20 years have passed since the Matrix was released… hard to believe, I know. Even harder to accept, without feeling a little bit old, especially if you remember being a bright young thing when the movie hit the big screen, back in 1999. Sounds prehistoric? Well, you’re right, it kind of is.

The ideas in the movies however, are more relevant today than ever. The dystopian future in which artificial intelligence takes over humankind, could be one of the supercuts, but the movie itself abounds in symbolisms, referring to the greater, bigger, more meaningful themes of the 21st century and beyond. It is perhaps a new syntax of sci fi/ action movies, the perfect mix of special effects, narrative and style, underpinning philosophical themes. This whole mix is what makes the movie, much more than just a sci-fi, but a cult film, a classic of its genre.

When news about WhatsApp security breach broke, there was something in the way the hacking took place, that screamed to me: THE MATRIX. I’m getting a lot of that, lately.

Not sure if I was following the Aristotelian mimesis or the Oscar Wilde anti-mimesis, in my thought process, but one thing was for sure: there really was “a glitch in the system”.

Remember how Neo uses the phone to “exit” the Matrix? Well, WhatsApp hackers used the same principle, a phone call, only this time to “enter”.

In the words of Oscar Wilde or Lana del Rey’s gods and monsters song, I guess life really imitates art. I find this version to be more poetic than prophetic, so I’m sorry Aristotel, I’m taking the Del Rey — Wilde route, this time around.

Game of phones

Back to reality. Only last week, one of the largest communication apps, WhatsApp, amounting more than 1.5 billion users, was the target of an unprecedented hack, that revealed quite a vulnerability in its security system.

Even though, the app is popular for having end to end encryption on all messages going through its servers, hackers managed to enter the system via in-app voice calls. Basically, the users affected by the hack, got one or two calls from a number unknown to them, which delivered a code in the process of calling. Regardless if the user answered the call or not, the code was shipped.

Nothing a user could’ve done, short of not having the app altogether, could have prevented the infection. WhatsApp has since resolved the security breach and patched the flaw, while urging their users to update the app sooner rather than later.

However this particular security breach is very important from another aspect, that of the technology the hackers used. The hacking tool involved in the cyber attack is reportedly similar, if not identical, to the spyware and surveillance tools used by governments to capture high profile criminals and is often nearly impossible to track. As in this case, hackers could even erase records of the call used to inject the code, after the fact.

The alleged culprit? A company, known as the largest player in the business of surveillance tools, the Israeli cyber security company NSO Group is believed to be the developer of the tool. Even though the hacking tool gives a few cues and has the distinguishing marks of the type of surveillance tools developed by the company, NSO denies the allegations.

The target? Human Rights activists and apparently one lawyer in particular.

The motive? Let’s give a little more context. The alleged targeted lawyer, who spoke in condition of anonymity, is helping a Saudi dissident and several Mexican journalists build a civil case against the NSO. The NSO Group claims to only sell surveillance tools for legitimate targets, selling exclusively to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but is suspected to do otherwise, in practice, targeting honest individuals and not high profile criminals or terrorists, being involved in illegal surveillance and thus violating human rights.

These are, in a nutshell, the facts so far of last week’s “Game of Phones” finale. But in real life.

Still, the case looks a lot more like Matrix to me. Am I taking it too far? I can’t tell.

Maybe I’m in too deep on this one, but the phone metaphor still echoes in my head. And no, I don’t suppose they’ll open a portal in spacetime any time soon through a phone call, but suffice to say they opened a very dense, resourceful and highly popular messaging app, in the meantime.

And so, could it be that these devices we so often use, be nothing more than pocket-sized surveillance devices we gladly accept?

Ok, that’s an oversimplification and I take that back, but the thought is worth to ponder upon, as it might lead to savvier users and a safer digital environment. As we arrive to a new age kicking and screaming all the way, we might even find our way to Zion. I somehow, take solace in that.

2019

Until Zion, let’s take it each step at a time and see how the 2019 digital world looks like.

