What would you do if you suddenly lost your bank account – and potentially access to all your funds? What about your credit cards? How long could your business stay afloat if you could no longer receive payments? Most of us take financial services for granted, but they can be taken away at any time – for almost any reason. And sometimes the reason is just that they don’t like you – or someone in power doesn’t like you, who can put pressure on the financial company. In many cases, this amounts to financial censorship. My guest today, Rainey Reitman, is the head of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and author of a book on this very subject called Transaction Denied. We’ll learn about how this happens, what the impacts are, and what we can do about it.

Interview Notes

• Freedom of the Press Foundation: https://freedom.press/ 
• EFF: https://www.eff.org/ 
• Protect the Stack: https://protectthestack.org/ 
• Pretty much infra: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/we-need-talk-about-infrastructure 
• Santa Clara Principles: https://santaclaraprinciples.org/ 
• Cryptocurrency 101: https://podcast.firewallsdontstopdragons.com/2022/06/06/cryptocurrency-101/ 
• The Curse of Cash (book): https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Cash-Large-Denomination-Constrain-Monetary/dp/0691178364 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:13: Intro
• 0:02:45: Why did you start FPF?
• 0:08:25: What are some examples of financial censorship?
• 0:14:44: What are the impacts of this?
• 0:20:35: What can you do when this happens?
• 0:23:45: Are you entitled to know why you were cut off?
• 0:26:10: How do KYC laws impact your rights?
• 0:31:14: How might regulators infringe free speech?
• 0:35:56: How might my reputation after me here?
• 0:41:40: Should we codify banking rights?
• 0:46:21: What about using cash or cryptocurrency?
• 0:50:18: What bank practices should we change?
• 0:54:32: What should the government be doing here?
• 0:58:36: What’s next for you and FPF?
• 0:59:47: Wrap-up
• 1:02:40: Patron podcast preview
• 1:04:08: Looking ahead

As part of my ongoing series on creating a full backup of all your old emails, we want to take some time to verify that we got everything okay. In today’s Tip of the Week, I’ll give you several pointers on how to go about doing this. In the last installment, we’ll make a couple backups and (optionally) delete everything from your email provider.

In the news: AI firms want your financial data; Google Search moves to AI chat format; AI bots transcribing all your meetings; Mayo Clinic using AI to transcribe ER visits; CISA exposes credentials in massive screw up; school buses are being turned into mass surveillance machines; FBI wants access to all the license plate readers; some in Congress are trying to kill license plate readers.

Article Links

1. Experts warn of privacy risks as AI firms looks to connect to financial accounts: https://therecord.media/experts-warn-of-privacy-cyer-risks-ai-finance
2. Google Search as you know it is over: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/google-search-as-you-know-it-is-over
3. You Are Being Recorded: https://blog.yaelwrites.com/you-are-being-recorded
4. Mayo Clinic is Using AI to Listen to Emergency Room Visits: https://www.404media.co/mayo-clinic-is-using-ai-to-listen-to-emergency-room-visits
5. US cyber agency CISA exposed reams of passwords and cloud keys to the open web: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/us-cyber-agency-cisa-exposed-reams-of-passwords-and-cloud-keys-to-the-open-web
6. ‘BusPatrol’ Put AI Cameras in Tens of Thousands of School Buses. Now They Want to Give Cops Access: https://www.404media.co/buspatrol-put-ai-cameras-in-tens-of-thousands-of-school-buses-now-they-want-to-give-cops-access
7. The FBI Wants to Buy Nationwide Access to License Plate Readers: https://www.404media.co/the-fbi-wants-to-buy-nationwide-access-to-license-plate-readers
8. A Bipartisan Amendment Would End Police License Plate Tracking Nationwide: https://www.wired.com/story/a-bipartisan-amendment-would-end-police-license-plate-tracking-nationwide
9. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/verify-your-email-archive/ 

