How I Live a Private Life as an Internet Marketer

Some years ago, I came to know about Edward Snowden. Some might consider him a hero and some people might consider him a traitor. I was amazed how governments & companies can collect data and use to it manipulate people. Al though I am not from USA or the "14 EYES" country but I came to know that companies & government in India is also collecting information about its citizens. Then few months ago an incident took a place & then I become aware of how much privacy is important even if you have nothing to hide.

What I did in past few months is as follows:

1) I watched a TED talk about social media. I believed that it is impossible to live without social media in this digital age. I started reading articles and i came to know that many people who quit social media said it was the best decision. Then I read about celebrities who hate social media & came to know that 2 of my most favorite celebrities don't use social media at all (I am talking about Daniel Craig & Kate Winslet).
I decided its time to quit social media and never go back so I permanently delete my all social media accounts. After few weeks, my friends started asking me why my account is not showing up. I told them I deleted it. They behaved like I have decided to end my life. My friend asked me "How are you going to keep in touch with friends?". My answer was using calls & SMS. I think everyone asking these questions forgets that at the end of the day, social media is just a product of a company.

2) Then started searching about myself on google to remove anything that could lead to me. I first deleted all accounts first (medium, quora, reddit) & then removed URLs using Webmaster Removal Tool.

3) I was using debit card to purchase accounts & services from BHW members. Now I have started using Monero or Bitcoin. I know bitcoin is not private but some merchants on BHW don't accept Monero. As I have deleted my social media accounts, I purchase old PVA accounts to run ads on facebook & adwords.

4) I have stopped using everything that collects your data. Here are some examples of how to switched to open source -
Google Search > DuckDuckGo / StartPage
GMail > ProtonMail / Tutunota / Disroot
GDocs > LibreOffice + NextCloud

5) I now use Tor (built in with Brave Browser - another awesome open source browser based on chromium because I don't like firefox's UI) to browser internet

Things I have noticed:
1) I have become less reactive & patient (I used to yell if something doesn't go as I have expected)
2) My mind is clear as I consume less content than I used to
3) My focus has increased as i don't have to check my feed every now & then.
4) I spend more time working & exercising (I have not seen any increase in my income yet but I am very sure that it will increase some day)

Some tips to follow if you don't want to be tracked & if you are privacy conscious:
1) Don't share your real info on the internet (don't post photos either or don't send nudes to your GF/BF)
2) Use a logless VPN. I know there are many but try to use VPN service which is outside 14 Eyes program
3) Always use open source apps when you have a choice

I hear you! I published my site for five minutes with trademark and before I know it i’m getting Nigerians spoofing me from local bank related numbers telling me to claim my reimbursements and fake invoices being sent from east Europe. 5 fucking minutes, without any further promotion at all.

Makes you wonder how much shit data companies have on you when some dumb asses can reach you so readily.

I use a masking service to alias everything including payment details and phone numbers. Same company has another service that claims to delete all of your hidden online data footprints. It’s expensive though.

Loved it!

Chromium - fuck this thing!

Edward Snowden - his asylum period is going to end - so let's see what happens...

Cloudflare also started fingerprinting - Firefox + NoScript (or Toggle JS) + CanvasBlocker is my setup.

Have you read Jolly Roger’s guide? too much knowledge about LE and NSA!!!

I got lots of social media account but no friends lonely af, i need a life.

MrMagicHands said:

I hear you! I published my site for five minutes with trademark and before I know it i’m getting Nigerians spoofing me from local bank related numbers telling me to claim my reimbursements and fake invoices being sent from east Europe. 5 fucking minutes, without any further promotion at all.

Makes you wonder how much shit data companies have on you when some dumb asses can reach you so readily.

I use a masking service to alias everything including payment details and phone numbers. Same company has another service that claims to delete all of your hidden online data footprints. It’s expensive though.

Click to expand...

It happened to me too when I purchased my first domain from GoDaddy without WHOIS privacy. Web designers, SEO specialists started contacting me. Then I deleted the domain & switched to other providers which offer free whois privacy

HelloBTCMINER said:

Chromium - fuck this thing!

Edward Snowden - his asylum period is going to end - so let's see what happens...

Cloudflare also started fingerprinting - Firefox + NoScript (or Toggle JS) + CanvasBlocker is my setup.

Click to expand...

I hear a lot of good things about firefox but i am used to chrome interface. That's why i use Brave. It has all things built-in. NoScript, HTTPS Everywhere, Ad Blocker, Tracker blocker, Tor etc

so if you are behind VPN + Tor all the time doesn't your internet speed suffer, making you less productive in the end? In my opinion, being careful on social media (or even removing your profiles) and checking your name, emails, nicknames on Google is enough to prevent yourself from being doxxed or your internet persona being connected to real life you. Anything more, I think is overkill unless you are some kind of famous person or a politician. I cant stress enough how important is to use different passwords on every where you register though. If one website gets hacked, hackers can log into your other accounts if you used same login data on other platforms.

What VPN are you using?

Btw, you should write your journey and experiences down in a blog / or send your text to someone who publishes it then (if you don´t want to use the internet for it).
You could probably make money in the internet as an internet primate (a bit ironical, isn´t it?)

