Living Tech
May 7th, 2020
Fitness trackers sounds like the perfect tools for living well: a lightweight devices that track of all your vital statistics plus the progress of your physical training. You no longer have to lug your phone along, estimate how far you’ve run, or press a finger on your neck or your wrist to check your pulse.
Many fitness trackers also now provide other features such as your historical data; comparing your performance against other…... Continue reading >
April 7th, 2020
Editor’s note: Zoom has just released a package of security enhancements, part of an initiative the company’s calling Zoom 5.0. Read more about it here.
The antidote to self-isolation and social-distancing? Zoom. Virtually unheard of in mainstream America a month ago, Zoom, a video conference app, is suddenly everywhere, allowing coworkers to collaborate from home and kids to show off their latest paintings to amazed grandparents. But why Zoom? And, with reports of…... Continue reading >
March 25th, 2020
In the digital world, free isn’t free. It may appear to be. You probably didn’t pay anyone for your email address. The invitation you sent to a dozen friends didn’t cost you a dime. Those terrifying rogue-wave videos you watched when you couldn’t sleep? The open Wifi signal at the coffee shop? No fees, but not without a price.
Just about every service you engage online comes at…... Continue reading >
February 26th, 2020
They’re tracking you. Right now. Everywhere you go, your movements and your online purchases and meanderings are likely being recorded and stored in the cloud. Big Tech is watching. Think you’ve slipped their gaze by turned off location-based services for Facebook or other main apps or websites? It’s not as simple as that. They’re tracking you. Here’s the lowdown on tracking and some tips to reduce your exposure.
Retailers Are Building a Digital…... Continue reading >
December 24th, 2019
Sobering words from the New York Times on tracking you: “Now, as the decade ends, tens of millions of Americans, including many children, find themselves carrying spies in their pockets during the day and leaving them beside their beds at night — even though the corporations that control their data are far less accountable than the government would be.” If that doesn’t get you thinking about opting out, it should.
... Continue reading >
December 18th, 2019
Privacy Parent’s founder has taken to the radio recently to emphasize the importance of protecting your family’s digital privacy and security. “Information is power,” he told WKIP’s Uncle Mike. “And once you can collect information and create profiles of people, it’s easy to serve them ads, manipulate them, whatever it might be.” Click here to listen to that interview and here for a conversation with Tom Sipos, host of Hudson Valley Focus. “We’re the Guinea…... Continue reading >
December 16th, 2019
It’s time to start thinking of products like Roku as two-way devices that provide services in exchange for information. Switch on your Roku Ultra and it’s watching you and your family watch it. Understanding the privacy agreements from entertainment services like Roku can help you better understand the technology and enhance your family’s private security.
What Is Roku?
Roku makes devices and services that allow you to watch internet content…... Continue reading >
December 5th, 2019
Private companies are tracking your every online move and using that data to rate your behavior as a consumer. It’s valuable information, and it’s now available for you to see. As explained in this recent piece in the New York Times, you can request your file—the records that determine your secret consumer score—and find out just what these companies know about you. Fair warning: They know a lot. And if you want to try to shake…... Continue reading >
December 2nd, 2019
If you don’t like the notion of faceless companies gathering information about you and your children for the benefit of their advertising strategies, you can opt out of their tracking efforts. Your data is yours. It isn’t always easy to do, but if digital privacy concerns you, opting out is an important step.
As a recent report from the Washington Post put it, “data brokers are building profiles about you, using…... Continue reading >
October 23rd, 2019
While schools across the country have implemented privacy and security restrictions to Internet access, students have discovered they can use a VPN to circumvent their school’s security measures and break through firewalls. (They’ve learned other tricks, too.)
The VPN works to create an encrypted tunnel between a device and the Internet. Once you connect through this encrypted tunnel, your online traffic becomes indecipherable. In layman’s terms, this means that when your…... Continue reading >