It is becoming increasingly clear that rapid technological innovation will be the defining characteristic of the twenty-first century. In most ways, new technologies are improving our lives, and they are also creating brand new growing industries that could be our best hope for rejuvenating the world economy. But there is one disturbing aspect to all of this. The proliferation of digital and electronic technologies is making it more difficult to protect our privacy, as the surveillance society imagined by George Orwell in his classic dystopian novel 1984 is now becoming a reality.  Internet spyware, hidden
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MOUNTAINVIEW, CA – Google recently announced its intention to track the activities of users across almost all of its holdings.  Users of YouTube, Gmail, and Google Search will not have the option of opting out. It will apply to all of its services with the exception of Google Wallet, Google Books, and the Chrome web browser. Google promises added benefits to its users and a simplification of its privacy policy. Privacy advocates, on the other hand, believe the changes not only are an invasion of privacy but will invite further intrusion by the federal government.
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As anybody who has been watching the news already knows, the folks at News Corp are facing quite a bit of trouble these days. Even Rupert Murdoch himself, the normally elusive media mogul and controller of politicians everywhere, has been called on the carpet to answer questions about the dirty dealings that went on at
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What a person does on his or her own property, and certainly in the privacy of his or her own home, should be sacrosanct, yes? One would think so, but one would be wrong. Ordinarily, a police officer needs probable cause to initiate a search or seizure (or to procure a warrant). Simply believing that
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Protecting your most valuable personal files is a challenge. How can you save photos, family videos, important documents, and other precious or irreplaceable items?  While lockboxes and external hard drives are one answer to protecting files around your home, the recent tornadoes scattered those solutions far and wide. Floods, windstorms, and fires can all wreck
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Financial calamity can be brought on by many things. Natural disaster, runaway inflation, unexpected illness, and stock market collapse are just a few of the ways you could suddenly find yourself in trouble and seriously short of funds. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to protect yourself from most of these situations, perhaps outside
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