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As groundbreaking leaders in personal security and risk management for travelers, we stand ready to equip and serve as you are called to the ends of the Earth.
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ARE YOU PREPARED?
Faith-based guidance and practice in prevention, protection, interaction, and survival
Vertical Divider
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Collaborative workshops on assessing risks, mitigating crises, and managing contingencies
Vertical Divider
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Partner together to provide 24/7 emergency access, consultation, and threat analysis
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NEWS FOR YOU
FIRE-EYE ATTACK AFFECTS YOU
YES, the breaching of cybersecurity FireEye penetrated federal computer systems like Social Security, IRS, and the Small Business Administration. BUT, the system is used by hundreds of thousands of organizations globally, including most Fortune 500 companies and multiple U.S. federal agencies, which will now be rushing to patch up their networks. THEREFORE, the full extent of the damage is not yet clear. Americans, just like the agencies targeted in the attack, should take a consistent approach to protecting themselves digitally. ~ Use complex and different passwords for your digital accounts. ~ Monitor your finances closely. ~ Use two-factor authentication for critical accounts like email and social media. ~ Don’t click on links from any source that you haven’t authenticated as legitimate. ~ Most people traveling overseas on mission trips take out insurance policies that cover sickness, death and evacuations. How are these policies being affected by the corona-virus outbreak? ~ US government assistance is being increasingly limited. What changes are the US Department of State putting into place? ~ Can a worldwide pandemic cause harassment toward foreign travelers? What should you be preparing for? <Read the 1-page summary here> |
TIPS & ADVICE
BETTER CHOICES IN SEARCH ENGINES
Most of the big search engines today are essentially data collection tools for advertising companies. Collecting your private data helps these companies to make money with targeted ads, which is a booming industry. It’s common knowledge that you are the product.
Mainstream search engines can disclose highly personal information about you, such as medical issues, employment status, financial information, political beliefs, and other private details. This data, of course, can be collected, stored, and linked to your data profile (and real identity).
So you say, let’s ditch mainstream search engines! Well, finding the best private search engine for your unique needs is a subjective process and there is not a one-size-fits-all. Preferably, a search engine would produce great results while also respecting your privacy. Unfortunately, there is often a tradeoff here, so it really comes down to the user and what you determine works best for your situation.
Here are a few that fall into this category that you may have not been aware of:
MetaGer – An open-source metasearch engine based in Germany, which gets search results from Bing, Yandex, Yahoo, and others, as well as having its own web crawler. MetaGer does keep some logs on their servers (in Germany), which is a good privacy jurisdiction with strict data protection laws, but this data is kept no longer than 96 hours and is automatically erased.
Points of interest:
1. Every search result shows the source it came from
2. Search filter options (date, safe search, and language)
3. Proxy viewing options “open anonymously”
Swisscows – A Switzerland-based private search engine, with results primarily from Bing, that does very well with privacy and security. They promise no tracking or data collection and even have a “Swiss Fort Knox” data center for their server infrastructure.
Points of interest:
1. Have their own servers and do not work with the cloud or third parties
2. Have positioned everything geographically outside of EU and US
3. “About Page” says they promote moral values, hate violence, and hate pornography
Qwant – A private search engine that is based in France and primarily sources search results from Bing. Being based in Europe, the data privacy protections are much stricter, as compared to the United States. Qwant promises to protect user privacy (no tracking) and keep people from getting stuck in the “filter bubble”.
Points of interest:
1. Don’t collect or store any history or your searches.
2. Don’t use cookies on your browser or use any tracking devices
3. You can filter results by different category or by date
Interesting note, some are LITERALLY owned by advertising companies. Three examples are Startpage, Search Encrypt, and Ghostpeek. I also didn’t include one of the most popular and well-known privacy search engines: Duck Duck Go. This is simply because they base their infrastructure in the US and run on Amazon servers.
Most of the big search engines today are essentially data collection tools for advertising companies. Collecting your private data helps these companies to make money with targeted ads, which is a booming industry. It’s common knowledge that you are the product.
Mainstream search engines can disclose highly personal information about you, such as medical issues, employment status, financial information, political beliefs, and other private details. This data, of course, can be collected, stored, and linked to your data profile (and real identity).
