There may soon be a chilling breeze blowing through the halls of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. The reason for this coming chill is a just released application intended for monitoring employee communications on social networks. The new application, called Social Sentry, is being fielded by information technology powerhouse, Teneros, which has raised $92.5 million in venture capital over five rounds of funding.

Social Sentry differs from it's counterparts in that when employees leave their employer's computer network, this new communications monitoring software can follow those employees home, or to the library, or to an Internet cafe, or just about anywhere. Under the auspices of protecting proprietary business information, Social Sentry steps across the Fourth Amendment and goes where even law enforcement treads lightly.

Continue reading Teneros Blows a Chill over Social Networks

Teneros Blows a Chill over Social Networks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Obama's cell phone records hacked by Verizon employees

Obama's cell phone records hacked by Verizon employees originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will enter the medical records business with The Cleveland Clinic, one of the top hospitals in the world.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "Under the pilot, patients who already use Cleveland Clinic's personal health record system can securely share medical information such as prescriptions, conditions and allergies between the Cleveland Clinic system and a Google health-profile online."

The program is a good idea. Patients' records currently are tied to the data held by doctors and hospitals. If a patient wants to access his data or share it with other health-care providers, he has to request and wait, sometimes for days, to get information that could be very useful in his treatment.

The Google program may ruffle feathers of both doctors and health-care software management companies. Doctors are concerned with keeping records private. Once they are stored and accessible on the web this will be harder to control. Software companies that supply programs for managing medical records may find that the Google system competes with some of their business based on organizing and storing patient information.

But, for the patient who now has new-found access to his own data, the program gives him power over his own medical data.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Google (GOOG) enters medical industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

IAC InterActive (NASDAQ:IACI)'s Ask.com has about 5% of the U.S. search engine market -- not much.

But the internet property is going to try to go against the trend. Instead of taking data from customers to target ads, Ask.com will let users "hide" their search data to promote privacy. The company is launching "AskEraser," which will destroy all personal information about a user.

According to The New York Times, unlike typical online privacy controls that can be difficult for average users to find or modify, people will be able to turn AskEraser on or off with a single click."

The privacy police will probably be very happy about the announcement. But it takes a big targeting tool away from Ask, and Ask can use all the help that it can get. It has tried and tried but has had no success in prying search share from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

The move by Ask is based on the premise that most people care if search engines collect data on them to better target search results and advertising. Since very few people opt out of programs that collect data online, the answer is that almost no one gives a damn.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Ask.com tries to market user privacy with AskEraser originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Caving in to pressure, Facebook may rework Beacon

Caving in to pressure, Facebook may rework Beacon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Facebook's creepy Beacon ads put your mouth where your money is

Facebook's creepy Beacon ads put your mouth where your money is originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading NebuAD CEO explains next step in behavioral targeting

NebuAD CEO explains next step in behavioral targeting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You have no secrets from NebuAd originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is a small company that has to compete with the digital recording devices offered by cable companies. To try to increase its revenue, the company will use its set-top boxes and data gathered from other sources to offer "demographic data about the viewers themselves, such as age, income, marital status and ethnicity," The Wall Street Journal reports.

It's a nifty idea, but all of those privacy advocates may not like it.

The new data should help marketers identify the demographics of viewers who skip ads. The TiVo data is based on 20,000 hours of sample data, while Nielsen uses only 3,000 hours for its similar service. TiVo will also allow marketers to talk to its customers using online polls. "The ability to talk to the panel and find out why they are skipping the commercial is key," Chris Boothe, head of Publicis Starcom group, told the Journal.

TiVo raffled off one of its boxes to get its customers to give up their demographic data.

Whether TiVo's customers will be concerned about marketers prying into their habits remains to be seen. Perhaps a few more free TiVo boxes will keep them from any revolt.

Update: Privacy and technology is a hot issue right now. Are things getting too interactive?

• New internet ad delivery system gives companies unprecedented details about your surfing;
• Voice-over-internet phone company listens into your calls, shows you ads; but
  
• In an about-face, Google announces new protections for 'net privacy.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

TiVo tempts privacy police originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Big brother: Company to listen in on phone calls to target ads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been a target for a number of internet privacy groups who feel that it keeps personal data on users for too long. Google argues that having the data helps deliver better search results. Plus, the company decided to cave into pressure and agreed to keep data on individuals no longer than 18 months.

Now, Google want to be out in front of the drive for Internet privacy. It is an unlikely about face, but it is one nonetheless. According to the Financial Times, Google is "calling for new international laws to be set up to protect personal information online." It wants a body like the UN to draw up the rules.

Google's position is clearly one that it would rather not be forced to take, but it is making the best out of a bad situation. Clearly, the more data a search engine has, the better the results. This allows for better text ad targeting and better profits. Now that Google has purchased DoubleClick the use of data collected from users is even more important to get good results for display ads.

But, Google has to protect its image and so instead of just going along, it will lead the parade.

