Category: Thought Leadership

privacy

Thought Leadership

Ask the Expert: What Are Supercookies? Do They Affect My Online Privacy?

Do you know what a cookie is? No, not the sweet kind we like to eat with a big glass of milk. A cookie (at least the kind found on the Web) is a short line of text that a website puts on your computer’s hard drive when you visit it. And new “supercookie” filess can store more information than a normal cookie and are scattered in multiple locations, which makes them harder to identify and remove. Check out our latest Ask the Expert to learn everything you ever wanted to know about cookies but were afraid to ask.

children

Thought Leadership

Internet Safety: Social Networking Sites for Children

It is a time-honored tradition that children want to do exactly what their older counterparts are doing. A trip into the makeup drawer or a game of paintball may not prove to be troublesome, but the new area that kids are exploring is social networking. Unfortunately, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are often not the safest places for children. Sensing a new marketing opportunity, many companies have developed social networking sites designed just for children. These new sites have applications for parental controls and age-appropriate games. And the best of these sites are Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) compliant

tablet

Thought Leadership

CTIA Wireless Recap: Tablets, Trinkets, and Technology

Back from the recent CTIA Wireless conference, CEO Kent Lawson tackles the trends and technologies shaping our future. He says things such as cloud computing are moving so quickly that “we will soon be accustomed to very large-scale capabilities which we will be carrying around in our pockets or purses.”

online safety

Thought Leadership

Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

Keeping kids safe has always been a difficult task, but with the advances in technology moving so quickly it has become even more difficult. Not only is the age-old issue of children wanting their independence and privacy present, but sometimes it seems like kids are speaking another language when they talk about the latest innovation in social networking. Parents do not need to have a degree in Computer Science to keep their children away from most danger on the internet. Keeping kids safe while online is a huge priority for most people and there are many ways parents can take advantage of pre-existing settings and tested methods to keep their young ones away from danger.

VPN

Thought Leadership

Ask the Expert: What Exactly Is a VPN?

You’ve heard VPN used several times, but do you REALLY know how it works? In this latest “Ask the Expert” series, Private WiFi’s CEO Kent Lawson explains what a virtual private network really does to ensure your computer safety, particularly at your most vulnerable moments — using the Internet in WiFi hotspots such as a coffee shop, hotel room, or airport lounge.

college student

Thought Leadership

College Students and Identity Theft: Ways to Help Protect Yourself

College is supposed to be fun. It is a time many look back upon with smiles and fond memories. Of course, final exams and uppity professors can put a temporary cramp in an otherwise extended party. The last thing a college student wants to worry about is their identity being stolen. However, with 24% of all identity theft complaints being in the 18-29 year old age bracket, it is a reality college students need to be prepared for. Read on to learn about simple protective measures that can make a significant difference in protecting your teen’s belongings and personal identifying information.

hacker

Thought Leadership

Mules, Hackers, and Cyberpunks, Oh My: A Step-by-Step Look At How the Dark Side Works

CEO Kent Lawson explores “the dark side” of hackers — a scary reality that many of us choose to ignore. He says many people ask, “Why would any hacker want to steal information from me? I don’t have anything that interesting to steal. I’m sure I’m safe.” Unfortunately, usually the first indication we get that we are a victim of identity theft is when we get our bank statement. Read on for a step-by-step look at how victims — maybe YOU one day — are targeted, as well as security steps to implement NOW!

baby

Thought Leadership

Child Identity Theft: My Three Year Old Bought a Car?

Child identity theft occurs when a minor’s identity is used by another person for personal gain. The perpetrator may be a family member or someone known by the family. It could also be a complete stranger who purposely targets children. Because of the lengthy time between the theft of the information and the discovery of the crime, children are a primary target for identity thieves. The period between malicious use of the identity and discovery of that use can be many years, usually happening when the child reaches 18 and starts to establish their own credit file.

cloud

Thought Leadership

Facebook and Other Online Privacy Shockers: Should You Be Afraid of ‘the Cloud?’

Did you know that Facebook claims legal ownership of whatever we upload to them? Turns out you have no right to retrieve your information or any ability to permanently delete it. As CEO Kent Lawson reports in this article, that is just one example of a “downside” to sharing data, photos, or other sensitive personal information via “the cloud,” which is simply a metaphor for the Internet. Not ready to lose control of your personal information? Then keep reading to learn more about “the cloud” — where it’s been and, more importantly, where it’s going.

geotagging

Thought Leadership

The Dangers of Geotagging and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

So you take pictures with your smartphone and post them online. What’s the worst thing that could happen? What personal information could possibly be exposed? Where’s the threat? Unfortunately, even as careful as some people may be about sharing personal information online, they may be unwittingly exposing information through a process called “geotagging.” Geotagging is the embedding of geospatial information into media files.

Thought Leadership

Something New to Worry About — Your Camera and Online Privacy!

You may want to turn off the GPS in your camera, according to CEO Kent Lawson. His new post explores the security risks in sharing photos via email, Facebook, Flickr, or any other photo-sharing site, since the date, the time, and even the location, are easily accessible and could fall into the wrong hands.

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