Counterspy

Facebook: You’re Not the Customer, You’re the Product

Man, I love Bruce Schneier. Here’s a pithy, pitch-perfect summary of your relationship with Facebook:

Social networking websites are “deliberately killing privacy” in order to make a profit, according to renowned security author Bruce Schneier.

Speaking at the RSA Europe security conference in London on Tuesday, the BT Counterpane

Encryption (Part 3): How to Keep Secret Files in the Cloud

In an earlier post, I speculated that DropBox and TrueCrypt could be a killer combination — a painless way to keep confidential files encrypted while taking advantage of online backup and synchronization. I’ve been trying this out for a while now, and these two free tools work very well together. You’ll need an hour or two to set up the …

Passwords: How To Stop Ignoring The Expert Advice

By now you’ve heard endless warnings about the risk of short, trivial passwords. There’s a good chance you ignore them. Let’s talk about why that is and what you can do about it.

To begin with, it really does matter. Easy to guess passwords (12345, pet’s name, kid’s name, birthdate, etc) really do expose you to snooping and identity …

The Snoop In Your Browser: An Alternative

In my last post I said some companies do better than others at scrubbing your confidential search logs as time passes. Google appears to be the worst of the major search engines from a privacy point of view; Ask.com, with AskEraser turned on, is among the best.

But there’s a far better answer than looking for the search company that …

The Snoop In Your Browser

Everyone and his Big Brother wants to log your browsing habits, the better to build a profile of who you are and how you live your life — online and off. Search engine companies offer a benefit in return: more relevant search results. The more they know about you, the better they can tailor information to your needs. But you pay a …

Encryption (Part 2): How to Back Up Encrypted Files

Encrypting your PC is one thing, but how do you keep it backed up? And how do you maintain easy access to the files if you work on several computers at different times?

One author I know has two simultaneous book projects going, both of them full of juicy material. He wouldn’t want his notes, drafts or recorded interviews to be cast …

The Case of the Stolen Laptop: How to Encrypt, and Why

There’s an investigator I know, top of her profession, who once put her laptop in the trunk of a cab. By the time she reached her hotel, the laptop was gone. This happens thousands of times a year at airports, train stations, libraries and coffee shops. Sometimes the thief wants your hardware. Sometimes your data turns out to be more …

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