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​Find the internet security level that's right for your needs

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The only way to ensure you'll never be the victim of a malicious hacker is to stay off the internet. Since that's not a viable option for most of us, the goal becomes finding the level of protection that matches our level of risk.
 
There's a baseline of security precautions that everyone using a computer or internet-connected device needs to implement. These three features are active by default on most computers and smart phones of recent vintage. All you need to do is respond to system prompts in a timely manner:
 
1. Keep your software up-to-date. When a program alerts you that an update is available, install it at your next convenient opportunity.
2. Use antivirus software that is always running (and that automatically updates). Your anti-malware program should automatically scan downloaded files before they reach your machine or device.
3. Use a firewall, which nearly all computers provide by default. The free Lookout security program offers a firewall function for iOS and Android devices.
 
Please, not the 'P' word again
 
The person most responsible for the standard password rules of changing regularly and using various nonsense characters has fessed up: Those rules are worse than useless. In an August 8, 2017, post on the Telegraph (via Yahoo Tech), James Titcomb reports that Bill Burr, the U.S. government worker who first conceived of the familiar password "rules" back in 2003, now admits the result was less security, and higher costs.
 
Requiring use of symbols, numbers, and upper case resulted in people reusing the same passwords, perhaps with slight changes. It also led to people writing down their passwords. In addition, putting expiration dates on passwords caused no end of administrative headaches for companies, and the policy did nothing to improve security. Burr says he regrets suggesting these policies, which were "too complicated" and "barking up the wrong tree."
 
The password experts now recommend using long phrases comprised of a word string that's easy to remember, such as "puffineatingbanana," which would take millions of years to crack, according to Titcomb. The new #1 rule for passwords is, the longer the password, the harder it is to crack.
 
Quick tip: A safe way to 'write down' your passwords
 
Suppose you have an innocent-looking Word doc or text file, such as "Grandma's banana-nut bread recipe," sitting in the Documents folder on your computer (or even better, cloud storage service). At the end of the document's text, type in your account names and passwords. Select the text you just entered and change the text color to white (or the current document's background color). The text will be invisible until you select it, either by dragging your mouse over the information, or by typing Ctrl-A (or Command-A on a Mac).
 
Two-factor authentication is a bother, but it's worth it
 
If I told you there's a way to nearly eliminate the risk of having one of your internet accounts hacked, would you do it? Even if doing so added five seconds to the sign-in process? Then I'd like to introduce you to two-factor authentication. With 2FA, you have a code sent to your phone or other device via text message. Enter the code in the sign-in window on your PC to access your account.
 
For more than a year I've been using 2FA when signing into my Google and Amazon accounts. I sign into these accounts only a handful of times each week on average, so the inconvenience of retrieving the six-number code from a text on my phone is minor. You can save time by having the code sent to your email inbox, but then you lose the benefit of 2FA: requiring access to a second device to sign into an account.
 
In a June 17, 2017, post on the Verge, Natt garun provides instructions for enabling 2FA on Facebook, Instagram, Apple (iOS and Mac OS), Instagram, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Snapchat, Slack, Dropbox, Paypal, and other services.
 
Separating encryption protection from encryption politics
 
The encryption genie is out of the bottle.
 
End-to-end encryption that is theoretically impossible for governments or anyone else to crack is available to the public. A debate is raging over whether everyday internet denizens need end-to-end encryption. United Kingdom Home Secretary Amber Rudd recently called for a ban on encrypted communications that don't have a "backdoor" that government can use to decrypt them, as the Guardian's Jonathan Haynes writes in an March 27, 2017, article.
 
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and other tech giants are responding to the call for encryption backdoors by promoting the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), which Rudd and other government officials support. TechCrunch's Natasha Lomas writes in an August 1, 2017, article that Rudd's claims about end-to-end encryption in a July 31, 2017, post on the Telegraph are "knotted with bizarre claims, contradictions, and logical fallacies."
 
Fact #1: Encryption backdoors provide access to bad guys and good guys alike
 
The voice of reason (and science) in the encryption-backdoor debate belongs to Bruce Schneier, who explained in a July 9, 2015, post on his Schneier on Security blog the risks of mandated backdoors. Schneier points out the obvious: If a backdoor exists, criminals will find it and exploit it. Further, you're introducing security vulnerabilities into millions of products and services. You're also faced with the monumental task of monitoring whether governments are using the backdoors in a legal manner.
 
The best argument against built-in backdoors is that they aren't necessary to achieve the government's goal of cracking criminal communications. In a July 25, 2017, post, Scheier links to an essay by Andrew Keane Woods entitled Encryption Substitutes that describes alternative methods for law enforcement to access the data they seek. Messages rarely exist in only one place and one form, for example. They may be encrypted in transit but stored in unencrypted form somewhere that is subject to a search warrant. Woods claims encrypted data is nearly always available in readable form elsewhere.
 
Even if an unencrypted copy of the data being sought can't be found, nearly all data is accompanied by metadata -- which is data about the data -- that offers a great deal of insight about not only the sender and recipient, but also about the nature of the encrypted message/data itself. Privacy International offers a concise overview that explains what metadata is and how it can be used by governments and others to defeat encryption. The article quotes former CIA head Michael Hayden as saying, "We kill people based on metadata."
 
Fact #2: Encryption isn't a security magic bullet (but use it anyway)
 
As Schneier and others point out, encrypting your data and communications is no guarantee that they will be safeguarded from all unauthorized access. The April 28, 2015, Weekly attempted to make the case against encryption, primarily because it offers a false sense of impenetrable security. Still, that post concludes that encryption isn't perfect, but is still a key part of a multifaceted security regimen.
 
(In a similar vein, the November 14, 2014, Weekly described a breach of the Tor anonymizing service -- a.k.a. the Onion Router -- by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to shut down Silk Road 2.0 and other illegal activities. Despite these and other fallabilities of anonymization, it still plays a vital role in protecting our privacy.)
 
The best thing you can say about encryption is that using the technology has never been easier. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's free HTTPS Everywhere add-on for the Firefox, Chrome, and Opera browsers ensures that you connect automatically to the encrypted version of all the sites you visit, if one is available. (You know you're on an encrypted page if the green lock icon appears in the browser's address bar at the top of the window.)
 
One of the 10 easy encryption tips offered by Quartz Media's Carey Dunne in a January 7, 2017, article is to use the free Tor browser. I've never used Tor because I never felt the need for that level of protection. Tor is also one of the five tools for protecting your internet privacy recommended by CSO's JD Sartain in an August 8, 2017, article. Other products on Sartain's list include the Invisible Internet Project (I2P) privacy network, and two virtual private network (VPN) services: Private Tunnel and NordVPN.
 
One VPN service you should avoid is Hotspot Shield VPN, whose vendor, AnchorFree, is drawing heat from the Center for Democracy & Technology and others for "deceptive and unfair trade practices," according to the Register's Thomas Claburn in an August 7, 2017, article. Along with sharing the private information of its customers with third parties, the company is accused of using JavaScript codes for "advertising and tracking purposes," reportedly including "more than five different third-party tracking libraries."

