Take Control of Your Digital Legacy, 2nd Edition

by Joe Kissell

Learn what's private online (not much)--and what to do about it!

Do you have anything to hide? Whether or not you think you do, your online activities are certainly tracked -- and not just by well-meaning sites who want to keep you logged in or by marketing firms who want to show you targeted ads for products that you likely want to buy.

In the full book, Joe helps you gain perspective on what is reasonable to expect about online privacy and develop a sensible online privacy strategy, customized for your needs. He then explains how to enhance the privacy of your Internet connection, Web browsing, email messages, online chatting, social media interactions, and file sharing. To bring home the most important privacy no-nos, Joe also encourages you to take The Pledge (OK, it's tongue-in-cheek, though it would have saved numerous politicians from ridicule and career-ending gaffes). Plus, parents will find important riinders about how your online actions can affect your children, far into the future.

Teach This Book! Once you're satisfied with your own online privacy strategy, you may want to help friends or colleagues improve theirs. To that end, "Take Control of Your Online Privacy" includes links to a downloadable one-page PDF handout and to a PDF-based slide deck that you can show on any computer or mobile device screen.

Whether you have a Mac or PC, iOS or Android device, set-top box, cell phone, or some other network-enabled gadget, "Take Control of Your Online Privacy" has the advice that ordinary people need to handle common privacy needs (secret agents should really look elsewhere). You'll receive savvy advice about:

Why worry? Learn about who wants your private data, and, more important, why they want it. Even if you don't believe you have anything to hide, you almost certainly do, in the right context. Would you give just anyone your financial records or medical history? Didn't think so.

Set your privacy meter: Develop your own set of personal privacy rules -- everyone has different privacy buttons, and it's important to figure out which are important to you.

Manage your Internet connection: Understand privacy risks, prevent snoops, and take key precautions to keep your data from leaking out.

Browse and search the Web: Learn what information is revealed about you when you use the Web. Avoid bogus Web sites, connect securely where possible, control your cookies and history, block ads, browse and search anonymously, and find out who is tracking you. Also, learn how to protect your passwords and credit card data.

Send and receive email: Find out how your email could be intercepted, consider when you want email to be extra private (such as when communicating with a doctor or lawyer), find out why Joe doesn't recommend email encryption as a solution to ordinary privacy needs (but find pointers for how to get started if you want to try it -- or just encrypt an attachment, which is easier), get tips for sending email anonymously, and read ideas for alternatives to email.

Talk and chat online: Consider to what extent any phone call, text message, or online chat is private and find tips for enhancing your privacy when using these channels.

Watch your social media sharing: Social media is by definition social, so there's a limit to how private it can be. Understand the risks and benefits of sharing personal information online, tweak your settings, and consider common-sense precautions.

Share files: What if you want to share (or collaborate on) a contract, form, or other document that contains confidential or personal information? Find out about the best ways to share files via file server, email attachment, cloud-based file sharing service, peer-to-peer file sharing, or private cloud.

Help your children: As a parent, you know a lot about your child

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2013

About the author

Joe Kissell is the author of more than 60 books and hundreds of articles on technology topics. In 2017, he also became the publisher of Take Control Books, when alt concepts—the company he runs along with his wife, Morgen Jahnke—acquired the Take Control imprint from TidBITS Publishing Inc. He was the winner of a 2009 Neal award for Best How-to Article, and formerly wrote for publications such as Macworld, TidBITS, and Wirecutter. Before he began writing full-time in 2003, Joe managed software development for Nisus Software and Kensington Technology Group. In his hypothetical spare time, Joe likes to walk, cook, read, and practice tai chi. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with Morgen and their sons.

Reviews

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recommended read (2013)

Reread 2020: Still an interesting read, but it is starting to show its age. A fourth edition (I have the first) was published in 2019 and it looks like it is worth buying as a first time buyer, but I don't know if the changes and updates are worth spending the money again for an update.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical, understandable digital privacy advice about social media, Internet connections, Web browsing, email, messaging, mobile devices, and IoT devices. Kissell says he deliberately focuses more on principles than on settings, apps, and processes, though there's plenty about those. The book includes many links to additional resources.

