Internet Security, Social Media

8 Tips to Protect Your Browsing Privacy

Online privacy is a hot topic recently with the influx of news stories about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica possibly misusing…

Published 9 years ago in
8 Tips to Protect Your Browsing Privacy

Online privacy is a hot topic recently with the influx of news stories about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica possibly misusing users data. Although the news stories are highlighting to people just how much Facebook knows about them, they are not the only company that keeps track of things you do online!

Virtually every interaction that takes place in a web browser is tracked in some way. There are many ways in which you are tracked online, IP address, browser cookies, HTTP referrer headers, browser fingerprints and user agents. All of these things make it possible to trace everything you do online.

Unfortunately, the majority of people are happy to hand out way too much information about themselves too – their location, their relationships and much more online.

For some users, browsing privacy is only just becoming a priority when they are online. Fortunately, we have compiled some tips, add-ons/browser extensions to try and minimize the amount of information available about you and your browsing habits.

 

Stop oversharing – Take your browsing privacy seriously

 

Our first and most obvious tip, stop oversharing your information online willingly! Whenever you disclose information online it is there forever. Whether this is on facebook, twitter or other social media try to simply not share information that is not relevant.

Simply customizing your social media settings to restrict who can see what you share is a good starting place.

Turning off location tracking in apps and your google account settings should be your next step.

Unfortunately, information shared willingly only scratches the surface of data that is stored about you online.

 

“Do Not Track”

 

All modern web browsers have the ability to toggle on a “do not track” option. This option is a W3C standard that tells websites, when enabled, to stop their user-tracking and disable cross-site user tracking.

An example of this would be targeted adverts. If you have ever been browsing for an item, an electric toothbrush, for example, you may have noticed that for weeks after you see lots of adverts or more electric toothbrushes. This example would not happen if a user had the “do not track” option enabled in their browser.

 

Ad Blockers

 

To avoid seeing adverts and many user tracking scripts at all you can simply install an ad blocker. There are many options available to you, common and powerful choices are Ad Block Plus (https://adblockplus.org/) and uBlock Origin (https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock).

 

Disable browser scripts

 

A slightly more aggressive way of blocking user tracking scripts is to install a browser add-on/extension that disables them all by default. No Script (https://noscript.net/) and ScriptSafe (https://www.andryou.com/scriptsafe/) are the most common options available.

By default, these extensions will block all Java, JavaScript, Flash and other tracking scripts generated by the site you are visiting. This “white list” approach can break some website until you enable certain scripts but it does give you the freedom and security of having everything off by default.

 

Become an online ghost with Ghostery – https://www.ghostery.com

 

Ghostery is a browser extensions/add-on that provides a safer way to browse online. It offers a wide range of features such as enhanced ad-blocking, enhanced anti-tracking, and smart blocking. By default, it blocks thousands of known user tracking scripts. Ghostery offers control over your browsing privacy by allowing you to run individual tracking scripts if for some reason you need them.

 

HTTPS Everywhere – https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

 

HTTPS Everywhere is another browser extension/add-on that encrypts your data sent to many major websites.

Although most communication to websites nowadays is done through HTTPS, some information you send may sneak through in an unsecured, un-encrypted form. This is where HTTPS Everywhere steps in – It steps in and takes these unsecured HTTP requests and encrypts them.

 

Mozilla Facebook container – https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/facebook-container/

 

Following on from recent news stories, the Mozilla foundation has launched their Facebook container. When installed it will delete all of your previous Facebook cookies and ask you to log in using the container tab. It acts like a normal browser tab but with one important difference – Any Facebook activities are isolated from other browser activity.

Any websites with embedded Facebook widgets, such as like or share buttons will not work as your account login is contained inside the Facebook container tab. This makes it so that Facebook loses the ability to track your browsing activity outside of Facebook. A simple yet efficient way of restoring some browsing privacy to your daily Facebook session!

 

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

 

In one of our previous articles – Do I need a VPN for 2018 We discussed the pros of a VPN for the average user. The main point that we took from the article was that by having a VPN you are ensuring that all your online browsing information is invisible to your ISP.

A VPN will stop your ISP spying on your online browsing activities but is not a golden bullet to online browsing privacy. Using a (reputable!) VPN in conjunction with some of the add-ons/extensions mentioned in this article would be a very powerful combination to stay safe online.

 

 

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Internet Security

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Nexo says 67% of affluent investors own crypto but few make it central to wealth plans

Nexo says 67% of affluent investors own crypto, but integration stays low. Security, fees and platform complexity emerge as key barriers to adoption. US investors show deepest crypto integration despite lower ownership rates. High-net-worth investors are increasingly buying crypto, but many are still reluctant to make it a major part of their long-term wealth plans

Published 2 weeks ago in
Nexo says 67% of affluent investors own crypto but few make it central to wealth plans

An investor checks rising cryptocurrency charts on a laptop and smartphone with a city skyline visible through the office window.