In the sharing, internet economy, data is the currency and sometimes even a political weapon to be reckoned with. In other words, data is today an informational, political and economic asset capable of traveling the speed of light in a vacuum, when going through state of the art optical fibers. Able to operate at 99.7% the speed of light according to researchers at the University of Southampton in England. (source: Extreme Tech)

The digital world is now creating tangible value from big data so expect internet privacy to take an even more prominent route in the future. (Ain’t no going back)

Nowadays, security must come in layers, not only in the corporate environment, but on a personal level also.

The number one thing you need to get in line with is having a VPN connection. It’s really simple to use and just like that poof! your data travels through an encrypted tunnel, safe from prying eyes and encrypted all the while.

It won’t save you from all the threats out there, but it will make you less vulnerable.

8 Popular Web Browsers Ranked

Web browsers. We use them on a regular, so much so we don’t even realize they’re there, we perceive them as a given, a tool that comes with the territory of internet access. Still, not all web browsers were created equal. Today, we take the measure of some of the most popular web browsers on the market through a security lens and see which one scores best on the challenge.

Frequency of updates, embedded security tools and features are indicators of a good reliable web browser in terms of privacy. Taking the aforementioned criteria into account, here are the most secure web browsers ranked

#8. Internet Explorer

Once upon a time, there was Internet Explorer. An undeniable favorite, holding monopoly in the early ages of the proto-internet, Internet Explorer is today a “deserted”web browser, especially since Microsoft introduced Edge. In terms of updates, Microsoft stopped making major updates to IE, as the focus shifted to its successor.

Security Wise, IE can detect malicious or potentially harmful sites, but is lagging behind on a lot of security features of its competitors.

Privacy Wise, you can toggle pop up blockers, have a tracking protection feature, preventing listed sites from dropping cookies upon subscribing in advance to a protection list, but that’s mainly about it, as the browser itself is closed-source (packed widgets remain undisclosed and obscure to the “naked eye”).

#7. Edge

As the name suggests, the descendant of Internet Explorer really has an edge over what has otherwise become a meme for delayed effects, in general, in terms of speed .

In what updates are concerned, Edge updates twice a year on average. That’s still a low frequency of updates, when compared to competitors on the market.

It runs in a sandbox making all browser processes contained, the extension support is limited which could potentially limit malicious or simply questionable extensions you may download accidentally.

All in all, privacy and security wise, Edge only ranks at the bottom of the list and it’s still not a very secure browser.

#6. Opera

Developed by the person who also created the CSS web standard, Opera is not only an ingenious browser with a cute face, but it is also a staple for privacy oriented web browsers, the poster child of private web browsing. It runs on Google Chromium system, using Google Chrome’s open-source, which was tweaked to add features of its own.

Updating every 4 to 6 weeks, Opera comes close to a very healthy update frequency, which is once every 3–4 weeks.

From a security standpoint, Opera has integrated fraud and malware protection, has a built-in free VPN, an ad blocker, social messengers like what’s app and facebook messenger, battery saver a VR player among its main features.

The built in VPN however, is known to be tracking logs and bandwidth, not exactly the best choice for a VPN service as it may actually defeat the purpose of using such a tool.

#5. Google Chrome

At almost 80% market share, Google Chrome is leading the rankings for obvious reasons. Those reasons can be summed up to the fact that Chrome is simply a Google product. Just like the web search, YouTube, Gmail or Google Docs, it is only natural that people are naturally drawn to it and inclined to use it, considering the dominant role Google is playing in the online world.

There are usually 6 weeks between its updates as Google automatically updates Chrome. Security Wise, Chrome regularly scores the highest on security tests and moreover Google is actively requesting hackers to discover vulnerabilities, so that the company can later improve those potential loopholes. Still, the fact that Chrome is owned by Google, the larger than life company, that virtually knows “everything” about its users should serve as a bit of warning, in what privacy is concerned.

The standard Chrome version is closed source, everything (if anything) packed inside the code is therefore obscure. Truth be told, there is also an open-source version of Chrome available.

#4. Apple Safari

Safari, the default web browser for Mac is usually perceived as being more secure, since Mac devices are arguably less vulnerable to malware. Chrome’s popularity however, pushed it to a marginal fate similar to that of Internet Explorer.

Updates are irregular, but tend to be on the slow side, as weeks between updates can vary between 9 and 47 weeks.

