Comments on: BBC Gives Us a New Perspective on Privacy http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/ Technology News Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:45:09 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Ashley http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141742 Ashley Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:02:22 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141742 <div class="commentquote"><a href="#comment-141722" rel="nofollow">Fred Thompson wrote:</a><blockquote> You’re absolutely correct, treat credit cards as cash substitutes, not convenience loans, and they’re a fantastic tool.</blockquote></div> That's what we've done since we got our very first credit card, and let me tell ya, it works out well! You also make a good point with using data to prevent fraud. At one point someone bought train tickets in Rome with our credit card. We got our money back, but it's always nice to have the bank trying to prevent things like that from happening. Fred Thompson wrote:
You’re absolutely correct, treat credit cards as cash substitutes, not convenience loans, and they’re a fantastic tool.

That’s what we’ve done since we got our very first credit card, and let me tell ya, it works out well!

You also make a good point with using data to prevent fraud. At one point someone bought train tickets in Rome with our credit card. We got our money back, but it’s always nice to have the bank trying to prevent things like that from happening.

]]> By: Fred Thompson http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141722 Fred Thompson Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:59:50 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141722 Credit card companies profile each cardholder's habits and flag things which are too far out of the norm. They also monitor where transactions are happening. I was in Montreal a few years ago when the High School kids were mass counterfeiting their $100 bills and couldn't use my card even though I've used it in most of Western Europe without any problem and no advance notice. My Dad got a call on his cell phone a couple of years ago from a card company because a lot of charges were being made against the card. It had been stolen by people at a restaurant he'd just visited. The charges didn't match his profile and the credit card company was able to direct the police to catch the thieves as they were using the card. FWIW: That capability only became available in the Patriot Act. How many criminals have been caught primarily because they were using stolen cards? Interconnectivity of databases also makes it a lot easier to dead beats such as Dads who won't pay child support and move to another state. Before credit cards were available you'd have to carry some form of negotiable bond. If you were a traveler or looked like one, you were far more likely to be robbed or worse. It wasn't uncommon for people to carry pistols because of the cash they carried. You're absolutely correct, treat credit cards as cash substitutes, not convenience loans, and they're a fantastic tool. Credit card companies profile each cardholder’s habits and flag things which are too far out of the norm. They also monitor where transactions are happening. I was in Montreal a few years ago when the High School kids were mass counterfeiting their $100 bills and couldn’t use my card even though I’ve used it in most of Western Europe without any problem and no advance notice. My Dad got a call on his cell phone a couple of years ago from a card company because a lot of charges were being made against the card. It had been stolen by people at a restaurant he’d just visited. The charges didn’t match his profile and the credit card company was able to direct the police to catch the thieves as they were using the card. FWIW: That capability only became available in the Patriot Act. How many criminals have been caught primarily because they were using stolen cards? Interconnectivity of databases also makes it a lot easier to dead beats such as Dads who won’t pay child support and move to another state. Before credit cards were available you’d have to carry some form of negotiable bond. If you were a traveler or looked like one, you were far more likely to be robbed or worse. It wasn’t uncommon for people to carry pistols because of the cash they carried. You’re absolutely correct, treat credit cards as cash substitutes, not convenience loans, and they’re a fantastic tool.

]]> By: Ashley http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141692 Ashley Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:51:40 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141692 <div class="commentquote"><a href="#comment-141664" rel="nofollow">curtissthompson wrote:</a><blockquote>That’s a great visual representation of how little privacy we actually have in the information age. This is very much why I refuse to use debit/credit cards except in such situations which mandate them, why I’m a big FOSS advocate, and why I am a big security/privacy nut. </blockquote></div> My thought process with this whole this is, what is a credit card really going to do with the information they have about my spending habits? Nothing much, so I'm okay with the idea that they know where I go to spend my money. These days it's just the gas station and grocery store anyways. I also like to take advantage of the cash back program my credit card offers -- I charge everything possible and pay it all off every month so I end up making money off of the credit card company through the rewards program instead of them making money off of me. There's nothing like getting free money! :) curtissthompson wrote:
That’s a great visual representation of how little privacy we actually have in the information age.

This is very much why I refuse to use debit/credit cards except in such situations which mandate them, why I’m a big FOSS advocate, and why I am a big security/privacy nut.

My thought process with this whole this is, what is a credit card really going to do with the information they have about my spending habits? Nothing much, so I’m okay with the idea that they know where I go to spend my money. These days it’s just the gas station and grocery store anyways.

