A new service is online called Jumo.
Jumo wants to “do what Yelp did for restaurants,” said Chris Hughes, the leader behind Jumo.
If Chris Hughes' names sounds familiar it is because he was part of the digital side of President Obama's campaign and he was one of the founders for Facebook.
Jumo will track charities and projects. News articles, tweets, YouTube videos, feedback will all be linked to the various charities and projects.
Not sure where to donate money or if a charity is really doing what it says it does? Jumo can help with that.
Have a cause you love but unclear how to get connected, involved, and how to help? Jumo can help with that too.
Have a mission or cause of your own and need to get started? You can set up a page on Jumo.
$300 billion was donated last year to charities and non profits. 6% of that was via the internet. Will Jumo be the killer app that brings more donations of time, talent and money via the internet? It'll be fun to watch.
Online safety. Online security. Protecting Yourself Online. Protecting Kids Online. Keeping the U.S. Safe from Cybercreeps. Cybercrime. Protecting Against Fraud.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Europe launched an antitrust investigation into Google
If history is an indicator, Google should be concerned. When Europe set its sights on Microsoft and Intel, both cases were protracted and complex, costing both sides money and time. The European Commission has now opened an investigation against Google.
Google controls more than 80% of the online search market in Europe and roughly 66% of the market in the USA.
At the heart of the inquiry are complaints that Google unfairly favors some businesses over others, especially competing search services.
Sources:
"Europe Opens Antitrust Inquiry Into Google", James Kanter and Eric Pfanner, New York Times, November 30, 2010.
Google controls more than 80% of the online search market in Europe and roughly 66% of the market in the USA.
At the heart of the inquiry are complaints that Google unfairly favors some businesses over others, especially competing search services.
Sources:
"Europe Opens Antitrust Inquiry Into Google", James Kanter and Eric Pfanner, New York Times, November 30, 2010.
Google Admits Trespassing and Pays a Settlement
Google Streetview collected photos in Pittsburgh. Normally this involves the Google car driving past your house snapping photos. One Pittsburgh couple says, they literally crossed the line. Aaron and Chrstine Boring sued because their house is not on a public street but on a private road. Their lawsuit said the Google car could only have taken the photos is they traveled to their house via a private road that was marked with a "No Trespassing" sign.
Google's defense was that the Boring home could ask for it to be removed AND the county real estate tax site had a similar photo.
Globally, Google Street View has fans and detractors. English countryside villagers formed a human chain to block the Google car. Germany demanded that citizens have the right to fuzz out their house or ask in advance to not have their house image included at all.
The settlement to the Borings? $1.
Sources:
"Google admits trespassing in Pa., pays couple $1", Joe Mandak, AP, December 1, 2010.
Google's defense was that the Boring home could ask for it to be removed AND the county real estate tax site had a similar photo.
Globally, Google Street View has fans and detractors. English countryside villagers formed a human chain to block the Google car. Germany demanded that citizens have the right to fuzz out their house or ask in advance to not have their house image included at all.
The settlement to the Borings? $1.
Sources:
"Google admits trespassing in Pa., pays couple $1", Joe Mandak, AP, December 1, 2010.
Mega-D, We're not talking vitamins here, we're talking spam
The U.S. Charges a Russian Man With Spamming
Oleg Y. Nikolaenko, a 23 year old man from Russia, has been charged with violating an international spam law. Internet security experts estimate that, on some days, his spamming software was responsible for 1/3 of all spam mail. They believe he is linked to the "Mega-D" which is considered a major global spam producer. It is estimated that 500,000 or more computers are infected with Mega-D and are sending spam mails around the globe.
How they caught him:
An undercover FBI agent ordered Viagra through an email sent by Nikolaenko's operation. When the agent received bogus herbal pills, the cyber squad from the FBI was pulled in to investigate internet fraud.
Their initial tip came from catching a man who was conspiring to sell counterfeit Rolex watches.
Of course, other spammers just want to fill the void left behind by the arrest of Nikolaenko.
