I can’t even remember how many times I’ve been asked by both friends and strangers if it’s a good idea to use a proxy server.  The answer I always give is “Yes!!!”

Whenever I travel, I usually drive, so that means when I’m on the road, I’m usually working.  If I stop at Panera for a quick snack or if I’m staying in a motel over-night, I bring my laptop in so I can get things done.  Because of this, I’m relying on public Wi-Fi during my trips.  With all the talk of identity theft and hackers, I always wondered if someone sitting at the next table or staying in the next room was a hacker.  I tried to be cautious, but the worry was still there until I discovered Private Proxy.   Now, I can go anywhere and work on the Internet without worrying about my privacy.  Yes, there are free proxies available, but I was always told that you get what you pay for and some of those free proxies aren’t run by very scrupulous people.  These people can, and sometimes do, monitor the information being sent out and will use it against you.  Another thing to consider is that since the proxies are free, they are public and anyone can use them (just like public Wi-Fi).  No information you send out is encrypted.  With Private Proxy, I’m assured of an unmonitored, encrypted connection at all times.  This way, I feel much safer knowing that no one can read my personal information.

I also like that no one can figure out if I’m home or on the road.  Since Private Proxy gives me a choice of many rotating and static connections in the US, Canada and the Netherlands, I can be “seen” as being in the States even when I’m over-seas.  It also works to my advantage in the opposite way.  If a friend invites me to her child’s birthday party and I have had enough of ball pits and clowns for the year, I can choose one of the proxy servers on the other side of the country so it looks like I’m traveling.  Not that I don’t like my friends, their kids or their parties, but there is only so much of the bad magic tricks and silly string one person can handle!

Another big advantage when I travel over-seas is that all I have to do is choose a proxy server in the US, and I will be able to stay current with family, friends and whatever is happening in my local news.  There are some areas of the world where certain local websites are blocked.  By using a proxy server based in the US, the Internet will think that I’m home, so I can read my hometown newspapers on-line, shop my favorite stores and even watch my favorite TV shows knowing that my privacy is safe.     

Even though there are other advantages, the most important one for me was that Private Proxy always gives you an encrypted connection.  It’s very comforting to know that no matter where I travel, or even if I’m sitting in my home office using my wireless router, no one will be able to break into my connection and steal my personal information.  Not only that, but Private Proxy servers are not public, so only Private Proxy clients are able to use their servers.  With encryption and unmonitored lines, multiple servers in the US, Canada and the Netherlands and ease of use, is it any wonder why I chose Private Proxy?

On the Home page, you will see a link for a Risk Free Trial on the right of your screen.  Give it a try.  This way, you can see for yourself how safe you can be each and every time you go on-line.

Millions of people, every day, depend on one piece of electronic equipment to do just about everything:  their smartphone.  Back in the day, very few people had cell phones, and those that did used them to make emergency calls every now and then.  Over the years, the simple cell phone has evolved into the smartphone.  The smartphone is a multi-functional device that allows a person to send e-mail, update social networking, shop on line, play games and do anything else that can be done on a computer.  Many cars have built in GPSs, but if yours doesn’t, that’s OK because you can use your Navigation app on your smartphone.  In fact, one of the least used functions of a smartphone today is actually the one that allows you to make phone calls.  It’s amazing that this one, small device can do so much, but what does this mean when it comes to privacy?  Because the smartphone holds a large quantity of personal information regarding our shopping habits, social networking, e-mail and even banking, it now makes it easier for you to be tracked and targeted for on-line ads. 

Every day, more and more people are downloading hundreds of apps made specifically for the smartphone.  If you’re low on gas, the GasBuddy app can tell you which station has the lowest prices with the shortest wait time (which came in handy during SuperStorm Sandy when gas prices went up and the lines were hours long!).  Banks now offer apps that make it easy to deposit a check from anywhere.  All you have to do is snap a picture of your check using your smartphone and it’s deposited into your account.  If you’re in unfamiliar territory, you can count on Google Maps to find directions to the hotel or restaurant where you are to have your business meeting, then after the meeting, you can use the e-mail function to check in with your office to let everyone know the status of that big project.  After your workday is done, you can relax in your room and read your local newspaper, watch your local news, update your social networking status, play games or even read a book.  If you’re feeling under the weather, just log onto WebMD and enter your symptoms to get a quick diagnosis or if you are having trouble with your toddler, you can check in with your favorite parenting site to see what others have done to remedy the issue.  You are never far from home or the office as long as you have your smartphone.

 But what does all this convenience mean to your privacy?  Every site you log on to and every app you download requires you to enter some personal information, which is all saved to your smartphone.  Don’t forget that many on-line businesses share information gathered with third parties.  Is it worth risking your privacy in order to have the convenience of doing just about everything from this one device?  Surprisingly, most people choose convenience over privacy.  They feel that entering a birth date or zip code in order to have 24 hour access to websites no matter where they travel is well worth the effort.  They don’t realize how this can jeopardize their privacy since millions of people may live in a particular zip code and millions more can have a particular birth date.  One important factor isn’t taken into consideration:  only one person has that zip code and birth date on that particular smartphone.

 Each time you enter personal information for a smartphone app or download, you are risking your privacy.  On-line marketers can use your information in order to target you for specific ads.  They know what city your home is in from your zip code, they know your age from your birth date, they know which websites you frequent, and through the GPS function on your smartphone, they know where you are at any given time.  Add your e-mail address into the mix and these marketers can fill your inbox with ads for more apps, shops, products or anything else.  Your browser will also be giving you suggestions on apps or products you may be interested in because your history shows what you have purchased or downloaded.

 App developers claim that a consumer must give their personal information in order to really benefit from their apps.  There is, however, some debate as to what the risks to privacy are that has even Congress involved.  As of now, what is being discussed the most is a way for consumers to choose a “Do Not Track” option on the sites they frequent but, so far, there is no solution to the privacy issue.

 Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia is the Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  He is calling for a hearing on the issue of “Do Not Track” as a consumer option.  One of his proposals is that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should start penalizing Internet companies that do not respect a “Do Not Track” request made by consumers.  This proposal isn’t sitting well with on-line marketers.  These marketers bring up the fact that the Digital Advertising Alliance has set up a link for consumers so they can see a list of companies that abide by “Do Not Track” requests.  There were 20 million visitors to the site, however, a mere 1 million opted for the option not to be tracked.

Using a smartphone to surf the Internet is a greater privacy risk than using your home computer.  Privacy advocates and the FTC find this alarming since it means that with smartphone GPS technology, any person can be traced to any location, wherever they may be on Earth.  If a person’s whereabouts are traced for any length of time, that person’s entire schedule could be followed.  With this kind of tracking, a person can be open for identity theft or even stalking.   

Director Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center believes that this potential for tracking makes it dangerous for consumers.  He feels that the Internet companies who track should be held accountable and need to make sure no one who uses their products gets hurt in any way.  Mr. Rotenberg says, “You shouldn’t be put at risk if a car is correctly designed when you go on the highway, and that’s our view of Internet-based services.  People shouldn’t have to lose their privacy to use Internet-based services.”  He also expressed his belief that most people don’t really know what information is being gathered about them or how it can be used.

 Commissioner Julie Brill of the FTC said, “The industry is moving so quickly and changing so much that we need to make sure that the laws are keeping up with it”. This comment was made because of her belief that what is still unknown is the biggest risk to privacy. 

Even though the debate is on-going, the only headway made is that Internet companies are now agreeing that they need to set some voluntary standards.  New standards for mobile apps are being worked out between industry lobbyists and the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.  Everyone is in agreement that consumers must have a full understanding of exactly what information is being gathered from them and if it is shared with third parties.

Late spring is projected as when plans to protect the privacy of consumers will be finalized.  As soon as this is done, it will be easy for any consumer to find which mobile apps collect the most and least personal information and which ones share this information with third parties.  After that, each person must decide if they would rather protect their privacy or risk being tracked because they can’t stop playing “Words with Friends” on their smartphones.

At the top of this page you will see an offer to download a Privacy Guide.  The download is free, but the tips and suggestions it offers are valuable because they can help you save your privacy.

Do Not Talk to Strangers

There was a time back in the 60s and 70s when parents were criticized for using the television set as a babysitter.  Busy parents would sit their children in front of the television to watch cartoons while they did their daily chores.  The children would be occupied for hours watching their favorite characters get into all kinds of mischief while mom and dad did the yard work, cooking and cleaning.  Today, instead of the television, more and more parents are sitting their children in front of the computer to occupy themselves on the Internet.  The cartoon characters that the children of the 60s and 70s watched got into a lot of trouble, but those characters never enticed the children watching to come join them.  With the Internet, it’s a completely different story.  There are sites that children are finding that allow them to talk to random strangers.  These strangers sometimes will get the children’s trust, then will get the children’s personal information like full names, addresses and telephone numbers.  You wouldn’t allow your 8 year old to walk the streets of a large city alone, would you?  Well, allowing your 8 year old to “walk” the Internet alone is just as dangerous.

The solution isn’t as simple as not having Internet service.  Because of budget cuts, schools all over the country are turning to the use of e-textbooks because it’s just too expensive to buy new books each year for each child.  In order to access these e-textbooks, students must log onto the schools’ websites.  Here, they can not only study, but they can also get extra help with their homework from teachers who volunteer to tutor.  In other words, today, having a computer with Internet access is a necessity for all students, from elementary school through college.  Since parents also need to use the Internet for various personal and business projects, it’s not uncommon for each member of the household to have their own computer.  Each computer is not only Internet ready, but each one likely has a webcam built right in.  It’s dangerous to allow a child to have a computer with Internet access in his or her own room, but the combination of Internet and webcam makes it all the more dangerous.   There are parents who will not even allow their children to walk to a school that may only be a block or two away, but they will feel it’s perfectly all right to allow those same children to be alone on the Internet.  Parents:  you teach your children not to talk to strangers on the city streets, but now, you need to extend this to the Internet.  Word is spreading from child to child about sites that will let them talk to strangers.  Make no mistake about this; if your child has not yet heard of or found one of these sites, they soon will and you need to be ready for it.

One of these “talk to strangers” sites is Omegle.  The concept of the site was to use the Internet as a meeting place for people who would normally never have a chance to meet in real life.  It is a place where strangers can chat with other strangers from all over the world.  Omegle was created by Leif K-Brooks, an 18 year old living in Brattleboro, Vermont.  The site was up and running on March 25, 2009.  Within one month of going live, there were 150,000 users.  The number of users is not going down and the site is still going strong.  There is no registration necessary to use the site, there is no charge for its use and it’s not monitored.  Yes, there is a disclaimer that says that users must be at least 18 years old, but on the Internet, you can be any age you choose.  That being said, Omegle is one of the more popular sites of very young children.

In the first year or two, Omegle’s chat was done via text only.  Today, users have a choice between text and video.  Mixing a child, a stranger and video chat can be a very dangerous combination.  One young girl’s story comes to mind when I think of children video chatting with strangers:  Amanda Todd.  Canadian teenager Amanda Todd was just 13 years old when she found that she could video chat with strangers from around the world.  She was a pretty girl who liked when boys and even grown men would tell her how beautiful she was.  One day, a man she was chatting with convinced her to lift her shirt and flash her breasts for him.  She did it.  What she didn’t know was that during that brief flash, the man on the other end of the camera took a screenshot of her.  She didn’t realize that one frame of a video chat could be frozen like that.

