Ghostery lets you spy on the spies in your computer. For each web page you visit, this extension uncloaks some - but not all - of the invisible tracking software that is working behind the scenes. Barton Gellman computerextensionghostery Change image and share on social
For personal use, I recommend the free and open-source Truecrypt, which comes in flavors for Windows, Mac and Linux. Barton Gellman flavorfreelinux Change image and share on social
I do read licenses, and they aggravate me, but a computer isn't much good without software. When I need a product, I hold my nose and click 'agree.' Barton Gellman aggravateagreeclick Change image and share on social
For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for and behave in the initial chaos of a mass-casualty event. Barton Gellman behavebureaucraticcasualty Change image and share on social
Well-secured files don't do you much good if you lose them in a fire or hard drive crash. Barton Gellman crashdrivefile Change image and share on social
Suppose a bad guy guesses the password for your throwaway Yahoo address. Now he goes to major banking and commerce sites and looks for an account registered to that email address. When he finds one, he clicks the 'forgot my password' button and a new one is sent - to your compromised email account. Now he's in a position to do you serious harm. Barton Gellman accountaddressbad share on social
'Social engineering,' the fancy term for tricking you into giving away your digital secrets, is at least as great a threat as spooky technology. Barton Gellman digitalengineerfancy Change image and share on social
Throughout the early and mid-1990s, the Clinton administration debated the merits of paying for AIDS testing and counseling of vulnerable populations overseas. Barton Gellman 1990sadministrationaid Change image and share on social
In computer circles, any unencrypted data is known as 'cleartext.' Barton Gellman circlecleartextcomputer Change image and share on social
Palestinians have had to live for a long time with the fact that Israelis had power over them in their everyday lives. Barton Gellman everydayfactisraeli Change image and share on social