Expressing Opinions

I like this. At the Black Hat hackers convention in Las Vegas three journalist where thrown out because they were caught… (drum roll please) HACKING!

CNN.com/Technology: Reporters cause controversy at hacking conference

But in a case of reporters spying on other reporters, three journalists working for the French publication Global Security Magazine were booted Thursday from the hackers’ conference after they were allegedly caught hacking into the private computer network set up for the media.

If you use Wi-Fi I suggest you use the latest technology to secure your connection and take added measures to protect your data. I like wireless, but would never use it for banking or any other time I do not want someone to look at my personal information. If you think you are not at risk do a Goggle search for “war driving” then check out the results.

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There is more information being gathered about you than you think. Do you have privacy concerns? I know most people will say they do not have anything to hide, but do want all of your personal information to be out there? Ladies do you want that creepy guy at work or someone you met to be able to locate where you live?

In a CNET News article on security: The Internet–a private eye’s best friend

“Dominos has built the biggest consumer database in America,” and the U.S. Marshall’s Service, the New York Police Department and collection agencies are using it to track people down, Rambam said.

Marketing databases with vast amounts of personal records are being purchased by the government, he said. At the same time, individuals have less power to learn what information is being gathered on them and how it is being used, because private entities are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, he added.

And marketing databases will sell this information to anyone who has the money to pay for the service.
I don’t have anything to hide, but I also enjoy a certain amount of privacy. I pay cash, do not participate in customer surveys or give out my phone number when asked by a cashier, this is just a few things I do to lower my digital footprint.

Any time a person asks you for information you should be suspicious. No I am not paranoid, just aware and sometimes suspicious. I believe my digital footprint should be worth something and until they start paying me for it I am going to leave as little info as I can behind for them to use.

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This made me smile. CNET is reporting: San Francisco IT worker arrested in hijacking of city network.

What made smile was they report this guy after being disciplined for poor performance he locked administrators out of the network.  He is also accused of electronically spying on his supervisors and their attempt to fire him. I guess they under estimated his skill set during his performance evaluation.

He did mess up in getting caught and violating rule number one… Never sh*t in your own backyard. I have faced similar accusations where I work, but they were never proven.

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Are thinking about finally making an Xbox 360 or Sony PS3 purchase and still can not decide which one you want? Below is a side by side comparison chart showing the features of each and here is a link to a more in depth comparison of each from PC World.

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One thing for sure in this time of economic uncertainty is to be sure to ask, don’t settle for a half ass deal, check out all of your options, and be prepared to stand up and take action. When people start cutting back on spending, businesses pay attention and it is time for you to start negotiating.

After yesterday’s posting about Comcast’s lack of customer service I sent another email to them with a link to my posting. Today when I checked my email and guess what was there? An email from Comcast customer service giving me a discount that would not insult me. Now I am going to save $483 over the next 12 months. How about that!

However, all of this has forced me to give it some thought about how I spend my money on being connected, my connection options, and do I really need to be that connected. For the time being I will stay hooked up to Comcast, but I can not say I will be there through the 12 months. I need to give it more thought and investigate my other options. Stay tuned for more.

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Yesterday I was going over my monthly bills in preparation to go on vacation. When I got to my Comcast bill I realized how long I have been a customer paying the full price (over 6 years) and have not had any customer loyalty offers from them. The only thing they have ever done is raise the prices. However if you go online to Comcast’s site or watch television they offer all kinds of incentives to get you to sign up. Once they have signed up and the offers expires you are screwed to get any other offers unless you want to increase your service and spend more money.

So yesterday I called Comcast’s customer service, spoke to a guy named Ivan, explained to him how long I have been a customer and asked for one of those introductory offers. He put me on hold for a moment then came back and offered me $15 a month off my services for 6 months. I would still be paying over $100 a month and the introductory offer is $66 a month. What an insult!!!

All that did was piss me off, so I sent them an email. Here is what I sent.

I have been paying full price for my Comcast services for years. I have watched the advertisement on television where everyone gets a super discount for signing on. What about customer loyalty? My parents and friends switch service providers every time their introductory offers expire.

Today I called to see if I could get a discount for being a loyal customer and I get insulted with a $ 15 dollar off services for 6 months. It does not even come close to the new customer $66 offer for the same service I have. I said no thanks to the offer and I am now looking for a different internet and television provider.

