Internet Privacy

[internetprivacy101]

How Will Life-Logging Cameras Risk Your Privacy?

After the deaths of both his parents when he was a young adult, Martin Kaellstroem came to the realization that people needed to document their lives as they were living so that they, and others, would be able to remember not only the important events, but also the lesser ones.  After all, who knows when something will have a large significance in their lives?  Sure, the big things, like a wedding or the birth of a child will be remembered, but what about the “little” things like when you first met your future wife/husband?  How about your first date?  Your first kiss?  These things may not be forgotten, but details may be lost in time.  Most people only have a camera with them for special occasions and events when everyone is happy, perfectly dressed and on their best behavior.  But, what about the other moments of life?  It’s these other moments that gave Mr. Kaellstroem, co-founder of the company Memoto, the idea of creating a life-logging camera.  He has said, “When you lose your parents, you realize that you don’t live forever.  It definitely affected me in my entrepreneurship.  I can’t wait until later to fulfill my dreams; I have to live my dream now.”    

The life-logging camera is a device about the size of an iPod Mini, that is worn either clipped to a shirt or jacket, or worn on a cord around ones neck.  Once activated, it cannot be turned off and will take pictures of whatever is in front of you at 30 second intervals.  Mr. Kaellstroem has stated, “You don’t know in advance which moments will be important in the future.  Perhaps you meet your future wife or witness an accident or a crime.  These are pictures you might want to return to”.  He also feels that using this life-logging camera cannot be seen as an invasion of privacy.  I don’t understand how he can think this.  I am one of those people who shy away from a camera.  I feel uncomfortable when someone is clicking away, especially today, in the age of social media.  There are very few pictures of me anywhere on-line, and that’s the way I like it.  If I knew someone who was using a life-logging camera, I would not have any face-to-face time with that person.  I have nothing to hide; I just don’t like my photo being posted on someone else’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

When you think of life-logging cameras, do you think of Big Brother?  How about The Truman Show?  Mr. Kaellstroem only thinks of these cameras as a way to gather and store memories so they can be looked at by friends, relatives, or the life-logger himself.  Others, like me, may feel that their privacy is being violated by a life-logger.  The pictures stored in the cameras are automatically sorted by date, time of day, lighting and GPS location.  They are to be used as the life-logger sees fit, which means that he or she can keep them private, show them to close friends and family, or, they can be shared to social media. 

Mr. Kaellstroem’s co-founder has called the life-logging cameras a “diary for the techie crowd” because they can record moments in life without the user giving much thought to it.  This is great for those who have tried to keep a journal or even a travelogue, but who don’t have the patience to write everything down, especially while on their adventures.  But, what about others who are on these adventures?  What if they don’t want THEIR lives being documented like this?

Since the life-logging camera is very small, it may be mistaken for an iPod Mini, so, unless the wearer is upfront about its use, a person he is meeting with may not know that they are being documented.  There are people who will compare these cameras to Google Glass, but, as I see it, there are two major differences:  1) Google Glass is obvious when worn (Google Glass: Small Device Big Privacy Concern), and 2) Google Glass does not take pictures or videos automatically and can be turned off at any time.  Life-logging cameras will constantly record, so another person won’t really have an option, other than leaving the room, on whether or not to be recorded.  Even if someone chooses to leave the room, there could already be many pictures taken before learning that the device is a camera and what it is being used for. 

Anyone using a life-logging camera has full control over what is done with the photos.  They could be kept private, shared with only those close to the life-logger, or they could be posted to social media.  How can this NOT be considered an invasion of privacy?  Keep in mind that you don’t have to be meeting one on one with the life-logger; you could just be walking in the park and passing by a life-logger.  Any pictures taken as you walk by can be posted to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  I don’t know about you, but I would consider it an invasion of my privacy if this were to happen to me.

Every individual needs to make up their own minds as to whether or not they want to record their lives by wearing a life-logging camera.  I just hope that those who do decide to purchase one are upfront about its use whenever they come in contact with others.  In fact, if it was a friend of mine who decided to use the life-logging camera, I would hope that I would be told about it before I agreed to meet for dinner.  I would then choose to stay home and keep all contact with that friend on a phone call/text/email basis only.  I’m a private person and I want to keep my privacy safe. 

[internetprivacy101]

Another Privacy Risk: Web Bugs

One of the greatest discoveries made by spammers is web bugs.  Most of you have heard about cookies and know how to avoid or delete them, but what do you know about web bugs?  Well, they are a form of spyware and are very efficient in what they do:  tracking your every move.  When a spammer places a web bug into one of his e-mails, he will be able to tell exactly when you opened that e-mail, and if the e-mail address he has for you is valid.  The scary part is that you will not even know you’re being tracked by these web bugs.  If you think you’re safe from this tracking, you are wrong.

Even if you don’t open any e-mail unless you know who it’s from, you are still at risk.  Besides spammers, Internet marketers make use of the advantages of web bugs.  Did you ever notice the ads for items that you shopped for popping up when you open your browser?  That is because there were web bugs placed in a web site you visited. 

There is a difference between cookies and web bugs.  Browsers are able to reject cookies, but web bugs are generated as a Graphic Interchange Format (GIF).  Because GIFs are so frequently used all over the Internet, browsers will normally just accept them.  Anyone familiar with GIFs knows that they are images, so how is it that they’re not visible in e-mail and web sites?  Spammers and marketers are very shrewd when it comes to web bugs.  Spammers insert a tiny GIF, no larger than 1 X 1 pixels into their e-mails.  Marketers “hide” their web bugs right in the web site’s logo.  Since the GIF is disguised as a color in the background, you could look for it and still not see it. 

Have you ever sent or received an e-greeting card?  This is becoming common practice for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc.  It’s so much simpler than going out to buy the card, then running to the post office to mail it.  When you send an e-greeting card, you are asked if you want to be notified when the recipient sees it.  Most people agree to this because they want to make sure it was “delivered”.  Web bugs are then set into action and will notify you about the receipt of your e-greeting card.

What really has privacy advocates up in arms about web bugs is the amount of personal information that is gathered.  Putting all of this information in a spammer’s hands could be very risky.  Think about it; a simple web bug will let the spammer know your IP address, the exact URL the web bug was attached to, when that web site was opened and what time it was opened.  In other words, your Internet activities are being monitored by teeny little stalkers. 

Privacy advocates are most concerned about the fact that web bugs are placed on web sites, tracking your Internet travels, when you never consented to this tracking.  You also were never aware of it.  The marketers that place the web bugs do not have to follow the web site’s privacy policy because they are third parties.  The terms of the privacy policy doesn’t apply to them, so there is nothing that you can do, because there was no violation.

Web bugs are a major risk to the privacy of every Internet user, no matter who places them.  It doesn’t matter if they come from a spammer or a marketer, web bugs gather a large amount of personal information and there’s nothing that can be done to stop it.   It helps if you turn off your browser cookies, but using a proxy server would be a safer choice.  Web bugs can’t track you when you are using a proxy server because your IP address would be hidden; the IP address of the proxy server would be visible to whoever placed the web bugs.  This will keep your privacy safe.

[internetprivacy101]

Google Glass is a Big Privacy Concern for Some

Google started testing its newest product, Google Glass, in 2012.  The tech world is very much aware of this device, but there are many people in the general population that have never heard of Google Glass or what it does.  When worn, Google Glass looks like a very small piece of glass sitting just above and in front of the wearer’s eye.  It is either hooked onto a pair of glasses or sunglasses, or it could be worn alone on its own frame.  This tiny device allows the wearer to accomplish a wide range of tasks that include sending messages, searching the Internet, and taking pictures and videos.  It will even give directions.  All of this is done simply by speaking a command.  Directions to the business meeting you need to attend will be delivered to the tiny glass screen just by saying, “Get directions” and giving the address.

The term Google has given to Glass wearers is “Explorers”, and since it’s been introduced, roughly 8,000 people have become Google Glass Explorers.  At 2013’s SxSW conference (the annual music, film and interactive technology forum held in Austin, TX), Explorers were seen everywhere.   In fact, Google Glass was one of the main topics of conversation.  When 2014’s SxSW was held, even though people were curious, it gave many a great sense of discomfort if they were near an Explorer.  How could this tiny piece of glass make someone feel uncomfortable around it?   

People who aren’t really familiar with Google Glass have heard of the things it can do, and the part that worries them  is the fact that they don’t know if they are being recorded.  You could be having a conversation with an Explorer, or walking past an Explorer and not know if the device is even on at the time.  There’s a sense of creepiness in this unknown factor.  Some people feel so paranoid they will go out of their way to avoid an Explorer.  The Explorer can be using the Glass to read his e-mail, conduct research or have the device turned off, but still, people will walk as far from him as possible so as to not be “caught” by the Glass.

