Understanding Privacy and Security - Online and in the Real World

If privacy is the freedom from unauthorized intrusion, then security is about protecting that privacy. If security is breached then you lose your privacy. Here is a quick look at the broad concepts around online privacy and data security.

What is the difference between privacy and security?




#garyexplains

[StartpageSearch]

Privacy is so important and it's wonderful seeing creators like yourself covering it. We'd love to help continue this kind of content, the more people who learn about privacy the better.

[NeroVingian]

If there’s one thing I would say about why you should protect your privacy, it’s gonna be advertisers. The more info advertisers have on us, the easier it is for them to sell us things. It’s all fine and dandy when it is stuffs that we would actually want to buy in the first place, where it gets dangerous though is when they started to subliminally coerce you to waste money on stuffs that is meaningless for you. People often think that the only data worth protecting is anything regarding their bank accounts and identity, what they don’t understand is how literally every single thing we do in day to day can be useful info for targeted advertising.

[MarkKeller]

*GARY!!!*
*Good Morning Professor!*
*Good Morning Fellow Classmates!*

[XSpImmaLion]

Great conceptual explainer Gary! For practical purposes, based on what I know on the subject, on the practical side of things, with the following caveat - this is NOT a definitive list, it is NOT guaranteed, as always do your own research.
Linux is the OS you should go for both privacy and security. As long as you know how to handle it, it's the OS more likely to keep you and your privacy safe.
For webmail I think Protonmail and few others are the ones to go for. Of course, having your own webserver and hosting it yourself will give you more flexibility and potential for security and privacy, but only if you really know what you are doing.
Messaging systems it depends on your needs. Facebook messenger is probably the worst of the bunch, Whatsapp encrypts messages by default but do not encrypt metadata, Telegram is supposed to do the same (I'm not sure about this), and iMessages does encryption but you hotta be careful about what you backup on iCloud.
As replacement for SMS you should look into installing Signal.
There are also apps for local short range messaging that goes directly from one phone to another without going through the web, but you have to be within wi-fi range for those.
I'd currently recommend Firefox over any Chromium based browser right now, not only because Google has a very dominant hand over the Chromium web engine (kinda like AOSP), but also because competition is always good, and it works better these days than most people think. Mozilla is also always pushing for more privacy focused features, like the recent push for Cloudflare sided encryption.
There are some Cloud storage services focused on privacy, but for this you should probably look into a local storage solution like a home NAS. Some of them even offers other local self owned web services right off the bat. I use Synology.
Speaking of which, for your local network, better options to enhance privacy and security could be a router that gives you more control and monitoring of your Internet and LAN, and/or uses open source OS that is always updated and publicly audited.
For network, peripherals, and basically all that you can, wired connections are still more secure than wireless. Most wireless protocols have known vulnerabilities (Wi-fi, Bluetooth, RF protocols that wireless keyboards and mice use), some of them are plain not fixable, so if you want to minimize attack surface, you should avoid when possible.
Login schemes the usual stuff. Use a password manager, do not re-use passwords, turn on 2 factor auth and so forth. If you want to go the extra mile, keep your passwords on an offline device using and offline password manager such as Keepass.
There's tons more to add I guess, but these are the main ones I know about. Feel free to add, correct and update as you see fit.

[xqusxlr]

well done.
Raising awareness - that is what you do in a nice and well structured way.
Thanks.

[fortypersec]

Hello professor, can you explain what is IME—Intel Management Engine. I think it was a vulnerability in intel CPUs. Also, is it still relevant in year 2020?

[smthsmth]

Thanks. I'd like this kind of knowledge would be tought at school.

[aldrinseanpereira]

well as a sort of follow up what alternatives would you feel are better than the data harvesters that MOST PEOPLE use (sadly). for example instagram is a free service application by facebook and there are so many people who use it...what alternative could be used instead?

[IEnjoyCreatingVideos]

Good video Gary! Thank you for sharing with us! 💖👌👍😎JP

[TrevorReis]

Listening to this from across the room I thought I was having digital privacy explained to me by Eric Idle.
Always look on the bright side of digital life.

[tomswan]

i must say in general i like your videos. however, this i found to be to general. so im giving thumbs up knowing you will make "better videos" in the future.

[Salfordian]

One of the reasons I don't use Google Pay etc, I use the banks own app

[helge]

Good example: Google. Bad privacy but industry leading security.

[AshwinSivakumar]

Nice jacket.. what is it.. where or how can i get one?

[ghadermokhtabady]

You will not be able to lose your protection using the Utopia p2p ecosystem. Unlike other messengers, you only need a username and password.

[Borep_Yano]

Steal someone else's identity; no need to worry about your own security or privacy anymore. Problem solved. ....

[Enforcedcraft]

Garry please answer my question. I won't buy anymore of Chinese smartphones because I don't think I liked them that much and privacy is a thing for me. Especially last few months or year or so, where I started to take my privacy seriously.I only use Duckduckgo as a search Engine, Brave as my browser both PC and Android phone, And I have VPN which I bought about a month ago which is located in Caymand Island which is good because it is located outside of 14 eyes Organization. it is FastestVpn I bought Lifetime licence for about €15(with Honey really useful addon, from 18€ to €15 😂) it isn't the best but it is decent and does the job. I have always turned on my Pc and Most of the time on phone, but Can't leave it 24/7 on phone cause it does drain battery faster not significant and I have deteriorated battery(1, 6 years) which I am not gonna replace because I am gonna replace my Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with new phone. But I am torn between Samsung A71, and Pixel 4a/XL or maybe even Sony 1 Mark 2 but if it comes down in price . I want to buy Pixel for its quality camera, Long software support, good value and other stuff that is typically good for Pixels but how safe is it? I don't want to use Google Assistant, Google Chrome, Google as search engine. Is there any way to disable this feature or do I need to root it? What is your take? Thanks.