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

[IndyJay]

Not sure I totally agree with that. If enough people stood up to all this instead of being sheep things might (key word, might) be different. I personally don't see how owning a connected car or smartphone will make my life easier or better. If that makes me a hermit, so be it. I will not patronize a business that requires me to have one.

I did join Facebook about 10 years ago under a fake name just to see what it was all about. They pestered me with so many nosy questions, and it seemed that I was blocked from seeing much of anything interesting there without creating a detailed dossier so I just abandoned the account and never went back.

Interesting that before Facebook there was a similar app called Lifelog. Apparently Lifelog felt they couldn't compete because they shut down the same day Facebook started. Try searching the two names together on Duck Duck Go. It is interesting, if true.

 

[JasperFrank]

Seems that you really can't get rid of a Facebook account. I decided to cancel mine, did exactly what they directed as to how to cancel. They gave me a date, of cancellation, so I downloaded the info file and re-selected that I wanted it to be cancelled, and not to be re-instated in the future. Well, that cancellation date has come and gone, several months ago, and I never rescinded the cancellation. But I'm still there. And can still sign-in. Well, i can sort of, still sign-in. I don't even need the password I changed. Just a click on any old message someone sent me, and then go back to home, and I'm back in to my home page. WTF? It seems that for a week or so I did get the message there was no available account, but then it all came back, after Meta was created.

 

[IndyJay]

Removed political posts by Dftodd and etpm. Please have the integrity to abide by the rules you agreed to when you registered.

If you have questions, please PM Muhammad.

I would have thought everyone would get enough politics from TV, newspapers, Twitter, Facebook, ad nauseam, that, in addition to being against the Terms Of Service, TBN would be an oasis from all those contentious discussions. Clearly I was wrong, at least for sthere is a feature ome people.

Respectfully, there is a feature that allows users to "ignore" members with whom they disagree or who regularly post things that may offend their sensibilities. I enjoy reading and talking about tractors but sometimes the discussion may include things which may be considered political. Often these topics are directly related to how decisions made by people in powerful positions affect our daily lives, perhaps tractor related, perhaps not. It is part of being the "community" that TBN has become for many of us as opposed to simply being a "message board".

I have found myself coming to understand and appreciate viewpoints which I previously may have completely disagreed with when these have been shared in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Those people that I felt have come across as obnoxious have been set on ignore and I am no longer "offended" by them. This site gives me the tools that I need to moderate the discussion for myself. But mostly my experience on this forum has helped me to grow in knowledge and understanding both within strictly tractor related threads but also in matters of everyday life in threads that have seemingly "gone off the rails". This wide range of topics is what brings me back to TBN throughout the day.

There is a distinction between respectfully sharing ones thoughts on topics that affect our lives, even if these are not directly tractor related, and those political rants which spew hatred and division. There is a difference between censorship and moderation. I appreciate how difficult it can be at times to make this distinction without bias. Doing this well ensures the continued success of TBN.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Respectfully, there is a feature that allows users to "ignore" members with whom they disagree or who regularly post things that may offend their sensibilities. I enjoy reading and talking about tractors but sometimes the discussion may include things which may be considered political. Often these topics are directly related to how decisions made by people in powerful positions affect our daily lives, perhaps tractor related, perhaps not. It is part of being the "community" that TBN has become for many of us as opposed to simply being a "message board".

I have found myself coming to understand and appreciate viewpoints which I previously may have completely disagreed with when these have been shared in a thoughtful and respectful manner. Those people that I felt have come across as obnoxious have been set on ignore and I am no longer "offended" by them. This site gives me the tools that I need to moderate the discussion for myself. But mostly my experience on this forum has helped me to grow in knowledge and understanding both within strictly tractor related threads but also in matters of everyday life in threads that have seemingly "gone off the rails". This wide range of topics is what brings me back to TBN throughout the day.

There is a distinction between respectfully sharing ones thoughts on topics that affect our lives, even if these are not directly tractor related, and those political rants which spew hatred and division. There is a difference between censorship and moderation. I appreciate how difficult it can be at times to make this distinction without bias. Doing this well ensures the continued success of TBN.

Well said.

 

[Jstpssng]

I bought a little tablet just for something cheap to have around. One of the features is a “reading magnifier”. I don’t need it anyhow but it would be interesting to see how quickly using THAT would influence what pops up on my browser.
I have nothing to hide yet don’t believe the government or anybody else needs to spy on my daily life.

 

[caver]

Seems that you really can't get rid of a Facebook account. <snip>

I went back and deleted about 95% of my old posts back to 2010. FB claims this stuff will be there for 30 days and then deleted. If I click on the memories link on the left the old posts will often still show up.

 

[Jchonline]

We went backwards with the new house. No internet connected appliances, lights, google this or alexa that. No smart tv. Just the computers/ipads/phones. Those are bad enough! But you can easily get a computer with no camera. Just buy a desktop.

 

[Oaktree]

Facebook's parent site is "Meta"... what do you think that stands for?

I've read a couple online articles that attempt to define the "metaverse", seems to be some Zuckerburg vision for incorporating virtual reality into online activity, whatever that means. The whole concept was, at least to me, about as obtuse as trying to explain blockchain.

Most people understand how Crypto-ransomware works. But I found that there is a much broader category and industry out there, some of which appear to be perfectly legal, yet still operate like Ransomware. These are the "finder" type web sites that supposedly gather up all the publicly available information on a particular person. They usually have a ridiculously long series of progress bars as the site searches, or pretends to search, across various types of records, such as "Marriage," "Residences," "Contact Info," and "Criminal Records." Then the site says a complete file is ready for viewing... but there is a paywall. Usually less than $5. The ransom is in the form of how they highlight The Criminal Records category

I've come across some of those sites while Googling someone, never paid the fee to see any of the "hidden" info. Seemed like a scam of some sort so I never went any further.

It is scary how much relatively easy to access public info there is about you.

 

[Oaktree]

We went backwards with the new house. No internet connected appliances, lights, google this or alexa that. No smart tv. Just the computers/ipads/phones. Those are bad enough! But you can easily get a computer with no camera. Just buy a desktop.

I own my own cable modem & router, and never set up wi-fi. I want to be able to control what gadgets in my house can access the internet.
I agree that desktop computers can be used much more securely than other devices. and at least to me are so much more versatile & easier to use than a smartphone or tablet. No camera or microphone, and a good ad/cookie blocker go a long way. Of course, you really don't have any control over what websites you visit do with your IP address (which they all log).

IMHO, a lot of the issues people here are complaining about could be minimized by NOT using a cellphone for internet access and/or not installing a bunch of "free" aps, all of which "need" a lot of personal info in order to operate. These gadgets use the aspect of "convenience" as a trojan horse to track your every move. I'm not into conspiracy theories, and won't speculate on any tech industry/government collusion, but just the ad targeting alone is enough reason to not trust these gadgets.

 

[bcp]

I never meta social website I liked.

Bruce