Explorers have been in some embarrassing situations just because they are wearing Google Glass.  Some have been asked to leave nightclubs and business meetings because of the sense of unease others were having.  Explorers have also been given extra scrutiny at airports and other transportation terminals.  Cecilia Abadie discovered that wearing Google Glass while driving could result in a traffic ticket.  In October 2013, Ms. Abadie was stopped for speeding.  In California, there is a law that a monitor (DVD, computer, etc.) can’t be visible to the driver, so the police officer gave her a ticket for “Monitor visible to driver” in addition to the speeding ticket.  The matter was brought to Court in January 2014 and Ms. Abadie was found not guilty of the “Monitor visible to driver” ticket.  The Judge explained that in order to have been found guilty, the police officer would have had to prove that Ms. Abadie’s Google Glass was actually turned on while she was driving.  Since this was impossible to prove, the ticket had to be dismissed.

When there are discussions about Google Glass, the lines are split.  Explorers love it, but those who don’t wear it say they will barely tolerate it or hate it altogether.  Non-wearers always have that feeling of discomfort whenever an Explorer is in their vicinity.  They don’t like the fact that their every movement could be recorded in secret.

Explorers have given the argument that there is no need for the unease around Google Glass because wherever you go, there are security cameras recording your every move and people taking photos and videos with their smart phones.  But non-wearers have brought up that while there are cameras all around us, they are at least visible, and it’s obvious when a smart phone is being used to record.  When it comes to Google Glass, only the Explorer knows for sure if the device is recording, or if it’s on at all.  The conclusion to this is that it’s not the Glass that is causing the unease; it’s the fact that one never knows what is happening behind that Glass.

Explorers have been asked if they feel the same sense of unease when coming in contact with another Explorer.  They all say that they have no issues with other Explorers because they are fully aware of how Glass works.  They can also somewhat understand how it can make non-wearers feel uneasy because it’s still relatively a new technology that isn’t fully understood unless you have it.

Google is aware of the unease caused by Google Glass and have written a “Do” and “Don’t” list for Explorers to follow in order to alleviate some of the discomfort felt by others.  Here are the lists developed by Google:

Do

1.  Explore the world around you. 

2.  Use voice commands when wearing Glass.

3.  Always ask permission before taking pictures or recording someone.

4.  Others may be curious, so always lock your screen when not wearing your Glass so no one else can use it.

5.  Be active and vocal in the Google Glass Community.

Don’t

1.  Don’t overdo by using your Google Glass so much that you stop doing the things you normally love to do.  In other words, don’t “glass-out”. 

2.  Don’t wear Google Glass when participating in high-impact sports.

3.  People will be curious and approach you in order to talk to you about your Glass. So, don’t wear Google Glass and not expect to be asked questions. 

4.  Don’t be a “Glasshole”.  Take off your Google Glass anywhere that you would normally be asked to turn off your cell phone.  Don’t be creepy by wearing your Glass at the movies, in a bar or during a meeting. 

So, if you ever encounter a Google Glass Explorer, ask questions instead of running away.  You may see Google Glass as a violation of your privacy, but Explorers are on a journey to discover the world through new eyes, not to secretly record total strangers.  The more you learn about Google Glass and the Explorer community, the less unease you will feel when you next encounter it. 

At this time, Google Glass is not available in stores, but there are some stores advertising its sale.   Don’t be fooled by these scams.  In order to become a member of Google’s Explorer community, you must apply directly to Google.  If you are accepted into the community, you can purchase your Glass directly from Google for $1,500.  I think I’ll be applying as soon as I can save up for it!

[internetprivacy101]

Police Departments Fighting Crime With Social Media

Some criminals are not known for their intelligence.  A lot of them are so proud of their “work” that they feel the need to brag about their latest heist to anyone who is willing to listen.  These criminals are so proud that they will even go to bars and tell strangers about the latest break-in.  When the bragging is done by word of mouth, it takes a while for the news to spread, but today, criminals are so proud that they are turning to social media.  Within hours, thousands of people can read about “Joey’s” crime spree when he brags about it over the Internet.  People all over the world can see that he burglarized an entire neighborhood in just one night.

Because of the bragging, criminals would help the police solve their crimes because the police would hear about it.  This word of mouth would take some time, but, news would get to the police eventually and “Joey” will be caught.  Thanks to social media, a crime can be solved in a matter of days, or even hours.  When a criminal posts his story, in complete detail, on Facebook and Twitter, it makes police work pretty easy.  Some of these criminals will even post pictures of all of their stolen loot on Instagram.  Others are so brazen that as they are going through houses, they are videotaping each step so they can post it on YouTube.  As you can see, criminals think that they are so clever that they won’t be caught.

Criminals have been using social media to share their cunningness for quite a while and the police are now beginning to realize that social media could be a valuable crime-solving tool.  Detective Dave Stahler of the Redwood City, California police department has found that by using Pinterest to post photographs of recovered stolen property, the items will find their way back to their rightful owners.  In fact, one of the items returned to a victim was a family heirloom.  The article was posted to Pinterest in February 2014 and within hours of it being posted, Detective Stahler received three tips that helped him identify the owner.

In Richmond, VA, the police have solved murder cases with posts to Pinterest and a Pennsylvania town is now using Pinterest to post mug shots of suspects.  Since the Pinterest board devoted to mug shots has been active, arrests for fraud, theft and sexual assault have jumped up in that town by 57%.  The use of social media, including Pinterest isn’t yet very widespread, but with the success rates, more cities and towns may be looking to social media as a crime-solving method.

Even though Pinterest is one of the newest tools being used by the police, they have found a great success rate by turning to MySpace.  For whatever reason, criminals seem to love MySpace as a way to brag about their “work” and the police are using this to their advantage.

Solving crimes isn’t the only way the police are using social media.  Some police departments are using it to help with community relations.  In fact, New York City recently started a Twitter campaign to bring ordinary citizens and the police closer together.  The police department was asking people to use the hashtag “myNYPD” to post pictures of the interaction between police and New Yorkers.  Some pictures posted showed police officers smiling and joking with citizens, but a majority of the pictures posted were of police officers making arrests using what some believed to be unnecessary force.  Needless to say, this campaign was not very successful.

While New York City’s Twitter campaign was a failure in improving police/community relations, in Redwood City, CA, Detective Stahler proved that social media can be used as a way to help capture crooks and reunite victims with their stolen property.  The only thing that is a bit sketchy is that because this technique is so new, it’s not quite known how any evidence gathered from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and MySpace can be used in a court of law.  Will this evidence be accepted or thrown out as inadmissible by a Judge?  Police departments will still use social media as a way to help get criminals behind bars, but before bringing the cases to court, they will find other hard evidence to guarantee a conviction.

Another issue that is being brought up is about privacy.  When someone is suspected of a crime, how far will the police departments go to prove guilt?  So far, crimes solved through social media have begun with tips made to the police.  But, will there be a time when the police will simply start hacking the social media accounts of known criminals in order to gain information?  Will this hacking go so far as to infringe on the privacy of the suspects’ friends, family and neighbors?  If this is the case, how many innocent people will lose their right to privacy simply because they are in some way, even slightly, associated with a suspect?  Only time will tell.

In the meantime, as long as criminals love to brag, rest assured that they will be caught.

[internetprivacy101]

While Your Baby Sleeps, a Stranger Could Be Watching

New parents worry so much that today, a vast majority of them purchase baby monitors so they can be in constant contact with their babies.  These monitors are so advanced that they now are equipped with cameras and are hooked up to the Internet.  This way, parents can not only hear their babies, but they can also watch over them from their computers or smart phones.  This helps keep the parents’ minds at ease when they decide to get a sitter so they can go out for special occasions.  But, when any device is hooked up to the Internet, there is a chance of it being hacked.  Baby monitors are no exception.

Imagine being a new parent and hearing a voice yelling, “Wake up, you little slut!” coming from your baby’s room.  This is exactly what happened in 2013 to the Gilberts, a family in Texas.  Marc Gilbert heard the voice coming from his daughter’s room and ran in to rescue her from the intruder.  When he got there, 10 month old Allyson was alone and still asleep in her crib.  He made a check of the room and noticed that the camera on the baby monitor was moving on its own, following him as he looked around.  This was when he realized that someone had hacked the baby monitor and took control of it.  Mr. Gilbert immediately unplugged the monitor and made sure he installed better security and firewalls on his Internet so this incident wouldn’t be repeated.

The baby monitor that the Gilberts were using was made by Foscam.  The company had been made aware that there was a breach that would allow the monitors to be hacked and sent an e-mail out to everyone who purchased the monitor letting them know of the issue and how to fix it.  The Gilberts never received this e-mail because they purchased their monitor from a store, and not directly from the company.  Currently, there are still an estimated 40,000 of these unsecure baby monitors being used in homes all over the United States.

A couple in Cincinnati, Ohio owned one of these unsecure baby monitors.  In April 2014, Adam and Heather Schreck woke up to a voice coming from their daughter’s room, yelling, “Wake up, baby!”  The Schrecks rushed to the baby’s room and discovered that the voice screaming obscenities was coming from the baby monitor and their daughter was awake and terrified.  Like the Gilberts, the Schrecks also noticed that the camera on the monitor was scanning the room and they rushed to unplug it.

