While this website is a great idea for the sake of humor, it’s also a lesson in how posting personal photos on the Internet can backfire. Even a photo that you consider to be adorable, precious or beautiful might be someone else’s laughter-inducing image, so be prepared for that if you see fit to upload. It helps if you follow these rules every single time you post a photo on the Internet, regardless of which site you’re posting it on:

1. Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want the entire world to see. Even if you’re posting with privacy settings or “friends only” viewing in a social networking profile, you still have to assume that somehow, a photo will get out to the general public. It just happens.

2. Don’t post photos of yourself doing anything remotely illegal, immoral or questionable; even if you think it’s a good idea now, you WILL regret it. That kegstand from last weekend? Awesome for you, but if you post the photo, it’ll be out there forever, certainly long past the age when you’ll be proud of kegstands. The same, of course, goes for photos of nudity, drug use, vandalism, etc. If it’s illegal, you just gave up the evidence willingly. If it’s immoral to the bulk of the population, you just impaired your chances of becoming a huge success in life (see: politicians, heads of major corporations, etc.).

3. Don’t post anything that gives away too many details about your identity (a photo with your home address on it, a photo with your full name or the names of your kids, etc.). Prudence is best when posting images, and you don’t want an identity thief using that info against you.

4. Be willing to laugh at yourself. After all, someone else probably is, especially if the photos are at all goofy, dated, and of course, awkward.

But there’s an outcry that the scanners violate the privacy of those traveling through airports, and the complaints are getting louder. The image at right is of a woman scanned with backscatter technology; images such as this one create a fear that TSA agents sees passengers naked with this technology. The TSA counters these fears by noting that the current technology in use is called “millimeter wave” technology, and that the images produced are fuzzier and less defined than backscatter. But still, the can of worms was opened with photos like this, and now the debate rages.

Right now, six airports nationwide use the scanners in place of traditional metal detectors, while another 12 airports use them as a secondary screening techniques (for example, if someone repeatedly sets off the metal detector or is randomly selected for closer scrutiny). Advocates of the scanners note that almost everyone chosen for a pat-down will select the scanner over a TSA agent’s physical touch, and the scanners take just a fraction of the 2-4 minutes needed for a pat-down. So why the resistance to the technique?

CNN reports today that privacy advocates call the whole-body scanners an invasion of personal rights. The argument is that the TSA goes too far by essentially seeing the airport travelers naked (privacy advocates claim that any “blurriness” in images doesn’t address the underlying issue), and while the computers that manage the system don’t currently store data, there’s nothing to prevent the TSA from storing images or other information in the future. Those opposing the current system want full disclosure to passengers about what’s going on, legal wording in place to protect those scanned, and safeguards in effect to keep the TSA from storing the data or changing the technology later without telling anyone. A national campaign against whole-body scanning is launching now in the hopes of going viral and getting attention for the cause.

Up until recently, the efforts of privacy advocates seemed to be ineffective. Budget Travel’s blog looked into whole-body scanning last month, noting that, while the scanners are available in just a handful of airports so far, the TSA intends to implement them in place of metal detectors in all airports in the future. But there’s a hiccup in the TSA’s plans: Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced a bill late last month to eradicate the whole-body scanners from airports. As quoted by Emergent Chaos, Chaffetz called the scanners “unnecessary to securing an airplane” and noted that there must be a balance between safety and privacy. The ACLU agrees, saying that a choice between being “groped or stripped” is not a fair choice and that “people shouldn’t be humiliated by their government” for security’s sake. Even leaving aside the privacy arguments, the financial side must be considered: the scanning machines cost $170,000 each, making the investment substantial should they be used across all airports in the U.S.

So what do you think? Are whole-body scanners necessary to protect our security in the air, or are they an unnecessary invasion of privacy? Let us know your views in the comments. And don’t forget to protect your own privacy by signing up for The Privacy Council’s List Removal Service! You’ll be removed from the major mailing lists, and you’ll get less junk mail and more peace of mind.

