I’m on my laptop for a few hours every day, mostly for work, but personal reasons as well. My experience is probably the same as most people, so I think you can all relate to today’s discussion. I honestly had no idea of what is really going on behind the scenes with tech companies and the applications and services we use on a daily basis. To tell you the truth, it’s shocking! If you feel as though you’re being watched and used, your concern and level of discomfort may be warranted indeed. It’s true that the development of computers, smartphones, and other such technology has greatly improved our lives. I think it’s also important to acknowledge that this technology is provided for us, mostly free of charge, and we can be grateful for sure. The reality, however, is that the free software and services that allow us to use our devices come with a lot of caveats as well. Let’s take a look.
Security and Privacy
Security and privacy may sound like the same thing, but when it comes to our devices, we need to have some clarification. Security has to do with outside parties and individuals hacking our system and having access to our information. For the most part, Windows, Apple, Google, and the like have pretty good protection available as far as that goes. When it comes to privacy, though, this is where we need to be concerned. The collection of our data by these companies when using our devices is unduly excessive. These companies are in fact collecting our data in order to gain profit for themselves, either by selling it to third parties or presenting us opportunities to buy one of their products or services through their incessant advertising. I think we need to take a little care and take a look at our privacy settings and so forth in order to limit some of this activity. Many of you may not care about the collection of your information, but perhaps you should. Although these companies do offer us a lot of free products and services, in return, we are giving them our personal stuff, so they can make an obscene amount of money. Keep in mind that they give very little of this back to you as a consumer and the world in general. I don’t think it’s responsible on our part to allow this to continue. The other issue is that although we essentially have nothing to hide, and therefore do not care what these companies are able to see, it really isn’t about that. It’s about having a sense of a private space while working and going about our various activities. I don’t think anyone really enjoys the idea or feeling they’re being watched and used without their knowledge or permission. There is more we can do to take charge of ourselves and our devices than we might realize. Before we consider that, let’s take a look at what some of these big tech companies are doing already.
Google is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tech company in the world. They created the chromium engine, which basically underlies all that we do on our devices. They are responsible for providing us with the many, free products and services most of us are familiar with. We, in many cases, don’t know what we would do without them. Thank you, Google! Having said that, they are also the most notorious collectors of personal data we see in the world today. Although you may rely on many of their services in your work and your personal life, I would take a close look at all the privacy settings in their products and services. We can control the collection of much of our information in this way. There are, however, a couple of things to keep in mind before you engage with Google. In order to use Google services, you must have an account or email with them. Google shares this email address with absolutely everyone and sells your information at every opportunity. If the truth be known, there is no way for us to control this activity that I have found. There is also a big problem with the needing of a Google account in order to operate and maintain an android phone. In my opinion, we must eventually be able to purchase a smartphone and have a choice of whether we want to have a Google account or not. In many ways, we may not even really own our devices anymore, as we are unfortunately forced into certain things in order to be able to use them at all. If you do not absolutely rely on their services to get by, I would avoid them. This is especially true in terms of their default browser, Chrome. If you insist on Chromium-based technology, there are other options available with a lot more privacy.
Microsoft
The Windows operating system is the most widely used computer system in the world. We can also appreciate Microsoft as well for all the wonderful apps and services they offer. Here, once again, we have some important caveats and privacy concerns to consider. The first concern is that in order to install Windows on your computer, you must first create a Microsoft account. What this means is that Microsoft has access to all of your personal information and data as well, regardless of your meticulous adventure into the settings page! I strongly suggest turning most, if not all, these privacy settings to off. Microsoft is just as bad as Google in the collection of our data. What many of you may not realize is that once Windows is installed, you can shift everything over to a local account. If you use your computer this way, Microsoft no longer has access to your information. If you use Windows mail and calendar, OneDrive for your cloud storage, or some of their other products and services, you will need to keep your account. If you don’t rely on these types of services, once Windows is installed, I highly recommend deleting your Microsoft account in order to maintain some privacy. Unfortunately, with the introduction of Windows 11, they make setting up your device a little challenging, but it can be done. Do your research, it’s not really difficult at all. We have a right to control our own devices!
