US Army PCS Info How's your move going? We're mid-move this week with a quick TDY trip and confirming all the packing and loading next week. I'm hopeful, but well aware of everything that can go wrong. All the things. We worked super hard to prep for this PCS season. I followed the past routine... Continue Reading →
New Phone Surprises
Buying a new phone soon? Before you personalize any features of the new device, head over to the Permissions menu of the phone. I'm an Android user, so that menu is located in the Settings in the Apps section. By default, your phone settings allow most installed apps that come on your phone to access... Continue Reading →
2020: Take Back Your Data
I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore! Howard Beale, Network motion picture Start 2020 with a privacy goal. We can do simple things to improve and protect our privacy and security. Keeping the mindset that your data belongs to you and no one is entitled to your information is the... Continue Reading →
Track Your Address
The holidays are an excellent time to make a list of who has your mailing address. We're possibly due for a PCS in 2020, so I'll be contacting the companies who send us mail to change to our new PO Box. We can go for months without a catalog landing in our box, but you... Continue Reading →
How To Ruin Your Facebook Privacy
Don't be naive about keeping your Facebook profile, posts, comments, likes, groups, etc... private by relying on your settings. You may think you have your account 'locked down' with your settings set to the most private possible. Follow the steps in this article first. I recommend you follow all those steps and recheck your... Continue Reading →
Call your bank!
Have you looked at your credit card receipts? Your legal name- the name on your account- is printed on most of them. Watch this YouTube video to see how this can have some creepy results. If you imagine the worst, it's not hard to realize that leaving those little slips of paper all over the... Continue Reading →
Locking Down Facebook*
*As much as possible Always assume that anything in your Facebook profile will be seen publicly. Keep this in mind when you upload photos, update your status, and post comments on other timelines. The developers at Facebook give us some ways to limit who can see some of our activities, though. Step-by-step method to make... Continue Reading →
How was that PCS?
In a summer that saw the WORST nation-wide military moving results, I can say our move was not as bad as some I read about online. I did my homework, though. I printed labels for boxes, researched the area, and did the best I could to be ready. Privacy-wise, I absolutely took ultimate steps to... Continue Reading →
Make Some INTERNET NOISE!
In response to new (anti) privacy laws in the US that allow your ISP to collect & sell your browsing data, you can obscure the information your internet service provider can see about you. Internet Noise story in WIRED When your providers want information, give them false results! IAPP description INTERNET NOISE link © 2019... Continue Reading →
Not for Sissies…
Follow up to the last post. After talking to CS at GoDaddy.com about telephonedirectories.us about my options, I decided this may be a browser issue. The CS agent said that td.us is still an active site, according to what he could see. He could see the site, while I couldn't on my computer. I closed... Continue Reading →
Report Abuse
One website is particularly malicious. telephonedirectories.us started appearing in search results with our current phone number and physical address. Clicking on the link showed the page was not active. I submitted the removal request to Google, and the search result was removed. A few days later, another telephonedirectories.us result showed up, with a slightly different... Continue Reading →
Search Engine Nonsense
You'll notice after a few days of removing your names from data broker websites that the search engines begin to find older links to your names and profiles. They don't like to come up empty handed. Their first results will show their paying customers' results (sponsored), then the easiest to find information in their webcrawls. ... Continue Reading →
The USPS and Mail Forwarding
So, we're moving. Again. You are, too, I bet. Did you know that when you fill out a mail forwarding request with the USPS they SELL your new information to advertisers? True story. What to do- what to do? I'm trying a new method to keep our new address from showing up online... I spent... Continue Reading →
What your junk mail says about you
**TV News Consumer Segment** This 2017 video tells how to opt out of one direct mail data broker, Data & Marketing Association. DMA charges a $2 fee to opt out. I used a prepaid Visa gift card for these transactions. It's a good idea to keep one of these for any charges you make online. ... Continue Reading →
Excel Workbook Template
Get the template here.
Tutorial slides
**Privacy for MilFams** A set of PowerPoint slides containing steps, instructions, and suggestions. Feel free to share. © 2019 GR All Rights Reserved
Privacy Recon
If the idea of your personal information publicly visible to the world alarms you, then just what can you do? After my initial feeling of panic subsided, I decided on a strategy to remove what I could from the online sources that published our information. Initial damage assessment: what personal data is visible on search... Continue Reading →
Now Hide Me 