Safe and Secure

While I can't comment on the entire suit, it's clear to me that parts of the just-filed privacy lawsuit against Facebook represent a lack of understanding of how social networks like Facebook work as well as how best to protect children and adults on the Internet. I'm especially baffled by the allegation that Facebook violated the rights of an 11-year-old child because he disclosed that he had swine flu.

The suit, brought by five plaintiffs in Southern California, alleges that Facebook violates California privacy laws.

The child who said he had swine flu is identified as "… Read more

One of the best ways to protect your online security is to have strong passwords that you change periodically. But that's easier said than done. Coming up with hard-to-guess passwords is hard enough, but it's even harder to have separate passwords for different sites and to remember new ones after you change them.

One way to create a password that's hard to guess but easy to remember is to make up a phrase. You could type in the entire phrase (some sites let you use spaces, others don't) or you can use the initials of each … Read more

The just-signed Illinois law banning sex offenders from social-networking sites might seem like a good idea to protect children, but it will have virtually no impact on their safety and could wind up making things worse.

The law, which was signed Thursday by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, would prevent registered sex offenders in Illinois from using a social-networking service defined as an "Internet Web site containing profile Web pages...that include the names or nicknames of such members, photographs...or any other personal or personally identifying information."

The definition also includes "the ability to leave messages or … Read more

CNET security and privacy reporter Elinor Mills, who has been reporting on the Twitter, Facebook, and Google denial of service attacks since early Thursday morning, interviewed a Facebook executive who told her that the attacks appeared not to be aimed at Twitter or Facebook but toward an individual person who blogs about independence of a breakaway region of Georgia. But even though it was aimed at one person, the sheer size of the attack was enough to bring down Twitter and impact Facebook.

The podcast runs 4 minutes and 53 seconds.

Of course you're not personally responsible for bringing down Twitter, but if your computer isn't equipped with up-to-date anti-malware software and the latest version of your operating system, you could unwittingly be part of the problem.

Twitter has confirmed that its outage Thursday morning and subsequent intermittent problems were due to an ongoing denial-of-service attack. Facebook also "encountered network issues related to an apparent distributed denial-of-service attack, that resulted in degraded service for some users," according to a company spokesperson.

Typically a DoS attack, which is often called a distributed denial-of-service attack, results when multiple computers … Read more

Barring any unlikely interference from regulators, the Microsoft-Yahoo relationship is a done deal. It's a "comprehensive search deal" said Yahoo Executive Vice President Hilary Schneider in a recorded interview (listen below) that "provides an improved search experience for consumers," taking the rich technology of both companies and "bringing them together in an integrated search platform."

For Microsoft, according to the company's Senior VP Yusuf Mehdi, the deal "created a lot of value in terms of cost savings and increased revenue opportunities. This creates a lot of new value for each of … Read more

There are lots of Internet filtering products on the market that enable parents to block certain types of websites such as pornography, hate sites, or sites that promote alcohol or drug use. Most of these products run on PCs or Macs by sitting between the operating system and the browser and checking any requested sites to make sure they're not blocked. The products generally do a good job blocking requests from protected PCs, but most don't work with game consoles, Wi-Fi-equipped iPhones or iPod Touches, or any other device that isn't running the software.

Netgear is about to ship routers designed to simplify the process by allowing parents to block content on any device using the home's wired or wireless network.… Read more

I both envy and worry about young people who are growing up in the age of the Internet.

I envy them for their lifelong access to a media that's diversified enough to bring them news, information, and opinion from an enormous number of sources.

There's something to be said for having access to thousands of media outlets. Unlike those of us who grew up in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, young people who smartly use the Internet to consume news today don't have to worry about everything being filtered by a small, elite, and typically white male … Read more

When I was first hired as CBS News technology analyst in 1999, I remember thinking what an honor it is to be working for the news organization that Walter Cronkite helped build. CBS, and indeed, the entire media landscape, have gone through big changes since Cronkite retired in 1981, but the basic principals he brought to news coverage remain intact. Journalists--and I include bloggers as well--need to be honest and accurate and--whenever possible--serve as an eye witness to unfolding events. New media journalists have a lot to learn from Cronkite.

I've heard it said over and over that today'… Read more