By David Thomas
|
One sunny day, a Google camera car drove past my house in West Sussex, taking photos for its Street View project. It snapped my garden wall, my front gate, my garden and several angles of the house itself.
Those clever people at Google didn’t ask me if I wanted them to do this. They didn’t ask anybody.
They’re Google. They do whatever they like.
When the pictures went online, they provided any would-be burglar with a handy guide to the best ways into my home. What I did not realise until very recently, however, is that the first ‘burglar’ to benefit could have been Google itself.
Taking more than pictures: A Google street-mapping car in Bristol
Many civil rights campaigners have warned that people are in the dark about how Google's new privacy policy could affect them
For the very same system that collected all the photographic data was also acting as a high-tech bugging device, potentially harvesting data from my family’s computers.
At the time Google snooped on me and my family, a few years ago, I was working from home as an author, so the information might have included financial discussions with my agent, or research for the thrillers I write, ranging from possible locations for presidential assassinations to the construction of small-scale nuclear bombs.
There was a wealth of personal information, too, including confidential correspondence with doctors.
Insatiable
And I am not alone. Millions of Britons may have been victims of Google’s insatiable hunger for personal information.
When it was first suggested in 2010 that Google might have done this, the company initially said it wasn’t true. Then they claimed it was an unintentional mistake; a mere oversight.
Back then, Britain’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, whose job it is to investigate such activities, did not think it was worth hiring a computer expert to investigate Street View. Instead, they spent just two hours looking at a sample of the information Google had collected.
Google street view: The very same system that collected all the photographic data was also acting as a high-tech bugging device
Taking over the world: The Grand Canyon is just one of the worldwide sites which could be revealed in great detail on Google
After that, the ICO accepted Google’s claim that the data trawl was a ‘simple mistake’. It decided there was nothing to worry about, and gave Google permission to destroy any other potentially incriminating information it had stolen.
Now, at last, the ICO is to undertake the serious, hard-hitting investigation into Google that it has long avoided.
The allegation against Google boils down to this: their cars scanned for wireless networks as they drove up and down Britain’s streets, detecting wi-fi signals and capturing any information that was being transmitted or received by computers without password protection that were online at the time.
Many systems might have been idle. Others would have been used for entirely trivial purposes. But as a public letter from ICO to Google makes plain, evidence from America suggests that ‘millions of unknowing internet users’ may have been affected.
The information stolen included private, sensitive material such as ‘full user names, telephone numbers, complete email messages, instant messages, logging-in credentials, medical listings, legal infractions, information in relation to online dating … and data contained in video and audio files’.
Google executives knew the Street View software was actually written in such a way that it allowed it to collect personal data.
Last month, a report by America’s Federal Communications Commission revealed that the man who designed it — a British computer scientist, Marius Milner, who now lives in California — repeatedly warned his bosses from 2008 onwards that it breached people’s privacy and called for an internal review of the legal implications.
The one question that neither the ICO, nor anyone else appears to have asked Google is why they needed to have any data-capturing software on their Street View cars at all.
The purpose of the cars, they claimed, was to photograph every street in the country — an intrusive enough business in itself. For that, they required cameras. That’s all. But Google captured digital data. So why did the cars have this capability?
Now, you might very well say it was my own fault that my data was vulnerable to being stolen: I should have put a password on my wi-fi system. But, naively, like millions of others, I never saw the need.
Google's own Privacy Policy brazenly informs users that the company will 'automatically collect and store certain information' but few of us read this, let alone comprehend what it really means
I live in the countryside. The nearest neighbours are an elderly couple hardly likely to hack into my system. Besides which, why should anyone be obliged to anticipate the amoral acts of multinational corporations? Should we really be expected to guard against an enemy we didn’t know existed?
This isn’t about hiding immoral activities or matters of public interest. We all have the right to keep our personal correspondence, finances and medical histories private.
Or we did, anyway. Now the very concept of privacy is denied by the all-seeing masters of the internet. And in many ways the issue of whether one chooses to put a password on one’s computer is neither here nor there. From the moment we turn on our computer, iPad or smartphone we are effectively broadcasting considerable amounts of our lives to the corporations watching over us all.
Brazen
Google’s own Privacy Policy brazenly informs users that the company will ‘automatically collect and store certain information’. This includes, among many other things, ‘details of how you used our service, such as your search queries’. So they know exactly where you’ve been looking online.
