privacy

U.S. residents living in a state bordering Canada or Mexico may reportedly be given a remotely readable driver's license designed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify U.S. citizens as they approach the nation's borders as a way ... to save time and simplify border crossings. The DHS was created after the attacks of 9/11/01 . Residents may want to think twice before signing up for the department's new program. The licenses come equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that are readable through wallets, pockets or purses from as far away as 30 feet. Tiny ... (view more)

There's been a surprising amount of buzz about a one-word change to Google's home page: 'privacy'. The company has added a link from the front page of the site to the various privacy policies for the first time. It ends a prolonged debate about ... whether or not Google was breaching state laws. The controversy arose in May when the New York Times pointed out that a 2003 California law requires commercial websites based in the state to clearly display a link to its privacy policies from its home page. At the time, Google argued that it had taken care of this with a link to 'About Google'; however ... (view more)

The 'Security vs Privacy' debate is raging again after a court recently ordered Google to hand its entire YouTube records over to Viacom. The order, from the US District Court in Southern New York, comes as part of an ongoing billion dollar lawsuit ... that the media giant (which owns MTV and Nickelodeon among others) filed over copyrighted material on the video site. The suit claims that Viacom has lost revenue thanks to the infringement, while Google has boosted its advertising take. The heart of the case is Google's position that it doesn't -- and practically couldn't -- vet clips that users ... (view more)

A startling report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently revealed details on what appears to be a domestic-spying program that was banned by Congress in 2003 known as the 'Total Information Awareness' (TIA) program. As noted by the American ... Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Orwellian program was shut down by Congress because it represented a massive and unjustified governmental intrusion into the personal lives of citizens. Despite the fact that Congress shut down the program, security agencies under the Bush administration pushed ahead anyway. The National Security Agency (NSA) has ... (view more)

Scary: A recent survey sponsored by Deloitte ... (view more)

Google search rival Ask.com is providing its clients with a new tool called AskEraser, which prevents the company from storing a user's search results. AskEraser gives searchers the ability to control their search history and data retention at the ... same time. While the program is extremely user-friendly, it is surprisingly only the first of its kind amongst the world's top search engines. The sceptical may wonder how this concept can possibly be successful if leading search engines, such as Google, did not discover it first. In terms of mechanics, "with AskEraser, users can instantly request ... (view more)

In a move that will surely please many privacy campaigners, Google has changed its cookie policy dramatically. How so? Instead of having cookies expire in the year 2038, they will expire two years after the page has last been viewed. (Source: ... betanews.com ) The announcement comes shortly after the search engine giant revealed that it will erase search logs after 18 months, a reduction from the previously uncapped time limit. The cookie reduction announcement came via an official Google blog entitled "Cookies: Expiring Sooner to Improve Privacy." In the post, Global Privacy Counsel Peter ... (view more)

The European Union's head justice official has applauded Google on its decision to reduce the amount of time it keeps the personal data of Internet users. "I think it is indeed a good step," said EU justice and home affairs commissioner Franco ... Frattini at a news conference in Luxembourg. His comment was in response to Google's decision to only keep the data for 18 months, a modest improvement from Google's original plan to keep the data for 18 to 24 months. (Source: mercurynews.com ) "I have appreciated the commitment of Google not only to meet our expectations in terms of protection of ... (view more)

Privacy Shield For Outlook Privacy Shield is an add-on that password protects access to Outlook's main interface. It also stretches the Privacy Dialog, can be activated on startup, has a memo pad, and can hide Outlook. ... http://e-gadgets.freehostia.com/addins.htm#shield Perma Tabs Perma Tabs is a Firefox add-on that turns tabs of your choice into permanent tabs ("permaTabs"). PermaTabs can't be closed accidentally (even when closing multiple tabs at once), and will stick around between sessions. Useful for keeping URLs you use often, always one tab away. Also, useful for picking up articles ... (view more)

Now that the holiday season is rapidly approaching, it's a good time for some quick reminders about safely purchasing items online. Armed with the proper knowledge and a little common sense, purchasing things online can be as safe as going to the ... store and purchasing it in person. It's getting easier to purchase items online from reputable companies. However, there are also several "companies" that want to steal your personal and financial information. Listed below are some suggestions for making your online shopping experience more enjoyable. Contact Information Is the sellers address and ... (view more)