Questions tagged [privacy]
The attribute of a system that prevents the release of data to unauthorized individuals. The ability or expectation of an individual or group to reveal information about themselves selectively or not at all.
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Can Twitter use the payment information they have to know if multiple users have used the same credit card to buy multiple Twitter blue subscriptions?
This question asked if websites on which one is transacting have their payment information and from the replies it seems that they do (or at least their payment gateway service providers do). But my ...
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Wi-Fi with guest network
I use an old AirPort Extreme to provide WiFi in my home. It provides a 2.4 and 5.0 GHz network with a good password, only available to me and my wife. It also provides a separate guest network without ...
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Is it possible to restrict individual devices connected to a home router from communicating outside the local network?
I have a device which I don't want to have any communication with the outside world sans any initial updates/etc (say, an IoT device that would otherwise phone home). I would still like to be able to ...
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Can a PDF file make network requests to remote computers?
Do PDF files have the ability to ping a remote server such that the remote server will know that I opened the PDF file? If so, how do I stop that? I am using the Evince PDF reader on my computer that ...
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Privacy and GrapheneOS [closed]
I am planning to purchase Google Pixel 7 Pro assuming that the Pixel lineup will continue to be the device of choice for GrapheneOS developers.
Here are some of the constraints that I have to work ...
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University Email (Outlook) Changed and Auto-Updated in Browser and Google Account
I recently noticed my email address for the University I work for was changed - from "[email protected]" to "[email protected]". I also noticed that the version of the ...
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can my ISP know which urls i'm visiting? If so then how to prevent it? [duplicate]
i'm using latest version of microsoft edge browser on windows 10 PC and i'm in India. I use cloudeflare DNS. i Checked my browser security on https://www.cloudflare.com/ssl/encrypted-sni/ and got this ...
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Amnesia and death proof master password
I have been thinking about how to store my master passwords (password manager, email and device passwords) for quite a while and I just haven't been able to come up with a satisfying solution yet. I ...
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Is Google mining the content of emails I send to people who use gmail? Could they?
If I sign up for Gmail I probably agree to give Google the right to use all my content for whatever purposes they want. We know they have incredible research going on into data mining and machine ...
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What are the security risks of only using an id in the url to protect the content?
I'm building a note-taking app, when a user writes a note an id is generated and I redirect them to a page where they can see its content with a URL like /note/DXSt832pS5iLuos6uxBn. What are the ...
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Can Windows invade my privacy by accessing files from my Linux OS?
I have a 500 GB SSD drive with Windows 10 installed, and a 250 GB SSD drive with Ubuntu 22.04 installed. I use the latter mainly to maintain my privacy; Ubuntu is like my personal computer, with ...
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Do bluetooth accessories assure personal privacy?
I want to buy a pair of Bluetooth earbuds like these for use with my phone:
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Canceling-Headphones-Earphones/dp/B09P38XS9M?th=1
I want to know if devices like ...
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Remote work and employer monitoring [duplicate]
My work laptop is connected to my router via ethernet and personal laptop is connected via wifi to same router. Whenever I switch my vpn on on my personal computer, the connection icon becomes that of ...
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Are there IoT devices that send data home despite blocked internet connection (with the detour via bluetooth on the phone)?
I am increasingly buying IoT aka smart devices for my household.
All these devices need to be connected to WLAN and proprietary app (via bluetooth on iPhone). I do this initial step, but then block ...
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Can any program discover my precise geolocation?
While browsing the internet on my laptop, I've allowed an internet site to access my location data. What I had expected was that it will show the name of my city based on my IP. I was quite shocked ...
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Does a Honda Civic send vehicle telemetry to its servers? [closed]
I recently read an article by the IEEE on Tesla's vehicle telemetry and after reading that, I also realised that Honda Civics also have vehicle infotainment systems, including in-cabin microphones.
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user281566
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Is iCloud Private Relay leaking my DNS queries to my ISP?
So I noticed recently that despite iOS settings saying all DNS queries go through iCloud Private Relay's DNS servers, despite Private Relay using Oblivious DNS over HTTPS, and even despite dnsleaktest....
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What is this potential identity leak that NoScript warns about?
Recently, while using the Tor Browser, NoScript popped up the following warning when I opened a stack overflow link in a new tab from duckduckgo:
Potential Identity Leak
You are about to load a page ...
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When using Google Translate's "website" functionality, do passwords entered go through Google?
I'm looking at the functionality offered by Google Translate's option to translate an entire website. It opens in a new tab with the domain https://whatever-is-the-website-domain-com.translate.goog/.
...
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Is there a downside to free online privacy protection?
Is there a downside to free online privacy protection?
For example, Discover card has a new "Online Privacy Protection" that you can activate for free. It sounds good, but is there a ...
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What are the main PII data brokers? (How do certain online companies get accurate age verification?)
A long time ago, I signed up for Apple Pay Cash. After a bit of using the service, I was asked to input my name and birthdate to continue using the service. At the time, I was underage. I input ...
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Can my employer see my private google account history when just logging in and out in a matter of 10 seconds on a work laptop (REPOSTED) [duplicate]
So I did this post before on a guest account but I had further questions so now I'm posing it on a real one.
Can my employer see my private google history/”google activity” if I didn’t do anything on ...
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Can my employer see my private google account history when just logging in and out in a matter of 10 seconds on a work laptop
Can my employer see my private google history/”google activity” if I didn’t do anything on my work pc?
For some context I logged in to my private google account on my work computer just to send a pdf ...
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How can we determine if there is actual encryption and what type of encryption on messaging apps?
There are many new messaging apps that claim to be the most secure.
How can we be certain if there is actual encryption and what type of encryption?
Molly, signal, WhatsApp, briar, wire, telegram, ...
