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Filed under: Google, VoIP, Search

Google Voice messages start showing up in search results, Google responds

by Brad Linder Oct 19th 2009

Google Voice search results
Google Voice is an internet service that lets people make, receive private phone calls. Google.com is a search engine that makes it easy for users to find just about anything stored on the internet. See how these two things might possibly not play well together?

Earlier today Boy Genius Report noticed that if you did a search for site:https://www.google.com/voice/fm/* on Google, you found a few dozen Google Voice messages. As of this afternoon you can still find those search results. Click on them and you can listen to voicemail messages or read the automated transcripts.

It turns out things weren't quite as bad as they may have looked at first. Google wasn't including all Google Voice messages in its public search index. But the company was crawling messages that users had posted publicly on the web.

But after this information became public today Google told Boy Genius Report that it would begin restricting crawling of even these messages, allowing users to post their voicemail messages on personal blogs without worrying quite so much about the whole world finding them (although if you're posting it on the internet maybe you should expect the whole world to be able to find it).

Tags: google, google-voice, privacy, voicemail

Filed under: Linux, Open Source, Canonical

CouchDB dev unwittingly gives Ubuntu users cloud-based nightmares

Linuxby Lee Mathews Oct 15th 2009

You've likely heard about Ubuntu One by now - we've mentioned it a couple times here on Download Squad, and it's now making regular appearances on Karmic Koala beta desktops everywhere.

Canonical made it clear from the get-go that Ubuntu 9.10 was going to pack plenty of cloud functionality for both desktops and servers. One piece of that puzzle is CouchDB, which developer Elliot Murphy was overjoyed to announce has slipped in under the wire to beat the Karmic code freeze.

In his exuberance, he made the following statement:
"...and by the time Ubuntu 9.10 is released on October 29th every single Ubuntu user will have an address book stored in CouchDB that replicates with one.ubuntu.com, and Tomboy notes that are replicated via a web API at the application but then stored in CouchDB and carried along in the CouchDB replication that we have set up."
What Elliot meant, unfortunately, was that every Ubuntu user can -- not will -- have their data replicate. That tiny slip-up touched off a bit of crapstorm, with users at LWN reacting strongly to the implication that their data would be piped to Ubuntu's servers. Murphy later added a revised comment to the thread at LWN apologizing for the confusion.

Moral of the story: be extra careful when talking about private user data and cloud storage -- seems like it might still be a bit of a touchy subject.

Tags: cloud, couchdb, karmic-koala, privacy, ubuntu-one, ubuntuone

Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Commercial, Freeware, Windows x64

Winpatrol 2010 is out, and the little black scottie is leaner and meaner than ever

Windowsby Lee Mathews Oct 12th 2009

It's become a common practice to defend your PC with a handful of security apps rather than relying on a single program. One lesser-known app worth investigating is WinPatrol.

Just released, WinPatrol 2010 builds on the strengths of previous versions. It's now even lighter on memory use, weighing in at about 5Mb on my Windows 7 x64 system. Scotty's also learned to play nice by tweaking internal behaviors to reduce conflicts with antivirus applications.

The new version's cookies tab now handles Firefox and Google Chrome in addition to Internet Explorer. Users of the WinPatrol Pro will also enjoy improved realtime scanning speed - 30% quicker than the free version.

Winpatrol also scores serious points for its Pro licensing plan. Not only do you pay once for the software and receive a lifetime of upgrades, but developer Bill Pytlovany believes that your license should follow you - not your computer. That means you're free to enjoy your paid WinPatrol on any and all PCs that you personally own and use. Nice!

Both the free and pro versions of WinPatrol 2010 are available for download now, as is WinPatrol To Go -- the portable version, which is also free.

Tags: privacy, security, utilities, winpatrol

Filed under: Security, Beta, Browsers

Web of Trust (WOT) extension now available for Google Chrome

by Lee Mathews Oct 8th 2009

It's starting, people. Big name browser addon developers are starting to show Google Chrome some love. So far, we've seen AdSweep, RoboForm, LastPass (a personal favorite), and a few others.

Web of Trust is now onboard as well, announcing the release of their extension today. I've written about WOT before -- it's a great addition for anyone wanting a bit of added security and safety when they browse. It's listed in my 6 Windows tools to prevent PC problems on your own and 14 useful Firefox addons.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with WOT, it's a kind of community-powered rating service. Users submit trust, privacy, reliability, and child safety scores for sites they visit. When you browse a site that's in the WOT database, you'll see the result of those ratings in easy-to-understand color coding. Green is good, red is bad, yellow means exercise caution.

