This has been going on since TSA set up their
screening protocol, not just for the last two years. Who reviews
their procedures?
TSA
increases screening of airport and airline employees
The Transportation Security Administration is
increasing random checks of airport and airline employees who hold
badges that enable them to bypass security checkpoints.
The decision follows instances in the past two
years in which employees used restricted entrances to
smuggle guns and launder money.
… The American memo, for instance, reminded
employees that if they work in a secure area and plan to travel after
their shift is over, they must exit the sterile area and go through
TSA screening, with their carry-on luggage, in order to board a
flight.
Interesting summary.
How does
the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 change the Internet surveillance laws?
The Omnibus
Appropriations Act that President
Obama signed into law last week has a provision called the
Cybersecurity Act of 2015. The Cyber Act, as I’ll call it,
includes sections about Internet monitoring that modify the Internet
surveillance laws. This post details those changes, focusing on how
the act broadens powers of network operators to conduct surveillance
for cybersecurity purposes. The upshot: The Cyber Act expands those
powers in significant ways, although how far isn’t entirely clear.
For students studying Homeland Security and
searching for all those keywords on the DHS watch list.
Here’s
How to Search Google Without Being Tracked
… You could always use another search engine
that’s privacy-focused (such as DuckDuckGo),
but maybe you can’t pull yourself away from Google’s results.
After all, Google
is still the king of results.
Enter StartPage,
a search engine that makes Google searches private. When you type
your query, StartPage anonymously submits it to Google and displays
the results back to you. By adding this middle man, your privacy is
protected since Google is not placing tracking cookies on your
browser or logging your IP address to associate you with those
searches.
Perspective. What is Free?
China doesn't allow Facebook. Just because India
does, that doesn't mean the country should welcome Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg's plan to carve the Internet into pocket boroughs, let
alone his preaching that this is a great way to connect a billion
people to their digital future.
Facebook's "Free Basics" service, which
gave some wireless subscribers in India access to a clutch
of pre-selected websites without having to pay data charges, was
put in abeyance
recently at the request of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India. Activists say the program threatens net neutrality, the
principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible. The
regulator is yet to decide whether a differential pricing regime for
some websites or applications will be allowed.
(Related) The world according to Mark
Free Basics
protects net neutrality
In every society, there are certain basic services
that are so important for people’s wellbeing that we expect
everyone to be able to access them freely.
We have collections of free basic books. They’re
called libraries. They don’t contain every book, but they still
provide a world of good.
We have free basic healthcare. Public hospitals
don’t offer every treatment, but they still save lives.
We have free basic education. Every child
deserves to go to school.
And in the 21st century, everyone also deserves
access to the tools and information that can help them to achieve all
those other public services, and all their fundamental social and
economic rights.
That’s why everyone also deserves access to free
basic internet services.
Where there's a market, there's a broker?
Here’s
How You Can Exchange That Unwanted Gift Card
… Target is offering shoppers an easy way to
exchange it, reported
the Star Tribune.
The retail chain started a new trade-in program
last month that allows customers to exchange various store gift cards
for a Target gift card, usually at a de-valued rate. For example, if
a customer wanted to trade a $100 Walmart gift card, he or she could
get a $85 Target card in exchange.
… The process works much like existing gift
card exchange websites, including CardPool.com and CardCash.com. In
fact, a shopper could get an even better deal for that $100 Walmart
gift card on CardPool.com, which is a partner with Target. Based on
what Fortune found on December 28, the store credit would
amount to $93, delivered via check from CardPool.
However, Target’s program is all about
convenience. The trade is instantaneous, and a customer can walk
away immediately with their Target card in-hand.
Because you may not be paranoid enough.
How to Use
Your Phone to Detect Hidden Surveillance Cameras at Home
… While it might seem like something straight
out of a James Bond movie, it is possible to use your smartphone to
detect hidden cameras, as
well as other 007 devices. In general, two common methods are
used to achieve this.
The first is by using the smartphone hardware to
detect electromagnetic
fields. With the installation of a single app, you can move your
phone around the area you suspect a camera to be hidden, and if a
strong field is detected, you can be sure there is a camera secreted
within the wall or object.
Another way that smartphones can be used is by
detecting light reflecting from a lens. While this method isn’t
quite as reliable, it is still worth having such an app, if only to
find small objects dropped on a carpet!
(Related) On the other hand…
How to Use
an Old Smartphone or Tablet as a Security Camera
Backup is good! (and easy)
Backing Up
Your Microsoft Outlook Emails Made Simple
… Archiving and backing up emails is simply a
matter of setting up Outlook to archive old emails to a special file,
and then setting up a schedule to archive those files to some safe
location for long-term storage. In this article you’ll see just how
simple this process is.
New resources for my Statistics students.
Which
Cities Share The Most Crime Data?
Open data has contributed to dramatic improvements
in a wide array of fields over the past few decades, affecting how we
look at astronomy, genetics,
climate change,
sports and
more. But until recently, crime has gone without the open
analysis prevalent in other fields because crime data has been
closely held by law enforcement agencies and has usually only been
released in bulk at monthly, quarterly or annual intervals.
Now, thanks to efforts from the federal government
and individual municipalities, crime analysis is positioned for a
leap forward as cities place unprecedented quantities of data online.
… Born out of recommendations
from President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the
initiative was launched
in May to encourage police departments to “better use data and
technology to build community trust.” As of late November, 27
agencies had committed to providing public access to law
enforcement data as part of the initiative.
Denver Police Department
-
Data Portal: Denver Open Data Catalog
-
Featured Data [This one is bad. Try http://data.denvergov.org/dataset/city-and-county-of-denver-crime instead. Bob]
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