During her video chats, Amanda didn’t think there was anything wrong with giving her name.  The man who Amanda flashed on camera knew her name, made a page on Facebook showing that he was a boy Amanda’s age and sent her a friend request.  Amanda accepted.  This “boy” told her that the following semester, he would be going to her school and asked her if she could get her friends to accept him as a Facebook friend.  Once he had her entire friends list, he proceeded to send each one on that list the photo he took of Amanda lifting her shirt.  He also sent the photo to the school’s website for everyone to see.  That one moment of what Amanda thought of as teenage silliness made her a target for bullying.  Everyone in the school called her nasty names and not even her closest friends would associate with her anymore.  Amanda was very depressed for months and her parents decided that the best thing to do for the family would be to move.  Things were good for a while and Amanda was making new friends at her new school.  She even made a new Facebook page listing her new school and with a new list of friends.  This is what her tormenter was waiting for.  He again sent her a friend request that she accepted and he sent the photo to everyone on the new list and her new school’s site.  Amanda couldn’t take any more.  She wrote flashcards and used them to tell her story in a YouTube video.  On October 10, 2012, just a few days after posting her video on YouTube, Amanda’s parents found her hanged body.  Amanda’s tormenter has disappeared and has never been identified.

The story of Amanda Todd isn’t the only one of its kind and it demonstrates what can happen to a child when left alone with the Internet.  Children do things on the spur of the moment and think nothing of it, like flashing a stranger.  They sometimes are only thinking in the moment, not of any consequences that their actions might have.  Aside from worrying that they may be inappropriate photos of their children floating around the Internet, parents also need to think about what information their children are giving out that could become a privacy issue.  There have been children chatting on-line, thinking they are chatting with a child their age, so they have given information such as full name, phone number address and school name.  The “child” they thought could be a new pen pal or foreign boyfriend or girlfriend could in reality be a pedophile.  Supposedly, the chat on these sites is anonymous, but that doesn’t stop people of any age from freely giving out information.  Not only do some chatters lie about their ages, they also lie about their locations, so one who is thought to be living in Asia could really be right about the corner.  Even with only a name, someone could look that name up on Facebook and get all the information he or she needs in order to stalk someone.

In addition to Omegle, there is another site where anyone, including children, can randomly chat with strangers.  The name of this site is Chatroulette.  Once again, a teenager created this site.  He is Andrey Ternovsky of Moscow, Russia, who was just 17 when he came up with the concept.  The idea came to him when he was watching The Deer Hunter.  In that movie, prisoners of war were forced to play Russian Roulette as a way for their guards to find amusement.  Chatroulette is like Russian Roulette because every connection could bring you in contact with a different stranger each time, or you could connect with the one you just ended a conversation with.  This site covers the world just like Omegle, but the one difference is that you need to register to use Chatroulette.  This may seem like it would make it difficult for a child to use the site, but it’s not.  Registration is free, so no credit card or bank account information would be needed.

Unofficially, a study was made on the subject of Chatroulette.  Here is what this study brought to light:

1. Connections with and from people in the US accounted for over half of all connections made.
2. Only 11% of all connections were female, while 89% were male.
3. Many video connections showed nothing but an empty chair.
4. 1 of every 8 connections that showed someone on the other side of the camera was of a naked and/or masturbating person.

Will you still allow your child to use the Internet without your supervision?

One other thing to consider that is very troubling is that both sites, Chatroulette and Omegle, as that you allow them access to your webcam.  A lot of children who have computers set up in their rooms don’t turn them off and always have the Internet running.  Think of how remote access to your child’s webcam can impact that child if the webcam was turned on when your child was dressing for school, or even just sleeping.

Concern has been voiced about these sites.  American psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Ablow, who is also a best-selling author commented about Chatroulette that, “Parents should keep all their children off the site because it’s much too dangerous for children.  It’s a predator’s paradise.  This is one of the worst faces of the Internet that I’ve seen.  It’s disconnecting human relationships rather than connecting them.”  Really, now?

On CBS’s The Early Show, Ernie Allen, President of the National Center of Missing & Exploited Children said that Chatroulette is “the last place parents want their kids to be.  This is a huge red flag; this is extreme social networking.  This is a place kids are going to gravitate to.”

Chatroulette creator Andrey Ternovsky was quoted in The New York Times as saying, “Everyone finds his own way of using the site.  Some think it is a game, others think it is a whole unknown world, others think it is a dating service.  I think it’s cool that such a concept can be useful for so many people.”  When asked, he said he was aware of some people masturbating or standing around naked in front of their cameras, but added that this is not a use he agrees with.

Many parents will feel that their children would never know how to find sites such as these, but that’s not the case.  Don’t be so quick to say, “Not MY child” because it’s only a matter of time until your child will hear about these sites from their friends or classmates.  Children are finding and using Omegle and Chatroulette with disastrous results.  The only way to stop this is for all parents of young children to closely supervise them each time they go on the Internet.   Take the computer out of your child’s room and put it in a common area of the house.  Shut it down with a parental password in place when the child goes to bed so there is no temptation to go on-line after the parents have gone to bed.  Even though you know you can’t keep your child innocent until they move out of your house, you still don’t want them seeing adult content when they’re still in elementary school.  If you make a small effort, your child’s privacy, and yours, can stay safe.

For more tips and suggestions on how to keep you and your family safe, please download the free Privacy Guide offered at the top of this page.  You will be glad you did.

Just 3 months after Intstagram’s purchase by Facebook, on January 16, 2013, a new policy regarding photos was put in place.  Starting on that date, Facebook has the right to sell any photo that was posted on Instagram without paying, or even notifying, the users who posted those photos.  If you read the updated policy and deleted your Instagram account before January 16^th, this was the only way you could have stopped the sale of your photos.  However, if you didn’t read the update and your account with Instagram was still active as of that date, you are in danger of your photos being sold.  Instagram users certainly weren’t happy about this detail.