Despite its irregular updates, Safari does a pretty god job security wise, by running web pages contained, in a sandbox, thus preventing malware to infect the entire browser. Safari also introduced a password manager meant to improve the quality and strength of its user’s passwords.

The only culprit of Safari is the fact that is closed sourced, otherwise making a close to perfect impression in terms of security and privacy.

#3. Brave

Brave is the bold, fast-performing, privacy-oriented newcomer dressed in a minimalist attire. The browser updates every 8–9 weeks and it’s still working towards a version v1.0 for desktop. Brave offers a fairly customized browsing experience as it allows the user to remove selected data every time the user closes the app.

A default ad blocker and an HTTPS function allows its users to browse unencrypted sites more secure.

#2. Mozilla Firefox

Owned by a nonprofit organization, Mozilla is the caliber alternative to Chrome, also harboring a more hyped, privacy-focused version: Quantum.

Mozilla is updated by volunteers with a 6 to 10 week frequency, making it a bit slower than the competition, but keeping an overall regularity to its updates.

Security features include malware protection, add-ons warnings, but perhaps the most important things is the fact that Firefox is open-source and ONG owned.

#1. Tor Browser

Tor is probably the true rebel out of the bunch. Based on Firefox, Tor was designed to let users access the world wide web via the Tor network, encrypting traffic and bouncing your data across a network of relays composed of thousands of volunteered computers.

Following Firefox’s bug fixes, most Tor updates happen with a frequency of about 2 weeks. Browsing history of users is not tracked by Tor and cookies are cleared after each session. Add the no script policy and privacy features and you will get a pretty safe browsing experience, probably the safest.

Out of the bunch, Tor is the most secure web browser, for enhanced security and privacy you can always turn to a VPN. A good VPN will have its own servers and encryption protocols designed for it, reducing possible security failures to a minimum. Free VPN services are often an open door to malware and can be easily used by scammers.

In the FREE vs. PAID matter, its is important to understand that most legit businesses will offer 7 days of free trial, but a free connection on a indefinite period of time is sure to get its profit elsewhere; in ways that can harm your security and defeat the whole purpose of having a VPN in the first place.

We suggest you do yourself a favor and invest a good 5 bucks for a reliable VPN like the dedicated VPN you can get from My IP.io or from another reliable provider.

And how you can survive them

Internet access is nowadays a fundamental human right coined by the UN Human Rights Council, adopted in 2016 by resolution.

However, not all governments respect it, especially not around elections. Across Asia and Africa several governments tried to silence speech through what is called “an internet shutdown”, where access to certain platforms, especially social media, is either restricted or blocked, altogether.

If you read through the first statements of the 32nd session of the UN resolution, the document outlines the importance of preserving internet access as a fundamental human right, “recognizing that the spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies”.

So having an open and free online environment is not only a matter of rights, but also a condition for progress.

Not only the right to freedom of opinion and expression, or the right to privacy in the digital age, but also innovation and influencing elections is at stake, in the opposite scenario.

In the case of innovation, let’s take the example of net neutrality. This concept argues in favor of keeping an unobstructed online environment as a sine qua non for online freedom, but also innovation and it sure makes a strong case.

Imagine that broadband providers had the liberty of picking favorites, of deciding which service you may or may not access while using their internet service. They could limit or even block access to some products or services, while creating “fast lanes” for others, thus controlling information flow and traffic. New technologies might never see the light of day.

To go even further, imagine your ISP blocking or limiting access to services like Youtube, when Youtube came to shape 18 years ago. Had that been the case, Youtube as we know it, might not even exist today, or not at the same scale, maybe not at all.

Internet shutdowns on the other hand are a different kind of evil, meaning that they usually happen around or during elections and that they usually don’t last long as the economic costs could quickly spiral into hundreds of millions of dollars. However, no less than 134 internet shutdowns occurred in India alone, in 2018. 2019 recorded 19 shutdowns already in the same country, the most recent, just a few days ago “following the terrorist attack against the militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s (Pulwama district, India, 14th of February 2019) in which 45 CRPF personnel died and many others got injured when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus, Jammu observed a complete shutdown and Mobile Internet services were suspended on 15th February 2019” (source).

