Episodes
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In this bonus episode, our producer B.J. Mendelson sits down with science fiction author and journalist Cory Doctorow. This is a great chat about the current state of the Internet economy, the continuing issues we face in terms of privacy and protecting ourselves from fascists and weirdos, and what actions we can take to address these challenges.
Full show notes and transcript to come.
Support The Show
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible*You don’t need to use these affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything extra to use. But. IF you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
For more news and tips concerning maintaining your privacy and security, we recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security.
Reserve Your Seat
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an email-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on our show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.
All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this course becomes available for purchase.
Did You Know?
In this week’s book excerpt, you can hear Roger reference the big Equifax data breach. This book was written in 2017.
On February 26th, 2023, BJ got a $5 rebate from Equifax for this data breach.
You probably did too.
That’s absolutely ridiculous. And further proof that credit reporting agencies shouldn't exist.
***
Photo for today's episode provided by Mohammad Danish
Need a Privacy Audit?We are giving away all of our tips and strategies to help protect you from fascists and weirdos FOR FREE.
But. We've found some people prefer or need a more 1-1 setting based on their situation.
So, we offer privacy audits where BJ will walk you through each step and recommendation from this show and answer any questions you may have.
You can book a Privacy Audit by emailing BJ at [email protected]. Make sure to include Privacy Audit in your subject line.
Audits cost $200 and take place over two one-on-one secure video calls via Signal. The first call will walk you through the checklist, and the second call, scheduled for a week later, will see how you're doing with the implementation and answer any remaining questions you may have.
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Dr. John Gartner sits down with our producer, B.J. Mendelson, to discuss how to combat cults. This is important to hear because fascists are just cults with guns. So let's hear from the expert on what to look out for, how to deal with the cults, and what to do if you find yourself dealing with one.
Support The Show
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible*You don’t need to use these affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything extra to use. But. IF you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
For more news and tips concerning maintaining your privacy and security, we recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security.
Reserve Your Seat
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an email-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on our show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.
All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this course becomes available for purchase.
Did You Know?
In this week’s book excerpt, you can hear Roger reference the big Equifax data breach. This book was written in 2017.
On February 26th, 2023, BJ got a $5 rebate from Equifax for this data breach.
You probably did too.
That’s absolutely ridiculous. And further proof that credit reporting agencies shouldn't exist.
***
Photo for today's episode provided by Mohammad Danish
Need a Privacy Audit?We are giving away all of our tips and strategies to help protect you from fascists and weirdos FOR FREE.
But. We've found some people prefer or need a more 1-1 setting based on their situation.
So, we offer privacy audits where BJ will walk you through each step and recommendation from this show and answer any questions you may have.
You can book a Privacy Audit by emailing BJ at [email protected]. Make sure to include Privacy Audit in your subject line.
Audits cost $200 and take place over two one-on-one secure video calls via Signal. The first call will walk you through the checklist, and the second call, scheduled for a week later, will see how you're doing with the implementation and answer any remaining questions you may have.
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Episodes manquant?
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Just joining us here at Stupid Sexy Privacy? Looking for an episode that tells you everything you need to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos? Look no further!
We'll have longer show notes here soon, but for now, enjoy this lively discussion between BJ Mendelson, Amanda King, and Rosie Tran as they look into the future of how to protect yourself and your information online.
Support The Show
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible*You don’t need to use these affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything extra to use. But. IF you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
For more news and tips concerning maintaining your privacy and security, we recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security.
Reserve Your Seat
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an email-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on our show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.
All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this course becomes available for purchase.
Did You Know?
In this week’s book excerpt, you can hear Roger reference the big Equifax data breach. This book was written in 2017.
On February 26th, 2023, BJ got a $5 rebate from Equifax for this data breach.
You probably did too.
That’s absolutely ridiculous. And further proof that credit reporting agencies shouldn't exist.
***
Photo for today's episode provided by Mohammad Danish
Need a Privacy Audit?We are giving away all of our tips and strategies to help protect you from fascists and weirdos FOR FREE.
But. We've found some people prefer or need a more 1-1 setting based on their situation.
So, we offer privacy audits where BJ will walk you through each step and recommendation from this show and answer any questions you may have.
You can book a Privacy Audit by emailing BJ at [email protected]. Make sure to include Privacy Audit in your subject line.