In honor of April Fool’s Day, though, we wanted to highlight some of the better pranks we’ve heard of. We know YOU wouldn’t fall for any of these, but just in case, remember the Golden Rule of protecting yourself online: Don’t click it, download it, buy it, install it, open it or run it unless you are CERTAIN of the source. And never respond to emails from anyone claiming to be Nigerian royalty.

Dihydrogen Monoxide - This prank has been around for years, circulating online and in petition form. The warnings about dihydrogen monoxide speak of the damage it causes to property and the environment, and how it kills people every year. The message is dire and apocalyptic. The joke, of course, is that “dihydrogen monoxide” is actually water (H2O). Many people have fallen for this prank over the years, most notably a New Zealand politician who called for a ban on the “drug.” You can read more about the history of the dihydrogen monoxide prank at Snopes.

Arm the Homeless – Three college students started this prank in 1993 by sending a press release to the local newspaper about the “Arm the Homeless Coalition” and its efforts to collect firearms for homeless people. Several major news organizations, such as CNN and the AP, picked up the story and ran with it. When the prank was exposed, the students said that they did it to draw attention to “the issues of guns and violence, homelessness and media manipulation in our society.” 

Those Funny Folks Across the Pond – England is the source of two great pranks in history. The first: In 1965, a professor went on BBC and announced that he’d invented Smellovision, a technology that allowed  viewers to smell things through their TV. He used coffee and onions as examples on the air. While there’s no way the smell could ACTUALLY be transmitted through the television, viewers called the station to share that they had smelled the smells. The second: In 1980, the London Daily Express picked up a magazine story that reported that the fur hats worn by guards at Buckingham Palace continued to grow and needed regular trimming. The story was carried as fact until the joke was revealed. (Source: examiner.com)

Taco Bell Buys Liberty Bell – In 1996, Taco Bell bought ad space in several major newspapers to trumpet the news that the company had purchased the Liberty Bell and would be renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” Many people who thought that national treasures like this actually could be sold were incensed, and the Park Service received calls about it. Even some politicians’ offices called to complain, which says something about how much those politicians (or at least their staff) knew about the buying and selling of landmarks.

Various office pranks – Classic office pranks include wrapping everything on someone’s desk in aluminum foil, linking all of the paper clips together, filling the cubicle with packing materials, and putting a Post-It note or sticker over the red light of someone’s optical mouse so that it doesn’t register movement. All of these, of course, assume that coworkers have a sense of humor. I admit that I’ve done the aluminum foil thing before, and the coworker in question retaliated by covering the surfaces in my cubicle with his own business cards.   

Many other sites have great lists of April Fool’s pranks that you can read if you’d like more amusement at the gullibility of people. The Huffington Post has a list of the top 5 April Fool’s Day pranks of all time, some of which made our list here. The Composed Gentleman has a few more pranks of the office variety to share.

The ongoing reminder is to question things that don’t sound quite right. With vigilance, you won’t be a victim yourself. And to help keep your privacy safe and your environmental impact low, sign up for the Privacy Council’s list removal service. Be removed from the major marketing lists and watch your junk mail disappear!

1. Your home – If a wedding announcement is in the newspaper, it essentially tells thieves that the houses belonging to the happy couple, their parents, and other people mentioned in the announcement will be empty during the ceremony and reception. After all, everyone will be celebrating the nuptials. Consider asking a friend or neighbor to watch or sit in the house while you’re gone, just to be safe. If you don’t know anyone who could do the job, local off-duty police officers are sometimes available for a fee.

2. Your email, phone number and postal mail – Wedding planning can mean filling out registries, signing up for offers, going to bridal shows, joining websites… As you navigate the maze of available resources and information, make sure you don’t fill out any requests for your address, phone number or email without knowing how the information will be used. Some contests, vendors and websites will take your information and resell it to third parties who will then use it to bombard you with unwanted communication. If there’s a “send me information” box, make sure it’s not checked. If the fine print says that the company or website can sell your info, don’t give it to them. The odds of winning that honeymoon in Hawaii are far less than the odds that your inbox will be slammed with spam.