So be wary when you hear the “fake news”, national security, public safety reasoning as this may only be a manipulating maneuver to conveniently stop protests from happening and ultimately control elections. And as the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

Let’s also set some expectations before we go on, you can’t really escape a total internet shutdown.

Not really, but you can always try Firechat. Take the example of the “Occupy Central” movement in Hong Kong protests back in 2014, when the concern that the government might cut reception, made protesters head to Firechat, an app that does not require a network to work, functioning on a peer to peer mesh network. The protesters used Firechat to exchange information, figure out which road was blocked by the police and coordinate. There are limits however in using your phone as a “walkie-talkie” that for the sake of the argument we needed to point out.

Not counting Firechat, escaping a total internet shutdown can be a very daunting task.

For partial shutdowns, however, there are plenty of solutions that you can use in order to overcome limitations.

We’ll list the best that we can think of, below:

1. Become Security Savvy

be aware of the websites you visit and whether they use an SSL certificate, these are the https sites, providing secure browsing while on a particular website.

2. Use a VPN Service like MyIP.io or any other that you trust

a reliable VPN service that keeps your data extra safe, traveling through a tunnel encrypted from end to end, so nobody, not even your ISP will be able to make sense of it, since all your information will go through the VPN server and not your ISP’s. You will also be able to bypass geo-restriction.

3. Use encrypted messaging apps like Signal or any other that you trust

use encrypted messaging and voice-calling similar with Telegraph or Wire.

12 Months in Retrospect

2018 this gotta staaahp!

Fighting the urge of posting yet another facebook post reading “2018, this gotta staaahp!” as I reminisce this year in all its glory is something I can definitely shake. Or can I? Looking back at 2018, as cliche as it may be if you do that in late December, means you too have been sucked by the new year’s resolutions current. So try not to fight it as it swallows you whole, after all, making resolutions kind of makes sense.

Facebook Scandal

Starting with Facebook scandal in April and following with net neutrality repeal in May, 2018 was ringing alarm bells in online security and rightly so with a double sworded twist, both on the technology and law enforcement standpoints. Digital privacy concerns culminated however this summer, when both Russia and China decided to ban VPN services, thus preventing government censorship to be undermined by virtual private networks any longer or by other anonymous browsing tools.

In spite of the orwellian scenario, it’s not yet clear how the censorship ordeal will play out in 2019 and there are still a lot of VPN services that still work in China and Russia.

The EU Copyright Directive

The link tax, censorship machines and the so called posible balkanisation of the web, happening this fall at the request of the EU Copyright Directive raised a lot of concerns under three articles that seemed to have control of informational flow at stake. If passed in January of next year, in the current form, the bill might damage the way we use the internet and online freedom of expression in a major way.

Failing to redefine these articles, might lead to permanent surveillance, damaging the open and free internet as we know it with great implication on innovation, proving that sometimes the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions.

Net Neutrality

Just as in the case of net neutrality repeal in the USA, these articles of the EU directive are seen as enemies of innovation. Advocates of net neutrality argue in the favor of keeping an unobstructed online field as a vital part of innovation. Their concern is very valid and should be a cause worth fighting for all of us.

New Year’s Security Resolutions in 2019

In the sharing, internet economy, data is the currency, an informational and economic asset capable of traveling the speed of light in a vacuum, when going through state of the art optical fibers. Able to operate at 99.7% the speed of light according to researchers at the University of Southampton in England. (source: Extreme Tech)

The digital world is now creating tangible value from big data so expect internet privacy to take an even more prominent route in the future.

Nowadays, security must come in layers, not only in the corporate environment, but on a personal level also.

Here are a few things you might want to consider for an overall improved security of your online privacy and data.

Get a VPN service for all your devices:

The number one thing you need to get in line with is having a VPN connection. It’s really simple to use and just like that poof! your data travels through an encrypted tunnel, safe from prying eyes and encrypted all the while. You basically need to pay a monthly subscription and rock on. It’s important that you don’t chose a free VPN as free VPN services are sure to get their profits elsewhere and it’s usually on your broadband expense. So avoid using unreliable free services that offer protection, but are in fact jeopardizing it.

