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In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots

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Such heartlessness.
 
The President threatens to expel hundreds of thousands of young people to countries they've never called home. To do so, he may use information the young folks provided voluntarily to a government that promised to protect them. This is as un-American as it gets. In a September 5, 2017, article, the Guardian's Ed Pilkington describes the threat to the legal status of nearly one million Americans that is posed by the President's DACA decision.
 
Every time you think it can't get worse, it does. If you're not rich, white, male, and evangelical, you're screwed.
 
A bully is directing the destruction of our democracy at the behest of rich Republican donors. Two other bully despots run China and Russia with iron fists. The three most powerful countries in the world are ruled by tyrants. Democracy is on life support, and when democracy dies, human rights die along with it.
 
Tech bullies do a different kind of damage
 
Does it surprise you that Google has come to rule news publishing? Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall writes in a September 1, 2017, article about the monopoly Google has over news publishing -- a situation that news outlets are hesitant to discuss for fear of ruffling Google's feathers. Marshall compares his site's relationship with Google to the Star Trek episode in which you had to be "assimilated by the Borg" to enjoy the many benefits of being a part of the Google universe.
 
Google's Doubleclick for Publishers, AdExchange, and Google Analytics are the machinery that drive the online-ad money machine. Factor in Google's leadership in search, email (Gmail), and browsers (Chrome), and you have a closed internet ecosystem. About the only good thing that Marshall can say about Google's monopoly is that it is more generous to publishers than Facebook's ad domination, which benefits only Facebook for the most part -- Facebook shares much less of its ad revenue than Google does, according to Marshall.
 
An interaction TPM had with Google illustrates the down side of giving a private company such as Google responsibility for enforcing hate-speech restrictions. As Marshall explains, TPM received notice from Google in recent months that "a few" of the pages on its site were "penalized" for violations of Google's ban on hate speech. TPM determined that the pages in questions contained news articles about "white supremacist incidents."
 
When TPM contacted Google to challenge the violations, the Google representative responded with a message that failed to distinguish between actual hate speech and a news article about hate speech. TPM was "cheerily" told to operate within the no-hate-speech guidelines. The publication faced a dilemma: continue to cover the "banned" topic in a news context and risk being blacklisted by Google's ad machine; or stop covering the subject, thus allowing Google's hate-speech policy to censor the internet.
 
Marshall concludes that TPM will remain in the Google economy and will "keep cashing their checks," but he states clearly:
 
"Google is a big, big problem. So is Facebook. So is Amazon. Monopolies are a big, lumbering cause of many of our current afflictions. And we’re only now, slowly, beginning to realize it."
 
More voices call out Google for abuse of monopoly powers
 
Earlier this summer the European Union fined Google for preferring its own subsidiaries in search results to those of competitors. In an August 30, 2017, article in the Washington Post, Fordham University Law Professor Zephyr Teachout describes what happened when the Open Markets team at the New America think tank issued a 150-word statement praising the EU's action.
 
Open Markets is "dedicated to studying and exposing distortions in markets, including monopoly power," according to Teachout, so it makes sense that the group would take an interest in the EU's action against Google. Open Markets' statement recommended that U.S. government officials "apply traditional American monopoily law" to break up Google's various services into "separate ownership."
 
New America receives a great deal of funding from Google, and has done so for many years, as Teachout writes. Within three days of Open Markets' statement, Google representatives had called New America "expressing their displeasure," and canceled two pending hires for the Open Markets team. The head of New America notified the head of the Open Markets team, Barry C. Lynn, that the group had to leave New America.
 
Teachout writes that Google is on track to spend more on lobbying efforts in 2017 than any other organization, after spending the third-most on lobbying in 2015, outspending Exxon Mobil, Lockheed Martin, and the Koch brothers. The Open Markets team landed on its feet, according to Teachout, and will continue to work on combatting monopolistic practices such as Google's actions in attempting to silence its critics.
 
In a September 1, 2017, article on Common Dreams, Jake Johnson reports that Lynn has founded the group Citizens Against Monopoly to document and publicize "the dangers of concentrated private power," according to Lynn. Joining Lynn at Citizens Against Monopoly is former New America fellow Matt Stoller, and the group is said to have the support of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.)
 
Google responds quickly -- and effectively -- to unflattering news stories
 
A first-hand account of what it feels like to be an individual in Google's crosshairs is offered by Kashmir Hill in an August 31, 2017, post on Gizmodo. In 2011, Hill wrote an article for Forbes about the negative effects of Google's monopolistic practices. Google was pushing its then-new Plus social network, and it intended to punish in search results any site that failed to post a Plus button on their pages alongside those for Facebook, Reddit, and other services.
 
