Gifts for the Privacy-Loving Person in Your Life
Not everyone needs an always-on microphone in their home, no matter how cool it is to control light bulbs with your voice. If you’re shopping for gifts for someone who is nervous about this brave new world when everyone is listening, showering them with some of these privacy-friendly gifts can help them relax and enjoy the little things in life. For example, targeted ads or unmarked cars waiting right around the corner.
Privacy feed for your spy webcam
If Mark Zuckerberg is paranoid enough to cover his laptop’s webcam with tape, you should be too. Hell, even former FBI Director James Comey suggests you hide this sucker before you land on sites that collect and broadcast unsecured webcam streams. Instead of cutting off pieces of duct tape to fit the lens, give your loved one a set of privacy stickers for your webcam. Three sizes of removable and reusable stickers allow you to cover your webcam, remove it for conference calls, and reapply it without exposing yourself to the world (or wearing your pants). You can get 24 stickers in different sizes in Silent Pocket for $ 10 .
RFID Blocking Wallet for Superstition Management
Let’s face it, the rumored Mr. Robot-style hacker walking around in a sweatshirt with a handheld RFID scanner doesn’t really exist. There are few reports of RFID theft, so the excessive presence of RFID blocking wallets, sleeves and bags is a bit exaggerated.
However, the right RFID wallet can also serve a different purpose, protecting card readers from other RFID-enabled cards upon purchase, while one, say your transit card, remains open to the world, ready to take you on the subway. any moment. notification. The Waterfield Finn Access wallet does just that and comes in a variety of colors.
VPN subscription for secure browsing
Nobody likes to be spied on, especially if whoever does the next is the same one providing you with your internet connection. Giving a VPN as a gift is pretty easy, especially when you consider that you can just buy someone a year’s service and forget about it. Look for VPNs like NordVPN , TunnelBear, or PIA that have mobile apps for iOS and Android. This means your loved one can protect their browsing data at home and on the go, regardless of device. Expect a drop if you buy a yearly VPN service, anywhere from $ 50 to $ 80.
Yubikey, for simple two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication requires a username, password, and authentication code, either from an authentication app or from a text message sent to your smartphone. If your security-conscious gift recipient spends half of their day logging into devices and entering passwords, take the boredom of security away for a few seconds by gifting them a hardware authenticator like the Yubikey. Yubikey acts like a physical key , can replace two-factor authentication requests, and is compatible with over 50 services like Google, Facebook, and Dropbox. It also works with operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can see the full list of supported operating systems and services on the Yubico website, and also get their latest version, Yubikey 4, starting at $ 40.
Mesh Router for your very own data dictator
Just because you care about your privacy does not mean that you are properly prepared to manage every aspect of your online identity. Make it easy for your loved one to manage network traffic in their own home with a mesh router from companies like Eero, Google, or Luma.
Mesh routers offer a more affordable method of managing aspects of your home’s wireless network without having to rely on your router’s IP address. They can use the included smartphone app to find out who’s connected to their wireless network, completely suspend their home internet to discourage megabyte bums, and control internet access for youth-owned devices. Expect to shell out at least $ 300 for a dual-device mesh router setup from Eero, or a$ 269 three-pack setup from Google .