The company may figure that if it take a central position in drafting new rules so that it can at least slant them a bit to its advantage. It is not being helpful for nothing.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Google becomes unlikely advocate for web privacy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hilton is seeking at least $500,000 in damages and a permanent injunction barring Hallmark from further use of her name, likeness, and catchphrase. She accuses the company of invading her privacy and misappropriating her image.

Yes, it isn't the sex tape that has hurt her privacy. Oh, and what about the innocent people who could have been harmed when Paris drove drunk? What about their rights to privacy/life? No, it's all a Hallmark greeting card.

Paris Hilton is being an idiot with this lawsuit. She's a public figure -- in fact, that's all she is. She's famous for being famous, and has been among the most shameless self-promoters this side of Don King. Given that, she should expect to be satirized, and that's exactly what Hallmark has done.

When Hilton went on Larry King after her release from the slammer, Paris talked about her "new outlook on life," and later mentioned her desire to do some good in the world and devote time to philanthropy.

She appears to be back to her old stunts: feeling sorry for herself as a result of her own self-inflicted celebrity. Hey Paris, get on with the charity work you waxed about, and stop being lame.

Dear Paris Hilton: Shut up and stop suing Hallmark originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) has received the required clearance to acquire Tacoda Inc., a company that targets ads based on a web user's browsing habits. There is no issue with this deal clearing. Time Warner could acquire 100 companies like this and the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice would rubber stamp every single deal.

It is almost funny that the two recent big media and online buys -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has bought aQuantive and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has acquired DoubleClick -- are still being reviewed by some. Those purchases cannot be reversed.

Back to Time Warner and AOL: AOL has found itself in a predicament over backing away from prior estimates for "faster than market growth" for its search-related advertising sales. But if you look back at last month's comScore numbers, as we pointed out earlier, you will realize that AOL has a massive reach through its Advertising.com division. Any such deal that can incrementally ad both new advertising groups and that can reach more people will be an opportunity for incredible advertising leverage.

It's hard to cover a company like Time Warner one unit at a time. Many in the media still want to only cover negative aspects of the company, and considering it is a shot at bashing a competitor it is hard to blame them. Just last week, AOL launched Truveo. AOL may be its own entity next year if my thought process is accurate and the clouds drift the way they have historically. This will allow it to keep adding small strategic plays that can help grow both AOL and the other Time Warner brands. That will be a winning recipe for the company, and should be a winning recipe for shareholders.

Jon Ogg is a partner at 24/7 Wall St, LLC. He produces the 24/7 Wall St. Special Situation Investing Newsletter and does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Time Warner's (TWX) online strength: Keep bolstering AOL's ad portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whether it matters or not Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), and IACI's (NASD:IACI) Ask.com are all beginning programs to keep users search data private. Yahoo! actually plans to make (subscription required) all user search data anonymous within 13 months of collecting it.

Personal information can be used to improve the search results that are sent back to users. But, Ask and Microsoft are trying to band together with a number of companies and advocacy groups to set a coherent policy for keeping data on individual habits and data private.

Cynics might view the new enthusiasm for privacy two ways. The first is that it is a move by companies with a small share of the search market to pressure Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to improve its privacy standards. This could hurt the accuracy of the company's search service by taking away key data that allow results to be more accurate.

The other take on the move is that protecting privacy data is much like building "green" cars. Critics and government agencies are becoming more interested in keeping the "Big Brother" aspect of search at bay. People's habits should be private and not part of a large black box that tracks their habits to serve more targeted marketing messages or collect information on who is not paying taxes.

The best solution is probably for people who don't want their data collected to avoid searching altogether. Personal data makes search results better. People can't ignore that.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Yahoo! and Microsoft make big web privacy push originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It has been reported in China Tech News that Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, president of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) China claims Google will be moving some servers to China in an effort to better serve that country. I have yet been unable to confirm Lee's claim. At this point it appears to be mostly optimistic speculation on Lee's part although the move would have significant advantages for Google in serving the Chinese sector of its market and the growth it needs there.

Google is not the largest search entity in China. Putting servers in that country would establish a tangible presence there and enhance the company's branding efforts in China. Lee also claims that Google would be offering free mapping services to China mobile users. At present, mobile communications are exploding in Asian markets.

Drawbacks to this reported move by Google would include exposure to significant risks which Google will need to aggressively address in order to make the move successful. Data security is less than optimal in China and being that a communist stronghold requires a different level of information disclosure than the free world is used to, Google would be playing in an arena which is governed by a whole different set of rules. Additionally, spurred by stiff competition in China's technology sectors, the Chinese government has had to initiate actions to deal with an influx of infrastructure vandals who are damaging transmission lines and equipment there.

Google expanding its Chinese menu? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Jun 2007 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a move to appease officials of the European Union, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has announced that it will again shorten the amount of time it keeps individual user statistics. Previously, Google kept user data indefinitely. It then shortened the time frame to a maximum of two years. Now, Google has again announced a reduction in the data retention time frame to a maximum of 18 months, but Google's privacy attorney Peter Fleischer, in a letter to a group of officials advising the European Union on privacy policy, cautioned that the time frame may need to be increased again to conform with future data retention laws.