This is a big step for me but I'm thinking more and more about that and I think I will do it soon.
Problem is that I know really many people from around the world - I've to write down their addresses and phone numbers then to keep in touch, but that's not a big deal I think

Thanks for inspiration!

Unless you have some serious and real reasons to hide such as being online criminal i dont think you should do it, if some company analyse your data to serve you ads so what? Maybe you have your reasons, but be careful sooner or later this become paranoia and thats serious..

Cewgg said:

so if you are behind VPN + Tor all the time doesn't your internet speed suffer, making you less productive in the end? In my opinion, being careful on social media (or even removing your profiles) and checking your name, emails, nicknames on Google is enough to prevent yourself from being doxxed or your internet persona being connected to real life you. Anything more, I think is overkill unless you are some kind of famous person or a politician. I cant stress enough how important is to use different passwords on every where you register though. If one website gets hacked, hackers can log into your other accounts if you used same login data on other platforms.

Click to expand...

I use Tor only when buying fake accounts. I use paid VPN service which are fast. And I am trying to delete as many things about me as possible because I have came across some sites which have published all my details including my document ids.

red333 said:

What VPN are you using?

Btw, you should write your journey and experiences down in a blog / or send your text to someone who publishes it then (if you don´t want to use the internet for it).
You could probably make money in the internet as an internet primate (a bit ironical, isn´t it?)

Click to expand...

I use paid vpn. You should try different VPNs using free trial, make sure they are logless. Choose what works best for you

GrumpyBoy said:

I use Tor only when buying fake accounts. I use paid VPN service which are fast. And I am trying to delete as many things about me as possible because I have came across some sites which have published all my details including my document ids.

I use paid vpn. You should try different VPNs using free trial, make sure they are logless. Choose what works best for you

Click to expand...

You don´t know whether a VPN is logless or not.
And you can´t find it out by trying them as well.

I wouldn´t trust such big companies, such as HMA or NordVPN, even though they have a good reputation. Because I don´t think that these two providers have never gotten into trouble with any agency / authority due to a criminal using their VPN.

GrumpyBoy said:

It happened to me too when I purchased my first domain from GoDaddy without WHOIS privacy. Web designers, SEO specialists started contacting me. Then I deleted the domain & switched to other providers which offer free whois privacy

Click to expand...

And what providers are those?

thebowz said:

This is a big step for me but I'm thinking more and more about that and I think I will do it soon.
Problem is that I know really many people from around the world - I've to write down their addresses and phone numbers then to keep in touch, but that's not a big deal I think

Thanks for inspiration!

Click to expand...

You can do this in your device too but you have to be extra careful as many services such as google scan your docs.

luc1fer said:

Unless you have some serious and real reasons to hide such as being online criminal i dont think you should do it, if some company analyse your data to serve you ads so what? Maybe you have your reasons, but be careful sooner or later this become paranoia and thats serious..

Click to expand...

I do this because some smartass has published all my & other people's personal info including my legal document IDs to a public website. I don't mind collecting data to run ads because my business relies on ads. But companies & governments should be careful when handling such delicate info as it can be misused very easily.

I have came across dark web markets where you have to provide someone's details & they will build you a counterfeit ID.

luc1fer said:

Unless you have some serious and real reasons to hide such as being online criminal i dont think you should do it, if some company analyse your data to serve you ads so what? Maybe you have your reasons, but be careful sooner or later this become paranoia and thats serious..

Click to expand...

I've something to hide or not - shouldn't make someone able to spy on me. I know you've to nothing hide then - are you okay if someone spys on you in washroom?

if some company analyse your data to serve you ads so what? - You don't know much about NSA and FBI and CIA, i believe.
Wait - there will be 52 threads (2 already is there) about privacy.

deedee1whoa said:

And what providers are those?

Click to expand...

namecheap, namesilo, njalla etc.

red333 said:

You don´t know whether a VPN is logless or not.
And you can´t find it out by trying them as well.

I wouldn´t trust such big companies, such as HMA or NordVPN, even though they have a good reputation. Because I don´t think that these two providers have never gotten into trouble with any agency / authority due to a criminal using their VPN.

Click to expand...

deedee1whoa said:

And what providers are those?

Click to expand...

i have read a lot about the VPNs I use. I suggest you to read some crime cases where the criminal used VPN but the VPN company couldn't provide any info about him as company doesn't store logs

GrumpyBoy said:

namecheap, namesilo, njalla etc.


i have read a lot about the VPNs I use. I suggest you to read some crime cases where the criminal used VPN but the VPN company couldn't provide any info about him as company doesn't store logs

Click to expand...

So what VPN are you using? + what articles are you talking about?
The VPN I´m using is so unknown.. ^^ So there won´t be an article

How you spend your time when you are not working?

Reading books? Watching Youtube/Netflix? Or something else?

I am still on social media but I spend very little time there compared to what I spent a couple of years ago. I have previously thought of leaving social media but I always think I will miss some information that I need.

But I want to QUIT social media. Guide me.