Five tools to assist cowl your tracks on-line Monitor incoming and outgoing traffic
Five tools to help cover your tracks online
Monitor incoming and outgoing traffic
Not all firewalls were made equal. For the people who want to get to the bottom of incoming and outgoing traffic, there's Little Snitch.
Built by Objective Development, the latest version, Little Snitch 3, was released earlier in the fall, bringing with it improvements that make the firewall easier to use. It's proven to be invaluable for security diehards, helping some savvy Mac users detect new malware on their machines.
Little Snitch sees all, acting as an omniscient intermediary between your Mac and hidden connection attempts. When an application or website attempts to connect to a server, it informs you and lets you set rules to temporarily or permanently accept or reject such connections. In its new update, the firewall added a silent mode, so instead of defining rules on the spot each time there's an attempted connection, you can do so later after reviewing the activity log.
It also brought an updated network monitor, which has been redesigned to include real-time charting of incoming and outgoing information. The traffic history helps you understand how applications are communicating with the Web.
Many people have trouble navigating Little Snitch upon installation, and it makes sense why. The rules and prompts can be intimidating and confusing, but the latest version makes it simpler to understand. Little Snitch 3 costs $34.95 for a single license; upgrade licenses begin at $16.95 (free for those who bought the software after May 1). There's also a free demo mode that expires after three hours but can be restarted an unlimited number of times.
Browse the Web securely with HTTPS Everywhere
Another useful tool to keep others from snooping on your private data is HTTPS Everywhere, a Chrome and Firefox extension.
A collaborative effort between the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project, HTTPS Everywhere encrypts your communication on about 3,000 websites. The latest update doubled the number of covered sites and is expected to encrypt at least a hundred billion page views within the next year.
By rewriting requests so sites use the more secure HTTPS instead of HTTP, the extension provides a safer browsing experience, one with encrypted communication and secure identification of a network server. Put in simpler terms, this means people won't be able to "listen in" when you're typing in a password or other personal information.
How much are you worth to Facebook and Google?
If you're curious how two of the Web's biggest sites stack up in online privacy, Privacyfix will lay it all out for you.
The Chrome extension scans your Facebook and Google settings, showing you which cookies are tracking you as you browse. After the initial scan, it will tell you which issues should be fixed (eg. Facebook likes being used for ads), and alert you to privacy breaches and changes to privacy policies on an ongoing basis.
One of its most interesting features is how much money these sites make off advertisements from your data. Even though Facebook and Google don't charge you to use their services, it's not as free as you might think.
And how does Privacyfix handle your information? Under its frequently asked questions, it spells it out in these lay terms: "We do not receive or store any data associated with your use of Privacyfix unless you voluntarily send it to us. Period."
Secure communication: This message will self destruct
Now that we have your computer covered, let's turn our attention to Wickr, a free iOS app (Android users, hold tight) that encrypts your iPhone communication, including text, picture, audio and video messages.
Using the app to securely talk to other app users will make you feel like a spy. By default, all messages expire within six days, though there are options for them to self-destruct sooner than that. These messages cannot be recovered after they've been deleted. Furthermore, the app deletes metadata (including location, device information and timestamps) from media files.
Wickr doesn't store any unencrypted messages on its servers. In fact, it doesn't even require you to sign up with an email address. So if you're worried some iPhone apps might be overreaching in the information it collects, rest assured that Wickr has your back.
The Web knows what you're doing
Still not convinced that privacy's a big concern in our digital age? Look no further than We Know What You're Doing, a borderline creepy social media privacy experiment. It searches public status updates and location check-ins, pulling all this information in one Web page for all to see.
It's a relatively simple website, displaying four columns under the following headers: Who wants to get fired (updates with the phrase "hate my boss"), who's hungover, who's taking drugs (mostly updates that mention marijuana) and who's got a new phone number. That last one is especially troubling, but the site hides some of the digits, likely to protect the privacy of users who should know better.
Five tools to help cover your tracks online Monitor incoming and outgoing traffic
