Inside Facebook’s brilliant plan to hog your data Facebook’s ‘Anonymous Login’ is about neither anonymity nor logging in. It’s about creating scarcity in the market for user data. Personal data is the new currency. Companies want to get information about people — their location, age, relationships, interests, preferences and much more — because when they have that information… Read More »
4 Seemingly Innocent Online Activities That Track Your Behavior Online privacy is a big topic these days. Many people have heard about potential privacy issues with big name players like Facebook, Google, and the NSA. However, your privacy may be at risk in less obvious places, ones that you should be aware of… Social Share Buttons The web… Read More »
Microsoft makes one-time exception, patches IE on Windows XP Calls news coverage of IE vulnerability ‘overblown,’ but patches IE6, IE7 and IE8 on XP anyway Microsoft today shipped an emergency update for Internet Explorer to close a hole that hackers had already been exploiting. But in an unexpected move, Microsoft allowed Windows XP machines to receive the update,… Read More »
We’ve been advising people for at least five years to install another browser. Microsoft had a method to their madness by making IE virtually a part of Windows. That way, they figured they’d have a captive audience – and they were at least partially right. Many of you use IE simply because you are familiar with it and… Read More »
Why you’ll hate the Internet ‘fast lane’ An Internet “fast lane” means that consumers will pay more for their services, says Corynne McSherry. STORY HIGHLIGHTS The FCC might allow Internet service providers to charge more for a “fast lane” Corynne McSherry: High costs will go to customers; Internet competition will be stifled She says other advanced countries pay… Read More »
What a Toilet Hoax Can Tell Us About the Future of Surveillance A made-up toilet company raises legitimate questions about government data-tracking. Reuters I wasn’t actually surprised to learn that public officials in Toronto had agreed to install “smart toilets” in the city’s convention center so they could analyze public, um, data. As a privacy researcher, the idea fascinated… Read More »