With the protests and riots happening around the country this week, a controversial surveillance tool has again taken center stage. Known commonly as “stingrays,” these…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #671: Stingray surveillance tools back in the spotlight
Category archive for: privacy
A few years ago, a library was having trouble implementing Umbrella OpenDNS at a branch. The trouble, we discovered, was that the branch’s ISP was,…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #664: Is this new option from Mozilla actually better for privacy?
A few weeks ago, I wondered if there was an introductory exercise regimen to ease a neophyte into cycling, like the way Couch-to-5K gets me out jogging. I did some searches, read a couple articles, and the next day every single ad on Facebook was given over to high-end exercise bikes.
I subscribe to a lot of different websites and blogs, as a way to look for trends in tech and in the news cycle. There…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #656: Privacy? Is there even such a thing any more?
As headlines go, another story about Facebook in trouble over their mishandling of user data is “Dog Bites Man,” isn’t it? But when TechCrunch revealed…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #632: Apple disables Facebook’s spying app
Just two days ago, on January 28th, the U.S. recognized the 22nd annual occurrence of National Privacy Day. Didn’t even know there was such a…
For a long time, I’ve resisted purchasing a voice assistant for my home. The idea of having something “always listening” seems too intrusive to me (and, yes, I know my phone is already doing that, but I’m good with the cognitive dissonance). However, the latest news from the advertising realm has me realizing that Alexa and her ilk might actually be the least of my worries.
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #627: Think you’re being stalked? You’re not wrong
We’ve already talked about facial recognition this month in the 4cast, so I’m not going to cover that again. Still, there’s been a lot of…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #596: Your phone’s location data…leaked
Have you noticed your inbox filling up with notices about updated terms of service? Many of these are coming about not only in the wake…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #592: The sudden scramble for online privacy
It might be getting more difficult to care about online privacy, especially now, when it may seem as if everyone is putting everything online. At times,…