Protect your identity and sensitive information by becoming invisible on any public WiFi network
Get Private Wifi
Protect your personal information.
Get DataCompress
Cut your mobile data usage.
If you’re one of the millions of Wifi users constantly looking for new ways to connect, a new free app called Instabridge might sound like just the ticket. The company promises to build the world’s largest Wifi network by letting users connect to their friends’ Wifi via Facebook.
But what would that mean for your wireless security and your privacy? We don’t think you’ll like the answer.
Last weekend, Facebook discreetly launched a new mobile feature: Friendshake, a.k.a. Find Friends Nearby. Initially available via the mobile website and then offered — while still subtly hidden — in the app version of Facebook, the feature was designed to allow users to find potential new friends located in local proximity. And just as quickly and quietly as the feature appeared, it was pulled from the Facebook experience.
While most of us never thought we would be able to order a pizza from a phone while driving down the freeway, this is now the reality. These apps can be incredibly helpful, but users must remain cautious and alert in order to protect themselves. The steps outlined in this post should help do just that.
You give third-parties permission to access your data and information every day when you use social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Clean up those permissions now with a new privacy and security focused site, MyPermissions.org.
A new and free application for Android phones, FaceNiff allows a hacker to hijack various social media accounts open on the same WiFi network. This is a huge threat to a user’s internet security and online privacy; learn how more about the dangers and how to protect yourself against FaceNiff.
Filing your taxes? There’s an app for that. Actually, there are a few apps for that. These days time is a precious commodity and the ability to file your taxes through your Smartphone seems like a dream come true. You are now able to snap a picture of your W-2 with your Smartphone, have the information automatically entered and then submitted to the federal government. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Convenience though, often goes hand in hand with a lower level of security and these Smartphone apps are no exception. In order to understand the risks of using these apps one must look at just what is available, what the risks of usage are, and how to protect oneself.
The general public is concerned about the information Facebook is sharing. This concern is becoming increasingly justified as Facebook, and social networking in general, reach more users.
Part 1 of this series discussed how companies can track our location, but that is just one piece of information in “the new normal” of what marketers can find out about us. Now in Part 2, check out how our travels around the Internet leave digital fingerprints all over the place.