Browsers
When we are traveling around the internet is when most of the data collection happens. Our choice of browser and search engine is therefore an important decision. It has been said by those “in the know” to avoid Chromium-based browsers altogether, if at all possible. Chromium is of course the creation of Google. This means that every time we do a search, our data is sent back to Google servers. This is especially true if we use the most popular search engine in the world, Google Search. You will get the best results by far with Google Search, but absolutely no privacy in the process. There are private search engines available, as we’ll see. The other huge problem with big search engines like Google and Bing is the onslaught of advertising every time you do a search. This can be avoided of course with a nice ad blocker, but even the very best of these doesn’t eliminate all of it.
Search Engines
The browser and search engine is where these massive companies make all their money. If you are not interested in being harassed all the time, I would avoid Google, Bing and most of the others. Now, some people don’t mind being bothered, as these same people are in shopping mode all the time! Personally, I have some work to get done and want an answer to an occasional question without this constant bombardment. Again, there are private search engines that can make our lives a lot easier, more comfortable, and certainly more private.
Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge
I wonder how much revenue Microsoft is going to lose by choosing to make their Edge browser the automatic default for Windows. Not only is it the default browser, but they make it difficult to switch to another. This is going to prove to be a huge mistake by the Microsoft Corporation. We must be given choice in the operation of our own devices. We purchased them and had a right to use them as we see fit. The belief the big tech companies have to control what we can and cannot do is not only inappropriate, but just plain wrong. The real tragedy for Microsoft is that their Edge browser is a beautiful browser. It has all the functionality and speed of the other Chromium browsers, such as Google Chrome and Opera. It should be obvious that by not giving us a choice, or making our choice a difficult one, they have made it likely that many of the customers they hope to obtain will not use their browser. The other reason to avoid Edge is again a multitude of privacy concerns. Their browser is proving to be as careless about the collection of our data as Google Chrome. Microsoft has also created a setting that any link you have on your device will open in their Edge browser by default, including the links in your emails. Big mistake! My suggestion is to uninstall this browser until Microsoft gets their act together. Just make sure you have your browser of choice installed and all the default settings, there are quite a few, changed over before you uninstall. If your privacy is any concern to you at all, I would avoid Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and their respective search engines, Bing Search and Google Search. As I mentioned before, I would also shift over to a local account as well if you use Windows. I do not own, or have any experience with, Apple products and services, so I cannot comment on them. My assumption, however, is there are similar issues. Big companies, big problems!
My Recommendations:
*If you have some concerns about your privacy and data collection, here are some recommended options, from my experience, you will be quite comfortable with.
Browsers
Firefox – This is an awesome browser that is not Chromium-based, meaning they have nothing to do with Google. Firefox is superfast and very private. If you need more background customization, etc., check out the Tabliss extension.
Brave – Another great browser with lots of privacy, if you insist on a Chromium-based browser with access to all the Google extensions and services. Superfast and well-designed.
LibreWolf – New browser which is basically Firefox with even more privacy. Very nice, superfast, love it!
Search Engines
Duck Duck Go – very private search
Startpage – also very private and better search results.
*Even though these search engines are private, you may require an adblocker extension to keep them ad-free. I like UBlock Origin.
Cloud Storage
Icedrive – This is a relatively new option for private cloud storage. Great, simple design. You can also encrypt your files if you upgrade from free. I love this company!
Thanks for joining me, everyone. Today’s subject is a little outside my normal purview, but my experience has been challenging and frustrating to find the products I’m comfortable with and enjoy, so I thought I would share a bit of what I’ve encountered along the way. I do believe it’s important for all of us to be concerned about big tech and their data collection practices. We do want to have some control over our lives and be able to have choices. Google already finds itself in a major lawsuit and investigation. Other companies may soon follow. My hope is that our government will become more actively involved in these matters, as we do deserve some common-sense protection. For many people, these issues are not something to worry about. For those of you who are concerned, I hope you find this information helpful. By all means, use the products and services you like, just be cautious and aware as you proceed. Good luck!
All my love and support, stay safe and be well