Location Privacy

Here are two cases regarding location privacy, US vs. Maynard and US vs. Cuevas-Perez. Read these documents and write one posting each summarizing the case in your own words. In summary, you need to include arguments from both sides.

US vs Maynard

In the US vs Maynard case, Jones argued that the GPS evidence gathered 24 hours a day for four weeks violated the 4th amendment, which protects from unreasonable search and seizure. He alleges that the surveillance was a search as it had violated his privacy as surveillance over such a long time reveals details about his personal life and violates his reasonable expectation of privacy.

Therefore, in this case, the court ruled that the warrantless use of GPS tracking for a month was a search. In this case, I think that the courts made the right decision, as if they would've allowed this, then any citizen of the US could be legally tracked by the government 24 hours for an extended period of time without a warrant. That would be a violation of a persons privacy.

US vs Cuevas-Perez

In this case, Cuevas-Perez argued that, the GPS evidence gathered over a period of 60 hours for one trip was a search and violated his 4th amendment rights. The courts,referring to the Knotts case, GPS tracking was not a search and since the sruveillance was only over a period of 60 hours and a single trip, it was admitted.

This case was admitted as this case would allow police to legally track criminals but only over a shorter period of time.

IP address geolocation and Banning IPSec

1. Filtering system is difficult to implement. In the example of Yahoo vs. French Government, Yahoo argued that location-based filtering is limited in its effectiveness. The location-detection technology has greatly changed since. For example, now IP addresses are often tied to mobile devices with GPS coordinates. Search engines and location-based services try to determine your location based on your IP addresses. Read this article and write your opinion on whether IP address is individually-identifiable information or not. Support your argument with references.

I think that an IP address is still not an individually identifiable information. IP addresses identify a machine, not a person. Any person could be using that machine. And as we discussed in class there are ways to circumvent location-based filtering using IP addresses, such as proxy services and IP address spoofing.

Although devices may use IP addresses for locating you, it is still unreliable because of these ways that you can circumvent it. For example, google uses other ways to determine your location, such as wi-fi hotspots in conjunction with your IP address for a computer, and cell towers for mobile devices.

Sources: http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/mylocation/index.html

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153807

2. IPSec is an Internet standard that can provide VPN (Virtual Private Network) between computers. If a user in more restricted country "A" wishes to communicate with a user in less restricted country "B", they could IPSec with encryption to avoid the monitoring by the "A" government. "A" government now wishes to ban IPSec in this country. Describe what steps "A" needs to take to ban IPSec in this country.

To attempt to ban IPSec, the government would need to collaborate with ISP's to refuse all connections made using gateway routers. By refusing all connections using gateway routers, this would specify that all the header files must contain the original IP address of the origin of the message, which would break IPSec

Also, they can refuse all encrypted header files, which IPSec does to protect privacy.

Progress Report and Discussion about patents

1. Write the progress report on your website project. If your website needs a new content developed, then include the outline of the new content, and the timeline of the development. If your website is a hub/portal of existing contents, then include the list of contents you will include and the selection criteria, i.e. how you chose these contents.

A General Introduction to Communicating over the Internet

Browser Setup

1) Main browsers in use today and their special features

- Chrome's in bar site search

- Opera's built in bittorent client

2) Addons within browsers which could be useful to users

Services that are useful for communicating and sharing

Applications

1) Skype, MSN Messenger, AOL Messenger etc...

2) Any others

Web services

1) Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc...

2) Meebo, Ebuddy etc...

3) Any others

2. Read sections 5-9 in About "trivial" software patents: the isnot case and Apple's Slide to Unlock Patent: Yes, the Patent System Needs Reform. Do you think this patent is trivial or not? Explain your reasoning.

I think this patent is trivial. The idea of a slide to unlock button is one that has existed before, as shown in the link included in the article. This shows that prior art has existed and so granting this pattern could be harmful for further development.

in our in class discussions, we discussed on whether software should be granted patents or copyright. We came to the conclusion that a complex and original idea, such as a new algorithm, or a new encoding method should be patented, while the implementation of such software be copyrighted.