Kissell says the book is for "ordinary people with ordinary privacy needs," not "the paranoid" or people with "outrageously sensitive or scary secrets to protect." However, each chapter ends with recommendations for those in high-risk situations.

Notes
Develop a Privacy Strategy
5 things to eliminate majority of privacy risks
• Avoid Facebook
• Avoid Google
• Install ad blocker
• Use encrypted communication whenever possible
• Opt out of everything you don't truly need

When you turn off and delete your Google activity, that only affects when you're logged into your Google account. When you're not logged in, Google can still track you, and know you're the same person based on IP address, browser fingerprint, etc.

Many data brokers don't let you opt out. Others let you delete what they have, but not opt out of future collection.

Data broker removal tools
• DeleteMe
• DuckDuckGo Privacy Pro
• Incogni
• Mozilla Monitor Plus
• Permission Slip by Consumer Reports

Keep Your Internet Connection Private
A network with WPA and a shared password is more secure than a network with no encryption, but slightly less secure than your home network.

Crossrider (later rebranded to Kape Technologies) has bought several VPN providers including ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access (PIA), CyberGhost. Kape owns several VPN review sites that rank their own services highest. Crossrider created a platform that was misused to distribute malware, or maybe Crossrider created malware.

VPN providers
• Proton VPN (author's favorite)
• Bitdefender VPN
• IVPN
• Malwarebytes Privacy VPN
• Mullvad VPN
• NordVPN
• WiTopia

Find VPN routers that work with popular VPNs at https://www.flashrouters.com.

Privacy appliances (VPN router, firewall, ad blocking, etc.)
• https://shop.deeper.network
• https://firewalla.com
• https://www.invizbox.com

Pi-hole is free way to block ads for network. For additional cost, can connect Pi-hole to VPN.

DNS providers
• CloudFlare (author's favorite)
• Quad9
• OpenDNS
• Google Public DNS

Free DNScrypt encrypts all DNS requests to any compatible DNS provider.

DNS providers that block most ads and trackers
• NextDNS (paid; free limited account)
• AdGuard DNS (paid; free limited account)

Windows Defender is generally sufficient, but if you engage in risky online activities, consider 3rd-party anti-malware.

macOS' native defenses aren't quite sufficient, so consider 3rd-party anti-malware such as ClamXAV, Malwarebytes.

It's almost impossible for 3rd-party anti-malware to properly scan iOS and iPadOS.

Android anti-malware apps are often fraudulent.

On Mac, Oversight and Micro Snitch can alert you when camera and mic are in use.

Most people don't need outbound firewalls, but they can protect privacy.

Outbound firewalls
• Mac: Little Snitch, Lulu
• Windows: ZoneAlarm, Windows 10 Firewall Control

Browse the Web Privately
EFF's Cover Your Tracks tells how unique your browser fingerprint is.

Least private browsers
• Chrome (creates a profile based on searches, browsing, location, etc., even in incognito)
• Brave (in 2020, inserted its own affiliate links into URLs for cryptocurrency sites; in 2023, accused of scraping copyrighted data and selling it for training AI)
• Edge (sends everything you type to Microsoft)

Most private browsers
• Safari (author's favorite; good by default, better when changing search engine and adding ad blocker)
• Firefox
• Tor Browser
• Vivaldi (Chromium-based)
• Comodo Dragon (Chromium-based), IceDragon (Firefox-based)
• Epic Privacy Browser (Chromium-based)

Use "Do not sell my personal information" links on websites to opt out.

Enable browser's fraudulent site (phishing) and malware protection.

By default, Chrome and Edge send every keystroke to Google and Microsoft, respectively. In Chrome, disable "check for spelling errors." In Edge, disable all "writing assistance."

Merely loading a page with ads tells advertiser your IP address, browser details, OS details, page you came from. Ads can track activities across Web. Blocking ads from loading is more effective that trying to protect privacy while allowing ads.

