Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You

June 13, 2014: This story has been updated. It was originally published on March 7, 2013. We've spent a lot of time this past year trying to understand how the National Security Agency gathers and stores information about ordinary people. But there's also a thriving public marketfor data on individual Americans—especially data about the things we buy and might want to buy. Consumer data companies are scooping up huge amounts of consumer information about people around the world and selling it, providing marketers details about whether you're pregnant or divorced or trying to lose weight, about how rich you are and what kinds of cars you drive. The Federal Trade Commission is pushing the companies to give consumers more information and control over what happens to their data. It's very hard to tell who is collecting or sharing your data—or what kinds of information companies are collecting. Here's a look at what we know—and what we don't—about the consumer data industry. Actually, they do.

Google privacy policy changes: How to keep your web history private - simple 3-step solution By Julian Gavaghan Updated: 13:33 GMT, 29 December 2012 Even though Google's controversial new privacy policy is now 'live', you can still defend yourself against the search giant's prying eyes. Google will now use your web browsing history as part of a 'profile' it builds on all signed-in Google users - and removing this information will limit the extent to which Google records your every move - including your embarrassing secrets. Here's how: 1. 2. 3. Although disabling web history will not prevent Google from gathering and storing this information and using it for internal purposes, it does mean the Web giant will anonymise the data in 18 months. It will also prevent it from certain kinds of uses, including sending you customised search results. If you don't sign in, Google will track your searches via the computer's IP address. While it is not known exactly how Google would use your combined information, the policy has been widely criticised.

Protéger sa vie privée dans Internet et les réseaux sociaux Photo: iStock Seulement Facebook ? On ne peut plus parler de vie privée dans Internet sans évoquer constamment Facebook. 1- Il n’y a pas de renseignements banals Le nom de votre mère, votre date d’anniversaire, votre lieu de naissance… Ces renseignements que vous publiez ou que vous ajoutez à votre profil d’utilisateur semblent bien innocentes, mais en les croisant, on peut faire beaucoup. Pour vous permettre de récupérer un mot de passe perdu, par exemple, plusieurs sites utilisent une question personnelle comme « Quel est le nom de votre mère ? 2- Ne vous surestimez pas. Lors d’une étude conduite par Caroline Vallet, tous les jeunes de moins de 18 ans interrogés ont affirmé qu’ils trouvaient les paramètres de confidentialité de Facebook faciles à utiliser. « Savent-ils vraiment si bien les utiliser, ou sont-ils plutôt inconscients ? Après tout, ces réglages changent souvent et sont parfois difficiles à trouver et à déchiffrer. 3- Les amis de vos amis sont-ils vraiment vos amis ?