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  • Geebo 9:00 am on March 26, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Facebook has been collecting Android user data for years 

    Facebook has been collecting Android user data for years

    While the Cambridge Analytica scandal continues to find its way into the headlines, Facebook is undergoing yet another perceived breach of user trust. Over the weekend, tech news site Ars Technica reported that Facebook has been allegedly collecting data for years from users who use its mobile application on Android devices.

    The report states that Facebook has been collecting information not just on your contacts on Android, but information about your calls and text messages such as who you contacted and how long the call may have been. Facebook tries to defend itself by saying this an optional and voluntary feature, but as the Ars Technica report points out, that particular check box is pre-checked when you install Facebook to your device. Forbes has an article on how you can see how much of your data Facebook has and how to prevent Facebook from gathering this data in the future.

    Even Silicon Valley, which is normally protective of its own, has been coming down hard on Facebook lately. Not only has Elon Musk removed the Facebook pages for Tesla and Space X, but Apple CEO Tim Cook said that “well-crafted” rules toward Facebook privacy may well be needed.

    It’s long been said on the internet that if you’re using a free service as much as Facebook is used, you’re not the customer but the product. With each passing day, Facebook continuously seems to prove that adage correct.

     

  • Geebo 8:59 am on March 23, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , ,   

    Craigslist pulls personal ads ahead of FOSTA signing 

    Craigslist pulls personal ads ahead of FOSTA signing

    Before the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) could even be signed into law, craigslist has taken it upon themselves to remove the personal ads section from their website. Anyone clicking on any of the personal ad links on craigslist are met with the above message. As is usually the case with craigslist, they’re playing the victim over something they should have done years ago.

    To hear craigslist tell it, they sound like FOSTA is about to kill all romance on the internet. What craigslist isn’t telling you is that their personal ads, like most sections of their site, have long been the home of criminal activity. When craigslist shut down its erotic services section after public pressure, whatever human trafficking ads didn’t move to Backpage moved to craigslist’s personals section. That’s not even taking into account that craigslist’s casual encounters section was often used by child predators looking for their next victim. So while craigslist is acting like some kind of martyr, let it never be forgotten that their personals section has mostly been a cesspool of crime.

    Eight years ago, Geebo decided to remove personal ads from its site. Not because of any public pressure or impending legislation, but because it was the right thing to do. Craigslist has only itself to blame since they failed to monitor their own site for decades.

     

    • Chad Frey 1:38 pm on March 23, 2018 Permalink

      Good , Something they should of done years ago. I never met anyone off of personals on craigslist. The only question is this what took them so damn long?

  • Geebo 9:29 am on March 22, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , lien,   

    Make sure you buy a car with a lien-free title 

    Make sure you buy a car with a lien-free title

    Unless you live in a major metropolitan area like New York or San Francisco, it’s almost impossible to get around in our country without a car. This is especially imperative for lower-income families who may have trouble paying for things such as insurance or the many state fees included with car ownership. That’s why you need to be extra careful when buying a used car online. We’ve detailed many used car scams before, but now we’re hearing of a new one that could leave you broke and without a vehicle.

    In Glendale, Arizona, a woman recently purchased a used car from a seller on a classifieds app. The seller had a sob story about how she had to pay for a recent funeral and didn’t even have money for food or their cell phone. The buyer, feeling sorry for the seller, not only bought the car, but bought groceries for the seller and paid for the seller’s cell phone bill. It wasn’t too much longer after the transaction that the car was repossessed and the buyer was then out of her money and no longer had the car. The car had a lien on it from title loan company. Even though the car was sold to a new owner the title loan company had the legal right to repossess the car.

    Whenever buying a used car, always do a history check of the car even if you’re pressed for time in needing a vehicle. Always obtain the vehicle’s VIN number which can be usually found on the driver’s side toward the bottom of the windshield as you look into the car. Many states provide a free or low-cost service where you can see if there are any liens on the car. You can also use the more expensive independent services like Carfax and others to get a more detailed history of the car.

    Not having a car today is a major inconvenience to say the least. To not have a car and losing a big sum of money in the process can be crippling for some families. So please take the time in researching a car before purchasing.

     

  • Geebo 9:29 am on March 21, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Chris Cox, , , Section 230   

    Author of Section 230: 230 was not to facilitate people doing bad things on the internet 

    Author of Section 230: 230 was not to facilitate people doing bad things on the internet

    With Congress about to amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, a number of pundits in tech circles have decried the amendment as the end of free speech on the internet and various other reasons why the sky is falling. However, one of the section’s authors says that Section 230 is not being used the way it was intended. Former Congressman Chris Cox recently said that Section 230 “was to help clean up the Internet, not to facilitate people doing bad things on the Internet.”

