Brandon Anderson » Photos http://www.brandonanderson.org obsessed with words. Wed, 05 May 2010 08:13:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Webcam Privacy: Interweb Peeping Toms? http://www.brandonanderson.org/2010/05/webcam-privacy-interweb-peeping-toms/ http://www.brandonanderson.org/2010/05/webcam-privacy-interweb-peeping-toms/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 08:13:55 +0000 Brandon Anderson http://www.brandonanderson.org/?p=198 Most everyone now is aware that malware, viruses and spyware are a problem. Some of us know that these viruses and spyware can take control of our computers, phones, and electronic devices, if the hacker so wishes to. Viruses and spyware are programs, just as if you installed a program off the internet or a CD. Have you every thought of that little webcam sitting on top of your computer or on your laptop? That’s right. It can also be controlled by whoever so chooses, should they have the knowledge and need to do to.

There are various ways to protect yourself from this, first is by using software. Like anti-spyware, anti-malware, and anti-virus, but those are not definitive protection against hackers using your webcam for their own perverted web games. No.

When it comes to immediate privacy concerns such as unauthorized uses of a webcam. You only have two options really. Unplug it, pry it off your laptop or monitor, or the more practical way: cover it up! You can use whatever you got, tape, a band aid (a bit tacky though), a piece of cardboard, or even a CCIPO business card! (as seen below) Whenever it comes to personal online security DEFINATE and HARDWARE solutions such as this are the only options. Programs and software alone WILL NOT protect you.

Some people may think. Well that’s only if I got something to hide, right? No way. It’s been known to be done by online sexual predators, people attempting to frame / blackmail you, such as taking secret photos in bedrooms and sending them to your friends or posting them online, etc.

^ CCIPO Business Card covering Macbook webcam.

]]> http://www.brandonanderson.org/2010/05/webcam-privacy-interweb-peeping-toms/feed/ 0 My new (and late) passion: Flickr http://www.brandonanderson.org/2009/12/my-new-and-late-passion-flickr/ http://www.brandonanderson.org/2009/12/my-new-and-late-passion-flickr/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 01:23:17 +0000 Brandon Anderson http://www.brandonanderson.org/?p=165 For a long time I chose not to use Flickr, for various reasons. One of them including that I never had a Yahoo account, that wasn’t one of the ones I used for a little while forgot about and never used again. I’ve always been a Gmail user, and Google user and didn’t use Yahoo all that often. I sometimes would use Picasa from Google for the odd photo or two – mainly because it was convenient for me to use my Google account to login to Picasa. But I was viewing a few photo’s in Flickr a while back, and finally decided to try it out (I had before, but not extensively – and not consistently) and see what all the fuss was about. I had always thought of Flickr as a very 1 way – dull place where you upload your photos (or videos) and never touch them again. I was wrong, so very wrong. I’ve been using Flicker for little over a month now, consistently. I’ve become addicted to the social aspect of Flickr, it’s fun to be able to discuss photos, graphics and the odd video or two with people whom I’ve never met, or have met. I’ve spent hours just commenting and favoriting photos on Flickr.

More importantly it’s given the photos on my computer, sitting there going stale, only viewed a few times by family or friends, a new home. Which I am very happy for. Am I a late bloomer to flock to Flickr? Definitely. And is any of the information here going to be useful to anyone? Probably not, but I hope it will give a few people with the same outlook as I had on Flickr a new one. And revitalize their spirit of using Flickr for not only photo or video sharing, but as a social experience as well!

If you would like to take a look at some of my pictures on Flickr, you can go HERE or view some of the most recent uploads on the right side of the blog. :)

- Brandon Anderson

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