Black Friday is quickly bearing down upon us. For those not in the know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the US, and traditionally marks the official start of Christmas shopping season, and as such, many vendors, retailers, and manufacturers offer steep discounts on their products and services.
Below is a list of all known privacy- and security-related Black Friday deals. If you’re reading this closer to a future Black Friday after 2025, check out thenewoil.org/black-friday to be taken to the latest version of this blog. If you spot a deal that isn’t listed here, please send it to me so I can add it. I will try to update as often as I can.
For many, this month is when gift-giving season officially begins in the United States thanks to Black Friday, which is quickly consuming most of November in many cases. As a result, even though online shopping is something most of us engage in year-round, now is a particularly important time to discuss how to safely shop online. Use the following tips and tools to help keep your holiday season as stress free as possible. We can't help you with your crazy uncle and his insane conspiracy theories, but we can help make sure your credit card number doesn't get stolen while finding the perfect gift online.
Life is full of nuance. Which is why I made a terrible life choice when I became a content creator on the internet who discusses complex, often-political topics.
I've added an “AI” section to The New Oil that suggests more privacy-focused large-language models (LLMs) that users could consider if they have need of an AI. Obviously I think this is a good addition to the site or else I wouldn't have done it. But for those who may be on the fence – or upset – let me explain why.
Amazon’s now-legendary “Prime Day” is July 8-11. Much like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this means sales on lots of items on Amazon’s vast marketplace, and as such many people flock to the giant’s website to get sweet deals on everything from computers to small kitchen appliances and more. While many of us are feeling the financial crunch more than ever, I urge you, dear reader, to resist the allure. I don’t typically have strong opinions about where people chose to shop or how they decide to spend their heard-earned money, but in this post I hope to lay out a convincing case for why Amazon is full-stop evil, no caveats, and is undeserving of your money on a moral and ethical level no matter what your values are. Amazon needs to be stopped, and legislation will not do so. Only its loyal consumers – who keep the beast alive – can do that by taking their money elsewhere. No matter your political or personal beliefs, I'm certain Amazon violates them in one way or another, and you should vote with your dollar by buying from other places whenever possible. Here’s why.
Like it or not, email is a critical part of our digital lives. It’s how we sign up for accounts, get notifications, and communicate with a wide range of entities online. Critics of email rightfully point out that email suffers from a significant number of flaws that make it less than ideal, but that doesn’t change the current reality. In light of the facts, I believe that an encrypted email provider is a must-have for everyone in today’s age of rampant data breaches, insider threats, warrantless police access, and targeted advertising. If I can get access to your emails, I can get a range of sensitive information including where you bank, communications with medical services, calendar reminders, news announcements from family, and more. So this week, let’s look into the top encrypted email providers The New Oil recommends and their features to help decide which one is right for you.
Society loves our dystopian fiction. Black Mirror, The Handmaid's Tale, Severance, and those are just a few of the most acclaimed ones set in the near future. But these days, watching these shows feels more and more like watching a documentary on current events. I'm not just talking politically but in terms of technology and the role it plays in society as well (in keeping with the theme of The New Oil). As a science fiction junkie, it's chilling to take in media like early Black Mirror or Dave Egger's The Every and have this sinking feeling like I'm staring into the future. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, I'm not anymore because the future is here.
As I've written about before, privacy is a complex and ever-evolving topic. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that there's always more we can do to protect ourselves online. But what happens when one day you crest the last hill and realize there's nowhere to go? When you feel like you've maxed out your privacy? Have you done everything you can think of to secure your digital life? This week, I want to talk about the idea of doing “enough” in privacy, and when to know if you've crossed that finish line.
Sometimes I sit on updates to the website for a long time. I wish I could say this is because of some master plan to hit a certain schedule or make a big deal of big updates. The truth is simply that I'm busy and often tell myself “let me wait til I do this one small change tomorrow,” then suddenly tomorrow is three weeks later and the updates have accumulated. On the plus side, that makes it easy to share big updates with readers all at once, like this.
Last week, I wrote about how our phone numbers have evolved into a unique, static ID that companies abuse to track us. As anecdotal evidence, I mentioned that “I personally had my last phone number for well over a decade before I finally got rid of cell service altogether in favor of the 'living on Wi-Fi 24/7' model.” This prompted an email from a reader asking me to elaborate. Why not?
Imagine this: you walk into a casual dining restaurant for dinner with some friends. The host informs you that there's a short wait for a table – about fifteen or twenty minutes – but they can let you know what the table's ready. They ask for your social security number and without so much as a thought you hand it over. The host scribbles it down on a notepad and says they'll call out your last four when your table is ready.
That sounds insane, right? And yet, that's kind of what a lot of us do regularly with our phone numbers, handing them out willy-nilly at the drop of a hat to anyone who asks. My exaggeration in this case is pretty mild. Not convinced? Don't worry. Not only will I convince you in this blog post, but I'll also show you how to protect yourself and how to do so for free, no less.