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Have a question or a privacy issue that you'd like us to investigate ? Send an to our editors with your comments.
In the latest installment of Ask the Expert, CEO Kent Lawson explains how different modes of information transmission are treated differently by the law. For example, the government needs a court order to look at your email, but not at your phone records or texts.
Click to read more and find out just what sensitive personal information Google may be handing over to the government about you. Best to assume you are being listened to or watched when doing anything online, indeed.
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Q: “I was dismayed to find out about Google’s new privacy policies that allow them to collect information when I use their products, such as Gmail. I like Gmail a lot and don’t really want to give it up, but I’m wondering if there are any alternatives that don’t invade my privacy. Do you have any suggestions?”
A: You bring up a good point. Many people use Gmail because it’s a good email program, but few people know how much information Google collects about them.
As I mentioned in a blog post a few months ago, the amount of information Google collects and stores on each user is quite staggering.
Google tracks and stores every email you send, as well as every Google search term, the content in every Google chat, every conversation on Google Voice, and every appointment you enter into their calendar, among other things. Even if you’re not logged into Google, they can still track information on you for up to six months.
As part of privacy changes they made a few months ago, if you use any Google products, you cannot opt out of this data collection.
The reason they do this is (no surprise) because of the money they can charge advertisers who want this information. They are betting that you won’t give up their products.
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The Obama Administration recently unveiled plans for a consumer privacy “bill of rights” that, at first glance, looks very promising.
The plan would give citizens more control over how their personal information is collected and used by online companies. It also sets standards regarding individual control, transparency, and accountability.
In a nutshell, this plan gives people the ability to opt out of having their personal data collected as well as forcing companies to adhere to clear and accessible privacy policies. Read More
Here is a link to a long, worthwhile, and eye-opening account of what happened when the author’s wife had her email account hacked. Featured in The Atlantic, the article discusses how “failure in one place meant potential failure of the system as a whole,” and because the victim had used her password in one vulnerable place, all of the electronic data that mattered to her was at risk.
The article also quotes a Google executive who explained, “We’d like people to view their information like the way they view other parts of their life. It’s a good practice to review your financial situation every so often, and it’s a good practice to review your passwords and online account information too.” Read More
It’s not always easy figuring out how an email or social media account got hacked, but did you know that at least 15% of victims recalled having used a public Internet terminal or public WiFi prior to the hack? Click the headline above to see an infographic and the results of a new online privacy survey that will definitely make you think twice before logging on — without protection — in a WiFi hotspot! Read More
Do you think about any “trade-offs” with stronger online privacy regulations? While the United States looks to the European Union for privacy ideas, Time magazine suggests that the EU’s privacy standards are associated with a 65% decrease in the effectiveness of online advertising. The article here says this is important because “advertising is how services like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and the rest pay for themselves.” Which begs the question: which is more important? Advertiser dollars or consumer privacy? Read More
According to this Bloomberg Businessweek article, Google’s chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt called Google an “identity service” or platform on which it can build other products. In other words, real names are more valuable to advertisers. Read More
If you haven’t taken a moment to determine whether your Sony account, Gmail, or PayPal accounts have been compromised, check out the simple tool on tech site Gizmodo.com. Just type in your email address and it will check for you.
Managing Your Google and Gmail Security
If you are like most gmail users, you probably store a lot of important personal information in your Google account. Also, your account probably contains a lot of other information such as photos, blogs, Read More
The movement of personal and business data to “the cloud” is attracting hackers who can exploit weaknesses in cloud-computing laws, and that’s why Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar plans to introduce a bill to make cloud computing a little safer. This article and video on a local CBS news affiliate explains that social media sites like Facebook and Gmail are among the most popular cloud services, storing data and programs on data centers connected through the cloud.
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