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No. 2078297
A thread about being afraid of the internet.
Through the years and talking with other anons on this website I've noticed a pattern of being afraid of the internet or constantly wanting to disappear from it. The internet can be pretty scary, from data breaches to online cancel culture and doxxing, there's plenty of reasons why someone may want to be safe online and be very careful with their own information. Basic cyber security should be enough, but sometimes there's more to this genuine fear of being perceived online. To make your digital footprint as invisible as possible and scrub out anything related to you. However, this paranoia could become a compulsion. Cutting off real life people, obsessively cycling through new accounts, never letting anyone take pictures of you in case someone uploads them, and generally not using the internet like a normies would. Even here on lolcow.farm, you would be careful to omit details and not post too much. Here's some optional questions:
>Would you say you have internet paranoia?>Can internet paranoia be good? Or could it lead to some unhealthy patterns?>Do you have a reason to be extremely cautious? Or do you think it's a no brainier and everyone should do it?>If you do have social media, is there a way you curate your presence to avoid it being linked to your real life self?>Has this impacted your real life in any way? Example: harder to connect to people, some jobs requiring social media, etcDiscuss and feel free to add anything else.
No social media / minimal social media thread:
>>>/ot/605663 No. 2078325
>>2078297>Would you say you have internet paranoia?Yes because of my internet activity when I was a teenager kek.
>Can internet paranoia be good? Or could it lead to some unhealthy patterns?Yes. You should always be paranoid of the internet and everybody’s intentions.
>Do you have a reason to be extremely cautious? Or do you think it's a no brainier and everyone should do it?Yes, because there’s always people waiting on your downfall even if you’re a loser and a nobody.
>If you do have social media, is there a way you curate your presence to avoid it being linked to your real life self?Make burner emails with different passwords, preferably at different locations and link them to your public accounts. Don’t use the same passwords for everything. VPNs don’t do shit besides using imageboards and browsing onion. Dynamic ips all the wayyy. Turn off the image metadata so nobody can trace it in your photos, put up as much privacy settings that is allowed on the apps and platforms you’re using. Don’t click random links and photos that you know looks funny and odd. You cannot out run e-leetfags with legitimate hacking skills, just do your best to damage control and delete everything. Try to not to take videos or photos in indiscriminate places, not outside where people can pinpoint the location like restaurants, parks, grocery stores. Don’t include your real name or put any of your real photos. Create an entirely different persona online, something that’s not too indiscriminate to your own irl but something that can make people dissociate and not be too involved with your character and personality where they would want to know the “real” you, this is done through shitpost/meme accounts. Talk shit all you want about ecelebs there’s a benefit of creating a parasocial bond with your fake identity, it makes people more interested in that fake identity than the real you. Pretend to be a man if you have to. How to throw people off: give consistent information but put a cookie trail that would make someone very confused and disoriented about who you are, for ex. your real name gets leaked or some faggot decides to use your real name that you stupidly told to them in moments of vulnerability, there will always be some person saying “that’s not even their real name their real name is (fake persona) name” because an arrogant retard who thinks they know it all and knows all the facts is enough to cover up your identity for just a little bit, but you are screwed when this happens. All the tips I only have. If we lived in a world where tech was optional, just don’t even have wifi, computers or phones and live off the land away from humanity. Nobody can be trusted.
>Has this impacted your real life in any way? Example: harder to connect to people, some jobs requiring social media, etcYes especially with the jobs, normies require you to seem personable and inviting by revealing so much of yourself as some kind of group sacrifice thing like a frat party where you have to humiliate or reveal something about yourself to get initiated. Tell as much as you need to and forfeit the rest. Be like those Japanese twitterfags where they use a bunch of numbers and shit as their profile. Use nicknames close to your name but not too close. Don’t post your opinions and views, don’t fall for the trap that anybody cares about what you have to say on a public platform and dump all of it on here or another imageboard where no one cares about namefagging or clout chasing.
No. 2078349
>>2078326Its not a honeypot but they do track like a LOT. They track even more than facebook and tiktok….which is a achievement in itself.
I don't blame them because almost every site in existence does tracking and i guess its normal unfortunately but i do feel like this site takes it too far when it comes to tracking and selling data.
Also it doesnt help that whenever discussions like this happen farmhands or jannys reply on anon (too scared to use their farmhand handle lmao) attack the person and saying how it isn't a big deal etc.
I actually have my own examples of the times i noticed obscure things that i only said here were tracked to google,tiktok and advertisers.
No. 2078379
>>2078362Hmm maybe, it is hard to believe ngl. I experience alot of regular tracking but i never noticed ambient listening lol. Im blowing my nose all the time yet i never got a advert or random content for cleaning your nose or sinuses. I did see it happen to others though.
