Ask Marian

Re: IPhoto Users Beware: Some Photo Sites Make Finding You from Your Photos a Snap

AdrianDF — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:20:59 GMT

Hi! I'm the "Adrian" listed above. I'm so glad I came to Marian to help me figure out this problem, more for the safety of the online community than myself. While it is "creepy" to know that someone had pinpointed my apartment, simply based on an iPhone photo that I took of my puppy in the living room, I was more disturbed by the implication for families. Imagine mom taking a picture of the kids at the bus stop on the first day of school. She posts the picture to the family Tumblog (click here for an explanation of a "Tumblog"), and suddenly her picture is reposted with a link to a GoogleMap showing the bus stop where she dropped off the kids. Since this process is automated (at least on this site specifically), it could potentially be run on other sites like Facebook, Flickr, etc, provided your phone's camera inserts location information into the picture data.

While the above is a worst case scenario, I thought people should be aware of the phenomenon and at least exercise some caution when posting photos. I called Apple, and their best advice was to go to "General>Settings>Location Services" and turn Location Services off before you take a photo. This will make certain that the geotagging data isn't included with that particular picture only. Instructions vary for other devices, so check with your carrier. This seems to be the best (albeit annoying) solution until software comes out that lets consumers choose to opt out of geotagging specific applications and files.

Thanks again to Marian for helping me investigate the issue! I hope you learned something valuable - that you can never be too careful when you put content online.

Re: IPhoto Users Beware: Some Photo Sites Make Finding You from Your Photos a Snap

mdturner — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:17:05 GMT

Interesting way to find people.

IPhoto Users Beware: Some Photo Sites Make Finding You from Your Photos a Snap

marianmerritt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:06:21 GMT

If you are, like my friend Adrian, an iPhone user, you enjoy taking and uploading photos with this device. He recently found that some of his Tumblr photos were appearing on another Tumblr website with links to the geotagging information in the image. What this means is when you take a digital photo using the Apple software, it records your physical location on the planet as part of the data in the file. And using this data, a third party could map your location (when the photo was taken) and find you. Or at least get awfully close to where you were at that time.

Re: Symantec's End of Year Security Outlook

mdturner — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:58:58 GMT

Thanks for the end of year summary. I guess the message from us to you is to keep abreast of trends and keep producing products that help us stay safe from today's evelvong threats. Thanks

Symantec's End of Year Security Outlook

marianmerritt — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:55:26 GMT

As we move into the holiday season, it's our practice to take a look at security threats over the last year and give some thought to the year to come. I had the privilege of hosting a webcast roundtable today with panelists Dr. Zulfikar Ramzan of Symantec's Security Technology and Response team and Paul Wood from MessageLabs' Intelligence. You've often heard Zulfikar quoted in stories about emerging new threats such as the latest viruses, malware and online fraud and Paul authors our monthly MessageLabs reports in addition to providing security intelligence to the public.

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants At Risk to become Digital Greenhorns

marianmerritt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:09:01 GMT

In the late 1800's, a young teenage boy from Eastern Europe stepped off a boat onto the wharf of the bustling port of a major East Coast American city. He didn't speak the language as well as he wished he did. He was unfamiliar with the people, the city, and the correct way to get things done. But he knew he had a task to complete - he had to purchase a ticket on a train to another, nearby city where relatives were waiting for him.

Re: Free Holiday Wifi in Airports from Santa Google

mdturner — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:49:53 GMT

A nice gesture from Google but a magnet for the nefarious types who want to get into other people's PCs. I just hope that people read and take careful notice of your safety tips.

Free Holiday Wifi in Airports from Santa Google

marianmerritt — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:04:40 GMT

Google announces a program to offer travelers free high speed wireless web access in airports across America and on Virgin Air flights through the holiday season. Names of the secure Google wireless networks will vary so be sure to check with airport officials in the terminal before logging on. Turn off Bluetooth and file and printer sharing so you can enjoy Google’s gift without any hacker side effects. Now that the wifi is free, can I get some more power outlets in the terminal?

