Your Digital Footprint

Media Ads verse Social Media Ads

Being digitally literate may seem like a full-time hobby. No one inside the industry or outside the industry can truly describe how our name was selected for a particular add. Facebook CEO gave a brief and ambiguous answer to Congress in 2019. Is there any hope of our government working for ‘we the people?’

Traditional media advertising relays on the subject content that the individual is viewing. So if you are watching a children’s cartoon, there is a high probability the ad will be targeted towards children or moms. But that is not the same in the social media space. Today if you are watching a children’s cartoon on a streaming service, the ads that are presented to you, are targeted to you specifically. Their algorithm will incorporate your personal demographics and past behavior to decide which ads are for you.

Data Protection – 2020

I just had to take an exam for my current job, proving that I understand the new California Consumer Privacy Act. The new law requires CA companies to allow their customers to request what individual data is used, the ability to opt-out of data usage, and the ability to request that your personal information is deleted from their system.

This leaves me wondering; how does one know which companies are using their personal data? As some of you know, I was a victim of identity theft. A cashier at a Sprint Mobile store had the ability to use minimal information to apply for credit in my name. I was not, nor have I ever been a customer of Sprint. How would I know to request that Sprint deletes (or at the very minimum opt-out) my personal data?

We as consumers never explicitly gave Experian the right to our data, but our government gave them the ok to manage our data. This data hack was one of the U.S. most significant breaches, exposing over half of U.S. consumers to identify fraud.

So, although our laws are catching up to technology, we are not all the way there or entirely protected.

PS – our government allows ALL cellular carriers the right to our credit scores, etc, for ease of switching providers. Regardless of your knowledge or permission.

Opt-in, opt-out, spam. What’s the difference?

You can only opt out of what you opted into. Otherwise, it is spam.

Some of your emails may “feel” like “junk,” but that is just a company sending you information that has no interest to you.

However, a commercial message — one that markets a service or product to the masses or individual — is legal to send if the following are true:

it is sent to email address who has opted into the service
it includes both clear name and contact details of your business
and it provides a clear and free “opt out” link so that users can unsubscribe.

Any “remove from subscription” requests sent back to a business must be honored, and you will be removed from their mailing lists.

When a recipient receives unwanted emails (or text messages), according to the ‘CAN_SPAM’ laws, these are illegal.

By clicking the “spam” button; this information goes back to the Internet Service Providers (ISP), and can get the company sending the spam email in trouble. At worst, if they receive too many spam notices, their IP address is blacklisted from that ISP making it difficult or impossible to send new messages to anyone.

To register on the DO NOT EMAIL list:

Consumers can register at the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) consumer website: www.DMAchoice.org for a processing fee of $2, you can remain on the list for ten years. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. DMAchoice offers consumers a simple, step-by-step process that enables them to decide what mail they do and do not want.

In addition, DMAchoice online offers registration for DMA’s eMail Preference Service (reduce your unsolicited commercial email).

DO NOT CALL REGISTRY list:

The federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you receive. To register your phone number or to get information about the registry, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days. Telephone numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when you choose to remove a number from the registry.

Do you have a digital alibi?

Have you ever stop to think – if you needed an alibi would you have one? With all the digital data collected today how likely is it that your digital data will provide your alibi?

Think about all your activities during the day, hmmm.

Your home security alarm
A Ring/doorbell system (or other outdoor motion sensor cameras)
Your vehicle’s GPS navigational system
Cellular GPS
Connected game console
Activity on your Echo or Google Home
Appliances connected to the internet (IoT)
Check-in at the gym
Credit card receipt

On average you are caught on cameras uptown 20 times a day.

Comment below with your digital alibi(s).

Your voice – the newest member of personal digital data.

Our vocal cords are now an instrument for the digital age. Our voice is transformed into digital content in two ways. Voice assist that allows you to active a device hands free. And voice security, uses your vocal cords as a unique identifier for a user.