Unfortunately, once the baby monitor is unplugged, all data that is stored in it is erased.  That means that there is no record of IP addresses that the police can use to trace the hacker, so it will never be known if the Schrecks’ hacker is the same as the Gilberts’ hacker, or if he is just a copycat. 

Most of us use some form of sophisticated technology in our homes to some extent.  With each new gadget we get, our chances of being hacked goes up.  Any Internet-ready gadget can be hacked, but since we depend on them so much, not having them is not an option.  In the case of the baby monitors, the risk of hacking became known to the manufacturer and they sent an e-mail to all registered users.  The Gilberts and the Schrecks, however, didn’t buy their monitors directly from the company, so they were not on the company’s e-mail list.  Whenever you purchase electronic items from a retail store, the packaging includes a registration card.  This card should be filled out and mailed back to the manufacturer.  Now, could the Gilbert and Schreck hackings have been avoided if they mailed back these cards?  If they were registered users, Foscam would have their e-mail addresses on file so they would have known how to correct the hacking threat.     

Ignoring these registration cards is not uncommon.  Some people will bring a gadget home and rush to set it up.  When they do this, all the packaging, including the registration card, gets mixed together and thrown in the trash.  Other people will set the registration card aside to fill in and mail back at a later date, but it somehow gets lost.  Then, there are still others who feel that filling in and mailing back this card is a waste of time.  But, if you don’t mail this registration card in, the manufacturer can’t get in touch with you if there is a problem.   Companies hire research firms who check out new devices for any bugs.  Any issues found will be listed on the company’s website.  In fact, researchers brought a hacking threat for Smart TVs to the attention of Samsung (Hackers Can Use Your Smart TV to Spy on You).  Samsung then created a patch to fix the problem and sent updates to their customers.  With the patch in place, there was no more threat.  So, if an issue is found with any device that you purchase, you need to be informed.

If you have any device, or purchase a device someplace other than from the manufacturer, that can access the Internet, send in the registration card.  You will then be a registered user of that product and will be advised of any issues and be told how to correct them.  Unless you register your product, or, in the very least keep checking the company’s website, you could be in danger of being hacked.

[internetprivacy101]

Parents Must Supervise and Monitor Kids On-Line

The Huffington Post ran an article on April 8, 2014 under the headline Utah Mom’s Facebook Check May Have Saved Son From Shooting Plot.  The article is what prompted me to write this so word could get out about how parents must take an active part in supervising and monitoring their kids whenever they go on-line.  I have always known that it’s important for parents to supervise their kids each time they use the Internet, and many parents know this too.  However, there are still many parents who feel that supervising and monitoring their kids is an invasion of privacy and also a waste of time.  Once you read the Huffington Post article, you will see that supervision and monitoring your kids is not a waste of time and it can, in fact, save them from a dangerous situation.

Because one mom in Salt Lake City, Utah wasn’t afraid to monitor her son’s Facebook, she saved his life, and most likely the lives of others.  If she didn’t take the time to monitor his Facebook, how many parents would have been notified of a tragedy at the high school?  This mom saw threats made against her son and immediately called the police.  The police were then able to take two teens into custody.  These two teens were sitting in a car near the high school with a gun and a loaded magazine, ready to strike.  Because they were stopped before their plan could really start, lives were saved.

A lot of parents and most kids feel that monitoring and/or supervising social media should not be done.  They feel that it’s a matter of trust and to check social media would violate that trust.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media companies feel that a child could have an account as long as they are 13 years of age or older.  There are some parents who cave in to pressure from their kids who tell them “everyone else has one”, so they create an account by lying about the child’s year of birth.  There are other parents who don’t feel that their kids are mature enough to use social media responsibly, so they won’t allow it at all.  Then, there are the parents who allow their child to have social media, but they take it away if they happen to notice a post or picture that is inappropriate.  If a child isn’t allowed social media, or has an account that was taken away, they will generally search answer sites and ask total strangers how they can get an account without their parents finding out about it.  Here is an actual question that was recently posted to Yahoo Answers:

I want my Facebook account back?

Ok so I am 14 and my dad has confiscated my Facebook account because of a past incident and I have understood my mistake but he won't give me my password.  I really want to add kids from my school.

Update 1: No need for anymore answer because i am making a new one and i doubt my dad would find that out unless i tell him that i would not tell so soon.

This 14 year old chose this answer as the Best Answer:

I see your update, but have to answer. This is not a very smart idea. As a 14 year old, I know you think parents are stupid, but they aren't. Your dad will find out about the other account and then you will not only lose Facebook, but you will lose other privileges as well. You will no longer be trusted. You don't say how long your dad has been holding your FB hostage, but you need to give him some time while you show him you can be responsible. He didn't delete your account, so he is going to give it back, you're just "grounded" from FB for a while. Sneaking around isn't helping your case. In fact, it's hurting it. You need to have an open discussion with your dad and show him that you realize your mistake. You could also go over the linked article and check out the guidelines. Discuss them with your dad and see what the two of you can come up with as a compromise so he will allow you to access your account again. But, if this just happened, you could wait a while before adding people. It seems that you really learned nothing from all this.

By choosing this as the Best Answer, you would think that this 14 year old came to her senses and wouldn’t try to sneak an account.  The comment she made to the person answering tells otherwise:

Thanks for the advice but i made a new one and i doubt he would check. I am gonna tell him when i am between 16 - 18 and when he fully understands me.

This teen is very confident that her dad will trust her so much that he won’t even consider thinking that she may open another account behind his back.  She knows that he will never check her smart phone, computer or iPad to see if another account exists on any of them.  She also knows that he won’t search social media for her name to see if another account exists.

Sneaking around behind parents’ backs isn’t something teens of this generation invented.  This has been around for generations in one form or another.  A hundred years ago, kids were skipping school to go fishing.  40 years ago, kids were telling their parents that they were having a sleep over at a friend’s house so they could sneak off to see the latest band in concert.  10 years ago, kids were sneaking cigarettes and liquor from their parents.  When my kids were young, I told them that their big disadvantage was that I was not a perfect child, and if they were thinking of scamming me, I had probably already done that to my parents, so chances were, they would be caught.  Of course, I didn’t have the Internet to worry about.   Now, kids are sneaking around the Internet behind their parents’ backs.  When the Internet is involved, you never know what kind of person a child could befriend.  Kids are aware that they shouldn’t go with or talk to strangers in the real world, but what about online?  Many kids have the attitude that they are invincible and that nothing will happen to them, so they take chances that they never would take in the real world.  They don’t realize that without privacy settings in place, anyone can see their posts, pictures and even their location.  Most kids don’t take the time to set privacy controls.  They feel that the more people who see what they have to say, the better.  Posting too much information from vacation planning to family fights can be seen by all, so it’s not only the kids that are in danger; it’s the parents too.

Without a private setting, everyone will see every comment or picture that your child posts online.  Everyone will also see the rants a child makes about school, parent and even siblings.  Not every parent can supervise their kids every single time they go online.  This is why monitoring their social media is also important.  Like that mom in Utah, monitoring may save a life.  Monitoring also should include checking any and all devices that the child uses to go on the Internet for any apps or programs that the parents don’t approve of.

Now, can this be considered “spying”?  Well, if this is done out in the open…if the child knows that he or she will be monitored weekly…it’s not spying.  Spying is covert; this is out in the open.  As parents, you don’t want your kids to sneak around behind your backs, so we need to set an example and not sneak around behind THEIR backs.  If a child knows he or she will be monitored, they may not be so quick to try to sneak something that isn’t allowed.  Also, parents need to have open discussions with their kids.  Don’t just say “I won’t allow it”; tell them WHY you won’t allow it.  Listen to their reasons for wanting something.  Maybe your kids will show you that they are more responsible and mature than you think.  Just don’t think that monitoring and supervising will make you appear “uncool” in your kids’ eyes.  Ask that mom in Utah if being “uncool” is the way to go here.

[internetprivacy101]

Everyone’s Privacy Could be at Risk

I’ve already written about how looking for work could lead to a breach in your privacy (in the original article Looking for a Job?  Beware of this Privacy Risk, that appears in the Privacy Partners’ blog) but there is another risk that everyone needs to be aware of:  companies and schools are asking you to give up your privacy by demanding your social media log-in information.  It doesn’t matter if you are currently employed, looking for work or if you are a student; at some point, you will be asked for your username and passwords to all of your social media accounts.

Social media is a large part of our everyday lives and there are companies that do not want any social media posts mentioning the company name.  That is, unless the company has control over what is being said.   These companies don’t even want their names to appear on an “Employment Status” in an employee’s social media profile.  This is not considered to be beneficial to the company; it is considered a hazard.  If the company’s public relations team isn’t posting about the company in social media, the company doesn’t want anyone posting.  Since it’s common practice for most people to set their social media accounts to “Private”, the only way an employer will know for sure that employees aren’t mentioning the company in posts or statuses is to have full and total access to their accounts.  To have full and total access, the employer needs log-in information. 