Audits cost $200 and take place over two one-on-one secure video calls via Signal. The first call will walk you through the checklist, and the second call, scheduled for a week later, will see how you're doing with the implementation and answer any remaining questions you may have.
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Show Note: We're back! Pardon our delay. BJ is dealing with a (totally minor) medical issue that required surgery. So we've been out of commission longer than planned.
In today's episode, Amanda and Rosie talk about disinformation, what it is, how to spot it, and how to navigate our new media landscape that's flooded with AI-generated falsehoods and videos.
This week's guest: Nina Jankowicz. Former Executive Director of the Disinformation Governance Board of the United States. Nina is also the author of one of our favorite books, "How to be a Woman Online."
(Note: This interview was recorded at the end of 2022, before the announcement of Nina suing Fox News.)
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Photo by Anna Tarazevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scam-alert-letting-text-on-black-background-5697256 -
We're taking a short break here at Stupid Sexy Privacy. We'll return Thursday, May 4th, with our final four episodes.
But we didn't want to leave you empty-handed.
Today, Amanda King (co-author of "How to Protect Your From Fascists & Weirdos") talks with Professor Uri Gal. Uri is a professor of Business Information Systems at The University of Sydney.
In this bonus episode, Amanda talks with Professor Gal about the real challenges and ethical issues surrounding the use of Generative AI (or as we call them, Exploitative AI) software.
It's not your job you need to worry about. Generative AI produces C-level work, at best, and almost all of that work is stolen/plagiarized from other people's work without their permission or consent. The real threat is what happens when you flood the entire Internet with BS, to the point where people can't tell up from down anymore and don't trust each other.
That's an Avengers-level problem, and one we need to solve immediately since ... You know, the Avengers aren't real. But the threat of Generative AI is.
Visit Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible**
Support Stupid Sexy Privacy:We recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security for more news and tips concerning how to maintain your privacy and security after this miniseries concludes.
*You don’t need to use the affiliate links above. They don’t cost you anything extra. But. If you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
**BJ's first book on privacy, "The End of Privacy" is badly dated in a few sections; however, it's still very funny and the rest of the book is still (sadly) current. We've included most of the book, for free, in this podcast miniseries. If you'd like to buy the unabridged version, you can do so here.
Reserve Your Seat For Our Privacy Course
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an online video-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on this show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this on-demand course becomes available for purchase.
Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-blue-robot-toy-on-blue-string-lights-8566467/
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It's Part 2 of our 5 Part look into how to protect yourself from Fascists and Weirdos on the Internet!
Rosie shares three critical tips we won't be able to cover in greater detail in the time we have left.
These tips include: How to set up a personal firewall for your network, Pig Butchering Scms, and Revenge Porn.
BJ then interviews Tall Poppy CEO Leigh Honeywell. Leigh was a tremendous wealth of knowledge and tips. So make sure you listen to what she has to say.
This Week's Privacy Tips
1. Get a pfSense Firewall installed. Follow these directions.
If you're just getting started with firewalls, we found this video was very good for beginners.
2. Watch out for Pig Butchering Scams.
Long story short - Strangers will find all sorts of crazy ways to strike up a conversation with you, and then ask you to invest in crypto. DON'T FALL FOR IT. Don't return unsolicited messages, and never invest in crypto ... Unless you talk to someone who is very knowledgeable in the space first. Like, a real expert. Not the pretend ones on Twitter.
3. Familiarize yourself with Revenge Porn Laws in your State.*Note: We refer to it in this episode as "Revenge Porn", since that's how it's listed on Carrie's website. However, you should know this is better referred to as "non-consensual intimate images" as well.
These are resources we highly recommend for women and others who are being harassed on the Internet:
1. https://onlineviolenceresponsehub.org/resources2. https://glitchcharity.co.uk/
3. http://www.crashoverridenetwork.com/
4. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/malign-creativity-how-gender-sex-and-lies-are-weaponized-against-women-online
(Source: "How to be a Woman on the Internet" written by our show's upcoming guest, Nina Jankowicz.)Our Guest Is ...
Leigh Honeywell is the CEO of Tall Poppy and a former Tech Fellow at the American Civil Liberties Union. Previously, Leigh was a Security Program Manager at Microsoft.
Visit Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible**
Support Stupid Sexy Privacy:We recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security for more news and tips concerning how to maintain your privacy and security after this miniseries concludes.
