Network World on Privacy

PeerBlock Helps You Surf the Web in Secret

Ian Harac — 2009-11-05T12:00:00-04:00

They're lurking out there--sleazy spyware companies, unscrupulous advertisers, and just people you don't want looking at what your computer is doing. PeerBlock (free), an open source program, offers part of a solution--low level blocking of packets coming from, or going to, a long list of hosts.

Major coding errors in Facebook, MySpace by developers

Jeremy Kirk — 2009-11-05T12:00:00-04:00

Social-networking sites MySpace and Facebook have apparently fixed coding errors that could have allowed an attacker access to all of their users' data and photos.

Federal data protection law inches forward

Jaikumar Vijayan — 2009-11-05T12:00:00-04:00

A sweeping new bill that would implement a national standard for data protection and breach notification got a boost of support today from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Dashboard shows what Google knows about you

Sharon Gaudin — 2009-11-05T12:00:00-04:00

Google's new Dashboard products provides its users with some transparency, but critics say more needs to be done to protect consumer privacy.

E-voting system lets voters verify their ballots are counted

Jaikumar Vijayan — 2009-11-03T12:00:00-04:00

A new electronic voting system being used today for the first time in a government election in the U.S. allows voters and elections auditors in Takoma Park, Md. to go online and verify whether votes have been correctly recorded.

Which? responds to Mandelson Internet plan

Nick Spence — 2009-11-02T12:00:00-04:00

Consumer champion Which? has responded to Lord Mandelson's threats to cut persistent file-sharers Internet connections off as early as summer 2011 under new 'three strikes' rules.

Leaked House Ethics document spreads on the Net via P2P

Jaikumar Vijayan — 2009-10-30T12:00:00-04:00

A document containing the names of more than two dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives who are being scrutinized for conduct violations is getting widely distributed over the Internet after being leaked on a peer-to-peer network earlier this week.

Scary new tech fears to haunt your Halloween

Mike Elgan — 2009-10-30T12:00:00-04:00

We all love our PCs and gadgets, don't we? Technology publications like this one (and columnists like me) love to wax eloquent about the wonders of the iPhone, the joys of Twitter and the un-Vista like qualities of Windows 7.

HITECH Act: What you need to know about new data-breach guidelines

Ellen Messmer — 2009-10-29T12:00:00-04:00

Healthcare providers and others handling sensitive patient data are now finding the stakes raised if they suffer a data breach because of a new law known as the "Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act," or HITECH Act.

Stalqer iPhone App Redefines Creepy

Brennon Slattery — 2009-10-29T12:00:00-04:00

First we had Twitter, the ultimate text-based up-to-the-minute portal for following friends, businesses, and organizations. With a handful of excellent Twitter iPhone apps, we were no longer tethered to the Web and could tweet and read on the go. Then we started moving closer into stalking territory with programs like Google Latitude and apps like Loopt and FourSquare. Now, the Australian iPhone app developers behind GasBag (an [app to help