Press

“Tips to Turn Off Geo-Tagging on Your Cell Phone"
August 20, 2010  |  Ki Mae Heussner, ABC News

Keeping tabs on your favorite celebrities might be easier than you think -- and much easier than they want. But they likely have no one to blame but themselves. According to two teams of computer scientists, Hollywood stars could be unintentionally giving up the exact locations of their homes and private whereabouts through pictures uploaded to the Internet, leaving them wide open to attacks by tech-savvy thieves (not to mention unwanted visits by starstruck fans).

“Web Photos That Reveal Secrets, Like Where You Live”
August 11, 2010 | Kate Murphy, The New York Times

When Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “MythBusters,” posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house, he let his fans know much more than that he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser. Embedded in the image was a geotag, a bit of data providing the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. Hence, he revealed exactly where he lived.

“How Tech-Savvy Thieves Could ‘Cybercase’ Your House"
July 30, 2010 | Niraj Chokshi, The Atlantic

The photos and videos you upload could reveal a lot about where you are. Data stored in digital photographs can help criminals locate individuals and plot real-world crimes, a practice two researchers called "cybercasing" in a recently published paper. The site Pleaserobme.com was one of the first to expose the problem by displaying tweets tagged with location information, although it has since stopped the practice.

“Researchers Warn of Geotagging Dangers – Are You Concerned?”
July 22, 2010 | Sarah Perez, ReadWriteWeb, The New York Times

The International Computer Science Institute (ICSI), a non profit research organization in Berkeley, California, is due to present new findings next month regarding "cybercasing," a word researchers coined to refer to how geotagged text, photos and videos (those that include location information) can be used by criminals and other dangerous parties to mount real-world attacks.

“Posted Images Could Put Some at Risk”
July 20, 2010 | United Press International

Photos and videos uploaded to Web sites may be revealing more information than their posters intended, experts say, leading to real-world vulnerabilities. Such postings can carry detailed information about where and when the images were recorded, leaving people's homes or businesses open to "cybercasing" and possible criminal attacks in the real world, an International Computer Science Institute release said Tuesday.

“Celebrities’ Photos, Videos May Reveal Location”
July 16, 2010 | Ki Mae Heussner, ABC News

Keeping tabs on your favorite celebrities might be easier than you think -- and much easier than they want. But they likely have no one to blame but themselves. According to two teams of computer scientists, Hollywood stars could be unintentionally giving up the exact locations of their homes and private whereabouts through pictures uploaded to the Internet, leaving them wide open to attacks by tech-savvy thieves (not to mention unwanted visits by starstruck fans).

“Geo-tags Reveal Celeb Secrets”
July 12, 2010 | Jim Giles, The New Scientist

The web has opened up new opportunities for stalkers: celebrities' home addresses are becoming easy to figure out because the stars aren't taking care when they upload pictures online. And tech-savvy thieves could even find out when they – or you – are away from home.

"Moore's Outlaws"
July 2010  |  David Talbot, MIT Technology Review

"What we’ve seen is that arms races often progress in an evolutionary fashion. But now and then, they jump,” says Paxson. "If there is some cyber attack that messes up a city for a week–or if a big company is brought to its knees–it will be a game changer."

“Revealing the Secrets of the Internet’s Gatekeepers”
May 25, 2010 | Jim Giles, New Scientist

Who controls your internet access? It's tempting to think that no one does. Sign up with an internet service provider (ISP) and that's it: you're free to browse. Well, not quite free. Your ISP is your internet gatekeeper. Many provide trouble-free service. But providers are able to slow down or block online activities such as file-sharing – an ability that the US Federal Communications Commission wants to rescind.

“Why Spam Filters Read Obscene for Clean"
March 29, 2010 | Jude Sheerin, BBC News

After 90 years, one of Canada's oldest magazines, The Beaver, is changing its name. Its publishers say it was only natural that a Canadian history journal should have been named in honour of the industrious dam-building creature which is the country's national emblem. But in recent times the magazine's attempts to reach a new online audience kept falling foul of spam filters...

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