IMHO, the Constitution should be amended to insure a right to privacy. Here's the latest (new to me, at least): ‘Fingerprinting’ to Track Us Online Is on the Rise. Here’s What to Do.

Fingerprinting has already been reported on FTM, but in this instance, there's no such thing as too much.

If all I"ve got to worry about is advertisers, I"m cool; my buying is based only on need...NEVER ads! (OK, I'll confess to succumbing to want every once in a while, but never as a result of advertising.)

I have always thought of you as unique, but you may be the only person I have ever encountered who is completely immune to advertising and sales gimmicks. 👏.

As for me, I have to admit to being an impulse buyer and not completely immune to marketing techniques. Turn me loose in a woodworking store and I will inevitably see something on a display that I never knew I needed and somehow it is in my hand when I get to checkout. While I am less subject to impulse buying on-line more than once I have been roped in by the "often purchased with this item" or "others that bought this item also bought…".

But that is not what bothers me. I am concerned about the aggregate amount of data about me that is out there and ripe for exploitation. From the experiences of family and friends that threat is very very real and potentially disastrous.

There's a philosophical treatise in there, but I'm not prepared to write it yet.


As respects that, I've got all three of my credit files locked (but they're readily un-lockable), plus at least two of my accounts monitor the dark net for mentions of my name.

In addition, my credit history is such that even with my info and 815 credit score you couldn't get any sort of even minimally meaningful credit.

I've been successfully stumbling through life using my Dad's fatuous axiom: If you aren't doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.

What stopped me in my tracks was the fact that anyone I "friended" on Facebook got tarred with my brush. That's when I closed that account and turned my back on social media (though I'll bet all my contacts are still on file) and started paying closer attention.

Thing is, I'm wedded to Google Maps, so my big brother always knows where I am if he needs me.

And, I'm still not doing anything wrong. Honest.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It just means we have more money and free time than we need.

Plus, Amazon will always know a lot more about me than Facebook or Google ever will.

I've never used Facebook, so I'd appreciate your being a bit specific about that.

What software are you using for this monitoring? I've sometimes thought about doing this but one thought has stopped me - "If my machine has software that is wandering around the dark net looking for references to me, does that software then become a link to me that didn't previously exist?"

"Accounts" may mean credit card or bank accounts. My Discover account regularly monitors my identity for issues and sends me reports. Luckily, no nefarious activity has been found. I believe that their monitoring includes the dark web. Obviously, any such surfing does not apply to my computer.

Same as Jon, Discover monitors the dark web for me, but I've also got a second source for that info or, hopefully, lack of info...either Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, but I don't remember which one.

And like Jon says, there's no connection between the dark web and our Macs.

I'm being glib about guilt by association. When Facebook got hacked, if your account was compromised, then anyone you had friended was also compromised. At least, that's the way I understood it.

Forbes

Facebook

Thanks, and thanks for the links.