It is not that hard to identity actual users from the "anonymous" search data released by AOL. The New York Times quickly found user No. 4417749: No. 4417749 conducted hundreds of searches over a three-month period on topics ranging from…
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Will AOL Flap Help Privacy Awareness?
Might AOL's release of the logs of nearly 20 million web searches documenting three months of activity by 650,000 AOL users serve to raise awareness of the privacy concerns with web search surveillance (that I've been writing about forever)? Seth…
AOL’s Apology Misses the Mark
AOL has issued an apology for releasing the logs of nearly 20 million web searches documenting three months of activity by 650,000 AOL users: "This was a screw-up, and we're angry and upset about it. It was an innocent enough…
AOL Data Includes Social Security Numbers
Have you ever searched for your social security number to see if it happened to be posted online somewhere? Have you searched for it along with your name? Many do, and it has apparently been confirmed that the massive database…
AOL Proudly Releases Massive Amounts of Private Data
[I've pasted this in its entirety from TechCrunch - unbelievable] AOL must have missed the uproar over the DOJ’s demand for “anonymized” search data last year that caused all sorts of pain for Microsoft and Google. That’s the only way…
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More Amateur Surveillance and Data Mining
The latest amateur surveillance and data mining story stars a suburban mom upset about the house being toilet-papered by area teens. She didn't want to involve the police, so she took the following steps: She canvassed local stores to see…
Others Online: Opt-In Web Surveillance
A new service called Others Online makes obvious what Google Toolbar and other browser tools do in the background: track users web browsing activities. From their site: Others Online is a free toolbar that shows you people relevant to your…
Audit & Remove Yourself from Data-Collection Databases
Wired's 27B Stoke 6 blog has posted some helpful info on how to audit and remove yourself from of some common data-collection databases (and annoying mailing lists): If you have ever applied for health, life or disability insurance on your…
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Privacy-protected web search with Ixquick
In response to growing concerns over search engine privacy, the metasearch engine Ixquick has announced it will permanently delete all personal search details gleaned from its users from their log files. From their press release: As digital technology increasingly pervades…
More Amateur Surveillance: License Plate Scanning
We've seem to have recently turned a corner where advanced surveillance & data mining technologies are now increasingly marketed to everyday people. Wired News reports on a new vehicle license plate scanning and tracking that is being pitched to more…
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