Blacklight from The Markup shows where websites try to send your data.

Ad blockers
• Safari: AdGuard (author's favorite), 1Blocker, DuckDuckGo Privacy for Safari, Ghostery
• Other browsers: uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Ghostery

Adblock Plus allows advertisers to pay them to allow their ads.

Author says sites don't need to show ads to stay in business, and blocking ads isn't stealing content, because there are ways for sites to make money without selling personal info.

Google can track credit card usage in brick-and-mortar stores and add that data to their profile of you.

Search engines
• DuckDuckGo
• StartPage (because it's a proxy for Google, Google could still identify you)
• Kagi (paid; free limited plan)

Privacy.com lets you create virtual credit card numbers (paid; free limited plan).

Improve Email Privacy
Burner addresses
• addy.io
• Apple’s Hide My Email, Sign in with Apple
• Burner Mail
• DuckDuckGo Email Protection
• Guerrilla Mail
• Maildrop
• Proton Mail’s hide-my-email aliases

Manage Your Mobile Privacy
AT&T and Verizon had used supercookies to track sites visited on their networks and sell that data to advertisers. Supercookies can't be blocked or deleted because carriers insert unique IDs between device and server. You can only avoid a carrier or opt out (if possible).

Options for handling customs and borders
• Use password manager's travel mode to remove passwords from device.
• Encrypt all data on devices and turn them off before checkpoint. Decline requests for passwords.
• Securely erase device and reinstall clean OS before traveling. Restore data later.
• Use burner devices.

Keep the Internet of Things Private
Least privacy-invasive smart speaker is probably Apple HomePod.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful guide to digital estate planning and data preservation, with worthwhile advice on a rarely discussed topic. Easy to understand.

Notes
Quick Start
Digital will template

Inventory Your Digital Assets
Attach digital will to regular will, and put line in latter referencing former.

Online accounts to inventory
• Email
• Messaging
• Social media
• Other (subscriptions, financial, medical, utilities, other forms of communication, online communities, etc.)
• Digital business assets (if any)

Tags that OSs allow you to add to files may not be supported on other OSs, so it's better to organize files by folder.

Make High-Level Decisions
3 time periods to consider (by priority)
1. Immediately after death or incapacitation: assets others will need in week(s) after your death (financial accounts, insurance info, pre-written obituary, funeral plan, etc.)
2. Present: assets that could be useful to others now
3. Future: assets others will want in years after your death

If there's any data you'll want expunged, do it now or mark it for digital executor to delete.

It would be simplest to have digital executor and conventional executor be same person, but if conventional executor isn't tech-savvy, appoint someone else as digital executor. This could be spouse, child, or another relative. Make clear what will be responsibilities of digital executor and conventional executor, by talking to them at same time and leaving written instructions.

File formats
• Favor those in open, industry-standard formats. Among those, favor those in wider use. Best are formats designed to be future-resistant.
• Plain text: plain text (UTF-16, UTF-8, ASCII); Markdown, HTML, log files
• Formatted text: XML (including .odt); XHTML; HTML; PDF; RTF
• Other office docs: .csv and .tsv for spreadsheets if formatting and graphics aren't • crucial, .ods for others; .odp for presentations
• Scanned docs: PDF (especially PDF/A)
• Email: .mbox; .eml and .emlx; HTML/XHTML; PDF
• Bitmaps: TIFF; PNG; JPEG2000 (all uncompressed)
• Vector graphics: SVG; PDF
• Audio: WAV, AIFF, FLACC, OGG
• Video: uncompressed AVI, QuickTime (.mov); Motion JPEG; MPEG (.mpg, .mpeg), MPEG-4 (.mp4, .m4v)
• Compression: avoid if possible; ZIP if unavoidable

PDF/A is designed for archiving. Convert PDF to PDF/A with Acrobat Pro, Nitro PDF Pro (Mac), docuPub site.