Taking hold of your own digital footprint requires savvy, educated users, that know their rights and are not willing to compromise when it comes to their own privacy.

It’s easy to understand why more and more people resort to using a VPN service, rather than letting their information “fly” to unknown servers where they can be stored indefinitely.

Password Managers

Another simple step you can take to ensure your passwords are strong and that you have them all in order. Passwords managers are not written in stone, so naturally they can be hacked, but is far less likely to have your password hacked than it is to have one and the same password for multiple platforms and have your data compromised by relying on your memory alone.

2Factor Authentification

We know it can be annoying to have an extra layer of access when you’re in a hurry, but remember you will not be prompted with a 2fact auth method if you don’t switch devices often.

Back Up

Back up is the most obvious security measure that you can take, but people are often just not doing it. Regardless if you back up locally on a hard drive or in the cloud, you can do the extra mile and encrypt everything before backing up your data and you can be certain that your data is safe or that you can at least do a roll back to the most recent version previously saved.

Taking a few measures to securely navigate the valley of post-truth are of the essence in fearing no evil. Keeping our heads clear and taking action to protect the digital environment we expose ourselves to on a daily, without having to go to extreme lengths to do so, is the way to go in 2018.

Having a VPN in place is the smart approach to getting around all this. Think at a VPN as the middleman between you and the internet, where your ISP can only see a bunch of encrypted traffic. And since your VPN knows as much as your ISP would, it’s very important to choose a reliable one with a zero log policy and a strong encryption.

Services like MyIP.io will offer you a self-managed VPN platform, delivering fast, secure and reliable VPN service . This platform caters to a wide demographic through three channeled directions: Personal, Dedicated and Business, so it makes for a wonderful choice for corporate or personal use at the same time. Whatever provider you may chose, remember that the smart approach is to use a VPN service that you feel is the best match for you. Until then, stay smart, use a VPN!

The Rise Of Surveillance Capitalism. The truth.

As the book Funky Business puts it “the internet is neither good or bad- the internet just is.” Noting a few possible scenarios of how we could use the internet to do harm or good, the book goes to show that the simple inventory of all the things that could go wrong with the internet, also means missing the point and a lot of opportunity.

Today, almost 2 decades after the release of Funky Business, several other important business books are heavily criticizing the market capitalism, raising cause for concern on what capitalism is turning into in the internet, digitalized age. These theories bring to the forefront more of the negative scenarios that could potentially turn dark, in the internet age, stating valid reasons for concern.

Some of the predictions in these books have since come true, on both sides, good and bad, the whole nine yards.

We clearly see today how we are shifting to a new form of capitalism, something called “surveillance capitalism” as Soshana Zuboff predicted, e-business guru and former Harvard professor. This new kind of political and economical system predicted by Zuboff relies on a business model that is looking to hook us all together to this larger than life networks, constantly profiting off one valuable resource: our undivided attention, cashing in on customer data extraction.

Attention, a commodity that can be sold

But let’s just layoff for a while from books and theories and focus on attention (yeah, you read that right let’s focus on focus itself). You know how people usually say that “the internet offers free access to information” right? Well, think again. What if I told you that the information you are receiving, no matter the medium, is not really free. It comes at the cost of your attention. In other words, information consumes attention. And in the internet age, that means that attention is a commodity that can be sold. Now I know it all sounds straight out of a Morpheus meme, the charismatic Matrix character offering you a choice between the red and the blue pill, but it’s all true ( You hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability).

There are studies that show the exact dollar figure of your attention down to the hour. For Youtube for example, your attention can be estimated as being worth 4 cents an hour , for the company (You can read more on what is called attention hijacking in “The attention economy is eating our brains” by Dorian Peters here).

Not only does the internet age create products out of your gray matter, but it can also lead to excessive surveillance and the atomization of a police state, proving extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.

For the time being having a VPN in place is a real solution to overturn the effects of excessive surveillance or of any surveillance for that matter. Having your consumer data travel trough an encrypted tunnel from end to end, such a simple yet effective tool as a VPN can prove really helpful for anyone valuing privacy, while bypassing geo-restrictions to access content worldwide.