Further Info

• Privacy Guides (search engines): https://www.privacyguides.org/en/search-engines/ 
• My Proton referral link: https://pr.tn/ref/ZMNG3DNK 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

• 0:00:07: Intro
• 0:00:47: News preview
• 0:02:13: AI financial advisors
• 0:08:42: Google Search making big changes
• 0:17:30: You are being recorded
• 0:25:07: Mayo Clinic ER AI transcripts
• 0:31:37: Major CISA credentials screwup
• 0:35:54: School bus surveillance
• 0:43:37: FBI wants nationwide ALPR access
• 0:49:04: Congress looks to ban ALPRs
• 0:53:19: Tip of the Week
• 1:00:32: Patron podcast preview
• 1:01:05: Looking ahead

When you’re working for your employer, no matter where you are, you’re on company time, using company equipment. Your employer has a responsibility to protect their assets – not just their equipment and facilities, but their data, as well. That gives employers several reasons to monitor you and any devices you might be using for work – including your mobile phone, potentially. While your rights to privacy are limited, they’re not eliminated. Today I’ll ask Jodi Daniels (Red Clover Advisors) and Jan Rosenfeld (iVerify) to help us understand what personal information might be gathered, how it might be used, and what we should do to protect ourselves.

Interview Notes

• iVerify (Jan Rosenfeld): https://iverify.io/ 
• Red Clover Advisors (Jodi Daniels): https://redcloveradvisors.com/our-team/jodi-daniels/ 
• Microsoft Recall: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/retrace-your-steps-with-recall-aa03f8a0-a78b-4b3e-b0a1-2eb8ac48701c 
• WiFi Pineapple: https://shop.hak5.org/products/wifi-pineapple 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:20: Intro
• 0:01:54: Lingo
• 0:03:45: Why do employers monitor employees?
• 0:10:23: What privacy rights do employees have?
• 0:17:27: How do employers monitor mobile phones?
• 0:24:07: What can be learned using mobile profiles?
• 0:30:27: How are laptops monitored?
• 0:34:31: Can employers monitor encrypted traffic?
• 0:36:17: What are the privacy risks for computor monitoring?
• 0:41:41: How else might I be tracked at work?
• 0:48:05: How might my data be correlated with my colleagues?
• 0:52:38: What about job applicant privacy?
• 0:55:59: What happens when I leave a company?
• 1:02:15: How can we best protect employment data?
• 1:05:22: How do I handle privacy violations?
• 1:06:55: Wrap-up
• 1:10:49: Patron podcast preview
• 1:11:25: Looking ahead

In the next phase of withdrawing our email data from the cloud, we’re going to download a complete archive of every email we’ve ever sent. It’s not as easy as it should be, but it’s also not that difficult. I’ll give you an overview in today’s Tip of the Week, but you should read the full blog for detailed steps.

In the news: Venmo finally makes transactions private by default; FCC extends software update window for banned routers; Meta employees push back on surveillance; Proton Mail adds post-quantum crypto; turn off ChatGPT ad tracking; AI chatbots giving out people’s real phone numbers; Canada’s updated surveillance bill is still bad; Utah wants to effectively ban anonymous VPN use; LLMs want access to your health records; Microsoft Edge is a poor password manager; Canvas hacked during finals; Chrome installing a 4GB AI model on everyone’s computers.

