Who Is Harvesting Your Personal Information?

Glitch, or no glitch, the farm has a spoiled apple in its midst. Seems, when you click on an advertisement, it also sends a picture of the last page viewed on your PC along with the click. It is called a “referrer” page, which helps the advertiser know how you got to their page. Feels like a weak link in the system to me.

It becomes a problem when your last page contains personally identifiable information (PPI). In this case, it is your personal Facebook page. It bypasses your privacy settings, and still sends the page containing privacy information.

Protect Your Crops in FarmVille:

Go to Privacy Settings — > Applications, Games and Websites — > Unwanted or spammy applications — > Click the “x” next to each application you do not use.

Keep the Poachers Out:

Go to Privacy Settings — > Applications, Games and Websites — > Info accessible through your friends — > Edit Settings — > Uncheck all boxes and save changes.

Want to know more about tracking and what they know about you. Check out The Wall Street Journal’s “What They Know About You”

The Wall Street Journal did a great piece on the Facebook privacy breach. How much is too much. Moreover, when they know more about you than you do about yourself…What happens then?

Here is a video explaining “cookies” and another that exposes a lot more about the hidden struggle between advertising and privacy, called “tracking”.

Your CyberHood Watch Partner,

david c ballard

Radio Security Journalist

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Reality Is Digital For Kids

It never fails to amaze me how often we cannot see the forest from the trees. I remember reading the “E-Myth” and about the information age, and the perceived changes the Internet would have on all of us.

Today we are having trouble keeping up with technology, and the information overload. As exciting as the digital age, the Internet, and all its possibilities, I  wonder where it is taking us.

I hope the following video begins renewed discussions among parents and educators – what do you think?

Your CyberHood Watch Partner,

david c ballard

Radio Security Journalist

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I was reading an article about how the Spokeo is spooky – An online source of your personal information… in my monthly Costco Connection – July 2010 magazine.

The Costco Connection magazine builds community among Costco members by combining information about what’s new at Costco with a mix of lifestyle and small business articles.

This month talks about our online personal info future that is shaping right now… as Dave and I are always saying you need to have awareness especially online and in today’s social network environment we are all participating in, and I have seen this first hand, as all my old school mates are requesting my friendship on Facebook

The Spokeo Story…

Spokeo is a search engine specialized in organizing people-related information from phone books, social networks, marketing lists, business sites, and other public sources. Most of this data is publicly available on the Web. For example, you can find people’s name, phone, and address on Whitepages.com, and you can get home values from Zillow.com. That said, only Spokeo’s algorithm can piece together the scattered data into coherent people profiles, giving you the most comprehensive intelligence about anyone you want to find.

Spokeo’s innovative technology has received numerous accolades and reviews from Newsweek, WSJ, PCWorld, and more. Millions of people have already used Spokeo to connect with their family members, old friends, and business contacts. Spokeo is located in Pasadena, CA.

SPOKEO VS. GOOGLE VS. FACEBOOK

How is Spokeo better than Googling someone? Google is the leader in organizing vast amounts of information from web pages, whereas Spokeo is a specialized tool for finding people-related data on social networks, phone books, marketing surveys, and more. By searching beyond the Web, Spokeo yields much more comprehensive and targeted results than general-purpose search engines for people-related queries.

How is Spokeo different from Facebook? Facebook is a social network on which users shares their personal data, whereas Spokeo is a search engine that aggregates data from various third-party sources. The difference between Facebook and Spokeo is analogous to the difference between You vs. Google Map taking a picture of your house. Data originated from you can be more detailed and accurate, but you also have the liberty to lie about it. Data pieced from public domains may not be complete, but it gives an objective, third-party perspective, which is valuable for people research purposes.

That all really sounds Good… So, whats so BAD about all this information sharing??

Because, every industry leader, government official, online security professionals, consultants, coaches and educators we have had on our CyberHood Watch Live Radio Show over the past 3 years has had the same advice, when asked what can “they” our listeners and followers do to protect themselves from cyber-crime, cyber criminals, ID Theft, personal security and privacy concerns… the #1 answer was to PROTECT your personal information at all costs!! never share anything online, on the phone or in person that you don’t want exposed to the public! see related story: OSA Investigates ID Theft & Personal Area Network

That is such great advice and you can see if this search engine tracks, compiles and then stores all of what we consider private, in a database…

THEN

WOW… Open Eyes & Your Mind To The Changes Happening Around YOU!

And… do something about it!!!

Your CyberHood Watch Partner

Bill Wardell

Please take a few minutes, and give US your opinion below in the comments… thanks in advance

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and its hot in the

Because one of Americas Most Wanted, is behind BARS!!

It’s a good day for law enforcement when they capture one of the most wanted fugitives in the U.S. According to reports, the U.S. Marshals Service have announced that they have captured one of the 15 most wanted fugitives in America.

The criminal’s name is Paul Clouston, and he is 73-years-old. He was wanted as a convicted cop killer and child molester in Merced, California. Someone watching America’s Most Wanted television program was able to identify him and tell authorities.