AI, a game of clones

But the latest word buzz in technology is not surveillance, nor is it attention, it comes in the form of AI. Perhaps many of us know Elon Musk’s technology endeavors, when it comes to electric cars, high speed transportation, reusable cargo rockets or solar panels through Tesla, Hyperloop, Space X and Solar City. However fewer have heard of his neurotechnology company Neuralink. Neuralink is a neuroscience company basically looking to build an interface for the brain.

In the HBO series Axios, Elon Musk shares a few revelations about AI technologies and how we could avoid the dangers and employ it instead for the greater good of humanity:

“Probably a bigger risk than being hunted down by a drone is that AI would be used to make incredibly effective propaganda that we’re not seeing like propaganda, influence the direction of society, influence elections. Artificial intelligence just hones the message, hones the message, checks, looks at the feedback, makes the message slightly better within milliseconds, it can adapt its message and shift and react to news.” Elon Musk, Axios, HBO serie, season 1, episode 3 — watch an extract of the interview here.

When asked about the interface to the brain Neuralink is trying to develop and when could such an interface implant be available, Elon Musk says: “It’s probably on the order of a decade. And by the way, you kindda have this already, in a weird way in that you have a digital tertiary layer in the form of your phone, your computers, you basically have this computing devices that form a tertiary layer on your cognition. Already.”

Easy to understand why so many studies show that we are in fact hard wired to like these digital constructs that could one day become a part of our biology.

All in all, we don’t know wether Elon is an enthusiast when he predicts one decade until these new technologies could be out on the market or if it’s in fact an accurate estimation of time. They laughed at Jules Verne and boy have they laughed at Elon. In the end however, he seems to always have the last laugh, even if that laugh is a little bitter.

Till then, reminding ourselves that attention is a finite resource, that putting our focus where we need it and leaving it there despite distractions is a job we have the responsibility to achieve on our own.

Most Coveted Security Apps For ios That Actually Work

As a rule, general and mundane, Apple devices come with built-in, default, security features, end-to-end encryption in the case of iMessage and generally have their own settings for protection purposes.

Nonetheless, one should remain wary about urban myths such as “Apple devices can’t get hacked”, as all devices including Apple’s are vulnerable and can be hacked particularly easier if you follow the above flawed logic.

As the online privacy issue plot thickens, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we might in fact be talking about internet privacy posthumously, as so many cybersecurity advocated are finding online privacy to be, well, dead.

Is this an exaggeration or is it the actual state of affairs of 2018’s internet, you be the judge! Looking at the major global security events of this year in retrospect might shed a light.

Starting with the inglorious attempt to block online privacy regulations, made by the US Senate and the House decision, in early April and then the Facebook scandal the same month, followed by the repeal of net neutrality in May- Is it far fetched to say that 2018 was ringing alarm bells in online security? Or is this just the new-normal, a dystopian flavored reality that we all live in and maybe the inherent course of events, given the nature of the internet and what it means today to people, corporations and governments alike?

Add to the mix that much to the surprise of people supporting ideas like “let’s build a wall”, today’s threats are likely to come from the inside. Madonna was right all along, “the enemy is not out there, the enemy is within”. Take that republicans!

Not slipping into an endless rhetoric around the topic of internet security and how you can only get a migraine from pondering the new philosophical digital paradigm, is probably for the better here (especially since I don’t know any migraine remedies). Lucky enough I do have some security advice and that’s all we should be focusing on, so next time if you skip the whole intro to get to the practical point, I won’t mind.

Here are some of the most coveted security apps for your iOS devices, designed to give you an extra layer of security:

1. 1Password

Keeps all your passwords safe, all in one place.

1Password is described by its creators as a tool that “remembers all your passwords for you, and keeps them safe and secure behind the one password that only you know.[..] Just add your passwords and let 1Password do the rest.” You can use the tool to periodically re-new your passwords with new strong ones that lo and behold, you don’t have to remember.

2. 1Blocker

a native Safari content blocker entirely supported by its users. You’ll be able to block ads, ad networks, scripts designed to track your activity and many more. Just give it a spin!

3. MyIP.io

a reliable VPN service that keeps your data extra safe, traveling through a tunnel encrypted from end to end, so nobody, not even your ISP will be able to make sense of it, since all your information will go through the VPN server and not your ISP’s. You will also be able to bypass geo-restriction.

