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In the age of cloud computing, technology companies decide which programs users can load on to their smart phones, while Facebook sells personal data to other companies to use. Internet users need to swim against the stream if they want to protect their privacy. The World Wide Web, developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990 as a system for publishing and viewing information, is slowly being transformed into a system of remote computing. It will store your data, and data about you, often limiting your access to it but allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) access at any time.
Internet Privacy: Resist the Temptations of the Cloud! - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
I Flunked My Social Media Background Check. Will You?
Your next job application could require a social media background check. Odds are, you have no clue what that means. Nobody does. It's new and scary and probably scours the Web for pictures of you puking on the beach.
PC rental store hid secret spy hardware in laptop, suit says • The Register
A Wyoming couple has filed a federal lawsuit claiming a computer they purchased came with secret spying hardware that allowed the seller to monitor their every move. According to the complaint, Brian and Crystal Byrd first learned of the snoop device when they received a visit at home from a manager of the local Aaron's rent-to-own store falsely claiming they hadn't made required payments on their Dell Inspiron laptop. During the conversation, manager Christopher Mendoza said he had a photo of Mr. Byrd using the computer and as proof showed a picture that had been taken remotely using an off-the-shelf device called PC Rental Agent . “When Brian Byrd demanded that Mendoza explain how Mendoza had obtained an unauthorized photograph, Mendoza responded that he was not supposed to disclose that Aaron's had the photograph,” the complaint, filed on Tuesday in US District Court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, alleged.
Twitter and Facebook can be powerful tools for reporting on important events, including the uprisings in Egypt’s Tahrir Square and the raid that killed Osama bin Laden — but they can also become a powerful tool for surveillance as well, as the police and government authorities in Egypt and other countries have shown. What happens when we turn these tools of public surveillance on one another? We got a glimpse of that in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Wednesday, after the final game in the NHL playoffs, when citizens started posting photos of themselves rioting in the streets — and it’s a glimpse of a future some would rather not see. As the riots were occurring, with hundreds of people reportedly injured and cars and buildings burned and looted, photos of those involved in the incidents started showing up on Twitter and on other social networks such as Facebook and Tumblr.
Social media brings out the snitch in all of us — Tech News and Analysis
Making websites accessible and secure
ScienceDaily (June 17, 2011) — Website CAPTCHA technology used to protect sites from hackers, bots and spammers is making those same sites inaccessible to many potential users, according to a survey of 150 typical online forums and other sites. Details of the findings are reported this month in the International Journal of Web Based Communities. CAPTCHA stands for "completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart." These are computer-generated checks that attempt to determine whether a visitor is a legitimate user or a potentially malicious computer script favoured by hackers and spammers.
Mobile Location Privacy a Hot Topic on Capitol Hill
An effort to ensure consumers know how their mobile location data is being used and shared is underway on Capitol Hill, with a bipartisan bill now making its way through Congress. Called the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Ac t, the bill was written by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). The bill was simultaneously introduced in both the House and Senate today. It aims to codify how companies may use and share data, as well as giving consumers more power in consenting to such tracking.US, France, UK Declare War on Freedom of the Web
It's official now. The signs had been there for a while now. While the west bangs on about the importance of freedom and democracy, they don't actually want anyone to have too much of it.
Military Police officials from Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which will both host key games in the World Cup, have been given demonstrations of how the device works. Major Leandro Pavani Agostini, of Sao Paulo's Military Police, said: "It's something discreet because you do not question the person or ask for documents. The computer does it.
Brazilian police to use 'Robocop-style' glasses at World Cup - Telegraph
Online Identity
Anonymity has real value, both in comments and elsewhere — Tech News and Analysis
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Review the updates here . By continuing to use the site, you are agreeing to our updated Privacy Policy and Terms of Service .
The question of privacy lies at, or just beneath, the surface of a huge range of contemporary policy disputes.
Databuse: Digital Privacy and the Mosaic - Brookings Institution
Google Won't Release Awesome Facial Recognition App - PCWorld
Google has created a facial recognition app that can provide all kinds of personal information on the people around you, but says it's not releasing the technology due to privacy concerns. CNN reported that facial recognition would be a part of Google Goggles , an existing feature of Google's Search app that uses smartphone cameras to recognize objects, scan barcodes, translate text and even solve Sudoku puzzles . The facial recognition feature can associate people with social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and provide other publicly-available information.Privacy & Security Incidents
Edit Your Browser's AutoFill or AutoComplete--and Protect Your Credit Cards | PCWorld
Tom Guthrie wants to selectively remove the usernames, passwords, and other bits of text from his browser's AutoFill--or AutoComplete--feature. I love the way that modern browsers automatically fill in these fields, although some fields I'd rather they left unfilled. I don't trust a browser with the password for a retail or banking site, and I'm certainly not happy when one offers to fill in my credit card number. This one is very simple.The New York Times reported that Facebook would provide users with a downloadable archive containing many types of data that the company stores about users. Although the new archive contains more user information than Facebook first offered in 2010, Max Schrems, the German law student and founder of Europe v. Facebook , said that Facebook is still only providing 39 of 84 data categories. EPIC called on Facebook to give users full access to all of the data that the company keeps about them through EPIC’s Know What They Know campaign. In comments on a settlement between Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission, EPIC recommended that the FTC require Facebook to give users full access to their data.