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    • The Weekly >
      • The Weeklies >
        • Excuse me while I duck and cover, March 1, 2018
        • We're running out of words, February 7, 2018
        • Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
        • Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018
        • Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., January 17, 2018
        • Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
        • Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
        • Could artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
        • Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
        • Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
        • Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
        • Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
        • YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
        • Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
        • That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
        • Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
        • Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition
        • Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
        • The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
        • The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
        • In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
        • There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
        • How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
        • That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
        • Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
        • Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
        • Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
        • A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
        • A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
        • We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
        • Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
        • Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
        • The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
        • Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
        • Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
        • Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
        • Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
        • Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
        • America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
        • The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
        • The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
        • An internet dinosaur spits in extinction's eye, April 12, 2017
        • Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
        • Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
        • Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017t
        • Gig economy changes what it means to be an 'employee,' March 8, 2017
        • Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
        • Practical security preparations for the worst-case scenario, December 13, 2016
        • The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
        • Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant', November 29, 2016
        • Before the deluge: Spend your attention wisely, November 23, 2016
        • You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
        • The 'consumer boycott' of web advertising is gaining momentum, November 8, 2016
        • Encryption: It's not just for banking anymore, November 1, 2016
        • A call to action: Stop the surveillance - by web services, apps, October 25, 2016
        • Web ad networks are malware authors' best friends, October 18, 2016
        • Privacy is becoming fashionable - Yippee! October 11, 2016
        • How do we bridge the growing media and political divides? October 4, 2016
        • Safety essentials: 10-step security revisited, 11 years later
        • Simple ways to limit the private information you surrender on the web, September 20, 2016
        • Top 10 reasons why people hate listicles - and yes, this is a joke headline, September 13, 2016
        • Why internet voting is a terrible idea, September 6, 2016
        • No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
        • The web is broken - Guess who's trying to fix it? August 23, 2016
        • Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
        • Dragging the online trackers - kicking and screaming - into the light of day, August 9, 2016
        • Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And is Facebook really 'privacy-enhancing'? August 2, 2016
        • It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
        • How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
        • The fight against privacy smashers continues, June 14, 2016
        • Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors - so what's next? May 31, 2016
        • Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information', May 25, 2016
        • Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
        • Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
        • The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
        • Modern news media: Too big not to fail? April 26, 2016
        • Internet Confidential: How to establish a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
        • The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
        • FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Google, Facebook off the hook, April 6, 2016
        • Five questions, no answers, March 29, 2016
        • How to fix the Internet: Ratchet down the anonymity, lose the ads, March 23, 2016
        • How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
        • People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
        • Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
        • 2016: The first social-media election, March 2, 2016
        • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
        • Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
        • Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
        • Why don't Americans care as much about their privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
        • New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
        • Fifteen ways to stay safe on the Internet, January 19, 2016
        • Prepare for the inevitable theft of your personal information, January 13, 2016
        • 'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
        • The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts for December 22, 2015
        • Separating the bitcoin hype from the blockchain substance, December 17, 2015 >
          • Shorts for December 17, 2015: Trump's legal ineptitude, and eight ways the world is getting better
        • Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
        • How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
        • Consumers may be ready to pay for an ad-free, tracking-free Internet, November 18, 2015
        • Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015
        • Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair', November 10, 2015
        • Get ready for the Attention Economy, November 4, 2015
        • O'Jitterys Catch a Movie, October 27, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, October 27, 2015
        • Do we have a right to know what they know about us?, October 20, 2015
        • Facial recognition ushers in the Age of Surveillance, October 13, 2015 >
          • Tech Short, October 13, 2015: ID by face + social profile
          • Legal Short, October 13, 2015: GOP mega-donor sues Mother Jones, loses, sort of
        • Fantasy sports gambling finally gets scrutinized, October 6, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, October 6, 2015
        • Google, Android, ads, and a tech titan's revenge, September 29, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, September 29, 2015
        • How to fix problems caused by Apple's flaky iTunes updates, September 23, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, September 22, 2015
        • Campaign 2016: Where's the love? September 15, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Legal shorts, September 15, 2015
        • Three simple ways to improve your privacy, September 8, 2015
        • Use your free Google Voice number to make and receive phone calls, September 1, 2015
        • Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
        • Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015 >
          • Shorts for August 4, 2015
        • Coming soon: A more trustworthy form of encryption, July 28, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, July 28, 2015
        • Protect yourself while browsing by enabling click to play, July 21, 2015 >
          • Tech short, July 21, 2015: Computers now tie emotions to facial expressions
        • The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015 >
          • Shorts for July 14, 2015
        • A long-overdue turning of the political tide, July 7, 2015
        • Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
        • Everyday Windows 10 users become beta testers for the Enterprise Edition, June 30, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, June 30, 2015
        • Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
        • It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
        • Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, June 16, 2015
        • Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
        • The five-minute Facebook security checkup, June 2, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, June 2, 2015
        • When ads attack: Web ad networks battle the blockers, May 26, 2015
        • Flying the furious skies: How to stay sane on a commercial flight, May 19, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, May 19, 2015
        • Online shopping tips: Put differential pricing to work for you, May 12, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, May 12, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 12, 2015
        • We're sitting on a big-data gold mine, May 5, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, May 5, 2015
        • The case against web encryption, Title II designation for ISPs, April 28, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, April 28, 2015
          • Legal shorts, April 28, 2015
        • More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, April 21, 2015
        • Should all web traffic be encrypted? April 14, 2015 >
          • Anonymous Internet Map, April 14, 2015
        • More reasons why you need to block web ads, April 7, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Legal shorts: April 7, 2015
        • Web 3.0 returns control of personal information to users, March 31, 2015
