How to stop Apple and Google from tracking you

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Apple and Google can track your every move. But there are ways to mitigate this or shut it down.

The tracking and snooping that Apple and Google do isn’t necessarily a nefarious plot to spy on you. It can make apps more useful. For example, data used by Google Maps can be helpful in getting directions.

That said, it’s not always clear how app providers harvest and use this data. There’s no telling, for example, how a shopping or dating app may use your data.

The New York Times reported this week that a variety of companies use location data when users enable location services.

Set against this backdrop, users need to think about privacy. “Companies use IP addresses, advertising IDs, and cookies to track users and store details about their online behaviors, browsing history, searches, purchases, viewing habits, and more,” Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech.com, told Fox News.

“The resulting ‘profiles’ sold to third parties might not have names attached, but they can be so specific as to only belong to a single person or small group of people,” he added.

Generally, disable your phone’s location services when not in use, Bischoff said.

iPhone / iOS: Turn off tracking

In iOS, go to “Settings,” then select “Privacy” and turn off the “Location Services.” You can also turn off tracking for individual apps on the list that appears below Location Services. Apple, however, warns on its support page that these actions will “limit the performance of various Apple and third-party apps.”

Even if you don’t turn off Location features, Apple will give you reminders about apps using location data in the background. For example, a screen may pop up and say, “’Weather’ has been using your location in the background. Do you want to continue allowing this?”

And if you want to do something less drastic, such as curb ad tracking, on the Privacy page under “Advertising” you can turn on “Limit Ad Tracking.”

Google/Android: Turn off tracking

With Google, it can be a little more involved because Google is not only in charge of Android but its reach extends to the popular Chrome browser and to Google Search.

On Android, go to the Settings icon on your phone and then tap “Security & location.” Under “Privacy,” tap “Location,” then tap “Use Location” and turn that off. Or below Use Location on “App-level permissions,” you can turn off the location permissions for individual apps.

But you may want to go a step further. Go to your Google My Account page and turn off “Location History.” Then, if you have more serious privacy concerns, you can opt to turn off “Web & App Activity.”

“Remember that Google is a bit sneaky in this regard, as some apps collect location data even if your location history is disabled. You’ll have to turn off all tracking of web and app activity, which may impact how other Google apps function,” Compareitech’s Bischoff said.

Here are some more tips about app tracking from Marco DeMello, CEO of app security specialist PSafe.

“When the product is free, you are the product,” DeMello said, citing a widely used axiom of the internet. “Consider going for a premium or, at a minimum, an ads-free version of an app/game you’re using or interested in. When you pay for services, there’s no incentive to sell your data.”

“Keep your phone like you keep your house — clean. Don’t keep around apps and/or games you no longer need or use. [It will] reduce the chance of these apps and/or games capturing and profiting from your data,” DeMello added.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this story. Google provided pages (linked to above) that explain how to manage your location data on Android devices and in apps.

Russia threatens to ban Google if it doesn’t block certain websites

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Russian officials have threatened to block Google’s access in Russia unless it complies with a law that asks it to ban certain websites.

The Vladimir Putin-led country is putting intense pressure on internet companies to block content it deems harmful after passing a law in September that required search engines to comply with the state registry of banned websites and omit the banned content from search results.

While the registry does contain websites promoting hate speech and self-harm it also includes a plethora of websites blacklisted for explicitly political reasons, such as a Ukrainian news website.

Russian news agencies on Wednesday quoted deputy Communications Oversight Agency chief Vitaly Subbotin as saying that authorities may push for amendments that would let them block search engines like Google if they fail to comply with Russian law.

The news comes as Google is getting heat about potentially launching a search engine in China from US lawmakers, its employees and activist groups who have bemoaned the very same issue – that it would censor searches.

Speaking in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday amid allegations of anti-conservative bias and privacy violations on the platform, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company had “no plans to launch search in China.”

Pichai responded to Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s (D.-Tx.) question when she said she was concerned about the company’s controversial Project Dragonfly and asked what the company is doing to minimize the efforts.

The Google CEO said: “Right now, we have no plans to launch [a search product] in China,” adding that “getting access to information is an important human right.”

Space station crew to inspect mysterious hole on 6-hour spacewalk

MOSCOW — Two Russian cosmonauts were preparing to venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday to inspect a section where a mysterious leak has been discovered.

The leak was spotted on Aug. 30 in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the station. The crew quickly located and sealed the tiny hole that created a slight loss of pressure, and space officials said the station has remained safe to operate.

Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Prokopyev will conduct a six-hour spacewalk to inspect the Soyuz’s outer surface. They will uncover the thermal insulation covering the patched hole and take samples that will be studied by experts.

Kononenko, who arrived at the station earlier this month with NASA astronaut Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, said in a pre-flight interview that the spacewalk would be a strenuous effort.

“It’s going to be challenging both physically and technically,” he said.

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in September that the hole could have been drilled during manufacture or while in orbit. He didn’t say if he suspected any of the crew, but the statement has caused some bewilderment.

