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LEARN MORE Want to get more in-depth technology updates from K2 Enterprises? Make plans to attend the OSCPA’s Technology Conference, October 28-29 at the Sheraton Reed Center in Midwest City. Register at www.oscpa.com/ cpe/conferences.


ersonal privacy is a hot topic in many circles today. Many individuals are becoming increasingly outraged when they


learn how much information has been collected about them and how it is being used. Further, most are startled to find out the sheer volume of information that has been collected about them and may be available for sale in various online marketplaces. If you are concerned about personal privacy and want to get back in control of your own information, here are five easy-to-implement ideas that can help you reach your goal.


1. Carefully consider your choice of browsers and browser settings. From a privacy perspective, your choice of a web browser matters, and the settings you establish within the browser also matter. Some of the more popular browsers today are advertiser-friendly and potentially share data with advertisers you may not wish to have shared. For example, by many estimates, Google’s Chrome browser is the most commonly used browser today, with approximately 80% market share. Yet Chrome scores poorly in many privacy categories because of issues such as automatically signing you in to the browser (so it can track your activities) and tracking your location. Two lesser- known browsers—Mozilla Firefox and Tor Browser—score much higher in most privacy categories. In addition to the browser you use, carefully consider the various privacy settings available in the browser. Many browsers, for example, provide controls allowing you to disable pop-up ads, browse in a private mode and block cookies, among other options. You should learn what settings you can adjust in your browser and make the necessary adjustments so you can control your personal privacy to a degree at which you are comfortable.


2. Utilize a virtual private network. Tose who are truly concerned about personal privacy should always utilize a virtual private network (VPN) and connect through the VPN to the internet. A VPN provides a secure, encrypted tunnel between your computer and the otherwise unencrypted internet. By connecting through a VPN, you can browse the internet in virtual anonymity so that not even your internet service provider will know where you have visited or what you have done there. Note, however, that if you have signed in to a browser or have logged in to an account at an online merchant, you can be tracked at that level, even if you are using a VPN. Many good choices exist today for personal VPN solutions, including Nord VPN, CyberGhost and Private Internet Access. Most personal VPNs cost less than $4 per month.


3. Monitor your accounts, including Google and Amazon. As you are no doubt aware, many companies track what you do while you are browsing the internet or even a particular site on the internet. Pay attention to each website’s privacy policy and learn what information these companies are collecting, how they are using it and whether they sell or share information collected about you with third parties. You can read Google’s privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy and you can read Amazon’s at services.amazon. com/privacy-policy.html. Additionally, most companies allow you to view and self-manage the information being collected about you. To illustrate, if you are concerned about Amazon’s personalized advertisements, you can manage those preferences as they relate to you at www. amazon.com/adprefs?ref_=ya_d_l_advert_ prefs. Likewise, if you want to see what your Alexa-powered devices have on file


14 CPAFOCUS


September/October 2019


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