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Cybercrime / Privacy

Cybercrime / Privacy

Samsung phone thefts soar 51 percent (and Apple’s ‘kill-switch’ is blamed)

June 20, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

While kill-switch-friendly law enforcement officials on both coasts are patting themselves on the back over what they say is a sharp drop in iPhone thefts, the headline has been buried.  Here it is: Samsung phone thefts are up 51 percent this year vs. last year.  There must be quiet a [Keep reading]

Technology run amok

50 years ago, the World’s Fair promised a life of leisure. We’re still waiting

June 19, 2014 Bob Sullivan 1

If I said to you, “It’s a Small World After All,” you would inevitably start humming the tune. But if I tried to clear the musical part of your brain by suggesting another catchy tune, called “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” that would almost certainly be no help at [Keep reading]

Technology run amok

Fire Phone: Can Amazon solve its one big problem by making you a mobile cash register?

June 18, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Amazon has a problem.  A really, really big problem.  Let me try to explain it in a small way.  Imagine you owned a coffee shop, and for simplicity’s sake, you sold coffee for $1 a cup.  After a really, really busy day, when you sold 750 cups of coffee, because [Keep reading]

Identity Theft

Nine surprising ways identity theft can hurt you

June 18, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

What ailment is so devastating that its symptoms can range from an incorrect medical diagnosis, to (virtually) killing you, to hurting your kids’ chances of getting college financial aid? That distinctly digital-age malady? Identity theft. In a world of overused metaphors, this one is spot-on: If Franz Kafka were writing [Keep reading]

No Picture
Privacy

Facebook says it will track websites, apps you use — because you asked for it

June 12, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

“We’re improving ads based on apps and sites you use, and giving you more control,” says the notice I received this morning from Facebook. Uh oh. Any time a company says they are giving me “more control,” I know something bad is happening. When did I lose control? I clicked [Keep reading]

Technology run amok

I like my coffee with milk, sugar, and a little eye contact, please

June 11, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

“I already swept the floor” said the annoyed woman behind the cash register, yelling over her shoulder to no one in particular. She managed to take my order, and my money, without ever looking at me. It was the 100th transaction recently that occurred at this particular brand of coffee [Keep reading]

Privacy

Town considers forcing bars to install always-on cop cams, Bill of Rights yells “LAST CALL!”

June 6, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Like father, like son.  Hey, if the NSA can do it, why can’t we?  A Wisconsin town council is considering an ordinance that would require every bar owner to install cameras, record every patron that comes in and out of the bar, store the video for 21 days, and……here’s the [Keep reading]

Privacy

Verizon Wireless wants your most personal data, offers yucky auction points in return

June 3, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

Verizon Wireless is rewarding long-term customers by tricking them into joining a ‘rewards’ program that A) Feels and works just like those yucky penny auction sites  B) let’s Verizon consume and sell immense amounts very sensitive personal information about you.  A very strong “boo,” to Verizon. Please stop abusing my [Keep reading]

Privacy

The Right to be Forgotten vs. the Digital Scarlet Letter, and the world we don’t want to create

June 2, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

The floodgates opened on the Right to be Forgotten this weekend, with 12,000 requests landing at search engine giant Google within the first 24 hours of a temporary form being made available.   You’ll recall that a European court recently ruled that EU citizens enjoy a Right to be Forgotten, [Keep reading]

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Privacy

Snowden is sexy, but this is the privacy invasion that should scare you

May 29, 2014 Bob Sullivan 0

How do you think the big computers in the sky see you? Are you “Rural Everlasting” or a “Mobile Mixer?” Are you a “Married Sophisticate,” a “Senior Product Buyer,” a “dog owner,” and “winter activity enthusiast,” “Bible Lifestyle” or an “Affluent Baby Boomer?” Maybe you are “Financially Challenged,” or “Plus [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

Bob Sullivan

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