What all this means is that if you use Instagram to post photos and did not delete your account before January 16, 2012, you could be facing a huge privacy concern.  Any photos that you posted on Instagram after the effective policy date can be sold to any advertiser and used in any way.  You could be on your way to work or school one morning and see a photo of you and your friends partying at a local bar up on a billboard advertising that bar.  Or maybe the billboard is for a beach resort that you visited and the photo is of you lying on the beach in a very skimpy bikini.  Another possibility is that you could be skimming through a magazine in your dentist’s waiting room and see a print ad featuring you and your friends standing in front of the newest casino.  Would you be shocked at any of this?  Would you be even more shocked to know that everyone involved with creating this ad, except you, will be making money off of your images?  Does this sound like a good deal?

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) has taken notice of this new policy.  “It’s asking people to agree to unspecified future commercial use of their photos.  That makes it challenging for someone to give informed consent to that deal.”  That was a statement issued by Kurt Opsahl, Senior Staff Attorney for the EFF.

Since it is unspecified what types of photos can be sold and used, the policy leaves an endless amount of possibilities.  Any type of business, hotel chains, cruise lines, airlines, bars, restaurants, etc., can purchase your Instagram photos from Facebook without asking you for consent.  Your photos can be used in brochures, television commercials, print and Internet ads…any kind of advertisement that the purchaser sees fit.  And because there is no limit on the types of photos used, your kids can be in danger.  One day, you may see a billboard of your kids running around on a beach used to advertise the kid-friendly resort you visited last summer.

If you want to avoid all this but didn’t delete your Instagram account before January 16, 2013, you can still delete your account to regain some control over your privacy.  However, keep in mind that any pictures you posted to Instagram after January 16^th up to the date your account was deleted can still be sold since there is no language in the new policy that protects those photos. 

Two new phrases that were added to Facebook’s Terms of Service regarding any photos posted to Facebook and Instagram should be carefully considered.  One states that “Facebook has transferable and sub-licensable rights” and the other says, “a business or other entity may pay us to display your photos in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”   These are the phrases that give Facebook the right to license any of the photos that you post to either site and they show why it’s so important to fully read and understand all Terms of Service agreements and Privacy Policies.  You must also take the time to read and understand any updates to the policies.

Another thing to be aware of is that along with giving Facebook the right to sell your Instagram photos, the policy also protects them from liability.  On this, the policy states, “Instagram will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any content you provide.  You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communication as such.”  So, basically, you will not be able to sue Facebook or Instagram if your photos happen to show up in an ad that you don’t approve of.  Isn’t that an interesting turn of events?

There is nothing in the policy that states that Facebook will certainly sell your Instagram photos, and the language could be put in the policy on the off chance that one of your photos IS used in ads.  Well, that’s what some people think.  I don’t.  Ever since going public, Facebook has been discovering new ways of making money from their users.  One of the ways is “Sponsored Stories” which allows Facebook to sell your “Likes” and comments to those companies so they can be used in ads targeting your friends.  This, too, is done without paying the user for their input.  Lately, a new feature, Promote and Share, has been added.  For a $7 fee, users can “promote and share” noteworthy posts made by their friends so the promoted posts can be sent to the top of the newsfeed (Promote and Share: Facebook’s Latest Money-Maker).

At this point in time, Facebook and Instagram have made no comment as to their new policy.  The EFF’s Mr. Opsahl says, “Hopefully, at some point, we’ll get greater clarity from Facebook and Instagram.”  Yeah, maybe that will happen.

Now it’s time for you to decide what action, if any, you will take because of this information.  Are you going to delete your Instagram account, or are you going to continue to post your photos and hope that one of these days, you won’t see yourself in a national print ad or billboard?  I have never been one to post any pictures of myself to Facebook and I don’t have an account with Instagram.  I want to keep as much of my life private as I can.  But, if you love Instagram, I hope that you will think before you post any more photos.  Are you holding up a bottle of beer with the name clearly visible?  Are you standing in front of a hotel with the name prominently displayed?  Is the photo something that you may be embarrassed to have your parents or boss see as they drive along a highway?  If the answer to any of these is “Yes”, then you should re-think posting or you could end up a “celebrity”.  Also, remember that a photo that could be innocent in your eyes may not be so innocent in someone else’s eyes.

Please take a few minutes to download the free Privacy guide located at the top of this page.  If you value your privacy, you will see many suggestions on how you can keep your privacy a bit safer in the real world and on the Internet.

The reason Facebook came up with this new feature is because they claim there was a demand for it.  They have said that this feature is beneficial to all because it allows users to share good news posted by their friends so that this news can be moved to the top of the newsfeed.  This will allow other friends who may have missed the original post to share in the excitement of that new baby, house or job.

Facebook issued a statement as follows:  “This feature respects the privacy of the original poster – i.e. it will promote to everyone who originally saw it.  You can only promote posts to the people that your friend originally shared with.  If you have mutual friends, they’ll see that you shared it and promoted it.”  If this is the case, then why would someone pay $7 to share a post that any friend could simply scroll down to find?  Yes, this feature is beneficial, but in my opinion, it’s really only beneficial to Facebook’s pockets.

Sure, there are people who will take advantage of Promote and Share.  They realize that many friends don’t have the luxury of spending all day on Facebook and statuses do get buried way down in the newsfeeds.  With Promote and Share, they can know that more people will have a chance to see the post since it will be moved up to the top of the newsfeeds.  I don’t know why anyone would pay $7 for this, though, when all anyone has to do is scroll down to see earlier posts, or visit a friend’s wall to see if there is any new developments in their pregnancy, job search or other special event.   