Any mention of the company name is not all that an employer is looking for.  They will also be looking for anything that can be seen as inappropriate behavior in an employee.  Photographs of parties that employees are tagged in where they are obviously drunk, or that show drug use are what employers are looking for.  If your company sends you to a seminar out of state, your employer doesn’t want to see photos of you partying with others attending that seminar.  They also don’t want to see you wearing “objectionable” clothing.  If your employer sees any of this “unprofessional” behavior in photos, or reads about it in posts, even if it is on your down time, you could lose your job.  Yes, this was done on down time, but you were still there because your company paid for the trip.  If you appear to be unprofessional, the company will appear to be unprofessional.   If you are not under contract, employment today is known as “at will”, which means that no reason other than “it’s not working out” needs to be given for termination.  Even if you have a contract with your employer, any unprofessional posts and photos could be breaking a morals clause and is grounds for termination.

Job seekers know that they will be asked permission to have a company run a credit check.  If your credit score is good enough to get an interview, before that will happen, you may be asked for your log-in information so the Human Resource Department could assess your professionalism by your social media posts.  If they don’t like what they see, you will be out of the running for that job.

Now, how can this be a privacy risk for everyone if not everyone is working or looking for work?  It’s a privacy risk for everyone because now, even schools, from elementary to university, are asking students and prospective students for their social media log-in information.  Even though the age minimum for social media is 13 years old, elementary schools know that much younger kids are getting accounts.  By knowing log-in information of students, the school administration can see if there is a problem with cyber-bullying for students who all of a sudden seem withdrawn.  There are so many instances of under-age drinking parties, that high schools want to keep up with where they are being held and who is attending.  Colleges want to know what the students are doing in their dorm rooms, but they are also interested to see if students applying to the schools are more interested in studying or partying.

Currently, not every company or school wants employees and students to give up your privacy through social media, but it’s getting more commonplace.  Once you are asked to give up your social media log-in information, will it stop there, or will you need to risk your entire family’s privacy by giving up their information also?  What about your friends?  Will a company or school be able to check up on the kind of friends you have through social media?  When we give up control of our social media accounts, what will happen with them?  Will our employers take it upon themselves to delete photos that they feel are inappropriate? 

You may think that the way around this invasion of privacy is just to make “dummy” accounts for the sole purpose of hiding your real account from your employer.  What happens when your employer finds out about this dummy account?  People in offices talk and employers listen.  It would only be a matter of time before your employer finds out that your real account is under the name of “John Crabapple” and not “Johnny Crabapple”.  Your employer will start to view you as someone who is untrustworthy and that isn’t something you want to happen.

The only thing you really can do is to make sure your social media accounts are all “clean” with a minimum amount of posts and photos.  Do this no matter what your employment status is, because even if you have been at the same job for years, you never know when your company will decide to check your social media.  Students should also clean up their social media before applying to colleges so photos of those wild parties don’t jeopardize their chances of getting into a good school.

[internetprivacy101]

Privacy Risk for Job Seekers

The United States currently has a huge unemployment rate because many companies are being forced to down-size or close.  This has caused many people, some who have been working for the same company for years, to lose their jobs.  When a position does become available, and with thousands of people out of work, for every 1 job opening, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of job seekers sending in resumes and applications.  With so many resumes and applications to go through, it becomes a nightmare for the Human Resource Department to find just the right candidate.  In order to make things easier, on every application sent in, there is a section asking for the applicant’s permission for the company to run a credit check.

Many people don’t understand why this is being done.  Well, a credit check helps a company immediately weed out the applicants that they feel are “undesirable” because of a poor credit rating.  In other words:  Bad credit means no interview.  This system of weeding out applicants lessens the amount of interviews and call-backs a company has to make because in a field of 1,000 applicants, more than half of those could be discounted immediately due to their credit score.  The theory says that a low credit score means that a person is untrustworthy and unreliable, so if your score is low, your application or resume won’t make it to the desk of the person in charge of interviewing.

When a person who has been in the same job for many years hears of this practice, they can’t believe this is happening.  If you are in a group of friends who are lucky enough to still have jobs, and voice your frustration about not being able to find one, they will sometimes assume that you really haven’t been trying.  Yes, a failed drug test or a background test that shows any arrest would lessen your chances at finding work, but, bad credit?  How can this be?  A simple solution given would be to not agree to the credit check, but, that is viewed as you having something to hide and you will no longer be in the running for that job. 

There are a few flaws in this theory of hiring by credit score:

1.  Employers don’t take into consideration that an applicant may have been out of work for a while.  They don’t care that your inability to keep up with your bills has to do with your unemployment; they just care about the score.  If it’s low, you will not even be interviewed or asked to explain your position in the matter.

2.  When you’re unemployed for a period of time, you need to pick and choose which bills need to get paid and which bills can wait.  Paying less than your minimum payment will be seen by employers as you being unreliable and you will be categorized as “high risk”, meaning that you would be likely to steal from the company.  No consideration is given to the fact that you need a job to keep up with payments to raise your credit score.

3.  For each company that runs a credit check on you, you are losing your privacy by having an untold number of people view your credit report.

4.  Many people send in resumes and applications daily.  Jobs are applied for that are out of the norm for some of these people because their usual field is saturated with applicants.  If a person sends in 50 applications a week, that means that 50 companies are asking for your credit report.  This will lower your credit score even more because it will appear as if you are applying for more credit, not just looking for a job.

Bills get farther and farther past due as the length of unemployment gets longer.  When this happens, you appear even less desirable as a qualified candidate for a job.  Statistics tell us that the unemployment rate has gone down, but does that take into consideration the people who have been unemployed for over a year and their benefits have run out?  Unemployment hasn’t gone down; people are still unemployed, but no longer are eligible to claim benefits.

If the main provider of a family is out of work, and unemployment benefits run out, what happens to the family?  In order to get a paycheck, many people have taken jobs making minimum wage, but it’s difficult to pay for utilities and rent on minimum wage.  It’s not right that these honest people can’t find a good paying job because they have a low credit score.

Now, besides the stress of needing a job, you also have to worry about how your privacy is affected by each company running a credit check on you.  For every company that runs a credit check, there are strangers in that company who will have access to your credit report.  These strangers will know not only what credit cards you have, but they will also know the balances of each card and how long they are past due.  They will know your Social Security Number, where you bank, and your bank account number.  They will know if you have any judgments against you, and if your home is in foreclosure or if your vehicle has been repossessed.  These strangers will also know if you are paying any fines, even if it’s for a traffic offense.  This is all information you don’t want given to random strangers, yet you must give it to companies before you are even considered for a job.

Hopefully, you will never run into this situation, but, you never know what the future holds.  Maybe now is the time to inform our lawmakers that this practice is unacceptable.  Laws need to be written so that companies can be penalized for continuing this unfair practice of hiring by credit score.

[internetprivacy101]

Social Media, Kids and Stress

It seems that whenever I search answer sites for topics on privacy issues, I always come across many questions from kids who are stressed because their social media posts aren’t getting enough “Likes”.  This has become so important to these kids that they are begging people to “Like” their profile pictures, blogs, videos and everything else that they post.  These kids are also asking what websites they can go to so they can buy “Likes”.

Kids already have so much stress in their lives when it comes to getting good grades that they really don’t need the added stress they’re putting on themselves over social media.  There really is no way to avoid the Internet because we use it for so many things, but do kids as young as 10 need to have several social media accounts?  These kids are posting pictures and comments to Instagram and Facebook.  Twitter is where the kids are telling the world how they are feeling or what they are doing at any given moment of the day.  Some kids will vent about family, friends and school in blogs that they create in Tumblr, then they will post videos to YouTube.  Grades and getting into a good university used to be the most important areas in a kid’s life, but now, the only things that seem to matter are “Likes” and followers on social media.

Many of these questions the kids are asking are why their profile picture hasn’t gotten many “Likes”, or why they only have a few followers on Twitter and Instagram.  If the question is about a profile picture, that picture is often linked to the question asking people to view it and tell the asker if they are “fat” or “ugly”.  The asker will also tell these strangers to “Like” their pictures or follow them on Twitter.  Kids who have blogs will link their blogs to the question to have strangers read what they have to say and to follow them so these strangers will see whenever a new post is published.  What this amounts to is that your kids are having strangers know what is happening in their lives and to follow all of their “adventures” or family dramas.

But, it doesn’t stop at just asking the strangers on answer sites to “Like” and follow them; they are now asking where they can go to buy likes.  I’ve seen this type of question a lot:  “I’m embarrassed that my profile picture only has 5 “Likes”.  Where can I buy “Likes” so that I have 5,000 by the end of the week?”  I’m wondering how many parents are actually supervising their kids when they go on-line.  If they are, how could they not feel that something is wrong when their child gets upwards of 1,000 “Likes” in a day, or even a week?  Does no one see how wrong it is to teach our kids that rewards should be bought and not earned?  Is it OK to teach our kids to cheat like this?  If it is, then I’m afraid for our future.

