Amid the headlines and hearings about a British tabloid hacking cellphones, you may be curious about how that was done. You may also be curious about phone security for kids – I'll get to that in a moment. My ConnectSafely co-director Larry Magid explained in the Huffington Post how easily those hacks can happen. He writes of default PIN numbers (used sometimes by criminal hackers when people … [Read more...] about How cellphones get hacked
Archives for July 2011
A new book & fresh look at online privacy
We may not be fully aware of it yet, but as our media environment is changing – from a top-down (regulated, professionally produced) one to a user-driven, multidirectional, social one – so is our idea of privacy. Slowly, maybe, but changing it is. In their new book, A New Culture of Learning, University of Southern California Profs. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown touch on how today's … [Read more...] about A new book & fresh look at online privacy
A cyberbullying epidemic? No!
Please note: There is no cyberbullying epidemic. Like author and anti-bullying expert Rosalind Wiseman, I can't believe how many times I've been asked about "the epidemic" and what's to be done about it. Rosalind suggests that the epidemic is in bad PSAs and "educational" videos aimed at bullying prevention. I agree, but also suggest that we've been experiencing an epidemic of news coverage of … [Read more...] about A cyberbullying epidemic? No!
Supreme Court: Videogames, as other arts, are protected speech
The decision most probably settles the question of whether state laws can ban sales of violent videogames without violating the First Amendment. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court has struck down a California law that "tried to make the sale or rental of mature-rated video games to underage consumers an illegal offense punishable by fine," Time reported. It was a landmark decision because, in a … [Read more...] about Supreme Court: Videogames, as other arts, are protected speech
FB & Google+ videochat + kids: Should we worry?
Based on old fears around online chat and Webcams, should all the news about videochat in Facebook and the new very social Google+ concern parents (when the latter goes public)? Not really. Not the sort of engaged parents who tend to be concerned, and definitely not those who approach these things from the kid out instead of from the technology or the headlines in (see this). In other words, it … [Read more...] about FB & Google+ videochat + kids: Should we worry?