Article Links

1. Venmo privacy finally being fixed eight years after ‘alarming’ fails: https://9to5mac.com/2026/05/11/venmo-privacy-finally-being-fixed-eight-years-after-alarming-fails
2. US: FCC Relaxes Foreign-Made Router Ban to Allow for Security Updates: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/us-fcc-relaxes-foreign-router-ban
3. Meta employees launch protest against mouse-tracking tech at US offices: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/meta-us-employees-organize-protest-against-mouse-tracking-tech-2026-05-12
4. Proton Mail introduces post-quantum encryption: https://proton.me/blog/introducing-post-quantum-encryption
5. Turn Off ChatGPT’s New Ad Tracking: https://onlinesafety.substack.com/p/turn-off-chatgpts-new-ad-tracking
6. AI chatbots are giving out people’s real phone numbers: https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/13/1137203/ai-chatbots-are-giving-out-peoples-real-phone-numbers
7. Canada’s Bill C-22 Is a Repackaged Version of Last Year’s Surveillance Nightmare: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/canadas-bill-c-22-repackaged-version-last-years-surveillance-nightmare
8. Utah’s New Law Targeting VPNs Goes Into Effect May 6th: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/utahs-new-law-regulating-vpns-goes-effect-next-week
9. A.I. Chatbots Want Your Health Records. Tread Carefully.: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/technology/personaltech/microsoft-copilot-health-ai-chatbots.html
10. Microsoft Edge security alert: All saved passwords unencrypted: https://proton.me/business/blog/microsoft-edge-passwords-exposed
11. ‘The Biggest Student Data Privacy Disaster in History’: Canvas Hack Shows the Danger of Centralized EdTech: https://www.404media.co/the-biggest-student-data-privacy-disaster-in-history-canvas-hack-shows-the-danger-of-centralized-edtech
12. Chrome silently installs a 4 GB local LLM on your computer: https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/05/07/chrome-silently-installs-a-4-gb-local-llm-on-your-computer/5230893
13. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/download-all-emails/ 

Further Info

• PG’s Data Protection Authority: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/activism/legal/dpa-directory/ 
• Donate to Session: https://getsession.org/donate 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:07: Intro
• 0:00:19: News tidbits
• 0:02:53: News rundown
• 0:05:21: Venmo finally private by default
• 0:08:57: Banned router updates extended
• 0:11:28: Meta employees protest surveillance
• 0:15:47: Proton Mail gets post-quantum crypto
• 0:19:44: ChatGPT’s new ad tracking
• 0:24:37: Chatbots giving our people’s phone numbers
• 0:28:57: Canada C-22 bill still a privacy nightmare
• 0:32:49: Utah VPN law delayed
• 0:40:47: AI wants your health info
• 0:48:14: Edge decrypts all saved passwords
• 0:53:40: Canvas hit with ransomware
• 0:56:08: Chrome silently installs 4GB LLM
• 1:01:06: Tip of the Week
• 1:09:28: Patron podcast preview
• 1:09:55: Looking ahead

Cindy Cohn has been on the front lines, defending your digital rights, for three decades. With the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), she has litigated several seminal legal cases that have directly impacted the lives of all Americans. As she retires from her role as Director of the EFF, she’s written a memoir about her time there and documents several of these legal fights called Privacy’s Defender. Today I’ll ask Cindy about the key parts of these cases, how we interpret our rights in the digital realm, and what we can do to ensure a free and open internet.

Interview Notes

• Cindy Cohn: https://www.eff.org/about/staff/cindy-cohn 
• Privacy’s Defender: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262051248/privacys-defender/ 
• Give thanks (donate): https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/give-thanks-donate/ 
• Clipper Chip: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_chip 
• Secure Drop: https://securedrop.org/ 
• Geofence warrants case: https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-supreme-court-shut-down-unconstitutional-geofence-searches 
• 404 Media’s FOIA Forum: https://www.404media.co/foia-forum-archive/ 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:15: Intro
• 0:01:13: Lingo
• 0:03:52: What if you had lost the Bernstein case?
• 0:09:18: What re-ignited the Crypto Wars?
• 0:13:54: Can we prevent all crime with surveillance?
• 0:16:37: How do our rights apply in the digital world?
• 0:21:29: Should national security trump our rights?
• 0:26:58: Can’t courts handle secret evidence?
• 0:29:20: How does loss of privacy create a power imbalance?
• 0:35:02: How does privacy improve democracy?
• 0:36:54: How to you translate technogy to law?
• 0:40:49: Are we losing online anonymity?
• 0:44:13: How important are whistleblowers?
• 0:47:08: How can we protect privacy from the next crisis?
• 0:54:24: How do we avoid burnout and keep fighting?
• 0:57:47: How do we get a federal privacy law?
• 1:02:37: What’s next for you and the EFF?
• 1:06:48: Wrap-up
• 1:08:37: Donate to rights organizations
• 1:10:27: Patron podcast preview
• 1:11:05: Looking ahead