The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Executive Director, Marc Rotenberg believes that Facebook is using Promote and Share to take control over users’ information while it makes money off of it.  He has said, “The user, not Facebook, should control the data.”  He has compared Promote and Share to Caller-ID by stating, “The telephone companies were charging customers to obtain the phone numbers of the people calling.  They were also charging people to block the disclosure of their telephone numbers.  Either way, the telephone company made money.  But, the key was that they first had to take control of the disclosure of the users’ personal information, i.e. the phone numbers.”  Could this maybe give Facebook the opening to charge users to opt out of having their information “promoted”?

Other criticisms of Promote and Share came from the Center for Digital Democracy, through its Executive Director, Jeffrey Cheater.  He said, “It further transforms friendship into just another marketing opportunity.  Nothing is off limits to Facebook executives when it comes to turning friendships into an opportunity to make an extra buck.”

Now, since Promote and Share should be used to share the good fortune of Facebook friends, couldn’t it also be used to share their misfortune?  What is to stop a former real-life friend, who is still a Facebook friend, to promote something that could prove to be detrimental or embarrassing to the original poster if seen by the wrong people?  True, the posts are only supposed to show up on the newsfeeds of friends and mutual friends, but with all of the friends, mutual friends, friends of friends and so on, a promoted and shared post could potentially be seen by thousands within a day’s time.  Some mean-spirited person could post something harmful about another person, have someone else “Promote and Share” and before you know it, a reputation is ruined or a job is lost.  Something like this could be disastrous.

I’ll be letting my Facebook friends know that I will never be using the Promote and Share feature.  I feel that it’s not up to me to decide what news, good or bad, is to be spread about others to others.  After all, it’s not MY news to share.  If one of my friends wants to tell the world about a life event, that person will do it in his or her own way in his or her own time.  I don’t need to help move it along, unless I’m specifically asked to do so.  Even then, would I spend $7 to do it?  No way!

In this digital age, we all have concerns about privacy.  Please take a few minutes to download the free Privacy Guide located at the top of this page.  In it, you will find many valuable tips and suggestions on how to protect your privacy both on-line and off.

My friend Pam had always wanted to take a class in pottery but there was never anything offered in her area.  One day, she received a class schedule from her local community college and saw the perfect class for her:  Pottery 101.  It was a 10 week course, close to home and the price was right, so she signed up.   The first day of class, she was early and chose a seat towards the back of the room.  Tony came in the room shortly after and sat next to her.  They had some time to talk before class started and found conversation very easy.  There was no romantic interest, but Pam thought that Tony would make a great friend.

Pam and Tony would go out for coffee every night after class, sometimes with a group and sometimes alone.  Either way, they really enjoyed each other’s company, so they started making plans to go out on weekends.  The first time Tony picked Pam up at her apartment, she gave him the grand tour, which included her home office.  Tony admired the antique safe that was in a prominent position.  Pam told him that she bought it at an estate sale and it was where she kept all her important papers.  She said she never had a combination for it, and jokingly added that she felt that it looked impressive enough to deter any burglar.  Because of this, she felt it didn’t need to be locked.

For months, they hung out together.  Pam talked about her family that was living in another state and how difficult it was sometimes to live so far from them.  Tony could sympathize since he had recently become a US citizen, but his girlfriend wasn’t yet able to come over from their native country.  Time went on and they became almost inseparable friends and confidants.

After knowing each other for a little over a year, Tony announced that he was going to visit his family and girlfriend overseas.  Pam was so happy for him because she knew how much he missed them all.  She drove him to the airport and saw him off.  She didn’t expect to hear from him during his trip, but she was to pick him up in two weeks.  Pam had all of Tony’s flight information and got to the airport a few minutes before the plane landed.     

Pam waited by the baggage claim area and watched as everyone on Tony’s flight came to pick up their luggage.  The last bag was gone and Tony never showed up.  Pam started to worry, so she went to the airline’s counter and asked if Tony was scheduled to be on that flight.  She was told that he canceled his reservation.  She then tried to call him, but a message told her that his cell phone was disconnected.

At this point, Pam was frantic.  What happened to her good friend?  She went to his apartment and as she was getting to the door, she saw some people coming out.  In that group, she recognized Tony’s building superintendent and asked about Tony.   She was told that Tony and his wife had moved out the previous week.

Wife?!?!?  Since when did Tony have a wife?  The building super explained that Tony went to his native country to bring his girlfriend back to the United States.  He was gone only a few days when he came home with her.  They were married and moved out of town within a week.

Pam felt crushed.  How could her good friend do this to her?  She then remembered an incident that happened a few months earlier.  She needed her Social Security card and birth certificate to get a State ID.  When she went to her safe to get them, both were missing.  At the time, she thought they were just misplaced, so she got duplicates.  Now, she wondered if Tony had taken them.  After all, he had been left alone many times while she ran down the street to pick up their take-out meals.  He was also alone the times she was running late and showered while he waited in her living room.  Tony knew the story of the safe and that all her important papers were in there.  It wouldn’t have taken long for him to find and steal them.

Pam always considered herself safe.  She never used the Internet in public hotspots and she tried to always make sure her lines of communication were encrypted.  She also never let strangers into her home.  Pam felt that she knew Tony well enough to trust him.  They had been to each other’s homes and spent hours in conversation.  She never imagined that Tony’s side of the friendship was all a lie.

Make sure that you are safe off-line as well as on-line.  I urge you to take some time to download the free Internet Privacy Guide located at the top of the page.  Don’t become a willing victim.  The download is well worth the few minutes it takes.  Isn’t your identity and privacy worth that much?

At first, there didn’t appear to be a problem and it was thought that both bills would pass in the Senate and House.  A protest staged by some popular websites showed Internet users what their Internet would look like if the bills were passed.  Sites like Wikipedia blacked out their sites for a day.  This got people to understand that giving the government full Internet control was a dangerous thing and a letter-writing campaign began.  Thousands of letters were sent to state representatives telling them to vote “No” on both of these bills.  The campaign worked and in October 2012, the bills were taken off the table.

