After announcing late last year that a slew of its hotels had been infected by malware, Hyatt has now identified the 250 properties that were affected — roughly 40% of its businesses in operation. Customers staying at those hotels who paid with a debit or credit card may have had their payment data and other information exposed to hackers, the chain said. [More]
Data & Privacy
When It Comes To Privacy, Some Americans Are Willing To Negotiate
By 1.14.16
We recently wrote about the apparent reluctance of drivers to join auto insurance programs that could save them money in exchange for giving up some of their privacy. While many people want little to do with this sort of tracking, there are still a large number of consumers who don’t take such a hardline stance and are willing to consider ceding their privacy if they receive some benefit in return. [More]
Make Sure Your Computer Is Powerful Enough For The Oculus Rift Before You Spend $599 On One
By 1.6.16
Oculus Rift Pre-Orders Start Jan. 6; Still No Price Listed
By 1.4.16
Two years after virtual reality startup Oculus blew away CES 2014 with the demo of its Oculus Rift VR headset — ultimately leading to Facebook buying the company for $2 billion in March 2014 — the consumer version of the Rift virtual reality headset is finally becoming an actual reality. [More]
Facebook Congratulates People Who Aren’t 46 On 46 Years Of Friendship With Their Friends
By 12.31.15
Friendship is great, and it should be celebrated. But Facebook is jumping the gun on honoring some of those relationships by dozens of years.
No, Mark Zuckerberg Is Not Giving Away Millions In Facebook Stock To People Who Copy, Paste Something
By 12.28.15
Have you ever heard of someone who was rewarded with millions of dollars just for copying and pasting text? It sounds like a hard job to get, because it is — it doesn’t exist. That’s why no one is going to get free shares of Facebook stock simply by slapping a chunk of text into a status message and posting it. You will, however, get more people to realize how gullible you are. [More]
Controversial Cybersecurity Bill Makes It Into Omnibus, Will Basically Be Law Any Minute Now
By 12.18.15
We are rapidly running out of 2015 left to spend, and so the two houses of Congress have been racing to pass an omnibus spending bill that will keep the government funded and the lights on. Because that bill is a must-pass piece of legislation, all kinds of crap has been added, taken away, and snuck back in as we come down to the wire. Among the other bills that have been tacked on is a controversial piece of cybersecurity legislation that has privacy and consumer advocates worried all around. [More]
That 40% Off All Kroger Purchases Coupon Circulating On Facebook Is Just A Big Fat Scam
By 12.17.15
File this one under things we’ve said a million times and will say as many times as it takes to keep all shoppers away from scammy things: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is… especially if it’s showing up all over Facebook. So it goes with the most recent coupon scam circulating social media, a fake Kroger coupon offering 40% off all store purchases. [More]
Snapfish Promises To Upgrade Some Christmas Card Orders, Customers Not Placated
By 12.16.15
In response to customers who are angry that they haven’t yet received their orders for photo Christmas cards and other time-sensitive items, photo-printing company Snapfish announced that they’ll be sending out some orders––specifically, photo cards printed on stationery paper–– with expedited shipping. Everyone else? You’ll have to wait in the customer service chat queue to be hung up on. [More]
Facebook Users Can Now Use The Messenger App To Hail A Ride
By 12.16.15
In its ongoing effort to keep Facebook users inside the Facebook universe at all times, the social media giant is adding a new feature to Messenger that will allow folks to hail a ride with Uber and other on-demand car services from within the app. [More]
Facebook Taking On Yelp, Angie’s List To Provide Users With Highly-Rated Professional Services
By 12.15.15
Finding a reliable service provider can be a test of patience for some consumers, despite sites like Angie’s List and Yelp that aim to connect customers with local professionals focused on repairs, installations, or other jobs around the house. Facebook thinks it has what it takes to make the quest for a dependable handyman, lawn care service, plumber, and other local businesses with its new “Professional Services” feature. [More]
Disney Decides To Be Evil Again, Re-Sends Copyright Takedown For Star Wars Figure Pic
By 12.11.15
This morning, it seemed like Disney had realized that sending copyright takedown notices for legally obtained and posted photos of Star Wars action figures was maybe not a good idea. But the Dark Side apparently has Mickey in its grips, as Disney continues to send takedown notices for copyright claims the company had already retracted. [More]
Facebook Adds Offline News Feed To Mobile App So You’ll Never Miss Another Baby Photo, Gym Status Again
By 12.10.15
You’re trapped on the subway, and the panic sets in: what is that high school acquaintance doing today? Is he/she going to the gym and THEN the grocery store or vice versa? Does your friend in Nevada’s baby like eating avocado upon first try or not? These questions will all be answered, now that Facebook is enabling an offline mode on its mobile app that allows users to browse their News Feeds even when their connection is slow or nonexistent. [More]
Facebook Pulls The Plug On Internal App Incubator, Creative Labs, And Three Underused Apps
By 12.8.15
After two years and probably thousands of ideas from employees on how to attract users via new programs and apps on the site, Facebook is shuttering its Creative Labs feature — and some of the programs that came out of it. [More]
Facebook Wants You Able To Live-Stream Whatever You’re Doing To Everyone You Know… Eventually
By 12.3.15
You can already use Facebook to sign in to locations, tell everyone what you think about them, post pictures of what you did there, leave reviews of how it went, and host video of all your shenanigans. So why not use it as a platform to live-stream your escapades too? [More]
Cable Company Decides To Shame Overdue Customers By Posting Names On Facebook
By 12.3.15
There are a lot of reasons you might fall behind on your cable bill — finances are tight, a medical emergency — or maybe, as we’ve heard all too often, the cable company screwed up and hasn’t properly credited your account. But even if you’re just a cheap jerk with no intention of ever paying your bill until they cut off service, that still doesn’t merit being called out publicly on Facebook. [More]
Toy Maker VTech Hires Cyber Forensic Team To Help Beef Up Security After Data Breach
By 12.3.15
After a data breach at popular kids’ toy maker VTech that put the personal information of nearly five million parents and children at risk, as well as reportedly exposing many of their photos and chat logs, the Hong Kong-based company says it’s bringing in the pros to help shore up its security. [More]
