Taking Control of Your Personal Data

by Jennifer Golbeck

We have never before in human history been able to share so much about ourselves so quickly. Neither have we ever been so exposed to forces that want to take advantage of that capability. Taking Control of Your Personal Data will open your eyes to the surprising extent of that exposure and will discuss your options for keeping your personal data as safe as possible. Your instructor, Professor Jennifer Golbeck of the College of Information Studies at University of Maryland, College Park, will show you what really goes on behind the scenes with the data you knowingly and unknowingly share all day long. You'll be surprised to find out how much of your personal data is being manipulated perfectly legally - data you never intended for another person to see, data you didn't even know was out there.

This course doesn't offer a one-size-fits-all solution because no such solution exists. But this course will help you determine your personal privacy profile, decide whether or not to try the dark web and its Tor browser, and understand the current US laws and proposed state laws regarding privacy. Privacy issues are not going away; the technology that collects, analyzes, and derives insights from our data continues to grow at break-neck speed. As a society, we have not yet figured out how to apply appropriate ethics, values, and protections in parts of this domain. As individuals, we need exactly the type of information and direction provided by Taking Control of Your Personal Data.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Science

Audible Audio

Published January 31, 2020

Reviews

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This course (12 lectures, 30 minutes each) is a good introduction into the topic of personal data for people without any previous knowledge and any technical background. In my point of view the author is on the "slightly paranoid about privacy" side of the spectrum as far as the personal data security is concerned. She calls herself a privacy fundamentalist, but she recognizes that different approaches are appropriate for different people and the balance between pragmatism, convenience and privacy is a matter of personal preference.

I was going to give this 4 stars until the lecture about big data algorithms and their "mysterious ways" which are indecipherable to human minds made me cringe, so 3 stars. Of course, it's true that the way the artificial intelligence algorithm arrives to certain conclusions might be difficult to analyze, and it's not easy to explain this to laymen listeners, but creating an impression that am algorithm is a mysterious incomprehensible entity which acts by its own will doesn't help either.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good presentation of the problem of maintaining privacy anywhere even if you are totally offline because your friends are online and they share information or pictures they have taken of you. You can also be tracked by membership cards, credit card purchases and a host of other ways including an app turning on the microphone on your phone and listening to your conversations with your friends at dinner. Yes. It can happen.

I'm not really sure we can do anything about it except legislation that says that we have a right to our own data and if a company is collecting it, we should have a right to demand that they delete it.

I might listen to this audio course again.

[Mimi Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of helpful and practical information for those of interested and working with issues of privacy. I’m very tempted to delete everything I’ve ever written on the internet - because people do bad things with information that they really shouldn’t - heck, they do have things without any information, too.

That said, some of the information already felt a little out-of-date - things change so quickly, especially during election seasons. Still, lots and lots of useful info!

[Benjamin Rubenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heed these personal data warnings OR ELSE

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking Control of Your Personal Data by Jennifer Golbeck is a pretty good, if very brief, window int personal data privacy with a bent towards protecting it online. Golbeck has some interesting quirks, such as having a browser just to order pizza, while using another to get around any potential trackers online. She is a bit excessive in her efforts, but its worth engaging with her perspective and she has a wealth of knowledge that is worthwhile for beginners. Unfortunately, the more you're into data and data privacy, the less this will be worth your time. The short nature of the course means very little in-depth material can be provided, so the listener is given a tour of high level concepts. I hope the Teaching Company will gain the confidence to produce a meatier course on this, or a related, topic one of these days.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super great class! Golbeck is comprehensive, very informative, and conversational. She's easy to follow. I really appreciated her offering her own preferences, but explaining that personalizing your data access is very subjective. She goes through the pros and cons of strict and loose data protections, the utility, pros, and cons of the dark web, etc. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone, since it's a topic that concerns absolutely everyone - whether or not you've ever been on social media or ever had a smartphone. By virtue of being connected with people who are, and their having your contact info, everyone has a presence - even if it's only a piecing together of indirect info.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone concerned about the issue of privacy this is a fair primer on the subject with some fair, but not exhaustive, guidance on practical steps to protect themselves.

[Christopher Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another course that everyone from age 12 to 80 should listen to. Be informed about what everyone can know about you.

[Andrew Markos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Often descends into a polemic on the authors own political views rather than an educational Audiobook, but otherwise ok.

[Marc Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of Privacy, with a solid historical and global perspective.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cautionary tale about privacy in the information age.

[John Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative class, especially about the dark web, data collection and risks.