Today is a great day for privacy rights advocates. That’s because the NSA halted, at least for now, a practice many hate. The NSA change: a step towards the right direction.
So starting April 28, 2017, the NSA will no longer collect certain emails and texts. Such email and texts are with people overseas that include information. For example, you have a friend or college in China. You email and text them, and then you include a phone number or email address. The NSA will no longer collect or scrutinize that kind of email. This practice started with the Patriot Act of 2001. But for years, privacy rights and Fourth Amendment advocates screamed this was unlawful.
However, the Constitution isn’t responsible for this NSA change. We can thank the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. What the NSA did violated their rules. So since this kind of NSA spying reached overseas, the foreign courts takes ruling over anything the NSA did. So yes, they practiced this kind of spying since the early 2000s. But much of it didn’t come to light until 2013. That year, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed many of his former employer’s tactics. Mr. Snowden’s expose let to outrage and advocacy. Edward Snowden praised this NSA change. In a tweet, he said, “The truth changed everything”.
So yes, it seems that way. This NSA change is definitely a step in the right direction. But what grieves me is that it took an international law to change this. But thankfully, it’s changing. For years, political leaders, IT service leaders, and advocates have held the NSA’s feet to the fire. Now, it looks like global leaders are, too. And it’s working. But this is the beginning. Only the beginning. We should continue to educate the public about illegal and immoral spying. Knowledge is power, and power leads to change. What other changes need to be made?
Let’s face it: we live in a surveillance state. Those of us in managed IT services know it and see it. While others in computer repair fix it on a regular basis. But how much is too much? So lets look at the Google potential lawsuit: What will happen?
Well actually, thanks to a Google project manager, the Google potential lawsuit becomes reality. The Google potential lawsuit complains of internal spying. This spying includes employees snitching on each other. But apparently, this spying program encourages that. The lawsuit says this program violates California labor law. And that’s not all.
Furthermore, the lawsuit said Google leaders told employees not to write about potential illegal activities. The lawsuit also says why they told them this. The lawsuit says Google leaders didn’t want wrong information going to the law. Also, the suit says Google bans employees from writing novels about any company in Silicon Valley. That is, unless they have the Google’s approval. As a result, Google plans to fight this with everything they have. They call the Google potential lawsuit ‘baseless’. But if the plaintiff wins, Google could lose as much as 3.8 billion dollars.
So who is the manager behind the Google potential lawsuit? We don’t know. The only description they gave is ‘John Doe’. That right there is a warning flag. If you call yourself fighting for a worthy cause, shouldn’t you have the confidence to let yourself be known? We’re talking about one of the most respected companies in the world, not an underground crime ring. But some of this Google potential lawsuit has merit. I can see forbidding employees to write novels about your company. A lot of people can get hurt that way. But forbidding them to write about anybody in Silicon Valley?! That’s a bit much. And encouraging employees to snitch? Hey, I don’t like the whole ‘stop snitching’ culture on the streets. But encouraging employees to tattle takes ‘see something, say something’ to the extreme. What will happen of this Google potential lawsuit?
New York Attorney General Eric?Schneiderman gave a decree. He ordered online fantasy sports businesses like Draft Kings and Fan Duel to stop taking bets from his state. He said such practices are illegal.
Note that Attorney General Schneiderman ordered this in a state where sports is king, and in one of the most populated states in America. On Tuesday, November 10, as news got out, Draft Kings countered. They sent emails to fantasy players telling them their right to fantasy sports is in danger and urged them to contact Attorney General Schneiderman to protect their rights. Schneiderman isn’t backing down. He claims fantasy online sports is a multi-billion dollar scheme to rip-off sports fans, and he doesn’t want it in his state. A Fan Duel spokesperson said fantasy sports were games of skill and legal under New York state law. Here’s how fantasy sports work: Fantasy sports players assemble their own teams based on professional athletes’ statistics and performance. Then they compete against other fantasy sports players. Often times, leagues are set. ?For example, if you’re constructing a fantasy football team, you’d want NFL quarterback Tom Brady on your team. If it’s fantasy baseball, you’d want a pitcher like Zack Greinke. Back in 2006, fantasy sports were legally sanctioned because they’re based more on skill than luck. But because multi-million dollar prizes are being offered, some legal and political leaders want to crack down.
Over 500,000 regularly play fantasy sports in New York state alone. So I dare Attorney General Schneiderman to tell a half million of his constituents they can’t play fantasy sports anymore. I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. Didn’t Congress deemed it legal? Than why is Schneiderman interfering? These fantasy players are grown adults who choose to play these games. Who is he to interfere? If the New York Attorney General wants to use this to warn against gambling addiction, that would be one thing. But I don’t like him telling people they can’t play fantasy sports because they might get ripped off. Is this a Big Brother Orwellian move here?
Whether it’s Conflickr or a new fake anti-spyware program, it seems like spyware and viruses are inescapable for any computer connected to the Internet. It’s estimated that the amount spent annually on security software in the United States has risen to over $800 million in recent years, but computers are still getting infected daily. Why aren’t we virus free yet?
The answer lies in the nature of malicious programming. Computer viruses don’t spring up out of nowhere, they’re designed by programmers who either have nothing better to do and think it will be interesting, or professionals who make money by abusing your computer. Whenever anti-virus vendors are made aware of a new virus, they create a new definition for their anti-virus software to help isolate and remove that virus if it is downloaded onto your computer. Once the new definition is widespread enough that a significant percentage of computers are safe against that virus, a new one is created by the malicious programmers and the cycle begins again. Nearly two thousand new viruses were identified every day in 2007, and the problem isn’t going away any time soon. This is why you need to allow your anti-virus software to download new virus definitions so often.
