tracking

What's the best way to keep track of the gift cards, and their respective balances, you received from family and friends around the holidays?

While we may not have a concrete answer to a common problem, we do have three apps that aim to help you keep better track of your gift cards. Some solutions are free, and others will cost you no more than 99 cents. … Read more

Just what is Carrier IQ's software doing on your phone? And do you really need to worry about it?

A 25-year-old systems administrator in Connecticut set off a media firestorm after discovering mysterious software on his Android that appeared to be recording his activities. Software maker Carrier IQ says the software is designed to give carriers usage and other stats so they can improve the network and service. But the researcher argues that the software represents a serious privacy threat because sensitive data is being logged without user permission.

Mobile security researchers CNET has spoken with say that they … Read more

It seems that the Cleveland mall operator who last week declared it was tracking mall shoppers in California and Virginia via their cell phones has had a change of, perhaps, heart.

CNN reports that Forest City Commercial Management might have been encouraged to change its mind, heart, and attitude by a phone call from the office of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

The phone call might have directly relayed the substance of a press conference the senator gave on Sunday.

In it, he suggested that perhaps a more polite way to go about these things was to ask shoppers if they'… Read more

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices hearing arguments in a case today suggested that allowing warrantless GPS tracking of citizens' cars could lead to a Big Brother scenario of constant computerized government surveillance.

"What is the question that I think people are driving at, at least as I understand it and certainly share the concern, is that if you win this case, then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movement of every citizen of the United States," Justice Stephen Breyer told a Justice Department attorney. "… Read more

FAssistant is a free multiuser personal finance tracking and reminder application. It also analyzes your finances, generating useful reports that give you both a "Big Picture" as well as deep details. You can set up multiple user accounts, each with multiple financial or information accounts for FAssistant to keep track of.

FAssistant's installer creates a database, and we had the opportunity to import data during the setup process, which many users will appreciate. Once our database was created, we needed to set up an account, which can be either an Application User or Admin User, though the … Read more

If there's one important feature missing from all the major browsers, it's the ability to know at a glance when you're being tracked, and with a single click by whom.

That would make the free Ghostery program the one extension you need whether you use Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, or Opera.

As I mentioned in my post on "do not track" options, a key source of revenue for Web services of all types is the sale of the Web activities of their users. Data about when people use their services and how they … Read more

Much has been made of the "do not track" features built into the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari (the setting for Firefox is shown below). A do-not-track option is available in Google Chrome only as an add-in from Google called Keep My Opt-Outs.

As Wired.com's Ryan Singel reported last April on the Epicenter blog, Google's wait-and-see attitude toward do-not-track features reflects the uncertainty about what kind of tracking is prohibited.

(In a Privacy Inc. post earlier this month, Declan McCullagh examined the approach to Web tracking being taken by the Federal Trade … Read more

We test a lot of headphones here at CNET, and the good ones tend to set you back more than $100. But a new headphone company, Sol Republic, is hoping to change that with a line of headphones that deliver very good sound and durability for a more affordable price.

In case you're wondering what "Sol" stands for, it has nothing to do with the sun but is an acronym for "soundtrack of life." The company's founders have a good pedigree in the headphone business, and co-founder and CEO Kevin Lee is the son of Monster Cable founder Noel Lee, widely credited for driving the popular Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones at Monster. … Read more

Mad Skills Motocross is a fun and addictive game that started on desktop computers, but seems much more suited to the iOS. Sort of in the vein of arcade classic Excitebike, Mad Skills Motocross is a side-scrolling racer in which you race against a single opponent on several challenging tracks. The default controls give you buttons for throttle and brakes on the lower left and buttons for tilt control on the right. You can switch tilt controls to the accelerometer in the settings, but both variations proved to work well after a bit of practice.

You will need practice, by … Read more