RESEARCHERS at Concordia University claim that it is possible to trace an anonymous email back to its sender through pattern tracing.
The researchers, presumably bored with current ways of tracing emails that often involve meandering IP searches, said that their approach has high levels of accuracy and produces results that are good enough to use in a court of law.
Don't look now, but Facebook is spreading its kudzulike tendrils into yet another part of the Web: the comments field. Last week, the Uber Social Network introduced a free plug-in that replaces the software a site uses to manage its comments with one built by Facebook.
The implications of this are larger than they may appear. If widely adopted, Facebook Comments could kick online trolls to the curb while pounding yet another nail into the coffin of Web anonymity.
Ever wonder how much of a time suck Bejeweled is? Or how often your legitimate work-related research on the Web deteriorates into recreational browsing? Now there is software that will tell not only you, but also your boss and your coworkers.
We're not talking about secretive spying software, though there is plenty of that for employers to use. No, there's a new breed of corporate monitoring software that watches what employees do during the workday - without being stealthy. These in-your-face widgets report just how much or how little you're getting done.
Google has filed for a patent in Europe on technology that could allow it to identify you by your photograph, using clues from social networks to verify your identity.
Mobile communications can easily be surveilled. One step you can take to prevent tracking is to install Tor on your phone.
Orbot, developed by the Guardian Project, is an application that implements Tor on Android phones. It allows mobile phone users to access the web, instant messaging, and email without being monitored or blocked by their mobile internet service provider. Learn more about Tor at https://torproject.org or visit our how-to guide for using Tor on your computer.
Today, Facebook has decided to address some key concerns with its privacy policy. Previously, users would complain that the Facebook privacy policy was just a huge block of text with too many legal terms that they could not understand. Now, Facebook has decided to implement a new look and feel that will hopefully allow regular users to comprehend what the policy is stating and that will be easier to navigate.
If you are out in public, you are fair game, but how would you like it if a stranger took your picture and then ran a search to find out your name, online aliases and all the information about you via that image? We are very nearly there with automatic face-recognition technology and social media aggregation. Although several companies are exploring that realm, Google recently published a patent in Europe to use facial recognition and social networking combined to give visual search results.
As the director of The Cartel documentary, one of the things I learned was how poorly the traditional news media cover issues pertaining to children, in that case corruption in public education. Since the film's release, I often get contacted about other aspects of child protection that I would have never imagined -- stories that don't seem to get attention elsewhere. Like this.
What you're about to read hasn't been reported anywhere, and when it was brought to my attention, I could hardly believe it.
The Information Commissioner's Officer (ICO) has revealed that the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) breached the data protection act by losing 21 passport applications containing applicants' personal details.
The loss occurred in May 2010 and the details that went astray included the personal data of both the applicants and their countersignatories.
Most people consider their Facebook profile and its contents private and sacrosanct, but sometimes companies don't agree with this assessment.
The latest instance of this discrepancy between opinions hit the news when a copy of a letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union to Maryland’s Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gary Maynard was made public.
