Privacy??

[floyd]

All this info available and a lonely Nigerian geek kid with explosives packed on his taint almost kills 300 over Motown. The shame of it.

 

[Martin030908]

All this info available and a lonely Nigerian geek kid with explosives packed on his taint almost kills 300 over Motown. The shame of it.

absolutely crazy huh?
Can't expect top notch security when you're paying people minimum wages to do so

Craziness, craziness, craziness. What is this world coming to?

 

[billyk]

Wow - looks like we've got some good insights on this topic!

Having done "secure" work for the Gov in the past, I am aware that nothing is private - anywhere. It's amazing to me, though, that people I'd regard as otherwise "smart" and "aware" don't realize how they are feeding private content into "machines" like FaceBook thinking that they control the safe boundaries of that content and can always just "delete" sensitive info/images. There's no removing content (in total) from companies like FaceBook once you've agreed by becoming a member that they own your content.

I started this thread b/c I am always re-assessing exactly what content I am relinquishing control of, and was wondering if most people in Droid land are aware that adding very cool apps (like GDocs) actually provide carte blanche access to what some might think is content only for their eyes/use.

I scrubbed through my Google "cloud" content yesterday and I am OK with what's there. I think it's a good idea for everyone to do so, if interested.

 

[MRex21]

I'm a private investigator. Let me emphatically state for the record. Privacy is a myth. There is no 'privacy'. There's just some information that is more inconvenient to get than others. But believe me, nothing is impossible to attain. The only true privacy anymore is simply not interacting with anyone. Whatever you keep in your mind is 'probably' private.

Anyway...sorry for the thread jack.

"Inconvenient" means a "friend" you have to pay off in some way, eh?

Nope. For example, most counties now have their court records on file. You'd be surprised what is classified as public information. All it costs to get is the ability to know where to look. Data vendors sell information. Credit Headers are public information. Heck...try Googling your name and see what comes up. Skip Tracing is a fine art. People give up skads of information every day.

 

[MRex21]

Wow - looks like we've got some good insights on this topic!

Having done "secure" work for the Gov in the past, I am aware that nothing is private - anywhere. It's amazing to me, though, that people I'd regard as otherwise "smart" and "aware" don't realize how they are feeding private content into "machines" like FaceBook thinking that they control the safe boundaries of that content and can always just "delete" sensitive info/images. There's no removing content (in total) from companies like FaceBook once you've agreed by becoming a member that they own your content.

I started this thread b/c I am always re-assessing exactly what content I am relinquishing control of, and was wondering if most people in Droid land are aware that adding very cool apps (like GDocs) actually provide carte blanche access to what some might think is content only for their eyes/use.

I scrubbed through my Google "cloud" content yesterday and I am OK with what's there. I think it's a good idea for everyone to do so, if interested.

'Scrubbed your cloud'?

Do you mean you looked yourself up on Google, or is this something else?

 

[allikanbe]

Every once in a while I google (or whatever) my name on the net. There are things there that I had not even thought would be there. Lists of meetings that I have attended, acknowledgments on books or other pubs, or and other job-related items. It's scary, but welcome to the internet. There really is nothing that you can do about it because most of it is done before you even realize it.

 

[hookbill]

I'm a private investigator. Let me emphatically state for the record. Privacy is a myth. There is no 'privacy'. There's just some information that is more inconvenient to get than others. But believe me, nothing is impossible to attain. The only true privacy anymore is simply not interacting with anyone. Whatever you keep in your mind is 'probably' private.

Anyway...sorry for the thread jack.

"Inconvenient" means a "friend" you have to pay off in some way, eh?

Nope. For example, most counties now have their court records on file. You'd be surprised what is classified as public information. All it costs to get is the ability to know where to look. Data vendors sell information. Credit Headers are public information. Heck...try Googling your name and see what comes up. Skip Tracing is a fine art. People give up skads of information every day.

Use to do some collections in the old days. Skip tracing was a bit of an art then, we'd find out from property assessors if the debtor owned any property, the value of such property, and then would send a letter of demand based on the ability to pay.

Now days it's just as easy as going to a web site and looking in the county where someone is located. My own house is listed there in my County along with it's value, my name, my wife's name, etc.

