Whether you are a female CO or have one in your life that you care about, this is very important information..the Predators out there are getting smarter and using cyber tools more and more to track, stalk and eventually rape or murder young women all over this nation. Knowledge is Power, let’s start using it. -SF
By Hammerhead
The smart and savvy female Civilian Operator always recognized the exponential nature of technology would be a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it would benefit society tremendously and on the other it would offer certain individuals the chance to harm it. In his outstanding new book, Future Crimes, Marc Goodman talks about how advertisers always wanted to have the answers to three primary questions about consumers: Who, What and Where. The Who and What are pretty much already in the bag. Google, with its complex search algorithms already knows what you are looking for before you finish typing your query. Facebook, without a doubt owns the “who”; No other website on the planet has more information on “who” their millions of registered users are. But what about the Where? Who owns that? At this point nobody yet, but that is soon to change. It is estimated the market value of “personal location data” to be close to $100 Billion to the retail, advertising and telecommunications industries over the next 10 years.
Personal Location Data is obtained primarily by triangulating through GPS and Wi-Fi Networks you connect to. One of the ways most people don’t realize their location is being “advertised” is through photos. When you take a picture with your phone and send it, the GPS data (longitude and latitude) is sent with the picture, embedded in the EXIF File or Exchangeable Image File. Now most popular social media site like Facebook and Twitter strip the EXIF file before posting, but others like Tumblr, Grindr, Tinder and Google+ DO NOT. You can Learn how to remove the EXIF file yourself HERE.
One of the fastest growing “niches” within the LBS communities is “Love and Romance”. Popular apps that advertise more in the realm of “hook-ups” versus “love” is Grindr and Tinder. Tinder was recently in the news when it was found Rosie O’ Donnells 17 year old daughter had run off with a convicted heroin dealer she met on Tinder.
The most nefarious and flat-out CREEPY uses of LBS services however is an app developed in Russia called Girls Around Me. Does the name alone Creep you out? The bottom line here is understanding that most social media sites like Facebook have their Privacy settings Defaulted to share EVERYTHING. It is up to you to change this; and if you don’t it is apps like Girls Around Me that exploit it and share your geo-location information with anybody with a DSL connection; regardless if you know them or not.
In a world where quick and easy “connectivity” is seen as a positive, the CO (especially the single woman) has to be aware of creepy and potentially dangerous apps like Girls Around Me. Know how to edit your Privacy Settings on ALL your Social media sites and be sure you double-check those ToS (Terms of Service) on all of the apps you use also, as the Privacy clauses change frequently and most often chnage to the companies benefit, not yours.
Stay Alert, Stay Smart and Stay Dangerous!
Reblogged this on Brittius.