  • Nexo says 67% of affluent investors own crypto, but integration stays low.
  • Security, fees and platform complexity emerge as key barriers to adoption.
  • US investors show deepest crypto integration despite lower ownership rates.

High-net-worth investors are increasingly buying crypto, but many are still reluctant to make it a major part of their long-term wealth plans, according to a new Nexo survey.

The report found that 67% of affluent investors across the US, UK and Argentina already own crypto. However, security concerns, high fees and complicated platforms are stopping many from using digital assets for retirement planning or replacing traditional investments.

Nexo published its “Future of Digital Wealth 2026” report on September 23 after surveying 1,000 affluent investors. Its new Crypto Integration Index, which measures how deeply crypto is incorporated into investors’ finances, produced an average score of 4.83 out of 10.

Ownership outpaces deeper integration

Nexo said a score near the survey average of 4.83 represents a small, short-horizon crypto position outside retirement planning.

Only 4.7% of surveyed investors scored seven or higher, a level Nexo describes as structurally integrated, where crypto has replaced a traditional asset and forms part of longer-term financial planning.

The report found that just under 20% of respondents expect crypto to become their number-one personal wealth driver over the next decade, ahead of salary, equities and real estate.

More than 40% are already invested in crypto without yet building wealth with it.

“Once an investor gets past the risk perception stage, what’s left is security, fees, and platform user-friendliness and capabilities – the same things we’ve spent years building Nexo to solve,” said Neil Steinhardt, COO, Nexo US.

That’s the gap between owning crypto and actually building wealth with it, and it’s exactly where our platform is designed to meet investors.

Integration also varies by market. Argentina had the highest ownership rate at 74%, but a CII score of 4.62. The US had the lowest ownership at 62%, but the deepest integration with a score of 5.07.

The UK recorded 65% ownership and a CII score of 4.75.

Platform trust becomes the next hurdle

The report said crypto integration peaks among investors aged 35 to 44, with 28% treating digital assets as a core retirement asset.

Investors aged 18 to 25 reported the highest ownership and conviction, with more than 90% holding crypto, but only 2% maintaining a horizon of 10 years or longer.

Among

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LIZ PEEK: Can Trump Make the UN Great Again despite its globalist agenda?

close Video Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemns the UN for allegedly including Israel in sexual violence blacklist Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), blasts the UN for what he claims is their decision to include Israel in a sexual violence blacklist that also includes Hamas. NEWYou can

Published 2 weeks ago in
LIZ PEEK: Can Trump Make the UN Great Again despite its globalist agenda?

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Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemns the UN for allegedly including Israel in sexual violence blacklist Video

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemns the UN for allegedly including Israel in sexual violence blacklist

Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), blasts the UN for what he claims is their decision to include Israel in a sexual violence blacklist that also includes Hamas.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Today, President Trump will address the U.N. General Assembly. As New Yorkers fume over traffic nightmares created by the president and by hordes of visiting diplomats, they may (again) question, as do many Americans, why U.S. taxpayers support this badly managed and scandal-scarred institution. Especially when the U.N. so frequently works against our interests and seems incapable of accomplishing its primary mission.

A new Gallup poll shows that 73% of Americans think the U.N. does a poor job of “maintaining international peace and security,” and 70% say the same about the U.N. “upholding international law” and “protecting human rights.” That’s a lousy report card for an organization that spends roughly $70 billion per year.

Elsewhere in the world, the U.N. scores better, which is not surprising since poor countries, which constitute the majority of members, look to wealthier nations for handouts via the U.N. The nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, are especially keen on the sprawling organization.

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How does that wealth transfer happen? One way was described by President Trump’s U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz in recent testimony before Congress: “The U.N. let countries use peacekeeping missions as cash cows for their militaries. Peacekeepers could bring equipment, park it, never use it, take it home brand new, and get it paid for by the U.N.” Those operations can employ “10,000 to 18,000 soldiers”; the costs, Waltz says, are “quite significant.” He is ending that practice — just one step in reforming the bloated U.N., whose budget has quadrupled over the past 25 years.

Americans have reason for skepticism, given the frequent votes that go against the U.S. or our ally Israel. For thirty-three years in a row, the General Assembly has voted to end our embargo on Cuba, and for decades it has opposed Israel’s attempts to protects its citizens from Palestinian terrorists. Waltz calls the body a “cesspool of antisemitism.”

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Not only is the U.N. frequently hostile to the U.S., it is often ridiculous. Most recently, the U.N. voted overwhelmingly to adopt a new map which blows up Africa’s presence on the globe; the U.S. was the sole dissenter. In a memo explaining our outlier vote, Deputy U.S. Representative Yaryna Ferencevych called such resolutions “barnacles on our work here” and wrote: “Instead of focusing on genuine problems of international peace… this body is debating map projects from the 16th century, and their role in promoting reparations and “cognitive justice.”

The U.N. rarely has much real-world impact. Critics might question, for instance, what the U.N. has done to resolve the Russia-Ukraine War, or how it has helped keep the world’s oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The answer in both cases is zero.