*You don’t need to use the affiliate links above. They don’t cost you anything extra. But. If you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
**BJ's first book on privacy, "The End of Privacy" is badly dated in a few sections; however, it's still very funny and the rest of the book is still (sadly) current. We've included most of the book, for free, in this podcast miniseries. If you'd like to buy the unabridged version, you can do so here.
Reserve Your Seat For Our Privacy Course
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an online video-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on this show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this on-demand course becomes available for purchase.
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We're almost at the end of this mini-series! In our final segment, BJ and Rosie explore how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos. In Part one of our five-part investigation, Rosie offers tips on how you can protect yourself from stalkers. It's a serious topic, so we're going to skip the jokes and get right to the advice:
This Week's Privacy Tip
There are A LOT of tips this week, so we're just going to go with a list if you don't mind:
1. Do not respond to stalkers. No matter how much they threaten or try to manipulate you, cut them off.
2. Page Vault is expensive; however, you can use it to create a digital log of all of your stalker's behavior that's admissible in court. So if the situation is serious and you have the funds? Give it a try.
3. Get a Do Not Contact Order. If someone is stalking you, this is one of the first legal lines of defense you can use.
4. Set up a PO BOX at least two towns over from where you actually live. Use an Amazon Locker to receive all your deliveries.
5. Get a stranger-danger phone.
6. Use the @ Duck email and these apps.
7. Make sure your friends and family block your stalker and do not tag you in their posts.
8. If you live in California, take advantage of the Safe at Home program to keep your mailing address unlisted.
9. Remove all EXIF data from your photos if you're going to upload any. (If not, set your social media accounts to private.)
10. If you own any domain names, make sure you are using Private Registry to keep your information offline.
11. Learn your IP address. Go to Google and search, "What is my ip address?". Then look at all of the places you log into and see if that's the only IP address that appears. If not, immediately change your passwords.
12. Experien
13. Report all instances of online stalking to the FBI. Do not take any stalking lightly. If you are worried, file a report.
14. Call Experian, Equifax, and Transunion to request a Fraud Alert on your credit Reports:
Experian (888) 397-3742
Equifax (888) 766-0008
TransUnion (877) 322-8228
15. See below!
Our Guest Is ...Dr. Nicole Prause is a neuroscientist and statistician at UCLA. She has previously researched the myths and lies of the anti-porn movement and is the founder of Liberos, an organization that looks to identify the general health benefits of sexual stimulation.
Dr. Nicole has a terrific suggestion to share as well. If you don't know who is stalking and harassing you, you can take them to small claims court. Doing so will reveal the identity of the stalker.
Visit Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible**
Support Stupid Sexy Privacy:We recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security for more news and tips concerning how to maintain your privacy and security after this miniseries concludes.
*You don’t need to use the affiliate links above. They don’t cost you anything extra. But. If you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
**BJ's first book on privacy, "The End of Privacy" is badly dated in a few sections; however, it's still very funny and the rest of the book is still (sadly) current. We've included most of the book, for free, in this podcast miniseries. If you'd like to buy the unabridged version, you can do so here.
Reserve Your Seat For Our Privacy Course
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an online video-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on this show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this on-demand course becomes available for purchase.
P.S. These are the kind of weirdos we're talking about.
(Photo by Antonio Florentini)
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This week on Stupid Sexy Privacy: Killer Bosses. 120,000 workers die each year in the United States because of bad workplace management. With the popularity of Remote Work, "Bossware" lets your boss spy on you while you're at home and drive you crazy without you having to go to the office.
Sound crazy? Talk to the Truck Drivers. Their Hell is our Future. If you work remotely, this episode is for you.
This Week's Privacy Tip
Working from home can be a great opportunity, but you need to take steps to protect both yourself and your employer from Ransomware and other shady attacks. In addition to following the steps explained in previous episodes of the show — You've listened to the other episodes, right? — We recommend keeping your hardware for work entirely separated from your hardware for life, running a VPN, and regularly running software updates. As far as the bigger issue goes with your boss spying on you at home, the United States doesn't have clear regulations (at this time) to stop them. But. You CAN (and should) talk to your Human Resources Director about what the company policy is about Remote Work, what data they're going to see and collect, and who that data gets shared with.
Do you really trust Microsoft to be a good protector of your data? '90s Kids know better.
Our Guest Is ...
Dr. Karen Levy, associate professor in the Department of Information Science at Cornell University and author of the new book, "Data Driven: Truckers, Technology, and the New Workplace Surveillance."*
Visit Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible**
Support Stupid Sexy Privacy:We recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security for more news and tips concerning how to maintain your privacy and security after this miniseries concludes.
