If we knew how much data we willingly handed out each day, would it matter? If ignorance truly is bliss, as they say, we’re a society of happy internet users that are blissed out of our goddamn minds.
A new tool called Stalkscan gives users a peek at just how sweet ignorance can be.
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Created by self-proclaimed ethical hacker, Inti De Ceukelaire, Stalkscan taps the power of a mostly-forgotten Facebook feature to offer up shocking insight into anyone that hasn’t completely locked down their Facebook profile (or Page).
In 2013 Facebook launched a powerful new feature called Graph Search. The robust new search engine allowed users open access to many data sources Facebook had previously kept to itself. From the simple, like finding photos of your neighbor when she was 21; to the creepy, such as stalking single friends’ comments, events they’ve attended, statuses they’ve liked, and even seeing which bars they visit most often; all things were possible through Graph Search.
Facebook quietly back-burnered the service shortly after launch. It’s still functional, but privacy concerns and the relative complexity of using it sort of shifted the narrative away from a discrete feature and into something that just existed — even if most weren’t sure how to access it.
De Ceukelaire told Motherboard:
Graph Search and its privacy issues aren’t new, but I felt like it never really reached the man on the street. With my actions and user-friendly tools I want to target the non-tech-savvy people because most of them don’t have a clue what they are sharing with the public.
Instead of remembering the required search strings to access Graph Search, Stalkscreen puts it all at your fingertips with a simple UI. Just enter the profile URL of your victim friend and tell Stalkscreen what you want to find; it’ll do the rest, and display just what you’re looking for in a new Facebook window.
I can’t imagine this will be around for long.
Update 02/15: Stalkscan.com seems to be down.
Update #2 02/15: It’s back!
Author : BRYAN CLARK
Social media has revolutionised how we communicate. In this series, we look at how it has changed the media, politics, health, education and the law.
Borrowing Malcolm Turnbull’s election slogan, optimists would say there has never been a more exciting time to be a journalist. Why? Part of the answer lies with social media and the digital age.
A recent trip to Nepal for the second Asian investigative journalism conference revealed something exciting is changing journalism. In a digital era that promotes sharing through tweets, likes and follows, reporters are sharing too – not just their own stories, but also their skills.
They no longer view each other as simply rivals competing for a scoop, but collaborators who can share knowledge to expose wrongdoing for the public good.
Take, for example, the Panama Papers that broke in April this year. It involved almost 400 journalists together trawling through 11.5 million leaked documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca to expose the shady global industry of secret tax havens.
Wealthy individuals were exposed of corruption and wrongdoing. Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND
More:
Another version of this type of collaboration occurred in Kathmandu last month. Eighty of the world’s best investigative journalists from The New York Times, The Guardian and other quality outlets met to train hundreds of reporters from across the globe in digital journalism. Classes included data reporting, mapping and visualisations, online searching, tracking dirty money, co-ordinating cross-border reporting teams and effective use of social media.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) chose Nepal as the host country so that journalists from less-developed economies – many with limited political and civil freedoms – could attend to learn how to strengthen watchdog reporting in their home countries.
Reporting in these nations can be difficult, and some stories told were horrific. Umar Cheema, a Panama Papers reporter and investigative journalist for Pakistan’s The News International, described how he was abducted by unknown assailants in 2010, stripped, shaved and beaten. His “crime” was to report critically on the Pakistani government, intelligence services and military.
His captors have not been caught. But rather than remain silent, he shared his story with the world and was awarded the Daniel Pearl Fellowship to work at The New York Times in 2008.
Umar Cheema established the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan. East-West Center/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND
Despite diverse backgrounds with varying levels of press freedom, journalists came to Kathmandu with the same motive: to give voice to the powerless against those who abuse power; whether it be corrupt governments, corporations or individuals.
Unique to the digital age, this can be achieved with tools as simple as a mobile phone and internet connection. Social media platforms are useful too, to distribute stories beyond the territories that oppress them.
Among the watchdog journalism educators were Pulitzer Prize winners, including Walter “Robbie” Robinson. Now editor-at-large at the Boston Globe, Robinson is the reporter played by Michael Keaton in this year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, Spotlight.