Rogozin has since backpedaled on his statement, saying that he never pointed the finger at U.S. astronauts and blaming the media for twisting his statement.

He said recently that the Russian official probe is ongoing and some of the station’s crew who are set to come back to Earth on Dec. 20 will take the samples that are collected during the spacewalk. Rogozin added that Roscosmos will discuss the probe findings with NASA and other space station partners.

A NASA astronaut on a spacewalk in 2010 

Hackers could steal your secret fetishes from a sex robot

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Sex robots of the future could be hacked by sick cybercriminals looking to steal your most intimate details, a security expert has warned.

Cameras and microphones connected to the devices could be commandeered by remote hackers looking to record filthy clips that they can use to blackmail users.

Tim Mackey, senior technical adviser at software and computer chip firm Synopsys, says hackers could easily exploit people’s relationships with their sex robots as the technology behind them advances.

He says sex robots of the future will likely collect data on their users to build a more “personalized experience.”

“Users are always expecting more from their smart gadgets, and security has not kept pace,” Mackey told The Sun Online.

“This extends to sex robots, where gadgets of the future could collect a ‘relationship profile’ built around the preferences of whoever is in control.”

“Activity with the robot could be stolen by hackers, just as activity with certain brands of smart sex toy has been compromised before.”

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Mackey added that technology added to sex robots could be broken into by ghoulish hackers.

Cybercriminals could then use the machines for sextortion schemes by recording users performing erotic acts and then threatening to post it online unless a ransom is paid.

“Sex robots will likely someday involve cameras, microphones and speakers. These could help committed partners living a long distance from one another keep their relationships fresh and alive,” Mackey told the Sun Online.

“But that carries a risk because people already have the ability to hack into that sort of equipment.”

He said that anyone buying smart technology — sex robot or not — should follow a few simple steps to protect themselves from hackers.

“Ensure whatever device you’re buying has a method to explicitly set your password, and don’t rely on the default — go to the effort to change your password.

“Particularly with sex robots, if your partner has access to your username and password, make sure your credentials are changed should you separate.”

Ellman Pelleve S5 With Hand Pieces

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Pelleve’s unique radio-frequency technology emits energy in the form of electromagnetic waves, which create a heated treatment zone. Increased resistance causes heat buildup at the subdermal junction. Heat induces collagen denaturation and collagen contraction. Protein stimulation causes new collagen formation and production in the dermis which also results in epidermal tightening. Existing bands of collagen tighten in subcutaneous fat, creating a superficial tightening of the epidermis.

Ellman Pelleve S5 Unit includes :PelleFirm 30mm Hand Pieces (4 ea), Glide Safe 20mm Hand Pieces (4 ea), Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer and Neutral Plates

Pelleve Wrinkle Reduction System Ellagance Through Science Pelleve S5 System The Pelleve S5 System is a new generator based on the proven Surgitron technology. In addition to powering the Pelleve handpieces, it provides maximum control in precision cutting with minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissues, plus more versatility than other energy-based technologies, including: Wrinkle reduction treatment with the new GlideSafe(TM) handpieces Hundreds of surgical electrodes and accessories for most specialties Portable and light weight – ideal for office and clinic environments Pelleve precisely delivers energy to the dermal tissue using advanced radiofrequency technology to induce collagen contraction without damaging the epidermis. The result is skin tightening and contouring with a noticeable improvement in skin quality and texture. Pelleve’s unique radiofrequency technology emits energy in the form of electromagnetic waves, which create a heated treatment zone. Increased resistance causes heat buildup at the subdermal junction. Heat induces collagen denaturation and collagen contraction. Protein stimulation causes new collagen formation and production in the dermis which also results in epidermal tightening. Existing bands of collagen tighten in subcutaneous fat, creating a superficial tightening of the epidermis. Unparalleled Safety The Pelleve System delivers continuous radiofrequency energy which enables the clinician to choose how much energy to deliver and in what areas.

Bovie 1250S – High Frequency Electrosurgical Generator

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Extra Weight May Raise Kids' Asthma Risk

Could ending childhood obesity reduce rates of childhood asthma? Research from the Nemours Children’s Health System suggests that it could.
The Nemours study, published in Pediatrics, is one of the first to have used resources from PEDSnet, a network of eight of the largest children’s health centers in the United States that performs research and clinical trials. Looking at data from 500,000 children’s medical records from 2009 to 2015, they concluded that eliminating childhood obesity could prevent 10 percent of all asthma cases in children.
The patients represented by the medical records were between ages 2 and 17 and met certain criteria, including a BMI in the 85th percentile or higher for their age and gender and no prior asthma diagnosis. Each overweight or obese child was compared with a normal-weight child of the same age, gender, race, and other factors.
The researchers found that obesity was responsible for 23 to 27 percent of new childhood asthma cases in children with obesity. They also found that obesity increased the severity of asthma in these children.
Childhood asthma is one of the most common pediatric conditions and, say the researchers, focusing on obesity as a preventable risk factor is an important step toward cutting the number of pediatric asthma cases.
Sourced from: Pediatrics
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