Lets start with voice assist. Simply put it is a hands free device waiting for your next command. These devices can listen carefully and translate your speech into text, assist in turning a device on or off, or taking dictation. It decodes the human voice without having to use a keyboard, mouse, or press any buttons.

As we fill our homes with appliances that are smart/connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth we give ourselves more freedom by providing the ability to control the device with our voice.

Technology has increased the confidence factor in understanding the intent of the request. Smart technology weeds out the ‘ums and hums’ from the dictation or command. Eliminating the unnecessary words, allowing people to speak naturally in a comfortable conversation with a device.

The most interesting and beneficial things about Voice Assist is the ability to be hands-free. We can now turn lights on/off by shouting across the room, instead of walking over to the wall switch. We set kitchen timers with our voice when our hands are messy or full.

Voice assist tools (like Amazon Echo, Google Home Assist, Apple Siri & Comcast TV remote) use a wake word to activate the beginning of a request. A wake word is a word that signals the device become active and is followed with a request. For the Amazon Echo, there are a handful of wake words the factory installs, you pick one during the set up. The most popular is “Alexa.” A typical request may be “Alexa, what time is it?” She will respond with an answer.

These devices are always on, waiting for the wake word. And like any connected device, there are security factors to address. If the device is always listening, the bad guys can also hack into the device and listen, without your knowledge. Similar to a baby monitor.

And if the device controls other home applications is the possible the hacker can gain control and manipulate the gadget.

To continue to protect yourself, always reset the factory passwords in any device. This may not prevent all hacking but make it hard for them to access your personal devices.

If you are wondering what data is stored, Amazon states the only history recorded from the Echo devices are requests and answers provided by Echo. To date, Amazon has stated that they have not released any access of anyone’s Echo activity to the government. Amazon reports it only stores the data accessed by its cloud-based storage system and does not consistently record or listen when not in use. However, in theory, a government agency could request a warrant to listen in even before you use the wake work.

Another use of your voice becoming data is thru biometrics. Biometrics is the means of verifying a personal identity thru physical characteristics, much like a fingerprint or retinal scan, your voice can be used as an identifier.

Voice security systems store your voice print data similar to a fingerprint and can be used to authorize or verify an individual. It is another form personal identify, much like a drivers license. It can distinguish similar voices from one other. Banks have been using voice recognition as a second step validation process for clients over the phone for over a decade.

Today voice assist devices do not use your voice a security mechanism. But they are getting smarting, providing the ability to distinguish between different voices in a household. So that when you ask it to “read my horoscope,” it knows who is asking and reads the correct zodiac sign.

To keep your voice assist devices safe:

- Know what devices are always on, and always listening.
- Watch what you say around a voice assist device.
- Change all factory passwords on all devices.
- Give each device a unique password.

Net Neutrality

On July 12, 2017 – Amazon, Reddit, Netflix, and many other internet organizations announced that they would hold a simultaneous “Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality” on July 12 in a final attempt to persuade the Republican-controlled FCC to keep the current net neutrality rules.

Net Neutrality is the idea that all ISPs (internet service providers) should treat all data on the internet the same. It states cost, network performance, speeds, movement of data or throttling should be equal and cannot be blocked or discriminate based on the user, content, platform or application.

In 2015, the U.S. Government classified ISPs as a “common commodity,” and regulated under the FCC’s Title II policy. Title II governs all common utility entities on what services they must offer, to whom, and at what rates. (Other common utilities include water, gas, telephones.) Customer privacy and data laws fall under the jurisdiction of the FTC.

The GOP wants to roll back Title II, allowing internet access as a competitive, dynamic market, not a static utility. But this would also enable the ISPs to control content, cost, speed, or access to their users. Possible limiting access to a competitor’s sites, allowing you to only access content from their own opinions, news stories, or partners. Or slowing download times of varying content, prioritizing sites and articles that support their view(s). These rules may affect the innovation of IoT (internet of things), preventing the ability to connect devices in your home via the internet.

The GOP says they want to start from scratch regarding the regulations around internet access and create a clear new policy for ISPs. The internet is transforming human behavior at a quick pace. Today’s statutes and rules are playing catch up to the marketplace’s innovations. These regulations are an evolving process.

