Jun 20, 2015 | internet
Revenge porn is posting nude or sexual based pictures of a person without that person’s knowledge or approval. Many people, including famous people, have been prosecuted for this. Now Google is combating this violation.
Google is expected to honor requests that remove revenge porn pictures from it’s search engine. They already do that to websites with sensitive information like bank account information. In the coming weeks, victims can fill out a online form requesting such photos be taken down. Many many people, including former victims, tech leaders, cyber crime fighters, law professors, anti-bullying activists, lawmakers, even celebrities praise this move. They know Google is the #1 search engine in the world and biggest corporation in the world. With that power comes major influence. Google Senior VP Amit Singhal said, “But revenge porn images are intensely personal and emotionally damaging, and serve only to degrade the victim ? predominantly women.” Congresswomen Jackie Speier (D-CA) is leading the push for legislation to ban revenge porn altogether. Comedian and talk show host John Oliver will expose this topic on his HBO hit show Last Week Tonight. A University of Maryland law professor named Danielle Citron points out how damaging revenge porn can be and can wreck nearly every aspect of the victim’s life.
Geek Choice will join in praising this action. This sort of issue is hardly new. Remember what actress/r&b star Vanessa Williams had to endure during her Miss America reign back in 1984? Now, they use the Internet and social media to spew such venom. And it’s happening more often. In the 1980s, only a handful could see these unapproved photos in obscure magazines. Today, billions can see your nude photos all over the world. It can cost you your job, your marriage/long term relationship, your family, and in some cases, people have even been driven to suicide by online shaming. Some will defend the revenge porn suspect in the name of free speech. But with free speech comes responsibility. How can anyone call the savage act of revenge porn responsible?
Jun 19, 2015 | General
Okay, who doesn’t love social media these days? But next time you’re on it at work, please know and obey their social media use policy. But right here in Geek Choice’s hometown of Boston, MA one baseball star had to learn the hard way.
Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval was benched Wednesday for liking photos of women on Instagram. Sandoval did this in the middle of a baseball game in which his team faced the Atlanta Braves. A Red Sox blogger noticed the likes. With Instagram, the activity time tells when you liked a picture. One of Sandoval’s followers called him out on it saying, “Not to blow up the dude’s spot, but uh…is Pablo Sandoval on Instagram during the game?” Using social media during baseball games is a violation of Boston Red Sox rules and Major League Baseball rules. This includes the restroom, where Sandoval was when he logged on Instagram. Though the Red Sox benched him for that game, he could face further discipline from MLB. Sandoval issued a public apology for this action. In case you’re wondering, the Red Sox lost that game, 5-2. That’s one of their eight losses in the last 10 games. The Red Sox are currently last in their American League East division and second to last in the American League. I say all that to prove Sandoval’s mistake is the last thing the Red Sox need right now.
So let this be a lesson to us all. First of all, know the social media policy wherever you are. Keep in mind social media often tells on you. Obviously it tells people what you said, and that can’t be taken back. But it often tells when you said it and sometimes where you said it. Sandoval tried to be slick and Instagram in the restroom, but even that backfired. Do you have any stories of getting caught using social media when or?where you shouldn’t have?
Jun 18, 2015 | News
Recently, the tech community has been center stage of many issues, from net neutrality to major mergers. Now a showdown between the feds and telecommunications unfolds.
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) plans to fine telecommunication conglomerate AT&T $100 million. The FCC accuses AT&T of deliberately misleading their customers and slowing down the data of those who have unlimited data plans. They also said AT&T didn’t notify customers of the data slow down. When I say slow down, I’m talking as bad as 20x slower than normal. This would be a violation of the 2010 Open Internet Transparency Rule. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said customers deserve what they paid for. AT&T has 30 days to fight this fine, and they are. In a statement, AT&T said, “We will vigorously dispute the FCC’s assertions.?We have been fully transparent with our customers, providing notice in multiple ways and going well beyond the FCC’s disclosure requirements.” But insiders say there’s deeper meaning to this beef. Some insiders say the FCC is using this as an opportunity to fight for the little guys aka the consumer. They know mega tech mergers are going on, virtually on a daily basis. Insiders believe this is the FCC’s way of reminding tech companies the Feds will be watching.
One hundred million dollars is a heck of a reminder. I know AT&T is one of the richest, most successful conglomerates of all-time, but $100 million dollars is a lot for anybody. I get it. I don’t trust these tech companies merging. These merges could easily lead to monopoly. And when a company is too big to fail, they’re often too big to care. But I’m not exactly buying the FCC’s ‘we’re fighting for the little guy’ rhetoric either. Remember the NSA revelations of 2013? Is this an opportunity for the Feds to get yet more control? Who can I trust in this dispute? Can I trust anybody?
Jun 17, 2015 | Malware, scam, Security, Smartphone
Samsung, one of the biggest phone makers today and of all-time, is facing a problem. In fact, Samsung faces 600 million problems.
