Pseudonyms

TASK: Start using pseudonyms. This might seem disingenuous but consider it for a second. The simple example here is signing up for an email subscription to a newsletter you are interested in. If you sign up to a website to receive their regular newsletter then there is no need to use your real name. In fact try not to, they don't know or care, but by using a pseudonym you still get the service but you don't give away personal data.

WHY: Giving out your real name everywhere you go feels normal, it is expected, it is legacy old school behavior. But now our lives are online and rapidly we connect more and more "things" to the internet. Every time you setup an account to a new service, add a newsletter subscription, do shopping online or book a concert ticket they all ask you for your real name. Try to get used to using a nickname or a pseudonym the next time you sign up for a newsletter. Just try it. Anytime you end up on a database by adding your real details you increase your attack surface. If that database is breached, which is more a matter of when and not if, then more of your details are out there and available for abuse. Apps like mySudo can help with this. You can have your real identity for anything legal or government related, a pseudonym for online shopping, another for subscriptions, another for hobbies etc.