3. Your impact on the environment- Many brides are beginning to use electronic invitations, or e-vites, to invite friends and family members to the big event. Since e-vites don’t use paper, they’re far more environmentally-friendly than embossed, gilded paper invites. And they cost little to nothing, unlike paper invitations. If you want your wedding to be as green as possible, e-vites are the way to go. Use a search engine to find one of the many e-vite providers that will work best for you (note: you might want to follow up with phone calls for guests who don’t reply to the e-vite, in case their spam filters are set at high security levels).

4. Your identity- The e-vite idea is great for Mother Earth, but you should probably stop short of posting all of your wedding info on a public website or forum. Many brides create entire websites devoted to their own weddings, but this can backfire significantly. The more you put out there for anyone to see, the easier it is for thieves to steal your identity.

Think of it this way: If you post that Betty Smith is marrying Bob Brown on April 3 in Betty’s hometown of Redbud, IL, and you mention that the couple’s beloved dog, Skipper, will be in the ceremony, and you include the detail about how the bridesmaid’s dresses are Betty’s favorite shade of purple, and you gush about how the couple is so perfect for each other right down to their June birthdays being just a week apart, then you’ve just given thieves almost everything they need to hack a bank or email account. Most sites use security questions such as pet’s name, hometown, birthday, high school mascot and favorite color, all of which were just posted on the wedding website. If you must post information about a wedding to a public site, keep the info as vague and short as possible, and don’t include details that can be used by identity thieves.

5. Your gifts (and your guests’ identities) - When you get married, you get presents. LOTS of presents. And many of those come in the form of personal checks written out to the happy couple. If you’re having a wedding and you receive checks in advance, deposit them as quickly as possible so that they don’t sit around the house to get lost or accidentally thrown out. During the ceremony and reception, have someone appointed as a “gift monitor” to collect and keep watch over the checks and other gifts you receive. That will help minimize the chance that an uninvited guest could attend your party and find a way to slip checks or other small items into his or her pockets. A check stolen by a thief can sometimes be altered and rewritten for a larger amount and to a different recipient, which would create a big banking headache for the person who originally intended to give the check to the bride and groom.

If your ceremony or reception is held in a public place (restaurant, convention center, etc.), you might consider making an announcement telling your guests not to leave their purses or wallets unattended. In a venue where anyone can wander in and pretend to belong, the chance of theft can go up. No one wants to arrive to a wedding as a guest but leave as a victim.

Maybe celebrities do it right when they keep their weddings secret until AFTER the fact! But for the rest of us, a measure of caution and thought in planning for weddings can protect our privacy, our possessions, and our planet.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Privacy Council’s list removal service… Start your life together on a junk-mail-free note!

In the article the Sierra Club refernced a company called Greensender.  So I took a few moments and followed the link.  Greensender is the founder of “Green Pride” as well as a number of other “go green” products. Greensender exists to help bridge that gap between good intentions and taking action.

I personally am a single mom.  I recycle my aluminum cans and make sure they are out on the curb every Wednesday.  That’s about it for me.  I know that change is a necessity at this point.  My heart strings are tugged with every tree saving project.  I get nervous about the future for my child when I hear about global warming and pollution.

I know that it is time to make a change and that the time for procrastination has ceased.  That is why when I ran accross the last line of Michael Aaron’s (Founder of Greensender.com) mission statement, I knew exactly what to do.  Here is the mission statement that rang oh so true for me:

“No one can do everything today. And no one can do it by themselves. But, we all have the responsibility do something. So, let’s get started.”

There couldn’t be a better example of what the Internet is quickly becoming: a democratic, self-organized environment, where only the strong and valuable survive.

But that’s not what impressed me most about Josh. What impressed me is that on the night before his office closed for the winter holidays, during that time of year when most people stop answering their phones and start planning vacations, Josh called me to give me a $10,000 gift.

But he didn’t stop there. He then proceeded to ask his friends at ClearSpring to donate an additional $4,000.

Why would Josh do this—in a down economy, no less?

Because Josh believes in harnessing the power of people to effect change.