I got a reply saying they would get back to me in a few hours and thus far 24 hours have passed and I have not heard from Comcast. Apparently they are making so much money from other schmucks like me they don’t care if you stay or leave.

Comcast sucks and I am going to disconnect my services and start play the introductory offers game with other services. Screw You Comcast!! Comcast sucks!!!

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I just love technology when it is used in a positive manner and better yet, when a government agency uses technology in this manner. An example of this is how you can track your IRS refund. You are getting one? If not then you can skip of this, but those of you who are here is a useful web site.

The IRS has a web page set up for your to track you refund. All you need to enter is your Social Security number, filing status (single, divorced, etc.), and the amount of your refund. Click on the Submit button and a another page will come up with an estimated time of arrival on your refund.

When I used the web site today it stated when my refund would be deposited in my bank account, along with when and what to do if the refund did not show up as scheduled. The web page is secure so there is not much worry in entering your information and there are other useful links on the site about phishing scams too. Not bad considering the source. I know I could have filed my return electronically but I am too cheap to pay for something which should be free.

• Where’s My Refund
  

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Scams and urban legends are everywhere on the Internet. Most people know, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. But sometime the con-artists and creators of “Urban Legends” are very creative in the ways they want to deceive you into believing or giving up information.

Below are a links to two web sites, which are updated frequently with the latest information on some of lies that circulate on the web.

• Snopes.com
• ScamBusters.org

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Most people if asked would tell you they don’t care if their Internet Service Provider tracked what they did on the Internet, because they do not do anything illegal. What they often do not think of when making this statement, is what someone would do with the information they gain by tracking their activity and what would then happen to the information.

The BBC interviewed Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the person who invented the World Wide Web in 1989. In the interview he stated something most people would not think of and I find to be a very good example of why you do not want your ISP or any other entity tracking what you do.

This is what Sir Tim said,

“I want to know if I look up a whole lot of books about some form of cancer that that’s not going to get to my insurance company and I’m going to find my insurance premium is going to go up by 5% because they’ve figured I’m looking at those books.”

For those of you who do not care maybe this will provide a reason to rethink your position. How many of you have researched information on a subject which is legal, but very private and/or personal? Would you have done so if you knew you every word you typed and every link you clicked on was being stored and used for other purposes?

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Continuing with my previous posting Awareness Falling, do you think there are forces at play in the news you receive?

Your news awareness may be skewed because of the propaganda model. The propaganda model is a theory advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that alleges systemic biases in the mass media.

A Wikipedia article on the propaganda model states:

Herman and Chomsky argue that since mainstream media outlets are either large corporations or part of conglomerates (e.g. Westinghouse or General Electric), the information presented to the public will be biased with respect to these interests. Such conglomerates frequently extend beyond traditional media fields, and thus have extensive financial interests that may be endangered when certain information is widely publicized. According to this reasoning, news items that most endanger the corporate financial interests of those who own the media will face the greatest bias and censorship.

It then follows that if to maximize profit means sacrificing news objectivity, then the news sources that ultimately survive must be fundamentally biased, with regard to news in which they have a conflict of interest.

I am inclined to agree with Herman and Chomsky. With news being a business and operated as such, I support the propaganda model. You only need to tune in to see it in action. A perfect example of this is the lack of reporting on the war in Iraq. In July the reporting of the war averaged 15% of the news reporting time, but by February it was down to just 3%. Why is this? Could it be that neither Republican or Democratic parties want the war to be a major part of the election because neither party has a good solution for bringing our troops home? You know if someone had a good plan for withdraw they would be spinning it to the public. So instead the spin doctors of each party spin “other” news stories to the media.

We need to look outside the so-called U.S. free press to learn the whole story and then it do it with caution, knowing you will still encounter the forces of money and power manipulating the facts.

It is only with the recent power of the Internet and the ability of people to post fresh information, does it assist in keeping the media somewhat honest. And that is no where near enough. If you would like to learn more about this topic I suggest you explore the following:

• The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective by Edward S. Herman
• Has the Internet Changed the Propaganda Model?
• Edward S. Herman - links to his many Internet sources.
• chomsky.info: the Noam Chomsky website

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