Vice: “e-HallPass, a digital system that students have to use to request to leave their classroom and which takes note of how long they’ve been away, including to visit the bathroom, has spread into at least a thousand schools around the United States. The system has some resemblance to the sort of worker monitoring carried… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Privacy
The Rise of the Worker Productivity Score
The New York Times: “Across industries and incomes, more employees are being tracked, recorded and ranked. What is gained, companies say, is efficiency and accountability. In lower-paying jobs, the monitoring is already ubiquitous: not just at Amazon, where the second-by-second measurements became notorious, but also for Kroger cashiers, UPS drivers and millions of others. Eight… Continue Reading
What Is a Router and How to Use One: The Beginner’s FAQ
Make Use Of: “After reading this FAQ, you’ll have a better idea of what a router is, how to set one up properly, and how to use it to full effect. When was the last time you had to deal with the hardware that lets you connect to the internet? A router is one crucial… Continue Reading
Meta injecting code into websites to track its users, research says
UK Guardian – “Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been rewriting websites its users visit, letting the company follow them across the web after they click links in its apps, according to new research from an ex-Google engineer. The two apps have been taking advantage of the fact that users who click on… Continue Reading
One of 5G’s Biggest Features Is a Security Minefield
Wired – “New research found troubling vulnerabilities in the 5G platforms carriers offer to wrangle embedded device data. True 5G wireless data, with its ultrafast speeds and enhanced security protections, has been slow to roll out around the world. As the mobile technology proliferates—combining expanded speed and bandwidth with low-latency connections—one of its most touted… Continue Reading
How California Reproductive Health Workers Can Protect Information They Submit to the Government
EFF: “With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs reversing long-standing rights to abortion access, workers and volunteers for reproductive health clinics must reevaluate the risks they face (also known as a threat model) and take steps to safeguard their personal information–including information they have submitted to the government. In 2020, nearly 17% of abortions… Continue Reading
Your iPhone’s deleted voicemails aren’t actually deleted
ZDNet – “Here’s why and how to delete them for good. If you like keeping your phone tidy by periodically deleting old messages and voicemails, you may be surprised to hear that those voicemail messages you deleted two years ago may still be on your phone…Voicemail messages are typically stored in the mobile carrier’s servers;… Continue Reading
FTC Investigation Into Amazon Prime Dark Patterns Intensifies
“The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly deepened its investigation into Amazon’s employment of dark patterns in the Amazon Prime subscription cancellation process. As EPIC explained in a complaint to the D.C. Attorney General last year, Amazon employs dark patterns to deter customers from canceling their Prime subscriptions, enabling Amazon to continue collecting, retaining, and using misdirected subscribers’ personal… Continue Reading
How to Block Spam Calls and Text Messages
Wired: “Life is busy enough without wasting time on spammers, scammers, and telemarketers. Whether you are suffering insistent injury lawyers, fraudulent car warranty representatives, or a drunk-dialing ex, there is a way to stop the endless calls and messages. The major carriers and phone manufacturers have upped their game against unwanted calls and messages in… Continue Reading
Change These Default Settings and Be Happier With Your Tech
The New York Times – “Simple steps can make your smartphone, computer and TV work better for you. Many default settings buried deep inside our technology make us share superfluous amounts of data with tech companies. In my last column, I went over how to shut those off. But not all default settings do sneaky… Continue Reading
How to find out if you are involved in a data breach and what to do next
ZDNet: “Think you’ve been involved in a data breach? This guide will help you find out where and when, and it lists the steps you should take next. Data breaches are security incidents we now hear about every day. They strike every industry, every sector, every county; victim organizations can be everything from small, independent… Continue Reading
A Phone Carrier That Doesn’t Track Your Browsing or Location
Wired – “The new Pretty Good Phone Privacy service for Android hides the data linking you to your mobile device…As marketers, data brokers, and tech giants endlessly expand their access to individuals’ data and movements across the web, tools like VPNs or cookie blockers can feel increasingly feeble and futile. Short of going totally off… Continue Reading