Let me explain. There is a default keyboard threat facing as many as 600 million Samsung phones. The pre-installed SwiftKey keyboard looked for language updates while over unencrypted territory and in plain text. This leaves the door open to create phony proxy servers. These servers can send malware to venerable devices and data to keep bad code on the device. That way, they can further exploit the users’ device. Do you know the power this gives a hacker? They can exploit this keyboard mishap and get a Samsung user’s name, address, email, SSN, text messages, bank information, social media passwords, and anything else they want. Not only that, the malware can be used to spy on users near and far, invading privacy. This discovery was made by Ryan Welton, a security expert representing a firm called NowSecure. Welton talked about the potential attack at a Blackhat Security Summit. According to NowSecure CEO Andrew Hoog, this threat likely affected Samung Android devices like S3, S4, S5, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy Note 4. A SwiftKey spokesperson said they are investigating this threat. The spokesperson also said SwiftKey apps on Google Play and the App Store isn’t affected by this threat.
Let me make it clear: This is just a warning. The cyber attack hasn’t happened and it isn’t happening now. So don’t go throwing away your Samsung Galaxy phones away. But you should be alerted of this threat. Some have said to me, “Talking about the threat will give hackers ideas.” Believe me, they’ve already thought of this. Ryan Welton is investigating and bloggers like me are reporting this because you need to know. Now what is SwiftKey going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?
Jun 16, 2015 | internet
You’ve been on the road all day. You have the craving for a certain food. It could be Italian, Mexican, Chinese or soul. You find the perfect place to grub. But you pull up and find the place either closed for the day or out of business altogether. Geek Choice has found out that Google has a remedy for this.
Google Maps can now inform travelers if a certain destination will be open or closed by the time the traveler arrives. With this feature, you’ll get a notice if you’re navigation toward a place that’s closed. Not only that, you’ll be told if the place will be closed by your estimated time arrival. Remember that soul food restaurant that’s only 15 minutes away? If it closes in 10 minutes, Google Maps will tell you. It’ll save the traveler lots of frustration and embarrassment. The notice pops up in the middle of your smartphone screen. If you want to be big, bad, and race there before closing time, you can select Start Navigation. If you want to do the right thing and take heed, you can hit cancel. Other updates include bug fixes and rental car reservation updates from your Gmail. This new service of Google Maps should be available through Play Store. Note the key word: should.
Before I go somewhere, I always use Google Maps to look up restaurants, bars, hotels, coffee shops, movie theaters, etc. Not only do I use Google Maps to look for places, and the ratings, I look for opening and closings. What can I say? I don’t want to get embarrassed. But not everybody is a meticulous traveler like I am. So for the more spontaneous traveler, this is perfect. And if you’re on the road just looking for a place to do whatever, this is great. I highly recommend getting this new Google Map source. How will these new features benefit you?
Jun 15, 2015 | Computer technology, Entertainment
This week, the 2015 E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) will take place in Los Angeles, CA. There will be 50,000 video game enthusiasts, journalists, analysts, and producers that will touch down in what’s called the biggest video game conference of the year.
You can expect the big 3 Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony to make their presence known. Microsoft’s XBox One fans are already salivating over the upcoming 1 TB console. They can’t wait to show off new games like Halo 5, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Sony is expected to announce new Playstation 4 games like Uncharted 4 and No Man’s Sky. Then there’s the Project Morpheus headset. And what’s this I keep reading about Sony possibly coming out with their own 1TB PS4 console? I’ll believe it when I see it. Don’t count Nintendo out,although they place a distant third in the video game wars. They’ll have a press conference Tuesday, directly speaking to their fans. There is a lot of chatter about games like Mario Maker, Star Fox, for their Wii U. Don’t forget about the smaller games that’ll be announced. And they’ll be some great virtual reality exhibits, like the Minecraft exhibit. Oculus will be everywhere.
As far as Nintendo, I’m one of those who want to see a comeback of an old classics, like Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon, Metroid, Tetris, or Final Fight. But don’t hold your breath. It would be great business for Nintendo, as many gamers can remember these timeless classics. Expect Sony and Microsoft to trade barbs, but personally, I think they should take this time to concentrate on their own products. What I‘d like to see is small time video game producers come and show off their skills. The E3 will be a perfect venue for small gaming businesses to demonstrate their products and watch them take off. Don’t you get a little tired of the big 3?
Jun 14, 2015 | internet
It’s always been a dream of Mark Zuckerburg and other Internet leaders for every nation to have online access. One nation in the Far East makes that dream a reality.
That nation is Vietnam. Internet use, whether it be mobile or home driven, has more than tripled from where it was a decade ago. One and three Vietnamese own a smartphone. The e-commerce industry in Vietnam is expected to make $4 billion this year. In 2012, it was just $700 million. Thanks to websites like Lazada.com and Hotdeal.vn, you’ll see delivery men process these online orders all day every day. And thanks to Vietnamese telecommunication services, data prices are one of the lowest in the world, at only $3 a gigabyte. People on social media grew by 41% since January 2014. That’s more than in BRICS nations Brazil, China and India. For example, since 2012, the number of Vietnamese Facebook users went from 8 million to 30 million. These changes have cultural, social and economic ramifications. Their Yan.vn music entity has gotten so popular that got popular pop artist Demi Lovato to headline a concert in Ho Chi Min city. They’ve even launched a TV soap opera on You Tube. Even Vietnam’s state owned newspapers are coming up with more controversial and racier stories to complete for mouse clicks.
