Whenever you buy a car or a house, there's always fine print – tiny lettering that people rarely read but causes many a headache. After all, the devil is in the details.
It's the buyers' responsibility to read the fine print and the terms and conditions, and make sure they are not being taken advantage of. It's okay to ask for help if the language is confusing. Most legal documents and service agreements use phrasing that would tie the average person's tongue in knots. So, seeking advice is actually … well, advisable.
The same applies to users of social media platforms. Take a look at the recent debacle with Instagram. The company that developed the popular photo-sharing service purchased by Facebook earlier this year – for a paltry $1 billion – recently rolled out a revised set of terms and conditions. The wording was so confusing that many legal experts cited by the tech media had difficulty sifting through itall, let alone the average user.
Episode 1: Protecting Your Privacy Against Online Tracking and Surveillance
Do you realize that every step you take, every click you make online is tracked, analyzed and sold or traded to companies that want to market to you? I don’t know about you, but I get a bit fed up with outsiders having more control over my online identity and privacy than I do. This short video series, in partnership with Fox & Friends, is meant to help you take back a measure of control in your digital life.
To view the entire Browser Spies Online Privacy video series, wait until the end of each video and click on the Next Video button in the lower right-hand corner of your screen. As you watch each short video in your browser, make the necessary changes based on each simple video tip on protecting your online identity and privacy.
I’m starting a new video series on my AskSileo YouTube channel to address common questions that parents have about their kid’s safety on Facebook and online privacy in general.
AskSileo Episode 1: Children’s Safety on Facebook and Social Networking (drawing from first-hand experience)
I get this question all of the time: Is my kid safe on Facebook? The answer to that questions depends on three basic factors:
The amount of time you have invested in helping your child set up their Facebook account. If you haven’t spent at least 90 minutes in the process, they are in no way safe. It takes at least 1.5 hours to wisely populate their profile, customize privacy and security settings and read through the Facebook Data Use Policy (notice that Facebook no longer refers to it as a privacy policy, because the reality is that you have almost no privacy on Facebook).
Holiday Security Tips: On the ninth day of Christmas, the experts gave to me, 9 protected packages
Thieves are on the lookout for the delivery of packages, especially around the holidays. Fed Ex and UPS packages might sit outside for hours, often in plain view from the street, making a mighty tempting target. Not only can thieves grab the precious contents inside, but also the shipping labels often contain personal information the thieves love to get their hands on.
Solution: Ship packages to your work address, a PO Box or require a signature
If your employer doesn’t mind your receiving packages at work, have them shipped there since someone is generally available during the day (when shipments arrive). If that doesn’t work, consider getting a PO Box at the post office during the holidays. When all else fails, ask to have your packages shipped with signature required so that they aren’t dropped off unless someone is there to sign.
Almost 20 billion packages will be delivered through the mail this holiday season. Even at $5 per package, that’s more than $100 Billion in value going through the mail–a scale too large and tempting for criminals to ignore.
Why do thieves target us during the holidays? In addition to the volume and value of holiday mail, criminals are taking advantage of the perfect winter storm:
Trucks are overloaded, mail & UPS carriers are overworked and shoppers are overwhelmed, which makes theft easy and attractive
Thieves take advantage not just of our good nature during the holidays, but of how distracted we are
Criminals see our generosity of giving as a goldmine waiting to be exploited
Cyber Thieves are officially out today to steal your credit card information or any other private personal information they can intercept as you shop online during Cyber Monday (and for the rest of the holiday season). In less that 60 seconds, you can know what they are up to and what to watch out for. Only 50 seconds left, so here they are (note: some of the “for more info” links will only become live over the next few weeks in our 12 Days of Christmas series, so please check back):
Be extremely careful when using free Wi-Fi hotspots to shop online, as you are being watched by data sniffers.
Only shop on secure, reputable websites that: A. You know via other means (the press; you shop at their store) B. Look for “https” in the URL, C. The website has a small padlock icon in the bottom right corner of your browser or the URL turns green, signaling a “safe” site.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley blamed an outdated Internal Revenue Service standard (see below) as a source of a massive data breach that exposed the SSNs of 3.8 million South Carolina taxpayers plus credit card and bank account data. The identity information, nearly 75 GB worth, was stolen from computers that belonged to the SC Department of Revenue.
The breach reveals some shocking realizations for the people of South Carolina, and the rest of us:
South Carolina is compliant with IRS rules, but the IRS DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT SSNs BE ENCRYPTED. In other words, the keys to your financial buying power (your credit profile via SSN) is protected in no material way by the IRS, and therefore by your state government.
Technology isn’t the only source of blame. As is the case in nearly every data breach I’m brought in to help clean up, a HUMAN DECISION is at the heart of the breach.
So I’m out to dinner with a professional speaker whose name I’ll drop so that you’ll be impressed. Larry Winget. Larry is the Pitbull of Personal Development and he’ll probably kill me for not putting a trademark after that title, because he owns it. If you have somebody in your life (kid, employee, boss) that doesn’t take responsibility for the life they lead and the work they’re supposed to do, Larry’s your man. Google his name and find out, or go to LarryWinget.com.
But back to my story. I treated Larry to dinner in Phoenix because I owe him a thousand meals for the coaching he gives me and we’re leaving the table when his wife (who is much nicer than Larry) asks if I’ve taken my credit card out of the folder. Nope. God I hate when that happens! Small oversight for someone who lives and breathes security and privacy. I left my card in the folder, on the table and was fully prepared to leave the restaurant!
Is there a chance that someone could be stealing your most profitable business secrets? Competitive intelligence isn’t new, but it certainly has gotten easier with the introduction of ubiquitous high resolution cameras (smartphones), miniature storage devices that hold massive amounts of data (USB drives) and advanced tools of human manipulation (social networking).
Dyson, the British engineering firm behind the popular bagless vacuum cleaners and Airblade hand dryers, accused their German counterpart, Bosch, of planting a mole, or corporate spy, inside their headquarters for two years to steal vital research and development information. Bosch has denied any wrongdoing and refuses to return the technology or intellectual property. In an odd twist, Bosch hasn’t publicly denied planting an inside spy to siphon competitive intelligence from their rival.
In a world of highly competitive and rapid technological advancements, this sort of news brings to mind three crucial questions for businesses wanting to protect their intellectual property:
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