Probably the oldest online data you have – like, still have out there right now – is your emails. Did you have an AOL account? Or email through your internet service provider (ISP)? Statistically speaking, you probably have a Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Outlook (previously HotMail) account. Unless you explicitly closed those accounts or deleted those emails, they’re still there. Emails are less like letters in an envelope and much more like postcards, unless you made a point of encrypting them. So today we’ll start a multi-step process to download that email history so that we can delete the online data before it’s slurped into some AI model training or leaked in a data breach.

In other news: Met Police win suit to use live facial recognition; Australian teens work around social media ban; big tech is ignoring your do-not-track signals; Meta threatens to leave New Mexico over AG demands; Meta is training AI on their employees; doctors are using AI to take session notes; Mythos suffers ‘unauthorized access’; AI agent deletes companies databases; and AI is empowering script kiddies.

Article Links

1. Challenge over Met Police’s use of live facial recognition lost: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq59x4vv954o
2. Most Australian teens admit the social media ban isn’t working as they try to sidestep age verification blocks with face masks and their parents’ IDs: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/most-australian-teens-admit-social-111400429.html
3. Google, Microsoft, Meta All Tracking You Even When You Opt Out, According to an Independent Audit: https://www.404media.co/google-microsoft-meta-all-tracking-you-even-when-you-opt-out-according-to-an-independent-audit
4. Meta threatens to pull its apps from New Mexico if forced to make ‘technologically impractical’ changes: https://www.theverge.com/policy/921557/meta-threatens-leaving-new-mexico
5. Meta is tracking employees for AI training data: https://proton.me/business/blog/meta-ai-training-employee-data
6. Why your doctor’s AI recorder can be bad for your health (and privacy): https://this.weekinsecurity.com/why-your-doctors-ai-recorder-can-be-bad-for-your-health-and-privacy
7. Anthropic’s most dangerous AI model just fell into the wrong hands: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/916501/anthropic-mythos-unauthorized-users-access-security
8. An AI agent allegedly deleted a startup’s production database: https://mashable.com/article/ai-agent-deletes-data-30-hour-service-outage-pocketos
9. Attack of the killer script kiddies: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/915660/mythos-script-kiddies-hackers-attack-cybersecurity-ai
10. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/withdraw-your-data-email/ 

Further Info

• Enable and verify GPC flag: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-to-enable-global-privacy-control/ 
• Contact your representatives on Section 702 reforms: https://act.eff.org/action/congress-has-until-april-20-to-take-action-on-702-tell-them-not-to-drop-the-ball 
• AI doctor privacy newsletter: https://buttondown.com/maiht3k/archive/why-you-should-refuse-to-let-your-doctor-record/ 
• Attack of the Script Kiddies: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/915660/mythos-script-kiddies-hackers-attack-cybersecurity-ai 
• Zero Day Clock: https://zerodayclock.com/ 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:07: Intro
• 0:01:07: News bites
• 0:01:59: News rundown
• 0:04:17: Met Police win face recognition suit
• 0:09:10: Australia social media ban update
• 0:13:16: Google, Meta, Microsoft ignoring GPC
• 0:20:40: New Mexico AG has demands for Meta
• 0:26:28: Meta tracking employees to train AI
• 0:32:36: Doctors using AI to take notes
• 0:39:45: Mythos unauthorized access
• 0:43:39: AI agent deletes company databases
• 0:49:25: Attack of the killer script kiddies
• 1:02:29: Tip of the Week
• 1:11:45: Patron podcast preview
• 1:11:54: Looking ahead

We have relied on prophets and seers for most of human history, largely because humans are obsessed with the future – specifically their own. But prophecy has often been used to determine or at least influence the future, not just predict it. In her new book, Prophecy, Carissa Véliz explains the power and perils of prediction, from the Oracle of Delphi to modern AI, giving us some much-needed perspective on the dangers of chatbots and the people who are selling them to us as powerful tools that will either save or doom all of humanity.

