Stop Google Location Tracking - Tech Brawta

AP recently reported that Google is tracking user locations … even when “Location History” is turned off!

If you want to keep Google from logging your every move, grab your device and follow these seven steps.

1. Log into your Google account through your browser
2. Click on “Google Account”
3. Click on “Persona Info and Privacy”
4. Click on “Go to My Activity
5. Click on Activity Controls
6. Click on “Web & App Activity”
7. Toggle to “Off”

Then, repeat for all your Google Accounts.

You may end up with slower searches and less relevant search results because privacy comes at a cost.

Tune in to @RJR94FM Wednesdays at 8:15 am

Digital Dangers - Quizzes and Memes

It all seems so cute and innocent.  A friend posts a list of all the great concerts they attended to their timeline and encourages you to do the same.  Or maybe, you saw a friend post results from a quiz that revealed something new and you consider trying it too.

STOP.

Be very wary of Facebook quizzes and memes!  It’s true, they may seem fun, but they can also be dangerous.  Yes, dangerous!  Think about the information that you share - Pages you like/places you do business. Mom’s name in the About Me section/security question and answer.

These unassuming quizzes may deliberately, or unwittingly, reveal your personal data to third parties like marketers or hackers.  They are not necessarily as harmless as they purport to be.  At worst, they are click bait, designed to lead users to other sites.  At best, they reveal personal information that in the wrong hands, can be extremely damaging.

Spotting the Danger

Let’s start with the third party quizzes that are prolific on Facebook and that FB is actively trying to limit.  Some of these quizzes do ask permission before posting in your name to the platform.  When they did, did you read their privacy policy?  I’d be willing to bet you didn’t.  If they have access to post on your behalf, what else could they post as you?  How would friends know that you didn’t really initiate the post?

Let’s look at the memes.  Unlike the third party apps, memes just appear as a post from a friend with lots of personal information on them and an invitation for you to share as well and “continue the chain”.  But take a closer look; the answers being revealed are often closely related to common security questions or can provide clues for an effective spear phishing attack.

Steering Clear

If you’d like to avoid unnecessary exposure to hacking and targeted marketing, I highly recommend that you stop using Facebook, Twitter or Google to log into third party apps.  Also, take a moment to review, and as necessary revoke, third party app access to your accounts.  I know it’s tedious, but it is recommended that you have a separate username and a strong, long, unique password for every account.  No short cuts (unless of course, you consider a password manager as a short cut, in which case, go right ahead).

Be vigilant in the protection of your privacy.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM

All Access Pass via UWI Research Days App

The vast campus of the esteemed University of the West Indies (UWI) will play host to the institution’s annual Research Days expo.  If you are like me, you get lost every time you step on campus!  And this multi-day, multi-location expo featuring over 140 activities is enough to make my mental compass spin.

I need not worry however, because the bright folks at Caribbean’s leading tertiary learning centre have provided an app, for just that.

The UWI Research Days app for Android devices provides a plethora of features to help navigate the event slated for February 17 - 19 both literally and virtually.  The built-in map feature highlights the exact location of each of the events with real-time GPS tracking to guide you through the gates to the attraction.

For me, that alone makes the app an essential tool.  But, there’s more, as they say.

Howard Edwards, Shane Richards & Javon Davis

All the various presentations, symposiums, demonstrations, tours, lectures, launches and a variety of other activities are included in the app’s calendar complete with insightful information.  Armed this info, you can browse through the offerings, identify the activities that most appeal to you and pin them or add them to the native calendar on your mobile device with just a few taps.  Real-time reminders and alters, paired with the already mentioned map feature mean that you can be on time  and in place for every activity.

Howard Edwards, Shane Richards and Javon Davis from the Faculty of Science and Technology, the team behind the app, even had the foresight to make the app self-contained, so once downloaded, no wifi means no problem.

Screen Shots of UWI Research Days App

Taking it even further, since many of the activities happen simultaneously the app can help you be in multiple places at once, thanks to a virtual tour feature.

The app is as powerful as the event is seeks to capture, yet its free for download in the Google Play Store.  Get it long before the official opening of UWI Research Days on Wednesday, February 17 at 2 PM to plot your course through the expo.

About UWI Research Days

The three-day exposition will aim to directly show the public how the research impacts different aspects of everyday life. Therefore, the theme has been examined under the headings of; Law, Governance and Society; Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals and Well Being; Supporting Industries, Institutions and Infrastructure; Developing Human Resources; Tertiary Industries and Primary Industries.

Under the theme “Driving Development through Research and Innovation”, UWI Research Days 2016 at the UWI Mona Campus will feature other practical ways in which the University is using its research to aid in development and create solutions to everyday problems. The exposition, scheduled for February 17 – 19 will allow investors, policy-makers and stakeholders in the public and private sectors to explore practical solutions to real world challenges, developed through Mona research.