Privacy and security are two major concerns most people have regarding their data in the world of electronic mayhem. But do we really know how safe these pieces of metal and plastic are? Are we being succumbed to malware and information hacking without even realizing?
Well, yes. Remember when everyone got all bent out of shape over Carrier IQ? This is just as bad. Gizmodo published an information editorial regarding this information vulnerability, and it seems, “some of App Store’s shiniest celebrities are among those that beam away your contact list in order to make hooking up with other friends who use the app smoother.”
These include, but are not limited to:
-Foursquare: (e-mail, phone numbers, no warning)
-Path: (Pretty much everything after warning)
-Instagram (Email, Phone Numbers, First, Last Warning)
-Facebook (Email, Phone Numbers, First, Last Warning)
-Twitter for iOS (Email, Phone Numbers, warning)
-Voxer (Email, First, Last, Phone numbers, warning)
The way these applications send our information about people we know to servers lies inside of the iOS software; because Apple wants a more “seamless and magical” experience (no pop-up notifications), you pay the price of giving up your data—“[y]our phone [is] mak[ing] decisions about what’s okay to share with a company, whose motivation is ultimately making money, without consulting you first.”
So where does it all go? As developer Paul Haddad explains, “[o]nce the data is out of your device there’s no way to tell what happens to it[.]” People “with the knowhow” are even able to conjure data by digging through app traffic to see if they’ve been “shoveling around” through your address book—meaning, yes, all of your data lies in the hands of whoever might be lucky enough to get it.
Of course, there are solutions to the fact we can’t trust Apple to let us keep our information for ourselves. With a jailbroken app Cydia, developed by Jay Freeman, you are able to control how iOS works: “one-off modifications to the underlying system [...] that nicely transfers this control back to the user.”
But should we have to use a jailbroken app to feel our information isn’t subject to hack? Or should Apple change the way iOS operates so we can use our phones without the unsettling thought someone’s hacking our stuff?
(via Gizmodo; photo via tech2)
Using a computer and mouse can be pretty limited when it comes to controlling your computer applications – and going back and forth between peripherals wastes your valuable time. While the Xbox connect has potential in turning dramatic gestures for PC control, founders of Flutter envision something a little more subtle – that uses your Mac OS webcam.