Re: Recap of This Year's Family Online Safety Institute Annual Conference: Did We Just Turn a Corner

mdturner — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:45:26 GMT

A very insightful and interesting article but the conference is not inclusive enough and needs members of the genral public involved to bring more real-world experience to bear on the issues raised. We are in danger of letting legislation and software solutions take the place of good parenting whether by a single parent or a couple. As for seniors, I believe that they are a largely ignored group when it comes to IT as they are seen as not being dymnamic enough but, as you point out, they have lots to gain from better involvement with IT. A good "work in progress" article.

Recap of This Year's Family Online Safety Institute Annual Conference: Did We Just Turn a Corner?

marianmerritt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:51:16 GMT

Two days spent in Washington DC with the leaders of the Internet Safety movement. Some think we've turned a corner, away from focusing on the issue of online predation and children as victims, and now able to move on to other, more complex issues. I'm not quite convinced.

Re: Student Discounts in Tech Abound

marianmerritt — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:50:37 GMT

Ngluke2, no your reinstall won't count against you. But if you ever have any troubles, just contact the nice folks on our customer service lines and they can assist you. Or write to me! marian@norton.com

Re: Student Discounts in Tech Abound

ngluke2 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:50:34 GMT

I am also a student and just purchased windows 7 at the discount rate. TY for the tip =-)

I was wondering however, when I upgrade from windows vista home premium to windows 7 professional it will require me to re-install all my programs, including my norton 360. if i were to reinstall my norton 360, does that count against one of my 3 total home installations? i only have it installed on my laptop right now, and will be purchasing a desk top later in the semester.

Waving Bye-Bye to the Punch The Monkey Ad

marianmerritt — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:49:12 GMT

When I get on the computer each day I have a number of standard websites I check before I get into email, projects or meetings. You likely have your own, perhaps one set for the work day and others for leisure time. My prime targets include news, technology, government and parenting sites. Most of them are managed by large corporations with IT departments and staff dedicated to securing the site and designing a positive user experience. Still, I find it jarring how often the edges of any webpage are littered with junk advertising. The ones that bug me most are the dancing girls of mortgage ads, the anti-aging skin care fright mask images, or anything strobing or flashing at me. Dan Neil of The Los Angeles Times calls them "punch the monkey" ads.

Re: Operation "Phish Phry" Nets 100 Cybercriminals in Global Ring

Yaso_Kuuhl — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:38:41 GMT

Great news and great tips :-)

Re: California State Jobs Site Riddled With Security Holes

Yaso_Kuuhl — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:36:44 GMT

Very disheartening to read about such security holes :-(

Re: Diagnosing Medical ID Theft

mdturner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:39:08 GMT

That's quite amazing - the complexity of the issue should you be unfortunate enough to fall vctim to Medical ID theft. It is not something either that is uppermost in your mind when you are giving your important details to medical professionals.

Diagnosing Medical ID Theft

marianmerritt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:19:58 GMT

The issue of medical identity theft is not entirely new and can take several forms. A stolen name and insurance number can allow a crook to pose as you to receive medical benefits. Or an employee of a medical provider can steal private information and resell to criminal rings. Or a physician or other medical provider might fraudulently charge your insurance for services never received or drugs resold to others. You might never discover you are a victim or find you owe hundreds of thousands of dollars for care that went to others. How to protect yourself? What is available to assist victims?

Re: California State Jobs Site Riddled With Security Holes

Dieds — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:13:43 GMT

Thanks for blogging on this story, Marian. I'm very concerned about my info being stolen, as it is on the EDD website. My advice for my fellow unemployed in California (who knows, other states might also be at risk) is to post only minimal info to meet the requirements -- nothing more.

Re: California State Jobs Site Riddled With Security Holes

mdturner — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:42:27 GMT

Just proves that it doesn't just have to be a lack of security on your home PC that can lead to ID theft.

California State Jobs Site Riddled With Security Holes

marianmerritt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:35:15 GMT

Imagine this common scenario: you’ve been laid off and you need to register with the state to receive unemployment benefits. Part of the requirement today in California is to post your résumé to a state-run CalJobs website. An investigation into the security of that website has uncovered numerous security risks that could easily lead to identity theft for the hundreds of thousands of users.