Privacy Thread

[Cain]

I think what Cram meant was, were you logged into your facebook profile when you were viewing these news sites webpages, or were you logged out when you read them?

This is worth knowing, because then we know if FB really is tracking people after they log out.  We know it's technically possible...

[Faust]

I think what Cram meant was, were you logged into your facebook profile when you were viewing these news sites webpages, or were you logged out when you read them?

This is worth knowing, because then we know if FB really is tracking people after they log out.  We know it's technically possible...

It is, I was logged out and I was looking up paradise lost audiobooks and then what do you know, the sponsored adverts on FB were the very same audiobooks I had been looking at previously.

[Luna]

Ah, I see...

There's a banner on the right hand side of the screen that pops up what's going up on the feeds of your friends.  Some friends have shit that goes up, like what articles they're reading, what they're listening to on Spotify, that kinda shit.

[Cain]

I think what Cram meant was, were you logged into your facebook profile when you were viewing these news sites webpages, or were you logged out when you read them?

This is worth knowing, because then we know if FB really is tracking people after they log out.  We know it's technically possible...

It is, I was logged out and I was looking up paradise lost audiobooks and then what do you know, the sponsored adverts on FB were the very same audiobooks I had been looking at previously.

Fuckers.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I think what Cram meant was, were you logged into your facebook profile when you were viewing these news sites webpages, or were you logged out when you read them?

This is worth knowing, because then we know if FB really is tracking people after they log out.  We know it's technically possible...

If it did I wouldn't know, because what I read doesn't show up in my own feed. Only what other people read.

[Telarus]

I think what Cram meant was, were you logged into your facebook profile when you were viewing these news sites webpages, or were you logged out when you read them?

This is worth knowing, because then we know if FB really is tracking people after they log out.  We know it's technically possible...

It is, I was logged out and I was looking up paradise lost audiobooks and then what do you know, the sponsored adverts on FB were the very same audiobooks I had been looking at previously.

Fuckers.

Chrome Incognito / FF Private Mode

I use this chrome extension too [urlhttps://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jeoacafpbcihiomhlakheieifhpjdfeo]DISCONNECT[/url]

I haven't touched FB on this machine for 3 weeks, as I'm going thro the delete process (so I can reboot my irl name as a portfolio and take back a little bit of my identity-control from FB). But back when I was, I'd see this extension count the times FB queried my browser from a totally non-FB page. It was getting ridiculous, which is why I deleted my account.

[Triple Zero]

Palantir, the War on Terror's Secret Weapon: A Silicon Valley startup that collates threats has quietly become indispensable to the U.S. intelligence community

Palantir has been used to find suspects in a case involving the murder of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent, and to uncover bombing networks in Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. "It's like plugging into the Matrix," says a Special Forces member stationed in Afghanistan who requested anonymity out of security concerns. "The first time I saw it, I was like, 'Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.' "

Of course it's not just being used for spying outside of the US.

Anyway, it sounds like finally somebody built a proper piece of software to combine computer analysis/AI and human skills (which is the best and only way to properly do it) and make use of the enormous amounts of data available to a surveillance state.

I don't like it. Of course it was just a matter of time, but incompetent analysis also provided a certain amount of privacy, in a similar fashion that obscurity somewhat provides security.

[Cramulus]

"Palantir" -- hahaha .... that's the name of the crystal ball that Sarumon uses to spy on middle earth. Wow.



Good news for privacy!



Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/11/29/facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-weve-made-a-bunch-of-mistakes/

Excerpts:
Facebook got poked by the Federal Trade Commission today. The agency tasked with investigating companies for "unfair and deceptive business practices" concluded a two-year long investigation into Facebook and slapped the social networking giant on the wrist for its privacy mistakes, sentencing it to twenty years of biennial privacy audits and requiring it to get consent from its users before sharing their information. The settlement is nearly identical to that reached with Google over Buzz earlier this year.




What did facebook do wrong?

-In December 2009, Facebook changed its website so certain information that users may have designated as private – such as their Friends List – was made public. They didn't warn users that this change was coming, or get their approval in advance.

-Facebook represented that third-party apps that users' installed would have access only to user information that they needed to operate. In fact, the apps could access nearly all of users' personal data – data the apps didn't need.

Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of data to limited audiences – for example with "Friends Only." In fact, selecting "Friends Only" did not prevent their information from being shared with third-party applications their friends used.

Facebook had a "Verified Apps" program & claimed it certified the security of participating apps. It didn't.
Facebook promised users that it would not share their personal information with advertisers. It did.
Facebook claimed that when users deactivated or deleted their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible. But Facebook allowed access to the content, even after users had deactivated or deleted their accounts.

Facebook claimed that it complied with the U.S.- EU Safe Harbor Framework that governs data transfer between the U.S. and the European Union. It didn't.

Liebowitz says: "If they don't follow through with that commitment, they'll be paying $16,000 per privacy violation, per the FTC settlement."

[Cramulus]

here's a quote from Zuckerberg:

I also understand that many people are just naturally skeptical of what it means for hundreds of millions of people to share so much personal information online, especially using any one service. Even if our record on privacy were perfect, I think many people would still rightfully question how their information was protected. It's important for people to think about this, and not one day goes by when I don't think about what it means for us to be the stewards of this community and their trust.

alright Mark, I did think about it.

I share personal information for social reasons. You share personal information for commercial reasons. But the difference is, once I submit a piece of data about myself, it's no longer my property, and may be traded between businesses without my consent. If your goal is to create an "open society", I should have the opportunity to know what's being traded, with whom, and object to it.

[Triple Zero]

Got a HTC/Android, Blackberry or Nokia Smartphone?

Everything you do on it is being logged and sent to a company named Carrier IQ.

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/how-much-of-your-phone-is-yours-20111115/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/secret-software-logging-video/

As far as I understand it's only installed on phones with a US carrier.

This is a pretty big scandal, I expect to hear more about it.

[Triple Zero]

iPhone too:

http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/30/2601875/carrier-iq-references-discovered-apple-ios-iphone

http://blog.chpwn.com/post/13572216737

(edit: second link)

[Triple Zero]

And another link:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/30/smartphone_spying_app/

[Triple Zero]

Carrier IQ: What it is, what it isn't, and what you need to know

[Triple Zero]

Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

AS&E's Reiss counters privacy critics by pointing out that the ZBV scans don't capture nearly as much detail of human bodies as their airport counterparts. The company's marketing materials say that its "primary purpose is to image vehicles and their contents," and that "the system cannot be used to identify an individual, or the race, sex or age of the person."

Though Reiss admits that the systems "to a large degree will penetrate clothing," he points to the lack of features in images of humans like the one shown at right, far less detail than is obtained from the airport scans. "From a privacy standpoint, I'm hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be," he says.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Full-Body Scan Technology Deployed In Street-Roving Vans

AS&E's Reiss counters privacy critics by pointing out that the ZBV scans don't capture nearly as much detail of human bodies as their airport counterparts. The company's marketing materials say that its "primary purpose is to image vehicles and their contents," and that "the system cannot be used to identify an individual, or the race, sex or age of the person."

Though Reiss admits that the systems "to a large degree will penetrate clothing," he points to the lack of features in images of humans like the one shown at right, far less detail than is obtained from the airport scans. "From a privacy standpoint, I'm hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be," he says.

WHAT THE FUCK WHY DO WE NEED THIS? WHAT THE FUCK! FUCK.

This is what evil looks like.