*You don’t need to use the affiliate links above. They don’t cost you anything extra. But. If you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
**BJ's first book on privacy, "The End of Privacy" is badly dated in a few sections; however, it's still very funny and the rest of the book is still (sadly) current. We've included most of the book, for free, in this podcast miniseries. If you'd like to buy the unabridged version, you can do so here.
Reserve Your Seat For Our Privacy Course
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an online video-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on this show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this on-demand course becomes available for purchase.
P.S. '90s kids also had to call collect on a payphone in order to get picked up from school. What a scam.
Photo Courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio -
This week, BJ's co-author, Amanda King, speaks with Jen Caltrider, the Mozilla Foundation's "Privacy Not Included" project lead. Amanda and Jen discuss which pregnancy tracker is best for women to use right now when it comes to preserving and protecting their data. They also talk about other issues facing women as it relates to online data collection in our new, creepy, post-Roe world.
This Week's Privacy Tip
It's a short one this week, but an important one. Ensure you've deactivated biometric and facial recognition methods for unlocking your phone. We've covered that one already. But now, there's a trend where thieves are using a variety of ways to spy on their victims in an effort to observe their passcode. So, make sure you're using a long, alphanumeric passcode — write it down in your Privacy Notebook! — And make sure to obscure your screen whenever you need to unlock your phone. Only you should be able to see what you're doing.
Also: We know most of you are not storing your photos in the cloud if you're listening to this show, but if you still have backups of your photos going to the cloud, make sure to delete any photos containing financial information. And if you're going to go out for a while, it doesn't hurt to remove any apps that provide access to that information in the event your phone is stolen. You can always re-download those apps when you get home.
Support Stupid Sexy Privacy:
Visit Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com*Affiliate Link: Delete Me*Affiliate Link: Marshall Rosenberg's book, Non-Violent CommunicationGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.BJ’s First Privacy Book: Audible**We recommend listening to our friends at Smashing Security for more news and tips concerning how to maintain your privacy and security after this miniseries concludes.
*You don’t need to use the affiliate links above. They don’t cost you anything extra. But. If you do use these links, it’ll kick a couple of dollars our way to help support this project.
**BJ's first book on privacy, "The End of Privacy" is badly dated in a few sections; however, it's still very funny and the rest of the book is still (sadly) current. We've included most of the book, for free, in this podcast miniseries. If you'd like to buy the unabridged version, you can do so here.
Reserve Your Seat For Our Privacy Course
BJ Mendelson and Amanda King are the authors of the upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos." They are designing an online video-based course around the topics discussed in the book and on this show. So, if you want more information on how to protect yourself from fascists and weirdos, complete with step-by-step details and tutorials, we recommend reserving a seat for the course.All you need to do is email us at [email protected] with "Privacy Course" in the subject line.
We'll make sure to let you know when this on-demand course becomes available for purchase.
P.S. When we were coming up with titles for this episode, we were going to go with a Jimmy Cagney impression. But then we realized everyone who would get that reference is probably dead. :-(
Photo Credit: Shvartsman Dmitry -
This week, we're entering the metaverse. A place where few have legs and fewer still have functional head-mounted displays.
Joining BJ on the show today is Brittan Heller. Brittan is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Affiliate at Stanford Cyber Policy Center.
Following-up on last week's discussion with Dr. Arthur Caplan, BJ and Brittan discuss how easy it is to identify someone just from their head movements, why that information isn't currently protected, and how to design a metaverse that's accessible and equitable to all.
Rosie will also share with you this week's privacy tip, which this week is less of a tip and more of a book recommendation. As it turns out, with the coming explosion of Augmented Reality Glasses thanks to Apple later this year, we all need to take some time and learn non-violent communication. Rosie will explain why!
This episode may seem future-facing, but the truth is, this is a privacy and security challenge we all face today. If data collected from a head-mounted display like the Meta Quest 2 can diagnose you with ADHD, you probably want to have that kind of information private.
And if it's true your head movements are specific and unique to you, that kind of information is the stuff marketers and advertisers would kill to collect.
Which ... is why we did this episode. These are conversations we need to have now, and as Brittan points out, our government is woefully unprepared to do so.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show:
Support your local bookstore and purchase a copy of Marshall Rosenberg's "Non-Violent Communication."*Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
*Affiliate Link: Delete MeGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
*Using the affiliate links, like the one for Bookshop.org above, supports the show and does not cost you anything extra. If you enjoy the show, we encourage you to use these links.