The reason Google does all this snooping is very simple: to make money. In a world in which virtually all online content is free, the only way technology companies like this can make the vast sums they do is by harvesting personal information and then selling that to advertisers.
Google has become too big and too powerful for its own good. It is worth 120 billion, yet pays virtually no UK taxes. Its UK turnover is 2.1 billion, yet it pays UK tax of just 5 million.
All-seeing: Google's StreetView Trekker backpack camera will now allow Google to capture what it's cars and planes can not
It shrugs off the attempts of national governments to regulate or punish it. And it is subject to none of the transparency that it forces upon those of us who use it.
The time has come to say: ‘Enough!’
The Data Protection Act of 1998 states that personal data may not be obtained or processed without the consent of the ‘data subject’. The Street View camera cars did clearly breach that Act — just as Marius Milner warned it would.
Now, in order to get any damages for a breach by a company like Google, one has to prove it led to a financial loss on your part, which would be very hard to do.
However, if the ICO concludes that Google is guilty of a serious breach of the Act, it could fine the company up to 500,000. But there is a loophole that means any penalty placed on the company could be much lower, because until April 2010 the maximum fine for breaching the Act was 5,000 — and the majority of data was collected by Street View cars before that time.
Destroyed
Clearly, Google did steal data. Equally clearly, it would be very hard to prove any specific case, particularly since it appears the evidence has now been destroyed.
But there is something we can do — and I mean to do it.
The Data Protection Act gives us all the right to demand the information an organisation (whether public body or commercial corporation) holds about us. It’s called a Subject Access Request. It costs between 2 and 10, and a reply must be received within 40 days.
Do you know who's looking into your home: Google may have personal information on you without your knowledge
So I have decided to make my own small stand against the Google monster. I want to know what it knows about me, and what it might have stolen. If the Street View cars stole data from my system, and it hasn’t yet been destroyed, then I want to know what they’ve got.
And if Google has been passing my personal information on to third-party companies so they can bombard me with advertising, I want to know about that, too.
It’s our right to know what others know about us. So I urge all the readers of the Daily Mail to join me. Tell Google you want your secrets back.
Do you think Google took your private data? Email us at privatedata @dailymail.co.uk
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
'TOWIE' Lauren Goodger speaks of online abuse: 'People are disgusting' - Digital Spy
Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk
TOWIE's Sam and Joey's alone time - Belfast Telegraph
Friday, 15 June 2012
The TOWIE model admitted it was hard being in a relationship that was played out on television but she said they now worked hard to spend quality time together away from the show, since rekindling their romance.
Sam said: "Me and Joey have been absolutely great. When we were together before, it was rushed and we didn't really make time for ourselves and our personal life. And this time TOWIE is TOWIE and the celebrity lifestyle, but when we get time together we just relax and we sit in and watch films.
"I think you need that in your relationship, because our lifestyles are so hectic, it's nice to actually sit down and relax with each other.
"Sometimes you feel under pressure, and other times it's fine. I think we're both looking forward to a nice holiday this year, just the two of us."
The reality TV star, who has released her autobiography, Living Life The Essex Way, also confessed it was tough having their arguments aired on TV for everyone to watch, but she had come to accept it was part of the job.
She said: "Some things like that you think 'I wish I could just deal with this myself with him'. But if it's out there it needs to be spoken about on the show otherwise it would look weird to the viewers. They'd think, 'Why are they all happy, what about them pictures we saw?', so you do have to play it out.
"Sometimes I wish some things could be kept between you both, but it has to be played out, because it's our lives and that's what we're on the show for."
She added: "It's hard to watch it back and hear myself shouting!"
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
State aid ruled out for Coryton oil refinery - The Guardian
Trade unions have criticised the government for ruling out using state aid to save the Coryton oil refinery in Essex, with time running out to save 850 jobs at Britain's largest independent refining site.
Ministers said overcapacity in the industry meant that pumping money into Coryton, to prolong its existence while administrators search for a buyer, would be unsustainable. In a statement yesterday that indicated low government confidence in the long-term future of Coryton, the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: "Departments across government have looked very carefully at whether or not state aid should be provided for Coryton. But we have come to the conclusion that the existing overcapacity in the refining industry and declining demand for petrol mean that it would not be sustainable. This would not be a long-term solution either for the taxpayer or for the industry, which will thrive best with open and fair competition."
