AT&T has announced a plan to keep pirated content off their network by peeking at everyone’s data to see if it contains copyrighted material. The plan, which the telecom somehow claims will “not violate user privacy,” will only target repeat offenders.
privacy
Google To Anonymize Search Records After 18 Months
By 6.12.07
After considering the Working Party’s concerns, we are announcing a new policy: to anonymize our search server logs after 18 months, rather than the previously-established period of 18 to 24 months. We believe that we can still address our legitimate interests in security, innovation and anti-fraud efforts with this shorter period. However, we must point out that future data retention laws may obligate us to raise the retention period to 24 months. We also firmly reject any suggestions that we could meet our legitimate interests in security, innovation and anti-fraud efforts with any retention period shorter than 18 months.
Google is currently deep in a fight with Privacy International, a watchdog group that picked Google as leading ‘the race to the bottom’ of privacy standards.
Phone Books Are Getting Thinner As Cellphones Take Over
By 6.8.07
One upon a time if you knew someone’s name, you could go to a thing called a “phone book” and look up their phone number and where they lived.
Google Streets View Project Manager Speaks About Privacy Concerns
By 6.6.07
Freakonomics has an interview with Stephen Chau, the product manager for Google Maps, about Google’s new feature “Streets View” and the resulting concerns consumers have had about their privacy after several people were caught on Google’s cameras sunbathing, leaving strip clubs, or um…whatever.
3. Did you address specific privacy concerns from the outset?
Do A Background Check On Yourself
By 6.1.07
Companies can order all sorts of reports on you and make judgments about you, from banks, to landlords to employers. Here’s how you can see the data they’re seeing and make sure the record is right.
Verizon Retail Salespeople Randomly Access Your Account, Add Features
By 5.30.07
Christy is upset. She got a call from a strange Verizon sales rep who claimed he had sold her a phone. (He didn’t.) The stranger told her that she could have VCast free for one month. She declined.
Payday Lender Leaves Customer Information Out In The Street
By 5.25.07
As if you needed another reason not to get a payday loan… —MEGHANN MARCO
It's Easy To Use Google To Find Exposed Credit Card Numbers
By 5.24.07
When merchants expose your credit card numbers to the internet, there’s an easy tool that ID thieves can use to find them. Google. According to an article on Slashdot, it’s as easy as searching for the most common credit card prefixes. The credit card companies have known about this problem for years, and they’ve yet to fix it. Is it because they can’t? Or is it because the vendors are the ones exposing the numbers? Whose responsibility is it?
Microsoft Developing Software That Can ID You From Your Browsing Habits
By 5.23.07
Here’s a nice thought: Microsoft is developing software that can analyze your internet habits and positively ID you. From New Scientist:
In online communities at least, entering fake details such as a bogus name or age may no longer prevent others from working out exactly who you are.
Detecting Synthetic Identity Fraud
By 5.17.07
It’s bad enough when ID thieves steal your persona, but what happens when they use your information to create an entirely different person? A fake person? Bankrate has an article about detecting and protecting yourself from this type of scam. It’s called “synthetic identity fraud.” From Bankrate:
Synthetic fraud is quickly becoming the more common type of identity fraud, surpassing “true-name” identity fraud, which corresponds to actual consumers. In 2005, ID Analytics reported that synthetic identity fraud accounted for 74 percent of the total dollars lost by U.S. businesses to ID fraud and 88 percent of all identity fraud “events” — for example, new account openings and address changes.
Sythetic ID fraud could affect your credit, and debt collectors might come after you based on your SSN, ignoring that a ficticious name was used.
Beware The WiFi Snoopers, They're Watching You
By 5.17.07
For more info on how you can protect yourself when using public WiFi, check out this article from Computerworld. —MEGHANN MARCO
Remove Your Phone Number From Google Phonebook
By 5.8.07
If you don’t want Google’s information tentacles posting your phone number and address on the internet, you may want to remove it from their directory.
12 Year Old Boy: TSA Stole My Birthday Money
By 5.8.07
A 12 year old buy from Sacramento, California flew home from a family trip, only to discover that his $265 in birthday money had been stolen by a TSA agent. Sadly for the kid, it seems that the San Diego airport doesn’t have cameras, and, naturally, the inspector that stole the cash didn’t leave his number.
“Can’t we just check the video, can’t we just check the camera I mean I can describe the suitcase it had a yellow ribbon on it, she says we don’t have camera’s back there,” says Kim.
Customer Gets 30 Months Prison After Geek Squad Finds Child Porn On His Computer
By 5.7.07
Child porn is a most heinous exploitation and its publishers and consumers should be boiled in blood, then stabbed in the face, then fed to wolverines. The Geek Squad is helping feed those wolverines by reporting child porn they find on customer’s computers to the police, the St Louis Dispatch reports:
Verizon Claims Disclosing Customer Records To The NSA Is "Free Speech"
By 5.7.07
“In fact, Verizon basically argues that the entire lawsuit is a giant SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit, and that the case is an attempt to deter the company from exercising its First Amendment right to turn over customer calling information to government security services.
May 8: Last Day To Sound Off About The Real ID Act
By 5.2.07
The Department of Homeland Security would like your opinions on the Real ID Act, but it would like them by May 8th.
Why Does American Airlines Need To Examine The Gynecological Records Of Crash Victim's Daughter?
By 5.1.07
This has to be the weirdest press release we’ve ever read, and that’s really saying something.
