Jul 29, 2018 | news, Politics, security
There is a difference between Russian hacking, on the one hand; and Russian meddling in American society and interfering with our election, on the other hand. The terms are used interchangeably and imprecisely in news coverage. Let’s try for clarity. Knowing the...
Mar 18, 2018 | Amazon, Apple, business, Facebook, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Politics
Five companies – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft – dominate everything that happens in technology. They arguably wield more power than many governments and they have an outsized influence on the global economy. These dominant platforms have created...
Mar 26, 2017 | broadband, Facebook, Google, news, Politics, security
When you think about the future, you may start to suffer from “abyss gaze,” the depression that settles in when you realize that we’re all doomed. Warren Ellis coined the term in a novella named “Normal,” which tells the story of futurists who suffer nervous...
Sep 21, 2016 | Apple, Google, Microsoft, phone, Politics, security
It’s not your imagination: robocalls are on the increase. The volume of robocalls has risen sharply in 2016. Complaints are up. The government and big companies are taking new steps to try to rein in the scammers and perhaps tame the “legitimate” telemarketers. It may...
Sep 8, 2016 | news, Politics, security
If you have any illusion that privacy means anything, forget it. If you are targeted for surveillance, there is nothing you can do to prevent it. Every keystroke on your computer will be logged. Everything you do on a phone – every message, every call, everything –...
Feb 24, 2016 | Android, Apple, Google, news, Politics, security
There are three points that are frequently overlooked in the debate about the FBI’s demand that Apple provide custom access to a terrorist’s locked iPhone. • Apple is not defying a court order • The FBI is seeking a broad precedent ...