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privacy
privacy
How I Maneuvered Through The Walmart Receipt Check Gauntlet
(oamg823)
Jeff says he did what many dream about but few accomplish -- he kept his receipt hidden from Walmart snoops at the expense despite stiff resistance. More »
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Free "How To Be Invisible" Download In Exchange For Your Email Address
J.J. Luna, a former security consultant turned author, released a guide ten years ago that showed readers how get rid of paper and digital trails. The subject matter is probably a little too paranoid for most of our readers, but it overlaps with issues we talk about all the time here, like identity theft and online security. He's just released a revised version, so he's giving away the 2000 edition in PDF format for free. Well, in exchange for your email address. More »
Woman Accuses Dell Tech Support Of Launching Her Webcam Without Permission
(Photo: NBC-2)
I always keep a little sticker over the webcam lens on my netbook when I'm not using it, because I don't trust that I know enough about computers to be 100% confident my webcam is off when I want it to be off. And if you think that's being too paranoid, look at what happened to Dianne Annunziato earlier this month when she called a Dell support line for help with her laptop. More »
Shed What's Left Of Your Financial Privacy On Blippy
(Photo: Morton Fox)
Spotted by this CNN story, social networking site Blippy lets you broadcast your purchases to interested parties, while letting you keep track of others' buys as well. Think of it as a financial Twitter. More »
AT&T Randomly Logs You Into Someone Else's Facebook Account
(Photo:Todd Kravos)
A glitch at AT&T is causing some mobile phone used to be randomly shuffled into other people's Facebook accounts. Apparently the carrier has confused which phones should be logged into which accounts. Whoops. More »
Classmates Says It Will Prostitute Your Info To Other Sites
(Photo: Classmates)
Pete forwarded us an email from the social networking site Classmates, which apparently is attempting to stay relevant by spreading your information around the internet to sites people actually visit. At least users can opt out. More »
Your Medical Records: Ask For Them!
(Photo: brykmantra)
Hospitals can be slow to respond for health records, writes CNN, which can cause serious problems if you're moving a patient from one facility to another. Here are steps from that article on how to make sure you get your data as quickly as possible. More »
Hey Stores! How About Offering Some Cash Back With That Receipt Check?
(Photo: Ryan McFarland)
In the comments to our most recent receipt check story, I noticed a reader argued that as long as the store wasn't willing to reimburse him for his time, he wasn't willing to give it to them. It makes sense; nothing in the marketplace is free, right? Why shouldn't consumers be compensated for bag searches and receipt checks?
Another reader, Adam, suggested a similar idea in his email to us this morning. In fact, he thinks maybe the exiting-the-store moment could be a chance to make a little extra cash. More »
Another reader, Adam, suggested a similar idea in his email to us this morning. In fact, he thinks maybe the exiting-the-store moment could be a chance to make a little extra cash. More »
Anonymous Facebook Employe Says Network Keeps Track Of Whom You Stalk Most
(Photo: icodowd)
In an interview with an unnamed Facebook employee, the Rumpus revealed some disconcerting revelations about the privacy, or lack thereof, in the social network. The most eye-popping of these is that Facebook keeps track of the profiles you click on the most. More »
Facebook Founder Says People Don't Even Want Privacy
Mark Zuckerberg thinks you don't even really care about your privacy anymore because the "social norm" has changed. This makes it OK for his company to change the privacy settings of 350 million users. More »
Best Buy Enters Customer's Home Without Permission
(Photo: emdot)
Michelle says that she explicitly told Best Buy's delivery guys that she was 8 minutes away and that they were not to enter her home (her teenage son was there alone) until she arrived. Guess what she saw when she pulled up? More »
Closeted Lesbian Sues Netflix For Potential Outing
(Photo: *Greig*)
Here's the problem with anonymized data: if it were truly anonymized, it wouldn't be useful to anyone for anything. With enough data about a person--say, their age, gender, and zip code--it's not hard to narrow down who someone is. That's the idea behind a class-action lawsuit against Netflix regarding the customer data they released to the public as part of the Netflix Prize project, a contest to help create better movie recommendations. A closeted lesbian alleges that the data available about her could reveal her identity. More »
How Cons Steal Your ATM Card
The Real Hustle shows two methods fraudsters can use to jack your ATM card and PIN. The first is the skimming method most of us are familiar with. The second is a lo-tech distraction-based method that, while interesting, seems a little higher risk than most card thieves are willing to put up with. More »
This Chase Customer Service Rep Is An Impenetrable Fortress
(Photo: The U.S. Army)
Stephanie just encountered a Chase CSR who I'm pretty sure will never fall victim to social engineering, and who would likely be unbreakable in a courtroom cross-examination, too. Of course, in Stephanie's situation this just means that the CSR refuses to help her in any way at all, which isn't the kind of thing you hope to find when you call customer service. More »
The Truth About Walmart's Super-Secret Data Center
Reader humphrmi thinks he knows what's up with Walmart's giant unmarked datacenter, photos of which we posted recently. It's a truth SO REVEALING that it may make you go, "Oh, that makes sense."
Facebook Will Let You Determine Privacy Levels For Each Update
(Photo: gary j wood)
The next time you don't get that job because someone in HR saw your Facebook pics of you at the weekend cosplay orgy, you'll have only yourself to blame. (But not for the orgy, which sounded like a really good idea at the time.) Starting soonish--it's being rolled out now--you'll have the ability to set privacy levels for each status update. That sound you hear is the collective wail of moms everywhere who are about to be shut out of the more salacious aspects of their kids' lives. More »
Flyby And Driveby Photos Of Walmart's Super-Secret Data Center
Have you ever seen these crazy Walmarts ginormous data center in Missouri? Airplanes and the Google Maps Streetview car have. Dubbed, "Area 71," the facility is built on bedrock so it can withstand numerous kind of disasters. Four years ago, their Bentonville, Arkansas HQ was said to have 460+ terabytes of storage. This is an auxilary facility in Missouri, located 15 miles from their HQ. It's gotta have something in the peta or exabytes. Wonder what they use all that for? More pix inside. Leave your crackpot conspiracy theories in the comments.
Depressed Lady Loses Benefits Because Of Her Facebook Photos
A depressed woman has lost her benefits because her insurance agent found Facebook photos where she appears to be having fun. More »
10 Confessions Of A Telemarketing Insider
Out of the shadows steps a dark figure, sporting wrinkled khakis, a retractable namebadge, and a headset dangling from his ear. It's the telermarketing insider, and he's going to confess to you how his industry really works and how you can resist and even fight back: More »
Your Credit Report Isn't The Only Report You Should Monitor
When an insurer decides whether to offer you a new policy, or whether to raise rates on a current one, he most likely pulls a CLUE report that lists any homeowner or automobile insurance loss claims (or sometimes even just inquiries) that you've made over the past 3-7 years. Hopefully you monitor your consumer credit report for errors, but as you can see, that's not the only one you should keep an eye on. More »