Sources: "Russian accused of mass-spamming charged in US', Dinesh Ramde, AP, December 1, 2010.
Oleg Y. Nikolaenko, a 23 year old man from Russia, has been charged with violating an international spam law. Internet security experts estimate that, on some days, his spamming software was responsible for 1/3 of all spam mail. They believe he is linked to the "Mega-D" which is considered a major global spam producer. It is estimated that 500,000 or more computers are infected with Mega-D and are sending spam mails around the globe.
How they caught him:
An undercover FBI agent ordered Viagra through an email sent by Nikolaenko's operation. When the agent received bogus herbal pills, the cyber squad from the FBI was pulled in to investigate internet fraud.
Their initial tip came from catching a man who was conspiring to sell counterfeit Rolex watches.
Of course, other spammers just want to fill the void left behind by the arrest of Nikolaenko.
Sources: "Russian accused of mass-spamming charged in US', Dinesh Ramde, AP, December 1, 2010.
An Internet Curfew for South Koreans May Be Enacted
South Korea says it is worried about their youngsters becoming internet addicts. Their answer? Create a ban that makes it ILLEGAL for internet service providers to provide online gaming access to users under the age of 16 between 12 midnight and 6 am.
Many South Korean students are in school until midnight due to the demands of the school day, studying, and extracurricular activities. So, essentially, this bans game playing.
They are also considering parental tools to help parents set limits on the maximum number of hours young users are allowed online each day.
The bill will be reviewed by their Parliament this month.
What are your thoughts?
Sources:
"South Korea to Set Internet Curfew", FoxNews.com, December 2, 2010.
Many South Korean students are in school until midnight due to the demands of the school day, studying, and extracurricular activities. So, essentially, this bans game playing.
They are also considering parental tools to help parents set limits on the maximum number of hours young users are allowed online each day.
The bill will be reviewed by their Parliament this month.
What are your thoughts?
Sources:
"South Korea to Set Internet Curfew", FoxNews.com, December 2, 2010.
Spending is up by 9% on Federal Information Security Spending
According to Mr. Chabrow of GovInfoSecurity.com, the Federal Government will spend $13.3 billion on cybersecurity purchases from vendors within the next 5 years. This equates to an annualized growth of 9% .
By the end of 2010, Federal Government will have purchased Information Security totaling around $8.6 billion.
Protecting information, critical infrastructure and assets is critical. There has been a 445% increase in cyber threats in the last 4 years which may make a 9% growth rate look like a bargain?
What is your opinion?
Food for thought:
1. Spending money on security technology does not equal security.
2. Many security breaches are because of people; technology can help build a safety net when people make mistakes, but investments in people and process are also critical.
3. How much spending is "enough"? It is essential that industry continue to provide approaches to help organizations calculate the return on investment.
Sources:
"Fed Infosec Spending Seen Rising By 9% a Year. Study: U.S. to Earmark $13.3 Billion for Cybersecurity Wares by 2015", Eric Chabrow, Executive Editor, GovInfoSecurity.com, December 1, 2010.
By the end of 2010, Federal Government will have purchased Information Security totaling around $8.6 billion.
Protecting information, critical infrastructure and assets is critical. There has been a 445% increase in cyber threats in the last 4 years which may make a 9% growth rate look like a bargain?
What is your opinion?
Food for thought:
1. Spending money on security technology does not equal security.
2. Many security breaches are because of people; technology can help build a safety net when people make mistakes, but investments in people and process are also critical.
3. How much spending is "enough"? It is essential that industry continue to provide approaches to help organizations calculate the return on investment.
Sources:
"Fed Infosec Spending Seen Rising By 9% a Year. Study: U.S. to Earmark $13.3 Billion for Cybersecurity Wares by 2015", Eric Chabrow, Executive Editor, GovInfoSecurity.com, December 1, 2010.
Do Your Computer, Phone and TV Fingerprints Leave You At Risk?
10 Billion - That's the estimated number of computers, phones, and TV set boxes around the world. Advertisers want to know what these devices, and the users behind them, are doing so they can sell, sell, sell.
