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The FBI is requesting back-door access to social media sites, as well as web email providers, and VoIP companies like Skype. Is it legal? Could it also open the door to hackers? Click to read the entire article and find out why the FBI wants an “easy” way to wiretap some online communications. Read More
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- New York’s Senator Schumer: Why He’s So Passionate About Wifi Privacy and Other Risky Business Online (Part 2)
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emailDo We Need a ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ On the Internet?
Posted on Monday, September 19th, 2011 by Kent Lawson
Like the proverbial elephant, the Internet never forgets. That youthful indiscretion or embarrassing party photograph can be around your neck forever. Actually, the issue is not so much that the Internet does not forget, but rather that it provides tools that allow virtually anything about you to be found. Blame Google, of course, but the various personal information services are quite a bit more insidious. Click the headline above to read more about the “right to be forgotten” online. Read More
ComScore Sued for Massive Online Privacy Violations, Called ‘Intrusive Surveillance Tool’
Posted on Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 by Elaine Rigoli
The online tracking and analytics firm comScore is being sued for allegedly collecting Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, and other data from unsuspecting consumers. As part of a class-action lawsuit, comScore’s software is labeled an “intrusive surveillance tool” that allowed the company to monitor every keystroke and every action taken by Internet users. To collect data, according to this ComputerWorld article, comScore’s software “modifies a computer’s firewall settings, redirects Internet traffic, and can be upgraded and controlled remotely.” Read More
Why Hackers Are Snooping on Drivers Who Text
Posted on Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 by Elaine Rigoli
Computer hackers can force some cars to unlock their doors and start their engines without a key by sending specially crafted messages to a car’s anti-theft system. They can also snoop at where you’ve been by tapping the car’s GPS system. Find out why this is possible in this Yahoo! Finance article, which also says such attacks are possible on a variety of other devices that use wireless communications chips. Those include ATMs, medical devices, and even traffic lights. Read More
How Hard Is It to Hack Wifi?
Posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011 by Kent Lawson
CEO Kent Lawson points out how incredibly easy it is for ordinary people to hack WiFi. It doesn’t take any tech expertise — it doesn’t even take a geek — for someone to access your email passwords, logins, and other highly sensitive data. Read on to learn how this is happening — perhaps even to you! Read More
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Online Reputation: What the Search Giants Know About You, Part 2
Posted on Monday, June 27th, 2011 by Kent Lawson
In the second part of his article, CEO Kent Lawson concludes his look into managing online reputations and what you can do if some of the information you read about yourself is false or defamatory. Read More
Android Smartphone Users: Avoid Public Wifi Networks
Posted on Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
Three computer researchers say they have discovered a major privacy flaw with Android smartphones that may lead to attacks over unencrypted WiFi networks. This article on CNN points out that “users of Android devices running versions 2.3.3 and below could be susceptible to attack when they are connected to unencrypted WiFi networks. Anyone else on that network could gain access to, modify or delete Android users’ calendars, photos, and contacts.” Just 3% of Android users have the latest versions of the operating system, but a Google spokesperson says the company is working on fixing the problems for all users. Read More
Online Safety: Human Behavior Quirks and Why Your Digital Privacy Matters
Posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Why is it that most people don’t care about online privacy? According to this article on MSNBC, “the usual way to grab attention to the topic is to trot out privacy nightmares, such as the secret dossiers that hundreds of companies keep on you (they do), the man who was accused of arson because his grocery store records showed he purchased fire starters (he was), or the idea that a potential employer may one day pass on you because your musical tastes suggest you will be late to work three time per week (they could).” Read on to discover even more interesting privacy facts, human behavior quirks, and what can change to ensure better consumer privacy.
Do You Read the Fine Print of Online Privacy Policies?
Posted on Friday, April 15th, 2011
This ComputerWorld article explores the meaning behind several privacy policies and what you’re really agreeing to when you scan the “fine print” of a website that asks for a user’s permission. After all, everything you do online is “out there” for others to potentially access — every retail purchase and Facebook update could potentially fall into the wrong hands. The article shares several steps to take, noting that “good privacy policies will also spell out whether a service tracks your activities and sells that information to third parties–and they’ll state what happens to your data should you terminate the service.”
Do Not Track and Online Privacy: Mozilla’s CEO Speaks About Protecting Consumers
Posted on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs said technological tools are better than government regulation when safeguarding users’ privacy online. “I never rely on the government to lead something, it just takes too long. Capitalism works,” he said in the interview. As for online privacy, he said it “has taken on new urgency as more aspects of our identities — from our movie preferences to our relationships to our purchases — migrate to the web.”