Privacy on Janik von Rotz

Tech won't save us

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:36:00 +0100

I love this quote. It has its origin most likely in the podcast by Parix Marx.

In the comment section on Republik for an article about Zuckerberg revealing his true intentions, I argued that its time to stop using the American tech.

The broligarchs and American tech imperialism get on my nerves.

To show better options, I provided a list with links. Here is the same list:

A better web

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 11:02:10 +0200

Use alternative services to make the web more healthy and to stay independent. This guide is separated into a Consumer and a Producer section.

Paradigm shift in the handling of data

Sun, 02 May 2021 21:30:10 +0200

The handling of private data is the subject of controversial public debate. Everyone expresses concerns about the handling of private data, but most people pass it on to third parties via social media without hesitation. A controversy that is often left hanging in the air.

Backup and delete your Instagram account

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 12:41:48 +0200

For a while I had the idea that I need an account on all social media platforms in order to stay up to date. But as many other did, I grew tired of social media. Not only tired, but also bothered of having my personal data sold. Facebook is the elephant in the room. Not only have the failed to moderate their content properly, but they also showed an in-compliance with their own terms. This platform is no longer about connecting people, it is all about connecting data points and make it more useful for advertiser. The deal of getting social interaction and provide data in exchange has turned for the worse. I firmly believe that social media companies do not have a sustainable business model and therefore should not be supported.

Do not use VPN services

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:05:42 +0200

On my latest Hacker News trip I came along this fine post. I already told many people that they must avoid using VPN services if possible. In most cases there is no need and this post describes it very well.

FDA for Algorithms and Technology

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:53:07 +0100

I form my opinions and judgments not based on newspapers and talks with people, but mostly from listening to podcasts and reading hacker news. An idea that showed up in my feed a lot recently, is establishing an Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for algorithms¹ and technologies².

Algorithms and technologies haven changed the very fabric of human interaction and communication. The economic landscape has shifted, the service sector took over the largest part of the pi and tech companies lead the top. Online platforms run by powerful algorithms and technologies have become the interchange for consumers and suppliers. Social networks turned into basic building block for socializing.

Get rid of Disqus

Sun, 23 Apr 2017 08:44:28 +0000

Recently I read an article on HN (Hacker News) Replacing Disqus with Github Comments and decided to drop the Disqus commenting system on this site. A long time ago I’ve added Disqus to my page because of it was easy to use and had out-of-the-box spam prevention. The cost of it as I see now was a heavy breach in privacy and site performance. When I read the article mentioned above I was shocked what I was forcing on people visiting my site. Just to give you an idea what’s going on:

Hiking for Emails - Internet for the developing world

Sat, 30 Jan 2016 11:51:34 +0000

This video is a beautiful example of how internet access in remote areas improves the standards of health, education and prosperity. With the help from people all over the world Mahabir Pun has connected over 60.000 people to the world wide web.

This video is also a good example of how to bring the internet to the developing world. Google and Facebook have launched campaigns and programs to achieve such goal, however, the only allow certain access to websites for free. Which means, they are able to control the internet traffic and makes them a threat to the net neutrality. Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally.

Why you should use Piwik instead of Google Analytics

Tue, 27 May 2014 14:06:01 +0000

Piwik is growing fast, it’s getting smarter and more reliable every day. Right now it’s the time to think about this alternative web analytic solution. As I’m using it for years I forgot the original cause that made me replace Google Analytics with Piwik.

So here are my most important perks for using Piwik instead of Google Analytics:

Why you shouldn’t disable Adblock

Fri, 02 May 2014 07:16:14 +0000

Let’s face it, there are people (count me in) who dislike any kind of advertisement. I really get annoyed of any kind of pop-up flashing attention distractions adverb on sites I’m visiting.

The solution is simple, just download Adblock Plus and you’ll never see them again.

You want to know why I’am writing about this?

Google is watching you

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:34:19 +0000

The site: https://donttrack.us/ shows in a comprehensible way how googles data greed can affect you real life.

And if you still think this is just conspiracy, you have to know, that people thought the same about the NSA years ago.

Asking what you can do? Check out this site: https://prism-break.org

Interested in this issue? Look further on these sites:

How Facebook Graph Search Affects Your Privacy

Wed, 10 Jul 2013 14:47:19 +0000

via: https://t3n.de/news/privacy-einstellungen-solltet-461777/