In other words, if a site didn't add the Google Plus button, its articles would be more difficult to find in Google search results. Because the company was being investigated by a congressional anti-trust committee at the time, it was sensitve to any indication it was abusing its monopoly in search. Google claimed the information was communicated in a marketing meeting that Hill was invited to, and thus was subject to a non-disclosure agreement.
 
Hill never signed any such agreement, she was never told the information was not to be disclosed, and she had identified herself as a journalist. Soon after the story posted, Hill heard from "higher-ups" at Forbes who had been contacted by Google representatives. The Forbes managers indicated that if the article didn't come down, it could hurt Forbes. Hill didn't challenge the decision to pull the story, and she remarks that it disappeared from Google search results almost instantly (a version that was scraped by an "internet marketing group" and can be found here).
 
-----------------------------------------
 
Linkapalooza
 
LinkedIn's attempt to "abuse" a computer break-in law
was slapped down by Judge Edward Chen of the Northern District of California, as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jamie Williams and Amul Kalia report in an August 29, 2017, article. LinkedIn had attempted to prevent a company called hiQ Labs from scraping information from the public profiles of LinkedIn users, claiming the practice violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
 
Two recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- Facebook v. Power Ventures and U.S. v. Nosal -- had broadened the definition of "unauthorized access" as the term is used in the CFAA. As Williams and Kalia point out, scraping publicly available data may violate a site's terms of use, but the practice is a far cry from the kinds of "unauthorized access" Congress intended to apply to enforcement of the CFAA, which is famous for its "notoriously severe penalties."
 
In enjoining LinkedIn from preventing hiQ's scraping, Chen stated that he "doubted" LinkedIn could invoke the CFAA to "punish" hiQ for accessing publicly available information. The EFF is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court grants certiorari in U.S. v. Nosal so that companies can no longer use the CFAA to block access to public data.
 
-----------------------------------------
 
It's one thing for me to say, "Facebook scares me," but it's another thing altogether when the person expressing their fear of the Social Network from Hell is John Lanchester, noted British journalist and author of the book, Capital. Lanchester expresses his concerns in a very long read in the August 2017 London Review of Books, entitled "You are the Product."
 
Here are a few of Lanchester's observations:
 
  • Facebook "has an inherent tendency to fragment and atomise its users into like-minded groups," so instead of using the service to connect to the world, you "connect with people who agree with you."
  • "Facebook has no financial interest in telling the truth.... Facebook’s customers aren’t the people who are on the site: its customers are the advertisers who use its network and who relish its ability to direct ads to receptive audiences. Why would Facebook care if the news streaming over the site is fake?"
  • "Facebook is in essence an advertising company which is indifferent to the content on its site except insofar as it helps to target and sell advertisements.... [F]ake news, which gets more clicks and is free to produce, drives out real news, which often tells people things they don’t want to hear, and is expensive to produce.... Facebook uses an extensive set of tricks to increase its traffic and the revenue it makes from targeting ads, at the expense of the news-making institutions whose content it hosts. Its news feed directs traffic at you based not on your interests, but on how to make the maximum amount of advertising revenue from you."
  • "Facebook is in the surveillance business. Facebook, in fact, is the biggest surveillance-based enterprise in the history of mankind. It knows far, far more about you than the most intrusive government has ever known about its citizens. It’s amazing that people haven’t really understood this about the company... [I]ts users don’t realise what it is the company does. What Facebook does is watch you, and then use what it knows about you and your behaviour to sell ads."
  • "Google and Facebook have what amounts to a monopoly on digital advertising. That monopoly power is becoming more and more important as advertising spend migrates online. Between them, they have already destroyed large sections of the newspaper industry. Facebook has done a huge amount to lower the quality of public debate and to ensure that it is easier than ever before to tell what Hitler approvingly called ‘big lies’ and broadcast them to a big audience."
  • "[T]he more people use Facebook, the more unhappy they are. A 1 per cent increase in ‘likes’ and clicks and status updates was correlated with a 5 to 8 per cent decrease in mental health.... [Researchers found that] people were swapping real relationships which made them feel good for time on Facebook which made them feel bad."
  • "I am scared of Facebook. The company’s ambition, its ruthlessness, and its lack of a moral compass scare me.... Grow and multiply and monetise. Why? There is no why. Because."

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          • 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....
    • Story
    • O'Jitterys Catch a Movie, October 27, 2015
  • Mandolinoleum
  • 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....
    • Story
    • O'Jitterys Catch a Movie, October 27, 2015
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