With that threat out of the way, Internet users thought it was safe.  Then, an international treaty, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) came up.  ISPs (Internet Service Providers) would have to “monitor and censor online communications” under ACTA.  Not only was this seen as a threat to privacy, it was also seen as threatening to our freedom of speech.  During the panel discussions on this, some of the points were leaked out to the public.  Citizens of quite a few European countries took to the streets to protest the passing of this treaty.  The protests worked.  In July, the treaty was voted against by the European Parliament and was taken off the table all over Europe in December.

During this time, lawmakers in Washington, DC didn’t give up on their plan to remove copyright infringing content from the Internet.  The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) and the Cybersecurity Act (CSA) were brought up.  Though both bills caused concern, the one that was considered most dangerous was CISPA.  This was because so many who were set against SOPA were now supporting CISPA.  The bill was supported because companies found that under it, they could share personal information with the government without consent and not have to worry about litigation.  Even with this support, both of these bills were taken off the table by the middle of November.

In early December, there was yet another worldwide threat to the Internet when discussions were underway to update the ITU (International Telecommunications Union).  This treaty is not a new one, but global representatives felt that an update would help them to have full control over the Internet.  Saudi Arabian and Chinese representatives were among several who brought up changes to the treaty in order to gain more control.  The changes were denied when representatives from Europe and the United States objected to the updates.

2012 was a bad year for any attempt to regulate and censure the Internet, but the fight isn’t over yet.  2013 will see more challenges because of treaties and bills from 2012 that just won’t go away.  Other bills and treaties are also being anticipated.  Lawmakers simply do not want to throw in the towel when it comes to controlling the Internet.

The TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and the CETA (Canada-European Union) are two treaties to watch out for in 2013.  Improved trade relationships between the US and Southeast Asia is what the TPP is all about, but the main concern here is that all negotiations are being done privately, with no input being given by the US government or the public.  At this time, no one really knows how far along these negotiations are.  CETA doesn’t directly affect the US, but because of it, problems could arise for worldwide free Internet.  ACTA was taken off the table in Europe in December 2012, but the TPP and CETA both have similar language and should be watched closely.

Another 2012 attempt to censor the Internet under the guise of protection from terrorism is a European Commission project.  This was given the name of “Clean IT”.  This was proposed as a way to monitor the Internet to help fight terrorism, however, there is concern that instead of sticking to the plan, Clean IT will be used to monitor all Internet users.  It will be asking individuals to act as an “Internet police” force by turning in sites they see as promoting terrorism.  That site could then be deleted from the Internet.

Even though the Internet has been attacked time and time again, it has so far, remained safe from censorship.  In 2013, the attacks will no doubt continue and we will have to wait to see how these new problems are taken care of.

At the top of this page there is a download for the free Internet Privacy guide.  You will be under no obligation to buy anything, but the tips and suggestions contained in it will help keep your family safe while in the cyber world and also in real life.

The reasoning behind this is so that investigators will be able to understand what is causing car accidents, so the information could be used to build safer automobiles.  At this time, there are no policies in place regulating how the information will be used.  This is an issue for privacy advocates, who are concerned that the information will be used for other purposes.

What consumers don’t realize is that automakers have been putting these devices into new cars for quite a few years.  If a car is involved in an accident and the airbags are deployed, sensors in the car record and save information on the last 5 to 10 seconds before the crash occurred.  The information will tell investigators the speed of the car, if the driver made any sudden turns, or even if the driver and passengers were wearing their seat belts.

A good and very public example of this happened in April 2007.  Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey was involved in a serious car accident on the Garden State Parkway.  He was a passenger in an SUV driven by a State Trooper.  The recorder in the SUV determined that the vehicle was traveling at 91 MPH in a 65 MPH zone and that Governor Corzine was not wearing his seat belt, which is mandatory under New Jersey law.  Governor Corzine pleaded guilty to the seat belt ticket and paid the fine.

Another incident of this type involved Lt. Governor Timothy Murray of Massachusetts.  He was involved in an accident where his Ford Crown Victoria went off the road and rolled several times.  Murray walked away from that crash and told investigators that he was traveling at “around the speed limit” and was wearing his seat belt.  The black box evidence proved otherwise.  It showed that the Lt. Governor’s speed was around 101 MPH and that the seat belt was not in use.  Murray then changed his story to say that he must have “dozed off” and accelerated, but that was disputed by experts.  He was given several tickets and forced to pay over $500 in fines. 

Even with the privacy concerns voiced, no limits have been placed on how the information gathered can be used.  Lillie Coney, Associate Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which is a privacy advocate group, said of this, “Right now, we’re in an environment where there are no rules, there are no limits, there are no consequences and there is no transparency”.  She further stated that, “Most people who are operating a motor vehicle have no idea this technology is integrated into their vehicle.”

Car owners have no choice in the matter.  If a black box is installed in your vehicle, it can’t easily be disabled.  Automakers have been installing these black boxes on certain models since the early 1990s, but it’s only been a few months since the Federal government has required that the owner’s manuals include this information.

At this time, 15 types of data are required to be gathered, but the Traffic Safety Administration now would like to enlarge that requirement to 45 types.  Engineers would like to see this expanded to 80 types in order to build safer vehicles.  Right now, the information gathered includes if the vehicle’s electronic stability control was engaged, seat position of the driver and if the seat belt was being used by the front seat passenger.  With the computers that are already installed in cars, this information is already being stored.

Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers is against the government mandate on the black boxes.  Vice President Gloria Bergquist has stated, “Basically, your car is a computer now, so it can record all kinds of information.  It’s a lot of the same issues you have about your computer or your smartphone and whether Google or someone else has access to the data.”  She continued on to say, “Data recorders help our engineers understand how cars perform in the real world and we already have put them on over 90% of new vehicles without any mandate being necessary.”

