Big Brother tech: A
new and highly amusing target for my Ethical Hackers. I could make
your plate say, “scofflaw” while mine says, “unlisted”
California
first to get electronic license plates? Easier to track?
… I
am beaming at Ars Technica for discovering that a
bill has passed the California State Senate, allowing for a pilot
program to launch the scheme.
… They can look
forward to rolling down their beautiful hills and having the word
"EXPIRED" suddenly appear on their backside. (The car's,
that is.)
What fun it will be to
see Ferraris with the word "STOLEN" -- or Priuses with the
word "TASTELESS."
… The suspicious
(which ought, these days, to include most people) might wonder
whether these license plates -- which very probably will be accessed
through a mobile data network -- will let the powers that be know
where people are, yes, all the time.
The bill doesn't seem
clear about this. What is clear is that the company that operates
the system will have access to everyone's location.
My Ethical Hackers can remember tools for security and privacy were
introduced before the NSA kerfuffle. Perhaps that is why they
haven't been caught?
Another search engine
alternative to Google is available. From their press release:
Zeekly.com
is a worldwide search engine that protects privacy. The site does
not store metadata on it’s users, and the site is running on
2048-bit SSL encryption. By not storing metadata, there’s “nothing
for the government to get” because historical data on Zeekly users
doesn’t exist, and by using high grade SSL encryption, Zeekly has
assured that your internet provider and/or cell phone company isn’t
recording your metadata, either because communication between your
computer/phone/tablet and Zeekly’s servers is encrypted (and it was
disclosed by Edward Snowden that all major cell phone providers are
under court order to give their metadata to the U.S. government,
also).
So I gave them a test
drive, using one of my regular Google News search terms:
“surveillance” and using the U.S. mode for both search engines.
[Screen shots
omitted]
Not surprisingly,
perhaps, Google’s search results were more useful. A news search
for “NSA” also produced disappointing results on Zeekly.com, as
the first result was from August 29. Unlike Google, Zeekly does not
seem to have an option to sort in date order, most recent first.
Additionally, Abine’s
DoNotTrackMe extension showed two trackers on Zeekly’s site:
Facebook Connect and Google Adsense.
If you give test Zeekly
a test run and would like to share your observations, use the
Comments section below. I’d be happy to test it again after they
address the two issues I’ve raised above.
A good article in the
“Why aren't you more paranoid?” vein. Includes a list of sites
that will buy your data.
Facebook
Makes Money Out Of Your Data – Why Shouldn’t You?
… As the saying
goes, if you’re not paying for something, you’re
the product, not the customer. But if these companies can make
money from your data, why can’t you make money from your
own data?
New companies are
springing up online, promising to cut you in on the action. Provide
your personal data and they’ll sell it to third parties, giving you
some of the profit instead of keeping it all to themselves. But how
much money can you really make this way? And is this a good idea, or
a further violation
of your privacy?
… The Financial
Times offers an
online calculator that attempts to tell you how much your data
would be worth to a marketer. It’s not as much as you might think.
Navigating through the
digital age...
How
to spot if people are lying in texts
A
Brigham Young University study offers hope to all those who fear
someone is texting them fibs. Lying texters take longer to reply and
write shorter texts.
… I've been poring
over research
from Brigham Young University that tries to discover whether
lying texters have a behavior pattern.
Interesting
perspective.
It’s
Almost Time To Throw Out Your Books
[Which lead me here:
The truly astonishing thing happened on Thursday, when Oyster, a
“Netflix
for books,” launched — complete with the participation of
HarperCollins.
(Related) Interesting
idea, but so far only one (big) publisher. Would this work for
textbooks?
To
Book Lovers With New All-You-Can-Read Subscription Service
… According
to one estimate from the LA Times, the total revenue generated
from eBook sales in the U.S. topped $3 billion in 2012, which equates
to a 44 percent jump from the year before. Meanwhile,
across the pond, eBook sales in the UK quietly turned in a record
year, leaping 134 percent from 2011 to 2012.
… In short,
Oyster’s appeal is its straightforward subscription model, which
offers unlimited access to its library of 100,000
titles for $9.95/month. From there, members can peruse
its library, check out recommendations from its Editorial Staff if in
need of some guidance and be off and reading with a few quick taps.
At launch, Oyster’s library offers titles from a wide range of
genres, from sci-fi to biographies, including both classics and
bestsellers.
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