        • Passwords are about to get some much-needed assistance -- from your body, March 24, 2015
        • An unexpected visit from the Karma Police, March 17, 2015
        • Three views of the future that are certain to curl your hair, March 10, 2015
        • Privacy, Inc.: Welcome to the personal-information marketplace, March 3, 2015
        • The tricks of the malware trade: Don't take the bait! February 24, 2015
        • How to ruin your life in 140 characters or fewer, February 17, 2015
        • Browse better with these three essential freebies (plus one valuable cheapie), February 10, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts: February 10, 2015
        • What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
        • Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
        • The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
        • How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
        • Beat ransomware by saving your files to the cloud, January 6, 2015
        • 'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
        • Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
        • Five fantastic Web freebies, December 9, 2014
        • How Google, Facebook, and Twitter make billions by offering 'free' services, December 2, 2014
        • Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise, November 24, 2014
        • Trading privacy for the public good, November 18, 2014
        • Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity, November 11, 2014 >
          • Hackers owned Home Depot's networks for five months, November 11, 2014
          • Another call for a nationwide breach-notification law, November 11, 2014
        • Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses, November 4, 2014
        • Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!), October 28, 2014
        • Quick, simple fixes for everyday tech glitches, October 21, 2014
        • Battle of the behemoths: Facebook ad network takes on Google, October 14, 2014
        • Instant access to all your recent files, October 6, 2014
        • iPhone's new Medical ID feature could save your life, September 29, 2014
        • Now you can really lock your phone, September 22, 2014
        • Facebook auto-play videos eat up mobile data allotments, September 15, 2014
        • Three free browser add-ons protect against cyber-crime, September 9, 2014
        • Manslaughter conviction expunged after worker dies in baling machine, August 25, 2014 >
          • Google patent infringement: The proof's in the Post-its?, August 25, 2014
          • Control which iPhone apps are allowed to stay 'active' when they're off, August 25, 2014
          • Weekly What? August 25, 2014 >
            • No more 'Like' gates to view content, get rewards, August 25, 2014
            • FTC goes after a company that lost customer data, company cries 'Foul!', August 25, 2014
            • A mobile phone company releases customer data -- and it's a good thing, August 25, 2014
            • Clickless approvals don't qualify as 'reasonable notice' for terms of service, August 25, 2014
            • Baby steps closer to authentication that doesn't rely on passwords, August 25, 2014
        • Most data breaches are the result of weak or stolen credentials, August 18, 2014
        • The best government money -- lots and lots of money -- can buy, August 11, 2014
        • The best browser you're probably not using, August 4, 2014
        • It all depends on who's doing the surveilling -- and why, July 28, 2014
        • Be careful what you comment -- it might get you sued, July 19, 2014
        • Never pay for software again (almost) Plus: The pros and cons of cloud computing, July 14, 2014
        • Mind that download! Free phone apps deliver malware, July 7, 2014
        • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
        • The end is near for passwords (not really), February 24, 2016
        • Facebook's latest shenanigans, July 1, 2014
      • Privacy Weeklies >
        • The Weeklies >
          • Excuse me while I duck and cover, March 1, 2018
          • We're running out of words, February 7, 2018
          • Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
          • Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., January 17, 2018
          • Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
          • Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
          • Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
          • Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
          • YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
          • Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
          • That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
          • Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
          • The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
          • In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
          • There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
          • That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
          • Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
          • Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
          • A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
          • We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
          • Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
          • The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
          • Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
          • Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
          • Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
          • Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
          • America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
          • The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
          • The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
          • An internet dinosaur spits in extinction's eye, April 12, 2017
          • Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
          • Gig economy changes what it means to be an 'employee,' March 8, 2017
          • Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
          • The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
          • Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant', November 29, 2016
          • You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
          • No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
          • Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
          • Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And is Facebook really 'privacy-enhancing'? August 2, 2016
          • It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
          • How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
          • The fight against privacy smashers continues, June 14, 2016
          • Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors - so what's next? May 31, 2016
          • Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information', May 25, 2016
          • Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
          • Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
          • The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
          • Modern news media: Too big not to fail? April 26, 2016
          • Internet Confidential: How to establish a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
          • The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
          • FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Google, Facebook off the hook, April 6, 2016
          • How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
          • People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
          • Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
          • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
          • Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
          • Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
          • Why don't Americans care as much about their privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
          • 'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
          • The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015 >
            • Legal shorts for December 22, 2015
          • Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
          • How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
          • Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015 >
            • Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair', November 10, 2015
          • Do we have a right to know what they know about us?, October 20, 2015
          • Legal shorts, September 29, 2015
          • Campaign 2016: Where's the love? September 15, 2015 >
            • Legal shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
          • Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015 >
            • Shorts for August 4, 2015
          • The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015 >
            • Shorts for July 14, 2015
          • A long-overdue turning of the political tide, July 7, 2015
          • Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
          • Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
          • It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
          • Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015
          • Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
          • Legal shorts, June 2, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 12, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 5, 2015
          • Legal shorts, April 28, 2015
          • More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015
          • Legal shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Legal shorts, March 31, 2015
          • Legal shorts: March 24, 2015
          • Privacy, Inc.: Welcome to the personal-information marketplace, March 3, 2015
          • Legal shorts: February 24, 2015
          • What would George Washington think of his country now? February 16, 2015 >
            • Lobbyists thrive by building relationships with lawmakers, February 17, 2015
            • On the fast track to American fascism, February 17, 2015
            • The one Senator who's speaking truth to power, February 17, 2015
            • Fight terrorism by fighting its source: Corruption, February 17, 2015
            • Anonymous users: Your ISP may ID you on demand -- and not even tell you, February 17, 2015
          • Legal shorts: February 10, 2015
          • What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
          • The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
          • 'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
          • Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
          • Trading privacy for the public good, November 18, 2014
