privacy-and-security
The Hot Girl That Just Added You On Facebook Is a Terrorist
A few months ago, I was using that sleazy Badoo site, trying my damnedest to find a girl that I might meet in real life. If you recall the feature, I was unsuccessful. After the site spammed my mom -- asking her for her birthdate -- I ended up talking...
Tracking Students With RFID Chips Is Pretty Lucrative
Today in the department of bad ideas, we have a pair of San Antonio high schools that's decided to tag its students with RFID chips so that they can track their every move on campus. Starting this fall, the Northside Independent School District will be...
Will Romney Pay Tax Return Ransom?
As Bitfloor.com (the U.S.' largest Bitcoin site) services have come grinding to a halt in the wake of a "$250,000 theft of its currency":http://www.techspot.com/news/50043-bitfloor-breached-hacker-makes-off-with-250000-in-bitcoins.html, two questions...
Jimmy Wales Won't Stand For the UK's Internet Tracking Bill
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is not too pleased with Parliament at the moment. British lawmakers are currently considering a bill known colloquially as the "snooper's charter" that would track the Internet usage, texting habits and email...
Why Your Data Is Safer With Facebook Than Washington
We all know the internet is a terrifying place. Careers hang in the balance based on unsavory Tweets. People film themselves playing covers of “Call me Maybe”. Rock-a-fire Explosion exists. But aside from individual pratfalls, and mind-blowing acts of...
Future Sex: Should Sex Offenders Be Chemically Castrated?
There’s been an unexpected spike in castration-related news this week. I suppose that _any_ news would constitute a spike, but still, there’s an unprecedented two breaking news stories involving chemical castration. In South Korea, following the...
The Six Names You Won't Hear at the Democratic National Convention
Joe Biden summed up the essence of Obama’s reelection campaign months ago. “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." These duel sentiments will be showcased at the DNC over the next few days, the slightest glimmers of hope amplified to...
How Did AntiSec Score 12 Million Apple IDs from the FBI?
The fun-loving, government oppression-hating hackers at AntiSec are back in action with the release of over a million Apple user IDs. The encrypted file hit the web late Monday night along with a characteristic rant against everything from the NSA to...
Facebook's Advertising Business Is Getting Desperate
Facebook stock price hit an all-time low on Friday as a fresh round of concern over advertising spending mounted on Wall Street. The new low price is $18.41, and some analysts expect that number to keep falling, possibly reaching as low as $15 a share...
In Soviet Russia, Tablet Computer Reads You
If there's anywhere that could care less about the Apple-Android patent battles, it's Moscow. In the capital of the former USSR, the state is shaking off the shackles of the United States consumer electronics market and building their own devices. At...
A Grand Tour of the Weirdest Wi-Fi
Jumping off a bus in the middle of the night, I walk down the side of a Vietnamese highway with my friend, Pascal. It's extremely dark and full of crickets outside -- beside the occasional blare of another bus whizzing past. The blinking blue dot on my...
Apple Would Prefer You Didn't Track Drones on Your iPhone
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're going to have to cancel your mobile drone tracking plans for Labor Day weekend. It was a really fun plan, I know. Pull out the lawn chairs, find a sunny spot in the grass — beer in one hand, iPhone in the...