Interview Notes

• Prophecy: https://www.carissaveliz.com/prophecy 
• Privacy is Power: https://www.carissaveliz.com/books 
• The Power of Analogue (TEDx): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvJeUQ9Egnk 
• How Privacy Can Save Your Life (TEDx): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPRouBvgFE 
• Here’s to the Crazy Ones (Steve Jobs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtftHaK9tYY 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:18: Intro
• 0:03:07: How is prediction used to determine the future?
• 0:08:09: Why are humans hard to predict?
• 0:12:34: What does AI predict about itself?
• 0:19:24: What are longtermism and effective altruism?
• 0:25:45: How does rationalism compare to empiricism with AI?
• 0:30:41: Why do humans believe numbers?
• 0:34:57: Are prediction markets ethical?
• 0:38:53: What do you tell policymakers?
• 0:41:51: How do we resist fear of the future?
• 0:47:11: Wrap up
• 0:49:45: Patron podcast preview
• 0:50:23: Looking ahead

Artificial Intelligence – in particular, Large Language Models (LLMs) or “chatbots” – are increasing in power at an astonishing pace. In fact, the latest models from Anthropic (Claude Mythos) and OpenAI (ChatGPT 5.4 Cyber) are so good at reading software code and finding vulnerabilities, that their makers have strictly limited initial access to manufacturers of the most popular software so that they have a head start in finding exploitable bugs. But it’s not all doom and gloom. I’ll highlight the promise of this powerful new technology, as well.

Article Links

1. Brussels launched an age checking app. Hackers say it takes 2 minutes to break it.: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-brussels-launched-age-checking-app-hackers-say-took-them-2-minutes-break-it
2. FBI Extracts Suspect’s Deleted Signal Messages Saved in iPhone Notification Database: https://www.404media.co/fbi-extracts-suspects-deleted-signal-messages-saved-in-iphone-notification-database-2
3. Iran built a vast camera network to control dissent. Israel turned it into a targeting tool: https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-security-cameras-surveillance-5f9a1fe5845d94894f3edd50af560d3a
4. Iranian hackers are targeting American critical infrastructure, US agencies warn: https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/iranian-hackers-are-targeting-american-critical-infrastructure-u-s-agencies-warn
5. LinkedIn secretly scans 6,000+ browser extensions and fingerprints your device: https://thenextweb.com/news/linkedin-browsergate-extension-scanning-privacy-fingerprint
6. The Pixel Trap: Online Marketing Is a Silent PII Harvesting Machine: https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/pixel-marketing-pii-harvesting
7. Republican Mutiny Sinks Trump’s Push to Extend Warrantless Surveillance: https://www.wired.com/story/republican-mutiny-sinks-trumps-push-to-extend-warrantless-surveillance
8. India drops proposal to mandate national ID app Aadhaar on smartphones after pushback: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-drops-proposal-mandate-national-id-app-aadhaar-smartphones-after-pushback-2026-04-17
9. What I learned by vibe-coding my own word processor: https://www.fastcompany.com/91528164/claude-code-vibe-code-word-processor
10. On Anthropic’s Mythos Preview and Project Glasswing: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/04/on-anthropics-mythos-preview-and-project-glasswing.html
11. Tip of the Week: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/ai-promise-peril/ 

