Articles in Category: Privacy

Why does this ad imply I have a criminal record?

It can be pretty frightening when a search result delivers back to you the term you were searching for as an ad… particularly if you were searching for your name. But it might not be any more sinister than that.

What Information Does a Laptop Leak on a Wireless Network?

There is very little about your computer that can be transmitted over a WiFi connection… provided you know how to keep yourself safe on the internet.

Is it safe to let my daughter purchase online using my email address?

Sharing an email address may seem like a good idea, as long as you’ve considered all the ramifications.

Can Search Engines Track My Searches?

Search engines have numerous (and quite amazing) ways to gather information on people and the way they search. It’s nothing to worry about unless you have some critical need for privacy.

If an IP address doesn’t do it, then how does Google know my location?

Google can find your location through multiple datapoints that you probably don’t even realize you’re sharing. There’s a lively and important debate about how much data entities can and should collect and correlate.

Is it safe to use a mobile banking app over an open Wi-Fi connection?

Checking that all apps are doing it right is not feasible, but I set up a sniffer to verify that Gmail was using an https secure connection. The results?

How can my ISP tell that I’m downloading copyrighted files?

Some ISPs are taking a more aggressive position to stop illegal file sharing. Your ISP can see a lot, including the fact that you are filesharing.