Computers have become an integral part of our lives. Sometimes they take the form of cell phones other times they are tablets, desktops, laptops and other devices. There are times when we can see them and use them out in the open, but there are other times where they are hidden in other devices such as cars and appliances. As these computers get installed into just about everything we use in our daily life we are all at risk. I am saying this because a law has just been enacted allowing companies and anyone else who has you web browser history to sell it. It is a dark day indeed. Even those who voted for Trump must see this is wrong. We always hear bills are enacted because they reflect the will of the American people. I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination if a poll was taken of the American people they would agree to this Bill. I have even read that it prevents any change in this law somehow.

What people have to see is what this bill really is. First of all as I said above computers are going into more devices every day. There is no doubt if computer history can be sold, the next step will be to sell only information which reflects our daily living habits and this information will come from the computers in our devices. Whatever happened to privacy? Why is it our privacy is now the enemy of government? George Orwell was only writing fiction but it seems some people took his writings the heart and decided he may have had some good ideas for our society. How terrible is that? The next step may be forcing us to use certain portals on the Internet which will restrict us from going to the smaller websites we want to because we will purposely be steered away from them. Companies love to get our Internet data because they can tailor ads to it. This seems like a very weak reason to me to allow this to happen. What will be the next thing, the drug companies want to buy our medical histories?

There just seems to be less regard for people by government every day at least by this government. The deterioration of our privacy started years ago and seems to be picking up steam. This is precisely what happens when different intelligence agencies get too much power. An intelligence agency is one which wants to know as much about everything and everybody as they can get away with. There comes a point when they want too much. They are supposed to be controlled by other parts of the government, but if those over them agree with them and allow them to run roughshod over everybody, the citizens of the country are in trouble. Who knows what is really in someone’s browsing history? I am not talking about something which might embarrass somebody, such as finding out getting at pornography, I’m thinking more about the people who do things like online banking and stock purchases online. How much of what they do will be part of the browser history? Will it only indicate where people have gone or will there be more in it such as passwords and account information?

We are told by companies which lose our data every day, the data will be anonymous. We are asked to trust these companies. Some of these companies didn’t even encrypt the data they had on us to protect so when it got stolen it was there for everyone to see. This is how little these companies think about us. Now they are telling us the data is anonymous, but how do we know this? First of all just because something is a law doesn’t make it right or moral. Take the laws made in somewhat Midwestern states which tell people they will go to jail for collecting rain water or the law protecting members of congress from insider trading. How much worse is this law? Cybercrime accounts for billions of dollars lost every year and it is only getting worse. Criminals are actually selling malware on the dark Internet and guaranteeing it will work to steal your information or they will give you your money back. Nobody is doing anything about this. This is just another indication of how the powers that be care about us. One of the sad things about passing a law like this is the fact it can be gotten away with. I say this because it will embolden the politicians to go even further in the future. They will say to themselves we can do anything we want to these people. Can you imagine how much lobbyists must have contributed to the lawmakers to pass this bill? Lobbying is destroying our government along with unlimited contributions by fat cats were buying the government. No one can feel secure anymore when they used a computer, even if they have the best anti-malware on it. The simple reason for this is even if you can’t protect your computer from attacks, you can’t stop the companies you are dealing with from spilling all the beans about you.

What can a person do to protect themselves? One thing they can do is purchase time on a Virtual Private Network or VPN. Let me describe to you what this is. A company supplies a computer network you go on. When it gets your data it encrypts it and then sends it forward hiding the fact where it came from in the first place. There are many of these companies who sell the service. The idea here is this is an add-on to the service you have. Let me give you an example. You are using a cable network. You download the app for the VPN you paid for and install it on each device you want to protect the data of. You then continue to go to the usual sites you are used to. If you have signed up one of the better VPNs you won’t even notice the difference. There might be a check the first time you try to get onto a banking site but after you insert the code they send you, everything should be fine.

I decided to take this route today. I signed up with ExpressVPN one of the highest rated VPNs. Everything went smoothly and the yearly charge was $99.95 and they gave me an extra month for free. There is a problem however and that is I am now only protected from today on and my older browser data may be out there, one does the best they can.