Fort
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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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~ 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> |
NEWS FOR YOU
QR CODE SCAMS...HERE WE GO AGAIN!
Last year there was a 54% increase in QR code usage compared to the previous year. This increase can be attributed to the apprehension of spreading COVID-19 through the many hands that touch business materials. These Quick Response (QR) codes, can be placed on products that lead the shopper to the company’s website, promotional codes, and mobile payments. You can also find them on electronic tickets for travel, event info, and dining. COMMON QR CODE SCAMS? The easiest QR code scam to pull off is clickjacking. Some people get paid to lure others into clicking on a certain link. What better way than to replace QR codes on a popular monument, for example, where people expect to find background information about the landmark by following the link in the QR code. Instead, the replaced QR code takes them to a bad site and the clickjacker gets paid his fee. Another trick is the small advance payment scam. For some services, it’s accepted as normal to make an advance payment before you can use that service. For example, to rent a bike, you are asked to make a small payment to open the lock on the bike. The QR code to identify the bike and start the payment procedure is printed on the bike. But the legitimate QR codes can be replaced by criminals that are happy to receive these small payments into their own account. Phishing links can just as easily be disguised as QR codes. Phishers place QR codes where it makes sense for the user. For example, if someone is expecting to login to start a payment procedure or to get access to a certain service, the scammers may place a malicious QR code there. AVOIDING QR CODE SCAMS? ~ Do not scan a QR code embedded in an email. Treat them the same as hyperlinks because, that’s what they are. ~ Before scanning a QR Code, run your fingers over it. If it has raised edges or you notice that it's a sticker, chances are it is a fake code that has been attached over the legitimate code. Look on the company’s website to obtain the necessary information. ~ Check the URL address that you should see after scanning a QR code. If it is shortened and you cannot see the full address, it is recommended not to open it. Hackers often use shortened URLs so that victims cannot see where they are redirected to. ~ Use a quality scam blocker or web filter on your device to protect you against known scams. |
TIPS & ADVICE
11,000 TRACKERS IN ONE WEEK!
Data collection and tracking have made user information the largest commodity in the world. As mentioned above (WP story on Chrome), mainstream browsers are some of the worst offenders of this; using cookies to track the websites you visit, keeping records of your browsing history, and selling your auto-fill information to various third-parties.
Even with a locked-down and hardened browser, there may still be exploits that reveal your data and potential identity. And YES, there will always be differing opinions, but our suggestions will be based on two main factors:
~ Security: How well does the browser protect you from hackers, vulnerabilities, and online exploits?
~ Privacy: How much data is the browser itself collecting about you and who is this data being shared with? How does the browser protect your privacy?
Check them out!
1. FIREFOX - a great all-around browser for privacy and security with the ability to be customized and hardened. It offers strong privacy protection features, excellent security, and regular updates.
2. BRAVE - simple, out-of-the-box privacy by default. It has a built-in ad blocker, browser fingerprinting protection, and also can be used with chrome extensions.
3. TOR - a customized version of Firefox that is configured to run on the Tor network. Tor relies on a system of relay requests to make it difficult to detect and track information about your location and system, but reduces your speed.
Data collection and tracking have made user information the largest commodity in the world. As mentioned above (WP story on Chrome), mainstream browsers are some of the worst offenders of this; using cookies to track the websites you visit, keeping records of your browsing history, and selling your auto-fill information to various third-parties.
Even with a locked-down and hardened browser, there may still be exploits that reveal your data and potential identity. And YES, there will always be differing opinions, but our suggestions will be based on two main factors:
~ Security: How well does the browser protect you from hackers, vulnerabilities, and online exploits?
~ Privacy: How much data is the browser itself collecting about you and who is this data being shared with? How does the browser protect your privacy?
Check them out!
1. FIREFOX - a great all-around browser for privacy and security with the ability to be customized and hardened. It offers strong privacy protection features, excellent security, and regular updates.
2. BRAVE - simple, out-of-the-box privacy by default. It has a built-in ad blocker, browser fingerprinting protection, and also can be used with chrome extensions.
3. TOR - a customized version of Firefox that is configured to run on the Tor network. Tor relies on a system of relay requests to make it difficult to detect and track information about your location and system, but reduces your speed.
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.