On May 18, 2017 – The FCC voted 2-1 to start rolling back net neutrality regulations; this vote marked the beginning of a lengthy process required to modify the existing rules, and it did not change said rules.

The questions you should ask yourself: should we regulate the internet like a standard utility? Should internet service providers be governed to provide equal service to all communities and all content? (Note: this does not include illegal activities.) Do companies have a right to throttle broadband usage based on their priorities?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: To make things slightly more confusing, the FCC regulates ISPs, and the FTC regulates services such as Facebook, Uber, and Google. The FTC also enforces laws regarding hacking (online and office line), customer data privacy, and protects children’s laws (i.e., inappropriate content).

See who visits your Facebook page

Manual Method To Check Who Visited My Facebook

Open Your FB timeline and copy URL – facebook.com/abc.
Right click on your browser and click “View page Source”.
You will get redirected to a new page with lots of HTML/CSS/Javascripts codes.
Hold CTRL+F (or Command+F on Mac) on your keyboard, a text box appears at the right corner, in that box, type- “InitialChatFriendsList” (Don’t include Quotes)
Next to that, you’ll see a list of numbers, these are actually profile IDs’s of people or your friends who visit your FB timeline.
Just go to “facebook.com” and paste the ID number beside it with a “\” . For example, if the ID is abcd, you have to put it as- facebook.com/abcd.
The first ID shows the one who visits profile more often while the last ID never visits your profile

FOR SALE: Your internet browsing history

President Donald Trump signed legislation 4/3/2017 killing privacy rules that would have required internet service providers, broadband and other telecommunications services to get your explicit consent before they share or sell your web browsing history and other sensitive information.

The rules were approved in the final months of President Barack Obama’s administration but hadn’t taken effect yet. Under the bill Trump signed they never will – and the FCC isn’t allowed to try to pass new rules.

The FCC regulates ISPs and the FTC regulates services such as Facebook, Uber and Google.

Which VUI devices do you use?

VUI (voice user interface) is a device that on command using human voice to communicate. Another word for this is intelligent voice agent or voice assistance.

Technology has increased the confidence factor in understanding the intent of the request from the speaker. Programs have been built to weed out the ‘ums and hums’ from the dictation. Eliminating the unnecessary words from the speaker. allowing people to speak naturally in a comfortable conversation of setting with technology.

Like any other data, there is a security factor to be aware of. The devices are always on and listening which can allow for hackers to listen in. Also data is passing thru the servers the input and output from questions asked and information given. The device is active when a wake word is used. (For example, Alexa is mostly used as the wake word for the Echo device.)

You can reference the criminal case with evidence from Amazon echo.

To date Amazon has not released any access of anyone’s echo to the government. Amazon currently reports it only stores the data access by its cloud-based storage system. However in theory a government agency could request to listen in even before you use the wake work. A warrant is necessary by a federal judge to access this information, same as phone records and email. Although the Net Neutrality laws will give permission for providers to sell access history, making it accessible in aggregate information.

Location, location, location – it’s tracked as your data footprint

Did you know there are multiple features and apps on your smart phone that track your location data? This information to personalize your experience. In some instances you are capable of disabling this feature, and sometimes you don’t it’s just there.

This feature that stirred up a lot of commotion among tech fans who are concerned with privacy.

Apple says this data is well protected though, and it’s actually quite useful if you’re comfortable with it.

Want to see the places you visit most often – they are captured on your iPhone?

Go to Settings >
Privacy >
Location Services >
System Services >
Frequent Locations

You’ll see everywhere you’ve been recently. You can easily disable the feature if it makes you uncomfortable.

Other apps that use your location data: camera apps (location is embedded in the metadata), web browsers, maps, weather alerts, Facebook, Tinder. Programs can use a function called geo-location to help identify when you are close to their facility, they will use this data to send messaging (to you or an employee). One day, in the near future, we will have “instant check-in”, once your phone crosses the threshold, the system will be notified that you have arrived.