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Facebook Graph Search: The Good, The Bad and The Scary

Posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 by

Facebook has always had issues when it comes to privacy. Each time the social media giant comes out with a new feature, it seems there is an uproar by privacy advocates about the implications and potential security issues. This took place with the Timeline switch, the sponsored stories debacle, and now one of Facebook’s newest features, Graph Search, is in the hot seat.

Let’s take a closer look at this new tool and find out what it is, why you would use it, and how to protect yourself from its prying eyes. Read More

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Trends and Predictions For Identity Theft in 2013

Posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2013 by

With 2013 stretching out in front of us, we asked our friends at the ITRC to share their predictions about the big security issues we may expect to see. Click to find out their surprising predictions and how to protect yourself this year. Read More

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Netflix and Facebook: A Privacy Issue?

Posted on Monday, January 14th, 2013 by

Last month we published a blog post that detailed how that the U.S. government is currently capturing and storing all your emails in huge data warehouses and can use it against you whenever they feel like it.

Just a few weeks ago, lawmakers removed an important provision to the Video Privacy Protection Act that would have required the government to seek a warrant before accessing these emails.

Click to read more. Read More

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Remain Vigilant to Avoid Falling for Election Scams

Posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 by

It is nearing November during a presidential election year and that means that there are abundant opportunities for identity thieves to take advantage of Americans.

During the height of the political discourse, scam artists will use the public’s interest in the campaigns against them by luring in victims to scams by baiting them with politically related hooks. These criminals know that this is a good time to try to scam people and will be out in full force trying to trick and deceive consumers into giving away their
personal and financial information.

Like any other important event, scam artists use the presidential election as a ruse for their criminal activity.

Read on to learn about past scams — and how to protect yourself today. Read More

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Childhood Identity Theft: What Parents Need to Know About COPPA Rights

Posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 by

Parents, are you taking advantage of your COPPA rights?

After all, your child’s sensitive personal information is extremely valuable. But you have to know your rights before you can start to protect your child’s online identity and security. But nowadays, where to begin?

Lately it seems that children are born and have their entire lives documented online — first it’s by parents uploading newborn photos (along with child’s name and birth date!) to Instagram and Facebook (all of the photos shared with dodgy security settings at best).

Next it’s uploading innocent home videos to YouTube that expose not just a glimpse into the family home, but also potentially reveal personal details like home address, where and when you take vacations, when you celebrate birthdays, and with whom, along with the names, faces, and approximate ages of every family member (why not have the camera zoom in on recent bank statements to make a cybercrook’s job that much easier?).

Read more to learn ways to protect your family — and which popular websites are taking advantage of your child’s personal information.

  Read More

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Privacyfix: Locking Down How Google and Facebook Profit From Our Data

Posted on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 by

Have you heard about Privacyfix?

If this string of tweets on the day it launched is any indication, the Privacyfix extension may be the solution to some of our biggest privacy worries when it comes to Google, Facebook, and online tracking.

“Default privacy settings on sites like Facebook are revenue- driven, not privacy-driven,” explains PrivacyFix founder Jim Brock. “Privacyfix puts you back in control of your data.” Read More

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‘Consumer Reports’ Unveils More Ways That Scam Artists Use Technology to Rip People Off

Posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 by

It’s already painfully obvious that identity thieves and cyber crooks are getting better at coming up with ways to rip us off. While it’s easy to feel one step ahead by using a personal VPN like Private WiFi and installing the most updated antivirus and firewall software on the market, sometimes we do, well, dumb things.

And thieves are hoping they can pounce when we’re not paying attention, cleverly exploiting all kinds of new technology to find fresh ways to steal our financial identity. Read on to find out why Consumer Reports says “fraud operates like a business these days.”

In fact, a new Consumer Reports study out this month reveals various ways hackers and crooks are using technology to steal from unsuspecting people. Read More

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Ask the Expert: Does Facebook Make Money Off Of What Happens On My Smartphone?

Posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2012 by

Ask the Expert: Does Facebook Make Money Off Of What Happens On My Smartphone?

Facebook seems like it is counting on the fact that you can’t tell the difference between “sponsored stories” and “sponsored” newsfeed posts, and that you won’t remember if you liked a product or company or not.

Right now, Facebook makes over $3 billion a year on advertising, but they’re always looking for ways to make more. How much do they need? Apparently, more than that. Read on for more details.

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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

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Generational Views On Privacy, Facebook, and Geo-Tagging: Who Owns Our Personal Information?

Posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2012 by

An article from Private WiFi’s CEO, Kent Lawson, raised interesting points about online privacy attitudes among younger people.

The article presented some interesting thoughts from Ella Hickson, a young playwright.

Ella notes she is more aware of the value of privacy and puts forth the idea that most of the younger generation thinks in terms of an “inner circle of friends” and “our public self.” Read More

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