The film tells how Robinson in 2001 led the Spotlight team’s investigation that uncovered widespread sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. That investigation inspired other journalists around the world to probe and eventually expose the church’s widespread abuses of power. Robinson’s message was simple:
To me you are all Spotlight reporters. For the great journalism you have done and will do. For your energy, for your passion, for your courage, for your tenacity, for your commitment to righting wrong and for knowing with a certainty, that there is no injustice however grave that cannot be eradicated by those who unearth the truth.
To unearth truths, trainers profiled free digital search tools like Picodash for trawling Instagram, and Amnesty International’s YouTube DataViewer, as well as reverse image searching programs like TinEye.
Thomson Reuters’ Data editor Irene Liu showed reporters how to search for people using Pipl, ways to navigate blog content using Kinja, and creative techniques to search social media. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can be trawled using Rapportive and Chrome extension Storyful Multisearch to find public interest information quickly and cheaply.
Here are five ways that social media is changing journalism in the digital age:
Reach: social media offers journalism a potential global playing field. It is used for sharing stories but also crowdsourcing information and enabling local stories of significance to spread beyond geographical boundaries. Whether it is the Arab Spring uprising or the recent hurricane in Haiti, journalists can source contacts and share stories with the rest of the world.
Participation: social media provides a many-to-many network that allows for audience participation and interaction. It provides for audience comment, and these interactions can take the story forward.
Hyperlocal reporting: social media is filling a gap in hyperlocal reporting. In a recent study we found community groups, including the local police at Broadmeadows, used social media to provide local news. This helped fill a reporting hole left by the shrinking newsrooms of local newspapers.
Low cost: social media is a fast and cheap way to find, produce and share news. It lowers the barriers to entry for start-up news outlets and freelance journalists.
Independence: journalists can bypass state-controlled media and other limits on publishing their stories. They can report independently without editorial interference, and broadcast their own movements, using publicity for self-protection.
The benefits social media can offer journalism, particularly in developing economies, is not to deny the challenges established media outlets face in developed countries in the digital age.
Certainly, the rise of digital media technologies has fractured the business model of traditional media as advertising has migrated online, causing revenue losses. In turn, these have sparked masses of newsroom job losses cutbacks, and masthead closures.
But for all the pervasive pessimism about the future of established news outlets, and the negative aspects of social media such as trolling, the Nepal conference demonstrated the positives as well.
Digital tools are changing the ways in which journalists find, tell and share their stories with audiences beyond the control of state borders. Yet, at the same time, new technologies enable journalists to do what they have always done: to uncover stories in the public interest.
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa wrote in The Leopard:
If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.
So it is with journalism in the digital age.
Have you ever wondered how Facebook collects all the data it has to feed you with the content it presumes you’ll like and keep you coming back for more? Well, now there’s an app that can answer these questions.
Available for free, Data Selfie is an open-source Chrome extension that helps you discover how machine learning algorithms track and process your Facebook activity, and gain insights about your personality and habits.
Last year, Facebook's VP of Design thought the TNW Conference main stage was the best she'd ever been on.
To accomplish this, the nifty extension monitors your Facebook interactions for patterns and then crunches the collected data into insightful reports.
Data Selfie essentially tracks your activity – what you look at, how long you look at it, what you like, what you click and what you type – and then applies natural language processing and machine learning algorithms from IBM Watson and the University of Cambridge to turn this data into insight.
The extension comes with a handy dashboard that shows your aggregated Facebook activity in a timeline, conveniently broken down with color coding to highlight different aspects about your data usage.
In addition to this, the Data Selfie dashboard also includes insight into what posts you’ve spent most time on – both for friends and liked pages. In a creepily fascinating way, the extension also uses predictive analytics to guess stuff like your political affiliations as well as shopping and nutrition preferences.
To prevent ill-intended individuals from obtaining the information it collects about you, Data Selfie keeps your data locally – only on your own machine – and never stores anything on external servers.
As part of its initiative to promote internet transparency, creator Data X has made the code for Data Selfie available on GitHub for curious developers to peruse. Head to this repository for more details.
Start learning how Facebook’s algorithms collect and interpret your activity patterns, and get Data Selfie from the Chrome Web Store here.
Author : mix
Source : https://thenextweb.com/facebook/2017/02/17/facebook-chrome-track-data-selfie/#.tnw_eUGqdI0M
Hoping to scour through public records and expose corruption, crime or wrongdoing? The Investigative Dashboard might be your best bet.
