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Safety essentials: 10-step security revisited, 11 years later

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Last week, my sister mentioned that the Chrome browser on her PC was acting funny – she wasn’t able to move, resize, or close one browser window that displayed some weird system-type message. She used Windows’ Task Manager to close Chrome completely, and then she used the free Malwarebytes program to scan for viruses.

The scan turned up 43 suspicious files. This even though my sister had an up-to-date antivirus program running that claimed to offer real-time scans for malware. Keep in mind, the best security programs catch only about 70 percent of viruses in the wild, according to an October 15, 2015, post on Quora by Symantec security researcher Robert Shaker.

The detection rate for zero-day exploits – viruses that target unpatched flaws in software – range from 20 percent to 68 percent, according to Wikipedia’s “zero-day” essay. That’s why you need one antivirus program for real-time protection, and another for conducting the occasional manual virus scan (there’s more on Windows’ built-in security below).

One more thing to keep in mind is that there are many ways your computer (or smart phone) could become infected with malware. Visiting an infected website or opening the wrong email remain the most common methods of spreading viruses, but mobile infections are on the upswing, according to research conducted by security firm Check Point Software. A McClatchy report on the research was posted on the Security InfoWatch blog on September 26, 2016.

Check Point also found that ransomware attacks rose 30 percent in August 2016, in large part because many businesses are choosing to pay the ransom when they’re victimized. Giving in to the criminals may be the most convenient approach in the short run, but doing so only tells the crooks that they’ve found a lucrative revenue stream.

Note that the FBI no longer recommends that people hit with ransomware pay the bad guys for the key that will decrypt their data, as ThreatPost’s Chris Brook reports in a September 16, 2016, article. Instead, simply wipe the affected machines and restore your data from your most recent backup.

Much better not to become a victim in the first place, eh?

A long-overdue update to 2005’s ‘10-step Security’

While I was helping my sister disinfect her computer, I was reminded of what is probably the single most popular article I ever wrote: 10-Step Security, which appeared in the November 2005 issue of PC World. Before I reread it, I thought the tips would still be relevant. Turns out, I wasn’t even half right, but that has more to do with today’s software being inherently more secure than the programs back in 2005. That goes triple for Windows.


Still, there remain many serious threats to our data. Fortunately, there are also several oh-so-easy actions we can take to protect our computers and devices, though most people simply aren’t doing them. If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, you can increase considerably the chances that you will not be the malware purveyors’ next victim.

Always use a standard Windows account: This above all things for Windows users – even more important than automatic updates and real-time virus scanning (see below), which are also vitally important. When you’re signed into a standard account, Windows will prompt you to enter an administrator-account password each time you attempt to install a new program or make a system change. This reduces tremendously the chances that some rogue program will install itself and/or alter your settings.

Think about it: How often do you add a program or change a setting? A couple times a year, maybe? How long does it take to enter a password and press Enter? A couple of seconds? While you still could be social-engineered into installing a program that isn’t what you expect it to be, having this extra layer of security puts the odds against being hit by malware decidedly in your favor. For the record, I’ve been using standard Windows accounts for so long I don’t even think about it anymore.

To create a standard account in Windows 10, press the Windows key, type “user accounts,” and press Enter. Select “Manage another account,” then “Add a user account,” and step through the account-creation wizard. The new account is “standard” by default. If you’ve got more than one administrator account on the system, you can switch one to a standard account by selecting it in the “Change an account” window and choosing “Standard.”

Bonus tip #1: Did you know that Windows 10 has a “hidden” administrator account? This comes in handy for troubleshooting when your one-and-only administrator account gets fouled up. Instructions for accessing this hidden account are provided on Into Windows.

Set all your software to update automatically: There was a time not so long ago when the Windows experts recommended waiting before applying updates because the patches often caused more problems than they fixed. With the proliferation of zero-day exploits out there, it is more important to apply updates as quickly as possible. That’s the default setting for Windows and for most other programs, the noteworthy exception being Apple, which continues to prompt before updating iTunes, iCloud, and other apps. Since I don’t consider Apple programs essential, I don’t mind postponing updates until I’m good and ready to apply them.

I used to recommend the free Secunia Personal Software Inspector, but as Windows Secrets’ Tracey Capen points out (in an article that requires a paid subscription to access), the program was acquired by Flexera Software last year and hasn’t been updated since December 31, 2015. Aside from the irony of an out-of-date software-update program, Tracey points out that because nearly every program of note now automatically applies patches and such, there’s less need to do any manual update checks.

Always, always, always use antivirus software: Most people do not need to spend for a third-party security program for their Windows setup – Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, both of which are built into Windows 10, should provide all the protection they need. Combined with a standard Windows account, these tools will meet most people’s security requirements. 

Beware of links in emails – still: Three of the 10 steps in the 2005 article related to email, and all three are out-of-date because email programs now build in the protections: attachments are scanned for viruses automatically, the preview pane is no longer displayed by default, and messages from addresses not in your contact list are opened without “active” content enabled until you indicate that you trust the sender. If your email program/service of choice isn’t set to do these three things, go into the app’s settings and look for options to do so. Just viewing infected emails is all that’s required for many malware payloads to do their dirty work.

Block the trackers: You probably know there’s a whole lot of tracking going on – on the web, in the real world, and everywhere in between. Web sites and services hate ad-blocking software because the programs cut into the companies’ revenue. However, web ads pose a serious security threat, not only because of the tracking and snooping they do, but also because they are a major source of malware delivery. InfoSecurity Magazine’s Terry Seal reports on a recent malvertising attack on Answers.com visitors.

You simply can’t trust web ads, so blocking them should be part of your online-security strategy. For many years I have recommended the free AdBlock Plus, and I continue to use the program despite the controversy surrounding the vendor’s acceptable-ads policy, which allows ads it has approved to be displayed. (The Guardian’s Olivia Solon reports on the matter in a September 13, 2016, article.) Other popular (and free) tracker-blockers are Ghostery and the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Privacy Badger.

A relatively new ad-blocking option is the Brave browser, which I’ve been trying out for the past couple of weeks. There’s a lot to like about Brave, but I was surprised that the browser fails to block some pop-ups, and it lacks some of the convenience features of Firefox. Still, I think Brave is a step up from Google Chrome, a browser that is showing its age.

(I’m also a fan of the Opera browser, which recently added an automatic VPN option, as the Verge’s James Vincent reports in a September 21, 2016 article;. I’m testing this program too, and will write about it in a future Weekly.)

Bonus tip #2: If you’re one of the 500 million people whose Yahoo IDs and passwords were leaked back in 2014 (though we just found out about the breach last week), you might want to enter your ID at HaveIbeenpwned?, which will search its extensive database of leaked IDs to determine whether yours is one of them. When I checked my Yahoo ID, the site indicated it had been comprised not once, not twice, but four times. Yes, I changed my passwords.

You’re not finished quite yet

I haven’t even mentioned disabling Javascript, uninstalling Java (note that your system may already be  Java-less, particularly if it’s relatively new), and making sure your passwords are easy to remember but difficult to crack. You should also think of your passwords as having a change-by date no greater than one year from their creation. Oh yeah, and verify that you’re ready to restore your data from an up-to-date backup – preferably one you store in the cloud.


Okay, so maybe I exceeded my self-imposed 10-minute limit, but any time you spend preventing a malware attack and preparing for the inevitable loss of your personal information is a worthwhile investment.

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          • 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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