One of Coryton's competitors, Essar Energy, owner of the Stanlow facility in Merseyside, has warned that up to 20 Coryton-sized refineries might have to shut on both sides of the Atlantic in order to return the refining market to a sustainable footing. A dip in car traffic, the emergence of more fuel-efficient vehicles, growing use of biofuels and strong competition from Middle Eastern and Asian refineries have combined to hurt players such as Coryton. Coryton's administrators are winding down the site, having halted refining work last week, and hope to sell it as a storage facility.
The Unite trade union said the move contrasted with the actions of other European governments, which it claimed would have stepped in. Tony Burke, Unite's assistant general secretary, said: "This is a government which talks about supporting manufacturing yet sits on its hands and does little to support manufacturing growth. The closure of Coryton will have a devastating impact on the local community and the wider economy, sucking out over £100m and leading to the loss of hundreds of skilled jobs." Phil Whitehurst, a GMB union official, said: "The news that ministers are citing overcapacity in the industry is nonsense. Coryton supplies 20% of the fuel used in London and the south east of England. It is also a very important hub of employment in the Essex economy and part of our national infrastructure."
Thurrock Council has commissioned an economic impact assessment of the closure or change of use of the site, which found it would cost £30m in wages, £26m in contractor costs, £6m in locally sourced materials, £40m spent on chemicals and utilities, and £5m in business rates.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
TOWIE gang out in force at wrap party - The Sun
Series five of the hit ITV2 reality show finished last month, but the cast were seen being reunited on Wednesday night in a one-off Marbella special.
Lydia Bright was spotted arriving at the bash sporting a new choppy bob and fringe.
Earlier the 21-year-old had tweeted: "Love my new hair, my hair guru did me well once again thank u @robertkirbyuk @sanrizzsalons rocking out the fringe at the Towie wrap party x."
Lydia, who wore an off-the-shoulder mustard yellow frock, also posed arm-in-arm with new boyfriend Tom Kilbey, 21.
And the blonde later tweeted a pic of herself with mum Debbie, who also attended the bash, with the caption: "Me and my beautiful mother at the Towie wrap party."
Joey Essex, 21, donned yet another daring outfit for the party, teaming a tiny pale blue jacket with a shirt and tie, jeans and brown boots.
But the discomfort of his super-tight blazer obviously didn't stop him from enjoying himself last night, he tweeted: "Towie wrap party = SICK."
And he later added: "Towie wrap party was fun. Nice to see everyone happy x."
Sam Faiers, also 21, arrived at the do with sister Billie.
The girls looked stunning as Sam matched an off-the-shoulder white top with a multi-coloured sequinned skirt and Billie, 22, flashed her ample cleavage in a clingy light green and gold-studded Lypsy dress.
Both sported skyscraper sling-back peep-toe heels to the do.
Sam later tweeted a snap of Billie pouting at the camera writing: "Aww @BillieFaiers."
The photo also showed off busty Billie's incredible assets.
This morning Billie tweeted: "Morning everyone :-) had a brilliant time at the wrap party last night .. For all those asking, my dress i wore was lypsy xx."
Boutique co-owner Sam also posted a pic of her kissing boyfriend Joey.
She captioned the cute snap: "Just got home from the wrap party .. A tad drunk ?? Great night x x."
Charlie King, 26, who was pictured hanging out with pals "Little Chris" Drake, 25, and Bobby-Cole Norris, 24, tweeted last night: "What a great evening with amazing people- night all Or good morning x."
Charlie and Little Chris went for a smart-casual look, teaming suit jackets with jeans.
While Bobby opted to go a little bit more upmarket in a bright blue suit.
Cara Kilbey posed for a pic with close friends Frankie Essex and Billi Mucklow.
But she revealed she wouldn't be hitting the booze with her castmates at the bash, she wrote: "Being a good girl tonight on the water... #oooOoooOooo #H20."
The girls, all 24, looked gorgeous in a series of glam frocks.
Gemma Collins, who stripped off to her swimsuit to tell love interest Arg "You ain't ever gonna get this candy" in The Only Way Is Marbs, missed the bash.
