Privacy

A Pew Research Center survey has found that while 74% of US adult Facebook users didn't know that Facebook kept track of their interests and traits for ads, just over half were uncomfortable with the practice. Facebook knows your age, gender and location, along with what you post, the pages you like and the businesses you check into on the social network. All that information helps the company determine what ads to show its 2.3 billion users. "Americans, being Americans, say that it matters, but they behave in a way that doesn't indicate that it matters," said Pew's Lee Rainie.

What can you do about it if you are concerned? Facebook users can view their "ad preferences" page to see what the social network thinks their interests are and why they're seeing a given ad. This list can include users' political leanings, hobbies and even the type of smartphone they use. Facebook users can also remove an interest from that list to change the type of ads they see on the social network.

Teen girls and boys who used social media more than five hours daily had higher depressive symptoms compared with peers who had one to three hours of daily social media use. The finding indicates a stronger link between social media use and depression in girls over boys (50% and 35% respectively), United Kingdom researchers reported in the journal EClinicalMedicine.

So what can parents do? Experts say one tip is to set up a charging station somewhere in the house instead of charging phones in the bedroom which can lead to distractions and sleep interruptions. Don’t fall for the line that teens need to use their phone as an alarm - get them an actual standalone alarm clock instead. This will help to limit nighttime usage. As one expert put it, "It's a balance, because there are benefits to engagement with media. There are so many ways in which social media is important and has positive features, but there's also ways in which social media can replace social support and connection from people you are living with in person. So it's finding that sweet spot."

As big-name players such as Google and Facebook back more technology for schools, a discussion about student data privacy needs to take place, write Dipayan Ghosh and Jim Steyer, two digital privacy advocates, in a recent opinion piece in The New York Times . "Should the tremendous amounts of data underlying the operation of these kinds of services get into the wrong hands, our children's futures could be at stake," they warn. “We don’t want children to fear that anything they say or do online could be used against them someday.”

Does it seem like you are getting more and more robocalls these days? It is a hot topic of discussion everywhere. Unwanted calls are usually pretty harmless, but some pose a threat to your privacy and identity. All are an unwanted distraction and a waste of time and one report says that nearly half of all cell phone calls will be scams in 2019. Need some advice on how to block them? Try the step-by-step directions, tips on apps and ideas for shutting them down in the article Here's how to block robocalls on iPhone and Android.

Most New Year’s resolutions focus on building better habits for fitness, career success, and even love. But what about better Internet practices? One thing you might try is the Keepsafe Browser. It allows you to browse the Internet without keeping record of your activity—a privacy feature that is attractive to many. Keepsafe’s private browser uses military-grade encryption to protect your web searches. To start, set a PIN or Face ID; the app cannot be accessed without that code. Browse in private mode, or switch into incognito mode’s secret browsers, which erase all of your browsing history after use. Not sold yet? Turn on Keepsafe’s tracker blockers to stop advertisers and social networks from collecting your data or browsing activity.

The use of artificial intelligence to monitor employees, and even students, is on its way, Larry Alton argues in InformationWeek. As companies streamline and automate surveillance services to prevent losses and increase productivity and schools increasingly worry more about security and bullying, added surveillance is sure to follow. Alton examines the consequences and discusses what you and your children should do to prepare.

Marty Ringle of Reed College in Oregon, who has worked in educational technology for more than 40 years, says there should be more consideration by the public, especially parents, of the risks of technology. In this interview with EdSurge, he suggests that an ethics course focused on technology be required in schools and colleges and the materials available for parents to use. Ringle writes, “There are people today who are well respected, well known, who are expressing anxiety and concerns about this. I personally think those are very well placed concerns. Not just in terms of the immediate obvious concerns about privacy and tracking and profiling people to within an inch of their lives and all those sorts of things, but decision-making, understanding the strengths and weaknesses, the limits of technology, not just today, but tomorrow, I think is vital.”

In an effort to improve facial recognition technology -- and prevent wrongful identification based on built-in biases -- Microsoft is establishing a code of conduct for this technology and is asking other companies to join in. Microsoft President Brad Smith says in TechCrunch that having cohesive rules in place is the most responsible way to implement facial recognition technology. This Code of Conduct is in response to a test of facial recognition software systems run by the American Civil Liberties Union and other critics who found that, for example, the software incorrectly matched the photos of 28 US lawmakers with mug shots of convicted criminals.

Your phone is incredibly valuable to criminals and spies. Treat it accordingly. Don’t bother with a four-digit passcode, which is easy to guess. Six-digit passcodes are harder to guess. Eight-digit-passcodes are better. Need to change you password? Try How to Bypass and Reset the Password on Every Operating System for advice on how to change your password on most any device.

Sites will often use common security questions to recover a user’s account if the password is forgotten. These questions are problematic because the Internet has made public record searches simple and the answers are usually easy to guess. In a study, security researchers at Google found that with a single guess, an attacker would have a 19.7 percent chance of duplicating an English-speaking user’s answer to the question “What is your favorite food?” (Pizza) If you're required to answer security questions, some security experts suggest making up a lie and jotting down your fake answers on paper or in the Notes section of your phone. (Q. "Where were you born?" A. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Q. "What was your first pet’s name?" A. Peach.)