And before we go ...BJ and Amanda are recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase based on this podcast and their upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos."
The course will include every step from our privacy audits and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available, email BJ at [email protected] with Privacy Course in the subject line.
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Over the next three episodes (17, 18, and 19), we'll let our medical and privacy experts take center stage, so all of the tips in these three episodes will be super short.
This week, BJ (with Rosie's assistance) interviewed Dr. Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University. Dr. Caplan is also the founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
BJ's audio got jacked up, so Rosie re-recorded BJ's questions. Wasn't that nice of her?
This discussion with Dr. Caplan is super important to listen to. That's because it sets the stage for our following interview with Brittan Heller, Senior Fellow of Democracy and Technology at The Atlantic Council, and Jen Caltrider from the Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included initiative.
All three of these interviews build off each other.
Dr. Caplan explains how HIPPA is useless and doesn't protect you at all from the misuse of your health data by Big Tech.
Brittan and BJ talk about how head-mounted displays used in AR and VR devices can be used to tell if you have Autism (as one example).
And Jen talks to BJ's co-author, Amanda King, about the current state of pregnancy trackers, the device they collect, and who that information is being shared with.
So, pretty important stuff. We hope you give these three episodes a listen.
And don't worry.
Rosie and BJ will be back with more tips and jokes in Episode 20!
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show:
-Set up a Google Alert for your name and any prominent usernames you use here.
-If you are being stalked and harassed online, Hunchly can help you collect evidence of the harassment. You can use the information gathered by Hunchly to create an Incident Tracking Chart, which will help you and your attorneys strike back at harassers.
-Page Vault is a more advanced program that offers similar features to Hunchly, but with one key difference: Information saved into Page Vault is admissible in a court of law. The downside? Page Vault is REALLY expensive.
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
*Affiliate Link: Delete MeGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
*Using the affiliate links supports the show and does not cost you anything extra. If you enjoy the show, we encourage you to use these links.
And before we go ...BJ and Amanda are recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase based on this podcast and their upcoming book, "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos."
The course will include every step from our privacy audits and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available, email BJ at [email protected] with Privacy Course in the subject line.
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You ever have a doctor take photos of your condition for further examination? How about an MRI? Have you had one of those? We like to think that HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protects us here in the US. But increasingly ... It doesn't.
So over the next few weeks, we'll talk about who's collecting your medical information, how they're using it, and who they're sharing it with. And this series is wild because we're not only talking about pictures of that funny-looking mole you have. We're talking about the neural patterns of your brain and how it acts as you make decisions in Virtual Reality.
First things first, though: This week, we're going to look at services like MyChart, Phreesia, and the MANY doctor's offices that utilize Facebook's Tracking Pixel on their website.We'll tell you how to stop these companies from collecting and sharing your data, and then we'll explain why you want to do that.
I mean, unless you want a generative AI like Chat GPT3 to be looking at photos of your favorite private parts and drawing some really interesting conclusions to share with others. (A real thing that's already happened.)
Also, In Today's Episode ...
BJ Speaks with Matthew D Green at John Hopkins University Information Security Institute to follow up on our previous episode concerning "The Cloud" and why you shouldn't put your important stuff in there.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
-Email [email protected] to opt out of their data collection
-Call your doctor's office to see what data is being shared and collected on you by companies like My Chart and request to opt out.
-Use the Tor Browser when visiting any websites related to managing your health care.
-Use PimEyes to see who is using pictures of your face.
-Use the pictures found by PimEyes to search HaveIBeenTrained.com to make sure your photos aren't being used to train generative AIs like ChatGPT3
-Request Clearview AI remove any pictures they have on you here.
-BJMendelson.com's Data Opt-Out Request ListOur Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
*Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
*Affiliate Link: Delete MeGet Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
*Using these affiliate links helps to support the show and do not cost you anything extra to use. If you like the show, we encourage you to use these links to sign-up for must have services like 1Password and Delete Me.
And before we go ...Thanks to the interview in Slate, we're overwhelmed with requests for Privacy Audits.
So!
We want to let you know BJ and Amanda are recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase.
The course will include every step from the privacy audit and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available, email BJ at [email protected] with Privacy Course in the subject line.
