Thexyz: Recent Episodes
Perry
A dark pattern is a user interface carefully crafted to trick users into doing things they might not otherwise do, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills. Normally when you think of “bad design,” you think of the creator as being sloppy or lazy — but without ill intent. Dark patterns, on the other hand, are not mistakes. They’re carefully crafted with a solid understanding of human psychology, and they do not have the user’s interests in mind.
https://mashable.com/2018/04/27/new-gmail-expiring-emails-confidential-mode/#vqDh3Og7GZqC
https://boingboing.net/2018/07/22/adversarial-interop.html
Earlier this year, a coalition of Canadian media groups including Bell, Rogers, Quebecor, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, presented a controversial proposal to the Canadian telecommunications regulator to implement a website-blocking system and independent agency to respond to online piracy. While the “FairPlay Coalition” is seeking additional tools to respond to piracy and copyright infringement, … Continue reading "TV Addons: Legal battle against Canadian media giants demonstrates severe consequences facing developers accused of copyright infringement"
Read the full article here: http://xyz.am/p493
Mashable article about covering your webcam - http://xyz.am/p2442
66 Ways to Protect Your Privacy Right Now - http://xyz.am/p0243
https://www.wsj.com/articles/techs-dirty-secret-the-app-developers-sifting-through-your-gmail-1530544442
https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/ensuring-your-security-and-privacy-within-gmail/
Sales tax, as you know it, has changed overnight. The United States Supreme Court has just overturned 26 years of law in their South Dakota v. Wayfair decision.
Bleeping Computer article:
FileZilla's Use Of Bundled Offers Sparks Outrage From Users http://xyz.am/d0983
In this episode I demonstrate how to access Facebook messages without installing the Messenger app.
Video game addictions are common and I am often asked by parents how to deal with them. Here is my idea on Parental Controls.
Get an @xyz.am email address or get in touch with me for a free alias - https://www.thexyz.com/domains.html
FIFA public Wi-Fi guide: which host cities have the most secure networks?
https://securelist.com/fifa-public-wi-fi-guide/85919/
You might think that by enabling "Private browsing" you have everything in place for a private browsing experience, well due to a process know as "Fingerprinting," a website can potentially identify a large amount of information about a user, even when using Private browsing mode. Due to how browsers are designed to work, there is not much that can be done to fully protect your privacy. Here is a list of 7 popular browsers in order of the most private.
Here is a link to a list of these browsers: https://blog.thexyz.com/2018/06/which-web-browser-best-respects-my.html
UPDATE: A teller at BMO recently informed me that the Bank of Montreal had fixed the 6 digit password issue. I just tested it and they still only allow 6 digit passwords. I'm I crazy for leaving my money here?
Links to both statements can be found in the article below:
https://www.thankyourobot.com/2018/05/two-canadian-banks-annouce-they-have.html
Just thinking out loud today and going off on a tangent about best practices for online management of your data and security.
- Read terms
- Use password manager
- Enable 2FA
- Get your own domain name
Hooray for better privacy and protection. Well almost.
GDPR is here and I am already starting to file requests to remove my personal information from poorly secured servers.
One day to go until the GDPR act comes into effect. I decided to check Twitter for some epic #GDPRfails and here is what I found...
https://www.ptoone.com/2018/05/which-companies-are-failing-most-at.html
Either way I think it is good to increase awareness and discussion about the privacy and security of our data. This list of GDPRfails shows how even the largest tech companies with biggest budgets are failing at protecting your personal data and information.
Apple is planning to roll out this feature worldwide in the coming months. "We intend to provide these capabilities to customers around the world in the coming months," the company wrote.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208501
Here's the List of Data that You can Download:
App Store, iTunes Store, iBooks Store and Apple Music activity Apple ID account and device information Apple Online Store and Retail Store activity AppleCare support history, repair requests and more Game Center activity iCloud Bookmarks and Reading List iCloud Calendars and Reminders iCloud Contacts iCloud Notes Maps Report an Issue Marketing subscriptions, downloads, and other activity Other data iCloud Drive files and documents iCloud Mail iCloud Photos
Top child safety experts have warned over the risks of a new gadget designed to chat with kids alone in their bedrooms. Here is a press release that Amazon responded to: https://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/experts-and-advocates-caution-parents-steer-clear-new-amazon-echo-dot-kids
Email have survived several waves of "email killing apps" and it is still the key to your online world.
The right to data portability allows individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services. It allows them to move, copy or transfer personal data easily from one IT environment to another in a safe and secure way, without affecting its usability.
https://www.wizcase.com/blog/online-privacy-guide-steps-to-security-in-the-digital-age/
This is a rather annoying episode created to highlight the flaws in the new Alert Ready system in Canada. There are so many faults in this system it is hard to focus on how to improve it. The handling and implementation of this system should also be a case study for governments thinking of introducing the same system, to show how NOT to do it.
Here is the tweet from Julia Angwin: https://twitter.com/JuliaAngwin/status/994937593371512833
Here is the story on NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-sells-future-powered-your-personal-data-n870501
Here is the tweet from Dylan Curran: https://twitter.com/iamdylancurran/status/977559925680467968?lang=en
If I was to hack a company, going for the DNS would be a jewel on the crown. I am actually surprised how easy this is with some very large and well known hosting providers.
Privacy and security really do go hand in hand. Consider a window in your home. It provides various functions for you. It allows you to look outside. It lets sunlight into your home. A window keeps weather outside. You can open a window to let in fresh air. In an emergency, you can use a window as an exit.
Google recently released a statement declaring their commitment to compliance with data protection laws in line with GDPR. Just because Google is becoming GDPR, does NOT mean that you are too if you use services like Google Analytics.
https://privacy.google.com/businesses/compliance/
https://matomo.org/
Data protection by Design and by Default (Article 25) requires that data protection is designed into the development of business processes for products and services. This requires that privacy settings must be set at a high level by default, and that technical and procedural measures should be taken care by the controller in order to make sure that the processing, throughout the whole processing lifecycle, complies with the regulation. Controllers should also implement mechanisms to ensure that personal data is only processed when necessary for each specific purpose.
I ask "why should Europeans be entitled to a greater degree of privacy than the rest of the world?" Also could becoming compliant with GDPR hold hidden benefits?
When you register a domain the domain registration information is publicly available by default. What does that mean and should you enable privacy protection?
Yesterday the chocolate spread company Nutella, tweeted some very bad password. I checked the password advice and found it had been involved in 20,833 data breaches.
Today is world password and a great day to introduce to a new podcast I have launched called "Perry on Privacy." I am constantly surprised at how easy it can be to hack someones password, servers, social accounts, bank etc. When I am in need of advice, insight and general direction when it comes to passwords, I turn to the world leader on passwords and developer of the Have I Been Pwned tool, "Troy Hunt."
https://blog.thexyz.com/2018/05/happy-world-password-day-time-to.html
Businesses, large and small, are in the midst of preparing for compliance with the Europeans Union’s new data privacy laws: The General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, which will go into effect on May 25, 2018.
What is it?
It was passed by the European lawmakers to create a harmonized data privacy law across all the EU member states. Its purpose is to:
Support privacy as a fundamental human right; Require companies that handle personal data to be accountable for managing that data appropriately; and give individuals rights over how their personal data is processed or otherwise used.
In a nutshell, GDPR defines personal data as “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.”
Okay, so what does that mean?
In addition to the kinds of information you might think about – name, address, email address, financial information, contact information, identification numbers, etc., personal data can in some cases be information related to your dig
The term "Late Majority" now includes everyone and not just people that didn't grow up with computers.