So, like it or not, if you own a car or pickup truck, Big Brother is watching you drive and recording your driving habits.  Knowing this, are you going to change the way you drive?  Will you now wear a seat belt and always drive at the speed limit?  Will you make your passengers wear their seat belts?  Remember, if there is an accident, and you are taken to court, it’s no longer a “he said/she said” situation; it’s a “you said/your black box said” situation.  The black box will win out every time.

Privacy is our most important asset.  Slowly, people are trying to take it away from us.  Please take a few minutes and download the free Internet Privacy Guide at the top of the page.  It will help you to understand how you can keep a handle on your privacy on and off line.

Each year, the crooks are finding new ways to scam people out of their hard-earned money.  This year, they are using cell phones as their weapon of choice.  This is a typical scam:    Random cell phone numbers are dialed and a text will be sent that appears to be from a well-known store.   This text will tell the person that they have been chosen to receive a gift card worth at least $500, and all they have to do to claim it is to verify their identity.  For verification, the person is asked for either their Social Security Number and/or the number of the credit card that was last used at the store.

Many of you reading this may be amazed that this actually works; that people are really willing to give up this information through a text.  Well, apparently there are enough people sending the information that it makes it worth the time and effort to text all those cell phones.  The scammers are hoping that an extra $500 or $1,000 will look very tempting.

You don’t text?  No problem!  The scammers are also calling unsuspecting victims and speaking to them about their “win”.  Caller-ID won’t stop them because they use pre-paid cell phones and can enter their identity as “Customer Service” of any store.  Before you know it, the scammer has your information, makes a few purchases using your credit card, then moves on to the next victim.  By the time anyone realizes they’ve been scammed, the crook has also moved on to a new pre-paid cell phone.

Don’t be so quick to give out your personal information.  If you get a call or a text telling you that you “won” something, sit back and ask yourself these two questions:

1. Did I enter a contest to win a free gift card?   If the answer is “No”, then this is a scam. If you give your information, the only “winner” will be the scammer, who will have a very happy holiday thanks to your credit card.
2. Is there any reputable business that would ask you to give sensitive, personal information to an unknown “representative” through a text or over the phone?

The answer to question 2 will always be “No”, but what about question 1?  There are contests offered by many stores.  If you did happen to enter a contest of this sort, please refer to question 2.  No reputable business will ever ask for this information over the phone.  Simply tell the person on the phone that you will visit the store location closest to your home and verify your identity in person.  Then hang up.

Scams aren’t only around during the holiday season; they are around all year round, but in different forms.  Some popular scams and how to avoid being a victim are:

Scam:  Fake “contractors” roam neighborhoods looking for houses that need work.  They will ring your doorbell and tell you that they are doing repairs in the neighborhood and will have some leftover materials from the current job.  Of course, the leftover materials will be something that your house could use; shingles for a new roof, concrete for a sidewalk repair or asphalt for a cracked driveway.  Since the materials are already available to the “contractor” he can give you a discounted rate for the job, however, to start the work, he would need a deposit.  Work can begin as soon as your check clears.

To avoid being scammed:  Remember that a reputable contractor will be more than happy to give you the name of the “neighbor” he’s currently working for, so ask for that information.  Tell him you would like to check out the house to see how the work looks and that you would like a recommendation from that client, so you would need to know their address.  When the excuses start, that’s when you can close the door and call the police.

Scam:  You will receive a call from someone claiming that they represent a lottery commission in another country (Canada and Ireland are very popular with scammers) and that you have just won that lottery to the tune of $5,000,000.00!  Here’s the catch:  before this money can be sent to you, you will need to pay the tax on it.  All you need to do is wire X amount of money to the lottery commission account so your $5,000,000.00 prize can be express mailed to you.

To avoid being scammed:  I can’t believe how many people fall for this.  There is a television commercial that I have seen for Lotto that tells the viewers, “You have to be in it to win it.”  Keep this in mind.  If you did not enter a lottery in ANY country, you didn’t win…don’t wire any money.  Hang up the phone.

Scam:  This next scam was recently reported in a local newspaper in New Jersey.  An elderly woman received a phone call from a person claiming to be a detective with a Florida Sheriff’s office.  The woman was told that her adult grandson gave them her number as a contact.  It seems that the grandson got himself into some trouble and was sitting in their jail.  In order to get out, the grandmother was asked to wire the $5,000 bail money immediately.  Of course, grandma didn’t hesitate to do this because she didn’t want to think of her poor grandson sitting in jail over-night.

To avoid being scammed:   The scammer was hoping for two things:  (1) the grandparent would not want her grandson in a jail in a strange city overnight and (2) that she would be so upset that she wouldn’t think clearly enough to check on the whereabouts of the grandson before wiring the money.  The scam worked in this case.  The grandmother waited a couple of days hoping that her grandson would be home by then.  She then called her daughter to ask how the grandson was doing and what else she could do to help.  Her daughter was confused and asked what was going on.  When the grandmother relayed the story, the boy’s mother told her that the grandson never was in Florida or anywhere else for that matter; he was safe at home studying for midterms.  If you ever receive a call of this nature, don’t blindly send money.  Ask for the phone number the “detective” is calling from.    You may be given a number, but that could be a pre-paid cell phone, so don’t think you’re safe.  Call the person in question; always check on the story before sending money to anyone.

You can only become a victim of these scams if you allow it.  If you didn’t enter a contest or lottery, you couldn’t possibly have won anything.  Always check out a contractor’s story if he randomly rings your doorbell offering to do discounted work.  If you get a call saying that a friend or relative is in trouble and needs to be bailed out, never send money without concrete proof that this is true.  If you take a few simple precautions and ask yourself a few simple questions before you act, you should be safe from scammers all year round.