>>2078372Its not scary, thats just tracking and sharing/selling data. Every site does it but other sites now try to be more ethical by letting you know what they are tracking you for and giving you options on turning off non-essential tracking. Lolcow does not have that option and they're not exactly ethical and transparent about their tracking but thats to be expected with the lazy ass shit incompotent admin and farmhands
This site does track like crazyyyyy but i don't care since i don't use this site often anymore. But i can see someone who uses this site daily being upset by the non-transparent very aggressive tracking and they are
valid to feel that way.
No. 2078588
File: 1720160911580.jpg (23.53 KB, 500x491, 1583679820333.jpg)
nothing will make you schizo out more than living in a country in which most of the population thinks privacy is cringe and not having your full name and phone number in your instagram bio means you're a social media leper, let alone not having social media or social media with any personal details in it so I don't care if the farmhands think i'm a gay retarded mentally ill woman my own country is more likely to dox me than them and i'm not kidding
No. 2078635
File: 1720165455869.jpg (54.72 KB, 494x361, 20582catnotamused-1v19wap-3713…)
Has anyone been able to overcome this phobia? How?
No. 2078655
>>2078651The thing with Reddit is that it's one of the few big platforms that lets you make an account with a fake email you made up on the spot, no verification asked. You could make a new account every day and it wouldn't hinder you in any way except for the karma posting limits.
Yes Reddit is overrun with bots but bots are mainly infesting the very big subs, they're not going to be in the smaller communities where you can discuss your interests. The only problem with Reddit is that you're not anonymous to other users so you have to keep all your personas very separate from each other. Not even for security reasons but just so the person you're fighting with doesn't use a detail about your personal life to win the argument
No. 2078700
>>2078349>They track even more than facebook and tiktokYou are completely retarded if you think a shitty imageboard that allows you to post from VPNs tracks more information than multi-billion dollar apps that you download onto your device and that have similarly lucrative data sharing agreements with dozens of companies.
Creating a TikTok or Facebook account is so, so much worse than posting on lolcow.
>>2078649They don't.
>>2078668And they don't.
No. 2078714
>>2078700You sure seem defensive and have no rebuttal other than going "nooo retardddd they don't!".
I literally said im not even bothered by the tracking, but that doesn't mean that im going to deny the agressive tracking that they are doing which me and other anons have noticed after being here for years because we are not tech illiterate. You must be one of the braindead farmhands, yawn go do your job you roach.
No. 2079171
>>2078714I gave a reason why it's ridiculous for you to think that, even though the burden of proof falls on the people making claim for which there could theoretically be positive proof. Instead, you and other anons will rely on borderline superstition. No, it's not Google tracking you across practically every time you visit a website that contains ads, no, it's not cross-device tracking with ultrasound or whatever else, it's this website that once managed to catch you ban evading.
Also, you absolutely should be bothered if lolcow is tracking its users more than Facebook/Instagram and Tiktok.
>Everyone that disagrees with me secretly one of them! If I were a mod, I'd give you all (retard) bans, and I would use my infinite tracking powers to make sure posters like you weren't around to shit up every tech-related thread we have on this site with schizo-level paranoid nonsense that other tech-illiterate anons mindlessly believe and parrot.
>>2078366Holy shit go look up what a keylogger is, please.
No. 2079332
really sucks for me, i have a binge and purge attitude where i create a social media account, or sign up for reddit or discord or whatever, and after a while i feel regret over having an online footprint and i delete everything. i don't have any inactive social media accounts because i usually deactivate to stop myself from posting, or if i grow bored with a website i never go "i'll log out but i will keep this account in case i want to come back in the future" because i always delete as soon as i'm no longer interested. i feel the same regret for posting on lolcow, but i can't delete stuff on here kek the idea that the shit i share online will be there forever, albeit anonymously, really bothers me. so i tend to delete individual posts, comments and messages before deleting my account; i think it's the wise thing to do, but most people don't bother with this shit, so it comes off as paranoid. i'm not worried about irls knowing what i do online, i just don't like having many accounts and i want the stuff i post gone
anyone else like this?
No. 2079472
>>2078619I had a cyberstalker at some point and I already fear he knows a lot about me, it plagues my everyday life and I have a lot of trouble explaining to people why it traumatized me without them trying to dismiss me as overreacting to the situation. It doesn't matter if it stopped shit made me hole myself up in my home in self isolation till I pretty much almost killed myself
If he was able to see anything and everything I ever did and used some kind of algorithm to track it, let alone if the government or jobs could see everything I'd done online, I'd not only be unhirable I'd fucking kill myself from shame. I vented things I'd never tell a soul irl on the web and I don't deserve to have them dangled over my irl presence
No. 2149556
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I am taking a cybersecurity class, first class the professor opened asking what privacy tools we use when online. I use a VPN, privacy focused plain text email, mullvad browser, a password manager, and have no social media accounts. Only one other person in class used any tools and it was a password manager. I’m starting to wonder if I have a problem.
