Stare agog as all the the passwords released in the Sony LulzSec breach race past your eyes in this video. [More]
privacy
Apt. Complex Using DNA To Find Who's Not Curbing Their Dog
By 6.28.11
Call it CSI: Timberwood Commons. WMUR reports the manager of the apartment complex there is making all the of the dog owners in the building submit DNA samples from their dogs. Then she will compare it with the DNA of the dog poop that’s been left around the grounds to find out who hasn’t been cleaning up after their dog. [More]
FICO Sells New Score That Predicts Whether You Will Take Your Medicine
By 6.21.11
Are you going to be a good boy and take your medicine? Next time your Mom won’t have to ask you. She can just check your FICO Medication Adherence Score. The same people who make the standard credit scoring model have turned their data mining drills and abacuses onto medicine. They’re selling a new score that says can predict if you will take your medication correctly. [More]
New Service Adds Your Drunken Facebook Photos To Employer Background Checks, For Up To Seven Years
By 6.21.11
The FTC has given thumbs up to a company, Social Intelligence Corp., selling a new kind of employee background check to employers. This one scours the internet for your posts and pictures to social media sites and creates a file of all the dumb stuff you ever uploaded online. For instance, this sample they provided was flagged for “Demonstrating potentially violent behavior” because of “flagrant display of weapons or bombs.” [More]
Computer Tech Allegedly Snaps Nude Pics Of Victims With Their Own Machines
By 6.9.11
A warning to computer owners everywhere: If someone who repairs your machine advises you to set up your laptop in a place in which it can potentially see you when you step out of the shower, beware that he might have tricked you into taking naked pictures of yourself for him. [More]
Hackers Say They've Stolen Email Addresses, Passwords Of Sony Pictures And Sony BMG Customers
By 6.3.11
Sony’s troubles with hackers continue. Now that the company has recovered from the PlayStation Network outage and lengthy rebuilding process, hackers claim to have stolen and posted email addresses and passwords from 50,000 Sony customers on the Sony Pictures and Sony BMG sites. [More]
Xbox Gamer Allegedly Tricks SWAT Team Into Investigating Rival's Home
By 6.2.11
An online gaming disagreement turned into a nightmare for a gamer who refused to do the bidding of a person he spoke to over Xbox Live. The victim alleges a rival somehow discovered his name, address and phone number, then falsely reported a murder-suicide at his home, causing a SWAT team to descend on his home. [More]
TSA Could Ban Flights From Texas If State Passes Anti-Patdown Law
By 5.25.11
A showdown is in the works over an anti-patdown law, which the Texas House of Representatives recently approved by a unanimous vote. The government warns that passage of the law could cause the TSA to “cancel any flight” where it couldn’t ensure passenger safety. Texas legislators say the rule is needed because existing laws “let government employees fondle innocent women, children and men.”
ID Theft: Fix Some Fraudulent Accounts Before Correcting Legit Ones
By 5.25.11
One of the side effects of someone using your identity to open up a bunch of accounts and leaving you saddled with the bills is that your credit history gets trashed, which means you get victimized a second time over as your real creditors jack up your interest rates and take other adverse action. Your bank account could even get frozen, making you late on some bills. But before you go plead your case to get your credit restored with them, you’ll want to fix some of the fraudulent accounts first. [More]
Twitter Faces "Super-Injunction" Challenge Over User Privacy
By 5.23.11
Thousands of Twitter users have posted comments about a rumored affair between a British soccer player and a reality-TV star, and have included the athlete’s name, despite a British law that allows individuals to get a “super-injunction” blocking publication of their name. The player has now used that injunction to get a court order demanding that Twitter reveal the account information of users who’ve posted his name. [More]
Should We Put Cameras On Cops?
By 5.19.11
Following allegations police had stolen a laptop and a digital camera from a suspect’s house, San Francisco PD is considering equipping officers with a head-mounted video camera to document searches and arrests and make sure they’re being conducted appropriately. Is this a good idea? Take our poll and sound off. [More]
FTC Complaint: Dropbox Misinformed Users About Security
By 5.16.11
According to a Federal Trade Commission complaint lodged against online storage service Dropbox, users were told they had more security than they actually did. [More]
Your Rented Computer Could Be Spying On You
By 5.3.11
According to a recently filed lawsuit, a big rental chain installs physical hardware and software into its rented computers, capturing the keystrokes, screenshots, and even webcam images of unsuspecting customers. The only way to disable it is by waving an electronic “wand” over the device. The spyware was revealed when a store manager for the chain showed up at renter’s house to try to repossess the laptop and showed the renter a picture of him taken by the webcam, unbeknownst to him, by the leased laptop. [More]
Google Sued For Alleged Android Phone Location Tracking
By 5.3.11
Filing a lawsuit seeking class action status, two Android phone owners are suing Google over concerns that the company is tracking users’ moves with the phones. [More]
Brooklyn Delivery Guy Calls Out Bad Tippers On His Blog
By 4.30.11
Crappy tippers, beware. The delivery guy or gal who you grossly undertip this weekend might have a Tumblr account. Tired of meager tips from customers who clearly have some cash, one delivery guy in Brooklyn–Williamsburg, to be exact–is striking back by calling out lousy tippers on his blog, and gathering tips from readers. Unlike us, he leaves names, addresses, and locations unredacted. Check it out soon, because it probably won’t stay up for long in its current form. [More]
Why Are Financial Companies Forcing Us To Have Weak Passwords?
By 4.28.11
Your bank or credit card company is probably the last entity you would want forcing you to set an incredibly weak Web password. But it’s not just American Express that wants their customers to use really crappy, easily crackable passwords. Charlie recently discovered that Capital One and, to a lesser extent, Bank of America have limits on their customers’ passwords that force them to choose crappy ones. [More]
Etsy Finds New And Exciting Ways To Plaster Your Real Name Everywhere
By 4.14.11
One would think that after the overwhelming negative reaction to the privacy changes that Etsy made earlier this year, the whimsical hipsters at online craft market Etsy would have learned their lesson by now. Don’t be silly! In a post to the site’s user forums, CEO Rob “Rokali” Kalin let slip that Etsy plans to identify users by their real names throughout the site, including on forums. [More]