Josh believes in the mission of Privacy Council, the online organization we founded to simultaneously improve our lives and improve the environment.  Besides being a nuisance that fills our mailboxes, paper junk mail accounts for the harvesting of more than 100 million trees in America each year. Like his own company, PerfSpot, Josh believes that Privacy Council offers a unique value that will help its mission rise to the top of the Internet pyramid.

So Josh created a PerfSpot homepage takeover for the Privacy Council, and within hours of his launch, thousands of people from around the globe were busily helping to save 1 million trees in 2009. Josh’s gift represented the Internet at its best—web savvy and world passionate people sharing their skills and websites for the greater good.

This gift from Josh meant a lot to me, but it means more to our future generations. My hope is that my grandchildren will be able to experience the beauty of the same forests that I hiked in with my parents—instead of destroying this legacy by turning millions of trees into junk mail, most of which will be sitting in landfills for our children to deal with.

Help spread the word about Josh’s kindness, and the innovative campaign that he and the smart folks at ClearSpring put together.

As Josh put it, “Let’s save some trees.”

I was grocery shopping in the Navy Commissary recently (a store for military folks), when I noticed a big sign with a picture of a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) that said “Change your light bulb, save the world”.  The sign is part of a promotion to raise environmental awareness among military personnel, and I was excited to see it. The U.S. military has historically been one of the worst polluters and, as one of the country’s largest bureaucracies, it is often resistant to change.

Digging into the campaign, I discovered that the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCa) had partnered with General Electric to offer discounted CPLs to military families with the goal of selling 1 million in 2008. CPLs are typically more expensive than regular incandescent light bulbs, but they last up to 10 times as long and use 75% less energy than typical bulbs. I was skeptical that military families would buy these bulbs, but when I did some research, I found that DeCa easily surpassed its goal, selling 1 million CPLs by August, 2008.

This is awesome news. If every American family swapped out five regular bulbs for five CPLs, in one year we would prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the output of 10 million cars, and we would save $8 billion in energy costs. There are roughly 3 million personnel in the US military; when their family members are counted, that number rises closer to 10 million. If the military commits itself to “going green”, the global impact would be phenomenal, not only pulling 10 million people into the environmental movement, but also greening the ships, vehicles, housing, and construction processes wielded by this powerhouse.
DeCa’s campaign is truly inspiring. If DeCa can convince military families to change out 1 million light bulbs in 8 months, I know that the Privacy Council can do the same for 1 million trees.  Environmental change is coming, people!

-Emily Paterson

White Trash by Barbara Hashimoto

American artist Barbara Hashimoto works with junk mail in her provocative and extremely popular installations. To date she has created the Junk Mail Experiment, Junk Mail with Grand Piano, Junk Mail Landscape and Junk Mail Xmas art installations. Barbara said she spent one year hand-shredding the collected junk mail, resulting in 3,000 cubic feet of shredded material.

To me, Barbara’s piece symbolizes the overload we all feel in our lives—being smothered by literally mountains of paper junk mail, office waste, and SPAM email. Her piece is a visual representation of the waste to which we all contribute—knowingly or unknowingly. For me, becoming part of the Privacy Council is my first step towards taking back that mountain.

-Michelle Amos

First, let me say that I had Norton 360 installed on my laptop. I downloaded and installed the latest version in August, but sometime in the last month or so, it abruptly stopped working. I didn’t notice the lack of protection, however, until my laptop started performing oddly. Start-ups took longer and longer (and frequently froze up), and websites took longer to load. But the final straw was last week, when I tried to run Google searches. Each time I got a page of results from a given search, my attempts to visit the resulting links were redirected to full-page ads for a variety of offers and services. It was maddening. I could type URLs into the browser and go directly to them, but my efforts to click on Google results ended up with ads for “free ipods” and “Victoria’s Secret gift cards.” I was frustrated.

