Posts tagged "online privacy"
Facebook claims to offer ‘transparency’ about targeted ads
Facebook will now identify ads that have been targeted at users based on browser histories, ZIP codes and other data that advertisers collect. This is just a glimpse into the information floating around the Web about us.
According to a recent article in VentureBeat, a little blue triangle over an ad on Facebook will denote that it has been targeted for you specifically. But, don’t get too excited about this supposed transparency just yet.
For starters, it doesn’t reveal the specific information that led the advertisers to target you, nor does it specify how they obtained it. Furthermore, you have to jump through more than one hoop to even see the little blue triangle.
Stop Online Tracking Ep. 4: Enable Do Not Track
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnTQZFPDhH4?rel=0]
Watch the entire Browser Spies Online Privacy series. To view the entire 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.
Browser privacy expert John Sileo and Fox & Friends have teamed up to educate consumers on how your browsing patterns are being monitored, shared and sold as you surf the Internet. These tips give you more control over your online security in short, easy to implement phases. Data exposure, surf-tracking and constant browser surveillance are a reality of the digital age. It’s important to defend your information privacy before it’s too late.
FTC chairman resigns, but online privacy threats persist
Word broke last week that the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Jon Leibowitz, will step down from his post in mid-February.
During his four-year run, Leibowitz brought cases against two of the internet’s biggest companies – Google and Facebook – for violating their own privacy policies. He also spent time working on the expansion of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
An article in The New York Times cites several political figures with varying stances on his performance as the FTC’s chief. Most of the attention, however, has been focused on his actions to curb unfair competition practices in the United States.
While this is obviously the main focus of the FTC, it is frightening that online privacy is treated as the red-headed stepchild of the head of the FTC’s duties. As companies like Google, Facebook and Apple continue to grow in gargantuan leaps and bounds, their business practices are inextricably interwoven with online privacy rights.
Stop Online Tracking Ep. 3: Turn on Private Browsing
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4SHrjT77M?rel=0]
Watch the entire Browser Spies Online Privacy series. To view the entire 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.
Online surveillance expert John Sileo and Fox & Friends have teamed up to educate viewers on how your data is being tracked, stored and sold as you surf the World Wide Web. These tips give you more control over your online privacy in short, easy to implement steps. Internet privacy, cookie tracking and constant web surveillance are a reality of the information economy. It’s important to defend your privacy before it’s too late.
Maintaining Privacy While Living in a Digital Fishbowl
“When you put something out there, anyone can see it – from a future job interviewer to an internet creep.”
This was what the title character on the ABC drama “Castle” said to his daughter in a recent episode upon discovering a video blog in which she was sharing personal details about her life. Richard Castle, played by actor Nathan Fillion, was distraught over his 18-year-old daughter’s over-sharing, worried that any number of miscreants could use details she posts online to do her harm.
When he explained this to her and added that he didn’t want something she posted on a whim to haunt her years later, she showed a fractured appreciation of the topic of online privacy.
“My generation grew up in a digital fishbowl,” she said. “No matter how careful we are stuff will get out there. Friends will tag me in photos, inevitably doing something stupid. Why should that define me?”
Stop Online Tracking Ep. 2: Log Out of Spying Sites
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LidYxWJR3Y?rel=0]
Watch the entire Browser Spies Online Privacy series. To view the entire 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.
Internet privacy expert John Sileo and Fox & Friends have joined up to educate you on how your data is being tracked, recorded and sold as you surf the Internet. These tips give you greater control over your online privacy in short, easy to implement steps. Web privacy, browser tracking and constant Internet surveillance are a reality of modern browsing. It’s important for you to protect your privacy before you have totally lost control.
Combating the disturbingly short attention span for online privacy
Over the weekend, Instagram’s new terms of service went into effect. If your head wasn’t buried in the sand in recent weeks, you may have heard that the company instigated quite a brouhaha over its updated legalese. The proposed changes included what most saw as an assertion that it had the right to sell users’ pictures at will, without consent or compensation. “How dare they?!” shouted the interwebs.
Instagram officials responded to the outcry by saying this was a miscommunication and reverted that section back to the original language. As we pointed out at the time, the previous wording was far more vague and gave Instagram greater leeway over its access to and use of your images.
But, once again, a full grasp of online privacy eludes so many. Because, while there was significant backlash over this singular aspect of the updated terms of service, very little attention was paid to the rest of the changes. For example, Instagram can now freely share user data with Facebook.
Geolocation Data Lets Thieves Know When To Rob You
Take a moment to think about the last time you “checked in” somewhere on a social media site or were tagged in someone else’s status update. People often do this to share the cool things they see or do on vacation or their day off work.
In that moment you just took, did the term “geolocation data” spring to mind? If not, it should have – along with data security. Geolocation data includes all these tags and check-ins, where you are announcing to the world where you are and what you’re doing. Companies use this information to tailor advertisements and other marketing materials to target specific audiences.
Now, we can debate the ethical practices used by these organizations to gather our personal information until the chickens come home to roost, but there are others out there who clearly have nefarious machinations in mind. That check-in at a concert you’re having a blast at tells the online world that you are not home and now might be a good time to break into your house and steal everything you own.
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