Tag Archives: Privacy

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A lesson in online identity

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This week I noticed two news stories that brought this advice to mind.

The first involves the popular dating app Tinder, where a developer exposed a serious security flaw to trick men into flirting with each other, thinking they were talking to a woman.

I am sure you can imagine the type of messages that went back and forth and the anger when men realized that they were talking to other men looking for women.

The developer claims that he created the hack to highlight the harassment that women often face on dating apps.

The second story is rather amusing but also very serious, a convicted fraudster escaped from prison by tricking prison officers with a fake bail email.

Using a mobile phone, Neil Moore created an email account belonging to a fake domain closely resembling the court service’s official address. He then emailed the prison’s custody inbox with instructions of his release.

Authorities only noticed Moore was missing three days later when lawyers turned up to interview him. Fortunately, he later turned himself in and was charged with “escape from lawful custody” where the judge described the behavior as ‘ingenious’ criminality.

There’s a chance that you’ll think these stories are quite amusing, which of course they are, but both have different but serious consequences.

When we communicate with others online it’s important that we validate them in the same way we would in real life. We scrutinize people’s behavior and appearance to make an informed decision on trustworthiness and character.

You of course can’t look someone in the eye on the Internet, so it’s doubly important to scrutinize their credentials (email addresses, user names etc) and their behavior (what they are asking of you and what they claim).

Perhaps that’s a lesson that the folks at Her Majesty’s Prison Service could do with learning.

Follow me on twitter @tonyatavg

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Can These Glasses Protect Your Identity?

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What are invisibility glasses?

Developed by AVG Innovation Labs, the glasses help protect your visual identity in the digital age.

Through a mixture of technology and specialist materials, privacy wearables such as invisibility glasses can make it difficult for cameras or other facial recognition technologies to get a clear view of your identity.

For more information on AVG’s Invisibility Glasses check out this blog post.

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Backlash against the “Selfie Stick”

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If you’ve been to a museum or tourist attraction recently you’ll have likely seen the now ubiquitous “selfie stick” in action. Users say the sticks provide better perspective and help avoid the fish-eye view of the hand-held phone camera. You could even argue that it’s also more secure than handing your valuable camera or phone over to a stranger(although I don’t know that there is much from preventing someone dashing by and snatching your stick along with your smartphone).

However the backlash against selfie sticks has appeared almost as quickly as the trend itself.

Many museums and other institutions are now taking the matter into their own hands and banning selfie sticks. For example, the Forbidden City in China joined the Palace of Versailles and Britain’s National Gallery, which both announced bans this past week. London’s National Gallery said it outlawed the “Narcisstick” in order to “protect paintings, individual privacy and the overall visitor experience”.

Earlier this month in the U.S., the Smithsonian museums in Washington also banned selfie sticks. Cameras and pictures are still allowed, but selfie sticks, tripods and monopods are not.

In a statement, the Smithsonian said, “For the safety of our visitors and collections, the Smithsonian prohibits the use of tripods or monopods in our museums and gardens. Effective today, March 3, monopod selfie sticks are included in this policy.” You can see the full statement here.

Other U.S. museums that ban selfie sticks include the Art Institute of Chicago, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art.  As do other international favorites such as the Uffizi in Florence and the Colosseum in Rome. A Collosseum spokesperson noted that the twirling around of hundreds of sticks can become unwittingly dangerous when “fully extended with outstretched arms, the devices take up over half the width of the monument’s interior corridors.”

Selfie Stick

Image courtesy of the BBC

 

In Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Pointe-à-Callière Archaeology Museum called the stick the “wand of narcissism” when it placed it on the do not enter list.

The consensus among critics is that selfie sticks are obnoxious and a danger as well as a privacy concern.

The additional field of view that makes the selfie stick such a boon to the photographer also increases the chances that unsuspecting passersby  may get caught in the shot.

It’s a safe to say that if you’re traveling this spring or summer, it’s best to check to see what the policies are at the attractions you plan to visit before you consider taking a selfie stick along…

I personally have mixed feelings about selfie sticks. I’ve found them equal parts intrusive, (as I’ve tried to enjoy some art) and practical (as I’ve struggled to capture myself and friends in a unique moment).

For me it comes down to safety and privacy concerns. Crowded tourist attractions and exhibitions are enough of a ruckus without adding selfie sticks to the equation.

 

Title mage courtesy of New York Post