So, when thinking about Google and what data it may or may not be keeping about you, bear in mind that in some ways it is duty bound by law to keep those records. Not all data retention issues are decided at Google's home office. Google knows full well that for its own consumer profiling purposes a 120 day time frame is quite sufficient to create a profile that would successfully outline a consumer's habits and enable Google to then provide personalized data returns based on those usage habits.

If you're nervous about what data may be kept regarding your internet usage habits, you're better served by taking "Big Brother" to task about it rather than Google. In most instances, it's a matter of government regulation and it's not just a Google issue.

Google shortens the privacy issue thread originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has had a good time recently nipping at the heels of what many consider its largest enemy -- Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). While I'm not agreeing that Microsoft is in Google's direct cross-hairs more than other companies, the area of customer security and privacy is one area where both companies have taken potshots at one another recently. Google has taken criticism for the immense privacy breaches it apparently is making available to the world, while Microsoft's Windows operating system and other software constantly have security issues, from malware to spyware.

Google recently posted an entry to its security blog that lists the most common web servers that are used to host malware, which then gets distributed to consumer PCs -- turning them into "zombies" for illegal online activity. Yes, you guessed it -- Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) was listed along with the Apache web server (which runs the free Linux operating system) as responsible for distributing 49% of all malware on the internet. You probably know malware -- it's what is responsible for those annoying popups on many millions of PCs, and it generally slows down a PC significantly or crashes it altogether.

Now, to be fair, Google did list the open-source Apache web server as responsible for hosting and distributing malware on the internet as well, so I don't think this was a direct attack on Microsoft, but more as a statement of fact.

But, Google did take its analysis further and determined that Microsoft's server software was actually responsible for distributing malware twice as much as the Apache web server software. While this will not come as a surprise to many IT professionals, it seems that Google could have a motive of undermining trust in Microsoft's products by using published research and analysis showing weakness. Well, it's free to do that, and perhaps Microsoft could turn the tables on Google and point out weakness in the company's software -- except that Google does not make software for web servers.

Google undermining trust in Microsoft? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

By now everyone has heard about the new Google Street View. While this new Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) feature may be unnerving to some and even patently offensive to others, it's my solemn duty to inform you that legally, Google is doing nothing wrong. For the purposes of Fourth Amendment searches, this particular scenario has been put to rest. You see, the Supreme Court decided long ago that any area that can be plainly viewed from any place in which a person has a right to be, retains no right of privacy for the area being viewed. Simply put, a cop can stand on the sidewalk and gawk all he wants toward the front of your house. Anything within his view is fair game.

Additionally, the court then determined that it is permissible for that cop to use magnifying lenses to enhance his ability to see. This means he can stand on the sidewalk with binoculars and peer into any place he'd like (within reason of course). Furthermore, he may fly over your home in an airplane with a camera and spy into any space available to his line of sight. The Supreme Court said he can, and so Google can too.

My advice to you dear friends is to simply remain aware of the fact that you might possibly be viewed and recorded at any time. You may wish to remember also that any cell phone communications you have carry no privacy privileges. Any of your internet access is readily available for instant scrutiny, and any public establishment you enter has a right to record your image and pretty much do with it as it pleases. At least we don't have those nasty British hovering camera drones to deal with, or at least I haven't seen any here yet.

If you would like some more input on the Google Street View issue, here are the observations of Tom Barlow, Sheldon Liber, and Peter Cohan. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. In the meantime:

Smile! You're on not-so-candid camera!

A Google's eye view of the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 02 Jun 2007 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) added a feature to its Google Maps called Street View which is making some people ask the question: How private is private? Street View offers panoramic views of miles of streets around San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Denver.

Here are some examples of pictures that make people nervous:

• Two young women sunbathing in their bikinis on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA.
• A man scaling the front gate of an apartment building in San Francisco.
• An apartment building in Oakland, CA with a picture of a couple's cat, sitting on a perch in the living room window of their second-floor apartment.
• A man standing in front of a lap dance establishment in San Francisco, CA
• A man entering a pornographic bookstore in Oakland, CA.
• Cars whose license plates are clearly readable.

Google says that people can opt out of Street View. To help with that process, I suggest Google offer an image search tool that will let people pop their picture into the search box to see whether it appears in Street View.

Do you think Google's opt out policy makes Street View acceptable?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Google.

Is Google Street View a Web 2.0 peeping Tom? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is coming under fire in Europe, with the EU appointing a panel to determine whether the search engine violates Europe's privacy laws. The company's practice of collecting and storing user data for two years is apparently a cause for concern. Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel (whatever that is), said that "We believe it's an important part of our commitment to respect user privacy while balancing a number of important factors, such as maintaining security and preventing fraud and abuse," and also said that the company was committed to participating in a "constructive dialog."

It's good to see Google's statesmanlike approach to dealing with what could turn out to be bad press. The company has also taken the step of anonymizing user data after 18 to 24 months, and it says it's the only major search engine company that does so.

I wouldn't see this as a big risk factor, and it looks like Google is willing to work with the EU to communicate what exactly they do, and possibly make adjustments to appease privacy concerns.

European Union investigates Google: Security vs. privacy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 May 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.