          • Deregulating the legal profession: Only a matter of time, October 6, 2014
          • Internet companies' transparency reports indicate trademark abuse is on the rise, September 25, 2014
          • Google patent infringement: The proof's in the Post-its?, August 25, 2014
          • Most data breaches are the result of weak or stolen credentials, August 18, 2014
          • The best government money -- lots and lots of money -- can buy, August 11, 2014
          • Have 'money addicts' taken over our political system?, August 11, 2014 >
            • Part 2: Money and political power, August 11, 2014
            • Part 3: A contrived distinction between 'venal' and 'systematic' corruption, August 11, 2014
            • Part 4: Fear of political corruption trumps government economic regulation, August 11, 2014
            • Part 5: Investment-oriented political contributions boost the bottom line, August 11, 2014
            • Part 6: Case study: Corporate political corruption, 19th-century style, August 11, 2014
          • Corporate ownership of the U.S. political process, August 11, 2014 >
            • Part 2: Party perpetuation trumps service to the constituency, August 11, 2014
            • Part 3: Party loyalty trumps independent thought, August 11, 2014
            • Part 4: The roots of corporate 'personhood,' August 11, 2014
            • Part 5: Is political corruption actually on the rise? Who knows?, August 11, 2014
          • It all depends on who's doing the surveilling -- and why, July 28, 2014
          • Be careful what you comment -- it might get you sued, July 19, 2014
          • Supreme Court: You can patent software, but only if it's 'transformative,' June 21, 2014
          • Privacy Manifesto
        • Privacy Tips >
          • Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018 >
            • Data Collection on Consumers infographic
            • How Companies Identify People
            • PayPal Data Sharing
            • Data Collection Guidelines for Businesses
            • What Does It Mean to Be a Success?
          • Could artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
          • Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
          • Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
          • Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
          • Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition
          • The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
          • How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
          • Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
          • A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
          • Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
          • Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
          • Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
          • Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017t
          • Practical security preparations for the worst-case scenario, December 13, 2016
          • Before the deluge: Spend your attention wisely, November 23, 2016
          • The 'consumer boycott' of web advertising is gaining momentum, November 8, 2016
          • Encryption: It's not just for banking anymore, November 1, 2016
          • A call to action: Stop the surveillance - by web services, apps, October 25, 2016
          • Web ad networks are malware authors' best friends, October 18, 2016
          • Privacy is becoming fashionable - Yippee! October 11, 2016
          • How do we bridge the growing media and political divides? October 4, 2016 >
            • Pew Center Research chart: Political bias of news organizations
          • Safety essentials: 10-step security revisited, 11 years later
          • Simple ways to limit the private information you surrender on the web, September 20, 2016
          • Top 10 reasons why people hate listicles - and yes, this is a joke headline, September 13, 2016
          • Why internet voting is a terrible idea, September 6, 2016
          • The web is broken - Guess who's trying to fix it? August 23, 2016
          • Dragging the online trackers - kicking and screaming - into the light of day, August 9, 2016
          • Five questions, no answers, March 29, 2016
          • How to fix the Internet: Ratchet down the anonymity, lose the ads, March 23, 2016
          • 2016: The first social-media election, March 2, 2016
          • The end is near for passwords (not really), February 24, 2016
          • New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
          • Fifteen ways to stay safe on the Internet, January 19, 2016
          • Prepare for the inevitable theft of your personal information, January 13, 2016
          • Separating the bitcoin hype from the blockchain substance, December 17, 2015 >
            • Shorts for December 17, 2015: Trump's legal ineptitude, and eight ways the world is getting better
          • Consumers may be ready to pay for an ad-free, tracking-free Internet, November 18, 2015
          • Get ready for the Attention Economy, November 4, 2015
          • Tech shorts, October 27, 2015
          • How to find a reliable network speed test, May 2, 2014
          • Facial recognition ushers in the Age of Surveillance, October 13, 2015 >
            • Tech Short for October 13, 2015: ID by face + social profile
          • Fantasy sports gambling finally gets scrutinized, October 6, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, October 6, 2015
          • Google, Android, ads, and a tech titan's revenge, September 29, 2015
          • How to fix problems caused by Apple's flaky iTunes updates, September 23, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, September 22, 2015
          • Tech shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Three simple ways to improve your privacy, September 8, 2015
          • Use your free Google Voice number to make and receive phone calls, September 1, 2015
          • Coming soon: A more trustworthy form of encryption, July 28, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, July 28, 2015
          • Protect yourself while browsing by enabling click to play, July 21, 2015 >
            • Tech short, July 21, 2015: Computers now tie emotions to facial expressions
          • Everyday Windows 10 users become beta testers for the Enterprise Edition, June 30, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, June 30, 2015
          • Tech shorts, June 16, 2015
          • The five-minute Facebook security checkup, June 2, 2015
          • When ads attack: Web ad networks battle the blockers, May 26, 2015
          • Flying the furious skies: How to stay sane on a commercial flight, May 19, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, May 19, 2015
          • Online shopping tips: Put differential pricing to work for you, May 12, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, May 12, 2015
          • We're sitting on a big-data gold mine, May 5, 2015
          • The case against web encryption, Title II designation for ISPs, April 28, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, April 28, 2015
          • Tech shorts, April 21, 2015
          • Should all web traffic be encrypted? April 14, 2015 >
            • Anonymous Internet Map, April 14, 2015
          • More reasons why you need to block web ads, April 7, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Web 3.0 returns control of personal information to users, March 31, 2015
          • Passwords are about to get some much-needed assistance -- from your body, March 24, 2015
          • An unexpected visit from the Karma Police, March 17, 2015
          • Three views of the future that are certain to curl your hair, March 10, 2015
          • The tricks of the malware trade: Don't take the bait! February 24, 2015
          • How to ruin your life in 140 characters or fewer, February 17, 2015
          • Browse better with these three essential freebies (plus one valuable cheapie), February 10, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts: February 10, 2015
          • Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
          • How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
          • Beat ransomware by saving your files to the cloud, January 6, 2015
          • Five fantastic Web freebies, December 9, 2014
          • How Google, Facebook, and Twitter make billions by offering 'free' services, December 2, 2014
          • Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise, November 24, 2014
          • Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity, November 11, 2014 >
            • Hackers owned Home Depot's networks for five months, November 11, 2014
            • Another call for a nationwide breach-notification law, November 11, 2014
          • Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses, November 4, 2014
          • Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!), October 28, 2014
          • Quick, simple fixes for everyday tech glitches, October 21, 2014
          • Battle of the behemoths: Facebook ad network takes on Google, October 14, 2014
          • Instant access to all your recent files, October 6, 2014
          • iPhone's new Medical ID feature could save your life, September 29, 2014
          • Now you can really lock your phone, September 22, 2014
          • Facebook auto-play videos eat up mobile data allotments, September 15, 2014
          • Three free browser add-ons protect against cyber-crime, September 9, 2014
          • Control which iPhone apps are allowed to stay 'active' when they're off, August 25, 2014
          • The best browser you're probably not using, August 4, 2014
          • Never pay for software again (almost), July 14, 2014 >
            • Best free alternatives to top-selling software, July 11, 2011
          • The pros and cons of cloud computing, July 14, 2014 >
            • Three approaches to free encrypted online storage, June 23, 2009
            • Future-proof your data archive, December 30, 2010
            • Ten simple, common-sense security tips, October 9, 2012
          • Browser security settings you gotta change, June 24, 2014 >
            • Beef up Chrome's security, June 24, 2014
            • Batten down the hatches in Firefox, June 24, 2014
            • Enable Internet Explorer's privacy and security features, June 24, 2014
          • Online advertising dangers, June 10, 2014 >
            • U.S. Senate: Self-regulation of online ad networks isn't working, June 10, 2014
            • Free browser extensions give ads the boot, June 10, 2014
            • Claim a property interest in your personal information, June 10, 2014
            • A micropayment alternative to privacy-sucking ads, June 10, 2014
          • Great people make great sites, May 30, 2014
          • Three free privacy add-ons for Firefox and Chrome, May 20, 2014 >
            • Three essential security add-ons for Firefox, Chrome, and IE, May 7, 2013 >
              • How to improve security in Firefox, Chrome, and IE, May 6, 2013