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The "Cloud" has a bigger carbon footprint than the entire airline industry. It's also not secure. So if someone wants to mess with you, or worse, blackmail you after accessing your iCloud, GDrive, or Dropbox data? They absolutely can. Instead, we want you to go old school. So this week, Rosie explains why you want to get a nice external hard drive, encrypt a folder or the entire drive, and save your stuff there.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
-Veracrypt (Wired's article on how to use it)
-Toshiba Canvio Flex External HD (Portable)
-Seagate Backup Plus Hub External HD (NOT portable. This drive needs to be plugged in.)
-Tresorit
-ProtonDrive (comes with a ProtonMail account, which we recommended here in a previous episode.)
TP Link AX3000 Router
-Additional Steps on how to secure your router.Also In This Episode ...
This episode also contains the last part of BJ's first book on privacy — written back in 2017 — as read by Broadway actor Roger Wayne. After this week, every remaining episode will include an interview with a privacy and security expert!
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
And before we go ...Thanks to the interview in Slate, we're overwhelmed with requests for Privacy Audits.
So!
We want to let you know BJ and Amanda are recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase.
The course will include every step from the privacy audit and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available, email BJ at [email protected] with Privacy Course in the subject line.
Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska -
This week, the women of our show kick BJ to the curb and go deep on tips, tricks, and apps you can use to keep safe while going out on a date.
There's A LOT covered in this episode, but some of the highlights of what's covered by Rosie and Amanda King (co-author of "How to Protect Yourself From Fascists and Weirdos) include: How to avoid getting blackmailed, why you should use all new photos for your dating profile and remove the EXIF data from them, what tools you should know like Garbo.io and Noonlight, and why you should break up with someone at a Walmart. (A Mendelson Family tradition.)
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
Remove EXIF information from your photos here.
California Consumer Privacy Act (Now in effect!)
Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act <-- This page is not as helpful as the California one. We're looking for an alternative.
GDPR Data Removal Request (UK and European Union only)
Spot Infrared Imager to spot hidden cameras
Noonlight app
Stop Apple AirTag stalking with: Light Blue (ios) AirGuard (Android)
Garbo.io Background Checks
BurnerApp / Google Voice (see the previous episode for more!)
TinEye.com Reverse Image Search
PimEyes Reverse Image Search
If someone is trying to blackmail you online, read this.Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
Today's episode was NOT sponsored by Chena Hot Springs. We just love that place.
And before we go ...Thanks to the interview in Slate, we're overwhelmed with requests for Privacy Audits.
So!
We want to let you know BJ and Amanda are recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase.
The course will include every step from the privacy audit and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available, email BJ at [email protected] with Privacy Course in the subject line.
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This week we introduce the Stranger Danger Phone! This is a backup, pre-paid Smartphone we recommend you use when dating online. The Stranger Danger Phone is also great for content creators who maintain some kind of public-facing presence online and need to be accessible to their audience.
These are easy to set up, and not expensive. Never give out your real phone number again! Rosie will explain why, and give you the steps you need to take to get one set up.
Also featured in today's episode, BJ speaks with the author of "How to Disappear," Frank M Ahearn. Today, Frank helps the thousands of people who fall victim to blackmail, extortion, sextortion, and romance scams online. We talk about what steps you can take to better protect yourself, and why you should consider riding the bus the next time you want to make a break for it.
***Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
Google Voice <--Use this with your Stranger Danger Phone to create a Decoy Phone number.
Burner (a paid alternative to Google Voice)
Faraday Bag from Silent Pocket
Emergency Power Bank to keep your phone fully charged when out with a stranger.
Mint Mobile <-- Have a trusted friend or family member buy your Stranger Danger Phone, in cash, along with a Mint Mobile sim card or three.
***Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
And before we go ...Thanks to the interview in Slate, we're overwhelmed with requests for Privacy Audits.
So! We'd like to let you know BJ is recording a two-hour video course that you can purchase. The course will include every step from the privacy audit and examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available for purchase, email BJ at [email protected]
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You need Proton Mail. Get on that immediately.
Unless you use Gmail and you followed our previous advice about pairing your Gmail account with a Yubikey. In which case, you can do nothing.
Unless ...
This week, Rosie is going to show you how to send an encrypted email, using Proton Mail's free plan, to anyone who doesn't have an encrypted email account.
This is especially useful if you ever need to send financial or health information to someone, and you can't get them to ride the Signal Bus.