Further Info

• Support the Internet Archive: https://www.savethearchive.com/authors/ or https://www.savethearchive.com/journalists/ 
• Contact your representatives on Section 702 reforms: https://act.eff.org/action/congress-has-until-april-20-to-take-action-on-702-tell-them-not-to-drop-the-ball 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:08: Intro
• 0:00:37: Internet Archive needs your help
• 0:02:00: Router ban update
• 0:02:33: News rundown
• 0:05:46: New EU age app has bugs
• 0:10:46: FBI extracts Signal messages
• 0:16:33: Iran public cameras hacked by Israel
• 0:22:46: Iran hackers target US, Israel
• 0:26:11: LinkedIn scans your devices
• 0:37:06: TikTok Meta pixel madness
• 0:43:25: Section 702 on the ropes
• 0:50:56: India drops ID app mandate
• 0:53:42: Vibe-coding my own word processor
• 1:04:07: Schneier on Mythos, Glasswing
• 1:07:37: Tip of the Week
• 1:21:59: Patron podcast preview
• 1:22:24: Looking ahead

There are all sorts of things that can be used to identify us online and in the real world, beyond our names, addresses, and phone numbers. But data brokers are desperate to tie all of these unique pieces of information together, building a valuable marketing dossier. It’s become a massive industry – being able to map one supposedly anonymous or pseudonymous piece of data to the a person’s full identity. Today we’ll delve deeply into this shady business with Iesha White and Zach Edwards.

Interview Notes

• Victory Medium (Zach): https://victorymedium.com/ 
• Check My Ads (Iesha): https://checkmyads.org/ 
• TLS fingerprinting: https://fingerprint.com/blog/what-is-tls-fingerprinting-transport-layer-security/ 
• Disable Mobile Ad ID (MAID): https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/how-disable-ad-id-tracking-ios-and-android-and-why-you-should-do-it-now 
• US v Google: https://www.usvgoogleads.com/ 
• IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF): https://iabeurope.eu/iab-europe-transparency-consent-framework-policies/ 
• DROP portal: https://privacy.ca.gov/drop/ 
• Remove online data: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/dragon-hacks-opt-out/ 
• Apple’s Hide My Email: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105078 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Recommend news stories: send to news [at] firewallsdontstopdragons.com 
• Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:20: Intro
• 0:02:22: Learning the lingo
• 0:03:34: What identifiers are used to track us online?
• 0:12:00: How else are we being tracked?
• 0:23:20: How are we tracked in the physical world?
• 0:31:54: How do brick and mortar stores track us?
• 0:37:46: What if the data is wrong?
• 0:43:58: What if I’m okay with targetted ads?
• 0:49:14: How does my data overlap your data?
• 0:54:01: Can’t this tracking also be used to stop fraud?
• 0:58:08: Why can’t we just use contextual ads?
• 1:05:22: What can we do about this?
• 1:13:00: What does NOT work to stop tracking?
• 1:14:10: What’s next for you two?
• 1:17:43: Wrap-up
• 1:21:05: Patron podcast preview
• 1:21:56: Looking ahead

The US is planning to ban all foreign-made or foreign-designed home WiFi routers… which is basically all routers. It’s true that many consumer routers are pretty crappy when it comes to security. TP-Link just fixed some bad vulnerabilities (which you need to patch ASAP). But what does this mean for anyone wanting to upgrade to a new router? I’ll try to explain.

In other news: Walmart is buying TV-maker Vizio to gain access to user data and ads; a company is turning public Zoom meetings into AI podcasts for profit (without permission); a health company suffers a data breach exposing millions of clients’ information; H&R Block’s latest business tax prep software commits an egregious security mistake; AI companies are rolling out dangerous automation features; macOS 26.4 appears to block ClickFix-style attacks; and Facebook and Google lose in a landmark legal case.