Let’s put aside the cheating aspect of this buying “Likes” issue.  Another, bigger issue is that because of this, we are losing our privacy.  Buying “Likes” doesn’t cost a great deal of money; in fact, it’s only a couple of dollars.  But even that small payment requires using a credit card or PayPal account.  Kids don’t have credit cards, so they are using their parents’ accounts.  Can a site that encourages people to cheat on something as trivial as getting social media “Likes” and followers be honest enough to trust with your credit card or PayPal information?  And what about these people who sign up at these sites to be paid to “Like” and follow your child’s posts?  These people are complete strangers who will have total access to your children’s social media accounts.  In order to “Like” a status, photo or comment, these strangers must be able to see everything your child posts.  When they become followers, they will be able to see every video of your child on YouTube or they will be able to read every blog post on Tumblr.  This not only puts your child in danger, it also threatens the privacy and safety of any friends of your child who are included in these photos and videos.  Strangers will know where your child and all of his or her friends go to school.  Are these strangers submitting to background checks before being allowed to register to “Like” and follow your kids?

Maybe you don’t see the harm in any of this, though I don’t understand how that can be.  Well, then, think about blogs that your kids may write.  Kids are writing blogs about all sorts of things including vacations, family fights, siblings, sleepovers and anything else that pops into their heads.  Do you really want “bought” strangers to know that your family visits relatives in the south of France every year for the entire month of August?  These strangers know where you live, so how difficult would it be to find and clean out your home when you are gone the next time?

Anyone 13 years or age or older can have social media accounts.  Many younger kids lie about their ages so they can use social media when they are 8.  How many kids 13 and younger are responsible enough to realize that asking strangers to view their pages is a dangerous thing?  How many know not to post too much information in status updates or photos?  It’s up to the parents to keep an eye on what their kids are doing when it comes to any posts made to social media and to realize that no average child can get hundreds of “Likes” and followers without doing something shady.  Parenting takes work, but if the safety of your family is at stake, isn’t it worth the extra time it takes to make sure everything your child is doing is acceptable?

Parents should also realize that kids tend to make social media accounts and hide them from their parents.  Don’t ever think, “Not my kid”.  There should be trust between parents and their children, so every now and then, ask your child to show you what programs are on their computers and look at the search history.  One thing you need to do is to make sure your child knows what’s important in life.  Kids need to know that “Likes” and followers in social media aren’t important, but what happens in real life is.  Teach them the importance of privacy and how losing it can be dangerous.

[internetprivacy101]

Double Check What Items You Donate: Personal Info Is Sold

At one time or another, most of us have donated old items such as clothing, furniture, books and household items to charities such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army.  But, when you donate these things, do you double-check all the drawers and pockets to make sure you’re not donating something you wouldn’t want to get into someone else’s hands?  Well, there is one person who donated items to a central Indiana Goodwill store who could have been the victim of identity theft because a box with of all her family’s personal information was sold.  Yes, all 39 pounds was sold to a woman for $27.69.

When items are donated to Goodwill, they go on sale in one of their stores.  If, for some reason, the item doesn’t sell, it is placed in a bin with other unsold items and the closed bin is sold by the pound.  When Emily Watson checked the box she was about to purchase from an Indianapolis Goodwill outlet store, she discovered that it contained the private information belonging to one family.  The box contained tax returns, pay stubs, bank account information, Social Security numbers, divorce papers, medical and dental records that belonged to various members of one family.  What prompted Ms. Watson to open the box prior to finalizing her purchase was that previously, she made the same type of purchase and when she got home, she discovered that it contained someone’s personal information. 

Once it was discovered that this box, too, contained personal information, Ms. Watson brought it to the attention of a store employee.  The store employee then called the manager over to inspect the box.  The manager sifted through the paperwork and said, “It doesn’t look harmful to me.  It’s OK.”  Since Ms. Watson was afraid that this information could be purchased by someone less honest, she made the purchase herself.

Once the purchase was made, Ms. Watson called WTHR Channel 13 and told them what had just happened.  An investigation was opened by WTHR 13 Investigates to see how wide-spread this problem was.  As part of the investigation, undercover shoppers were sent to three Goodwill outlets in the Indianapolis area.  What they found was astonishing!  These undercover shoppers were able to purchase sensitive documents at all of the stores visited!  To make sure this wasn’t just a one-time incident, they continued to visit these outlets for 2 months, making a total of 28 visits.  Personal information was purchased in 24 of those visits.  What the WTHR employees were able to purchase included immigration documents, valid credit and debit cards, automobile titles, medical histories, drug test results, 401K and IRA statements, college transcripts and many other types of personal documents.

All of this personal information that was donated to Goodwill, then sold, filled three boxes and consisted of thousands of pages.  There were some Social Security Numbers that belonged to Indianapolis Metro Police Department officers.  WTHR contacted Sgt. Eric Eads, identity theft expert, at Indianapolis Metro and told him of the find.  Sgt. Eads’s comment was, “Let me put it to you this way:  this is a police nightmare here.  If someone got ahold of this stuff.  It’s just shocking the amount of Social Security numbers and tax records you found.”

Elesabeth Leclercq was another person whose tax records were purchased by employees of WTHR.  Ms. Leclercq said, “It’s terrible.  I don’t even know what to say.  I’m still stunned and in a state of shock.”  A couple, Julie and Brett Snyder, also had theirs and their children’s personal information purchased by WTHR.  Mrs. Snyder stated, “This isn’t anything we would throw away.  I mean, we wouldn’t have just handed this over to Goodwill.  It’s shocking.  We are completely shocked.”

A woman named Rose who wouldn’t give her last name was the person whose information was found by Emily Watson.  Her statement to WTHR was, “It’s pretty devastating and I’ve had nightmares about it”

How could this have happened?  It’s believed that a series of errors started when a cleaning service sent boxes to Goodwill instead of to the intended storage center.  That is what led to all of this personal information being sold.  Cindy Graham, the Marketing Vice President at Goodwill, was contacted by WTHR and she admitted to their part in this mistake.  What she said was, “We do take this very seriously.  They don’t want us to have it and we don’t really want to have it either.”  She said that there will be an internal investigation at Goodwill and when it is finished, “We’re going to take a look and see how we can prevent that from happening.  Our process would have been and should have been and will be ‘Let’s shred this’”.  One thing Ms. Graham added was that anyone making donations must be more careful in knowing what is being sent out.

The documents that were purchased during the WTHR investigation were either returned to their rightful owners or destroyed.  Thanks to Emily Watson, there are quite a few people who don’t have to worry that their personal information got into the wrong hands.  From now on, anyone who wishes to make donations needs to carefully check what is going out so this doesn’t happen again.

[internetprivacy101]

Is Your Password Secure?

We are living in an era where cyber-crime is at an all-time high.  Knowing this, wouldn’t you think that people would take more precautions when using the Internet?  Well, that’s not the case.  Today, millions of Internet subscribers are using the same password for all of their on-line accounts.  As if this weren’t bad enough, the password used is usually “1234abcd” or variations thereof.  It could be forgetfulness, or it could be laziness, but this is a common Internet practice that shows no sign of stopping.  Are you one of these millions of people or do you know someone who is?  If so, you need to read this.

A password is one of the first and most valuable security measures.  Every time you register for a website, you must make up a username and password.  The password should consist of a minimum of eight characters, case sensitive, with a combination of alpha and numerical.  When you register with the password “JoEcOoL515”, that is the only password that will allow access.  Each time you sign on to that site, this is how the password must be entered.  If you enter “joecool515”, access will be denied.  Thinking up different passwords for every single site, from on-line banking to shopping, becomes tiresome and bewildering. 

In order to easily remember each password, people also make the mistake of using the names of their children with the date of birth as the numeric portion.  Using the names of pets is also common.  The problem with this is that if you are at a public hotspot and a hacker breaks into your connection, all he would need to find is your log-in information for Facebook.  From there, he can get all the information he needs:  birthdates, children’s names, pets’ names, the name of your spouse and your e-mail address.  Once he has this information, this hacker could guess your password for any of your important sites including your on-line bank site.

Siber Systems, Inc., a corporation based in Virginia, realized that coming up with unique passwords was a chore for some people.  Knowing this, they came up with their first consumer product:  RoboForm.  It was released to the public in 1999 and now has millions of users globally.  This is thanks to it being translated into 30 languages.

RoboForm takes the tedious process of filling out forms and entering passwords and automates it for you.  RoboForm asks you to save a password the very first time you use the product.  Once that is done, you will be asked if you want to bookmark a website and save your login information.  It also has a feature to generate a random password.  When you say “yes”, the information will be saved, so each time you click on that bookmark after that, your information is entered automatically.