And back in 2000 we had an Aunt of her's who paid 15.00 to some service and tracked her down with a new married name in a totally different state. She wanted nothing to do with this Aunt but information was easy to obtain.

None of this has got anything to do with Droid so I guess I'm getting off topic and apologize for that. Just demonstrating how easy it is to obtain information.

 

[billyk]

Wow - looks like we've got some good insights on this topic!

Having done "secure" work for the Gov in the past, I am aware that nothing is private - anywhere. It's amazing to me, though, that people I'd regard as otherwise "smart" and "aware" don't realize how they are feeding private content into "machines" like FaceBook thinking that they control the safe boundaries of that content and can always just "delete" sensitive info/images. There's no removing content (in total) from companies like FaceBook once you've agreed by becoming a member that they own your content.

I started this thread b/c I am always re-assessing exactly what content I am relinquishing control of, and was wondering if most people in Droid land are aware that adding very cool apps (like GDocs) actually provide carte blanche access to what some might think is content only for their eyes/use.

I scrubbed through my Google "cloud" content yesterday and I am OK with what's there. I think it's a good idea for everyone to do so, if interested.

'Scrubbed your cloud'?

Do you mean you looked yourself up on Google, or is this something else?

Just simply meant that I briefly reviewed all of the Google Docs and Spreadsheets that I've created over the years and still store for access via GoogleDocs, looking for anything that I might consider "too private". Haven't found anything yet - as I try to be mindful about this stuff when I am creating it.

 

[MrTommy]

Apps giving away info

Nice topic. I was all gung ho to start filling my Droid with apps. However, when I get ready to download them, here's this list of info each app wants to know or have access to.

So, now the only apps I actually downloaded was the AK Notepad thingie, the advanced task killer, and the flip clock. When I read that stuff some of those apps want, it scares the crap out of me. I didn't even upgrade the Google maps...

I may have already given up a ton of privacy just to have the Droid! Not that I think the fed reads every email of every citizen or anything, but it's the idea of it all. :icon_ devil:

 

[sillyrabbitt123]

Speaking of security. How do I change my gmail password? Should I do it on the computer and then will the droid ask for a new password?

thanks for the help!

edit

yes change your email on the desktop and it will prompt you on the droid.

 

[Ohiomom]

If I download a Password keeper app, is this safe? I have used this for passwords of course and bank account numbers. Is this secure?

 

[billyk]

OhioMom:
I was a YAPS password safe user many years ago, switching to eWallet in 2004 or so. I've got hundreds of private records in eWallet, which I think is way more secure than keeping this info written down on paper stored in a physical safe. I've figured, as long as I keep my encrypted db safely backed-up, I'll be in good shape. A good password safe has been essential for me over the years.

A good Android password safe that syncs with your home PC will be totally secure, as long as you are careful about some details. First, choose a good password safe. I selected Splash ID, and outside of some export/import hickups, it's been a good move. Next, keep a safe back-up of your db (not just on your Droid and on one PC at home).

Regarding privacy, there is no avenue for SplashID to communicate data outside of the sync feature that connects to my PC. It doesn't automatically connect to SplashData servers in the background, and all data is always kept local to my Droid and PC via the sync function.

The eWallet to SplashID conversion has been a PIA, as Splash Data hasn't fully baked their export/import functionality. But security-wise, I don't see any issues.

 

[MrTommy]

It can be scary.

So I finally decided to download the updated Google map thingie. The list of my information it has access to is downright scary. I'm not sure what the part about it making phone calls for me is all about, but I'm assuming it means if you're looking for the customary pizza parlor, find it, and do something a certain way, it dials the number for you.

The price we pay for toys, technology, and just being cool is, well, staggering, both in money - and in information. :icon_ devil:

 

[billyidle]

The government legally has nothing to do with your privacy. The constitution has no guarantees of privacy. Privacy is up to you. Don't like risking it? Why play the game?

 

[floyd]

The government legally has nothing to do with your privacy. The constitution has no guarantees of privacy. Privacy is up to you. Don't like risking it? Why play the game?

A bit simplistic there, Billy. Messing with snailmail is a Federal offense, no?

But I agree that it's up to the individual to protect personal info. If you're not savvy enough (tech or otherwise) to figure out what's a possible scam, you shouldn't take chances.