Data-Driven Tech Industry Is Shaken by Online Privacy Fears

In Silicon Valley, a place not used to second-guessing the bright future it is eternally building, there was a palpable sense of dismay.

“Most of the people who developed the network are bothered by the way it is being misused,” said Les Earnest, a retired Stanford computer scientist who built something that resembled Facebook nine years before the inventor of Facebook was born. “From the beginning we worried about governments getting control. Well, our government has finally found a way to tap in.”

The technology world has always strived to keep Washington at a certain arm’s length. Regulation would snuff out innovation, the entrepreneurs regularly cried. Bureaucrats should keep their hands off things they do not understand, which is just about everything we do out here.

So the first mystifying thing for some here is how the leading companies — including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Apple and Facebook — apparently made it easier for the National Security Agency to gain access to their data. Only Twitter seems to have declined.

The companies deny directly working with the government on the project, called Prism. But they have not been exactly eager to talk about how they are working indirectly and where they would draw the line.

Entrepreneurs around Silicon Valley are publicly urging more disclosure.

“The success of any Silicon Valley consumer company is based not only on the value their products bring to users but also on the level of trust they can establish,” said Adriano Farano, co-founder of Watchup, which makes an iPad app that builds personalized newscasts. “What is at stake here is the credibility of our entire ecosystem.”

It is an ecosystem that thrives on personal data. Prism, which collects e-mails, video, voice and stored data, among other forms of Internet information, was exposed at a moment when the very possibility of online privacy seemed to be in doubt.

New technologies like Google Glass are relentlessly pushing into territory that was out of reach until recently. From established behemoths to new start-ups, tech companies are bubbling with plans to collect the most intimate data and use it to sell things.

“We’re pushing our government to protect us, and we’re also busy putting more and more of our information out there for people to look at,” said Christopher Clifton, a Purdue computer scientist who has done extensive work on methods of data collection that preserve privacy. “The fact that some of that data is indeed going to be looked at might be disturbing but it shouldn’t be surprising.”

Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency worker who disclosed on Sunday that he was the one who leaked government surveillance documents to The Guardian newspaper, ranks high among the disturbed. In an interview with the newspaper, he called the Internet “the most important invention in all of human history.” But he said that he believed its value was being destroyed by unceasing surveillance.

“I don’t see myself as a hero,” he told the paper, “because what I’m doing is self-interested: I don’t want to live in a world where there’s no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.”

President Obama, trying to play down the uproar, said Prism targets only foreign nationals and that it was worth giving up a little privacy for more security.

“I think that’s a dangerous statement,” said Bob Taylor, a computer scientist who played a major role in the 1960s in formulating what would become the Internet. “The government should have told us it was doing this. And that suggests the more fundamental problem: that we’re not in control of our government.”

For some tech luminaries with less than fond feelings for Washington, the disclosures about Prism had special force. This was personal.

Bob Metcalfe, the acclaimed inventor of the standard method of connecting computers in one location, wrote on Twitter that he was less worried about whatever the National Security Agency might be doing “than about how Obama Regime will use their data to suppress political opposition (e.g. me).”

But if Silicon Valley is alarmed about the ways that the personal data now coursing through every byway of the Internet can be misused, it has been a long time coming.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Internet Privacy – It’s Your Right To Be Anonymous!

I’ve never met you.  I’ve probably never spoken to you or even emailed you.

In fact to me, you are just an anonymous visitor to my website – but are you?

No, you’re not.

In fact I can tell you that you’re currently located in .  I can also tell you that you’re close to or in in the region of .

The questions are how & why do I know this information?

I don’t have any right to know this, but I do.

In fact every website you use, every instant messaging client you chat with and every email you send knows exactly where you are.

You’re not obliged to label yourself with your previous location if you walk into a store in your local area or in a foreign country so why should you be on the internet?

Whether you’re at home, work or using public wifi you’re connecting to the internet through what’s known as an internet router.

This internet router is connected to an internet service provider who assigns the internet router an IP (internet protocol) address.  It is this IP address that is the culprit for identifying your location. 

Every IP address in the world is registered in a massive database which contains the location information.

You want to test it out or prove it?

Here is your IP address:  217.55.84.203 – now go to this page and enter the IP address into the Geo-location Demo field on the left hand side.

There are many risks associated with using the internet like you are now such as:

Data Theft – Your current internet connection is not encrypted and is therefore insecure and open to theft.  Consider how much personal or confidential information you send or receive every day through browsing your online bank, emailing files or simply chatting online.Username & Password Theft – How many we sites do you log into every day?  Consider that every one of these logins might be visible to others.Identity Theft – By piecing together the information you are clearly displaying through all of your internet activity your identity could easily be stolen and used for illegal activities.

It’s quite simple really – change your IP address to an anonymous one.

You can use several different methods to change your IP address.  These are discussed further below.

Here are the benefits of doing so -

Get assigned a random IP address located in another country of your choice.Encrypt all of your internet use to ensure everything you do is safe and secure.Place yourself in another country so you benefit from services not available in your current location.Watch live streaming TV through websites not available in your country such as Hulu, Pandora, Netflix, ABC, Fox, etc (if you’re outside U.S.)Access gambling websites not normally available in your current location.Access other services that might be unavailable such as Skype.Requires no technical experience and connects in seconds.

There are many ways available to secure your internet activity.  The methods listed below are categorized based on level of technical experiences required, speed, cost and reliability.

These companies offer quick and easy ways to gain internet privacy at low monthly prices.

Overplay.net (Tutorial Here) – my personal favorite. This service is simple, reliable and well priced.  It takes about 5 minutes to get up and running and works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, PS2, Boxee and DD-WRT routers (or any other router with VPN capability).HideMyAss – another tried and trusted service.  This service offers a more advanced interface and reports on your previously assigned IP addresses but in essence is the same is OverPlay.  It has similar pricing and and equally easy interface.  Also supports Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android and a host of routers.StrongVPN – Very professional outfit with lots of experience (since 1995) in the VPN arena.  They used to be just for businesses but now offer a personal product for people like you and me.  Worth a go – starts at $4.60 p/m when paid yearly or $7 per month when paid monthly.Tor Project using Firefox Plugins & Anonymous Proxy Service – Tor Project is an ongoing project defending our rights to internet anonymity. It is free but can be complex to set up if you don’t know what you’re doing.  It relies on a strong community and a large user base who allow their systems to become relays as a part of the Tor network (similar to torrent clients).  This system will give you anonymity but will not be as secure as encrypting your traffic through Overplay.net or HideMyAss services.Internet Headers Modification & Port Blocking – LifeHacker have documented good instructions for implementing this one.  This will trick the receiving server into believing you are in the US (or whatever country you choose) so that you can use services from that country.  This will not encrypt your traffic for safe surfing and so is not as reliable as the above services.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.