I also like to take advantage of the cash back program my credit card offers — I charge everything possible and pay it all off every month so I end up making money off of the credit card company through the rewards program instead of them making money off of me. There’s nothing like getting free money! :)

]]> By: Tony http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141676 Tony Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:08:30 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141676 The BBC program is on this Sunday. I certainly will be watching it, it looks fascinating. Yep I will be glued to the screen then. Yes Micheal the UK is dreadfully over crowded. The need for building land is excessive and land prices are through the roof!! No green space is safe these days and the pressures on wildlife are even greater. Tony The BBC program is on this Sunday. I certainly will be watching it, it looks fascinating. Yep I will be glued to the screen then. Yes Micheal the UK is dreadfully over crowded. The need for building land is excessive and land prices are through the roof!! No green space is safe these days and the pressures on wildlife are even greater.

Tony

]]> By: Fred Thompson http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141671 Fred Thompson Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:24:16 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141671 This is load analysis, not "tracking." If anything, it lowers the cost and increases the efficiency of adapting the infrastructure to changing needs. Urban planning and associated civil engineering do exactly this sort of thing all the time. It happens at any grocery store. The systems need to be monitored to determine where and under which circumstances peak use happen. Load analysis is used all the time for countless things. Does the grocery store just "happen" to have food when you want it or do they monitor the sales and plan accordingly? Hmmm... @curtissthompson, methinks you're post is overly paranoid. ALL telecom uses load analysis. ALL telecom can be monitored at will. Geolocation in cell phones is part of that load analysis (you DO know they're just low-power radios, don't you? Repeaters and switches are installed as the load changes.) and they're used by emergency responders to get to a crisis location. If you're in a car wreck and only have enough energy to dial 911, the "spies" you decry will show up quicker than waiting for a random passerby. I've used my cell phone and 911 to follow very drunk drivers and help vector the police to pick them up before they cause a wreck. Efficiency and safety, some conspiracy! This is load analysis, not “tracking.” If anything, it lowers the cost and increases the efficiency of adapting the infrastructure to changing needs. Urban planning and associated civil engineering do exactly this sort of thing all the time. It happens at any grocery store. The systems need to be monitored to determine where and under which circumstances peak use happen. Load analysis is used all the time for countless things. Does the grocery store just “happen” to have food when you want it or do they monitor the sales and plan accordingly? Hmmm…
@curtissthompson, methinks you’re post is overly paranoid. ALL telecom uses load analysis. ALL telecom can be monitored at will. Geolocation in cell phones is part of that load analysis (you DO know they’re just low-power radios, don’t you? Repeaters and switches are installed as the load changes.) and they’re used by emergency responders to get to a crisis location. If you’re in a car wreck and only have enough energy to dial 911, the “spies” you decry will show up quicker than waiting for a random passerby. I’ve used my cell phone and 911 to follow very drunk drivers and help vector the police to pick them up before they cause a wreck. Efficiency and safety, some conspiracy!

]]> By: Michael Dobrofsky http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141669 Michael Dobrofsky Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141669 The planet is so overpopulated. Humans are just like a virus. Agent Smith was dead on ;) The planet is so overpopulated. Humans are just like a virus. Agent Smith was dead on ;)

]]> By: curtissthompson http://cybernetnews.com/bbc-gives-us-a-new-perspective-on-privacy/comment-page-1/#comment-141664 curtissthompson Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:48:42 +0000 http://cybernetnews.com/?p=14394#comment-141664 That's a great visual representation of how little privacy we actually have in the information age. This is very much why I refuse to use debit/credit cards except in such situations which mandate them, why I'm a big FOSS advocate, and why I am a big security/privacy nut. The US and UK are very much becoming surveillance societies. The technologies which we develop to liberate ourselves (Internet, cell phones, etc.), because of our lack of foresight for the externalities of our decisions, ultimately enslave us. Simple example being the adoption of the cell phone whose intended purpose was to make communication with others easier, quicker, and more convenient. Today cell phones are used as tools by the government to spy on it's citizens, both through position triangulation and tapping into communications, whether the phone is turned on or off. That’s a great visual representation of how little privacy we actually have in the information age.

This is very much why I refuse to use debit/credit cards except in such situations which mandate them, why I’m a big FOSS advocate, and why I am a big security/privacy nut.

The US and UK are very much becoming surveillance societies. The technologies which we develop to liberate ourselves (Internet, cell phones, etc.), because of our lack of foresight for the externalities of our decisions, ultimately enslave us.

Simple example being the adoption of the cell phone whose intended purpose was to make communication with others easier, quicker, and more convenient. Today cell phones are used as tools by the government to spy on it’s citizens, both through position triangulation and tapping into communications, whether the phone is turned on or off.

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