I don’t have the number of Vietnamese jobs this online boom is creating. But you know it’s a lot. We here at Geek Choice don’t know how many people are being led out of poverty thanks to this online boom. But you know it’s many. I wonder how many people are just now getting in touch with the outside world thanks to this online revolution. And I’m sure American and other major international conglomerates are taking notice. It’s my only hope this rising nation can use their new Internet power for good, and not for crime, malice or abuse. What other nations are having online revolutions?
Jun 13, 2015 | Computer technology
Are you ready for the robot invasion? This isn’t a movie plot or ‘end of the world’ message. Yes, there really are human like robots out there. There is an organization who is behind this phenomenon.
That company is called DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency). It’s a military organization that comes up with bigger and better technology tools for our defense forces. Over the years, they’ve been involved in the Internet, GPS, Siri, and Google cars. Now they’re investing heavily in two legged, two armed, human acting robots, almost the kind people my age grew up watching. Believe it or not, the 3/11/11 tsunami that devastated Japan is what inspired the upcoming DARPA challenge. The reasoning is if these robots were put into action, many lives would have been saved. Back to the challenge: 3.5 million dollars was offered to any person, group, or business that can come up with a robot that can do eight things in a power plant rescue situation. Remember, the Fukashima power plant was hard hit in the 3/11/11 tsunami and it never fully recovered. But the eight things included drive a car to the plant, enter the plant, cut a hole big enough for escape, get out of the rubble, and exit climbing a metal staircase, among other critical tasks. I used past tense because the audition started in 2013.
Why am I talking about it two years later? The finals just wrapped up. The mostly humanoid robots came from various nations and continents.The winner and was a robot named Hubo from a South Korean tech team called KAIST. It’s a noble concept to build robots to save lives in emergencies like this. I think this was DARPA’s other reason for this long drawn out contest: to quell the concern that robots are evil and out to take our jobs and eventually our lives. But some are still skeptical. Has this contest changed your perception about robots?
Jun 12, 2015 | News, Security
Remember the Office of Personal Management breach in Washington DC last week? This breach seems to be the dubious gift that keeps on giving.
According to a federal employee union called American Federation of Government Employment, last week’s hack attack was worse than originally reported. These hackers, allegedly from China, got into SF-86 forms. What’s so special about SF-86 forms, you ask? These documents contain personal and sensitive information about federal government employees and their families, even interactions with foreign visitors and nationals. You see, SF-86 forms are needed for background checks for every federal employee. So imagine the many social security numbers, birthdays, addresses, emails, phone numbers, spouse info, child info, and mothers’ maiden names the potential cyber crooks would have. It turns out their Einstein security system isn’t so hot either. It took months for the hack to be discovered. To this day, not even President Obama himself really knows who pulled the breach off. If Einstein is top of the line security, then why did it take so long for the breach to be revealed? And why don’t we know who the culprits are and where they came from? Back to these SF-86 forms. These forms contain psychology evaluations, financial information, credit reports, criminal records, even marriage/relationship/sexual history. Can you say blackmail?
This is what makes this, and other hacks like this, dangerous. This and the fact that nobody has been held accountable. Still not concerned? This may not be the work of a geek thief in momma’s basement. This could be the work of an international government that doesn’t like us very much. I guess this is how we have to treat hacking, or any cyber crime these days. I‘m just glad this issue is getting the press it deserves. It’s on every major network and Internet site now. Will this press lead to action?
Jun 11, 2015 | General
There’s a surveillance camera on every corner and in every store. There’s a smartphone camera in every pocket. Drones are flying over our homes. And now Facebook wants to get more personal.
The social media giant is sending out free Bluetooth beacon devices to all US businesses that ask for one. Starting next week, they can set up these beacons. Through a user’s mobile device, they know when the potential shopper is at or near the store. Though Facebook insists no personal connection will be collected, they can still tell which stores you visit and when you visit them. Businesses can send information about themselves to a user’s Facebook Newsfeed through their smartphone, especially when the shopper is nearby. The shopper’s location isn’t only determined through these Bluetooth beacons, but through GPS, WiFi technology, and cellular networks. Facebook is already partnering with businesses in New York City for trial runs with this Bluetooth beacon tracking. Only Apple devices can carry this system, but Google/Android is working to get in on this. Obviously this system is in a very early stage. So they’re kinks to work out, like pushing this to smaller businesses or taking this international.
You know businesses are going to jump on this. They’re around 1.35 billion users on Facebook globally; over 210 million of those in the US and Canada. Who wouldn’t want a free Bluetooth device from one of the most successful businesses of our generation? I can already see businesses offering free or discounted deals through this move. They’re assuring us no personal information will be compromised. I’ll believe it when I see it. But some say Facebook is getting too addictive and overreaching as it is. Some say it’s getting too big brother and getting too much power. So is the latest Facebook move good business sense? Or is my opening statement the honest truth?
