't realize that the little slide has micro holes in it that the camera can compensate for? Just kidding.....maybe.

 

[lman]

“Crickets“ as in nobody will answer?

Yep

 

[bmg88201]

If they ( who ever they are ) want to snoop on you they can and will. Just think you throw an empty can of soup in the trash. The bar code on the can can identify want store it was purchased, what register is was rang up on and what time it was sold and lo and behold you are on camera in the store at that register at that time buying the soup. And I can’t stop criminals from stealing my identity but all I can do is try to protect my money. I have alerts on my credit cards, if I charge 10 cents I get a text and email before I even leave the store. Can’t withdrawal money from my bank accounts without giving the teller a password even though they know me by name. I don’t own a debit card. I use cash or checks mostly. Don‘t know what else to do.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Three Horse Ranch, I had the same thing happen. I know with certainty that I had done no searches online. I was just talking about pergolas with my wife, before going on-line and looking for vendors. Maybe she did searches, but I didn't. And maybe I had talked to other people, just face to face, or in email correspondence, but I know I didn't do any online searching. And the next time I'm on Facebot, there are ads for pergolas. Wife doesn't have a facebook account. Very strange case happened while I was getting new tires for my car. I had called and made an appointment, did no lookup on the internet cause i had a long time deal with a local shop to get me 12 inch tires. Which they had found some. And just after swiping my C-Card, and while the tires were being installed, my ad stream is filled with 12 inch tire sales. I had to laugh cause what purpose was there for the algorithm to try and sell me tires I had just bought. I've explored this in a strange way, just by picking something I really have no interest in. And just talk about it near the phone or the computer, and then see that it does indeed show up in an ad stream.

“Maybe she did searches, but I didn't.” From the perspective of the advertisers everyone connected to the internet service in your house is one source of information. I search “gas grill” and may wife starts getting ads for gas grills, because we share an IP address.

 

[Oaktree]

Except it's PRIVATE industry leading the way.

And that citizens are voluntarily incorporating these devices into their lives. Cellphones, connected cars, no one is forcing anyone to have these things.

 

[ericm979]

“Maybe she did searches, but I didn't.” From the perspective of the advertisers everyone connected to the internet service in your house is one source of information. I search “gas grill” and may wife starts getting ads for gas grills, because we share an IP address.

Advertisers track individual computers and phones too, using cookies, browser profiling, and trackers. For example this page has trackers from google, amazon-adsystem, fox news, doubleclick among others. If you browse while logged into Facebook in another window, Facebook records all your browsing. If you deleted or don't even have a Facebook account they still track you though they have less info about you.

There are ways to combat a lot of this.

 

[ericm979]

And that citizens are voluntarily incorporating these devices into their lives. Cellphones, connected cars, no one is forcing anyone to have these things.

Well yes, but also no. You don't get a choice about your new car being connected or the new TV being "smart". People need cell phones in order to participate in modern society. Same with using Facebook or other sites. Yes you can drive an older car that's not connected, use a dumb phone and delete your Facebook etc accounts but you don't get the benefits of a newer car or tv, or the social connection from using the web sites. These days more and more services require you to have a smart phone, from governments to menus in resturants.

So it's not really voluntary unless you're a hermit.

 

[Oaktree]

A nephew gave us a google nest for x-mas. It immediately, and unopened, was re-gifted.

I do wonder why laptops don't have manual caps or slides for their cameras and mics. Some do, but most don't.

Once every year or so, I will hire myself to do a digital inventory of what Jasperfrank's real name has out there, and each time I am a bit shocked at how accurate, and extensive some of it is. I also find, ransoms that have been created. Well, they were created as I was doing the searching, just to target me.

I recently saw an article about how our phones are helping us live better. It sent off alarm bells in my head even though the author loved what it was doing. "You might want to check yours out to see what data is being collected without your knowledge.

I did a similar check of myself a few years ago, and was equally surprised how INaccurate much of the information about me was.
Curiously, what do you mean by "ransoms"?

I do not and will not have a smart phone. I have no real need for most of what they'll do, and likewise have privacy concerns. Ditto for Alexa-type gadgets.