Data
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| Pixabay |
When it comes to data collection by websites, the most probable reason is to track the behavior of users on their sites. Some websites collect data to sell to advertisers so that you can see personalized and relevant ads. Your data can be collected by trackers too. These trackers can be malware on your device or the browser you are using to surf the net.
I came up with an argument that it's not completely bad to collect someone's data. Then I came to the conclusion that it's not the case at all. You have to be careful about your data and double-check the security and privacy policy before entering any sensitive information.
Your data is the most valuable thing in the contemporary world. When you see the innovations around AI/ML it's more or less about how much data you can feed to the database for your code to run properly giving highly accurate results.
Your data can be a gold mine for advertising companies. You might receive relevant ad recommendations, but at the end of the day, if your data reaches the wrong hands, you might have to face consequences(which can be serious).
There are a handful of hackers sitting in front of computers and trying to break into your computers. Giving them your data makes the task easier for them. So I've been blabbering about keeping your data secure but what might happen if you don't? Like I'm a normal person, I don't care if my data is leaked or something. It won't have an impact on my day-to-day life. So why should I be concerned about this?
Let's dive into the darkness to find what actually can happen. It's not like it would definitely happen to you but yeah there are chances.
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| Pixabay |
Firstly, there are psychotic people around us, who behave normally in the crowd. There are people who enjoy watching gore content on the web. Are there people who make gore content on the web? Yeah, you read it right. You might fall victim to those guys. As you know how the websites track user activity, by analyzing that we can come to a conclusion on your social nature. If you are a loner, don't have friends, and live alone, you would be the best target for them. As you might have turned on google maps location services, it's tracking the routes you take, daily. So it gives an edge to their plan on what location they can kidnap you. This seems scary.
Secondly, financial scams. If you enter your card details on every site without proper protection of your data, scammers can take advantage of it. As you might have observed, if your card details are with them most probably your address is also with them, as most of the websites ask for a billing address before checkout. If you are well off, you can be honey trapped too(jk no one would wanna risk revealing their identity unless they plan to finish you).
Thirdly, the human sense of feeling insecure when being stalked or stared at by someone is so creepy. This is the feeling that the personalized ads would give you. You searched for something on google and you see ads related to it on social media sites. That's just creepy. It's no less than stalking.
Fourthly, if you take NSFW pictures or videos(let's consider nudes for instance), if your data leaks, the scammers can blackmail you for money. If you capture some insane NSFW like gore or something, you are gonna be blackmailed by scammers or will be in jail the next day. I'm not encouraging you to do insane stuff. You are human, so think rationally before you do something.
Fifthly, your passwords can be compromised. You might think what would they do with my passwords. They might impersonate you to commit crimes and police will knock on your door. This stuff is really scary.
Sixthly, if the hackers find your device has valuable data(not to them, but to you) they might inject some ransomware and lock your device. this might not be that intimidating as most of us upload files to the cloud and they can be retrieved easily and the device can be reset.
So as always, beware of where and what you are entering on websites. Your data can be misused by people on the internet who are dedicatedly(more than what you put into your goals) to misuse data and commit cyber crimes.
I appreciate your patience levels. I didn't expect to have your attention for this long. You deserve a pat on your back.
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