Tag Archive for ‘personal information privacy’
FTC Calls for New Online Privacy Regulations
In a recent statement by the FTC, Commissioner Julie Brill called for more privacy controls in the age of what the FTC is calling unprecedented online tracking. In the past, the FTC has pushed strongly for consumer privacy protections by implementing the Do Not Call Registry, a national effort to impose restrictions on telemarketers. Now [...]
California Courts Rule that Merchants Can No Longer Collect Zip Codes at Point of Sale
In a landmark privacy ruling, the Supreme Court of California has stated that an individual’s zip code is now personal information and is therefore protected under privacy laws. According to the court, the decision was primarily made because of the power of zip codes to detect a consumer’s address. As privacy advocates know, a point-of-sale [...]
Civilian Monitoring Organization Becomes Sony Hackers’ Latest Target
Civilian Monitoring Organization Becomes Sony Hackers’ Latest Target LulzSec, the group of hackers responsible for the recent Sony data breach, have taken credit for this week’s successful hack of InfraGard, an FBI-affiliated private-sector organization that connects businesses, academic institutions, and law enforcement to the FBI through information sharing, analysis efforts, and a common goal to [...]
The Value of Information
As every entrepreneur, investor, and business executive knows, information has value. Knowing something that your competition does not know is often the crux of a successful business. Many corporations devote an entire division to discovering new trade secrets. Advertisers and marketing professionals have discovered the value of information as well, and they are collecting it [...]
The Power of Passphrases
Computer security professionals have long faced a dilemma when it comes to password security. If passwords are too small or easy to remember, they can be quickly hacked by a determined attacker. On the other hand, passwords that are too complex are often written down on post-it notes, making them ineffective against people with physical [...]
Protect Your Privacy By Changing Privacy Settings on WordPress
WordPress blog visibility settings offer three levels of privacy for your blog. The default setting allows everyone, including search engines, to access your blog. The second, more limited setting, blocks search engines from crawling your blog, and requires users to input your URL directly. If you’d like to make your WordPress blog completely private, the [...]
Apple Tracks iPhone Users, Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Researchers discovered this week that the iPhones and iPads constantly track the location data of the phone and save this information to a file on the user’s computer when the user plugs in the phone to sync. The file, named consolidated.db, contains the GPS coordinates of the phone, presumably for technical support or in case [...]
Personal Information Privacy: What Does the Government Know About You?
Surveys report that the average American is worried about personal information privacy. For good reason, too – newly declassified files detail massive FBI efforts at data-mining. Carl Caldwell, the president of Right-to-Know, released the following statement: “FBI files can begin with records as simple as bankruptcy, Veteran Administration activities, income tax difficulties, and passport and [...]
Privacy, TV Ads, and Who’s Tracking Your Personally Identifying Information
With technology advancing every day, there are a number of changes taking place regarding your privacy. One of the biggest changes is coming from satellite and cable television providers. Plans are underway to allow television providers to “personalize” viewers’ advertisements and commercials by gathering personal information about them. This type of personalized advertising would require [...]
Personal Information Privacy During Tax Time
Tax time, when important financial documents come out of locked filing cabinets and are dropped in mailboxes across America, is prime dumpster diving season for identity thieves. Taking precautions to protect your finances from fraud is as simple as minding the following guidelines: E-file. When you file your taxes electronically, there is no paper tax [...]
Entries (RSS)