Cynja
The Cynja, Vol. 15: BOOM! Mr. Hughes was gone!
Read all the Cynja series
Cybercrime / Privacy
Tech support scam shut down by FTC (but beware others, like the one I ‘fell’ for)
From the file of, “Thank God someone finally did something about this,” an alleged tech support scam has been shut down by the Federal Trade Commission and two state attorneys general. By now, you are well versed in the scam, which I “fell” for more than a year ago: One [Keep reading]
The Restless Project
The top 10 cities with the fewest ‘housing poor’ residents; do you live in one of them?
One good measure of affordability is this: How much of your paycheck do you spend on housing every month? Experts have traditionally pegged 30% as an optimal amount — people who spend more than that might be considered “housing poor” — though that number is fairly random, and the real answer is [Keep reading]
Features
More video of that Missouri professor who calls in ‘muscle’ — what the law says, and why anyone with a smartphone should care
“This is public property.” “(With sarcasm) I know, that’s a really good one… I’m communication faculty and I really get that argument..but you need to get out.” Yesterday, a Missouri professor called for “muscle” to remove a journalist from a public place on campus where protesters had gathered, and the scene [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
China’s ‘citizen score’ ideas offer a glimpse of what your credit score could become
Imagine a “credit score” that didn’t measure the likelihood that you will pay bills, but instead the likelihood that you’ll be a troublemaker. To your town, or your company or your government. Your “citizen score” would drop if you posted anything negative on social media — or if any of your friends [Keep reading]
The Restless Project
First-time home buyers at decades-long low; millennials as likely to live with parents as own a home
Further evidence that the housing market is still broken: Even as home prices rise, first-time home buyers keep disappearing. In fact, first-timers now represent the smallest percentage of home buyers in three decades, according to a report issued Thursday by The National Association of Realtors. How can prices rise while an incredibly [Keep reading]
Gotchas / Consumer
Chip & PAIN? Some consumers frustrated with slow transition to new chip-enabled cards
After about a month of inserting instead of swiping their plastic payment cards, many American consumers have strong opinions about the launch of chip-enabled credit and debit cards. While some are frustrated that chip transactions take a little longer than theold magnetic stripe purchases, they are far more worried that [Keep reading]
Cybercrime / Privacy
When a firm spreads misinformation, what’s the harm? Spokeo (and Facebook, and Google) argue at Supreme Court
Not long ago, Internet data broker Spokeo was fined $800,000 by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly published fake reviews online to hawk its service, advertised as “not your grandma’s phone book.” It also advertised to corporations that its reports were a way to “explore beyond the resume.” That was a [Keep reading]
From the Archives
ARCHIVE: Spokeo fined, but it’s still really spooky
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 13, 2012 — “FYI EVERYONE — There’s a site called spokeo.com and it’s an online phone book that has a picture of your house..,” begins the breathless chain email, which has made its way around the Internet for the past three years or so. It’d be hard [Keep reading]
The Restless Project
Did the Kansas City Royals just kill Moneyball, and help you get a raise?
What ever will become of Big Data now? Is it possible the Kansas City Royals might be able to help you get a raise? The Royals have now won the World Series. The bunting, stealing, just put-the-ball-in-play Royals. The we-don’t-strike-out-or-hit-many-home-run Royals. The team that rejected the ways of Moneyball sit [Keep reading]