FACEBOOK TWITTER
SHARE

receive privacy industry news

Email:

questions + feedback

Have a question or a privacy issue that you'd like us to investigate ? Send an to our editors with your comments.

cookies


Cookies and Politics: Are Political Campaigns Tracking You?

Posted on Monday, October 29th, 2012 by

Have you ever wondered whether political parties are placing tracking cookies on your computer when you visit their websites?

This worries me, because I don’t want to be tracked by anyone, so I dug deeper to find out what exactly they are tracking.

As you probably know by now, online advertisers place cookies on your computer so they can track which websites you visit. Based on the websites you visit, they serve you relevant ads.

Political parties use similar tracking cookies in an effort to help sway your vote. So yes, you are being tracked by one or both campaigns if you visit their websites and do not employ cookie-blocker software.

It’s called data mining, and it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that most people don’t even know is happening. And advertisers, as well as the political campaigns, want to keep it that way.

Let’s take a look at how and why they do it.

  Read More

Tags: , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

Google Fined $22 Million for Disregarding Browser Privacy Settings

Posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 by

Did anyone else catch the very busy Twitter chat about the FTC’s fine against Google?

It can be found by using the #FTCpriv hashtag, and the chat centered on the Federal Trade Commission’s $22.5 million fine to settle charges that Google circumvented privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser.

While some privacy advocates are excited by the ruling, others say that it amounts to a little more than a slap on the wrist. Read More

Tags: , , , , , ,

1 COMMENT
  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

FTC, Facebook Settle Online Privacy, Deceptive Advertising Dispute

Posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 by

Ever had the frustrating experience of discovering your so-called “private” photo album on Facebook has been made public for all the world to see? Well, here’s a bit of good news.

On Friday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission finally reached its long-awaited privacy settlement with Facebook, resolving charges that Facebook deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.

This concludes a long saga between the FTC and Facebook, and although Facebook admitted no wrong-doing, the FTC pressed on with its case for months. What were some of the privacy offenses? Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

1 COMMENT
  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

‘Do Not Track’ On by Default in Internet Explorer 10

Posted on Monday, August 13th, 2012 by

Microsoft has good news for users concerned with Internet privacy. They recently announced that the Do Not Track option will be turned on by default for users of Internet Explorer 10.

This decision may not seem like a big deal, but it is. The Do Not Track option has been around for five years and while some online advertisers have promised to respect it, because it has not been a system default, few consumers have turned it on and thus advertisers were not very concerned about it.

Microsoft’s decision to make Do Not Track a system default may abruptly change all of that. Read More

Tags: , , , , , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

Ask the Expert: Twitter Opts In to Allowing You to Opt Out

Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2012 by

Q: “I recently heard that Twitter was implementing the Do Not Track feature for its users. This sounds good, but I don’t really know much about it. Can you tell me more about Do Not Track?”

Twitter should be applauded for putting our privacy before their profits.

While the Do Not Track feature is not the only thing we should be using to protect our online privacy, it’s important that a social media company like Twitter supports robust privacy tools. The Do Not Track feature is one of those tools.

First, let’s take a look at the Do Not Track feature and its pros and cons. Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

The Shady World of Data Brokers: How to Remove Your Sensitive Information From Their Databases

Posted on Monday, May 14th, 2012 by

Did you know that there is an entire industry devoted to buying and selling your personal information?

This includes your current and past addresses, your age, the names of your neighbors, and your purchase history, among other things.

The companies that compile and sell this information are called data brokers. It is a huge industry, but most people don’t even know that it exists. And data brokers would like to keep it that way. Read More

Tags: , , , , ,

1 COMMENT
  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

Ask the Expert: Does Secure Browsing Really Keep Me Safe On Twitter and LinkedIn?

Posted on Monday, April 2nd, 2012 by

Q: I have an active Twitter feed and occasionally use LinkedIn for work purposes, but I am unfamiliar with how those sites secure my privacy. I read that both sites have introduced “secure browsing” but what exactly does that mean, and how is it keeping me safer?

A: A secure website has “https” in its URL and has a small lock symbol next to it. It’s used by most banks and online retailers to provide secure transactions. Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 COMMENT
  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

Got Personal VPN? Cisco Highlights Major Privacy Vulnerabilities of Wifi Hotspots

Posted on Monday, March 12th, 2012 by

From session hijacking to session sidejacking, do you know all your vulnerable points in wifi hotspots?

If not, check out a new white paper from Cisco called “The Future of Hotspots: Making Wi-Fi as Secure and Easy to Use as Cellular.”

We have warned about these kinds of hotspot attacks for years, but it is significant that Cisco agrees with our analysis. After all, Cisco is the largest manufacturer of wifi equipment, having shipped 10 million wifi access points to customers.

If they are saying that wifi hotspots are inherently vulnerable to attacks, you can be sure that they know what they are talking about. Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

‘Your AdChoices’ — Are Targeted Ads Good for You or Not?

Posted on Monday, January 30th, 2012 by

Does targeted advertising benefit you — or hurt your privacy?

The Digital Advertisers Alliance, a group made up of the nation’s leading media and marketing trade associations, recently launched a public education campaign called “Your AdChoices” aimed at letting the public know about why targeted online advertising (or what they call interest-based advertising) is a good thing.

The DAA has spent the last few years developing online data collection best practices for the advertising industry, called the Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. Read More

Tags: , , , , , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE

Google’s ‘Good to Know’ Campaign Touts Online Privacy

Posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Google has launched its “Good to Know” advertising campaign to help educate consumers about how to protect themselves online. Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

  • TweetTWEET
  • PrintPrint
  • emailemail
    • SHARE