NSA controversy boosts interest in ‘private’ Internet search engines
Internet users are taking a fresh look at “privacy” search engines that do not store data or track online activity, in light of the flap over US government surveillance. While Google’s market share has not seen a noticeable dent, privacy search engines like US-based DuckDuckGo and European-based Ixquick have seen jumps in traffic from users seeking to limit their online tracks.
Friday Facebook announced the fix of a bug it said inadvertently exposed the private information of over six million users when Facebook’s previously unknown shadow profiles accidentally merged with user accounts… …Facebook appears to be obtaining users’ offsite email address and phone numbers and attempting to match them to other accounts. It appears…the… information is then being stored in each user’s ‘shadow profile’…
…The public is getting a peek into the little-known workings of a powerful and mostly invisible government entity. And it is seeing a court whose secret rulings have in effect created a body of law separate from the one on the books — one that gives U.S. spy agencies the authority to collect bulk information about Americans’ medical care, firearms purchases, credit card usage and other interactions with business and commerce, according to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
NSA HAS TOTAL ACCESS VIA MICROSOFT WINDOWS
‘They can effectively compromise your entire operating system’The National Security Agency has backdoor access to all Windows software since the release of Windows 95, according to informed sources, a development which follows the insistence by the agency and federal law enforcement for backdoor “keys” to any encryption