Frustrated hackers tired of the rapid turnover of “regular” viruses have graduated to attacking your computer’s defences directly: your anti-virus software. Many new viruses include programming that either hides itself specifically from several popular anti-virus programs, prevents them from downloading new virus definitions, or shuts them down entirely. Even when these new viruses are identified quickly, many computers will already be infected and the software on the machines will be unable to remove the virus. In cases where one virus shuts down the anti-virus software entirely, other viruses will often infect the machine and can render it inoperable in a matter of hours if not minutes. Still other nasty viruses employ tricks to avoid removal techniques, and will re-infect a machine after an anti-virus program or a user tries to delete them.
The fight against computer viruses is non-stop, but you can do something to help protect your system. Installing a good anti-virus program and allowing it to update frequently is just the first step, but beware of fake anti-virus programs you may find online (many of these are viruses themselves). The fake anti-virus programs normally go by the names: Antivirus 2010 Pro, Windows Pro Police, System Guard? 2009, Personal Antivirus, Antispyware XP 2009, and many more. You can see a pattern in how they name themselves. Never download anything from a person or website you don’t trust, never open a suspicious email (you don’t always have to open the attachments to get infected), and don’t go to websites with a poor reputation. If you take these steps and your computer still gets infected, have a trained professional remove the virus for you instead of trying to remove it yourself. Modern viruses can be very difficult to isolate and remove, and it’s very easy to damage your system accidentally while trying to remove one.
If you’ve got a slow computer and think you’re infected, call Computer Geeks today. Our techs have the tools needed for proper virus removal and have access to fast breaking news about new types of viruses and their removal. Computer Geeks is a nationwide on-site computer service and repair company.? If your computer has any of the following problems, we can help: Slow computer, Virus or Spyware, Computer startup problems, Printer not printing, Not connecting to the Internet, Scanner not working, or the “blue screen of death”. We also offer other technical support services, including: New pc setup, Data Backup or Recovery, Wireless network setup, Business Network Firewall setup, Upgrading memory, cpu, hard drives, video cards, and more. You can pick up the phone at any time and call us at 1-800-GEEK HELP (433-5435).
Computer Geeks in commercials? Yes my friends it is true. Meet Joe, our technical manager here at Computer Geeks. Joe is the friendly face you will normally see if you pop into our Beacon Hill office in Boston, MA. And more than likely he will be the one saving your bacon when you computer goes down. ?We often sit here on our blog and give you the latest and greatest in technology day after day, but every now and then, it is good to pimp the actual service that we offer.
Computer Geeks provides on site computer repair service, within 24 hours of your phone call. Computer Geeks has been around since 1996 doing computer repair. ?We service anything from virus removal on you Nana’s home computer to installing 20 computers and 2 servers at your new law office. Computer Geeks can handle it all. We are open 7 days a week and even on holidays. If you are in the Boston area, you can feel free to stop by our office on Beacon Hill and drop off your computer, or just stop by and ask us a question.
Also, we are not just a PC crowd here at Computer Geeks! Our technicians are versed in both MAC and PC. So bring us your Apple computer and we can fix it too! We can even help you transfer from Mac to PC or the other way around. Whatever help you need with your computer, Geek ?Choice is there for you, when you need it.
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A federal judge has determined that an employee who failed to return her laptop after taking a job with a competitor, and then wiped the data on her laptop clean, can not be sued under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
The former employer who was the plaintiff ?maintained that the laptop was considered a ?protected? computer under the CFAA because the former employee had been using it in interstate commerce before she left. Therefore, the employer argued, her unauthorized use violated the CFAA.
But U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani disagreed.
?The Act requires ? that a computer, to be protected, ?is used in? interstate commerce,? Talwani wrote, granting the employee?s motion to dismiss. ?And at the time of her unauthorized use of the [l]aptop, the [l]aptop was not being used in interstate commerce. ? [T]he fact that the [l]aptop was formerly used in interstate commerce does not make the later deletion of files ? a crime that is ?interstate? in nature. Instead, such actions are appropriately addressed under state law.?
Being that we are a computer repair and service company, who services law firms and their clients, ?I would like to educate everyone about what the?Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is. ?The?Computer Fraud and Abuse Act?(CFAA)?was enacted by Congress in 1986 as an amendment to existing computer fraud law (18 U.S.C.???1030), which had been included in the?Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. It was written to clarify and increase the scope of the previous version of?18 U.S.C.???1030?while, in theory, limiting federal jurisdiction to cases “with a compelling federal interest-i.e., where computers of the federal government or certain financial institutions are involved or where the crime itself is interstate in nature.” (see “Protected Computer”, below). In addition to clarifying a number of the provisions in the original section 1030, the CFAA also criminalized additional computer-related acts. Provisions addressed the distribution of malicious code and denial of service attacks. Congress also included in the CFAA a provision criminalizing trafficking in passwords and similar items.
So if you are in a similar situation, and you need to make sure you are protected, remember, we here at Computer Geeks can properly wipe and old work computer so that you are not violating any laws covered by the CFAA. This employee did it right and was protected and we can help you do it right too!