The 31-year-old tweeted: "Gutted to have missed the Towie wrap party tonight hope everyone had fun off to the airport soon xx."
Newly-engaged Mario Falcone and Lucy Mecklenburgh were also absent, as they are currently in Dubai.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
ESSEX: Firefighters vote to strike (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series) - Epping Forest Guardian
ESSEX: Firefighters vote to strike
8:00am Friday 15th June 2012 in Epping Forest News By Clare Hardy
FIREFIGHTERS have voted to go on strike amid fears a new swathe of cuts will put the communities they serve at risk.
More than 500 members of the Fire Brigades Union in Essex decided to take action over plans to cut an extra 100 full-time fire fighters and 60 retained staff from across the county by 2016.
Assistant brigade secretary Nick Mayes said the plans could leave crews unable to tackle emergencies like house fires.
“One of the statements our chief made recently was that he would like to see up to three crew members on an engine,” he added. “The norm is four.
“If you go to a house fire, two people need to be on breathing apparatus to search for people and an officer in charge. It can’t be done.”
He said crew members would end up taking on more shifts to cover for the fewer positions.
“We’re all under economic constraints,” he said. “People will put pressure on themselves to work extra hours and this isn’t just some factory.
“You can go out, your shift will finish at 9am and you could be on a road traffic collision until 1pm and you’ve got to be awake and alert for the next one.”
He added that there had not been any consultation on the changes and that Essex Fire Brigade was pushing them through despite not taking a budget cut.
“The fire authority seems to be rubber-stamping it,” he added.
The chairman of the Essex Fire Authority, councillor Anthony Hedley, said: “The fire authority has invested heavily in front line services and will continue to do so.
“We have assured the public and our staff that there will be no fire station closures, no enforced fire fighter redundancies and continued investment to modernise the service.”
Fire services bosses recently decided to sell of homes for crew members at Waltham Abbey Fire Station as staff move out.
Click here to follow the Epping Forest Guardian on Twitter
Comments(2)
Batey K says...
9:25am Fri 15 Jun 12
word of mouth says...
1:07pm Fri 15 Jun 12
Comment now! Register or sign in below.
Or
Source: www.guardian-series.co.uk
Mark Wright says a tearful farewell to volleyball player Chelsea Rashoff - Daily Mail
|
He's only know her for a few weeks, but Mark Wright is clearly head over heels about Chelsea Rashoff.
The reality TV star was seen saying goodbye to the U.S. volleyball player at LAX airport yesterday and looked very sad to be leaving her.
Mark, 25, and Chelsea, 22, met each other in Los Angeles while the former TOWIE star filmed his latest reality show, Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights.
Time to say goodbye: Mark Wright and Chelsea Rashoff say a tearful farewell at LAX airport yesterday
The ITV2 show didn't exactly receive great reviews when it aired for the first time last Sunday but viewers may be eager to tune in this weekend as the second episode will include how Mark and Chelsea first met.
Their romance is clearly more than just an onscreen film, as the pair of them appeared to be tearful as they said farewell outside the airport terminal.
When he appeared on This Morning today, Mark spoke publicly about his relationship with Chelsea describing her as 'great.
Hard to let go: The former TOWIE star gave the 22-year-old a big hug and also kissed her
'It's a difficult one because she's got so many commitments out there, but we met, we had fun, but it was never meant to be like that,' he said.
'She's great, we got on so well. We started out as friends but then it developed into something else.
'She liked me for me because she didn't have a clue who I was.'
Outside LAX, Mark - who was wearing blue skinny jeans and a white T-shirt - was seen hugging Chelsea and kissing her as she flung her arms around his neck.
Don't be upset: Mark appeared to be reassuring Chelsea and may be planning a trip to Essex for her
Back to reality: Mark was pictured leaving the ITV studios today following his appearance on This Morning
She was also wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt and gazed at the Essex-born star as he prepared to catch his flight back to the UK.
The pair have obviously become quite close over the past six weeks, and perhaps Mark is considering letting Chelsea visit his hometown some time soon.
Confirmed couple? Chelsea tweeted this photo of her and Mark looking rather cosy recently
Svelte: Chelsea in her volleyball 'uniform' - a red bikini top and patterned blue bottoms
However, once he's touched down in London, Mark was no longer feeling so blue and instead headed straight out to Essex hotspot, Faces, to enjoy a night out with his friends.
