Indeed this book does discuss all the technology that you could use in an attempt to become invisible as far as internet tracking is concerned. The book goes even further if you wanted to disappear. It explains all of the technological actions you need to keep in mind as well as how to achieve them.
Truly becoming invisible will be extremely difficult for most people due to the constant vigilance and separation between your “invisible profile” and physical life.
This is not to say that this book doesn’t offer some good reminders of best practice (ie never share your passwords) as well as other hints and technologies that you can use to enhance your privacy (ie proxies, metadata on cell phone pictures) Not only that I managed to learn one very specific obscure bit of US law.
First a bit of esoteric bit of US law.
Did you know you could be arrested for possession
of a short tail lobster?
The answer is yes, it is illegal to be in possession of a short-tailed lobster no matter how you received it. I am not worried that I will somehow end up acquiring such an “illegal” lobster but in this book, I did learn about one very scary bit of related US tech law.
Public Company and Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act
more commonly called Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002
Khairullozhon Matanov, a friend of the Boston bombers, was arrested because he cleared his browser history. I am not suggesting that any acts of terrorism or support of terrorism should be condoned but just like an episode of “Law and Order” it is a bit scary where some laws may be only marginally relevant are used in another context entirely to convict people.
What is most important to take away from this is that under US law it is possible to be convicted of clearing your browser history.
The best way to not be convicted of deleting your browser cache might be to start up your browser in private browsing mode. This way there is nothing in your cache that would need to be deleted.
This is a fascinating book that contains a lot of technical details but also talks a bit about the techniques used when others are trying to obtain your personal information. It is a good read and helps to remind to keep security and privacy in mind at all times.