Worse, I didn’t know where the offensive programs had come from. I never click on questionable links, in email or otherwise. I almost never download software; the last time I’d downloaded any was a year ago, and it was from a reputable source. Also, no one else uses my computer, so it was impossible that another user had downloaded something questionable without my knowledge. I wondered if a virus piggybacked onto an email I’d received from someone I trusted, and it bothered me that I couldn’t know for sure. But whatever the source, I was now stuck with a problem. And my attempts to run Norton 360 led to my discovery that, somehow, it had stopped running. What should I do now? Was it even safe for me to send email to anyone? Had the virus made its way onto my jump drive when I’d backed up my photo files? Was my identity safe, or had someone accessed my personal information from my comptuer? I needed to make things right with my laptop, and fast.

I went to the Norton websiteand purchased Norton AntiVirus 2009 for immediate download. I figured, this should take care of my problem! But the problem didn’t want me to take care of it. My attempts to download the software failed because of a “communications error.” I followed all of the troubleshooting advice on the site to no avail. Finally, I found a phone number to call, and after a few minutes, I was on the line with a customer service rep. I felt vaguely bad for the guy… I reported both the problems with Norton 360 and the problem with downloading Norton AntiVirus 2009, and he wasn’t sure which problem to deal with. Finally, we decided to go for the Antivirus, which he told me can’t coexist on the same computer as 360 anyway. Figures.

He walked me through wiping my laptop of all Norton products and attempting another download. Again, it failed. He set up a connection between us and tried to help me download it from his end. Still no dice. Finally, he had to download the program to HIS computer and send it to mine via the connection. I was on hold the entire time the program creeped across the miles, all 56 Mb of it. On the upside, the rep was very nice and clearly stymied by my computer’s efforts to thwart him; I felt like apologizing for the laptop’s bad behavior. Every time he asked me to restart the machine, it took me several tries to get past the freeze-ups and delays.

Eventually, the program was on my desktop, and the rep installed it remotely. He started the scan running, and now that I’d spent an hour on the phone with the guy, we disconnected with some satisfaction. He DID say that he would try to get me a refund for the Norton 360 that had failed me, since I didn’t want to pay for something that hadn’t worked. I have yet to see the refund, but since he gave me a confirmation number for the transaction, I have high hopes that I can track it down, if necessary.

The Norton AntiVirus 2009 scan turned up the culprit: a Trojan virus was crawling through my computer. Norton zapped that bug with no trouble, and I settled back to enjoy a blissful, virus-free computer experience. But then, suddenly, Internet Explorer windows started to randomly pop open, each one a full-screen ad for everything from Proactiv to, surprisingly, Norton itself. Internet Explorer didn’t even have to be open for the ads to appear, blocking everything on the screen. They were easily closed, but they kept coming back. But Norton didn’t see a problem. I did another update, restarted the computer, and did another scan, but nothing turned up. The windows kept popping open.

I searched for answers on Google (now that my Google search was working again), and I saw that other people had had this problem, and that Norton hadn’t recognized it. The fix, many said, was long and arduous, including downloading more security software, starting up in safe mode, and jumping through a variety of flaming hoops. I was beaten down at the thought. I considered the ads to be more annoying than threatening, and I gave some thought to just letting them continue to appear. But then, I talked to my boyfriend, who suggested another solution: Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware product. He said that the free download found far more hidden problems on his own computer than Norton had, so I decided to give it a try.

The Ad-Aware site was deliberately confusing, unfortunately. The company wants to sell the upgraded service, so while the basic Ad-Aware product is free, the means of getting to the free download are distracting and aimed at driving the sale. I accidentally clicked on the wrong button not once but twice, on two separate pages, in my efforts to reach the free download. I got frustrated, as you might imagine. My boyfriend had the misfortune of being on the phone with me at the time, so he got to hear my annoyance firsthand. But in the end, I got the download right, and I started an Ad-Aware scan.

The scan turned up another bug, one that Norton had missed. It completed the fix for me at my request, and since then, the computer has run more smoothly, more quickly, and completely without pop-up ads and unwanted Internet Explorer windows. For the moment, I feel like my laptop is back to normal, and I’m breathing a little easier. At last.