One of the best things about RoboForm is that you don’t have to think about passwords!  You only have to remember one master password that you set the first time you use it.  You enter this password every time you launch RoboForm then RoboForm does its job after that.  It generates and remembers each unique password for all of the sites you register on.  The system is effective, and a bonus is that you are safe from being hacked because every password is encrypted.

Because RoboForm was so successful, in 2004, Siber Systems created RoboForm2Go.  This is a portable version that you use by plugging a USB flash drive into your computer.  RoboForm2Go will be working for you, in your native tongue, no matter where in the world that you take it. 

Of course, for added security, you could use a proxy server from a reputable company.  This way, no matter where you sign on to the Internet, your connection will always be encrypted, making it worthless to cyber-crooks.

[internetprivacy101]

Keeping Your Identity Safe

Identity theft doesn’t just happen on-line; sometimes, it happens in real life.  How well do you know your friends and acquaintances?  This is something you need to ask yourself any time you invite someone into your home.  I was speaking with a close friend the other day and she told me of an experience that her cousin recently went through.  The situation went like this:

A few years ago, Lynne met Andy at a business conference in Las Vegas.  They spent some time together and in getting to know each other.  They realized that they lived in the same mid-western city.  In fact, they were scheduled on the same flight home, so they arranged to sit together on the plane so they could continue their great conversations.  Once they landed, they exchanged phone numbers and said they’d keep in touch.

A week later, Lynne got a call from Andy and they went on their first “hometown date”.  Conversation was easy, Andy was a gentleman and everything went well.  So well, in fact, that within a few months, Lynne and Andy started talking about taking the next step by moving in together.   Since Andy’s lease was up first, he didn’t renew and moved his things to Lynne’s apartment. 

About six months into the new living arrangement, Andy’s mother came to visit from their native country.  Andy had became a US citizen a few years earlier, but his mom was very upset that he had become so “Americanized” that he felt comfortable moving in with a woman he wasn’t married to.  She also didn’t like the fact that Lynne’s family was a different ethnicity, so she encouraged Andy to get his own apartment again.  Not only that, but she also suggested that Andy bring his ex-girlfriend to the US to live.  

Needless to say, this didn’t go over too well with Lynne.  When his mother left, Andy and Lynne fought over this issue.  Andy couldn’t understand why Lynne was so upset because his mother was just looking out for him.  Things got so bad that Andy moved out.

About a month after he moved, Andy called her and told her that he missed her and that he wanted them to start dating again.  Lynne agreed, but let him know that they would be taking things slowly.  After a while, Andy started spending weekends at Lynne’s apartment. 

Lynne needed her Social Security card to apply for a loan.  When she went to get it from its place in her closet, she discovered it was missing.  She really didn’t give it too much thought because she figured she simply misplaced it.  The next day, she went to the Social Security office to get a duplicate card.   

Shortly after this, Andy and Lynne had a huge fight and broke up for good.  A week later, she saw Andy walking out of City Hall with a woman she didn’t know.  Apparently, Andy was well acquainted with this woman because they stopped at the top of the stairs and had pictures taken as she tossed her bridal bouquet to a small group of people that came out of the building with them!

When Lynne got home, there were so many things running through her mind.  At the top of that list was her missing Social Security card.  Since Andy lived with her, he knew where she kept all of her important documents.  She was sure that she hadn’t moved her Social Security card, but shortly after Andy started spending weekends with her, it came up missing.  Could he have taken it?  She then remembered Andy’s mother asking him to bring his ex-girlfriend to the United States.  Could his new wife be this woman?

After some investigating, Lynne began to wonder if Andy used her identity to bring this new wife to the states.    Lynne believed she had become a victim of identity theft!  She immediately went to the Social Security office to report the theft and filed a police report. 

Lynne never thought this could happen to her.  She knew that strangers over the Internet stole identities, so she was always so careful whenever she went on-line.  She didn’t realize that someone she trusted in her home, someone she lived with, would do something like this to her. 

Be careful who you trust both online and off.

[internetprivacy101]

Cookies? What are They? Can I Avoid Them?

We’ve all heard about “cookies”, but not everyone knows what they are.  Sometimes, they’re called “HTTP cookies”, “browser cookies” or “web cookies”.  Sometimes, they’re just “cookies”.  It doesn’t matter what name you call them; cookies are what websites use to store and identify actions performed by people on their browsers.  Each time a person uses their computer to read a news article, log into a website, shop online, or even if that person simply clicks the “Like” button on Facebook, that person’s information is stored on those sites for an indefinite amount of time.  This is why, when you log into your favorite sites, you no longer have to input your personal information.  The visits are “remembered” by the browser, so your “username”, and even your password, automatically pop up.  You can delete these cookies, but sometimes, even deleting them won’t ensure your safety on the internet.

Websites using “tracking cookies” and “third-party tracking cookies” caused significant privacy concerns, prompting lawmakers in the US and Europe to take a stand against the use of cookies.  Cookies do not carry “viruses”, nor do they install malicious software (or malware) on computers, but they DO store the browsing and purchasing histories of internet users for many, many years.  According to privacy advocates, this is not acceptable.

There are many different kinds of cookies.  They all perform particular tasks, but they all center on storing sensitive information.  Examples of cookies are as follows:

·         Session Cookies stay on the computer only as long as the user is on a certain website.  Normally, the browser deletes these cookies as soon as the session is finished.

·         Third-Party Cookies are used by advertisers to gather information in order to build a detailed profile on a specific user.  For example:  if a user signs into a site that was targeted by an advertisement, then signs into another site which has the same targeted advertisement, both visits are tracked by the advertiser. 

·         Authentication Cookies are said to be the most important kind of cookie.  These cookies are used by servers to identify if a user is logged on.  These cookies can also identify which specific account the computer is logged onto.  With this device, the website recognizes if it is safe to transmit personal information.  If the user cannot be identified by the cookie, a “You Must Log In” message is shown.  If a website or browser does not have a high security level, it’s possible that the user’s information could be captured by hackers.  In other words, authentication cookies are only as safe as the user’s browser and website being logged into. 

·         Persistent Cookies are also known as “tracking cookies” because they stay on the computer and are re-sent to the server each time a user visits the particular site.  They record significant information, including how the user first found that particular website. 

·         HTTP-Only Cookies are only used when the user is sending HTTP or HTTPS data.  APIs (Application Programming Interface), including JavaScript are not allowed access to this data.  The possibility of data theft isn’t fully removed, but the chances of this happening are lessened.

·         Secure Cookies are only used when a person visits a site through HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure).  The user is guaranteed that their information is always encrypted when it’s being transmitted.  Electronic “snooping” is just about impossible with these secure cookies.

·         Zombie Cookies can recreate themselves even after the user deletes them.  They store their content in other areas, then “resurrect” from these storage areas as soon as the deletion is realized.

There is a variety of uses for cookies.  For example, they can be used to manage sessions for on-line shopping.  Whenever you shop on-line, you may have noticed the “Shopping Cart”.  You select an item to purchase and move it to your digital shopping cart.  You then have the option to either continue shopping, or proceed on to the checkout area.  If you continue shopping, each item you purchase is stored in your shopping cart and retrieved when you are ready to complete your transaction.

Cookies also enable the site to “guesstimate” what other items you may be interested in purchasing just by “looking” at the items in your shopping cart.  Once an item goes into your shopping cart, on a sidebar, there is usually an area that says, “People who bought this item also bought….” along with a list of related items.  Even if you don’t choose one of those items on this on-line shopping trip, they will be remembered for the next time you visit that particular site.

When you visit the same websites repeatedly, cookies are used to store your personal information, such as username and password, on your computer.  Once you register for that site, any subsequent visits you make from your computer will not need you to “re-register”.  All you need to do is go to the site, and your log-in information is already there.  The only thing left for you to do is click “Log On”.  You will notice that if you are using someone else’s computer, you will need to enter your username and password.  That is because the cookies are only stored on your computer and browser. 

Cookies are also the tools that make it possible for you to personalize certain web pages by adding your own “theme”.  For instance, Google allows more than one Gmail account on a computer.  Each person can choose a different theme, making the Gmail account their own.  When the account is selected, it pops up with the particular color scheme or wallpaper assigned by the cookies.

Tracking cookies are used to keep track of all of a user’s on-line actions.  These cookies keep track of all the websites a user has ever visited, how many times the user visited that site and how long each session on that site lasted.  Data mining companies are able to target specific advertisements to specific individuals by using this information.  This is why most privacy concerns center around these tracking cookies.

There are so many free public hotspots around, but how “free” are these Wi-Fi connections?  Whenever you use one of these connections, your information is not encrypted.  This gives cyber-crooks the opportunity to intercept your data stream and make your information his.  Once he has your information, he can pose as you on any website and perform actions including transferring money from your bank accounts.

Cookies can be a huge convenience, but they can also be harmful, as demonstrated in the situation above.  If a particular user’s information is correctly entered on a site, it’s impossible for that site to know if it is truly that person, or an identity thief.  So, how is it possible to be fully protected? 

