Google challenges US government's private data demand in court

via theverge.com

Google is fighting back against National Security Letter, the secretive, controversial form of datarequest for data from the US government that bypasses the court process and comes with a gag order. The company has filed papers in a case called In Re Google Inc. Petition to set aside Legal Process; while the documents are sealed, Bloomberg reported on the nature of the filing. No details are currently available on the request itself, but the move is significant — Google would be the most prominent company yet to challenge an NSL.

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Comparing The Top Smartphone Data Plans [Infographic]

via readwrite.com

Shopping for wireless data plans for your smartphone can be an exercise in banging your head against a wall. Over and over. Does AT&T have the fastest data? How much does Verizon charge for overages? Where, oh where, is my "unlimited" plan? Do these new T-Mobile plans save me money?

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The massive data-collection industry that fuels Facebook's targeted ads

via theverge.com

Facebook's user-targeted ads have been fueling profits and unsettling privacy advocates since the beginning, but a new report shines a light on just how extensive the company's research is. As it turns out. Facebook's data-collection efforts don't stop once you leave their site. They don't even stop when you leave the internet.

This week, the New York Times shined a light on four companies contracted by Facebook to provide user data from outside the site — ranging from court records and survey data to point-of-purchase information collected by retailers. Combined with Facebook's internal analytics, it allows the company to build a comprehensive profile of each user, including information they haven't shared on the site, which allows advertisers to more accurately target specific demographics, or even specific users. In one example, Facebook targeted specific users with ads for items they had previous browsed on the e-commerce site JackThreads.

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Facebook’s Never Had A Big User Data Breach, But May Never Recover When It Does

via techcrunch.com

It’s not if, but when. Between crooks, hackers and foreign governments, Facebook probably can’t avoid a serious user data breach forever. When it happens, Facebook may never be able to quiet fears that “personal data isn’t safe there.” That could cause a chilling effect on sharing, jeopardize its future in commerce, and cut short its lifetime.

This isn’t to say Facebook’s not doing everything in its power to prevent this. It has a sizable security team of top talent, infiltrates hacker rings to thwart their schemes, and offers cash bounties to white hats who identify bugs or holes.

Yesterday, though, Facebook announced something very unsettling. A “sophisticated attack” uploaded malware onto the computers of several Facebook engineers when they visited a hacked mobile developer site. Facebook quickly quarantined and scrubbed the devices, called the police, and kicked off an investigation. So far, there’s been no evidence that any user data had been compromised. Perhaps the attackers were after Facebook’s trade secrets or information about partners. Regardless, it was a very close call.

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How To Backup Your Facebook Data In 5 Easy Steps

via readwrite.com

Ready to take a break from Facebook, or just want a nice local backup of all the data you've uploaded to Facebook over the years?

Turns out that downloading your stuff from Facebook is a lot easier than it used to be. Even for someone like me, who's uploaded a massive amount of data over the years.

As Facebook user #806469, I was among the first million people to join the service, and I've used it pretty steadily since the spring of 2004 - accumulating more and more history all the time. Perhaps most importantly, I've uploaded 4,186 photos to date, and I want to make sure I keep every one of them. Downloading all my contacts would be nice too, though Facebook doesn't make that easy.

Backing up everything else was surprisingly straightforward, however, using Facebook's built-in archival tools.

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Top Tips To Prevent Data Loss

via inspirationfeed.com

Losing your data is always disastrous, no matter what the situation is. System failures, data wipes, or using a USB stick can result in extensive downtime, as well as worries over confidential information being lost.

In this context, it’s important to consider some basic approaches to preventing data loss, which can range from properly auditing the security levels for your data, through to employing a range of different back ups, making hard copies, and taking mobile devices, physical problems, and the need for professional outsourcing into consideration.

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Finally, We Can See What Google's Brain Looks Like

via businessinsider.com

Today Google lifted the veil off its massive and beautiful data centers around the world.

Data centers are typically shrouded in secrecy because they are the brains behind tech companies.

Google says when you're on a Google website, you're accessing one of the most powerful server networks in the known Universe.

Google has been working on building its data centers for over 10 years. The search giant's centers are efficient, take advantage of renewable energy, and are as environmentally friendly as possible.

The following tour is a glimpse inside a few of Google's data centers, which it calls the "physical internet".

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The Best Websites for Backing Up and Sharing Your Data in the Cloud for Free

via howtogeek.com

We’ve been told many times how important backups are, although we may not realize it until it’s too late and our data’s gone. You can backup your PC’s data to external media, but free online backup services provide useful redundancy that could save your data.

We’ve discussed cloud computing previously, or running a web or internet-based application from a major provider like Google or Microsoft, but the “cloud” could also be used to provide an offsite location for your data backups.

