Running Naked through the Internet category archive
The Cycle of “Sharing” 0
Yes, there is such a thing, and it doesn’t have to be–er–improper photographs.
Mark Leigh, 54, of Failsworth, said his two bicycles – worth £500 ($750) and £1,000 ($1,500) – were nicked shortly after he made his address and details of his bikes public on the popular biking app Strava, the Manchester Evening News reports.
The app includes an optional privacy setting that conceals the exact location of your home, but Leigh was not aware of this switch when he shared details of his bike rides via the software.
There’s a reason I keep the GPS in my cell phone turned off. Putting aside outlying possibilities such as the above, it’s nobody’s business which grocery stores I use.
No Place To Hide 0
The EFF explains its complaint about how Google spies on students using Google’s chromebook laptops. Here’s a bit (emphasis in the original):
In other words, when a student logs into their educational account, and then uses Google News to create a report on current events, or researches history using Google Books, or has a geography lesson using Google Maps, or watches a science video on YouTube, Google tracks that activity and feeds it into an ad profile attached to the student’s educational account—even though Google knows that the person using that account is a student, and the account was created for educational purposes.
The whole thing is worth a read, especially if you care about companies stripping you nekkid on the interwebs.
No Place To Hide 0
Computer security is always an afterthought when there’s money to be made.
(snip)
. . . US security researcher Matt Jakubowski discovered that when connected to Wi-Fi the doll was vulnerable to hacking, allowing him easy access to the doll’s system information, account information, stored audio files and direct access to the microphone.
Play it safe. Give your kid a Raggedy-Ann, not a Mata Hari Barbie.
Details at the link.
“The Listener at the Hearth” 0
In The Guardian, Rory Carroll muses on his experiences with the Amazon Echo, which is sort of a stand-alone Siri. He suspects that it is compiling a list and checking it twice. Here’s a snippet:
I am a long-time fan of H. P. Lovecraft. Granted, his plots have a certain sameness about them, but no writer I’ve encountered is more adept at creating atmosphere.
On wonders what horrors he could have imagined had he ever conceived of the Amazon Echo (or even Siri, for that matter).
No Place To Hide 0
Warning: Language.
And, in other news of running naked through the internet,
The feature is being tested on Australian users first, with iOS to arrive by the end of the week, and if they don’t grab pitchforks and torches, The Social NetworkTM threatens promises to take it to the US soon.
The pic-scanning isn’t restricted to photos you’ve already uploaded to Facebook – the app scans your phone’s photo collection for new images, and will raise a dialogue asking if you want to post it to your friends.
Facebook Frolics 0
Remember folks, the internet is a public place. You can get your pocket picked there just as surely as you can get it picked in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
No Place To Hide 0
Support the EFF. Click the link on the sidebar, over there.——>
The Internet Is a Public Place 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., laments the end of privacy (and of common sense).
“In the Navy, You Can Sail the Seven Seas” 0
I think it’s damned shame that Ashley Madison got cracked, because cracking is bad. It is bad in and of itself.
I also know temptation, but I can attest that I never signed up for temptation–I waited for it to come to me.
I am struggling with a conflict between principle and schadenfreude, and I fear that, at least on an emotional level, schadenfreude is winning.
Sharing a Cell (Phone) 0
Afterthought:
No matter how many times they change their name, they are still and forever Southwestern Bell, renowned for their execrable customer service.
How Stuff Works, No Place To Hide Dept. 0
In my local rag, Tom Allen recounts when he realized that we do indeed live in the naked city.
Why have I been unable to get the 1980s hit, “I Always Feel Like…Somebody’s Watching Me,” out of my head?
Follow the link and read the rest, especially the bit about his conversation with a Mad Man friend of his in the con artist advertising biz.
Facebook Frolics 0
In my local rag, Elizabeth Simpson describes what happened when she changed her profile picture on the Zuckerborg:
Sooner or later, I had to align my social media profile with the real me.
(snip)
Suddenly Olay anti-aging ads were popping up.
More tales of tracking cookies at the link.
In related news, Jeffrey Gillespie muses on the self-deception of “social networking.” Here’s a snippet:
“It’s No Secret How Weird My Love Is for You” 0
. . . not if it’s on the innerwebs.
Facebook Frolics 0
One more time, teach yourself that the internet is a public place.