Protecting Your Online and Offline Privacy

1. Protecting Your Online and Offline Privacy from Bullies All rights reserved. This document, Protecting Your Online and Offline Privacy from Bullies is Copyright © Nathan Segal, 2017. This document is distributed with the understanding that the publisher has made every effort possible to make sure that the information contained herein is truthful and accurate. When necessary, information has been changed or updated, to keep the information as current as possible. Disclaimer What you are about to read is not legal advice, nor is the author a lawyer. If there is any doubt about the veracity of the information contained in this document, the services of a competent professional should be sought. You should also consult with an appropriately qualified professional before making any life changes. Due to the rapidly changing state of technology, the publisher/copyright holder does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting from the decisions made by the purchasers of this document. Note: This document contains affiliate links. If you purchase something from one or more of these links, I will receive a commission. For more information, write to me at visualartist49@gmail.com or call me at (408) 844-4851. I’m on PST. You can also visit my website, which is LifeAfterBullying.net or my YouTube channel. Protecting Your Online and Offline Privacy from Bullies Before I go further, what I’m going to talk about is not a guarantee. If an adult bully is determined to track you down, he or she will be able to do so over time.

2. What you CAN do is put many safeguards in place and make it difficult for bullies to find you. Erect enough obstacles and the bully might give up. As one of my friends said to me, be careful what you post. Once it goes online, it can be read by anyone. There are many ways to violate a person's privacy without them knowing it is happening. A case in point is if you have social media accounts. It is easy for a bully to create a fake account and then ask the target for a connection. Once it is approved, you have instant access to all their posts. Some bullies will go to extremes and try to infect the target's computer with malware (such as a keylogger) so they can track their online movements. Others will use "hacks" to gain access to the news stream of their targets without the target ever knowing their safety has been compromised. While you can block a bully, be aware that it might not work for all situations. If you are concerned about your safety, be careful what you post. Talk about the importance of using a ghost address. 5 Ways to Stay Safe Online 1. Make sure you enable the privacy settings and restrict posting access to your account. 2. Watch your language and be careful about what you post. Getting too personal could have some serious repercussions. Contrary to the assurances of Facebook moderators, your data is not safe. 3. The reality is that anyone with the necessary skills can read your information. I had one bully brag about how he was reading my posts, even on so-called "secure" sites. In some cases, your employer could view your profile. Some posters have wound up in hot water over their postings. Some have even lost their jobs.

3. 4. Another problem is cyberbullying, which can be both insidious and devastating. In some cases, the abuse has caused loss of life. Extreme cases may cause the authorities to become involved. 5. Be very careful with sex chat/talk online. That can lead to some dangerous situations. In the case of children, they might be stalked by an online predator. Resources What Can Be Done to Catch Cyber Bullies? This page gives the user responses from several lawyers and one method they recommend it to subpoena the records of the perpetrators. One thing I keep seeing is this: Do not respond. Eventually, the bully will give up and look for fresh prey. Change the phone number on your cell or, if you don't want to do that, and you have an Android phone, install a free app called: Mr. Number. It is easy to use, efficient and will block all unwanted calls Block the bully if you use Skype. Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for online communications. The service I used for Mexico was Proxy Solutions, a monthly service that cost me $7.00/month. The beautiful thing about this service is you can use it to emulate various locations around the world. I chose the United States because many of the services I wanted were in the U.S. It allowed me to play Scrabble on Facebook with my girlfriend, something not possible using Mexican servers :-) Another option is HideMyAss. If you are concerned about a bully finding your physical location, one great solution is to get a ghost address. For more information, visit the website of J.J. Luna, a privacy expert. I recommend reading the book "How to Be Invisible: Protect Your Home, Your Children, Your Assets, and Your Life." I highly recommend it. One of the things he talks about is the necessity for a ghost address. Use a pen name and conduct all your business that way. This will prevent unwanted attention. For email privacy, use ProtonMail.

4. In his book How to Get Over Anyone In a Few Days, Farouk gives you all the tools you need. It is the best book I have ever seen on the subject, and I recommend it highly. The bottom line is this, if you want to recover from the trauma of bullying, you MUST get the bully out of your life. If you do not, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to recover. When the Bully is No Longer in Your Life For some people, getting the bully out of their lives is enough and they will begin to recover. Others have been traumatized by the ongoing harassment which has caused a psychological injury, sometimes known as PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If this has happened to you, you know you’re in trouble. Fortunately, help exists. I work with Hamish Bayston, a coach who specializes in working with victims of bullying. With his coaching, you can remove the trauma of bullying from your life, change your limiting beliefs, stop the obsessive thinking and begin to live a normal life, free of the trauma of bullying. For more information, write to me at visualartist49@gmail.com or call me at (408) 844-4851. I’m on PST. You can also visit my website, which is LifeAfterBullying.net or my YouTube channel. If you write to me, I will respond within 48 hours.