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Google fined over wi-fi data capture

Google has been fined by German data regulators after it admitted illegally recording information from unsecured wi-fi networks.

 

Google Death Manager: New Feature To Tell The Company What To Do With Your Data When You Die

Google announced a new feature today: the innocuously named "Inactive Account Manager." "Not a great name, we know," writes product manager Andreas Tuerk in a public policy blog post that explains that the feature is a way for Google users to tell Google what to do with their digital assets when they kick the bucket.

 

Financial info on celebs, officials leaked online

Authorities and celebrities were grappling Monday with how to respond to a website that posted what appears to be private financial information about top government officials and stars such as Jay-Z and Mel Gibson....

 

Harvard Offers Explanation for Search of E-mail Accounts

Harvard said it had not notified most of the employees involved because it wanted to protect the one who inadvertently leaked confidential material to the news media.

 

Tool Kit: Protecting Your Privacy on the New Facebook

Facebook

...And now, with Facebook’s newfangled search tool, it can allow strangers, along with “friends” on Facebook, to discover who you are, what you like and where you go. Facebook insists it is up to you to decide how much you want others to see. And that is true, to some extent. But you cannot entirely opt out of Facebook searches. Facebook, however, does let you fine-tune who can see your “likes” and pictures, and, to a lesser extent, how much of yourself to expose to marketers.

 

Twitter gives user info to US 69 percent of time

Twitter says it turns over user data to government agencies in the U.S. in 69 percent of the requests made for such information, according to a new transparency report released by the microblogging site.

 

Facebook Simplifies Privacy Settings

Facebook took steps to simplify its privacy settings, in its latest bid to give consumers more control and clarity over what personal information is shared.

 

Facebook users voting nope to privacy changes

Facebook

Facebook users have until 3 p.m. ET/noon PT on Dec. 10 to cast their votes on changes proposed to the social network's data use policy and statement of rights and responsibilities — among them, the very right of Facebook users to vote on policy.

 

How 1 email exposed millions in SC to ID theft

Cyber Theft

A single malicious email sent to workers at the South Carolina Department of Revenue last August enabled an international hacker to gain access to 3.8 million tax returns.

 

You for Sale: Your Online Attention, Bought in an Instant by Advertisers

In split-second auctions, companies are jockeying for the chance to buy online ads geared to your specific tastes. But consumer advocates see a risk of a computer-generated class system.

 

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