But Mark didn't stay out all night, and later tweeted: 'I'm being good. On the way home 2 my bed 4 the 1st time in 6weeks. Faces was great as per usual but I'm on this morning 2mo so have 2 b good.'
Good times: Mark and Chelsea socialised a lot together in Los Angeles such as when they went to a baseball game
Roundup! Brown & Drake 'love fight', Kim on Oprah and much more...
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Lydia Bright leaves her Essex co-stars in the shade at TOWIE wrap party - Metro.co.uk
She had clearly opted to spread her wings away from the usual Essex attire in favour of a more sophisticated look for the end of season party last night, held at Sugar Hut in Brentwood.
The mustard yellow dress ensured Lydia stood out from the crowd while her co-stars, including Sam and Billie Faiers, Cara Kibey and Billie Mucklow, faded into the background.
The off-the-shoulder piece, from Virgos Lounge, was cinched in at the waist and then fell around her hips with a slit up the middle. She teamed the outfit with a matching yellow clutch bag and nude heels.
But, as if the dress wasn't enough of a statement, Lydia also chose last night to show off her new shorter hairdo.
The blonde beauty was clearly chuffed with her new look as she beamed proudly while posing for photos with new boyfriend Tom Kilbey, the brother of her best friend Cara.
He opted for a much more casual look in blue denim jeans and a plain black T-shirt with matching leather jacket.
Faiers sisters Sam and Billie also turned plenty of heads at the party, but not because their outfits oozed sophistication or glamour.
Billie had opted for a pale green Lipsy dress covered in gold studs and although it wasn't the shorted frock she's ever worn out, the low-cut plunging neckline left little to the imagination.
As she posed for photographers outside the nightspot, at one point she seemed slightly concerned she was about to suffer a wardrobe malfunction as she peered down at her bust to check they were still covered up.
Sam also had her cleavage on show in a dress by Virgos Lounge. It featured a white top with off-the-shoulder straps and a brightly cooured sequin skirt.
Other stars that donned their glad rags for the evening included Billi Mucklow, Cara Kilbey and Frankie Essex.
James Argent also scrubbed up for the occasion, no doubt trying to grab Lydia's attention in a dapper dark grey suit.
Joey too added a splash of style to the evening in blue jeans matched with a whit shirt and grey tie, as well as a pale blue jacket.
Although he was smiling as he arrived at Sugar Hut, he undoubtedly had a bigger smile later on in the night after Sam posted a cosy picture of the pair enjoying a smooch.
Source: www.metro.co.uk
VIDEO: Prince William and Kate meet Boston Asda staff - bostonstandard.co.uk
TWO staff from Boston’s Asda store had the honour of meeting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - and even shared a joke about the store’s famous ‘pocket-tap’ advert.
Dawn Belcher, the manager, and Stephen Bromby, ‘community life champion’, from the Lister Way store were honoured and excited to receive VIP guest passes for The Queen’s visit to Nottingham this week, where they were introduced to Prince William.
The Prince is the patron of Fields in Trust, a campaign to protect outdoor recreational spaces. Asda is a principal partner with the trust and the store locally has helped fund a Jubilee Party at Glen Park in Surfleet as part of its work with them.
The Queen unveiled a plaque to mark the dedication of Vernon Park in the Old Basford part of Nottingham as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
Mr Bromby said: “The event was a truly special day with the ceremony to mark the dedication of Vernon Park as a Queen Elizabeth II Field along with a series of activities to showcase all the wonderful opportunities outdoor recreational spaces can provide.
“As soon as we were introduced to Prince William he asked for an Asda pocket-tap. It’s amazing to think that he knows the Asda thing.”
Every Asda store has been challenged to raise £2,012 to help Fields in Trust protect 2,012 green spaces for 2012.
Asda Boston’s Sue Jackson is striving to achieve this goal with a serious of events throughout the year.
Email to a friend
Print this pageSource: www.bostonstandard.co.uk
If you leave the back door unlocked then someone can walk in simple - David, Suffolk, 14/6/2012 0:02......................... That doesn't in any way make it acceptable to just walk into a stranger's home if their door is unlocked, does it?
- WhatNext, UK, 15/6/2012 10:56
Report abuse