Consumers are becoming more aware of cookies and internet mailing lists and have been taking steps to protect themselves from being profiled by advertisers. A way around user controls is to use a technology known as device fingerprinting.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working on a privacy policy to protect consumers and has hinted it will include a "do-not-track" mandate as part of the policy similar to the "do not call" list for telemarketers.
According to the Wall Street Journal's article, BlueCava, Inc. has used device fingerprinting to catalog 200 million devices and they have a big hairy audacious goal to catalog 1 billion by next year.
How Fingerprinting Works:
1. When your phone, TV box, or computer turns on, items such as the clock, software, screen size, web browser, and what the device talks to makes it unique.
2. Tracking companies use the digital behavior to create a profile of the device.
3. Based on what the device broadcasts, and where it goes, the fingerprinting company builds a profile about the user behind the device.
4. Once the device is fingerprinted, it is assigned an ID number that can be used for tracking
What Can You Do About It?
For now, very little. You can try to throw of fingerprinting by frequently changing settings on your computer that may be very annoying to you and might not be effective in throwing off fingerprinting.
Is Fingerprinting Bad?
It depends upon your point of view. A very good outcome of fingerprinting is in the prevention and detection of fraud. If your device is fingerprinted and profiled for a behavior, fraudulent transactions are easier to discern such as the sudden request to do international wire transfers of all your money around the globe when you have never done a wire transfer before.
Fingerprinting companies insist they are not matching the browsing patterns back to a specific email address or name, although the technology is available for them to build this capability.
For now, just keep up with the debate of "do not track" and just know that you are leaving digital fingerprints behind. Someone is watching all those Reality TV shows , I think fingerprinting says it's you!
As always, would love to hear your thoughts. Do you like the idea of fingerprinting to avoid and detect fraud? Do you think opting out of fingerprinting should be part of the "do-not-track" option if that becomes available?
Sources:
"Race is On to 'Fingerprint' Phones, PCs", Julia Angwin and Jennifer Vallentino-DeVries, Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2010.
Consumers are becoming more aware of cookies and internet mailing lists and have been taking steps to protect themselves from being profiled by advertisers. A way around user controls is to use a technology known as device fingerprinting.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working on a privacy policy to protect consumers and has hinted it will include a "do-not-track" mandate as part of the policy similar to the "do not call" list for telemarketers.
According to the Wall Street Journal's article, BlueCava, Inc. has used device fingerprinting to catalog 200 million devices and they have a big hairy audacious goal to catalog 1 billion by next year.
How Fingerprinting Works:
1. When your phone, TV box, or computer turns on, items such as the clock, software, screen size, web browser, and what the device talks to makes it unique.
2. Tracking companies use the digital behavior to create a profile of the device.
3. Based on what the device broadcasts, and where it goes, the fingerprinting company builds a profile about the user behind the device.
4. Once the device is fingerprinted, it is assigned an ID number that can be used for tracking
What Can You Do About It?
For now, very little. You can try to throw of fingerprinting by frequently changing settings on your computer that may be very annoying to you and might not be effective in throwing off fingerprinting.
Is Fingerprinting Bad?
It depends upon your point of view. A very good outcome of fingerprinting is in the prevention and detection of fraud. If your device is fingerprinted and profiled for a behavior, fraudulent transactions are easier to discern such as the sudden request to do international wire transfers of all your money around the globe when you have never done a wire transfer before.
Fingerprinting companies insist they are not matching the browsing patterns back to a specific email address or name, although the technology is available for them to build this capability.
For now, just keep up with the debate of "do not track" and just know that you are leaving digital fingerprints behind. Someone is watching all those Reality TV shows , I think fingerprinting says it's you!
As always, would love to hear your thoughts. Do you like the idea of fingerprinting to avoid and detect fraud? Do you think opting out of fingerprinting should be part of the "do-not-track" option if that becomes available?
Sources:
"Race is On to 'Fingerprint' Phones, PCs", Julia Angwin and Jennifer Vallentino-DeVries, Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2010.
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