            • Disable third-party cookies in IE, Firefox, and Google Chrome, March 14, 2011 >
              • Add 'do not track' to Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, December 7, 2010
              • Five great Firefox privacy add-ons, July 14, 2010
          • Remove metadata from Office files, PDFs, and images, May 16, 2014
          • Make folders private in Windows 8.1, May 9, 2014 >
            • Enable Vista's hidden administrator, and password-protect its XP equivalent, February 13, 2008
            • How to secure your PC in 10 easy steps, November 15, 2011 >
              • Three approaches to free encrypted online storage, June 23, 2009
              • Amazon Cloud Drive and Box.net go toe-to-toe, April 5, 2011
              • Free VPN service helps keep public Wi-Fi safe, February 14, 2011
              • How to prevent identity theft, September 13, 2011
            • Free utility finds unwanted programs uninstallers miss, February 24, 2014
          • Malware authors target Android phones, May 13, 2014
          • Secure your Facebook account in six easy steps, September 23, 2013
          • How to find the positive in negative comments, April 30, 2014
          • The 'I hate passwords' guide, April 29, 2014
          • Protect your device from malicious ads, April 10, 2014
          • Five ways to save a Web page, September 26, 2011
          • Five essential Windows 8.1 time-saving tweaks, February 3, 2014
          • Best free sites for learning how to write code, December 12, 2013
        • Software Intellectual Property Protections, August 16, 2014 >
          • Introduction: It's a Software World
          • 1. Trademark >
            • a. Registration
            • b. Trademark requirements
            • c. Lanham Act: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1053 and 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (a.k.a. § 43(a)) >
              • 1. Distinguish from patent protection
              • 2. Distinguish from copyright protection
              • 3. Trademark-infringement elements >
                • A. Confusion
                • B. Designation of origin
                • C. Famous and distinctive
            • d. Infringement criteria
          • 2. Trade Secrets >
            • a. Uniform Trade Secrets Act
            • b. Software protected by trade secrets
            • c. Limitations on trade-secret protections >
              • 1. Secret and valuable
              • 2. Described with particularity
              • 3. Software trade secrets and patents: Conflicting or complementary?
          • 3. Copyright >
            • a. History of software copyright statute
            • b. Assembling the pieces of the software-copyright jigsaw puzzle >
              • 1. Two types of source code: Declaring and implementing
              • 2. Originality requirement
              • 3. Merger doctrine
              • 4. Abstraction-filtration-comparison test
              • 5. Short phrases
              • 6. Scenes a faire doctrine
              • 7. Structure, sequence, and organization of the Java APIs
              • 8. Interoperability as it relates to copyrightability
              • 9. Fair use
              • 10. Copyright protections vs. patent protections for software
          • 4. Patent >
            • a. U.S. Constitution Article 1 § 8 >
              • 1. In terms of patent law, software is special
              • 2. Software innovations are clearly patentable
            • b. 35 U.S. Code § 101 >
              • 1. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International: Procedural history
              • 2. Test for patentability of abstract ideas: Implicit exception to exclusion
            • c. 35 U.S. Code § 102 - Conditions for patentability; novelty, prior art >
              • 1. Section 102(a)'s "known or used" determination (prior art)
              • 2. Section 102(b)'s "on sale" and "disclosure" determinations
              • 3. Section 102(g)'s "abandoned, suppressed, or concealed" determination
            • d. 35 U.S. Code § 103 Conditions for patentability: non-obvious subject matter
            • e. 35 U.S. Code § 112: Specification >
              • 1. Claim construction
              • 2. Doctrine of equivalents and rule of prosecution history estoppel
          • Conclusion
          • Table of Cases
        • Reclaim your personal information
  • Cloud Computing
    • Five tips for protecting cloud data from internal threats
    • What does the future hold for DBAs?
    • Busted: 10 Big Data Myths Exploded
    • Is the cloud ready for speech APIs?
    • From machine learning to super clouds: Competing visions of cloud 2.0
    • Two great reasons for making your cloud data location aware
    • The most common cloud migration mistakes
    • How to prepare for the next cloud outage
    • The new shadow IT: Custom applications in the cloud
    • Drawbacks of running containers on bare-metal servers
    • How to reduce latency in public clouds
    • Mastering the art of container management
    • Hybrid Clouds: Here to stay, or stop-gaps to enterprise cloud?
    • How zero-trust security makes VMs more efficient
    • Ultimate virtualization: The end of infrastructure
    • 21 best orchestration tools for MSPs
    • Cloud governance: The key to effectively scaling your cloud
    • Update or rewrite? A cloud-application perspective
    • New views into cloud application performance
    • Multicloud vs. hybrid cloud
  • The Stories So Far....
  • About
  • workersedge
    • The Weekly >
      • The Weeklies >
        • Excuse me while I duck and cover, March 1, 2018
        • We're running out of words, February 7, 2018
        • Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
        • Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018
        • Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., January 17, 2018
        • Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
        • Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
        • Could artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
        • Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
        • Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
        • Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
        • Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
        • YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
        • Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
        • That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
        • Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
        • Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition
        • Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
        • The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
        • The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
        • In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
        • There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
        • How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
        • That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
        • Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
        • Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
        • Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
        • A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
        • A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
        • We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
        • Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
        • Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
        • The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
        • Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
        • Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
        • Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
        • Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
        • Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
        • America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
        • The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
        • The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
        • An internet dinosaur spits in extinction's eye, April 12, 2017
        • Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
        • Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
        • Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017t
        • Gig economy changes what it means to be an 'employee,' March 8, 2017
        • Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
        • Practical security preparations for the worst-case scenario, December 13, 2016
        • The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
        • Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant', November 29, 2016
        • Before the deluge: Spend your attention wisely, November 23, 2016
        • You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
        • The 'consumer boycott' of web advertising is gaining momentum, November 8, 2016
        • Encryption: It's not just for banking anymore, November 1, 2016
        • A call to action: Stop the surveillance - by web services, apps, October 25, 2016
        • Web ad networks are malware authors' best friends, October 18, 2016
        • Privacy is becoming fashionable - Yippee! October 11, 2016
        • How do we bridge the growing media and political divides? October 4, 2016
        • Safety essentials: 10-step security revisited, 11 years later
        • Simple ways to limit the private information you surrender on the web, September 20, 2016
        • Top 10 reasons why people hate listicles - and yes, this is a joke headline, September 13, 2016
        • Why internet voting is a terrible idea, September 6, 2016
        • No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
        • The web is broken - Guess who's trying to fix it? August 23, 2016
        • Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
        • Dragging the online trackers - kicking and screaming - into the light of day, August 9, 2016
        • Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And is Facebook really 'privacy-enhancing'? August 2, 2016
        • It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
        • How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
        • The fight against privacy smashers continues, June 14, 2016
        • Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors - so what's next? May 31, 2016
        • Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information', May 25, 2016
        • Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
        • Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
        • The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
        • Modern news media: Too big not to fail? April 26, 2016
        • Internet Confidential: How to establish a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