So what have we learned from this little adventure? First (and always), make sure you have good antivirus software installed. Norton is just fine, and obviously their customer service is available if you need it (don’t hesitate to call them if you do). Second, never click on questionable links or open or run files from unknown senders, EVER (and make sure that any other users on your computer don’t download anything without your knowledge). Third, if your computer starts acting strangely, look into it. Don’t assume that it will “correct itself,” because it will only get worse. And fourth, don’t give up if you get frustrated or have a hard time fixing the problem on your own. That’s what the experts are for. If you do everything right and it still doesn’t work, find a phone number for the company and make the call to get some help. In the meantime, do your own research into your problem so you can be informed, even if it just means Googling something like “unwanted Internet Explorer pop-up virus.” You don’t have to be a computer genius to educate yourself about spyware, adware, malware, viruses, worms and other nasties that trouble us.

I was lucky in that the software that got onto my laptop didn’t seem to be after my private information or out to destroy my machine. It was annoying for me in that I had always tried to follow my own advice with online security, and I still ended up having to deal with it. But in the end, I learned a lot, and now, there’s not a pop-up ad in sight.

Recent reports indicate a rise in text message phishing. Phishing, for those not in the know, means sending messages that claim to be from banks or other financial institutions and which use fear and urgency (”Your account will be closed immediately unless you respond”) to try to trick victims into giving up their sensitive information. Cell phone text messaging had already become an avenue for spam messages, which are annoying but not particularly dangerous from an identity theft perspective. Now, the combination of spam texts and illegal intent has led to a rise in text messages that try to provoke a response. The response that the phishers want contains your Social Security number, bank account number or other private information. It’s the same old thieves wearing a newer, cooler costume.

The most recent major text-message phishing scam was reported nationwide just a few weeks ago. In this particular effort, phishers sent untold numbers of bogus text messages, claiming to represent U.S. Bank. The messages said, “Dear US Bank member, your account with us is closed due to unusual activity, call us at [number withheld].” The recipients represented customers of various cell phone providers and were not necessarily U.S. Bank customers. Like many email phishing schemes, this one had a broad scope in the hopes of getting a few victims to nibble at the bait. It’s difficult to know how many people fell for the scam, but the three return phone numbers that were known to be used in the phishing texts have been shut down by the state.

Banks, meanwhile, must now work to make sure that customers who benefit from their mobile banking services aren’t burned by the same technology. U.S. Bank issued a statement shortly after the phishing attempts were reported, reminding account holders that U.S. Bank does not request sensitive information via email, phone call or text message. CIBC, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, is one of many financial institutions providing additional information online about phishing, including ways to check for an email’s legitimacy and ways to report fraudulent communications. Most banking websites include safety and security information for consumers, even if consumers don’t always read or heed the warnings.

The advice, of course, has been heard before: treat suspicious texts the same way you treat suspicious emails. Don’t reply, don’t call any phone numbers listed, and don’t go to any websites suggested in the message. If you do receive a message claiming to be from your bank, call your local bank office or a trusted customer service representative (using a number you already know to be valid) to investigate the issue. Remember, no bank is immune to being used as text-phishing bait (Oregon-based Bank of the Cascades was used as a phishing front several months ago, for example, so scammers aren’t limiting their phishing efforts to national banks), and no cell-phone-toting consumer is immune from the potential attack.

If you still have doubts about mobile banking, you can elect to discontinue it entirely. As IdentityTheft.com noted, mobile banking has many pros (including ease of use, free updates and no account numbers sent in text messages), but it also has many cons (including potential lack of encryption, lack of security and lack of anti-virus software in some phones). The site notes that the technology is still fairly new and untested and suggests asking both the bank and the cell phone provider about the security of the systems used before signing on for mobile banking, just in case. When in doubt, consumers can just skip the mobile updates and do their banking the old-fashioned way (well, as old-fashioned as “online” can be). That way, ANY text messages that claim to represent the bank can be known as fraudulent the minute they arrive on one’s phone.

Sources for this article: Minneapolis Star Tribune, CIBC, IdentityTheft.com, ConsumerAffairs.com