Have you ever felt like you're being followed?
Excuse us for feeding into your paranoia, but you are
being tracked.
It happens each and every time you surf the web, and
it's going to keep happening, even if you've enabled that feel-good "Do Not Track" setting in your browser that most websites and online services ignore.
They ignore it because they can, and the Federal Communications Commission isn't stepping in to help.
They ignore it because they can, and the Federal Communications Commission isn't stepping in to help.
Consumer Watchdog just tried forcing the
FCC's hand by petitioning the government agency to "initiate a
rulemaking proceeding requiring 'edge providers (like Google, Facebook,
YouTube, Pandora, Netflix, and LinkedIn) to honor 'Do Not Track'
requests from consumers," but the attempt failed.
Mozilla is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to making the Web
better.
"We emphasize principle over profit, and believe that the Web is a shared public resource to be cared for, not a commodity to be sold.
We answer to no one but you and believe it is crucial to put you in control of your online experience.
We are aiming to give you better insight and control into the ways your personal information is collected, used, stored and shared online.
Mozilla Firefox offers a Do Not Track feature that lets you express a preference not to be tracked by websites.
When the feature is enabled, Firefox will tell advertising networks and other websites and applications that you want to opt-out of tracking for purposes like behavioral advertising."
***
The state owns your DNA. Every year about four million newborns in the U.S. get a heel prick at birth, to screen for congenital disorders, that if found early enough, can save their life."
However, when those tests are done, the leftover blood isn't simply thrown away. Instead, they're taken to an office building and the DNA data is stored in a database.
"It’s a treasure trove of information about you, from the color of your eyes and hair to your pre-disposition to diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer."
And that's not the end of it:
"The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is not the only agency using the blood spots.
We are own you...
Law enforcement can request them. Private companies can buy them to do research – without your consent."
***
Fingerprints aren't terribly secure; you leave them on almost everything you touch. Many people won't realize that fingerprints can be captured and reproduced from casual photographs.
It's actually worse than that. The very method with which fingerprints are stored is much weaker than passwords.
Fingerprints cannot be hashed.
By their very nature, each read of your fingerprint will be a little different, which breaks the hashing method.
They can only be stored using encryption, which requires the same master password each time a new print read is compared to the stored key — a much weaker method than salted hashes.
This more easily opens fingerprint credentials up to theft and brute forcing.
Go ahead and set up your iPhone with a fingerprint...Muhaa ha!
***
Gummi Bears defeat finger print scanners.
***
Particularly interesting for me was their clarification on the argument that "VISA holders have to make prevailing wages, so they won't depress wages."
Quoting:
"Under federal rules, employers like TCS, Infosys and Wipro that have large numbers of H-1B workers in the United States are required to declare that they will not displace American workers.
But the companies are exempt from that requirement if the H-1B workers are paid at least $60,000 a year. H-1B workers at outsourcing firms often receive wages at or slightly above $60,000, below what skilled American technology professionals tend to earn, so those firms can offer services to American companies at a lower cost, undercutting American workers."
***
"We emphasize principle over profit, and believe that the Web is a shared public resource to be cared for, not a commodity to be sold.
We answer to no one but you and believe it is crucial to put you in control of your online experience.
We are aiming to give you better insight and control into the ways your personal information is collected, used, stored and shared online.
Mozilla Firefox offers a Do Not Track feature that lets you express a preference not to be tracked by websites.
When the feature is enabled, Firefox will tell advertising networks and other websites and applications that you want to opt-out of tracking for purposes like behavioral advertising."
***
"This might come as a surprise to California natives in their 20s and early 30s:
The state owns your DNA. Every year about four million newborns in the U.S. get a heel prick at birth, to screen for congenital disorders, that if found early enough, can save their life."
However, when those tests are done, the leftover blood isn't simply thrown away. Instead, they're taken to an office building and the DNA data is stored in a database.
"It’s a treasure trove of information about you, from the color of your eyes and hair to your pre-disposition to diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer."
And that's not the end of it:
"The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is not the only agency using the blood spots.
We are own you...
Law enforcement can request them. Private companies can buy them to do research – without your consent."
***
Why Fingerprints are weaker security than passwords.
Fingerprints aren't terribly secure; you leave them on almost everything you touch. Many people won't realize that fingerprints can be captured and reproduced from casual photographs.
It's actually worse than that. The very method with which fingerprints are stored is much weaker than passwords.
Fingerprints cannot be hashed.
By their very nature, each read of your fingerprint will be a little different, which breaks the hashing method.
They can only be stored using encryption, which requires the same master password each time a new print read is compared to the stored key — a much weaker method than salted hashes.
This more easily opens fingerprint credentials up to theft and brute forcing.
Go ahead and set up your iPhone with a fingerprint...Muhaa ha!
***
Gummi Bears defeat finger print scanners.
***
The NY Times has a straightforward summary of how the H-1B Visa system is being gamed by companies inside and outside of the United States.
Particularly interesting for me was their clarification on the argument that "VISA holders have to make prevailing wages, so they won't depress wages."
Quoting:
"Under federal rules, employers like TCS, Infosys and Wipro that have large numbers of H-1B workers in the United States are required to declare that they will not displace American workers.
But the companies are exempt from that requirement if the H-1B workers are paid at least $60,000 a year. H-1B workers at outsourcing firms often receive wages at or slightly above $60,000, below what skilled American technology professionals tend to earn, so those firms can offer services to American companies at a lower cost, undercutting American workers."
***
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