So you say, let’s ditch mainstream search engines! Well, finding the best private search engine for your unique needs is a subjective process and there is not a one-size-fits-all. Preferably, a search engine would produce great results while also respecting your privacy. Unfortunately, there is often a tradeoff here, so it really comes down to the user and what you determine works best for your situation.
Here are a few that fall into this category that you may have not been aware of:
MetaGer – An open-source metasearch engine based in Germany, which gets search results from Bing, Yandex, Yahoo, and others, as well as having its own web crawler. MetaGer does keep some logs on their servers (in Germany), which is a good privacy jurisdiction with strict data protection laws, but this data is kept no longer than 96 hours and is automatically erased.
Points of interest:
1. Every search result shows the source it came from
2. Search filter options (date, safe search, and language)
3. Proxy viewing options “open anonymously”
Swisscows – A Switzerland-based private search engine, with results primarily from Bing, that does very well with privacy and security. They promise no tracking or data collection and even have a “Swiss Fort Knox” data center for their server infrastructure.
Points of interest:
1. Have their own servers and do not work with the cloud or third parties
2. Have positioned everything geographically outside of EU and US
3. “About Page” says they promote moral values, hate violence, and hate pornography
Qwant – A private search engine that is based in France and primarily sources search results from Bing. Being based in Europe, the data privacy protections are much stricter, as compared to the United States. Qwant promises to protect user privacy (no tracking) and keep people from getting stuck in the “filter bubble”.
Points of interest:
1. Don’t collect or store any history or your searches.
2. Don’t use cookies on your browser or use any tracking devices
3. You can filter results by different category or by date
Interesting note, some are LITERALLY owned by advertising companies. Three examples are Startpage, Search Encrypt, and Ghostpeek. I also didn’t include one of the most popular and well-known privacy search engines: Duck Duck Go. This is simply because they base their infrastructure in the US and run on Amazon servers.
DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY?
Most people will typically say YES, but have you evaluated your internet service provider?
In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, internet service providers are also recording your online activity. This information can be legally sold to third parties (in the US), or saved in government databases (US, UK, and Australia). Aside from government surveillance agencies, there are many private companies tracking your data (in addition to Google, Facebook, and the other usual suspects).
To retain a basic level of privacy and security online, you need three tools:
1. Private and secure browser
While some browsers claim to be secure against vulnerabilities, they may not be the best choice from a privacy perspective. Your browser can reveal lots of private and sensitive data to third parties; choose carefully. We’ll be comparing highlights from some of the most secure and private browsers such as: Firefox, Iridium, Brave, and Tor. Opinions will vary…
2. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN will encrypt and anonymize your online activity from third parties, while also hiding your true IP address and location. Simply install the VPN app on your device, connect to a VPN server, then go about your business as normal. This effectively solves the ISP spying problem. We’ll examine which work best in certain locations as well.
Here are some favorites: NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN
3. Ad blocker
Many ads also function as tracking for large advertising networks. A good ad blocker is an important privacy and security (think malware) tool that will also improve page load speeds and de-clutter your browser.
Most people will typically say YES, but have you evaluated your internet service provider?
In the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, internet service providers are also recording your online activity. This information can be legally sold to third parties (in the US), or saved in government databases (US, UK, and Australia). Aside from government surveillance agencies, there are many private companies tracking your data (in addition to Google, Facebook, and the other usual suspects).
To retain a basic level of privacy and security online, you need three tools:
1. Private and secure browser
While some browsers claim to be secure against vulnerabilities, they may not be the best choice from a privacy perspective. Your browser can reveal lots of private and sensitive data to third parties; choose carefully. We’ll be comparing highlights from some of the most secure and private browsers such as: Firefox, Iridium, Brave, and Tor. Opinions will vary…
2. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN will encrypt and anonymize your online activity from third parties, while also hiding your true IP address and location. Simply install the VPN app on your device, connect to a VPN server, then go about your business as normal. This effectively solves the ISP spying problem. We’ll examine which work best in certain locations as well.
Here are some favorites: NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, ProtonVPN
3. Ad blocker
Many ads also function as tracking for large advertising networks. A good ad blocker is an important privacy and security (think malware) tool that will also improve page load speeds and de-clutter your browser.