4. Signal

encrypted messaging and voice-calling similar with Telegraph or Wire.

5. Keeply

will store your data creating alternate passwords for different levels of access to your device.

Humanist studies of the XXIst century postulate that beyond the objective and subjective realm of reality, therein lies a 3rd dimension: the intersubjective level.

The intersubjective realm of reality is also a recurrent theme in Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus, part I, where the author carries forward the idea of meaning and how we as homo sapiens designate it.

The notion of post truth seems to be talking about similar ideas or at least to be one effect of the core intersubjective reality we all live in, since the beginning of articulated speech. Post-truth however, is a relatively new term, absorbed by the Oxford Dictionary in 2016 as the international word of the year.

Bear in mind that 2016 was also the year UK voted in favor of Brexit and Trump was elected the leader of the “free world”, so along came the word, organically, to describe the new zeitgeist.

“Post-truth” is used to describe a political culture “in which debate is framed largely by appeals to emotion disconnected from the details of policy, and by the repeated assertion of talking points to which factual rebuttals are ignored”. (source: Wikipedia)

According to a serious body of science we may all be living in a post-truth age, an age in which global warming is discredited and denied even, and where social media is used to manipulate, polarise and divert from objective facts, while exploiting common subjective fears and opinion.

In the sharing, internet economy, data is the currency, an informational and economic asset capable of traveling the speed of light in a vacuum, when going through state of the art optical fibers. Able to operate at 99.7% the speed of light according to researchers at the University of Southampton in England. (source: Extreme Tech)

The digital world is now creating tangible value from big data so expect internet privacy to take an even more prominent route in the future.

Nowadays, security must come in layers, not only in the corporate environment, but on a personal level also.

Here are a few things you might want to consider for an overall improved security of your online privacy and data.

Get a VPN service for all your devices:

The number one thing you need to get in line with is having a VPN connection. It’s really simple to use and just like that poof! your data travels through an encrypted tunnel, safe from prying eyes and encrypted all the while. You basically need to pay a monthly subscription and rock on. It’s important that you don’t chose a free VPN as free VPN services are sure to get their profits elsewhere and it’s usually on your broadband expense. So avoid using unreliable free services that offer protection, but are in fact jeopardizing it.

Taking hold of your own digital footprint requires savvy, educated users, that know their rights and are not willing to compromise when it comes to their own privacy.

It’s easy to understand why more and more people resort to using a VPN service, rather than letting their information “fly” to unknown servers where they can be stored indefinitely.

Password Managers

Another simple step you can take to ensure your passwords are strong and that you have them all in order. Passwords managers are not written in stone, so naturally they can be hacked, but is far less likely to have your password hacked than it is to have one and the same password for multiple platforms and have your data compromised by relying on your memory alone.

2Factor Authentification

We know it can be annoying to have an extra layer of access when you’re in a hurry, but remember you will not be prompted with a 2fact auth method if you don’t switch devices often.

Back Up

Back up is the most obvious security measure that you can take, but people are often just not doing it. Regardless if you back up locally on a hard drive or in the cloud, you can do the extra mile and encrypt everything before backing up your data and you can be certain that your data is safe or that you can at least do a roll back to the most recent version previously saved.

Taking a few measures to securely navigate the valley of post-truth are of the essence in fearing no evil. Keeping our heads clear and taking action to protect the digital environment we expose ourselves to on a daily, without having to go to extreme lengths to do so, is the way to go in 2018.

Having a VPN in place is the smart approach to getting around all this. Think at a VPN as the middleman between you and the internet, where your ISP can only see a bunch of encrypted traffic. And since your VPN knows as much as your ISP would, it’s very important to choose a reliable one with a zero log policy and a strong encryption.

Services like MyIP.io will offer you a self-managed VPN platform, delivering fast, secure and reliable VPN service . This platform caters to a wide demographic through three channeled directions: Personal, Dedicated and Business, so it makes for a wonderful choice for corporate or personal use at the same time. Whatever provider you may chose, remember that the smart approach is to use a VPN service that you feel is the best match for you. Until then, stay smart, use a VPN!