John Oliver’s Breakdown of Data Brokering – What it is, why you should care, and a small side-order of Congressional blackmail

Of course John didn't actually blackmail anyone, but he made a valid point that sometimes the only way for things to get done is for Congress to feel the problem actually affects them. To prove his point of how vile and dangerous unregulated data-brokering is, he used completely legal and commonly used techniques to get data about several members of Congress with a vague threat that if they were worried about what he found, they really ought to consider passing laws to prevent the kind of data gathering he used.

This video should be required watching for every US Citizen because data brokering is dangerous. If you need any proof, well… that's what the video is for (but you can also look at the ID Theft crisis which was almost entirely caused by data brokering). Tags: , ,

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Security Software

Make sure you have a up-to-date Anti-Virus Program to protect you against bad websites or files.
Sometimes spyware gets in your computer and the anti-virus won't stop it. Use a spyware scanner to find and remove spyware and adware.
Use a software firewall to detect bad code on your computer when it tries to connect to the Internet.
Always keep your system up to date with security patches or none of the rest of your security software will matter.
Use an encryption tool to protect your important data when storing or transmitting it.
Switch to Firefox for your web browsing and you'll be better protected from Internet threats.

Safe Computing Practices

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Anti-Virus

A virus can come from files, e-mails, web pages, or even devices you plug in (like thumbdrives or printers) and destroy your files or your computer once they get in. An anti-virus is software designed to detect and prevent that from happening.

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Spyware Scanners

Learn how to detect and remove spyware and adware using a free scanning tool.

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Software Firewall

Learn what a firewall is and why you want one on your computer.

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Operating System Updates

Make sure to keep your operating system up-to-date with security patches or else none of the rest of your security software will be able to protect you.

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File Encryption

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Mozilla Firefox - Internet Browser

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Fake Alerts

Maybe you've done everything right and you're computer is sufficiently fortress-like, but then you or someone in your family falls for a simple scam that tricks them into directly installing the bad guy's virus! Learn how to spot and ignore fakes!

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