Updates and More

You can access extras related to this book on the web (use the link in Ebook Extras, near the end; it’s available only to purchasers). On the ebook’s Take Control Extras page, you can:

• Download any available new version of the ebook for free, or buy any subsequent edition at a discount.

• Download various formats, including PDF, EPUB, and Mobipocket. (Learn about reading on mobile devices on our Device Advice page.)

• Read the ebook’s blog. You may find new tips or information, links to author interviews, and update plans for the ebook.

If you bought this ebook from the Take Control website, it has been added to your account, where you can download it in other formats and access any future updates. However, if you bought this ebook elsewhere, you can add it to your account manually; see Ebook Extras.

What’s New in the Fourth Edition

In the two years since the third edition of this book was released, it seems as though we’ve all been hearing about new privacy-related issues on an almost daily basis. Technology, legislation, and public opinion surrounding digital privacy are all undergoing rapid changes. As a result, this book required extensive modifications to bring it up to date. Among the most significant changes are the following:

• In the chapter Learn Who Wants Your Private Data (and Why), added a new entry: Foreign Governments

• Added a new chapter, Understand the Evolving Online Privacy Landscape, to provide the current lay of the land and point out areas that deserve more attention than they did previously

• Prefaced the topic Create Privacy Rules for Yourself with a new rule: be suspicious

• Updated Purge Your Info from Data Brokers with better and more current links

• Mentioned in a few places, including Use SSL If Possible, that usage of SSL on websites is rapidly on the rise—a very good thing

• Completely overhauled the topic Avoid DNS Mischief to cover the latest options in DNS providers and offer more detail on how to set them up

• Revised my advice in Avoid Malware to reflect what experts are currently suggesting for macOS and Windows users

• Greatly expanded the Mind Your Camera and Microphone discussion to explain why conventional wisdom about those two potential threats is not necessarily accurate

• Added the topic Choose a Better Browser to explore some of the best privacy-focused browser options

• Included numerous mentions of Apple’s privacy-related changes to Safari in Browse the Web Privately, especially in the sidebar Safari’s Evolving Privacy Features and Web Privacy Software

• Added Apple Pay and Google Pay to the list of ways to avoid letting credit card details get into the wrong hands in Shop Online Privately

• Updated the Improve Email Privacy chapter in two important ways: a new sidebar called Gmail Stops Scanning Email (yay!), a new topic Mind Your Incoming Email about spam, tracking beacons, phishing, and other threats, and a new sidebar Email Links: A Case Study

• Revised Talk and Chat Privately to remove mentions of defunct products and services, and add new ones

• In the Keep Social Media Sort of Private-ish chapter, added a big topic: Learn About the Facebook Problem; also gave additional privacy tips for Facebook

• Added Firefox Send to the list of options available to Encrypt Transfers, Files, or Both

• Updated the topic Other Connected Objects to talk about even more devices within the Internet of Things that could jeopardize your privacy

• Added numerous notes throughout the book pointing to recent news stories about privacy issues of various sorts