Developed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Investigative Dashboard contains a number of tools and resources meant to make it easier for journalists and civil society researchers to investigate and expose corrupt individuals and businesses. Its investigative tools include databases, visualization tools, and a search engine.
Journalists can also access the dashboard’s catalog of external databases, which links to more than 400 online databases in 120 countries and jurisdictions — from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.
We spoke with developer Friedrich Lindenberg about getting started with the dashboard and using these tools to their full potential:
Investigative Dashboard’s database houses more than 4 million documents, data sources and more that are sorted into 141 collections.
Journalists can use a custom-built search tool, Aleph — which Lindenberg built himself — to search the database either by specific terms related to their investigation or by category.
“Often as a journalist, you want to find out ‘Where can I find information about this person or this company?’” Lindenberg said. “What you want then is a place where you can search as many data sources as possible. That's why we're bringing together a lot of government data, corporate records and other kinds of information from previous investigations that we have exclusive access to, and all of that is searchable.”
Additionally, journalists can get email alerts for their chosen search terms so they’ll always be notified of new developments regarding the individuals or companies they’re investigating.
“As we get more and more data, what we can quite easily do is run your list of people that you're interested in against all these sources and see if there's new leads popping up,” Lindenberg said. “One of the things we're trying to do with Aleph is create incentives for people to write down names of people they’ve investigated previously or would like to know more about. Then we will continuously send you a feed of stuff that we dig up.”
Investigative Dashboard links to Visual Investigative Scenarios (VIS), a free data visualization platform built to show networks of business, corruption or crime, turning complex narratives into easy-to-understand visual depictions.
Journalists can input entities like people, companies, political parties or criminal organizations, then draw connections between them and attach documents as evidence. Once a visualization is complete, it can be exported for online, print or broadcast use.
Journalists can also directly ask OCCRP researchers to help them investigate companies or individuals of interest. OCCRP has access to certain commercial databases that may be prohibitively expensive for some journalists to use. While users can’t access these commercial databases via the Dashboard, OCCRP researchers are there to lend a helping hand, Lindenberg explained.
“One of the cool parts of this is that basically, as OCCRP, we've purchased subscriptions to some commercial databases that are otherwise inaccessible to journalists,” he said. “We can't give everybody access to them because then we'd break the terms of service, but what we can do is have our researchers look up the things you might be interested and then give you back the documents they find there.”
Once users with a Dashboard account submit a ticket describing the person or entity they’re investigating, OCCRP researchers will search these databases to see what, if anything, comes up.
OCCRP encourages journalists to upload their own documents and data using its personal archive tool. After creating an account, journalists can upload documents, create watchlists and organize their research. By default, all uploaded documents are private, but users can share their documents with others or make them public if they choose.
To make sure no false data or documents are uploaded to Aleph, OCCRP bots periodically crawl through public documents to verify and cross-reference them, Lindenberg explained.
Author : Sam Berkhead
Of course you know about Google, Yahoo, Bing and AOL, but have you heard of the DuckDuckGo search engine? Well, it’s an internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers’ privacy and avoiding the “filter bubble” of personalized search results.
The “filter bubble” is a term coined by internet activist Eli Pariser to refer to the selective information that search engines present to users based on variances such as location, past click behavior and search history. That means that different results are shown to different people. Not everyone who searches for a particular topic sees the same results. While this might be beneficial at certain times, the filter bubble also can isolate and deter you from seeing the entire picture. DuckDuckGo doesn’t have a filter bubble. And the ability to switch which local region you’re searching in gives you more options and ultimately, a truer search.
While its main draw is lack of a filter bubble, DuckDuckGo has another killer feature you may not have heard of – !bangs. By simply appending “!g” or “!google” in the search box you will be taken immediately to the Google search engine. If you type !stackoverflow, !wikipedia or a large number of other similarly well-known web destinations, the DuckDuckGo will bring up these respective websites too. This is pretty clever stuff!
The search engine also doesn’t follow you around with ads.
Here’s a scenario; you search for restaurants and go through a few. The next time you want to search for something, the search engine will show you targeted restaurant ads. This could be useful for a variety of reasons, but it is typically a monetization strategy. However, DuckDuckGo keeps a clean, clutter-free interface at all times. “We don’t store your search history,” says the company on their main search page. “We therefore have nothing to sell to advertisers that track you across the internet.”
