Two companies that can spy and take your personal information right off the internet are Google and Microsoft.
In the case of Google, geotagging, that is, the portion of metadata that is sent when pictures are taken or apps on your mobile phone use your current location are sent to the host server. The risk that this presents can be very serious depending on how the features are used. It can also be less serious. In the case of Google, which is a company that has always unashamedly sought your personal data so that it can use that data to sell you products and tailor advertising directly to you, it can now send you these ads to you based on your location, where you are up to the minute you are there. “Security experts are particularly worried about the pictures posted on social networks, since they are usually accompanied by real-time statuses. They say that anyone with a modicum of programming knowledge can write a program that could search for the combination of geotagged pictures and "On vacation" statuses” (Net Security).
Microsoft on the other hand, has just recently debuted their newest gaming flagship, the Kinect. Almost immediately an online uproar of articles an opinions came out claiming Kinect’s ability to see what you are doing in the comfort of your own home, how many people are there, the types of gestures being made, who left during specific advertising messages, and so on. “He seemed to suggest that Kinect could tell the Imperium how many people were in the room when an advert was being shown and how many got up and went to the loo.” (Tech Eye).
All of this comes for the sake of information gathering, whether it be for financial gain in relation to targeting advertising to specific people, or political motivations and household numbers. Information is king, and these two mediums can get it from your if you’re not careful about what you put out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment