Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits
Why is Cyberbullying Different?
Christopher Dawson at ZDNet asks, “Why is cyberbullying different?” Discussing the suicide of high-school student Phoebe Prince, Dawson explains that cyberbullying makes it impossible for students to escape their abusers.
“When threats and insults are posted on a social network for all to see (or at least the circle of acquaintances that matter to students), the effect can be fundamentally different than passing insults in the halls or the aggression of bullies in the locker room. It is inescapable.”
Dawson argues that the most effective means of preventing cyberbullying is for schools, parents, law enforcement, and community organizations to work together in a coordinated effort to provide youth with a safety net to report abuse as it happens. This sound philosophy is something that we also encourage at ReputationDefender, and it’s one of the steps we suggested in our How To Guide to Identify and Prevent Cyberbullying.
Web Companies Talking Human Right and China on Capitol Hill
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin has asked 30 tech companies, including Apple, Facebook, and Skype, to explain their human rights practices in China. This request comes in the wake of Google’s decision to shut down its operations in China.
Sophos Security Survey Pegs Facebook as Biggest Security Threat
Cecilia Kang at the Washington Post goes into greater detail on a recently released Sophos security report, which identifies Facebook as the leading security threat cited by companies. A Facebook spokesperson countered criticism of its security capabilities by highlighting the company’s recent partnership with McAfee and restating the belief that Facebook’s new privacy policies make the site more secure.
Another Week, Another Weird Facebook Meme
Last week, millions of Facebook users turned their profile pictures into celebrity images as part of an Internet meme called “Celebrtiy Doppelganger Week.” Now, AllFacebook is reporting on another odd new trend that is sweeping Facebook: Urban Dictionary Week. This trend involves the user visiting the popular Internet slang dictionary website, Urban Dictionary, and then searching for their name. Next, they add whatever the first definition is for their name to their comments. We recommend staying away from this option if your name can be interpreted as something…less than appropriate.
Rogue iPhone Apps Present Significant Security Threat
According to computer security researcher Nicolas Seriot, rogue iPhone apps can be easily used to remotely harvest a user’s iPhone data. Some of the things that these apps can pick up include browsing history, pictures, notes, e-mail log-in and password information, and even your GPS coordinates. One of the biggest reasons that these apps exist is because they are difficult for Apple to detect during the app approval process, however Apple does have some means of tracking down the rogue app developers after the fact.
Bill Gates Finally Gets Data Mining Patent
Bill Gates and other Microsoft executives have been granted a patent on a data mining system…four years after they applied for it. The patent which was filed in 2006, illustrates very basic data mining techniques that have been in place at websites such as Amazon.com for some time now. Any patent experts care to try and decipher if there’s anything exciting hidden away in this patent?
