Your computer could be spying on you!

If your privacy is of any concern when you turn on your computer, you might wish to think again before updating to some of the latest and greatest operating systems on the market. With a little research, you might be alarmed at the amount of data proprietary software companies gather on you when you use their products.

It should come as no surprise that companies like Google, which give users free cloud storage and offer applications which allow users to create documents and store data on Google servers without charge have a reason for doing so. Yes, they can and do scan documents and data files to gain information about you, the users, to make it possible for their advertisers to better target audiences and sell their products. Their programs made freely available to schools may enhance education in the digital age, but they also make it possible to track and learn the interests of our youth and allow advertisers to better target the young with advertising and products.

Apps for your smart phone can and often do provide valuable information about users to app creators and to the companies providing the services to users.

Social media sites like Facebook don't make their money by simply offering free space for posts. They make their money by targeting specific audiences with user-specific advertising, making their ads more profitable for advertisers than ads which are directed toward a more general audience. I'm sure those of you who use Google or Facebook have noticed the ads targeted specifically toward you -- often the exact items you have priced or researched on the Internet. And, more and more, other sites make use of the data gathered on you through your searches to target you with specific ads.

What does this have to do with computer operating systems? Those of you who use Macs may have noticed that the latest operating systems are becoming more and more like the iOS versions on your iPhones. Data about your operating system and your programs and apps is continually sent to Apple, prompting all those pop-up notices to upgrade this app or that program by downloading it from iTunes. Apple, too, allows you to backup and store your data in the cloud on their servers. That's nothing new. Cell phone carriers are doing it too, allowing you to keep all your contacts and other personal data stored safely on their servers. Though Apple assures its customers their data is secure, Apple does target ads to customers on their devices, which should tell users their information is being used.

Windows users have been receiving notice of options to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Microsoft doesn't usually give away its software. What's the catch? Well, Windows 10 allows Microsoft to gather bits of data, not only from Internet browsing, but from use of its other software, including word processing and email clients. Yes, it is supposedly used only to improve Microsoft's products, but it can also help target advertising and could potentially be used to track almost everything you do on your computer.

I suppose the big question is: Do you trust your operating system and software producers with personal information and the ability to track your every move when using their products and services? Yes, it's not new, but it does appear to be getting worse. And, do you trust governments enough to believe that they will not gain access to your data and Internet use by legal or less-than-legal means?

The new operating systems and software may offer a lot of services, but read the fine print and you might begin to notice that use of the services and software requires you to allow companies access to a lot of personal stuff, including email contacts, friend lists, interests, hobbies, etc. Companies may not reveal your personal information to the world, but they use your personal information to target advertising to you.

And, of course, the potential for government snooping is a lot more significant than any of us know. If government agencies are already gathering cell phone data, why not track what folks are viewing on the Internet or writing about on their new laptops?

What can a fellow do to protect his privacy? As I've said before, Internet use can already be tracked through one's IP address unless one uses proxy servers which do not keep record of users. One can avoid some of the tracking by checking the box saying you do not wish to be tracked or, better yet, using a search engine like DuckDuckGo, which does not track its users. But how do you stop software companies like Microsoft and Apple from gathering data from your computer to "improve their products"?

My solution is to run Linux and avoid most proprietary software. Linux operating systems like Debian work better and aren't tracking my every move. It's so nice to turn on my computer and to be able to work without watching the Apple pinwheel or the Microsoft spinning wheel because my computer is not reporting back to Apple or Microsoft to verify software licenses or checking for updates. Yes, there are some things a fellow might not be able to do with free, open-source software from Linux; but that's the case mostly because some companies choose to use a proprietary software which is designed not to run on a Linux machine. But, for most purposes, there is a Linux software one can download and install for free, and there are software packages allowing Linux users to do far more things than a Windows or Mac user.

A year or so ago, I visited with a Mac tech about a Mac machine running both Windows and Apple operating systems at the same time with parallel desktops, and he assured me that Mac hardware now runs Microsoft operating systems and software better than a PC. Guess I should have told him that Linux runs better on a PC than Windows and that Linux Debian runs better on a Mac than Mac.

Incidentally, I'm writing this using Linux on a Mac and I edit photos using Linux on a Mac because Linux just works better.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 08/26/2015