The downside with this search engine, however, is that it’s not as intuitive as Google when it comes to news. The search engine doesn’t seem to have a section that’s specifically dedicated to News.
Overall, DuckDuckGo is definitely one of the more private search engines around. Its clean design, lack of filter bubble and ibangs makes it a useful research tool if — you need to get out of your bubble and explore some new things on the web..
Author : Antony Maina
Source : https://smallbiztrends.com/2017/01/duckduckgo-search-engine.html
A recently revealed a dark web scanning service was launched in the UK. The service is called OwlDetect and is available for £3,5 a month. It allows users to scan the dark web in search for their own leaked information. This includes email addresses, credit card information and bank details.
The service reportedly uses online programs and a team of trained experts to scan hundreds of thousands of dark web websites in order to look for their customers’ data. If any personal data is found, the company helps its users act in order to keep themselves safe. It was launched in an attempt to remove reliance on big companies, as users usually only know they were hacked after these companies make it public.
In a few cases, however, the information is revealed a long time after users are hacked. Earlier this year, Yahoo confirmed that, at least 500 million user accounts were compromised by what they believed to be a “state-sponsored actor”. The breach reportedly occurred in 2014, so it took users two years to know they were hacked.
Chairman of the National Cyber Management Centre, and member of OwlDetect’s advisory team, Professor Richard Benham said:
Today the risk of having your personal information compromised is greater than ever. From messaging apps to online shopping and dating websites, we trust a huge number of companies with our details, and there are endless opportunities for those details to fall into the wrong hands.
Crawling the Deep Web
The deep web is, as we all know, beyond the reach of regular search engines. That may be about to change in the future, as more and more tools keep on claiming to be able to crawl it in search for specific information.
According to their website, this new service has a database of stolen data. This database was created over the past 10 years, presumably with the help of their software and team. A real deep web search engine does exist, however.
A few days ago, Hacked.com reported how the Department of Defense’s deep web search engine was to be enhanced by a recent acquisition. This search engine, named Memex, is reportedly able to crawl 90 to 95% of the deep web, presenting its search results in sophisticated infographics.
Author : FRANCISCO MEMORIA
Source : https://hacked.com/this-tool-lets-you-scan-the-dark-web-for-personal-data/
What are the right products and vendors to use for my business? At Docstoc, we have over 30 million registered members, and our small business owners & operators have always asked us this question. Sometimes we didn’t have the answers, so we built a free service, ExpertCircle to help business operators discover the best products and vendors other professionals use. Here are my personal reviews on 30 of the top terrific tools for small businesses, feel free to add your own reviews and thoughts on these products by clicking the links.
1. Accounting & Finance
2. Customer Support
3. Human Resources
4. Legal
5. Sales
6. Marketing
7. Operations
8. Web Development
9. E-commerce
10. Technology
Author : Jason Nazar
Starting an online store can seem intimidating, but after the initial leap, it works itself out naturally. Once you get the orders rolling in, you will need more and more tools to help with the current volume and to help gain more customers. These tools will help to make it easier when integrating various programs to make your working time much more productive. Boost your online sales with these tools at your disposal.
Google Analytics successfully works with almost every e-commerce platform and it allows users to track who exactly is visiting their site. Google Analytics gives the power to see how much time is spent on the site and where exactly people are leaving and why. This tool is also able to let you know if your website is really attracting the specific audience that it is intended for.
2. PrimoPrint
This tool is an online printer that offers many types of printing solutions, including business cards. PrimoPrint is built on unbeatable customer service, competitive pricing, and outstanding products that allow their customers the convenience of online creation and printing rather than going to a brick and mortar location.
3. Canva
This tool is great for those who need high-quality images and graphics for their website but don’t really know where to start. These images can be used on social media accounts, blogs, and websites. once they have learned how to get the most out of Canva, brands with a small graphics budget can forgo hiring a pricey graphic designer.
4. ZenDesk
Use ZenDesk to improve the relationships that you have with your customers. With this tool, you get chat modules and voice support for the customers to use. Along with this, you get a number of other applications and extensions that help you reach out to the customers to get feedback on your performance or products.
