The makers of one-word messaging app Yo are sounding the all-clear after reports last week that the app could easily be hacked, leaving users’ phone numbers at risk. But also? That whole thing was a good thing, the founder explains. [More]
Data & Privacy
People Around The World Forced To Live Through 30-Minute Facebook Outage
By 6.19.14
While you were sweetly slumbering last night, tucked in your bed and snoring delicately like the little angel you no doubt are, people around the world were apparently freaking out because Facebook had a global outage. Status messages went un-updated, photos of babies couldn’t be quickly scrolled past, and birthday wishes… well, they foundered, useless. [More]
Supreme Court To Decide When Online Rants Cross Line Into Criminal Threats
By 6.16.14
If I go on Facebook and tell someone in Florida that I am going to beat him into a bloody pulp and maybe kidnap his kid for good measure, I’m in violation of federal law. But does it matter whether I actually intend to do any of these things or if I’m just ranting with no intention of getting up from my comfy couch to do anyone any harm? That’s the question the Supreme Court will soon have to decide. [More]
Domino’s Hit By Hackers Demanding Ransom For European Customers’ Data
By 6.16.14
Oh look, another day, another hack attack. In the second spate of hacking we’ve heard reported just today — and it’s only Monday, folks — hackers in Europe are holding are holding the accounts of Domino’s customers in Belgium and France for ransom. [More]
Snooping Sites, Aimless Ads, Sexist Stereotypes: A Look Back At The Week In Tech News
By 6.13.14
It’s a big, busy world, and even with a smartphone in your pocket at all times it’s hard to read everything written about it in a week. Sometimes, useful info slips through the cracks. So, here are five interesting stories from the world of internet and technology news. [More]
Facebook Is Now Selling Your Web-Browsing Data To Advertisers
By 6.12.14
You know how it’s really creepy when you go looking for a new TV online and then go to Facebook and the ad spaces that you typically ignore are now populated with advertising for the very brands of TV you just checked out? Until now, they’ve been the product of third-party ad networks and creepy data aggregators like Acxiom while Facebook itself had kept its hands clean by not selling the data it had acquired about your Web browsing habits. But in an effort to bring you even creepier, more targeted ads, Facebook will now be making more info about you available to advertisers. [More]
Facebook Accidentally Launches Snapchat Rival App Slingshot Early, Yanks It
By 6.10.14
Seems like someone over at Facebook had an itchy trigger finger, as the social media site released a new Snapchat rival photo service yesterday that it didn’t mean to show to the public yet. It’s since been pulled, and Facebook admits that it was a bit premature. [More]
It’s Time To Start Treating Video Game Industry Like The $21 Billion Business It Is
By 6.9.14
The majority of video games in the U.S. are purchased and played by adults. The largest titles make money that Hollywood films could only dream of raking in, and the biggest players in the industry run multibillion-dollar multinational operations that employ thousands of people. Yet many consumers still think of gaming as a kid’s thing that doesn’t merit serious consideration or scrutiny. In an age where our culture recognizes previously sniffed-about industries like professional sports as much more than child’s play, it’s time to get over that same hump about video games. [More]
Yahoo Ditching Google, Facebook Logins For Flickr Accounts By End Of The Month
By 6.6.14
After announcing in March that it would phase out third-party logins for photo-sharing site Flickr, Yahoo says it’ll be killing off Google and Facebook logins on June 30. That means you’ll need a Yahoo account to sign in and access your photos. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Medical Center Employees Posted Patient’s STD Diagnosis To Facebook
By 6.5.14
Sharing a patient’s medical record with anyone other than the patient is a big, fat no-no. Not only can companies found to be leaking the super-sensitive information be fined millions of dollars, but it opens them up to a range of lawsuits. And one Ohio medical center has found itself in that exact situation. [More]
Finding The Guy Who Stole Your Stuff Is Easy When He Sends You A Facebook Friend Request
By 6.2.14
When you find yourself suddenly bereft of personal belongings because some dastardly villain took them off you during a robbery, often the only recourse is to call the cops and wait. And wait. And hope that you can get your stuff back. Or, you can just wait until the suspect sends you a friend request. [More]
Report: Almost Half Of American Adults Were Hacked In The Last Year
By 5.28.14
If you’ve felt like there hasn’t been a day in the last year without a warning of some new hack on big businesses and services you use and have had to change your passwords and keep an eye on your accounts as a result, you’re not alone — not by a long shot. A new report says about half of American adults were the victims of hackers in the last 12 months. [More]
Facebook Makes “Friends Only” The Privacy Default For New Users
By 5.22.14
For years, when new users joined Facebook, the default privacy setting had been to share your every baby photo/quote of the day/quiz result/divisive political rant with the public at large. Users had to opt into higher levels of privacy to limit their updates to smaller groups. But today Facebook announced that the default setting for new users is to only share posts with folks on their lists of friends. [More]
Facebook Can Now ID What You’re Listening To Or Watching On TV
By 5.21.14
Do you want all your Facebook friends to know exactly which song you’re listening to whenever you post something online? How about which TV show you’ve got on in the background? What’s that — you do want to tell the world these things, but you don’t feel like going through the onerous task of having to type this info out? Then the newest feature for Facebook’s mobile apps is up your over-sharing alley. [More]
When You Give Silicon Valley Permission To Spy On You, It’s Kinda Hard To Say “No” To The NSA
By 5.20.14
The fundamental goal of the ad-supported web is to collect and capitalize on data from its users; rather unsurprisingly, that data is just as valuable to the government as it is to Facebook and Google. You may think you’d never willingly provide the FBI or NSA with a map of your entire private life, but, in fact, you probably already have. [More]
Walmart Policy Requires Customers To Fork Over Their Credit Card’s 3-Digit Security Code
By 5.20.14
In light of recent, high-profile data breaches, consumers are constantly on guard when it comes to their credit card information. So it might come as a surprise that the country’s largest retailer is asking customer to fork over the sacred three-digit security code on the back of cards in order to make purchases. [More]
No Device Is Safe From Verizon’s Enhanced Program Tracking Your Every Online Move
By 5.8.14
It’s no secret that consumers’ online habits influence the advertisements they’re shown while surfing the internet. But Verizon Wireless just upped the ante when it comes to sharing your online activities with marketers. [More]
Facebook Updates Its Login System With New Privacy Controls, Anonymous Sign-In
By 4.30.14
If you’re like me, you spend plenty of time muttering, “No I do not want to log in using my Facebook profile!” while accessing other sites. Because why does the fundraising site du jour need to know I like a bluegrass band called No Vests On Our Chests? It doesn’t, so Facebook has now updated the privacy controls on those connected logins. [More]