        • The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
        • FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Google, Facebook off the hook, April 6, 2016
        • Five questions, no answers, March 29, 2016
        • How to fix the Internet: Ratchet down the anonymity, lose the ads, March 23, 2016
        • How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
        • People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
        • Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
        • 2016: The first social-media election, March 2, 2016
        • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
        • Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
        • Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
        • Why don't Americans care as much about their privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
        • New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
        • Fifteen ways to stay safe on the Internet, January 19, 2016
        • Prepare for the inevitable theft of your personal information, January 13, 2016
        • 'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
        • The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts for December 22, 2015
        • Separating the bitcoin hype from the blockchain substance, December 17, 2015 >
          • Shorts for December 17, 2015: Trump's legal ineptitude, and eight ways the world is getting better
        • Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
        • How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
        • Consumers may be ready to pay for an ad-free, tracking-free Internet, November 18, 2015
        • Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015
        • Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair', November 10, 2015
        • Get ready for the Attention Economy, November 4, 2015
        • O'Jitterys Catch a Movie, October 27, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, October 27, 2015
        • Do we have a right to know what they know about us?, October 20, 2015
        • Facial recognition ushers in the Age of Surveillance, October 13, 2015 >
          • Tech Short, October 13, 2015: ID by face + social profile
          • Legal Short, October 13, 2015: GOP mega-donor sues Mother Jones, loses, sort of
        • Fantasy sports gambling finally gets scrutinized, October 6, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, October 6, 2015
        • Google, Android, ads, and a tech titan's revenge, September 29, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, September 29, 2015
        • How to fix problems caused by Apple's flaky iTunes updates, September 23, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, September 22, 2015
        • Campaign 2016: Where's the love? September 15, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Legal shorts, September 15, 2015
        • Three simple ways to improve your privacy, September 8, 2015
        • Use your free Google Voice number to make and receive phone calls, September 1, 2015
        • Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
        • Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015 >
          • Shorts for August 4, 2015
        • Coming soon: A more trustworthy form of encryption, July 28, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, July 28, 2015
        • Protect yourself while browsing by enabling click to play, July 21, 2015 >
          • Tech short, July 21, 2015: Computers now tie emotions to facial expressions
        • The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015 >
          • Shorts for July 14, 2015
        • A long-overdue turning of the political tide, July 7, 2015
        • Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
        • Everyday Windows 10 users become beta testers for the Enterprise Edition, June 30, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, June 30, 2015
        • Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
        • It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
        • Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, June 16, 2015
        • Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
        • The five-minute Facebook security checkup, June 2, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, June 2, 2015
        • When ads attack: Web ad networks battle the blockers, May 26, 2015
        • Flying the furious skies: How to stay sane on a commercial flight, May 19, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, May 19, 2015
        • Online shopping tips: Put differential pricing to work for you, May 12, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, May 12, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 12, 2015
        • We're sitting on a big-data gold mine, May 5, 2015 >
          • Legal shorts, May 5, 2015
        • The case against web encryption, Title II designation for ISPs, April 28, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, April 28, 2015
          • Legal shorts, April 28, 2015
        • More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts, April 21, 2015
        • Should all web traffic be encrypted? April 14, 2015 >
          • Anonymous Internet Map, April 14, 2015
        • More reasons why you need to block web ads, April 7, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Legal shorts: April 7, 2015
        • Web 3.0 returns control of personal information to users, March 31, 2015
        • Passwords are about to get some much-needed assistance -- from your body, March 24, 2015
        • An unexpected visit from the Karma Police, March 17, 2015
        • Three views of the future that are certain to curl your hair, March 10, 2015
        • Privacy, Inc.: Welcome to the personal-information marketplace, March 3, 2015
        • The tricks of the malware trade: Don't take the bait! February 24, 2015
        • How to ruin your life in 140 characters or fewer, February 17, 2015
        • Browse better with these three essential freebies (plus one valuable cheapie), February 10, 2015 >
          • Tech shorts: February 10, 2015
        • What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
        • Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
        • The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
        • How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
        • Beat ransomware by saving your files to the cloud, January 6, 2015
        • 'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
        • Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
        • Five fantastic Web freebies, December 9, 2014
        • How Google, Facebook, and Twitter make billions by offering 'free' services, December 2, 2014
        • Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise, November 24, 2014
        • Trading privacy for the public good, November 18, 2014
        • Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity, November 11, 2014 >
          • Hackers owned Home Depot's networks for five months, November 11, 2014
          • Another call for a nationwide breach-notification law, November 11, 2014
        • Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses, November 4, 2014
        • Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!), October 28, 2014
        • Quick, simple fixes for everyday tech glitches, October 21, 2014
        • Battle of the behemoths: Facebook ad network takes on Google, October 14, 2014
        • Instant access to all your recent files, October 6, 2014
        • iPhone's new Medical ID feature could save your life, September 29, 2014
        • Now you can really lock your phone, September 22, 2014
        • Facebook auto-play videos eat up mobile data allotments, September 15, 2014
        • Three free browser add-ons protect against cyber-crime, September 9, 2014
        • Manslaughter conviction expunged after worker dies in baling machine, August 25, 2014 >
          • Google patent infringement: The proof's in the Post-its?, August 25, 2014
          • Control which iPhone apps are allowed to stay 'active' when they're off, August 25, 2014
          • Weekly What? August 25, 2014 >
            • No more 'Like' gates to view content, get rewards, August 25, 2014
            • FTC goes after a company that lost customer data, company cries 'Foul!', August 25, 2014
            • A mobile phone company releases customer data -- and it's a good thing, August 25, 2014
            • Clickless approvals don't qualify as 'reasonable notice' for terms of service, August 25, 2014
            • Baby steps closer to authentication that doesn't rely on passwords, August 25, 2014
        • Most data breaches are the result of weak or stolen credentials, August 18, 2014
        • The best government money -- lots and lots of money -- can buy, August 11, 2014
        • The best browser you're probably not using, August 4, 2014
        • It all depends on who's doing the surveilling -- and why, July 28, 2014
        • Be careful what you comment -- it might get you sued, July 19, 2014
        • Never pay for software again (almost) Plus: The pros and cons of cloud computing, July 14, 2014
        • Mind that download! Free phone apps deliver malware, July 7, 2014
        • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
        • The end is near for passwords (not really), February 24, 2016
        • Facebook's latest shenanigans, July 1, 2014
      • Privacy Weeklies >
        • The Weeklies >
          • Excuse me while I duck and cover, March 1, 2018
          • We're running out of words, February 7, 2018
          • Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
          • Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., January 17, 2018
          • Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
          • Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
          • Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
          • Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
          • YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
          • Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
          • That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
          • Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
          • The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
          • In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
          • There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
          • That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
          • Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
          • Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
          • A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
          • We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
          • Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
          • The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
          • Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
          • Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
          • Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
          • Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
          • America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
          • The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
          • The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
          • An internet dinosaur spits in extinction's eye, April 12, 2017
          • Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
          • Gig economy changes what it means to be an 'employee,' March 8, 2017
          • Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
          • The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
          • Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant', November 29, 2016
          • You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
          • No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
          • Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
          • Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And is Facebook really 'privacy-enhancing'? August 2, 2016
          • It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
          • How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
          • The fight against privacy smashers continues, June 14, 2016
          • Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors - so what's next? May 31, 2016
          • Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information', May 25, 2016
          • Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
          • Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
          • The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
          • Modern news media: Too big not to fail? April 26, 2016
          • Internet Confidential: How to establish a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
          • The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
          • FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Google, Facebook off the hook, April 6, 2016
          • How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
          • People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
          • Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
          • How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
          • Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
          • Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
          • Why don't Americans care as much about their privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
          • 'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
          • The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015 >
            • Legal shorts for December 22, 2015
          • Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
          • How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
          • Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015 >
            • Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair', November 10, 2015
          • Do we have a right to know what they know about us?, October 20, 2015
          • Legal shorts, September 29, 2015
          • Campaign 2016: Where's the love? September 15, 2015 >
            • Legal shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
          • Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015 >
            • Shorts for August 4, 2015
          • The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015 >
            • Shorts for July 14, 2015
          • A long-overdue turning of the political tide, July 7, 2015
          • Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
          • Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
          • It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
          • Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015
          • Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
          • Legal shorts, June 2, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 12, 2015
          • Legal shorts, May 5, 2015
          • Legal shorts, April 28, 2015
          • More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015
          • Legal shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Legal shorts, March 31, 2015
          • Legal shorts: March 24, 2015
          • Privacy, Inc.: Welcome to the personal-information marketplace, March 3, 2015
          • Legal shorts: February 24, 2015
          • What would George Washington think of his country now? February 16, 2015 >
            • Lobbyists thrive by building relationships with lawmakers, February 17, 2015
            • On the fast track to American fascism, February 17, 2015
            • The one Senator who's speaking truth to power, February 17, 2015
            • Fight terrorism by fighting its source: Corruption, February 17, 2015
            • Anonymous users: Your ISP may ID you on demand -- and not even tell you, February 17, 2015
          • Legal shorts: February 10, 2015
          • What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
          • The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
          • 'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
          • Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
          • Trading privacy for the public good, November 18, 2014
          • Deregulating the legal profession: Only a matter of time, October 6, 2014
          • Internet companies' transparency reports indicate trademark abuse is on the rise, September 25, 2014
          • Google patent infringement: The proof's in the Post-its?, August 25, 2014
          • Most data breaches are the result of weak or stolen credentials, August 18, 2014
          • The best government money -- lots and lots of money -- can buy, August 11, 2014
          • Have 'money addicts' taken over our political system?, August 11, 2014 >
            • Part 2: Money and political power, August 11, 2014
            • Part 3: A contrived distinction between 'venal' and 'systematic' corruption, August 11, 2014
            • Part 4: Fear of political corruption trumps government economic regulation, August 11, 2014
            • Part 5: Investment-oriented political contributions boost the bottom line, August 11, 2014
            • Part 6: Case study: Corporate political corruption, 19th-century style, August 11, 2014
          • Corporate ownership of the U.S. political process, August 11, 2014 >
            • Part 2: Party perpetuation trumps service to the constituency, August 11, 2014
            • Part 3: Party loyalty trumps independent thought, August 11, 2014
            • Part 4: The roots of corporate 'personhood,' August 11, 2014
            • Part 5: Is political corruption actually on the rise? Who knows?, August 11, 2014
          • It all depends on who's doing the surveilling -- and why, July 28, 2014
          • Be careful what you comment -- it might get you sued, July 19, 2014
          • Supreme Court: You can patent software, but only if it's 'transformative,' June 21, 2014
          • Privacy Manifesto
        • Privacy Tips >
          • Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018 >
            • Data Collection on Consumers infographic
            • How Companies Identify People
            • PayPal Data Sharing
            • Data Collection Guidelines for Businesses
            • What Does It Mean to Be a Success?
          • Could artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
          • Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
          • Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
          • Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
          • Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition
          • The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
          • How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
          • Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
          • A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
          • Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
          • Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
          • Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
          • Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017t
          • Practical security preparations for the worst-case scenario, December 13, 2016
          • Before the deluge: Spend your attention wisely, November 23, 2016
          • The 'consumer boycott' of web advertising is gaining momentum, November 8, 2016
          • Encryption: It's not just for banking anymore, November 1, 2016
          • A call to action: Stop the surveillance - by web services, apps, October 25, 2016
          • Web ad networks are malware authors' best friends, October 18, 2016
          • Privacy is becoming fashionable - Yippee! October 11, 2016
          • How do we bridge the growing media and political divides? October 4, 2016 >
            • Pew Center Research chart: Political bias of news organizations
          • Safety essentials: 10-step security revisited, 11 years later
          • Simple ways to limit the private information you surrender on the web, September 20, 2016
          • Top 10 reasons why people hate listicles - and yes, this is a joke headline, September 13, 2016
          • Why internet voting is a terrible idea, September 6, 2016
          • The web is broken - Guess who's trying to fix it? August 23, 2016
          • Dragging the online trackers - kicking and screaming - into the light of day, August 9, 2016
          • Five questions, no answers, March 29, 2016
          • How to fix the Internet: Ratchet down the anonymity, lose the ads, March 23, 2016
          • 2016: The first social-media election, March 2, 2016
          • The end is near for passwords (not really), February 24, 2016
          • New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
          • Fifteen ways to stay safe on the Internet, January 19, 2016
          • Prepare for the inevitable theft of your personal information, January 13, 2016
          • Separating the bitcoin hype from the blockchain substance, December 17, 2015 >
            • Shorts for December 17, 2015: Trump's legal ineptitude, and eight ways the world is getting better
          • Consumers may be ready to pay for an ad-free, tracking-free Internet, November 18, 2015
          • Get ready for the Attention Economy, November 4, 2015
          • Tech shorts, October 27, 2015
          • How to find a reliable network speed test, May 2, 2014
          • Facial recognition ushers in the Age of Surveillance, October 13, 2015 >
            • Tech Short for October 13, 2015: ID by face + social profile
          • Fantasy sports gambling finally gets scrutinized, October 6, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, October 6, 2015
          • Google, Android, ads, and a tech titan's revenge, September 29, 2015
