Yesterday I received an e-mail from Google about the changes to their privacy policy. On the face of it, it seems reasonable that they would like to consolidate all their policies into one. The downside to this is that they also plan on sharing that information across their products which gives them a better picture of all your Internet activities. The question the, is what will they do with this information.

Having stated the above, some sites are very clear on their privacy policies.  For example, look at the Trollbeads privacy policy.  They state that they do not give out your information.  Given that this is a jewelry site, they would gain very little in giving it out.  The site’s goal is to sell jewelry.

Google on the other hand is interested in your information.  They make money based on it.

If you are concerned about privacy, there are two simple steps you can take to obscure the information that any website or search engine sees.

1. Use multiple user names or ID’s when you access a site.  This spreads your data across accounts which breaks any direct linkage to you.
2. Use an anonymous proxy that changes your IP address so that your accounts are not linked to your IP address.  Even better would be to use a shared proxy because many people will be using the same IP addresses thus rendering the information collected by the website useless.

Whether you are student studying abroad, or a business professional working on a project overseas, you will need to access the internet.  The problem is that not all websites are available in all countries.  Some may only be available in the United States.

Whenever you sign on to the internet, your IP address gives away your location.  If you are not in the United States, a website that you need to access may be blocked.  Whether you are signed up for a webinar, or need to do research, or if you just want to relax and watch your favorite TV show or a movie, if the site you need is blocked, it doesn’t help you much.   In order to “fool” these sites into opening, you must hide your IP address.

To hide your IP address, you must use a proxy server.  When you use a proxy server, the IP address used to locate you will be the address of the server.  This allows you to hide your true location, which opens up websites that would normally be blocked in the country you are in.

If you connect to a server in the US, then your US IP address will always show that you are in the United States.

You will be able to attend that online class in the United States while you are studying overseas.  You will also be able to watch movies and TV shows that would normally be blocked in some other countries.  There will be no limits on where you could go on the internet.

Want to try if for yourself?  Sign up for the risk-free trial and you will be hooked from the first time you use it.

Hindi maipagkakailang lalong nagiging tanyag ang pag gamit ng mga mobile devices. Sa kabila nito, lalo din namang nadadagdagan ang bilang ng mga cyber crimes. Sa ngayon, ang internet ay accessible o bukas halos sa lahat, gamit ang smartphones at iba pang digital devices. Ito ang isa sa malalaking dahilan upang ang mga maykapangyarihan ay maghanap ng makabagong paraan upang labanan ang ganitong uri ng mga krimen. Hindi na umuubra ang mga nakagawiang paraan; kailangan ang maparaang pagharap dito, gamit din ang teknolohiyang gamit ng mga cyber criminals.

Sa state ng California sa United States of America, itinatag ang bagong eCrime Unit upang manghuli at maglitis ng mga internet crooks. Ang team na ito ay binuo ng isang state attorney general at kinabibilangan ng dalawampung abogado at imbestigador. Bihasa sila sa mga makabagong paraan upang matunton at matukoy ang mga maysala. Kabilang sa mga tinututukan ng team na ito ay mga email scams, piracy, child pornography, online fraud, at marami pang iba. Kawawa lamang ang mga taong nabiktima at patuloy na nabibiktima mapa-offline man o mapa-online.

Naipakulong na ng team ang isang lalaking nahatulan ng guilty sa kasong hacking ng mga email at Facebook accounts. Marami nang nabiktima ang lalaking ito na ang karaniwang modus ay pasukin ang account ng ibang user. Pagkatapos ay maghahanap siya ng mga kontrobersiyal na larawan ng may-ari ng account. Tatakutin niya ito na ikakalat sa internet ang mga larawan kapag hindi sinunod ang gusto niya.

Ang internet ay napakahalaga sa ekonomiya, sa mga tao, at sa mga negosyo. Dahil dito, hindi na kailangang maghanap ng biktima ang mga cyber criminals. Napakaraming maaaring maging biktima ng pagnanakaw ng mga impormasyon. Ang taong 2012 ay nakikinikinitang magiging taon ng matinding pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Naranasan noong isang taon ang napakaraming mga scams at inaasahang marami pang darating ngayong taon.

Ito naman ang dahilan ng pagpapaigting ng kampanya laban sa ecrime. Ang bagong eCrime Unit ay naglalayong makagawa ng isang bagong trend ng pakikipaglaban sa online crimes. Sinabi ng attorney general mula California na gusto nilang manguna sa makabagong paraan sa paghahanap at paglilitis ng mga maysala. Gamit ang internet technology na siya ring gamit ng mga criminal, mapatutunayang ang batas ay mangingibabaw sa lahat ng oras.

There are many names to call it, but all in all, a natural disaster is one that comes with or without warning. The past year was overloaded with natural catastrophes that cost billions of dollars. People in the United States alone suffered from several hurricanes and tornadoes. There were many areas that were rocked and destroyed by earthquakes, like the East Coast, Colorado and Peru. Japan had her share of tsunami, and Queensland, Australia, Bangkok and most recently, the Philippines suffered from destructive floods. These events tend to send a lesson across – that natural disasters should be put in the top risk concern.

Today, businesses and government agencies should prepare for all of these looming disasters. Each should have an individual plan for disaster recovery. In today’s information-driven world, further disasters can result from power outages and network failures. There should still be time for every business to adjust and respond to risks. In any possible event, there should be uninterrupted and continuous access to either personal or corporate data.