privacy

There's a quaint concept that seemingly every technology company dismisses as outdated.

It's called opting in.

Should you not be familiar with it, it's the notion that you ought to choose before, say, all the people in your address book are contacted by a company they've never heard of.

And wouldn't it be lovely to have a choice over whether your kids should have their irises scanned, as they get on their school bus?

The parents of around 750 kids in several Florida schools never got that choice -- because of what might be politely … Read more

Edward Snowden, who became famous for leaking top-secret U.S. government documents, said today that the National Security Agency can get a look at information from Americans' domestic phone calls without a warrant.

In an online discussion organized by the Guardian newspaper this morning, the 29-year-old former intelligence analyst said, when it comes to the contents of e-mail and phone calls, "Americans' communications are collected and viewed on a daily basis on the certification of an analyst rather than a warrant."

Intelligence analysts at the NSA, CIA, FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and other similar arms of the … Read more

A high-profile group of technologists and privacy advocates is attempting to halt domestic surveillance of Americans through a clever twist: using federal bureaucratic rules against federal bureaucrats.

In a request today to National Security Agency director Keith Alexander and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the group argues that the NSA's recently revealed domestic surveillance program is "unlawful" because the agency neglected to request public comments first. A federal appeals court previously ruled that was necessary in a lawsuit involving airport body scanners.

"In simple terms, a line has been crossed," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the … Read more

Everyone has an opinion about the revelations that government agencies may be tracking us.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak believes that America is becoming like Russia.

Some, though, feel comfortable with the idea that government may be offering surveillance for own own good. Or do they?

An answer given by Miss Alabama during the Miss USA pageant on Sunday night fully expressed how pretzel-ish the thinking has to be around our personal safety and security.

Asked by actress Wendie Malick whether NSA surveillance is an invasion of privacy or a necessity, Mary Margaret McCord offered a sure-minded reply.

She said: "… Read more

As the passions and justifications swirl around the revelations concerning the NSA, the rest of the world sits and wonders.

Is only the U.S. involved? Or might, perhaps, every government on Earth be rather keen to use all technological methods to protect its interests?

What do ordinary Americans think (apparently, we don't mind too much)?

But, more importantly, what does Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak think?

It so happens that Latin American tech site FayerWayer happened upon Woz as he sat at San Francisco airport.

So often known to be obliging and spontaneous, Woz offered his thoughts. Essentially, he … Read more

The apps on your Android device typically use a cache to improve performance. Over time, the cache for certain apps can grow quite large. Clearing the app cache can free up precious space and sometimes resolve problems you might be having with the app.

To clear the cache, you normally go to the Android app manager, click on the app from the list, then tap on "Clear cache." If you want to clear the cache for all your apps, you have to repeat this procedure for every single app, unless you use a cache cleaner like App Cache … Read more

Would you like to disappear?

No, I am not threatening you. I am merely wondering whether you might be happier to be anonymous, private, tucked away so that random entities cannot find you.

Of course, I am moved to this suggestion by the avalanche of debate following the revelations from Snowdenia that have rendered idealists and libertarians simultaneously insensate.

You mean everyone can view everything we do? Even governments? Even Russian governments?

This seems to be the case. Which is why those who like to be meta before there's even a norm are striking out by hiding from the … Read more

The head of the National Security Agency hinted Wednesday that logs of Americans' e-mails and Web-site visits may be secretly vacuumed up by the world's most powerful intelligence group.

During a U.S. Senate hearing, NSA director Keith Alexander was asked specifically about whether "e-mail contacts" are ingested under the Obama administration's secret interpretation of the Patriot Act's surveillance powers.

"I don't want to make a mistake" and reveal too much, Alexander said, adding that disclosing details about such surveillance would cause "our country to lose some sort of protection." … Read more

Scrutiny is coming to the motives and methods of Edward Snowden with the discovery of many years of online postings apparently from the man who said he leaked information on the NSA's electronic surveillance activities.

The 29-year-old former government contractor appears to have published comments and questions hundreds of times on the technology site Ars Technica under the username TheTrueHOOHA, according to reports from Reuters, Ars Technica, and Anthony de Rosa, who's about to join mobile news site Circa. Buzzfeed compiled some highlights, and Reuters also spotlighted some profile information on another site, since removed, called Ryuhana Press. … Read more