Clouston whereabouts were passed to the U.S. marshals Central valley Joint Fugitive Task Force in Fresno, California. Clouston had been working as a maintenance man in a group home in Merced for four years according to Usmarshals.gov. to Read More

Your CHW Partner

Bill Wardell

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It’s hard to believe it has been almost 10 years since this world tragedy was committed on the World Trade Center and the American people… let us

Never Forget

Today (Memorial Day Monday) is a day to remember all those who have fallen for peace!! and our family and friends that have passed away and to pay them our respect… and never forget them, and teach our children to learn the TRUTHS of Life, and how to treat others with respect! and really understanding the inherit rights we all have, so we do make or not repeat those mistakes in ALL of our futures…

Your CyberHood Watch Partners

Dave and Bill

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Is Your Business Red Flag Compliant?

FTC Extends Red Flag Rules

Hey small business owner…You just dodged another Red Flag bullet! The FTC has extended the Red Flag Rules until January 1, 2011.

“Think It Won’t Happen To You” (TIWHTY) is an accumulation of two years of research and interviews with more than a hundred knowledgeable authorities worldwide on the safety of children, families, and businesses both online and offline.

It's Just Good Business To Be Compliant...

The CyberHood Watch compiled the top seventeen troublesome issues affecting children, families, & businesses in the digital age, along with solutions.

One of the seventeen issues addressed in TIWHTY discusses the Red Flag Rules. Contact The CyberHood Watch to consult with one of our information specialist to make sure your business is compliant.

david c ballard

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“Protecting against cyber-bullying is really one of those efforts where you dig your well when you’re not thirsty.” When I read Dana Bolden’s quote, Cokes corporate media relations, it bridged similarities between corporate cyber-bullying and domestic cyber-bullying.

Image via Wikipedia

Bullies are out to attack your good name, or financial gain. The victim, corporate or personal, in either case is better off taking a proactive approach and being prepared.

In her article, Lindsey Miller, asks, “What happens when David bullies Goliath?”

Coca-Cola understands the value of communication and awareness, and monitoring your digital reputation. Monitoring online activities can significantly smother the viral spread of cyberbullying. Being mindful of the technologies and behaviors necessary to carry out a cyberbullying campaign and knowing how to snuff-out the flame early will save a lot of personal and corporate grief.

Corporate or Personal... Be Proactive - Be Prepared!

You can draw several similarities from Lindsey Miller’s article whether defending your corporate or personal reputation and handling cyberbullying.

Parents need to understand the importance of an open communication with their children and assuring his or her child that they will not lose computer privileges for coming to you when someone or something makes them feel uncomfortable online. One of the other biggest fears children have is a parent “Freaking-Out”.

Not so dissimilar is a corporation having to approach its customers without worrying about everyone “Freaking-Out”. Keeping an open communication with his or her child, or corporate customers are key behaviors in diverting misinformation and avoiding potential tragedies from escalating.

Anyone who is in business should read this article.

db

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Just alerting you about this…This is scary ~ Weekly Update!

Watch this YouTube video for an amazing revelation about copiers!

Before you think “yeah, well, I never use a copier, not even at the office supply/shipping store”, think of all those who have your papers that do. Accountants, attorneys, health professionals…the list goes on.

Watch it to the end for the scariest bit. Identity Theft, anyone?

Get The Help You Need… NOW: Get Your Own Copy Of

Your CyberHood Watch Partner

Bill Wardell

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You’re trying to raise your children, and realize their potential as healthy happy productive human beings. Even if you cannot remove the roadblocks to your vision, you can try to alleviate the obstacles in getting there.

Are you having problems with your children using the internet? Maybe they’re using it too much. Or they are looking at sites that you don’t approve of. You, as a parent, might be afraid of how much control the internet has over the family. There are ways to bring your family to a healthier level by taking a holistic approach to the situation.

You can’t just focus on the child’s process. Don’t be one of those parents who say that they themselves did nothing wrong and all the problems are with the child. This is the worst way to approach the problem, because the child will eventually (if not immediately) see that the parent viewing the situation as the child’s problem, which can bring disastrous results in family dynamics.

If the parent goes through the process of being honest with themselves, then they’re off to a healthy start in being able to transform themselves into healthy parents. Individuals who have transformed themselves into good parents and teachers will not need to rely on a catalog of child-rearing tricks in order to raise children.

On the other side, parents who do not (or refuse) to go through this self-transformation will not be capable of understanding how to raise children, even after reading large numbers of these catalogs.

So at the end of the day, take a good look in the mirror and say that if you want healthy and happy children, you have to transform yourself first!

Your CyberHood Watch

Bill Wardell

and yesssss I am trusting my gut MORE… and learning everyday how to be a better parent

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Who: Everyone… from teenagers to senior citizens!

What: Adult conversations and sharing images of themselves in a state of undress!

When: 24/7

Where: Everywhere mobile communication makes this very simple!

Why: Fun, excitement, experimenting and sharing time (dating) with others!

How: type it ~ SEND IT!

Learn how to protect you and your family from this exploding online problem and potential life changing consequence of engaging in this criminal activity at any age!

Adam J. Schwebach Ph.D. talks about cell phone safety… Adam practices at the Neurology Learning & Behavior Center in SLC and he joined The CyberHood Watch partners in the Hood today… and shared his knowledge and wisdom about Texting, Sexting, Cyberbullying!

All the info you’ll need to understand SEXting

Your Online Security Authority eZine – OSA Investigates “Sexting”

Thanks Adam for your time today… and we’re looking forward to your new website and system to help parents with the problems concerning teens and mobile communication: http://ClarityLearningCenter.com will be open mid-May and www.samgoldstein.com

Your CyberHood Watch Partner

Bill Wardell

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