If you happen on a particularly bad site, WOT will block it completely and display an alert page instead and give you the choice to bail out or disregard the warning and continue.

The WOT .crx extension for Chrome can be downloaded from the Wiki, though it's a bit hidden in all the text. Here's a direct download link to make things easier for you. Like other recent extensions, you'll need to be running Chrome's developer channel build to use WOT.

Tags: crx, extensions, google-chrome, privacy, ratings, security, trust, web-of-trust, web-safety, wot

Filed under: Security, Google

Google's not fighting Gmail subpoenas

by Jay Hathaway Aug 31st 2009

Google has been issued a subpoena for the IP addresses of some Caribbean journalists, and intends to hand them over, according to WikiLeaks. In case you're not familiar WikiLeaks is meant to be a safe place for whistleblowers to post politically sensitive documents, particularly those dealing with government corruption. TCI Journal, based in the Turks & Caicos Islands, uncovered a huge payoff from a property development company to one of the island's top government officials. After the scandal blew, the British government took over control of the islands from the corrupt government.

Now, corrupt developers are using a subpoena to get the IP address behind the newspaper's Gmail account, and Google doesn't appear to be fighting it. A letter from Google to the Journal indicates that they'll be handing over the IP addresses in two weeks, and suggests the Journal take things up with the court in California if that's going to be a problem. If Google's setting a precedent here, that could be a problem for any Gmail user who finds himself on the receiving end of a lawsuit. I suspect online privacy watchdogs will take Google to task not only for failing to anonymize its records, but for turning them over without a fight.

Tags: gmail, google, lawsuits, privacy, subpoena, wikileaks

Filed under: Security, News, Social Software

Facebook tweaks privacy controls, makes Canada happy

by Jay Hathaway Aug 27th 2009

Facebook is changing its privacy settings again, to fall in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. The Commissioner was primarily concerned with how much access third-party apps were getting to user data on Facebook. As a result, apps will have to be more specific about the data they use, letting you know precisely which info they need and whether they access your friends' profile info.

From a developer standpoint, this means changes to the API in the coming months, so apps will have a uniform way to tell users which data they're accessing. This could slow the growth of some of the popular viral (or spam-based, depending on your perspective) apps that rely on surreptitiously sending out messages to your entire network to get new users. With greater transparency, it'll be easier for users to make informed decisions about which information to share, and with whom.

[via CNET]

Tags: canada, facebook, privacy, social networking, SocialNetworking

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

Cydia creator releases tracking opt-out for jailbroken iPods and iPhones

by Lee Mathews Aug 22nd 2009


Opened Cydia on your jailbroken iPod Touch or iPhone today? If so, you probably noticed an item on the front page about PrivaCy "Opt-Out."

Recently there's been a lot of talk about app developers like Pinch Media harvesting analytics from users of their applications. There are plenty of good reasons for them to do this -- such as learning how to make their applications better.

Still, some people aren't too keen on this kind of tracking. So Pinch contacted Cydia's Jay Freeman to address the situation. Freeman and BigBoss together contacted the three other providers -- Flurry, Medialets, and Mobclix. In his words, they "not only [gave] their blessing, but also their technical expertise in disabling their systems.

After installing PrivaCy, you'll see a new option in your settings screen. Tap it, and the screen above appears. Opting out is as simple toggling on/off.

Who knows, maybe some day Apple will allow a similar toggle for users of non-jailbroken devices. Feel free to weigh in on that thought in the comments.

Tags: cydia, ipod-touch, jailbreak, jailbroken, jay-freeman, privacy, saurik

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Filed under: Internet, Social Software, web 2.0

Facebook Tightens Grip on Status Updates

by John Burke Aug 11th 2009

Facebook announced the next round of changes and additions to their "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities," -- the terms of service document that governs -- the popular social networking website.

The document has received some criticism in the past (ahem).

One of the more interesting changes? Users are now prohibited from using their Facebook profile for direct profit. That means selling your status updates to someone willing to pay for the exposure is now a big no-no.

