Privacy

Do you ever feel like your entire life is in your phone? It is that very reason that many foreign governments may want you to turn over your passwords to get into your digital devices, including your cellphone. Legally, in the United States, citizens are not required to unlock their cellphones or share their passwords with US government officials, but rules may vary depending on where you are traveling to and from. Not to mention any stopping by a government official could be inconvenient and even intimidating.

What can you do to protect yourself? Take a look at these tips for safeguarding your cellphones, tablets and computers from invasive searches, all while remaining honest, that are part of an article from The New York Times Technology Editors.

Do you ever feel like your entire life is in your phone? It is that very reason that many foreign governments may want you to turn over your passwords to get into your digital devices, including your cellphone. Legally, in the United States, citizens are not required to unlock their cellphones or share their passwords with US government officials, but rules may vary depending on where you are traveling to and from. Not to mention any stopping by a government official could be inconvenient and even intimidating.

What can you do to protect yourself? Take a look at these tips for safeguarding your cellphones, tablets and computers from invasive searches, all while remaining honest, that are part of an article from The New York Times Technology Editors.

Goggle Maps recently included a location sharing feature as an update to the Google Maps app for your phone and personal computer. While this kind of location sharing is already available on other apps, privacy experts are worried about adding this feature to one of the world’s most popular apps when so many are concerned about digital safety and privacy. When location sharing is turned on, your teen can be tracked when out with friends, and if you are not careful to limit access to only friends and family, burglars can even find out when you are out of the house for the day. On a more positive note, the app can be set up to let someone know where you are, or that you’ve arrived to your location safely, but then the tracking will turn off when you arrive. Google will also send you emails to remind you have the feature on if you forget to turn it off. Take a look at this article for help with turning the location sharing on and off and for more information about the feature.

Goggle Maps recently included a location sharing feature as an update to the Google Maps app for your phone and personal computer. While this kind of location sharing is already available on other apps, privacy experts are worried about adding this feature to one of the world’s most popular apps when so many are concerned about digital safety and privacy. When location sharing is turned on, your teen can be tracked when out with friends, and if you are not careful to limit access to only friends and family, burglars can even find out when you are out of the house for the day. On a more positive note, the app can be set up to let someone know where you are, or that you’ve arrived to your location safely, but then the tracking will turn off when you arrive. Google will also send you emails to remind you have the feature on if you forget to turn it off. Take a look at this article for help with turning the location sharing on and off and for more information about the feature.

WikiLeaks recently published a trove of documents that appears to detail how the Central Intelligence Agency successfully hacked a wide variety of tech products, including iPhones, Android devices, WiFi routers and Samsung televisions. That’s just about every major category of consumer electronics. So what does that mean for you if you own one — or several — of these gadgets?

For many people, it may mean nothing at all. The thousands of pages of documents refer to programs that attacked outdated versions of the software systems running on devices, and many security vulnerabilities have since been patched. On the other hand, many people may still use outdated software on their devices. And although the C.I.A. designed these tools to spy on terrorists in the interest of national security, the hacking tools may have ended up in the hands of a whole range of entities. So even if you aren’t worried about what WikiLeaks revealed about the C.I.A. right now for yourself, this article from USA Today entitled 9 cybersecurity tips for the mildly paranoid (plus 4 for the truly anxious) with tips for protecting your cellphones and other digital tools is a good thing to look at just to remind yourself to be more careful. Bottom line: Remember to update, update, update!

WikiLeaks recently published a trove of documents that appears to detail how the Central Intelligence Agency successfully hacked a wide variety of tech products, including iPhones, Android devices, WiFi routers and Samsung televisions. That’s just about every major category of consumer electronics. So what does that mean for you if you own one — or several — of these gadgets?

For many people, it may mean nothing at all. The thousands of pages of documents refer to programs that attacked outdated versions of the software systems running on devices, and many security vulnerabilities have since been patched. On the other hand, many people may still use outdated software on their devices. And although the C.I.A. designed these tools to spy on terrorists in the interest of national security, the hacking tools may have ended up in the hands of a whole range of entities. So even if you aren’t worried about what WikiLeaks revealed about the C.I.A. right now for yourself, this article from USA Today entitled 9 cybersecurity tips for the mildly paranoid (plus 4 for the truly anxious) with tips for protecting your cellphones and other digital tools is a good thing to look at just to remind yourself to be more careful. Bottom line: Remember to update, update, update!

Are you or a member of your family looking for a job? It may be time to upgrade your social media presence. According to the article from FastCompany.com, start by separating your personal accounts from any business or school affiliated presence. Keep in mind damage control may be in order. Google yourself and see what comes up. If there are bad posts you can’t remove, create more recent positive posts. Social media should be viewed as a way to separate you from other job seekers with similar talents and skills.

Are you or a member of your family looking for a job? It may be time to upgrade your social media presence. According to the article from FastCompany.com, start by separating your personal accounts from any business or school affiliated presence. Keep in mind damage control may be in order. Google yourself and see what comes up. If there are bad posts you can’t remove, create more recent positive posts. Social media should be viewed as a way to separate you from other job seekers with similar talents and skills.

It’s not an uncommon sight as you’re scrolling through your Facebook news feed: a friend shares a heartbreaking photo, accompanied by a post that pleads with users to “like,” “comment” or “share” in order to raise money or awareness for a person in need. But scammers who use “like-farming” tactics can take advantage of a Facebook user’s interaction to either collect and sell information about that user or use it as a gateway to collecting more personal information — like passwords or credit card numbers.

Though it’s sometimes difficult to determine which posts are real and which are fake, there are a few simple clues that these “like-farming” posts have in common:

• They claim someone has cancer or another serious disease and needs money for surgery.
• They claim Facebook “has decided to help” by donating a certain amount of money for “likes,” “comments” or “shares.”
• They typically ask a Facebook user to comment “Amen” at the end of the post.

So, next time you see a post with a heart-wrenching photo that catches your eye, look for these signs before responding. And if you suspect the post is a scam, report it to Facebook immediately.

It’s not an uncommon sight as you’re scrolling through your Facebook news feed: a friend shares a heartbreaking photo, accompanied by a post that pleads with users to “like,” “comment” or “share” in order to raise money or awareness for a person in need. But scammers who use “like-farming” tactics can take advantage of a Facebook user’s interaction to either collect and sell information about that user or use it as a gateway to collecting more personal information — like passwords or credit card numbers.

Though it’s sometimes difficult to determine which posts are real and which are fake, there are a few simple clues that these “like-farming” posts have in common:

• They claim someone has cancer or another serious disease and needs money for surgery.
• They claim Facebook “has decided to help” by donating a certain amount of money for “likes,” “comments” or “shares.”
• They typically ask a Facebook user to comment “Amen” at the end of the post.

So, next time you see a post with a heart-wrenching photo that catches your eye, look for these signs before responding. And if you suspect the post is a scam, report it to Facebook immediately.