Smartphones know more about you than you realize. They transmit information with third party sources for your check-ins, your social networking achievements, and your status updates. The most recent controversy over the great smartphone privacy debate is tracking your traveling. Researchers in the UK have found that your iOS4 enabled iPhone sports a new feature that has gone undocumented.

The iPhone records your location continuously and even goes so far as to timestamp it, and record it for other versions of the iOS. The hidden file which holds this data, is fairly easy to access and read. Additional digging from the UK researchers showed that the behavior has been going on AND has been known about for some time. “Additionally, restoring a backup or migrating to a new device keeps the data logging going, which the researchers point to as evidence that what’s happening isn’t accidental. See a couple of visualizations of the extracted results on video after the break.”

Original article: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/20/researchers-find-ios-4-records-your-location-in-system-file-syn/

UPDATE:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Apple-QA-on-Location-bw-3919607983.html?x=0

No tags

The digital age has brought about a great many changes in everyone’s lives. It has enabled documents and pictures to be exchanged in seconds. It has allowed for communication across the world. It has however, incurred changes that are negative in nature as well. The theft of people’s personal information has become a growing epidemic of a crime. The faceless nature of internet use has spawned new socially stigmatic behaviors.

Stalking someone online comes with an unfortunate list of advantages for those partaking. As stated earlier, there doesn’t need to be a face attributed to the unscrupulous actions. The stalking can take place in the confines of their own homes. All the info, pictures, updates, check-ins, and blog postings you make public are capable of being viewed by someone in an unhealthy manner. What’s worse, you will never be made aware of this.

Then there is big brother. Maybe it’s not a stalker you need to be worried with. Maybe it’s the fact that you are constantly being monitored and catalogued. Whatever the case may be, you can get off the grid. It’s hard. Some sacrifices need to be made. And it takes changing some habits and lifestyle choices. These are extremes I know, but humor me. This is how you disappear, complements of How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails, and Vanish without a Trace by Frank M. Ahearn and Eileen C. Horan.

• When you do go off the grid, there is no fuss and no elaborate drama.
• Nix the social connections. This means saying goodbye to social networks like Facebook
• Say goodbye to credit cards. Its cash from here on in.
• Lie. If and when people seek you out, you want them looking in the wrong places. (i.e. “correct” the spelling of your name with the local utility company)
• Make and use your own corporation as an entity that leases your apartment, pays your utility bills, and otherwise delegates your money.

No tags

No tags

The government is surprisingly not sitting idly by or spending countless hours in pr efforts on this one (I know I can’t believe it either).

“Federal agencies have worked to eliminate unnecessary uses of Social Security numbers (SSNs) in their programs,” the report says. “For example, the Social Security Administration has removed SSNs almost entirely from its internal human resources forms. The Department of Defense has issued a plan to reduce its internal use of SSNs, including their removal from military ID cards. The Internal Revenue Service has been redacting taxpayer SSNs to the last four digits on all federal tax lien documents filed in public records and issued to taxpayers and their representatives.”

*Quote found on www.hstoday.us

The Task Force on Identity Theft, circa 2006, has been keeping with the initiative since too.

This doesn’t mean you’re safe. In fact, just a few days ago a friend of mine had to spend five hours on the phone because someone hacked their network and went on a $5k shopping spree. Take the quiz at the Dept. of Justice and see if you are in good shape.

No tags

A few years ago, a new cyber-security company made a name for themselves at the Flash Memory Summit. The three day event showcased new designs in the area of consumer, computer, and enterprise markets. Network Intercept, creator of Scan-on-the-Go, won best in show. The device acts as a portable detection system for identity theft and virus/malware threats. The USB connected innovation gives its user a secure internet browser that encrypts all network traffic, simultaneously scanning your computer for keystroke logging, viruses, and other malwares.

If this wasn’t enough, the card actually speeds up your web browsing too; up to 300% actually. The company’s hardware/software acceleration server and patent pending algorithmic software take credit for the performance boost.

The company has since renamed the product Secure-Me. They now offer a downloadable version which is $40 and they are continuing to offer the portable USB drive version for $150. They both protect against:

• Data Interception/Man-in-The-Middle attacks
• Keystroke Logging
• Malware
• Viruses
• Spyware
• Phishing

You can see some user reviews, product description and download the software at Cnet’s Secure-Me page.

No tags

I know this isn’t really an identity theft relevant topic, but I felt it pertinent all the same. The goal of ProtectIdentity.com is to keep you and your family safe. In that aspect, I think it’s not a digression.

“The FBI uses national security letters to find not just who the target of an investigation e-mailed, but also who those people e-mailed and who e-mailed them.” This is the statement that Gregory Nojeim, the director of the Project on Freedom, Security and Technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology made in reference to the governments new stance on web surfing. It’s a slippery slope though. Yes, it is true that this policy will help law enforcement track and catch those engaging in illegal activity, but the massive invasion of privacy cannot be easily overlooked. Criticism abounds.

The current process isn’t without flaws anyway. Obtaining a security letter to gather information has not been an infallible system. The bureau has allegedly engaged in a widespread and serious misuse of its authority in the issuing of these letters. From 2003 to 2006, the bureau issued 192,499 national security letter requests. It has also been concluded by the Justice Department’s inspector in 2007, that data from Americans and foreigners has been collected illegally.

This is not something to put out of sight and out of mind. It’s a huge expansion of the FBI’s authority. They are planning on burying it in the intelligence authorization bill. Why? Is it really just intended to bury it from scrutiny? The proposed amendment is going to add the category “electronic communications transactional records” to a section of the law which already lists only those items cited in the Justice legal opinion. Why? It’s because those four words are already included in another section of the law.