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Privacy for web service operators (activism & journalism)
I'm planning to develop and operate a web service that might agitate a certain authoritarian government (not in G20, not known for its good human-rights record).
I'd like to prevent any kind of leak ...
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How are advertisements through Facebook targeting me moments after searching on a different computer
When connected to my home network, I only use the Facebook app on my phone. I never log into Facebook via a browser on my laptop or other computer connected to my home network.
How is it possible that ...
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How can this website bypass by VPN/proxies and somehow figure out my actual location?
My browser (Vivaldi) does not send any accept-language or similar headers for my native language.
Its user-agent does not contain my country or preferred language.
My proxy is verified at https://...
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IPv6 address leaking despite VPN?
Given that commands like ifconfig or ip address don't require root privileges, apps can access information about ip address. If you use ipv4, you are normally behind NAT and apps would get an address ...
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Corporate Root CA - How does it work and what does it do?
This has always puzzled me: I am working again at a company where there is a corporate certificate authority.
When browsing certain websites (e.g. this one) and looking at the certification path in ...
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If software use encryption to protect one from ISP providers and other parties from snooping, how does this apply to browser software, esp. on mobile?
I believe the title says it all.
As an example, let's say I use the Brave browser on a phone.
From my understanding, all legitimate apps or computer software that connect to the Internet have some ...
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How do you hide your browser advertising fingerprint?
How do you hide your browser finger print from advertising networks without disabling javascript?
Is there a browser extension that can help mask unique browser fingerprint? Browser finger print can ...
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Is it a risk to allow security or privacy apps to install a certificate and filter HTTPS?
I recently installed the AdGuard app on Windows and Android. It wants to enable HTTPS filtering and install a certificate. I've seen antivirus do similar things. How exactly does this work and what ...
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Do Public DNS servers log our DNS queries?
Do Public DNS servers log our DNS queries? I started running my own AdGuard Home in the cloud using Oracle Compute Instance. In AdGuard Home's dashboard, it logs my DNS queries.
I was wondering if ...
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Does Google Authenticator share device information to website?
I wonder about Google Authenticator privacy. I wonder if the app shares any information to the website owner about devices that we use to add a new key. I mean information like IP address and device ...
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Is a VPN effective when connected to WiFi network that requires authentication?
I pay monthly for a VPN. However, I browse online while connected to my university WiFi which requires authentication to use. The WiFi is open (no password directly) but when someone connects to it a ...
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How can I hide my internet usage? [closed]
This can be seen as a rather dubious question but let me explain. I'm a 22 year old still living with my father and his wife (my stepmother).
I've been living here for over a year now and ever since ...
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Has a VPN actually logged where I've been?
I have been using Touch VPN for a few months to view social media accounts because I worried I was viewing them too much and would be flagged or something. I just learned, however, that VPNs keep logs ...
user278093
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AirTag may be trackable over Bluetooth when battery is low
My Apple AirTags are low on battery. At the bottom of the warning it tells me "When AirTag battery is low, privacy protections are temporarily adjusted and AirTag may be trackable over Bluetooth&...
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How secure is the Wyze Cam? How easily could an attacker gain access to it? [closed]
I recently put up a Wyze Cam, a brand of Wi-Fi security camera, and I am curious as to how (in)secure it is. I heard that the Wyze company servers got breached once before. How easily could an ...
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Need to leave computer in repair shop. How can I secure solid state drive contents?
I need to take my desktop into a PC repair shop and leave it for a few days. It would be easy for them to copy the drives without me knowing. I am running Windows 10 with a password but this doesn't ...
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What's the advantage of connecting to an onion address over a regular domain through Tor?
Many websites offer both standard domains that you can access through any browser and onion addresses only accessible via Tor.
I wonder what is the privacy advantage (if any) for the end user when ...
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Can my ISP know that I have more than one Google Drive account?
So, I have 2 Google Drive accounts. Let's say Drive A and Drive B.
If one day I login/upload to Drive A then log out, then login/upload to Drive B, can they notice that I have 2 different accounts? Or ...
user276916
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What are some of the ways of identifying trade-offs between security & privacy? [closed]
Privacy can mean different things to people. Protecting one's identity from autocratic regimes to ex-boyfriend/girlfriends/partners. Threat modeling goes some way in understanding actors and the ...
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Hashing to protect privacy
I like to know if hashing protects privacy enough, i.e., if a hash of PII is still considered to be personally identifying information (PII).
I found this article: https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2019/...
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Can Google see the screen when using Chrome Remote Desktop?
I was wondering if Google can see my computer screen while I'm using Chrome Remote Desktop.
Let's assume there's my main PC named A and my other PC named B.
PC B will have the Chrome extension ...
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How do companies like UberMedia/Near locate the home addresses of people who were detected somewhere else?
This news article (cited in this other question) shows that the company UberMedia (now rebranded Near) can retrieve the location of people's home from persons attending an event.
How does this company ...
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Are computers exposed when software is installed on a system?
As a neophite in security, I'm very curious to understand if companies can audit computers that their software is being installed on during the installation process, and report back to their servers?
...
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How to securely hash sensitive data and make the hash public, while preventing an attack by someone who know the structure or some part of the data?
In a nutshell, I need:
to hash a file and to make this hash public, to be able to prove data integrity when sharing the data privately with a trusted third party.
to choose the right hashing method ...
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Possible rogue admin monitoring my online activities
I teleworked for a medium-sized software company. We had a network architect who offered me a firewall to install so I could securely access on-premises resources and play around with some ...
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TLS ClientHello leaks HTTP host header
As already discussed on this platform, TLS Client Hello messages are not encrypted, since they contain "no sensitive data".
When sniffing HTTPS requests with wireshark, I can see the domain ...
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