Alright, folks, let’s sit down, grab a cold one, and talk about something that’s been rustling more things up than a raccoon in a trash can: the sneaky business of some big tech playing peekaboo with your internet traffic. You heard me right.
Imagine you’re sending a love letter through the mail, but instead of going straight to your sweetheart, it stops over at your nosy neighbor’s house first. And this neighbor, let’s call him Mr Book Face, decides he’s gonna open that letter, take a peek, and then seal it back up with a little kiss – all under the guise of making sure it’s not a letter bomb. Now, ain’t that a hoot?
So, here we come to the “adversary-in-the-middle TLS interception.” Sounds fancy, right?
You think you’re safe ’cause you’ve got that fancy antivirus (AV) software, guarding your digital door? Think again. Some of these AV companies (like Kaspersky, Avast, and others) have been called out for similar methods. They intercept your secure traffic to scan for threats, but in doing so, they also break the sanctity of your private communications: intercepting your secure internet traffic under the guise of checking for viruses.
Here’s the kicker: if you’re living in a fancy place protected by GDPR – that’s the European “we take privacy seriously” law – there’s a good chance your AV vendor’s click-through software license is about as clear as mud when it comes to informing you of this practice. Informed legal consent? Basically is more like “click here if you wanna continue living.”
Unfortunately this ain’t limited to one or two companies. This issue has privacy advocates more fired up than a chili cook-off in midsummer.
So, what can you do about it? First off, get savvy about the software you’re using. Read that fine print like it’s the last beer menu on Earth. And maybe, just maybe, consider using software from companies that respect your privacy enough not to play peekaboo with your personal info.
Where to find those stuff ? Glad you ask ! Here some useful link:
- https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/
- https://www.privacytools.io/
- https://github.com/gafam (if you want to be more “extremist”)
- https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy
( source of those link: This article explaining how some companies make billions giving out free services )
In the end, remember: in a world full of prying eyes, your privacy is the last bastion of sanity.
As always,
Stay Safe !