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9 Ways to Cut Your Smartphone Data Bill

via gizmodo.com

As the average webpage/image/file on the internet has grown, most folks' monthly allowance for mobile bandwidth has gotten smaller. (Exceptions: Sprint users and those grandfathered into an unlimited plan.) Today, it's extremely easy to use a gigabyte of data in a month. The quantity will just keep rising—and with it, the potential for massive monthly bills.

So what are the best ways to put the brakes on the neediest data hogs? Here are the nine most effective changes you can make to get the of your daily data usage.

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Apple's Data Centers Will Be Powered Entirely By Renewable Energy

via gizmodo.com

Greenpeace has been on the offensive against Apple this week, blasting the company for sourcing the power for its energy-intensive data centers from coal power plants. Today, Apple fired back with some remarkable facts, claiming it's a clean and renewable energy superstar.

Apple says the data centers in Austin, Texas, Sacramento, California, Munich, Germany, and Cork, Ireland are already powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The company has also been granted regulatory approval to use renewable energy at its data center in Newark, California, which should be completed by February 2013.

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Anonymous: We Have Access to Every Secret Government Database

via gizmodo.com

Anonymous has been meek and quiet since the great Sabu treachery, failing to even threaten much of anything. But in a new interview, one of the group's last remaining leaders says Anon has a nuclear card up its sleeve.

Christopher "Commander X" Doyon, whose name is public because he's been busted for hacking a California government website, sat for an interview with the National Post. The exchange circles mostly around Doyon's exile in Canada, where he's hoping to dodge the wrath of American feds. But he ends on one particularly ominous and/or laughable note:

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Here Are 20 Companies Who Sell Your Data (& How To Stop Them)

via readwriteweb.com

Meet the data brokers. There’s a whole industry full of companies who make their money buying and selling our personal information. The FTC is working on busting this dark racket wide open, but in the meantime, they’re out there. Who are they? Can we stop them? Read on to find out.

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5 Ways 4G Will Change Your Life

via electronics.howstuffworks.com

Call it 4G insanity. It's the ceaseless stream of wireless and smartphone commercials that you see online and on TV. Those ads tout the magical properties of this newest wireless network, one that promises to do everything but sweep your floors and cook dinner. They say – these service providers and carriers – that 4G is about to change your life.

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Do You Really Need an Unlimited Data Plan?

via gizmodo.com

According to Consumer Reports and analytics firm Validas, nearly half of the people with unlimited AT&T data plans don't need it. In fact, those people (which make up 48 percent) use so little data that they should just switch to AT&T's low end 300MB plan. What?

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Apple ups over-the-air download limit to 50MB for iOS

via engadget.com

This tid-bit didn't warrant a lot of attention during Apple's presentation today, but it's definitely worth noting: the limit on downloads from the App Store is now 50MB over-the-air, instead of a paltry 20MB. Now, anything larger than that and you'll still need to hop on a WiFi network, but you probably don't want to chew through your data plan that quick any way. So, enjoy downloading Jaws Revenge without the aid of 802.11.

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Judge Orders Google To Give Android Data To Apple

via webguild.org

Another major set back for Google (GOOG) and its Motorola Mobility Holdings (MMI) unit as they were ordered by the U.S. judge presiding over an Apple Inc. (AAPL) patent lawsuit to turn over information about the development of Google’s Android operating system.

“Motorola shall be expected to obtain full and immediate compliance by Google with Apple’s liability discovery demands,” the judge said in a February order.

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35 Outstanding Data Visualization Examples

via designspectre.com

With information and data easily available to us today, we can gather a large sum of data and information on a particular subject just by surfing the Internet. However, when one gathers too many information or data on a subject, one can easily lose track when studying those content, which is why more and more people are relying on data visualization to make things easier for them.

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Digg Data Reveals What We Read But Are Too Scared or Embarrassed To Share

Digg’s January saw an increase in page views by 35% and was its highest traffic month since October 2010. When it dug into why, it found we’re proud to look smart, hip, or funny by sharing tech news and offbeat content, but we keep our guilty pleasure entertainment and divisive political reading to ourselves.

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35 Outstanding Data Visualization Examples

via designspectre.com

With information and data easily available to us today, we can gather a large sum of data and information on a particular subject just by surfing the Internet. However, when one gathers too many information or data on a subject, one can easily lose track when studying those content, which is why more and more people are relying on data visualization to make things easier for them.

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AT&T Seems To Be Moving Closer To Shared Data Plans

via appadvice.com

Even though it has been more than eight months since AT&T confirmed that shared data plans were in the works, information leaked over the weekend shows group data sharing is inching closer to reality.

Engadget first published two screenshots provided anonymously from Telegence, AT&T’s internal system used to manage customer accounts. The screenshots refer to adding new group-level data sharing nodes in preparation for the launch of shared data plans. But, on the downside, the system states that any launch date is still unknown.

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