The best way to protect yourself and your personal information is by using a proxy server.  When a proxy server is utilized, your IP address is hidden from everyone.  This is important, but the most valuable way a proxy server protects you is by encrypting all of your information.  Each time you sign on to your computer, whether it’s at home or in a public hotspot, by encrypting your information, it would be worthless to a cyber-crook.  No one can use information that is virtually “unreadable”, therefore, you will be safe from becoming a victim of identity theft.  However, some of the “free” proxies do not offer encryption and are run by people who monitor every connection.  This is like giving your personal information away.  In order to avoid this, you must find a reputable proxy service.

[internetprivacy101]

Social Media Posting Regrets

Social media is a very large part of all our lives, with millions of people signing on every day.  All across the globe, people are signing on to Facebook to keep in contact with family and friends, LinkedIn to update business contacts, Twitter to tell the world how they feel in 140 characters or less and Instagram to share pictures with anyone who is interested based on hashtags.  If you have a video that you want the world to see, you can post that to YouTube.  It’s not enough to have an account with just one of these social media giants; most people have accounts in all of them.  It’s safe to say that no matter how you feel about it, social media will be around for a long, long time.

When the Internet was just making an appearance to the private sector, a person needed to be at home sitting in front of a computer that was hooked up to an Internet connection.  Now, people are hooking up to the Internet everywhere.  Internet access is available on smartphones, iPods and tablets, so no matter where you are, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can be called upon by a touch of an icon on your home screen.  Everything is so easy now.  But then, maybe it’s a bit too easy. 

There are times when after a long, hard day at work, the only time you have to relax is when you get a seat on the bus or train for your commute home.  As a way to unwind, you decide to check your Facebook page from your smartphone.  Still thinking about everything that went wrong during the day, you decide that you need to vent, so, you think that by ranting on Facebook it will get out of your mind.  You update your status to read, “I hate my job!  Co-workers are lazy moochers and my boss is a complete moron.  Had to do it all myself or nothing would be done right.”  Feeling a bit better, you click “Post” and settle in to try to catch a little nap.  Your Facebook rant is forgotten…for a little while.  The next day, you walk into the office and your co-workers all turn their backs on you.  You get to your desk and none of your personal items are there.  You then see your boss walking towards you with a box filled with your family photos and your “World’s Best Dad” cup.  You’re handed the box and told that “the lazy moochers and moron boss” are going to try to get along without you from now on.  Oh, no!!!  The Facebook rant!  Did you forget that your boss and co-workers are your Facebook friends?

Even a night out with the girls can be a social media disaster.  Margaritas keep appearing at your table.  To record the evening, you and your friends take out your smartphones and start taking pictures and videos.  As soon as the pictures are taken, they are being posted to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so everyone not there can share in the experience.  Things were pretty tame until the twerking contest is announced.  There you are, twerking (or trying to) up against any random male that comes near you.  By the time the contest is over, the video of you that your friend recorded is up on YouTube.  Your drunken twerking is a hit and goes viral, being shared by over 5 million of your “closest friends”.    

Another mistake that many people make is constantly updating their relationship status.  I’m sure you even have friends who do this.  As soon as they have a second date with a guy, they feel the need to update Facebook to say that “Betty is in a relationship with Archie”.  Unfortunately, Archie didn’t feel this was a relationship so they break up.  Also unfortunately, the “Betty/Archie” relationship status remains on your Facebook Timeline as a part of your history. 

Remember going out with your friends, having some drinks, then going home and lamenting over your lost love of 5 years ago?  Well, now, you don’t have to wait to go home to drunk-dial him; you have your smartphone with you so you can do this right at the bar.  Added to drunk-dialing, we now have drunk-Facebooking and drunk-Tweeting.    

Having social media available at a moment’s notice will turn some rational people into raving maniacs.  When you can post anything at any given moment, the thought process goes out the window.  When you tweet, “At Zan-za-Bar.  Drunk and needing a hug.  Any takers?”, that leaves you open for any one of your followers to find you and take you up on that offer.  Just beware because it most likely won’t be that cute guy you’ve had your eye on.  This will also leave you open to someone breaking into your home knowing that you aren’t there.

There are so many things that can put our privacy at risk, do we really need to add social media to the “risk list”?  Make it a habit to never hit “Post” until you ask yourself these questions:

1.   At some point in the future, will this come back to bite me in the butt?

2.   How will this look to an employer/prospective-employer/university administrator?

3.   Will my boss be angry enough to fire me because of this post?

4.   Is this something I wouldn’t mind showing my parents, spouse or children?

If the answer to any or all of these questions is “Yes”, then you need to delete the post/picture/video immediately.  In other words:  Don’t hit “Post”!

[internetprivacy101]

Children and Social Networking

I’ve seen many questions around the Internet that deal with privacy. Lately, children’s privacy is becoming more of a concern.  I’m just sorry to say that most of the parents asking about their children’s privacy risks were prompted to ask because their privacy had already been violated.

New parents are so thrilled with their new little bundle of joy that they want to share him or her with the world.  Pictures are taken and posted to various social networking sites from the time of the first sonogram.  When the baby is born, videos are taken of every milestone and posted to YouTube.  Because they want to share their new baby with the world, these videos can be seen by anyone, friends and strangers alike.

Unfortunately, these new parents don’t realize that these seemingly innocent pictures and videos can put their child in danger.  Sure, baby’s first bath could be a great picture or video, but anything posted publicly could be copied by an unsavory character.  It could then be used on sites frequented by pedophiles.  Taking a photo of your little girl’s first trip to the beach when her bathing suit bottom was knocked off by a wave could end up on a child porn site also.

Child porn isn’t the only thing you need to worry about.  You may think it’s harmless to post your children’s pictures to your social networking site, but that can be dangerous also.  Since most of us have our home towns in our profiles, anyone who can see these pictures will see your general location.  If one of these people put in a little bit of effort, they could be led right to your child.

According to Facebook, a person must be at least 13 years of age to have an account.  However, there are many children who are only 9 or 10 years of age with their own Facebook pages.  Sometimes, it’s the kids who “fudge” on their ages and open accounts, but many times, a parent will do it for them.  The child complains that “everyone at school” is on Facebook, so the parent will set up the account using a fake birth year.  Parents don’t know the importance of monitoring their children when they go on line, so it’s easy for a kid to get into trouble.

A child with a webcam and a Facebook page are a very bad combination.  Since parents rarely monitor these pages, they don’t know what types of pictures these kids are taking and/or posting.  I have an acquaintance whose 11 year old daughter has had her own Facebook page for 3 years now.  She is one of my “friends” because she needed a “neighbor” for one of the games and her mother asked if I would add her.  A few weeks ago, there was a picture of this little girl lying on her bed, with messy hair and half-closed eyes.  Only if one looked closely could you see she had on a tank top.  At first, I wondered if her mother knew about this picture, but then I noticed a comment from the mom stating how “gorgeous” she looked!  Personally, I thought that the photo was a pervert’s fantasy.

If your child has a computer equipped with a webcam and Internet access, it’s important that you supervise that child each and every time he or she goes on-line.  The best way to do this is to make sure the computer is in a common area of the house.  Without the proper supervision, kids will think nothing of taking pictures of all their friends and posting them.  As parents, we must be aware of exactly what types of pictures they are taking and posting.

Don’t find out the hard way that your child’s pictures are being used in ways that no parent would ever want to see.  Monitor your kids closely and teach them what is and isn’t appropriate to show on the Internet.

[internetprivacy101]

Your Children could be Chatting with Strangers. Parents Beware.

I do a lot of research on the Internet.  In my travels of the virtual world, I have discovered a few chat sites that seem to be very popular with kids.  I’m not talking about older teenagers; I’m talking about kids as young as 8 years old.  This shows me that either parents aren’t aware of the dangers of the Internet, or they turn a blind eye to it thinking “Not my kid”.  Either way, they are allowing their kids to have free access to some very dangerous sites.  Parents need to realize that the Internet is nothing like the interactive TV shows of the 60s.  There used to be a time when kids would put up a clear vinyl screen over the TV and connect the dots to allow Winky Dink to escape from the “bad guys”.  Winky Dink would escape and all would be good.  The “bad guys”, however, never tried to talk the kids behind the TV screen into meeting them.  Parents, welcome to the 21st century where strangers on the other side of the screen could be trying to lure your children away from you, but there are no dots to connect in order to save them. 

With so many schools using e-textbooks and school websites as a way to communicate with the students, parents are buying their kids computers at younger ages than ever before.  The computer is a necessity, but parents don’t seem to realize how important it is to set strict rules for the use of these computers.  Mainly, anyone under the age of 16 should not be allowed to have a computer equipped with a webcam and connected to the Internet in his or her room.  It’s amazing how a parent who will not let a child walk two blocks to school alone will let that same child roam around the Internet without supervision.  Without supervision, these kids are finding sites that allow strangers to chat with other each other.  Don’t stick your head in the sand and say, “Not my kid” because it could very well be your kid.