We're also going to explain in this episode why you should keep your most important email contacts stored offline, the way BJ's Boomer Dad does.
For once, when it comes to technology, BJ's Dad is doing the right thing, and you should too.
And later, Roger returns to talk about some recent data breaches, including North Korea's hacking of SONY, which is way crazier than you think it is.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s ShowProton Mail and Proton VPN
Recent example of a rogue employee causing a security breach.
Another example of a serious hack caused by an employee's computer getting infected with malware.
***Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here.
And before we go ...We're overwhelmed with requests for Privacy Audits thanks to the interview in Slate.
So! We'd like to let you know BJ is recording a two-hour course that you can purchase. The course will include every step from the privacy audit and include examples of how to put those steps into practice.
If you'd like to know when the course is available for purchase, email BJ at [email protected]
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We're big fans of Tina Turner; what can we say? This week, we're talking about how to secure your email account. First, by using a hardware authentication device like a Yubikey (or Google's Titan Key if you prefer.)
We also talk about utilizing Google's Advance Threat Protection Program for Gmail users who want additional security.
A pretty straightforward episode this week, but no less an important one, so don't miss it!
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
Yubikey (For Apple customers, read this: "Security Keys are the Best Way to Protect Your Apple ID")
Google's Advance Threat Protection Program***
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here
Book Your Privacy Audit with BJ: Email [email protected]
In this confidential, one on one call (conducted through Signal), BJ will walk you through all 23 steps that you should follow to better protect yourself from fascists and weirdos on the Internet. Then, a week later, he will follow up to answer any questions you might have and troubleshoot if/as needed.
Episode photo provided by Ekaterina Belinskaya. -
It's time for the second part of our two-part Digital Detox spiel. Rosie returns with a simple exercise you can do every time you find yourself holding your smartphone, and explains why you need to make your bedroom a phone free bone zone.
Bonus: BJ interviews werables reviewer at The Verge, Victoria Song, to talk about privacy and ghosts. (Look, it can't all be serious privacy stuff all the time, you know?)
Photo by Mahrael Boutros: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-two-women-1215709/
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Episode SummaryIt's Part 1 of our two-part Digital Detox!
In this week's episode, we give you a two-step exercise to help you get rid of unused apps and think critically about how you use the ones you keep.
Once a month, make sure you grab some time to remove any of the unused apps on your phone. Each one represents a potential opportunity for fascists or weirdos to access your information and maybe even your microphone.
Here are some excellent tips from The Washington Post on how to greyscale your phone and use the Digital Wellness features to place timers on the apps you decide to keep.
All this, and Roger returns to explain a vicious cycle between tech companies who "borrow" your data, and the media that covers their borrowing.
Plus! Kelly Carlin joins us to talk about her recommendations for living mindfully and managing the digital clutter that's attempting to consume our lives.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
A good explainer on the Joffe v. Google case***
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here
Book Your Privacy Audit with BJ: Email [email protected]
In this confidential, one on one call (conducted through Signal), BJ will walk you through all 23 steps that you should follow to better protect yourself from fascists and weirdos on the Internet. Then, a week later, he will follow up to answer any questions you might have and troubleshoot if/as needed.
Photo by Joe deSousa on Unsplash -
Episode Summary
This week is super simple. There are four programs everyone should have. 3 of which you can use on both your laptop and phone, and one that's desktop only (ClamAV).
So, when you're done listening to today's episode, you're going to want to download and use these.
Pro-Tip: Always activate your VPN if you're out and about. You can't trust every public Wi-FI spot that's out there. And while many are legit, it's just as easy to activate your VPN before connecting to any of them on your phone.
Resources Mentioned In Today’s Show
Signal <-- Free
DuckDuckGo Browser <-- Free
ClamAV <--Free. (Here are visual directions on how to install and use ClamAV on your Mac. )
ProtonVPN <-- Free plan available***
Our Sponsor: DuckDuckGo
Affiliate Link: 1Password.com
Get Your Privacy Notebook: Get your Leuchtturm1917 Official Bullet Journal here
Book Your Privacy Audit with BJ: Email [email protected]
In this confidential, one on one call (conducted through Signal), BJ will walk you through all 23 steps that you should follow to better protect yourself from fascists and weirdos on the Internet. Then, a week later, he will follow up to answer any questions you might have and troubleshoot if/as needed.
Today's Photo is by Kerin Gedge on Unsplash
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