Our Revealing Browsers

Some thoughts about browsing history forensics and our mental state

During every digital forensic examination I conduct, it is almost always an individual’s web browsing activity that provides the most leads. By analyzing specific data, cached pages, and images, you can learn almost everything you need to know about a person - their interests, who they are curious about, if they are sick or not, and most important, what they are thinking about. As a matter of fact, because most humans don’t have a better memory than hard drives, sometimes I learn more about them than they know about themselves - or at least that they can remember.

Instead of making this a long article about your privacy and how you can protect it, I am going to get right to the point. Forget about Donald Trump for a minute, and take your mind off of North Korea if you think that is an issue. And last but not least, drop the statue argument for a minute, for I can promise you we have bigger problems.
Imagine if you could look at the search data for everyone on the planet. What do you think you would find? The answer is that you will see all sorts of interesting things, but more than anything, you will learn that we are very sick. And unfortunately, I am referring to our brains, and ultimately, our inability to make meaningful connections with each other. One of my favorite mottos has always been, “leave no man behind.” With this in mind, I think we are all failing. And regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation, we are failing each other.

About 10% of all queries typed into search engines are related to health, and lots and lots of those have something to do with depression. We now have Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, and other store-based pharmacies on every street corner, and they are all dispensing antidepressants at an unprecedented rate. And why? Because a very large percentage of this country is down.
In 2017, we have technology that connects every single person on the planet in ways never before imagined. But many are still feeling lost, and worse - alone. We have the best medical treatment and longest survival rate in history, yet many of those added years will be spent being depressed. Every time you go to the store, I guarantee many of the people you walk by are sad, have no desire, and are probably busy questioning their worth.

The mental state of this country is our greatest issue - by far. I also know that we live in a world where everyone has the opportunity to help everyone else, but for the most part, people only do things if they get something in return. We are all connected and have more ways to converse than ever before, yet we talk less. I see a lot of memes, funny videos, and people complaining about things they have no control over, but I hardly ever see any “real” talking. Ultimately, we are connecting less, not more.

I have thought long and hard about this issue, and although I don’t know the exact answer, I believe it started with 9/11. On that day, millions and millions of people lost their innocence. It was the day that many began questioning why, what, and how? It was the day that literally changed the thickness of the air outside - a thickness so heavy that it began to weigh everyone down. When I walk outside, I can still see this thickness. And when I am searching browsing history, I see it there too.

Unfortunately, most people concentrate on our president and what he is doing wrong. Perhaps we should ask ourselves what we are doing wrong, and most important, how we can start helping each other.

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Michael Arleigh Richardson

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Technology expert focused on cybersecurity, privacy, identity theft, and cyber risk.

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