Get ready for the age of sensor panic
Cameras, microphones and other sensors are showing up everywhere. And this is just the beginning.
Mike Elgan | 23 Feb | Read more
Stories by Mike Elgan
Easy mobile security the Faraday way
Wireless attacks are unpredictable and complicated. Here’s an easy way to block everything.
Mike Elgan | 19 May | Read more
5 shocking new threats to your personal data
The internet and smartphones have come up with five new and surprising ways to steal or expose our personal data. These trends make panic sound like a good idea.
Mike Elgan | 04 Feb | Read more
Surprising tips from a super-hacker
Virtually everyone in technology knows about Kevin Mitnick, the one-time fugitive hacker who is now a security consultant. Mitnick has a wealth of security advice for the public.
Mike Elgan | 07 Mar | Read more
This is why tech toys are dangerous
Toys are dangerous. I'm not talking about toys with sharp edges, toxic materials or parts that constitute a choking hazard. I'm talking about hacking -- a new threat to the safety of children. Last week, the risk got real.
Mike Elgan | 07 Dec | Read more
Is facial recognition a threat on Facebook and Google?
Both Facebook and Google have been working hard at using computers and algorithms to identify people in photos. They've gotten really good at it.
Mike Elgan | 29 Jun | Read more
Protect yourself from hackers and the NSA
The downside of email, chat, text and messaging apps is that they make you feel like you're communicating privately, with only the intended recipients. And that your messages are private. Until they're not.
Mike Elgan | 07 Feb | Read more
Why do contextual ads fail?
The issue of the decade is privacy.
Mike Elgan | 04 Oct | Read more
The trouble with trolls (and how to beat them)
A vulnerable person. A sociopath or two on social media tormenting that person without consequence. That's trolling in a nutshell.
Mike Elgan | 16 Aug | Read more
In search of a social site that doesn't lie
Mike Elgan would like to find a social network that doesn't lie to users, doesn't experiment on users without their clear knowledge, and delivers by default all the posts of the people they follow.
Mike Elgan | 02 Aug | Read more
3 privacy violations you shouldn't worry about
In the past few years, the public has been confronted with hitherto unimaginable levels of personal privacy invasions.
Mike Elgan | 22 Apr | Read more
Secure smartphones are nice, but not enough
In the past week, two new ultra secure smartphones have been in the news. One is called the Blackphone. The other is called the Black phone. The difference in their names is a space. Here's what we know about the two most secure smartphones ever created.
Mike Elgan | 01 Mar | Read more
Are your smartphone apps selling you out?
Apple's App Store, Google's Play store and other app stores are packed with apps that can compromise your security and privacy without you ever knowing anything bad happened. What's a mobile app user to do?
Mike Elgan | 07 Dec | Read more
Opinion: Are online comments full of paid lies?
A thriving industry of paid-for user comments pollutes social networks with fake opinions. Let the reader beware.
Mike Elgan | 26 Oct | Read more
So what's wrong with being tracked by advertisers?
Companies are getting more aggressive about using your phone to track you and then send you location-based mobile ads. So what?
Mike Elgan | 11 Aug | Read more