Will this stop companies from profile spamming for fame and fortune? Twitter is already over-run by every Tom-Dick and Marketer. Most users won't mind the change, but the comment period runs from now until August 18th, so, go ahead spam cowboys, tell Zuck how you feel.

Tags: facebook, privacy, status update, StatusUpdate, tos

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Filed under: Google

How to opt out of Google and protect your privacy: Move to remote village

by Brad Linder Aug 11th 2009

Google Opt Out
Google may be the top search engine in the world, and it may collect a lot of data about you if you use its email, chat, photo, or video services. Heck, even if you've avoided every Google product, Google probably still knows a few things about you if you've ever done anything that might have possibly left a trail on the web.

But America's finest news source, The Onion, lets us know that Google has a new service that lets you opt out. All you have to do is click the opt-out button and a van will show up at your door and relocate you to a remote 22 acre village where you'll be expected to sever all contact with the outside world. Your home will be destroyed to protect your privacy.

You can check out The Onion's satirical video after the break. Sure, it's all a joke. But you know what? It does highlight just how difficult it is to stay off the grid in the age of the internet.

Read more →

Tags: google, humor, opt-out, privacy

Filed under: Internet, Photo, Social Software, web 2.0

"Baby, please don't go!" Facebook laying it on thick when you deactivate

by Lee Mathews Jul 27th 2009


Like a desperate boyfriend who's just been given a one-way ticket to Splitsville by his girfriend, Facebook is going to do its best to win you back. Before you push the big red button and vaporize your account (but not your content, since Facebook can keep it locked up in the basement 'till the sun doesn't shine) they're giving your heartstrings a good, hard tug.

Yes, they've found another great way to put your friend's photos to good (and acceptable) use. They're going to guilt you into staying a member of the social networking goliath when you visit the deletion page. I enjoy the zinger Facebook includes, which reads: "Your [number] friends will no longer be able to keep in touch with you." [sad trombone] Yet further down the page, there's a great big list of opt-outs for you to peruse.

Why? "Even after you deactivate, your friends can still invite you to events, tag you in photos, or ask you to join groups." So wait...They can't keep in touch, but they can invite me to parties, post and tag pictures of those parties, and ask me to join groups that plan upcoming parties?

Read more →

Tags: accounts, content, deletion, facebook, photos, privacy

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Filed under: Internet, Blogging, web 2.0

Facebook sez, "Don't mind us, we're just whoring out your photos"

by Lee Mathews Jul 16th 2009

Follow up: AllFacebook pointed out that this was a bit off the mark. The ad was created by a third-party advertising network using Facebook's API. Their post cautions "Facebook continues to let third party ad networks use your photos as well, and making the privacy setting changes outlined in this viral message will not remove your photos from third party ad networks."

How do you feel about what Facebook does with your content? Post your thoughts on our Ask DLS post!

[original post below]

But it's OK. Really!

See, according to Facebook it's all part of the acceptable use policy you agreed to. No, I'm not kidding. That red box above contains an ad that was displayed to Peter Smith, who no doubt agrees that the woman in the image is hot -- although he suspected she wasn't single. You guessed it, that's his wife - consultant Cheryl Smith.

Is this not the same Facebook that just went back and retooled a TOS that users found objectionable? Didn't they just finish apologizing and kissing our butts over the crapstorm that ensued?

Here's what the Facebook settings page has to say:
Facebook occasionally pairs advertisements with relevant social actions from a user's friends to create Facebook Ads. Facebook Ads make advertisements more interesting and more tailored to you and your friends. These respect all privacy rules.
All you have to do to prevent this is sign in to Facebook and click through to (get ready) -> Settings -> Privacy -> News Feed and Wall -> Facebook Ads -> Appearance in Facebook Ads and click "no one." Unless, of course, you want to be semifamous and have your picture used to push some garbage product or website without your knowledge. (note: when I tried to make this change just now, the site returned an error. oh, and it might not work in Firefox either due to a 'bug.')

I guess since we can turn this abomination off we shouldn't get too worked up about it. Still, it's pretty damn unsavory to use someone's friend's face to advertise a product and give the appearance that that friend might endorse it.

Yes, if it had been my wife's face staring back at me I would have had a good laugh. And when I stopped, I would have been right pissed that Facebook thinks this qualifies as "acceptable use."

Update: curiously, though my setting was "only my friends" earlier and I was unsuccessful changing it myself it has somehow changed to "no one." Did Facebook just pull a switcheroo to save face?