    Cox helped wrote the legislation back in 1994 when a financial company tried to sue the platform Prodigy for libel when one of its users had accused the financial company of fraud. Since Prodigy moderated its content for language the courts ruled against Prodigy. Cox wanted protection for platforms like Prodigy from third-party users. The fact that we’re talking about Prodigy, a long dead internet portal, should show you how antiquated Section 230 truly is.

    As you may know, Section 230 is about to be amended to include language that would help prosecute websites and platforms that knowingly facilitate human trafficking such as Backpage is accused of doing. Congressman Cox even says that websites connected to unlawful activity should not be protected by Section 230. Let’s also not forget that we’re talking about real human lives that are being peddled through Backpage and if Backpage would be forced to curtail its activities it would greatly reduce the number of women and children being sold as slaves in the US. Without Backpage, we wouldn’t have every two-bit wannabe pimp thinking they can make themselves some money just by getting some girls and advertising them on Backpage. While it wouldn’t solve the trafficking crisis completely, it would go a long way in keeping a lot of people safe from the life that Backpage gets rich off of.

     

  • Geebo 8:59 am on March 20, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Anti-Backpage trafficking bill on track to become law 

    Anti-Backpage trafficking bill set to become law

    Late last month, the US House of Representatives passed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, or FOSTA. Yesterday, the US Senate voted almost unanimously to advance their version of the act known as the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. It’s expected to be passed by the Senate later today and then signed into law later this week. SESTA/FOSTA would allow the victims of online sex trafficking to seek damages against sites like Backpage who allegedly knowingly assisted in the trafficking trade.

    As has been mentioned before, SESTA/FOSTA amends section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 which Backpage has used to claim that their role in the sex trade is protected free speech under the law. A number of opponents to SESTA/FOSTA claim that this amendment will mean the death of free speech on the internet as we know it, however, that is simply not true. As this piece on political blog The Hill points out, “the legislation requires proof that a website “knowingly” assisted, facilitated, or supported sex trafficking when it entered into a venture with a sex trafficker.”

    All the evidence that has been uncovered by journalists and a congressional investigation seem to point out that Backpage knowingly engaged and assisted sex traffickers by advising them on what to put in their ads. This is and has never been an issue about free speech, but rather the freedom of the women and children who have been trafficked on Backpage. Most arguments against the purported legislation are just fear-mongering and histrionics.

     

  • Geebo 9:01 am on March 19, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Steve Bannon   

    50 million Facebook accounts exposed in political data breach 

    50 million Facebook accounts exposed in political data breach

    In a story that seems like it was taken straight from the 1988 sci-fi movie ‘They Live’, a large data firm is accused of allegedly breaching the Facebook accounts of 50 million US voters in order to ‘change audience behavior’. It was supposedly done, once again, to try to influence the 2016 Presidential election.

    Cambridge Analytica is accused of allegedly using a paid survey app that was disguised as a personality test. The app required users to log in through Facebook. After a user logged into Facebook, the app would not only harvest the information of the user, but also data from everyone in the user’s friends list. Trump advisor Steve Bannon was a board member of Cambridge Analytica and, according to the New York Times, “was intrigued by the possibility of using personality profiling to shift America’s culture and rewire its politics.”

    To make matters worse, Facebook allegedly knew of the misuse of the data and did little about it except to ask Cambridge Analytica to delete the information they had. Again, the New York Times claims that the data was not deleted and was discoverable online. So this seems like it is another instance where Facebook supposedly knew of alleged election interference and chose to do next to nothing about it. Many lawmakers are even calling for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress. It’s about high time that he did since it’s obvious he really has little to no control over what’s really happening throughout Facebook and the detrimental effect it has on our society.

     

  • Geebo 8:59 am on March 16, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Rihanna, ,   

    Snapchat in hot water over insensitive ad 

    Snapchat in hot water over insensitive ad

    Since its public debut, photo sharing app Snapchat has been trying to drag teen users away from Facebook. Since many teens like to follow their favorite celebrities on social media, Snapchat’s business has relied heavily on the activity of celebrities whether Snapchat wants to admit it or not. Now, Snapchat is facing a public backlash after one of its celebrities was featured in a very insulting ad on its platform.

    Recently, Snapchat users were served an ad for a mobile game that asked if you would rather slap R&B singer Rihanna or punch her former boyfriend Chris Brown. If you’ll recall, Rihanna was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Brown. The Grammy award-winning songstress took to Instagram to voice her displeasure over the ad.

