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Category Archives: Privacy

Phones Know Who Went to an Abortion Clinic. Whom Will They Tell?

WSJ.com: “…Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, companies across the location-data industry are examining and in some cases revising how they handle data regarding visits to abortion clinics. Some are agreeing voluntarily not to sell the data or say they will store it in ways that mask the location. Some such as Tapestri, which pays… Continue Reading

The Founder of GeoCities on What Killed the ‘Old Internet’

Gizmodo: “David Bohnett on what sets the social web apart, how GeoCities handled hate speech, and the profound need to log off more often. In the early aughts, my wheezing dialup connection often operated as if it were perpetually out of breath. Thus, unlike my childhood friends, it was near to impossible for me to… Continue Reading

DuckDuckGo browser now blocks all third-party Microsoft trackers

Bleeping Computer: “DuckDuckGo announced today that they will now be blocking all third-party Microsoft tracking scripts in their privacy browser after failing to block them in the past. This change comes after the company faced massive blowback in May for not blocking some third-party Microsoft trackers in the DuckDuckGo browser due to a syndicated search content… Continue Reading

Brave vs. Tor: Which Browser Offers More Security and Privacy?

MakeUseOf: “There are dozens of web browsers out there, some more popular than others, but only a select few can actually be considered both safe and private. Brave and the Tor Browser are certainly among them, and though they are similar in some respects, they are two very different pieces of software. So, how exactly… Continue Reading

Why The Massive China Police Database Hack Is Bad News For Surveillance States Everywhere

TechDirt: “A couple of weeks ago, Techdirt wrote about how an anonymous user had put up for sale the data of an estimated one billion Chinese citizens, probably obtained from the Shanghai police.  Back then, what exactly had happened was a little unclear — not least because the Chinese authorities were shutting down any discussion… Continue Reading

DOJ is suing to make sure women who need medically necessary abortions can actually get them

Vox: “A month after the Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade, it’s unclear whether many patients with dangerous pregnancies can receive medically necessary abortions. Some women have traveled to other states for lifesaving care because doctors in their home state feared prosecution. Others were left to bleed by their health care providers who feared… Continue Reading

What is end-to-end encryption?

Mashable: “One easy way to up your privacy game and communicate securely online is to start using apps that utilize end-to-end encryption. End-to-end encryption prevents any bad actors from picking up your messages in between you and the person you’re sending a message to. Basically, end-to-end encryption means that your messages are for your eyes… Continue Reading

Open-source flight trackers have been repeatedly used to break news over the last few weeks

Vice: “More than 700,000 people were tracking the flight path of the U.S. military plane believed to be carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning. She touched down in Taiwan at 10:50 pm local time, making Pelosi the first high-ranking American official to visit the self-governing island in 25 years, amid threats of a military… Continue Reading

Time to update: Latest Google Chrome browser fixes 27 security flaw

ZDNet – “Google has released Chrome 104 stable with fixes for seven ‘high’ and 15 ‘medium’ severity flaws. Google has released Chrome version 104 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with fixes for 27 security bugs reported by third parties.  None of the flaws are listed as being actively exploited, but the release notes for Chrome… Continue Reading

Report – Hidden Harms: The Misleading Promise of Monitoring Students Online

Center for Democracy & Technology: “The pressure on schools to keep students safe, especially to protect them physically and support their mental health, has never been greater. The mental health crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns about the increasing number of school shootings have led to questions about the role… Continue Reading