          • How to fix problems caused by Apple's flaky iTunes updates, September 23, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, September 22, 2015
          • Tech shorts, September 15, 2015
          • Three simple ways to improve your privacy, September 8, 2015
          • Use your free Google Voice number to make and receive phone calls, September 1, 2015
          • Coming soon: A more trustworthy form of encryption, July 28, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, July 28, 2015
          • Protect yourself while browsing by enabling click to play, July 21, 2015 >
            • Tech short, July 21, 2015: Computers now tie emotions to facial expressions
          • Everyday Windows 10 users become beta testers for the Enterprise Edition, June 30, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, June 30, 2015
          • Tech shorts, June 16, 2015
          • The five-minute Facebook security checkup, June 2, 2015
          • When ads attack: Web ad networks battle the blockers, May 26, 2015
          • Flying the furious skies: How to stay sane on a commercial flight, May 19, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, May 19, 2015
          • Online shopping tips: Put differential pricing to work for you, May 12, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, May 12, 2015
          • We're sitting on a big-data gold mine, May 5, 2015
          • The case against web encryption, Title II designation for ISPs, April 28, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts, April 28, 2015
          • Tech shorts, April 21, 2015
          • Should all web traffic be encrypted? April 14, 2015 >
            • Anonymous Internet Map, April 14, 2015
          • More reasons why you need to block web ads, April 7, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts: April 7, 2015
          • Web 3.0 returns control of personal information to users, March 31, 2015
          • Passwords are about to get some much-needed assistance -- from your body, March 24, 2015
          • An unexpected visit from the Karma Police, March 17, 2015
          • Three views of the future that are certain to curl your hair, March 10, 2015
          • The tricks of the malware trade: Don't take the bait! February 24, 2015
          • How to ruin your life in 140 characters or fewer, February 17, 2015
          • Browse better with these three essential freebies (plus one valuable cheapie), February 10, 2015 >
            • Tech shorts: February 10, 2015
          • Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
          • How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
          • Beat ransomware by saving your files to the cloud, January 6, 2015
          • Five fantastic Web freebies, December 9, 2014
          • How Google, Facebook, and Twitter make billions by offering 'free' services, December 2, 2014
          • Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise, November 24, 2014
          • Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity, November 11, 2014 >
            • Hackers owned Home Depot's networks for five months, November 11, 2014
            • Another call for a nationwide breach-notification law, November 11, 2014
          • Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses, November 4, 2014
          • Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!), October 28, 2014
          • Quick, simple fixes for everyday tech glitches, October 21, 2014
          • Battle of the behemoths: Facebook ad network takes on Google, October 14, 2014
          • Instant access to all your recent files, October 6, 2014
          • iPhone's new Medical ID feature could save your life, September 29, 2014
          • Now you can really lock your phone, September 22, 2014
          • Facebook auto-play videos eat up mobile data allotments, September 15, 2014
          • Three free browser add-ons protect against cyber-crime, September 9, 2014
          • Control which iPhone apps are allowed to stay 'active' when they're off, August 25, 2014
          • The best browser you're probably not using, August 4, 2014
          • Never pay for software again (almost), July 14, 2014 >
            • Best free alternatives to top-selling software, July 11, 2011
          • The pros and cons of cloud computing, July 14, 2014 >
            • Three approaches to free encrypted online storage, June 23, 2009
            • Future-proof your data archive, December 30, 2010
            • Ten simple, common-sense security tips, October 9, 2012
          • Browser security settings you gotta change, June 24, 2014 >
            • Beef up Chrome's security, June 24, 2014
            • Batten down the hatches in Firefox, June 24, 2014
            • Enable Internet Explorer's privacy and security features, June 24, 2014
          • Online advertising dangers, June 10, 2014 >
            • U.S. Senate: Self-regulation of online ad networks isn't working, June 10, 2014
            • Free browser extensions give ads the boot, June 10, 2014
            • Claim a property interest in your personal information, June 10, 2014
            • A micropayment alternative to privacy-sucking ads, June 10, 2014
          • Great people make great sites, May 30, 2014
          • Three free privacy add-ons for Firefox and Chrome, May 20, 2014 >
            • Three essential security add-ons for Firefox, Chrome, and IE, May 7, 2013 >
              • How to improve security in Firefox, Chrome, and IE, May 6, 2013
            • Disable third-party cookies in IE, Firefox, and Google Chrome, March 14, 2011 >
              • Add 'do not track' to Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, December 7, 2010
              • Five great Firefox privacy add-ons, July 14, 2010
          • Remove metadata from Office files, PDFs, and images, May 16, 2014
          • Make folders private in Windows 8.1, May 9, 2014 >
            • Enable Vista's hidden administrator, and password-protect its XP equivalent, February 13, 2008
            • How to secure your PC in 10 easy steps, November 15, 2011 >
              • Three approaches to free encrypted online storage, June 23, 2009
              • Amazon Cloud Drive and Box.net go toe-to-toe, April 5, 2011
              • Free VPN service helps keep public Wi-Fi safe, February 14, 2011
              • How to prevent identity theft, September 13, 2011
            • Free utility finds unwanted programs uninstallers miss, February 24, 2014
          • Malware authors target Android phones, May 13, 2014
          • Secure your Facebook account in six easy steps, September 23, 2013
          • How to find the positive in negative comments, April 30, 2014
          • The 'I hate passwords' guide, April 29, 2014
          • Protect your device from malicious ads, April 10, 2014
          • Five ways to save a Web page, September 26, 2011
          • Five essential Windows 8.1 time-saving tweaks, February 3, 2014
          • Best free sites for learning how to write code, December 12, 2013
        • Software Intellectual Property Protections, August 16, 2014 >
          • Introduction: It's a Software World
          • 1. Trademark >
            • a. Registration
            • b. Trademark requirements
            • c. Lanham Act: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1053 and 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (a.k.a. § 43(a)) >
              • 1. Distinguish from patent protection
              • 2. Distinguish from copyright protection
              • 3. Trademark-infringement elements >
                • A. Confusion
                • B. Designation of origin
                • C. Famous and distinctive
            • d. Infringement criteria
          • 2. Trade Secrets >
            • a. Uniform Trade Secrets Act
            • b. Software protected by trade secrets
            • c. Limitations on trade-secret protections >
              • 1. Secret and valuable
              • 2. Described with particularity
              • 3. Software trade secrets and patents: Conflicting or complementary?
          • 3. Copyright >
            • a. History of software copyright statute
            • b. Assembling the pieces of the software-copyright jigsaw puzzle >
              • 1. Two types of source code: Declaring and implementing
              • 2. Originality requirement
              • 3. Merger doctrine
              • 4. Abstraction-filtration-comparison test
              • 5. Short phrases
              • 6. Scenes a faire doctrine
              • 7. Structure, sequence, and organization of the Java APIs
              • 8. Interoperability as it relates to copyrightability
              • 9. Fair use
              • 10. Copyright protections vs. patent protections for software
          • 4. Patent >
            • a. U.S. Constitution Article 1 § 8 >
              • 1. In terms of patent law, software is special
              • 2. Software innovations are clearly patentable
            • b. 35 U.S. Code § 101 >
              • 1. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International: Procedural history
              • 2. Test for patentability of abstract ideas: Implicit exception to exclusion
            • c. 35 U.S. Code § 102 - Conditions for patentability; novelty, prior art >
              • 1. Section 102(a)'s "known or used" determination (prior art)
              • 2. Section 102(b)'s "on sale" and "disclosure" determinations
              • 3. Section 102(g)'s "abandoned, suppressed, or concealed" determination
            • d. 35 U.S. Code § 103 Conditions for patentability: non-obvious subject matter
            • e. 35 U.S. Code § 112: Specification >
              • 1. Claim construction
              • 2. Doctrine of equivalents and rule of prosecution history estoppel
          • Conclusion
          • Table of Cases
        • Reclaim your personal information
  • Cloud Computing
    • Five tips for protecting cloud data from internal threats
    • What does the future hold for DBAs?
    • Busted: 10 Big Data Myths Exploded
    • Is the cloud ready for speech APIs?
    • From machine learning to super clouds: Competing visions of cloud 2.0
    • Two great reasons for making your cloud data location aware
    • The most common cloud migration mistakes
    • How to prepare for the next cloud outage
    • The new shadow IT: Custom applications in the cloud
    • Drawbacks of running containers on bare-metal servers
    • How to reduce latency in public clouds
    • Mastering the art of container management
    • Hybrid Clouds: Here to stay, or stop-gaps to enterprise cloud?
    • How zero-trust security makes VMs more efficient
    • Ultimate virtualization: The end of infrastructure
    • 21 best orchestration tools for MSPs
    • Cloud governance: The key to effectively scaling your cloud
    • Update or rewrite? A cloud-application perspective
    • New views into cloud application performance
    • Multicloud vs. hybrid cloud
  • The Stories So Far....
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