Tile - The Newest Way To Get Stalked

Don't get me wrong I see the usefulness of this little gadget and accompanying app but I always see the spooky side of things, I guess. According to the FAQs at http://www.thetileapp.com the tile uses Bluetooth 4.0 and has a range of 50-150 ft. but as you can see from the video, if the app becomes ubiquitous you will be able to find your tile almost anywhere. Imagine this scenario: Stalker Sam has a crush on Lovely Linda but Linda doesn't want anything to do with Sam. Sam doesn't know how to take no for an answer and slips one of his Tiles in Linda's backpack. For good measure he slips several Tiles in other items belonging to Linda as well. One day Sam can't seem to locate Linda by the usual means so he activates his tiles and finds that she is at the local college campus and he goes hunting her there. After following her around for a while she notices she's being tailed and tries to lose him. Eventually thinking she has lost him she heads through the wooded area around the school on her way home but he's on her again. It's getting dark and she hides in the thick brush, luckily, she thinks, he keeps looking at his phone and the light gives away his location so she can keep just out of sight. That is until she starts hearing this loud beeping noise, and it's coming from her...

Consumer Watchdog's "Don't Be Evil?" Video Jibe at Google's Eric Schmidt

RFID Security Breech Credit Card

The tin foil hat brigade was onto something, just cut a piece of aluminum foil 3 to 4 times the height of your wallet then fold it to the appropriate size and put it in the bill compartment. To test it out place your wallet (must have an RFID equipped card inside) next to the appropriate type of scanner (credit card, bus pass. etc) if it beeps the foil isn't thick enough. If it doesnl't beep you should be ok.

Facial Recognition for Your (Stalker's) iPhone

Of course the makers of the application mentioned in the video state that only people you choose to allow can find you with their application but that doesn't take into account those of us who inadvertently leave privacy holes in our social networking. Nor does it take into account how good the bad guys really are at their jobs. Thankfully this app has not been released yet (I think, hope, pray) but I 'm sure it won't be long. Please take steps to secure your personal information and plug the holes in your social networking. Tips after the video.

1. Be picky. Set your profiles so that only people you approve can view your details. If the social network that you're on does not allow this, find a different one.
2. Unless you never ever add anyone that you don't know and trust personally be very selective about the information you put in your profile. See next.
   
3. Think again about submitting your birthday. Sure it's nice to have all those messages from your friends (once they've been reminded of course), but aside from your social security and mothers maiden name, your birth date is one of the most often requested pieces of information that you are asked for when someone is trying to verify your identity. If the social network requires your birth date for age verification make sure you set it to not be displayed or lie.
   
4. Unless you name is John Smith and you live in a city of 3 million avoid mentioning your home town or the town you currently live in. Remember that password hint question from when you signed up for that online email account? Why not just give identity thieves your password and get it over with quickly. Better yet always make up your own security question when given the opportunity.
5. If you are using social networking for business and personal use, consider creating separate accounts, and keep them separate. If you've already mixed "business and pleasure" it's not too late. Create your business page now so you can all those new strangers without exposing all your personal information.
6. Don't make your friends list public if you have the choice. Of course for most networks your friends are usually visible to each other no matter what.
7. A picture is worth a thousand words. Think about what that innocent, yet very cool, picture of you sittin' on a Hog in front of your house might reveal about you. Time to break out the sharpie and cover up the license plate and your address on the front of your house. Oh, wait! Forget the sharpie, you'll never get that off the screen. Any photo/image editor should be able to do the trick, even MS Paint. Be on the lookout for other giveaways too, such as; street signs, political signs (supporting a local politician), school bumper stickers. Geeze being paranoid is a lot of work!
   
8. Use a web based email provider like Yahoo! Hotmail, or Google. That email address your Internet Service Provider gave you tells people where you are, especially if it's one of the local guys.

Of course there are many more things you can do to protect your privacy but for the sake of brevity (and your eyes) I will just suggest that you spend some time trying to think like a criminal, come on you can do it, and see if you can find more holes. If you find some please share with the rest of us.