Article Links

1. Walmart buying TV-brand Vizio for its ad-fueling customer data: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/walmart-buying-tv-brand-vizio-for-its-ad-fueling-customer-data
2. This Company Is Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into AI Podcasts: https://www.404media.co/this-company-is-secretly-turning-your-zoom-calls-into-ai-podcasts
3. This Massive Data Breach Leaked 2.7 Million Social Security Numbers: https://lifehacker.com/tech/navia-data-breach-social-security-numbers
4. These critical exploits just exposed a bigger problem with TP-Link routers: https://www.makeuseof.com/tp-link-critical-exploits-expose-bigger-security-concerns
5. H&R Block’s Tax Prep Blunder: What You Must Know About the 2025 Certificate Vulnerability: https://twit.tv/posts/tech/hr-blocks-tax-prep-blunder-what-you-must-know-about-2025-certificate-vulnerability
6. This New Claude Feature Can Automate Basically Everything on Your Mac, but It’s a Huge Security Risk: https://lifehacker.com/tech/claude-computer-use-impressions
7. The United States router ban, explained: https://www.theverge.com/tech/899906/fcc-router-ban-march-2026-explainer
8. macOS 26.4 warning about potentially malicious Terminal commands: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/03/26/macos-264-warning-about-potentially-malicious-terminal-commands
9. Meta, Google lose US case over social media harm to kids: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/jury-reaches-verdict-meta-google-trial-social-media-addiction-2026-03-25

Further Info

• Freeze Your Credit: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/credit-freeze-now-is-the-time/ 
• Security Now on H&R Block fiasco: https://youtu.be/JebKuiHu5mg?si=EuXRT9PeKLl1l3oT&t=701 
• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:07: Intro
• 0:01:03: News rundown
• 0:03:17: Walmart buys Vizio for ads, data
• 0:08:57: Public Zoom calls secretly turned into podcasts
• 0:17:24: Navia leaks millions of SSNs
• 0:20:28: TP-Link router vulnerabilities
• 0:36:25: H&R Block’s horrific tax software
• 0:45:41: New Claude Mac feature is too dangerous
• 0:48:22: macOS 24 blocks ClickFix?
• 0:50:44: Facebook, Google lose huge lawsuit
• 0:54:22: Patron podcast preview
• 0:54:58: Looking ahead

Nate Bartram and Jonah Aragon have been advocating for privacy for a long time. Their sites, The New Oil and Privacy Guides, have a ton of fabulous resources for anyone interested in guarding their data and defending their digital rights. Ever wonder what it’s like being a privacy advocate in an increasingly privacy-hostile world? Today, I’ll take you behind the scenes of these sites and into the brains of two top-notch privacy warriors.

Interview Notes

• Privacy Guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/ 
• The New Oil: https://thenewoil.org/ 
• Critical Thinking 101: https://ghost.thenewoil.org/critical-thinking-101/
• This Week in Privacy podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-privacy/id1726826455 
• Privacy Advocate Toolbox: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/activism/ 
• Smartphone privacy guides: https://www.privacyguides.org/videos/2026/02/04/smartphone-security-course-lesson-1-beginners-2/ 

Further Info

• My book: https://fdsd.me/book 
• My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter 
• Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support 
• Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons 
• Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch 

Table of Contents

• 0:00:18: Intro
• 0:02:11: Why did you get into privacy?
• 0:07:44: What’s the most enduring privacy myth?
• 0:14:13: Do you find people dislike the answer “it depends”?
• 0:16:50: How would you describe your target audience?
• 0:22:00: How do you evaluate privacy products?
• 0:27:59: What products have you unrecommended and why?
• 0:34:27: What are major privacy red flags?
• 0:43:09: What product do you use that you do not recommend to others?
• 0:48:05: How will you handle age checks or repeal of Section 230?
• 0:55:09: Who do you look to for privacy advice?
• 1:04:22: What’s next for you guys?
• 1:08:30: Wrap-up
• 1:10:46: Patron podcast preview
• 1:11:24: Looking ahead