For more tips and suggestions on how to stay safe on line and off, please take a few minutes to download the free Internet Privacy Guide located at the top of this page.

Happy holidays!

When you have young children, you teach them to never wander far from home and to never talk to strangers, yet many parents don’t warn their children about the dangers of wandering the Internet alone.  This must be done because using the Internet is a big part of any child’s life if he or she is in school.  The Internet is used for studies, but what about when the kids are done studying for the night?  Parents need to learn where the danger lies and monitor Internet use so they can teach their children how to surf the Internet responsibly.

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others have a minimum age for their users of 13 years old.   At 13, kids are curious, but they don’t have the maturity to make good judgments when it comes to many situations.  They feel that nothing bad can happen to them; it only happens to others.  Lately, in the news, it’s been demonstrated how tragic events can happen to innocent kids that started off as simple Internet posts.  Kids need to learn that some people they play on-line games with are strangers and should not be allowed to know about their lives.  There are many parents who feel there is no harm in allowing their child to play games like Cityville, Castleville or Farmville, but do these parents know who their children’s “neighbors” are?  Do parents realize that kids can go to the on-line gaming community to find “neighbors” from all over the world?  Every day, kids are “friending” strangers; these strangers are most likely adults.  If you warn your kids about strangers in real life, why not warn them about strangers in the virtual world?

In the 60s and 70s, parents were said to have a “live-in babysitter”…the television set.  Now, in 2012, parents no longer use the television as a babysitter; they use the computer and social networking.  There is a huge problem with this:  on-line, anyone can be what they want to be!  A 13 year old girl can claim to be 21 and an aspiring actress, a 14 year old boy can claim to be a 30 year old doctor and a 56 year old man can claim to be a 16 year old.

In the 1990s, the chat rooms of America OnLine were the place to be.  Technically, a person was supposed to be 18 years old to be able to access the adult chat areas and no one over 17 was supposed to access the “teen” areas.  Well, remember that on-line, you can be anyone you want to be.  There were teens in adult areas and adults in teen areas.   I worked with a person whose husband enjoyed “playing head games” with teenagers.  This was a 46 year old man who made two profiles:  one was a 16 year old girl and the other was a 16 year old boy.  When he went on line as the 16 year old girl, he would chat with the “other girls” about such private things as their dating habits and how they were coping with PMS.  When he went on-line as the 16 year old boy, he would try to pick up the young girls.

This man’s wife thought this was very “amusing”.   She would come to work and talk about how “clever” “Joe” was to be able to fool these kids.  What he was doing was wrong on a lot of levels, but one of the most disturbing facts of this was that this couple had a 16 year old daughter.  This is how he was able to talk to the girls about cramps and other problems of PMS; he learned from his daughter.  I once asked my co-worker how she would feel if a middle-aged man would talk to her daughter like this, she had no response.  She also had no response when I asked how she would feel if her husband got caught up in an FBI sting for pedophiles.  After a while, she stopped mentioning “Joe’s” on-line adventures.  I don’t know if he stopped or if she just realized it was not something to be proud of.

As mentioned before, social networking sites have a minimum age of 13 years old.  That does not stop the kids from lying about their ages.  In fact, many parents help their kids make profiles showing that they are 13 years old or older.  There are many kids I personally know of who are 10 or under who have their own Facebook pages.  They tell their parents that all of their friends have pages, and the parents give in.  It’s an old trick, but it still works.  The account is set up and the kids are left to explore.

I know one girl in particular who has had a Facebook page since she was 9 years old.  Her mother is a friend of mine and she is the one who set up her daughter’s account.  When the girl was 10, she was given a laptop equipped with a webcam.  This laptop is in her bedroom and she is never monitored.  One day, I saw that she posted a picture of herself that she took as she was lying back on her bed, hair fanned out on her pillow and her eyes half closed.  To me, it looked like a soft porn shot.  I was about to say something to her mother when I noticed that her mother commented on the photo by saying “You look BEAUTIFUL!”.  So much for parental good sense.

Aside from parents thinking that posting inappropriate photos is a good thing, they must take a hands-on approach when allowing their kids to partake in social networking.  First of all, parents need to stop giving in to the “everyone else does it” argument by teaching their kids to lie to get what they want.  This is not a good example.  But, if a parent must allow a child to have a social networking account, they need to closely monitor friends.  Before setting up an account, the parents need to have an open and honest discussion with the child about what can happen if the wrong people got hold of their information.  Kids are way too trusting and need us, as adults, to protect them as much as possible.  Here are some rules that a parent needs to set down:

• Never give anyone their password.
• Never post too much information.  A nickname that only real friends and family would know should be kept private.
• Parents must have control over who the child confirms as a “friend”.
• All photos must be approved by a parent before posting.  Parents must use some common sense here.   If the pose is something that could be used in an adult magazine, it’s not appropriate and should be deleted.
• Children playing on-line games should be taught that the others playing are strangers.  If a child doesn’t actually know the person in real life, he or she should NOT be chatting with them.
• A PC or laptop should not be in the child’s room.   Parents need to limit the time spent on social networking.  Posting late at night could lead to trouble.
• Parents must have total access to the child’s account.  The child may think twice about posting inappropriate content if they know that his or her parents could get into and look at their postings at any time.
• Privacy controls must be set.  They must also learn how to check for other pages that were made without permission.
• If a child is under 16, one or both parents should be a “friend” of that child with all open settings so they can monitor the child’s use when not at home.

It is not snooping if the child is aware of the rules and what the parents will be doing.  Don’t be afraid to be strict.  It could save your child from getting into trouble or a situation that he or she isn’t mature enough to handle.

For other suggestions on how you and your family can stay safe online, please take a few minutes to download the free Internet Privacy Guide located at the top of the page.  You will be glad you did.