It should be met that this proposed amendment has Congress on guard with good reason. The Obama administration’s action here could just clarify a statue or end up allowing the FBI to request sensitive information without federal judges and courts being allowed to scrutinize it.

No tags

I had a recent scare with my kids, so I am on a protective kick. This and last weeks post reflex so. Anyways…

The World Wide Web (Do people even call it that anymore?) can be a dangerous place for your kids. Crazy To Catch a Predator stuff goes on everyday.  We don’t know who is on the other end of the connection talking to our kids. It makes my skin crawl to even think about it. On the other hand, after a long day of work the last thing I want to do is fight with my children about how and what they get to access on the net.

I’m also not going to do a reverse email lookup and a sex offender search for every little friend my kid makes online (Although I have done it before and it was in fact a 35 year-old man with a charge for “Fail & Refuse to Furnish Proof of Age and ID” and “Sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree”. So the threat is real people. You best believe that my kids facebook accounts and yahoo messenger accounts were cancelled after that.

I can’t wrap them in bubble wrap before I sent them to school or walk them to the bus until they are 18. So I sat them down and talked to them like the competent little minds they are. Not sharing last names, addresses, birth days, schools attended, parents credit card numbers, etc. After doing so I went in search of alternatives.  I can’t just kick them off the computer. I found my answer in Togetherville.com.

It’s a safe online neighborhood for kids under 10. Here they can play games, create art and interact with friends and family under your supervision. It’s gotten some recognition from The Journal and The Times. Mashable.com even did an article about it.

I didn’t mean to put you off from performing one of those searches either. If you suspect your child (any age) is chatting with a serious creeper (Some younger girls [boys too i guess] find the attention of a much older male appealing. And won’t be telling you about it any time soon). Monitor their behavior and launch one of those searches after any signs arise.

No tags

Facebook has made, what seem to be, moves tied to public relations. If you are an avid consumer of the news, it is no surprise to you that the social networking site has attracted some negative publicity recently for certain privacy issues. Facebook has now teamed with The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to develop an application that gives users the ability to “Protect yourself. Protect your mates. Make it easy”. It appears this campaign may avert some of the heat from the sites other short comings. Either way, this is a great move. Still, it is not a button as many have led on. It is an application from CEOP.

The only concern that arises then is that its viral distribution may suffer because it is not perceived as “hip, cool, or grown-up”.  Still if it does catch on, it could be a huge step toward raising awareness and will hopefully dissuade predators from even accessing the site.  The app can be found here.

Facebook has been resisting the launch of the ‘panic button’ for years. But the pressure mounted on the site after the rape and murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by a 33-year-old convicted sex offender, who was posing as a teenage boy, who she allegedly met on the site. Presently, it is functioning in the UK. There has been no mention of bringing it to the states yet.

Parent’s best bet is to still monitor their children’s behavior and correspondence. Have a talk with your child about the dangers of internet and let them know you are not opposed to making sure they are safe from the sidelines. Parental controls can only do so much. You need to let your kid know you are onboard with whatever they are doing, but they should see who they are really talking to.

A reverse email search will do just that. If you do so, and find the person’s name, a sex offender search may be the next step.

Whatever motivated Facebook to launch this campaign, I’m elated that such steps have been made.

No tags

Just to get things going here, if you are just throwing your old machines out when you are done with them, you may be handing the public your personal info. If you are moving all your personal files to the trash and hitting “empty” you may still be doing so as well. When you go and delete a file, only the link between the computer’s index and the deleted file goes away. This lets you computer know that that space can be overwritten.  But all the bits and pieces of the deleted file will remain on the machine until they are actually overwritten. The deleted files can still be retrieved with a data recovery program ($50) . To remove data from your hard drive permanently, it needs to be wiped clean.

If you are going to throw out or sell and old computer of yours, the smartest thing to do is “write zeros to the hard drive” this means the entire machine is blank. Not even an operating system will remain.

Of course if you are in fact throwing it out, you could always remove the physical hard drive itself and play home run derby with it for half an hour. You could alway look into recycling or donating after the computer has been wiped clean.

No tags

Accidentally stumbling upon malicious, insecure, or underhanded websites happens. It’s hard to believe that there are people who actually build such pages. Fraudsters don’t really care about the state of the net. The first line of defense is running what you want to search for through a search engine. These sites are programed to only bring back relevant, higher grade sites. Many times people will create a page or site with a web address very similar to that of the legitimate company. Typing the address in directly to your browser, you run the risk of opening this incorrect address. If you do it in a search engine, they will often correct this for you. This can fix a large portion of that problem of visiting fraudulent websites.  If you do get caught on one, file a complaint with the FTC. It will make sure you as well as others stay safe on the web.

Of course there are also some out there would would prefer to just  hack sites.

Here’s a few other tips when it comes to browsing the net safely and, more importantly, in an knowledgeable state:

What to look for (and ultimately avoid)

• Broken graphics, grammatical errors, misspellings, and poorly written sentences.
• A sense of urgency or immediate action required.
• Requests for personal or confidential information.
• Links that go to an unknown Web site or a Web site that looks similar but the site address may be slightly altered. Recheck any typed web addresses or URLs to ensure it was entered correctly before providing personal information on a site.
• Be suspicious of an information-collecting Web page that is not linked to a known home page for the company, or the home page has an “under construction” message on it.
• Look for the presence of an “@” symbol anywhere in the page URL. This is usually indicative of a fraudulent Web site.

No tags