Privacy

Google+ is being tweaked to move it in an even more privacy-sensitive direction.

Google said today that it was completely eliminating the ability to share certain semiprivate posts more widely. That option was previously available as an option for users.

At the moment, if I created a post and specified that it could be viewed only by family members, they would nevertheless have the option to share it publicly--the Google+ equivalent of forwarding e-mail--unless I remembered to select the "Disable reshare" option.

Google engineer Kelly Ellis said in a video that: "Starting next week, limited posts will … Read more

Hulu acknowledged this afternoon that an attempt to integrate itself with Facebook didn't go exactly as planned.

Far from aiding the "entire social experience," which the video streaming service had promised in its announcement earlier in the day, the attempted integration allowed some Hulu users to access other users' accounts.

In a followup blog post this afternoon, Hulu Vice President Richard Tom said the security breach was the result of a programming error, not malicious activity, and did not expose passwords or credit card numbers.

"When we launched our Facebook Connect feature early this morning, we … Read more

With the launch of a new social networking platform, Google seems determined not to repeat the privacy missteps it made last year with Google Buzz.

Public criticism, some valid, some not, prompted Google to make a series of quick changes to Buzz a few days after its launch in February 2010. Google finally settled allegations of unintentional oversharing in an agreement inked with the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year.

When creating Google+, which debuted yesterday, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company took pains to ensure there's no danger of that happening again. Google+ sports a clean, well-designed user … Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a lawsuit that will determine whether police need to obtain a judge's approval before installing GPS trackers on Americans' automobiles.

A ruling, which is expected by next year, will establish whether a warrant signed by a judge is required before law enforcement can engage in the practice of tracking a driver's every move on the roads. The Obama administration argues that no warrant is needed.

The case that will be presented to the justices arose out of a criminal prosecution of Antoine Jones and Lawrence Maynard, two suspected cocaine … Read more

Google has taken steps to limit the disclosure of the locations of millions of iPhones, laptops, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections after a CNET article drew attention to privacy concerns.

The move by Google comes after the Mountain View, Calif.-based company was criticized for the way it made a database assembled by Android phones and Street View cars available to the public, even though it could link a geographical location with a unique hardware address of a Wi-Fi enabled device. The change means that Google now appears to be moving closer to the approach adopted by Apple and … Read more

Web-based storage firm Dropbox confirmed this afternoon that a programmer's error caused a temporary security breach that allowed any password to be used to access any user account.

The San Francisco-based start-up attributed the security breach to a "code update" that "introduced a bug affecting our authentication mechanism." Access without passwords was possible between 1:54pm PT and 5:46pm PT yesterday, the company said.

"This should never have happened," Dropbox co-founder and CTO Arash Ferdowsi said in a blog post. "We are scrutinizing our controls and we will be implementing additional … Read more

WASHINGTON--Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, said today he is optimistic that Congress would update a 1986 law, crafted in the pre-Internet era of telephone modems and the black-and-white Macintosh Plus, to protect the privacy of Americans who use the Internet and mobile phones.

The Vermont Democrat said that in his previous career as a prosecutor he had to obtain search warrants to search someone's house. "I question whether it should be that much different if I'm going to search all your files" in electronic form, he said in a keynote speech at … Read more

WASHINGTON--Police would no longer be able to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' whereabouts, according to legislation introduced today that would require search warrants to monitor the locations of cars or mobile devices.

Bills drafted by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) provides new legal protections for "geolocation information," meaning data that can locate a person through a wireless device or a GPS tracker placed on a vehicle. In March, CNET was the first to report on an earlier draft of the measure.

These rules "will foster the effective use of geolocation data while protecting … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--If you have Wi-Fi turned on, the previous whereabouts of your computer or mobile device may be visible on the Web for anyone to see.

Google publishes the estimated location of millions of iPhones, laptops, and other devices with Wi-Fi connections, a practice that represents the latest twist in a series of revelations this year about wireless devices and privacy, CNET has learned.

Android phones with location services enabled regularly beam the unique hardware IDs of nearby Wi-Fi devices back to Google, a similar practice followed by Microsoft, Apple, and Skyhook Wireless as part of each company's effort … Read more