One of the sites these kids are finding and using is Omegle.  The site was founded by Leif K-Brooks, an 18 year old from Brattleboro, Vermont, and went live on March 25, 2009.  The concept of the site is to allow strangers, who would not normally have a chance to meet in real life, to chat with each other in real time.  Omegle had over 150,000 users per month within one month of going live and it’s still going strong.  There is no need to register for this site, there is no cost to use the site and the site is completely unmonitored.  Yes, a disclaimer does state that any users must be at least 18 years old, but, on the Internet, people can be anyone or any age they want to be.  

At first, the chat on Omegle was in text only.  Currently, the site offers a choice of text or video chat.  It’s bad enough when kids can chat with strangers in text, but to allow them to video-chat is a total nightmare.  The story of Amanda Todd comes to mind when I think of kids, strangers and video-chat.  Canadian teenager Amanda Todd starting video chatting with strangers when she was just 13 years old.  She loved the attention she would get from males who told her how beautiful she was.  One day, someone convinced her to lift her shirt and bare her breasts.  She didn’t see the harm because who else would be seeing this chat, so, she complied.  The man took a screenshot without her knowing. 

This man found her on Facebook, and, using a fake profile, told her that he was a teenage boy who would be starting the next semester at her school.   Once she accepted him as a “friend” he was able to see everyone on her friends list and sent the screenshot he took to all of them.  He also sent the shot to the school website and posted it on random sites all over the Internet.  Amanda was called awful names and was bullied because of this mistake.  Her parents moved so that Amanda would be able to start fresh in a new school.  Her harasser followed her, again, through Facebook.  It wasn’t long before Amanda’s topless photo made the rounds at her new school.  In October of 2012, Amanda made a now famous YouTube video using flashcards to tell the world what she had been through.  On October 10, 2012, few days after posting the video, Amanda hanged herself.  Amanda’s tormentor has never been discovered.

This is but one example of how things can go horribly wrong when you allow a child free access to the Internet.  Sometimes, a young child will not see anything wrong with doing something like flashing a screen, but they will do it in the spur of the moment thinking there’s no harm in a quick peek.  Parents should also be concerned about what all of this means to their privacy.  Supposedly, people chat anonymously on Omegle, but sometimes, children will give their real names and phone numbers.  Many children will think they can’t be found as long as they don’t tell the person exactly where they are, but with a name and an area code, anyone can do a quick search to find your exact location.  Also, if a child can find a site like Omegle, that child probably has a Facebook page with all of their school and hometown information. 

Chatroulette is another site where strangers can get together to talk.  Seventeen year old Andrey Ternovsky of Moscow, Russia created this site.  One difference between Chatroulette and Omegle is that registration is required for Chatroulette, but it’s free to register.  The idea for the site came when Andrey watched the movie The Deer Hunter.  In the movie, prisoners of war in Vietnam were made to play Russian Roulette as a way for the guards to amuse themselves.  This is the way Chatroulette works; you sign on and you are connected to a random stranger from anywhere in the world.  Each time you sign on, you are connected to a different stranger, so you never know who you will be chatting with. 

There was an unofficial study done about Chatroulette and it showed that people are connecting to others in the US in over half of the connections.  89% are male, while only 11% are female.  Many videos were of an empty chair.  The study also

found that 1 in every 8 of the connections that showed people, that person was either naked and/or masturbating on camera.  Now, is this something you want your child to see?

With both Omegle and Chatroulette, you are asked to grant access of your webcam to these sites so that you can be connected with others.  With access to a webcam set up on a computer in your child’s room, can you imagine what can happen if the computer is never turned off?

Obviously, there have been concerns voiced about these sites.  American psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow, who is also a best-selling author criticized Chatroulette by saying, “Parents should keep all their children off the site because it’s much too dangerous for children.  It’s a predator’s paradise.  This is one of the worst faces of the Internet that I’ve seen.  It’s disconnecting human relationships rather than connecting them.”

Another criticism came from Ernie Allen, President of the National Center of Missing & Exploited Children.  On CBS’s The Early Show, he said that Chatroulette is “the last place parents want their kids to be.  This is a huge red flag; this is extreme social networking.  This is a place kids are going to gravitate to.”

Andrey Ternovsky has told the New York Times that “Everyone finds his own way of using the site.  Some think it is a game, others think it is a whole unknown world, others think it is a dating service.  I think it’s cool that such a concept can be useful for so many people.”  He knows that people are masturbating on camera or sometimes just standing around naked, but he doesn’t agree with this use.  This being said, reports show that many very young males are using Chatroulette but also, a good percentage of users are very young females.

Parents need to know that sites like Omegle and Chatroulette are out there and that their kids are finding them.  We all would like to think our kids are innocent, but sometimes, they’re not as innocent as we would like to believe.  This article should be an example of why parents need to closely monitor their kids’ on line activities.  Keep the computers out of your kids’ rooms and put passwords on them so that after you’re in bed for the night, your kids can’t sneak on line.  Doing this can save not only your privacy, but your kids’ innocence.  We can’t keep our kids innocent forever, but do we really want them exposed to adult situations when they’re tweens?

[internetprivacy101]

Too Much Information on Facebook Could be Dangerous

Every day, Facebook status addicts from all over the world are posting every move they make.  A common post is, “Flight about to take off to Rio!  Two weeks with nothing to do but swim and tan sounds like heaven!”  Does this look like something you would post?  Then read on.  It could save you from some dangerous situations. 

Out of all of the millions of daily Facebook users, a very small percentage use their privacy controls to the fullest.  If your profile is public, or even if you don’t block certain people from seeing every single post, your updates and photos could come back to haunt you.  Knowing what town you live in from your profile, anyone reading your post will know that you are going away.  Not only that, but they will know that you will be many hours away and for two weeks.  That was an invitation to rob you blind.  You could have just added “Key is in the planter.  Take whatever you want” to the end of that status update.

Rants about co-workers and bosses are other examples of too much information.  There’s a good chance that your co-workers and boss are also on Facebook and all they would have to do is look up your name to see these rants.  There is another thing that many people are becoming aware of:  many companies are asking employees to give their social networking information to Human Resources.  Some would argue that this is against privacy laws and refuse to give in.  Unfortunately, soon afterwards, a budget cut may force the “termination of your position with the company”.    

Now, let’s go back to that vacation in Rio.  You will be staying at a hotel where you give your credit card to the front desk clerk, who assigns you a room with an appropriate amount of keys.  Your bags are brought to the room by a bellhop.  Housekeeping has readied the room for your arrival and you comment how beautiful it’s kept.  It was a long flight, so instead of going out, you call and order your dinner from room service so you could eat on the balcony enjoying the view of the beaches and the Atlantic Ocean.  In just a short time, so many people you have never met before know your name, credit card number and what you look like.  They also know how long you will be staying and how many suitcases you brought with you.  Out of all these people, how many of them have you done background checks on?  Facebook is popular in Brazil, also.  Anyone working at the hotel can look up your name and see your public profile and page.  Because you post everything that you do, that person could keep tabs on your activities and know when you will be gone from your room for any length of time.  Remember that anyone working at the hotel has access to your room.  They could even give access to one of their acquaintances.

Another cause of trouble is known as “drunk Facebooking”.  A group of friends go away for the weekend and decide that they are going to party like rock stars.  Cell phones come out and pictures are taken and posted at each club they go to.   By the end of the night, everyone is drunk, and one of the women in the group is talked into entering a wet t-shirt contest.  She wins!  The picture goes right up to Facebook with the comment, “Don’t you wish YOUR ninth grade teacher was this hot?”  It’s all fun and games until some students, or parents of students look up the teacher’s name on Facebook.  Won’t they be surprised that she was recently voted “Miss Wet T-Shirt 2012”?  How long before word gets out to the Board of Education and that teacher is out of a job for violating a morals clause in her contract?

Teachers aren’t the only ones who need to worry about being seen.  Students are unwittingly put in danger by their parents every day.  Thousands of first day of school photos are being posted showing a young child standing in front of the school complete with the school name.  It’s common for parents to do this, but they don’t think that by showing the school name and by having a public profile, that child could be found.  Is that picture worth risking your child?

More and more people are connecting with LinkedIn now.  The trouble is that many don’t understand that LinkedIn is a professional site for professional contacts.  Corporations hire people to look for possible candidates for employment.  Having a profile picture of you at a party or in a bikini won’t help you get a job in a reputable company.  Photos and comments about party weekends should not be posted here.

Before you post anything, you need to ask yourself what could happen if these posts are seen by the wrong people.  Even if you keep your page private, many of your friends may not.  This leaves those party posts and pictures available to anyone, including your boss.  A good idea would be to have two Facebook pages; one under the name your friends and family call you, and the other under the name your boss and co-workers call you.  Tell friends and family to ONLY post to the page with your “pet name”.  This way, all those inappropriate photos and comments will only be seen by friends and family.  Even tagged photos from someone else will go to this “secret” page.  With this in place, you should be safe.