Some try to hide parts of their email address from email scrapers by writing “at” and “dot”, reports a Washington Post newsletter.
Unfortunately, “This anti-spam trick doesn't work. Not at all."
They even warn that it is not just a piece of “anti-spam fiction”, but also “an example of the digital self-protection myths that drain your time and energy and make you less secure.
"Today, we're going to dispel the privacy and security myth that you need a VPN to stay safe online. (No, you probably aren't.)"
Myth: You need a VPN to stay safe online.
…for most people in the United States and other democracies, “There's no real reason why you should use a VPN,” said Frédéric Rivain, chief technology officer at Dashlane, a password management service that also offers VPN… .
If you're researching sensitive topics like depression and don't want family members to know or companies to keep records of your activities, Rivain said you might be better off using a privacy-focused web browser like Brave or the DuckDuckGo search engine.
If you use a VPN, the company that offers you the service has records of what you do. And advertisers will still figure out how to serve ads based on your online activities.
POSTSCRIPT. If you're worried about scammers stealing your information when you use WiFi networks in coffee shops or airports and want to use a VPN to hide what you're doing, you probably don't need to. Using public WiFi is now safe in most cases, Frédéric Rivain's colleague Tatum Hunter reported.
"Many VPNs are also tricky and can do far more harm than good," the paper continues, referring readers to previous Washington Post analysis (with some safe recommendations).
But he mentions that "the internet is a fraud machine and a little paranoia doesn't hurt".
