Security and Privacy

Stem Innovation iZON Remote Room Monitor Review

Two years ago we installed a wireless security system in our home as part of a review. (Read it here.) One element of the system is a remote camera that lets you keep an eye on one part of your home when you are away. But what if you want to have a remote camera but don’t want to install an entire system? And what if you don’t want to pay a monthly fee? That’s where Stem Innovation’s iZON Remote Room Monitor comes in. It is small, relatively inexpensive and there is no monthly fee! The company describes it this…

Editorials

Unintended Consequences of ‘Play’-ing Around!

Early this week I saw link to a couple of new music making apps for Android and wanted to check them out, so I clicked and … BLOCKED! That is right – suddenly I couldn’t access Google Play. I went ahead and asked one of our local IT folks and he said that in general their filters will block download sites, game and music digital download sites and so on, but similar to Amazon’s MP3 and video sites the Google site managed to make it through the filters due to the way the site evolved. But once the name changed…

News & Features

Is This the End of Privacy?

Privacy on the Internet is a very slippery idea. We share information voluntarily, through Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social media. Information gets shared involuntarily through hacking, or by companies tracking our purchases and browsing habits to glean clues about how to make us their ideal customer. But Slate has an article today on a new way to learn about people online that is passive, technologically advanced, and nearly impossible to avoid: eye tracking using front-facing cameras. It sounds like the stuff out of paranoid science fiction, and right now it is. However, as Slate astutely points out, more and…

Editorials

Personal Privacy: Is It an Archaic Concept?

Image courtesy of The Punch In 1990, science fiction writer David Brin released “Earth”, a book that was set 50 years in the (then) future, or about 2038. It extrapolated a number of things–increased UV and higher coastlines due to global warming, for example (Houston is inundated with water like Venice!). One of the key back plot elements, though, is a “Helvetian War”, a war fought against the Swiss to end the secrecy of the Swiss banks, and attempt to get the people back some of the ill-gotten gains of the rich. (Switzerland is turned into a radioactive abattoir as…

Editorials

Google Says ‘We Do What We Must Because We Can’

The title is a Portal reference … if you haven’t played, you should. I’ll provide a video at the end for context. The basic theme is that Aperture Science (Google) does what it ‘must’ (cruel human experimentation in the name of science) because it ‘can’ (no one can stop them). But also realize that it is presented humorously in-game, and I don’t intent it seriously here. Today we learn that Google is going to be combining all of the login and account data across every service we access with the same credentials. Yawn, right? Well, not exactly Orwellian, but not…

News & Features

Apparently Password Sharing is ‘a Thing’ with Teens!

Things like split heart necklaces for shared love used to be common, or swapping high school or college rings, or a shirt or other things. Apparently the new sign of trust, love and commitment is … sharing online passwords. According to the New York Times article: The digital era has given rise to a more intimate custom. It has become fashionable for young people to express their affection for each other by sharing their passwords to e-mail, Facebook and other accounts. Boyfriends and girlfriends sometimes even create identical passwords, and let each other read their private e-mails and texts. They…

Gear Bits

At Least NOW We Know Who the TRUE Enemies of Freedom Are!

Image courtesy WTOP We interrupt my seemingly weekly rant on our ever-encroaching police state to remind you that there are plenty of normal everyday people lurking around looking to circumscribe public discourse and force their bizarre conspiratorial views on others. Those people live on this crazy place called ‘Facebook’ … and here is the latest example of just how crazy they are! Apparently Pepsi in the Middle East and Africa has recently come out with a new design, and a soldier leaving Iraq saw the can and made some wild paranoid conspiratorial leap that Pepsi was ‘celebrating’ the 9/11 attacks….

Editorials

Watch What You Post on Facebook!

It’s December. It’s time for snow, family, shopping…and of course, holiday parties and New Year’s celebrations. Plus, if you’re a senior in high school you probably sent off your college applications. Just remember…what goes on Facebook is never really private, so please, from your friends at Gear Diary, think before you post, especially as you celebrate the holiday season! If you’ve just applied to college, your next step after that application goes in the mail is simple: lock down your Facebook page. According to the Huffington Post, admissions officers often check Facebook to find out more about potential students. So…

Gear Bits

Mobile Edge Has Got Your Back If You Are Worried About Privacy

Are you feeling a bit spooked by all the recent stories about how our mobile phones are transmitting our GPS data, who we are talking to, and other possibly sensitive information? Here is one solution that might help: buy a bag that has a wireless security shield. What that means is that when your phone is placed in the pocket — even if it is turned on and otherwise fully functioning, no data, calls or GPS will be able to come or go. Wireless Security Shield™ In an effort to help provide ultimate security for your Bluetooth enabled Cell phone…

Editorials

A Reminder That Our Only Freedoms Are the Ones We Fight For

I doubt that anyone would seriously debate that we have lost significant freedoms in this country over the last decade, though it is generally presented with a caveat that what has changed was needed for enhanced security. Sometimes this is true, other times it is for the appearance of greater security, and other times it is simply an authoritarian power grab. Which is why this story is so awesome! Last week I heard about the high school girl had gone to a ‘Youth in Government’ program event and had tweeted: Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him…

Gear Bits

Malls Will Test Cell Phone Shopper-Tracking Starting on Black Friday

You are wandering around the mall on Friday, heading from the Gap to FYE to Macy’s to Hickory Farms to Best Buy, not necessarily thinking about anything but getting as many great deals to justify braving the crowds as possible. But thanks to FootPath Technology, your cell phone will be pinging in with its location, and the mall will be able to mine data about traffic patterns, which stores got the most visitors, correlations between stores and more! Sound a bit invasive? Well, if you are in one of the malls testing this out, your only option is to turn…

