UK Police Can Demand that You Decrypt Information or Jail You
In the UK, ever the pinnacle of freedom and privacy, you can now be forced to decrypt any data that they believe has bearing on a criminal or terror investigation. Here's the really fun part (emphasis mine):
Individuals who are believed to have the cryptographic keys necessary for such decryption will face up to .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]AT&T to Cancel Service of Anyone Who Criticizes Them
The new Terms of Service agreement from AT&T is really something. If you get caught bad-mouthing AT&T, you could find yourself with no service.
Translation: "conduct" that AT&T "believes" "tends to damage" its name, or the name of its partners, can get you booted off the service. Note the use of "tends to damage": the .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Chicago to Become Camera City
Even though cameras have been shown to be a great big boondoggle in the UK, Chicago apparently plans to repeat history.
Virtual Shield will capture, monitor, and "fully index" video from the Windy City's surveillance cameras. The software used to run the system will be able to recognize specific license plates, vehicle descriptions, and even patterns .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Amazon Launches Online Music Store with No DRM
I'm not thrilled about Amazon since they are one of the worst privacy offenders on the web, but they are now offering music downloads without any DRM.
Though shopping with Amazon is like dancing with a hungry wolf, for now they may be one of the best places to get music content. Certainly if you had a choice .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Amazon, DRMOpinon: Microsoft Should Abandon Vista
Vista has been a rough release for Windows. I would say that it's probably the first time since Windows 95 that a new system wasn't better than the previous (other than ME, but that didn't last long). Some people think Microsoft's mistakes with Vista are such that they should just abandon it and move on.
Tags: DRM, Windows, Windows VistaNew Internet Telephone Service Listens to Your Call and Serves You With Ads
Pudding Media offers calling without any toll charges.
The trade-off is that Pudding Media is eavesdropping on phone calls in order to display ads on the screen that are related to the conversation.
Did we really need any further invasion of privacy?
I hope this company falls flat on its face.
.... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Tags: Big Business, phone surveillanceManufacturers Offering XP Downgrade Option to Vista Users
People who would normally be forced to have Vista because of buying a new computer are now being given the option to "downgrade" to XP.
The article also says that the unpopular Vista operating system cost 6 Billion dollars to create. Ouch.
.... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Tags: Microsoft, Voluntarily Downgrade, Windows, Windows XPSecond Credit Reporting Company to Offer Credit Freeze Protection!
Perhaps Equifax is seeing the same gate closing on them that Transunion did. They are the second of the three credit reporting companies to offer credit freeze protection.
The credit and financial industries have aggressively lobbied against credit freeze laws, claiming they would reduce the availability of credit and discourage shoppers from making big-ticket purchases due .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Federal Agent Abuses Monitoring Systems to Track Girlfriend
Still trust the government to not abuse their surveillance power? Read this story about a federal agent who used the Department of Homeland Security's database to stalk his ex-girlfriend and her family. When we paraniod types tell you that massive government systems can be turned against us easily, remember that though we may be loud, obnoxious, and a little .... [Click here to read the rest of this post]
Tags: Big Brother, DHSFrance to DNA Test Foreigner’s Before Granting Visas
They say it's to prove that someone actually is related to someone in France before allowing them to move to France. But not to worry! They say the test is "voluntary"… assuming you don't want to enter France that is.
.... [Click here to read the rest of this post]Tags: France, Security Theater, Visas