Many people believe that privacy is a thing of the past. It’s true that our networked world makes it harder to keep secrets. But there are many things you can do to protect your privacy online. This Huffington Post article clearly outlines some quick fixes you can make in a few minutes.
Category: 7.4 No Secrets: Computers and Privacy
The digital technology explosion of the last decade has produced many new threats to our privacy, including some unexpected ones. In this short TED talk, Catherine Crump explains how the automatic license plate scanners used by police might have disastrous ramifications for law-abiding citizens.
[ted id=2149]
Most of us have an uneasy relationship with big databases: We take advantage of the convenience and freedom they bring to us, but we don’t really like the fact that they know so much about us. Singer/songwriter Vienna Teng captures the tension that exists between those contradictory feelings in her beautiful, slightly chilling Hymn of Acxiom. We’ve included a YouTube video with the song’s recording as well as links to an article telling the story behind the song, and a page with lyrics. All three are highly recommended.
Vienna Teng Sings about Surveillance in ‘Hymn of Acxiom’
Lyrics for ‘Hymn of Acxiom’
Key words: databases, big data, privacy, surveillance
Icon: crosscurrents
Edward Snowden made a decision that changed the world. By leaking top secret government documents to the press, he revealed that US surveillance of private and public citizins goes far beyond what most of us had previously imagined. Because of those leaks, people all around the world are asking important questions about the balance between privacy and security in a free society. In a chilling statement to the BBC, Snowden claimed that he’d accomplished his mission by raising those questions. What do you think?
theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/24/edward-snowden-channel-4-christmas-day-message
More and more, we’re living in a data-driven world. In this excellent little piece that aired recently on NPR’s Fresh Air, Geoff Nunberg gives one of the clearest explanations we’ve seen of what Big Data is and why it’s important to all of us.
http://www.npr.org/2012/12/20/167702665/geoff-nunbergs-word-of-the-year-big-data
The information explosion raises important questions about the free flow of information versus the threat to personal privacy. These two TED Talks present cases for more open information in government and medicine. Heather Brooke uses technology and old-fashioned hard work to expose government corruption; John Wilbanks argues that more medical information sharing is good for all of us. Whether you agree or not, you’ll likely find their stories interesting and thought provoking.
ted.com/talks/heather_brooke_my_battle_to_expose_government_corruption.html
ted.com/talks/john_wilbanks_let_s_pool_our_medical_data.html
The concept of sharing is everywhere on the Internet. In this thought-provoking Huffington Post blog post, Bianca Bosker asks whether Facebook and other companies are using the term to manipulate our feelings and extract information from us.
huffingtonpost.com/bianca-bosker/the-insidiousness-of-sharing-why-we-share_b_1728550.html
If you’re tired of ads now, just wait ’til your smart phone gets a little smarter. It may soon deliver sales pitches to you based on your location, the weather, nearby friends, the contents of your last Facebook post, or just about anything else it can link to you. As your privacy slips away, your cash becomes an easy target for savvy tech companies.
huffingtonpost.com/bianca-bosker/the-age-of-continuous-consumption_b_1833454.html
Wired writer Mat Honan recently lost just about everything he had stored on his computer and in the cloud. He literally watched while a malicious hacker wiped out his digital world.
This NPR story suggests five things you can do to avoid his fate.
Mat’s Wired article describes the hacker attack in detail.
http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html
If you think you’re covering your tracks as you explore the web, think again. This TED talk shows how we’re being tracked and suggests what we might need to do about it.