Instead, the U.N. is hyper-focused on climate change, gender equality and other issues that may scratch a globalist itch, but appear little related to the cause of peace.

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Meanwhile, the U.N. is going broke. Last year the Economist reported: “On May 5th the U.N. will brief members on a previously unreported $600m (17%) cut to its $3.7bn [administrative] budget aimed at avoiding default this year. It will include a hiring freeze… Yet it may not be enough. A combination of deadbeat members and mad budget rules have led to a liquidity crisis.”

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The article goes on to warn that a “leaked memo” suggesting that the Trump administration might cut off funding to the U.N. threatened “a financial crash in the citadel of peace and security.”

The Trump White House has not bankrupted the U.N. by withholding payments. Instead, it appointed Waltz to drive much-needed reforms and who is, according to Politico, “generally well-regarded, including among many Democrats on Capitol Hill.” That’s rare praise for a Trump appointee.

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Waltz is working to downsize the bloated U.N., focusing on its staff of 100,000 — individuals who are paid roughly 17% more than equivalent U.S. civil servants, according to Waltz. According to testimony he gave to Congress a few months ago, Waltz’s team pushed through a “historic 15% cut $570 million out of the U.N.’s regular budget. That will eliminate nearly 3000 headquarters positions.” That change alone provided a savings for U.S. taxpayers of $126 million. Waltz recently told Fox Digital that budget cuts now total $1 billion.

Waltz is also overhauling U.N. peacekeeping operations, some of which, as he has said, have been around for “30, 50 or even 80 years.” Waltz argues such forces are important to provide breathing room for political settlement of a conflict, but it “can’t then become an excuse to not have a political resolution. When you have a peacekeeping force, for example, in DRC and Congo, at the cost of a billion dollars a year, that’s been there for 30 years,” it should end.

Mike Waltz: 'Under President Trump we're demanding reform' at the United Nations Video

Waltz is just getting started; reforming an institution so large and complex takes time, which he may not have. Soon, the U.N. will elect a new secretary-general to succeed Portugal’s António Guterres, who has served since 2017. Currently, most of the candidates who have stepped forward appear eager to embrace the reforms advocated by the White House, alarmed that President Trump is ready to eviscerate the U.N.’s funding if changes are not made and a U.S.-friendly official not elected.

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Finances are not Trump’s only weapon. As Politico reported, when the White House announced the creation of the Board of Peace last year to oversee the Israel-Gaza conflict, “U.N. officials and diplomats were really, really unnerved,” seeing that Board as some sort of “rival peacemaking institute.”

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However, permanent members of the Security Council, which include Russia, China, France, the U.K. and the U.S., can veto candidates. That is making the race unpredictable. If the members cannot agree, they could extend Gutterres’ term by another year, which would likely mean that President Trump would have less say in the outcome.

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That could trash the White House’s push to Make the U.N. Great Again and would be disastrous for the U.N.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM LIZ PEEK

Liz Peek is a Fox News contributor and former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim & Company. A former columnist for the Fiscal Times, she writes for The Hill and contributes frequently to Fox News, the New York Sun and other publications. For more visit LizPeek.com. Follow her on Twitter @LizPeek.

Related Topics

  • Opinion
  • Donald Trump
  • United Nations
  • General Assembly
  • Secretary-General
  • White House
  • Congress
  • Foreign Policy

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Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemns the UN for allegedly including Israel in sexual violence blacklist Video

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemns the UN for allegedly including Israel in sexual violence blacklist

Danny Danon, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), blasts the UN for what he claims is their decision to include Israel in a sexual violence blacklist that also includes Hamas.

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Today, President Trump will address the U.N. General Assembly. As New Yorkers fume over traffic nightmares created by the president and by hordes of visiting diplomats, they may (again) question, as do many Americans, why U.S. taxpayers support this badly managed and scandal-scarred institution. Especially when the U.N. so frequently works against our interests and seems incapable of accomplishing its primary mission.

A new Gallup poll shows that 73% of Americans think the U.N. does a poor job of “maintaining international peace and security,” and 70% say the same about the U.N. “upholding international law” and “protecting human rights.” That’s a lousy report card for an organization that spends roughly $70 billion per year.

Elsewhere in the world, the U.N. scores better, which is not surprising since poor countries, which constitute the majority of members, look to wealthier nations for handouts via the U.N. The nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, are especially keen on the sprawling organization.

WALTZ DELIVERS BLUNT WARNING TO NATIONS DEFYING IRAN SANCTIONS, TOUTS GREENLAND DEAL

Trump heads to UN General Assembly as foreign policy challenges mount Video

How does that wealth transfer happen? One way was described by President Trump’s U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz in recent testimony before Congress: “The U.N. let countries use peacekeeping missions as cash cows for their militaries. Peacekeepers could bring equipment, park it, never use it, take it home brand new, and get it paid for by the U.N.” Those operations can employ “10,000 to 18,000 soldiers”; the costs, Waltz says, are “quite significant.” He is ending that practice — just one step in reformin

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