[via End of Web]

Tags: acceptable-use, advertising, facebook, fail, privacy, TOS

Filed under: Browsers

Keep web sites out of your Firefox history with HistoryBlock

by Brad Linder Jul 9th 2009

HistoryBlockHave a guilty pleasure on the internet? Don't want your friends knowing that you've been spending time reading up on celebrity gossip at TMZ, looking at adorable pictures of bunnies at Cute Overload, or umm, you know, other sites? HistoryBlock is a Firefox extension that lets you create a blacklist of sites that will never show up in your browser history.

Now, you're not going to want to get carried away here. It's actually handy to have some of your most frequently visited sites in your history, as Firefox will make it much easier to find these sites in the future. For instance, when I type just the letter "d" into my location bar, Download Squad is the first option that pops up, and that wouldn't happen if Firefox weren't tracking my usage of the site.

While HistoryBlock will keep pages out of your history tab, recently closed list, and download manager, it won't necessarily prevent any and all cookies and other data from being saved. For that, you'll probably want to use the private browsing mode in Firefox or another web browser.

[via TechnoSpot]

Tags: firefox, historyblock, privacy

Filed under: Blogging, web 2.0, Browsers

Think your browser history is private? Think again.

by Lee Mathews Jul 2nd 2009

While it might not be news to some of our readers, more casual computer users might want to take note.

Pay web2.0collage a visit, and you'll learn just how easy it can be for a website (any website) to poke around and see what sites you've been visiting. The app limits itself to displaying polite websites, but it's safe to say it could just as easily display all the NSFW sites you've been visiting as well.

This isn't exactly a new trick. How web 2.0 aware are you? does the same kind of sniffing, comparing the sites you visit against a list of popular websites to see how savvy a surfer you are.

Both sites should serve as a reminder to everyone that unless you take steps to protect your privacy, there are sites on the Internet that will gladly help themselves to your data.

How can you prevent this from happening? I echo the suggestions from several Slashdot commenters and recommend using Firefox and the NoScript addon.

[via Slashdot]

Tags: browser-history, online-safety, privacy, security, sniffing

Filed under: Security, Web services, Social Software

City of Bozeman requires social logins and passwords in exchange for job

by Grant Robertson Jun 18th 2009


Bozeman, Montana -- a city just 5 miles to the east of freakin' nowhere -- as part of a more thorough set of background checks, is asking job applicants to, "list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc."

Federal law states that you can't ask about religion or marital status when interviewing you for a job, but both of those things are conveniently available in most Facebook profiles. Added to which, giving a prospective employer all your logins and passwords gives them access to direct and private messages, and in the case of most social networks, indirect access to the information of other people who never granted the city access. The whole thing violates just about every social network's Terms of Service, and just generally feels slimy.

In an interview with local news, the city's attorney says it isn't "trying to find out all kinds of information about the person that we're not able to use or shouldn't use in the hiring process."

Current job listings for Bozeman include a Water/Sewer technician so, presumably, with a high school diploma and a clean Facebook record, you could get hired to dig around in something that smells almost as bad as this hiring policy.

[via BoingBoing]

Tags: aint no way, AintNoWay, bozeman, facebook, insane, myspace, privacy

Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Mozilla, Freeware, Open Source, Browsers, Windows x64

Firefox, TOR, Privoxy, and Vidalia in a portable EXE to obfuscate your browsing

Windowsby Lee Mathews Jun 17th 2009


I wrote about OperaTOR a while back as a portable option for simple TOR-enabled browsing on the go.

Maybe you'd prefer a single EXE that packages Firefox, TOR, Privoxy, and Vidalia? You're in luck - Paul O'Brien has combined those ingredients into a tasty privacy-enhancing stew.

He's created the package using Xenocode (and yes, it's a licensed copy) to help users avoid bothersome Internet roadblocks which prevent users in some countries from accessing websites that have been deemed inappropriate.

Unzip the archive, double-click the EXE to launch, and click the TOR button once Firefox has loaded. Your settings are saved into the sandbox subfolder on your launch drive so no data will be left behind on the host machine.

While the original version had some trouble with x64 Windows, Paul has already uploaded a new package that should work just fine for 64-bit users. It's available for download from his site and mirrored on RapidShare as well.

Tags: anonymous, firefox, privacy, privoxy, tor, vidalia

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