File format resources
• https://www.archives.gov/preservation...
• https://www.loc.gov/preservation/reso...
• https://www.research-collection.ethz....
• https://web.archive.org/web/201704110...
• https://www.mnhs.org/sites/default/fi...

Handle “Big Tech” Accounts
Giving someone your Apple account credentials lets them access all your data, but has risk of deliberate or accidental damage, and if Apple finds out you're dead, they may immediately terminate your account. Using Apple's legacy contact feature keeps data private and doesn't require sharing credentials, but limits what legacy contact can see after you die, and cuts off access to media you've purchased with Apple account. You can use both options (share Apple account credentials and set up legacy contact[s]).

You can set up an Inactive Account Manager for your Google account.

Digitize Photos and Documents
When scanning photos, 600 dpi is usually best compromise for quality, speed, file size. For documents, 300 dpi is usually best for color or grayscale; 600 dpi is better for black and white.

When scanning photos, 16-bit color is good. Documents are best in grayscale.

Scan photos as uncompressed TIFF; PNG is next best. Scan documents as PDF (preferably PDF/A).

Business centers (UPS & FedEx stores, etc.) have DIY and staff-assisted scanning.

Best backup services for most people: Backblaze, IDrive.

Deal with Passwords
Note which key accounts will require timely action (email, social media, financial, medical, cloud storage and backups). Tell digital executor what to do with each (e.g., download info, close account).

Give digital executor access to password manager via password manager's emergency access feature or shared folders or vaults.

Include passwords to all devices in digital will.

Include hardware key or instructions for finding it with digital will.

Consider adding digital executor's fingerprint or face scan to your devices.

Ensure digital executor will be able to retrieve 2FA codes, and give instructions.

Share passkeys by storing in 3rd-party password manager and sharing vault with digital executor.

Deal with Email and Messages
Write sample autoreply for digital executor to set: "This is an automated reply. I'm very sorry to say that [name] passed away on [date]. Please update your records accordingly. For further information, please contact [executor] at [contact info]."

Deal with Social Media
Write message you'd like digital executor to post as final post on social media accounts.

Preserve Your Data for Posterity
Plug in hard drives or SSDs at least a couple times per yr.

Refresh archives at least every 3-5 yrs (every yr if you create a lot of data).

Consider making digital executor beneficiary of devices, or at least granting temporary access in your will.

Create a Legacy Dossier
Legacy dossier (digital & physical)
• Instructions: overview of dossier contents, brief instructions for using
• How to do key tasks you do
• Will
• Digital will
• Data (or instructions for finding)
• Hardware key
• Autobituary (self-written obituary), where you want it published
• Genealogical and biographical info (about you, family)

Writing autobituary
• https://www.oneworldmemorials.com/blo...
• Book Yours Truly by James R. Hagerty

It's risky to encrypt data in your archive because if password is lost, data is irretrievable.

Refresh dossier at least every 3-5 yrs (every yr if you create a lot of data).

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se siete un minimo geek sull'argomento probabilmente saprete già il 90% di ciò che c'è nel libro. Rimane comunque un ottimo riassunto per niente pesante. Utile soprattutto nel caso dobbiate spiegare i concetti a terzi.

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trouble with this series of "Take Control" books, is that they date as quickly as the Apple systems evolve. And that is pretty constant. So one has to keep buyihg the more recent versions to keep-up. However, that doesn't apply quite so much with the current topic. It's not hitched directly to any particular operating system or device. It is more a series of recommendations of things we all should think about so that we don't leave huge problems for our families when we die. Certainly, Joe has made me think That I need to lift my game in this area and put some decent lists together. I've done a bit but Joe has given some really helpful check lists. Much of which doesn't apply to me but much of which does and he's made me think about some other things thta I really need to organise.
So full marks Joe. Happy to give you five stars for this. It's easy reading and genuinely helpful.

[Geoffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This latest edition of Take Control of Your Online Privacy is a great overview of the subject.

[Geoffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, the subject matter of Take Control of Your Digital Legacy is not what you would call jolly, however, Joe Kissell's book will help you prepare for the inevitable.