The news in online privacy this week has to do with a recently-publicized flaw in Domain Name System (DNS) caches. 
DNS is what takes the website names we type into a browser and translates them into the IP (numerical) addresses that actually take us to the websites we want. Since a web address (say, privacycouncil.org) is easier to remember than […]

read more from " The DNS Flaw that Nobody Saw (Until Now) "

News from the online privacy front: another court ruling on COPA.
COPA is the Child Online Protection Act, enacted in 1998 (not to be confused with COPPA, which we posted about before). According to the COPA Commission, which was the Congressional panel formed along with the law, “The purpose of the Act is to prohibit online sites […]

read more from " Privacy News: COPA Still Unconstitutional "

Do you surf the web but wonder how those sites you visit seem to know you? Many sites gather data, such as IP addresses and search parameters, from users who visit the site. Some pages also leave cookies or “spyware” on the user’s computer so that the site can differentiate users and customize content based on […]

read more from " Web Anonymizers: Do You Need One? "

On July 9, 2008, the U.S. Senate committed to protecting telecommunications companies. From what, you might ask? From the lawsuits that have been springing up against the telecoms for aiding the government in wiretapping Americans without court authorization.
First, some background: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which went into effect in 1978, created a court […]

read more from " The Telecoms are Safe; The People are Watched "

Many cell phones today come with a convenient GPS feature that allows the user to find his or her way around unfamiliar territory. What some people don’t realize, though, is that others can monitor YOUR whereabouts because of the signals your cell phone sends out.
The June 4, 2008 issue of Nature featured an article about humans and where […]

read more from " Tracked with our cell phones "