Running Naked through the Internet category archive
No Place To Hide 0
Thom discusses our culture of institutionalized spying and the loss of privacy.
Facebook Frolics 0
Germany suggests the Facebook is being intrusive. I’m shocked, shocked, I say.
“We are mostly concerned about the collection of data outside Facebook’s social network and the merging of this data into a user’s Facebook account,” said Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt.
He noted that this data gathering “even happens when, for example, a user does not press a ‘like button’ but has called up a site into which such a button is embedded.” Visiting a webpage with a Facebook ‘like’ button on it phones homes some info about the netizen to the Mark-Zuckerberg-run business, in other words.
Facebook Frolics 0
In case you ever wondered why I seldom use Facebook and why, when I do, I do so only in “private” or “incognito” mode, the reason is quite simple.
The Zuckerborg makes the NSA look like amateurs.
The Internet of Targets 0
If you are thinking of getting internet enabled doo-dads for Christmas for yourself or others, check Mozilla’s report, “Privacy Not Included.”
Via Bruce Schneier.
There’s an App for That 0
Thom speaks on several off-beat topics, then discusses how your smartphone spies on you. The relevant portion starts at the five-minute mark.
Magic from the Magic Kingdom 0
El Reg reports that Disney is being sued:
“In other words, the ability to serve behavioral advertisements to a specific user no longer turns upon obtaining the kinds of data with which most consumers are familiar (email addresses, etc), but instead on the surreptitious collection of persistent identifiers, which are used in conjunction with other data points to build robust online profiles,” the suit claims.
I wonder whether their defense will be, “All the other kids are doing it.”
Naked Is the Best Only Disguise . . .
0
. . . if your data is in the hands of the Republican National Committee and its symps, dupes, and fellow travelers.
“Next on the Auction Block . . . You!” 0
The Republican Party strips your browsing habits nekkid. El Reg comments on the recent bill to allow your ISP to sell you to the highest bidder (emphasis added):
Your ISP already knows quite a lot about you: your name and address, quite possibly your age, and a host of other personally identifiable information such as your social security number. That’s on the customer information side. On the service side, they know which websites you visit, when, and how often.
That information can be used to build a very detailed picture of who you are: what your political and sexual leanings are; whether you have kids; when you are at home; whether you have any medical conditions; and so on – a thousand different data points that, if they have sufficient value to companies willing to pay for them, will soon be traded without your knowledge.
There may be a bright side. Perhaps someone will leak Congresscritters’ browsing histories.
Picture This 0
Phishers have been snaring the sharing:
Security researchers have discovered 13 new Instagram credential-stealing apps on Google Play.
The malicious apps, which pose as tools for either managing or boosting Instagram follower numbers, are actually designed to phish for Instagram credentials. The stolen credentials allow hackers to abuse compromised accounts in order to distribute spam and ads, enriching crooks in the process.
Altogether the malicious apps have been installed by up to 1.5 million users, software security firm ESET reports.
The applications have been removed from the Play Store.
Details at the link.
No Place To Hide 0
It’s probably not a good idea to fly blindly into a cloud just because you can.
No Place To Hide 0
More news from the IoT (that’s “Internet of Targets,” per Tom Lawrence).
Listeners 0
We invite these gadgets into our homes without a thought to the implications.
Here’s another lawyer’s opinion (more at the link):
You know what the Echo is not? Your wife. I don’t care how sexy the Echo voice is, you have no marital privilege with it. Your expectation of privacy when telling Echo to unlock the murder room should be no more than your expectation of privacy when writing down “I’ma kill that fool” in your diary.
No Place To Hide 0
Click to see the image at its original location.
Aside:
I am cautious about who wants to collect all my data on the inner webs, but I realize I must deal with them in today’s world. The alternative is to cut your shoes off, learn to play the flute, and live in a tree.
Google is more trustworthy than many of its counterparts. One indication of this is that their TOS are in (at least relatively) plain language and short enough to display on one webpage.
(Open tag fixed.)
No Place To Hide 0
In the snares of the snaring economy:
Spangenberg, who was hired by Uber in March 2015 as a forensic investigator, goes on to say, “Uber collected data regarding every ride a user requested, their username, the location the ride was requested from, the amount they paid, the device used to request the ride, the name and email of the customer, and a myriad of other data that the user may or may not know they were even providing Uber by requesting a ride.”
And that’s just for starts.
Uber, natch, is shocked! just shocked! that anyone would think there is gambling in their establishment . . . .