    “Now SNAPCHAT I know you already know you ain’t my fav app out there!” Rihanna wrote. “But I’m just trying to figure out what the point was with this mess! I’d love to call it ignorance, but I know you ain’t that dumb! You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke out of it!!! This isn’t about my personal feelings, cause I don’t have much of them … but all the women, children and men that have been victims of DV in the past and especially the ones who haven’t made it out yet … you let us down! Shame on you. Throw the whole app-oligy away.”

    Snapchat apologized for the ad, but it was too little too late as their stock took a tumble after the debacle. According to tech blog Recode, this just one in a long line of questionable ads on Snapchat as they are said to run ads for cryptocurrency miners and the infamous Ashley Madison website which supposedly helps people carry on affairs. While those ads may be tasteless, domestic violence is no laughing matter and should not be joked about in such a flippant manner. If this is the attitude Snapchat takes in supposedly curating their ads then it’s no wonder Instagram is beating them at every turn.

     

  • Geebo 9:11 am on March 15, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: 3d printed home,   

    Could 3D printed homes help the housing crisis? 

    Could 3D printed homes help the housing crisis?

    It’s no secret that there is a housing crisis not just here in the US but around the world. Too many families worldwide do not have access to affordable or sustainable housing. Now, a proof of concept home has been developed that its developers are hoping to help end that crisis. Recently, at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, two companies joined together to present what they refer to as a 3D printed home.

    ICON is a company that has developed a machine that is basically a 3D mobile printer that lays out a home in concrete. They’ve partnered with a non-profit called New Story whose goal it is to build homes in developing nations. Together, they’ve developed a 600 square foot concrete home that can be built for less than $10,000. The companies are hoping to get the cost down to about $4,000 in future developments.

    While the houses may not be the most palatial they could go a long way in helping people. Shelter is one of the most basic human needs and with a project like this many of those struggling could afford the dignity to be able to call someplace home that’s inexpensive but still sturdy. This endeavor has great potential and more projects like this need to come out of Silicon Valley instead of yet another social app.

     

  • Geebo 8:57 am on March 14, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , ,   

    Walmart offering home grocery delivery in its war with Amazon 

    Walmart offering home grocery delivery in its war with Amazon

    Retail giant Walmart has fired the latest shot in their ongoing battle with Amazon. After Amazon purchased Whole Foods last year, a number of grocery chains started offering home delivery. Since Walmart is the nation’s leader in grocery sales, they’ve announced that they will be rapidly expanding home grocery delivery into at least 100 cities over the coming year. Currently, through Whole Foods, Amazon only offers that service in six markets.

    The main difference between the two services, besides availability, is cost. With Amazon, you need an Amazon Prime membership which can cost as much as $99 a year. Walmart’s new delivery service will be a $9.95 flat fee per delivery and deliveries have to include at least $30 worth of groceries. While that may seem a little exorbitant at first, at least it’s not Whole Food prices and no membership is required.

    On the one hand, Walmart’s new delivery service could be great for lower-income families who may not have the transportation to get to a local grocery store. When you factor in costs such as public transportation, taxis, or ride share programs like Uber, the $9.95 delivery fee doesn’t seem so bad. However, with Walmart and Amazon battling it out like this for retail dominance, the shadow of a duopoly continues to loom over consumers. While better access to affordable food is always a good thing, what happens if only two corporations control those avenues?

     

  • Geebo 9:06 am on March 13, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , genocide, , ,   

    UN: Incitement to violence on Facebook rampant and unchecked 

    UN: Incitement to violence on Facebook rampant and unchecked

    We’ve previously posted about the crisis of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar here about how Facebook was allegedly being used to not only spread falsehoods about the Rohingya, but also how the social network is being used to fuel ethnic cleansing. The use of Facebook as a weapon against the Rohingya has gotten so bad in Myanmar that the United Nations has referred to Facebook as a ‘beast’.

    UN investigators looking into claims of genocide against the Rohingyan people recently said that Facebook is the de facto internet in Myanmar and that “Everything is done through Facebook in Myanmar.” The investigators also said that the incitement to violence against the Rohingya on Facebook were rampant and unchecked.

    While Facebook has not commented on the UN’s recent findings, in the past their responses have been non-committal at best saying it’s hard to curb hate speech at this magnitude before throwing out figures like “it removes about 66,000 posts a week — around 288,000 monthly — on what it considers hateful rhetoric.” That’s all well and good but it doesn’t change the fact that the government and some of the populace of Myanmar are using Facebook’s platform to help carry out what some consider an ongoing genocide of a religious minority in their country. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people who have either been targets of violence or have been forced to flee from their homes. Facebook telling people how many posts they’ve removed isn’t helping and unless Facebook doesn’t take greater measures to prevent their network from being used by oppressive forces they will forever be known as a tool of genocide.

     

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