NSA harvests email contacts (via Pando Daily)
On October 14, 2013WaPo, with another Snowden facilitated leak, reports that the NSA is gathering hundreds of millions of emails through people’s contact lists and instant messaging accounts. It’s using the emails to analyze foreign intelligence…
Awesome Stuff: Security Hardware For The Masses (via Techdirt)
Securing your computer and phone are something that is increasingly important, especially in light of all of the stories about privacy intrusions we’ve been discussing the past few months. For the most part, the average person has tended to rely on…
Google Android Secure, Eric Schmidt Insists (via slashdot)
Google chairman (and former CEO) Eric Schmidt thinks that his company’s Android mobile operating system is “more secure than the iPhone,” according to a ZDNet reporter attending this year’s Gartner Symposium/ITxpo. Apple would probably take…
It’s the era of spying, monitoring, and of course, whistleblowers. We’ve had so many news items on governments making sure that they know what’s going on – hence the monitoring of practically all kinds of communication. We’ve also had quite a few high profile cases wherein people in the know have come public.
What’s the truth?
Remember, there are always at least two sides to a story, and the average person will probably never get to know the whole picture, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the government is keeping tabs on what’s floating in the airwaves – or cables, for that matter. Whether you send an email or a text message or make a phone call, the chances are that there might be someone else listening in. [Read more…] about The NSA and Your Mobile Phone
One of the dangers of the digital world is how easy it can be for criminals to remain anonymous. The automatic reaction of most people who get texts is to respond to that text. A text from a stranger can easily be confused with a text from a friend and the next thing you know, your personal information has been compromised. When you learn the tactics of the scammer, then you can protect yourself from harm.
Image via Flickr by Joi
This latest form of digital thievery is called SMS phishing because it’s using text messages to try and either hack into your smartphone and get your address files, or it’s trying to get you to go to a website or text back your personal information to a phone number. It’s happening more frequently, and it can be dangerous for smartphone users, especially those who have multiple accounts with similar passwords. [Read more…] about Don’t Get “Smished”: How Scammers are Targeting Your Smartphone
Without a doubt, the internet has changed many lives in more ways than one. Letters that used to take months to be delivered by regular mail can now be sent and delivered in a split second through email. Instead of just talking on the phone with loved ones in distant countries, you can now have a video call over the internet – and it costs even less than a local phone call. If, in the past, you had to physically knock on your neighbor’s door to make friends, now you can meet and make friends over the internet. A lot of people have developed long-term friendships online and meet personally years after they’ve first made contact over the internet.
However, like almost anything on earth, the internet does come with a few issues. Although the internet has made communication with others faster, it has become little bit more impersonal; video-calling is done so frequently the joy and excitement initially felt when faced with the prospect of talking to family and friends has diminished; and as for making friends online, sadly, most people would rather cultivate online friends instead of caring for off-line relationships. Of all three, the latter is probably the aspect of the internet that brings the most danger.