This e-commerce platform offers a wide range of tools and applications for computers that will help a business run smoothly including internet security software, Office applications, and the like. What is interesting is that SoftwareDepot only offers digital copies of the programs so that the customer always gets the best price.
6. MailChimp
Email newsletters are one of the best ways to ensure and improve customer retention. MailChimp makes this process easier, providing an email sign-up box on your website or blog. You will then need to create your own impressive emails that will give your customers the nudge they need to visit your website and purchase products.
7. Google Drive
Many people already use Google Drive, but if don’t, it’s high time you started. With this tool, you are able to store all of the media in one place that is safe, ensuring that none of it will become lost. As a whole, Google Apps is worth looking into to help with getting an email account that is professional and you will then gain access to programs to edit spreadsheets and documents.
8. Pingdom
Pingdom helps you to check the speed of your website in order to improve the SEO, as well as the overall experience for the customer. All you need to do is paste the URL of the website into the Pingdom speed test box and you can see where your website could benefit from improvements regarding the speed. It is so simple, yet it provides priceless insight.
9. SurveyMonkey
Create and distribute surveys with SurveyMonkey as a way to receive feedback from customers. This tool is at the top of the list for free questionnaires that are capable of being embedded into websites and web stores. Once you receive a certain amount of responses, there is a fee to pay, but this allows you the chance to ask the customers questions like which products they like and what they expect from your company.
Author : Sasha Brown
Source : http://www.lifehack.org/465546/9-handy-tools-for-boosting-your-online-sales
Staff and Wire Reports
Need to know how to find your polling place?
Simple: Just Google “How to vote” and the results will be localized for you according to where you are
And if you want to see the important issues on the ballot in each state including yours beyond the presidential election visit here.
And, for hours of the polls state-by-state including yours visit here.
It’s the age of digital information on election day.
TVs are so last century. News outlets are using Facebook Live, Snapchat, YouTube and other tools to offer live coverage of Election Day in ways not possible four years ago.
It’s a fitting close to an election season that has played out on Twitter and Facebook as much as it has on the nightly news, with debates live-streamed online and candidates barbing on social media.
Here’s your online guide for Tuesday. All times are Eastern.
FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE AND MORE
Unless you’re one of the millions of Americans who have already voted, it’s a good idea to find out where to cast your ballot, preferably before Tuesday. Googling “how to vote” will take you to localized results that include the times the polls are open and any requirements such as an ID. You can also type into google “where do I vote” and then enter your address to locate your polling place.
Facebook’s elections tool will show you what’s on your ballot and where various candidates stand on key issues. The information comes from the nonpartisan group Center for Technology and Civic Life, which also generates some of the data for Google searches such as “what’s on my ballot.” To get started, go to https://www.facebook.com/elections/yourplan (you’ll need a Facebook account).
SNAP AWAY
Snapchat users will be able to see “live stories” on the app — showing people at the polls, election results, acceptance and concession speeches and election night celebrations. In the U.S., users will see overlays they can add to their snaps.
FACE-OFF ON FACEBOOK
NowThis, a news outlet aimed at millennials, will have video coverage on its Facebook channel. Comedian Jordan Carlos will host the stream, called “No Sleep til POTUS.”
CNN will have live coverage with reporters in battleground states, as well as drone shots of voting locations and international reaction throughout the day. Each hour from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be streamed from a different location. After 6 p.m., the network will continue Facebook Live streams from various locations, including watch parties and, again, battleground states.
The Washington Post is planning live programming on its Facebook page beginning at 7 p.m. The show will include commentary and updates from Post reporters, including those at campaign headquarters for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
The New York Times will also stream election coverage on its Facebook page, beginning at 4:30 p.m., from locations such as polling stations, college campuses and election viewing parties.
Other news outlets with live streaming plans include Univision, PBS NewsHour, the Daily Caller, ABC News and Vox.
TWITCH ALONG WITH TWITTER
Twitter is partnering with BuzzFeed News for a live stream from BuzzFeed’s New York headquarters. The stream will begin at 6 p.m. Twitter says segments will include critiques of traditional news outlets and how they are covering the election, as well as live reports from BuzzFeed journalists at various locations throughout the U.S. and elsewhere.
Source: oxfordeagle.com
Association of Internet Research Specialists is the world's leading community for the Internet Research Specialist and provide a Unified Platform that delivers, Education, Training and Certification for Online Research.