Deal with the Devil

I am a fan of documentaries, especially of technology.  How the companies started, what was the small spark of genius that lead to a billion dollar empire. Perhaps if I watch enough of these, I will spot that elusive nugget of information, that common thread, that allows these people to find and exploit their genius. Once found, I can then put it to use and stop worrying about how low to turn the thermostat this summer.  Or better yet, I can blackmail these people and threaten to release their secret into the world, so that we can all become billionaires and everyone will be special, too!


But I also know to watch these videos with a very large shaker of salt on hand.  The people who create these documentaries don't do so with an attitude of "Hey... look at this.  Isn't this damn interesting?" No. So I always go in expecting some demonizing of the subject by a well-intentioned but righteously-angered narrator shedding daylight on "The Man" and "His Capitalist Pig Ways" stealing from "The People" and floating their yacht on the blood and sweat of the "Working Poor". Or something to that effect.

I came across a rather interesting documentary on NetFlix the other day.  From the title, Terms and Conditions May Apply, I inferred that it was about those incomprehensible Terms and Conditions that you see every time your install a program or app, or set up an account - free or otherwise - on a website.  And it was.. at first.

I'm as guilty as most of not reading these very legal documents before clicking impatiently on the I Agree button so that I can just get on with the installation or application process that gives me access to the information I want - especially if I don't have to pay anything to get it.  I know that basically I'm agreeing to everything from giving up my firstborn (good luck with that!) to allowing video surveillance in my bathroom on alternate Wednesdays to see how many sheets I use that day.  And even as I click, I know that in the back of my mind I'm devising clever ways to circumvent their nefarious, waterboarding ways of extracting my personal information.  I just won't give it up!  As long as I don't type in my SSN, how would they ever know, right?  Er.. right?

But the subject quickly changed to one of privacy. I have to admit, they actually did a pretty even-handed job of demonizing everyone.  They ridiculed the "I have nothing to hide" people (hereafter known as "ostriches") to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden and their "Information wants to be free - damn the consequences!" attitude, with stops along the way at the NSA and the Patriot Act.

They immediate brought up Google and Facebook, the current favored villains in the Privacy arena, as I expected.  They showed how Google's Terms and Conditions had changed from early days of "Do no evil" (Google's motto), to their current "we're not promising you anything.. if you tell us, it's fair game."  Then for the most part, they went on to break down the common areas and phrases in a typical Terms and Conditions contract, and tell what it can mean to the user, the company, and the government, and how it relates to your privacy.

This is the kind of video that I would love everyone to see before they connect to the Internet the first time.  There are so many little tidbits of information that are mind-blowing, scary, funny and downright alarming.

For example, ever wonder why free websites are free?  It is estimated that the information that Google has on every user in their system is worth about $500 a year to them.  Even anonymous, aggregated information about their millions of users are worth literally billions (yes, with a "b") annually to companies looking for consumer statistical data, and even more to access their advertising data (watch for AdSense on almost any website), which "anonymously" tracks users through the Internet and displays their clients' ads appropriate to your tastes and browsing history.  They know what you view and match you up accordingly.  Does it ever freak you out that you look something up on Amazon, then suddenly every web page you visit has ads for that product? That's how they do it.

Here's another:  Did you know there is a company that makes an attache-sized device that can be connected to ANY cellphone and download all the information on and about that phone?  There are currently no regulations on who can purchase (or rent?  Hmmmm...) this device.  Do you want proof that the cheating bastard is cheating so you can clean him out in the divorce settlement? If you have the money, you can buy it ... or rent it from me... at a hefty - but not unreasonable - fee.

And yet another:  The NSA has built an installation in Utah that is 5 times bigger than the Capitol Building.  This installation is set up to pull in information from any source in the world: satellites, cell phones, land lines, Internet, etc. (Have you heard, the NSA is changing it's tagline to read, "We're the only government agency who REALLY listens...").

Oh, and did you know the default setting for Facebook is to display ALL of your information to EVERYONE, with the exception of your birthday and personal contact information?  Facebook "assumes" that since you've joined a social network, you want to be social with everyone... in the world.  If you've never changed any of your privacy settings, everything you (or your friends or family) have posted to your wall, or every website you've "liked", or those pictures of the party after the office Christmas party, is available to EVERYONE, not just those on your Friends list.  Check your settings. Now. We'll wait.

Toward the end of the video, they ask many of their experts, "Is privacy dead?"  Not all thought so, but almost all agreed that it was dying, at least in the context of the Internet. About the only way to protect your privacy on the Internet is to never connect.  Once you've made the connection, once you've pointed your browser at a website, information about you is being recorded all over the place:

• on your computer - think "browser history"
• with your ISP - When you connect, your ISP assigns you an Internet Protocol Address (IP address) from a pool of addresses assigned to your ISP.  (My current IP address is  216.49.115.12.  I got this by looking at my Internet connection on my router.) This is your "street address" on the Internet for sending you information, like web pages or downloads. ISP's record your IP address each time you connect, for billing purposes (your IP address is attached to the username, if you have to log in, or to your connection ID, if you're using an "always on" connection, like cable or Fiber Optic
• with the websites you visit - every request for a web page carries your unique IP address. Websites record the IP's who visit for the purpose of reporting traffic, as IP addresses are assigned to ISP's in blocks, which are usually tied to physical locations (IP addresses that start with 215.49..... have been assigned to my ISP.  You can look this up on any WHOIS website).  This is how the website you're visiting knows you're connecting from St. Meinrad, Indiana (where my ISP is located).

... and this is even before you've filled out a single form. Makes you wonder if the Terms and Conditions aren't just a smoke screen to keep you from worrying about the real concerns about connecting.

What can you do about it?  I'm drawn to a more fatalist view of "not much".  Those that run the Internet have pretty much set it up the way they want it.  If you want to play here, it's by their rules.  I think it's pretty safe to assume that anything you post to a website, type into a form, or divulge in a forum post is pretty much available, at least to the operators of the Internet, and to those savvy enough to know how to extract the information.  And anything you post WILL be used... information is the currency of the Internet, and companies like Google will mine it like gold and sell it to the highest bidder.  And the more pure (personal) the information, the more it's worth.

Oh, you can go chasing around, changing AdSense settings for the websites you visit, as well as the hundreds of other similar web advertising services available.  You can comb through the Privacy Policies of every website you visit or sign up for an account.  You can turn off cookies (pretty much also disabling useful features of your web browser).  But trying to keep up with all this is like herding cats.  Some policy changes and they will require you to go though all the hoops again - if you notice the change.  If you're this concerned, you're probably better off disconnecting your Internet account and save yourself from going insane.

But I also believe that websites that deal with highly personal information (banking, credit cards) have a vested interest in seeing that this information is protected.  News that a site's credit card information has been breached can ruin them financially.  I believe that they can, and do, go to great lengths to protect that information, knowing that if they don't, they won't stay in business long. As long as you do your part (follow the password rules and change them often), they will do their part.

Watch the video (you can even rent it through Amazon), form your own opinion, and act accordingly.  And for Pity's Sake, check your Facebook settings!