Guest_WiFi, GillsCoffeeShop, FBI Surveillance Van?! Have you ever wondered how networks get their (occasionally quirky) names when you’re searching for a Wi-Fi connection? Each phrase is an SSID – a…
We've written many times on the PIA blog about the increasing use of biometric systems as a way of establishing identity and controlling access. Biometrics being used in this way…
The times of staring out of the airplane window with a screaming baby as your only soundtrack are soon going to be a thing of the past. The European Commission…
Apple has made two important announcements that will enhance privacy for its users, and that could have important beneficial knock-on effects around the world: Wired reported that Apple has dropped…
You’ve probably heard “those in the know” say you don’t need an antivirus anymore, that your yearly McAfee subscription, paid diligently since 1999, is little more than a scam. As…
We've just written about the mounting problems for Facebook and its parent company Meta. And to that list of issues can be added another one, potentially the biggest so far,…
As a digital native, chances are, you’re somewhat aware that companies are mining your social media data. Social networks have gone as far as to determine political preferences based on…
Facebook has been part of our lives for so long it's easy to forget that there were hugely popular online services and sites before it. Remember AOL, MySpace, CompuServe, or…
We’ve all been there, especially during the holidays. You see a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal, it’s from a retailer you’ve not seen before, and it seems too good…
Surveillance used to be something that spies did to a few high-value targets using absurdly expensive pieces of specialized equipment. The arrival of the Internet as a mass medium changed…