No. 2152676
>>2079995>do any of us even still use social media ? Yes, I was forced to get a fb account for university because everyone there was too retarded to use emails. I use twitter too to follow artists I like.
>like that’s attached to our real life personasYes for facebook but I only use messenger now to talk to friends because they're also too retarded to use any other much better apps for that. No for twitter and I really don't get why anyone who's not using it as a celebrity think it's reasonable to put their real names and/or faces on twitter.
No. 2155986
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>>2152687Man that's fucking terrifying
>>2149613It was pretty normalized on 4chan less than a few years ago to talk about "pedo stars" (aka child models usually). I mentioned this in the wish I never knew thread but I've been seeing these same girls names pop up on porn addict subreddits, so I do think in a few years we'll be seeing them referenced by the average male. Loli circles are much more normalized, and these previous child models and csa
victims get casually brought up alot on there
No. 2156104
>>2156061What kind of steps are you talking about?
I'm really interested,
nonnie No. 2235170
Many xfinity devices lately have been getting hacked and used for spyware, torment or extrortion purposes.
No. 2235188
>>2235183The only thing she can do is get rid of her xfinity devices and get a new wifi provider.
In 2023 xfinity had a data breach where over 35 million users data was breached
https://www.google.com/amp/s/variety.com/2023/digital/news/comcast-xfinity-hackers-stole-data-customers-1235845710/amp/I also went through her comments and she was also one of the people whose data got breached and xfinity didn't do anything about it really other than letting her know about the breach.
No. 2280568
File: 1732816467918.jpg (4.37 MB, 5336x3527, women-at-desk-stressed-3262184…)
In light of recent events:
How does one avoid the fate of being doxxed? I have some ideas, add yours:
>Don't have social media unless you really need it for school/work and limit your interactions there
>Use different account names and passwords
>Don't let people take pictures where you're visible, don't upload pictures of yourself online
>If you want to use reddit or imageboards, limit yourself to only lurking but if you want to post at all then use different typing styles and don't use the same words over and over
>Only use discord for friends you trust, don't join servers
Now if you already fucked up but haven't been doxxed, what are you supposed to do?
>Don't sperg out anymore
>Let time pass, learn from your mistakes
>Be more careful and vigilant with your internet image
>Delete accounts you don't need
Any more suggestions?
No. 2280632
>>2280568>>Use different account names and passwordsEmphasizing this. Reusing account information (including verification emails) is the number one way people get doxed. Distinctive writing style or what the layout of a room looks like in a picture is more used to confirm a dox.
Would add
>be cautious uploading screenshots or videos of your desktop Many people fucked themselves because they did something like post a screenshot of an article they were reading and showed their filled in google email with their full name or whatever.
>don't call into streams or have relationships with streamersNot many would do this but I wanted to mention it. Multiple streamers have doxed fans/callers by accidentally showing their phone number on stream.
No. 2280639
File: 1732819829346.jpeg (251.9 KB, 1125x1460, 45AF766A-FEBE-4C56-B334-E0AC79…)
>>2280568I basically do what you outlined. Something that people overlook is what your friends post about you too. If someone knows you went to X school and have a friend named Angie then they can find info about you from Angie’s account too. If you’re interested in this I recommended picrel. The author has a pretty long interview on the Pretend podcast titled “How to Disappear” that’s worth a listen as well.
No. 2280711
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Is there a way to be 100% traceless? I'm sure for most of us it's too late. And even if we could go back in time to fix it, normies love uploading shit on social media that unwillingly includes us (pictures, videos, information, etc).
No. 2280746
File: 1732826392842.png (440.3 KB, 903x617, news.PNG)
Sorry for double posting but I saw news today online about how some weirdo who was filming young women in small party dresses in Manchester without them knowing got arrested. If strangers take pictures of you or film you they can post whatever they want online, I saw his account months ago on twitter and reported it but it didn't do anything. The videos always had captions about how white women and the west have fallen and is becoming more degenerate so I'm glad he got arrested but just thinking about it is scary as hell. I've had some old creeps running to me once when I was minding my own business and dressed normally, they took a picture of me in particular with fancy cameras and ran off while bragging that the picture wasn't blurry, just thinking about it makes my blood boil. So you also have to worry about weirdos like them, or youtubers and tiktokers who like to interview random people outside and film them without their consent, or people who pull "pranks" on others in public for online views.
No. 2281087
>>2280746Good.
In the articles I've seen about this, his face is blurred. He should not be given that much privacy.
A surprise month of Hellmas is now in effect. For the rest of the month of December, VPN posting will be banned.