Editorials

A Look at Our Growing Police State from Four Angles

Image courtesy HuffPo I grew up in a time when you respected authorities but didn’t place blind trust in them. The government was still reeling from Watergate and Vietnam, which instantly led many to question anything said by those in power. The downside was that soldiers returning from Vietnam who were themselves victims of a draft were lumped in and treated poorly (my kids have a hard time connecting with Rambo’s treatment, but I remember it all too well from people in my town growing up). When Ronald Reagan took office, a new wave of pride and positivity in being…

Gear Bits

PSA: If You Are a Verizon Wireless Customer, Check Your Privacy Settings!

Whenever a wireless carrier discusses your private information, you can be sure of one thing: they are trying to squeeze more money out of you by leveraging your information, but know that if they don’t give you an opt-out they will have regulators breathing down their necks. So … this week we get an email from Verizon Wireless. What information are they storing? Mobile Usage Information: • Addresses of websites you visit when using our wireless service. These data strings (or URLs) may include search terms you have used • Location of your device (“Location Information”) • App and device…

Gear Bits

Amazon: It May Be Easy, but It’s a Risk

Now that Amazon is shipping the Kindle Fire, I got to thinking: what if you gift the Fire or any other Kindle? Well, if you do, make sure you do what Laptopmag.com says in their post and keep YOUR Kindle account safe. After I read this, I did some more thinking: What if someone stole your shiny new Kindle off of your porch? If this happens, then that thief has access to ALL of your books and can purchase books on your account. This is bad. This is very bad. Gear Diary’s own Michael Anderson and Dan Cohen are both trying out the Kindle Fire,…

News & Features

mSecure 3.0 Puts a Blowfish in the Cloud

Largely because I tend to switch devices and platforms regularly, I keep coming back to the same password manager – who for now shall remain nameless – because it is available for Blackberry, Android, and iOS devices, as well as having desktop applications for both Windows and Mac OSX. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing software from my perspective, but it works well enough. Syncing my mobile devices does require that I sync with the same computer, but I can’t sync between computers. Cloud syncing isn’t an option. I may have to consider switching now, however, as mSeven Software’s mSecure…

Editorials

Invasion of the Super-Cookies!

A few weeks ago it came to light that Spotify was using a special type of tracking cookie. Of course, once caught with their hand in … um, the cookie jar (sorry!), Spotify said they would suspend the use of the Kissmetrics cookie technology. But as Digital Music News notes, it is a bit late for the tens of millions of users worldwide who have used Spotify already! Spotify is already managing this like a crisis. According to research just published by researchers at UC Berkeley, Spotify has been using a cookie that cannot be deleted, still tracks if the…

Reviews

Lorex LIVE SENSE Gives Parents (and Grandparents) Peace of Mind

Photos: Author Having never been blessed with children of my own, I never quite got a grasp of everything new parents had to worry about nor how extensive their “to-do” list was … until last Christmas when we got word of the impending arrival of my wife’s first grandchild. Fast forward to July 26, and Baby J arrives in fine fashion. In no time I begin hearing “I can’t wait until we can start babysitting him over here.” What? The baby is coming here? “I’m not ready.” “The house isn’t ready.” “Where did the time go?” The very next day…

Reviews

Logitech Alert Review: Makes Your iPad a Home Security Solution

Now that summer is here, you’re probably gearing up to enjoy some much-needed vacation time. Before packing up and hitting the road, one thing none of us likes to stop and really think about is how to keep watch over our home or business while away. Luckily, Logitech has come to the rescue with an easy and portable solution that doesn’t require us to own a private jet to maintain digital home security. Does it do the trick? Can Logitech Al turn an iPad into your private watch dog? Let’s jump right in and see.

Reviews

Vivint Adds Security and Automation to a 1970s Era Deckhouse, Part Two: Installation

A few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that we were going to be adding an alarm system and a nice degree of home automation to our residence in New Jersey thanks to Vivint. Well, the process is all but done and I thought in this second post we would take a look at what the installation process actually entailed. I set up a standard installation appointment with the company and was pleased to find out that, unlike so many companies, the guys actually showed up exactly when they said they would. And they were awesome. They explained what…

Reviews

Vivint Adds Security and Automation to a 1970s Era Deckhouse, Part One: The System

Eight years ago we moved into a thirty-five-year-old Deck House fixer-upper. Deck Houses are post and beam “kit” houses that are built like a barn, offer huge open space and because they have no joists or crawl spaces for running wires and plumbing present numerous challenges when renovating. It is for that reason (among others) that eight years later, we are still working on it. On the “wish list” of renovations was adding some home automation, but the cost and the unique challenges of the design made it less enticing than it might otherwise have been. At some point, I…

Editorials

Choosing Not to Share in a World of Over-Sharing, the President Takes the Lead

This photograph of the President and his staff watching the assault that eventually led to the death of bin Laden in real-time, is on track to be the most viewed image in Flickr’s history. The emotion on their faces, Secretary of State Clinton’s hand over her mouth and the laser focus of the President Obama’s eyes on the screen say pretty much everything that needs to be said about the importance of the moment. Since Sunday night there has been great speculation about whether or not an image of the terrorist’s body would be released. The debate has raged and…