In the Apple Slide to Unlock patent case, the idea of unlocking by sliding a bar or swiping something on the touchpad is not original and somewhat obvious. It is not a complex idea, and as such should not be granted a patent.

Net Neutrality and The Electronic Communications Privacy Act

1. Based on the discussion in class on 10/17, imagine each participant sniffs his or her own network periodically and inspects for any behavior against net neutrality. If such behavior is noticed, then the participant signs the packet capture file with his or her private key (pre-assigned) and submits to a designated forum as a proof of misbehavior. Discuss pros and cons of this approach. This article might help.

This program would allow the FCC to get information regarding net neutrality behaviors and have more information on net neutrality behaviors and have identifiable proof of such behaviors. Also, with a signed capture packet, it will be easier to ignore those who submit packets with no errors in them, or just spam packets within the program, they can simply ignore those signed with the same signature

However, by having each participant signing the packet with his or her private key, all the information is submitted is identifiable. Some participants may prefer to submit their information anonymously, rather than being identified and associated with their packet history.

2. Read this article and discuss what actions you can and/or will take.

I was aware that the Eletronic Communications Privacy act was outdated, but did not know how legislation was so behind the times. I was shocked to find out that the government can legally obtain e-mail as well as access cloud documents without users permissions.

From now on, I will take care to delete personal e-mails from cloud storage, as well as spread awareness of this to more people. There is a petition on the American Civil Liberties Union that interested parties can sign to petition for change in this law (here)

Bridging the Digital Divide: The Power of the Internet

The untapped mind power of a determined gamer is a powerful thing indeed. The creativity that gamers display trying to beat a game has solved one of the most difficult problems that have confounded scientists and researchers for years.

Foldit, a collaborative online game that is designed to allow players to manipulate virtual molecular structures which follow real life rules, to find the more elegant structures of proteins and enzymes have in Mother Nature. Players of the game have managed to solve and find the detailed structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus found in rhesus monkeys.

The human brain is still the best resources for figuring out problems that supercomputers cannot handle. And the best way to get a lot of human brain power working on a problem is crowd-sourcing. Basically, a problem and data is put online on the internet for other people, not necessarily experts to work on. Though they may not be experts in the field, if the rules are explained to them, they can easily do the job. This allows for much more rapid development in science, allowing us to progress much faster on these problems that scientists face today.

This definitely shows the capability of the internet as a tool for progress in science.

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In this day and age, many opportunities and information is on the Internet. But not everyone has access to internet at home. In an effort to help bridge the digital divide, Comcast is offering lower rates for broadband for low-income families to help bridge the digital divide.

The new program, called "Internet Essentials", offers high speed internet that would normally cost around $50 a month, at $9.95 a month. Only low income families are eligible for this, and Comcast also provides coupons for people who cannot afford a computer to get one for $150.

The Internet is a really useful resource for students and the public alike. And to have access to those opportunities and information will help people to stay up-to-date with the progress that our community has made oer the years. Who knows, maybe one of the people who get internet access through these programs will solve the next big problem in science, by participating in these sorts of crowd-sourcing programs on the internet.

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Programming Project Proposal

I would like to create a website that talks about the different browsers and their functionalities that some people do not know about, as well as some recommended add-ons for security and ease-of-use.

Many people are still using Internet Explorer, without knowing that there are other options or maybe even confused about other browser options.

The site would explain the differences, as well as highlight certain functions within browsers that users may not have noticed, and teach them how to use them.

Handwritten VS Digital Signatures

The emergence of digital signatures have led to many debates about the pros and cons of digital signatures and handwritten signatures. Both serve the same purpose of authenticating a person and proving the legitimacy of a document or data. Though digital signatures have their benefits, I believe that handwritten signatures are still more stable, more widely accepted and have less issues to deal with. As digital signatures are new, they have unresolved issues and problems.

As mentioned in the article, ultimately, a digital signature is something that is signed and produced by a machine. If someone steals your machine, and with it your private key, they could pretend to be you, legitimately. The same is not true for a handwritten signature. Someone cannot steal your pen and reproduce your signature. The private key is similar to the use of seals by kings, during the olden days. If someone had secretly made a copy of the seal itself. No one could tell the difference between a real and a forged document.

Quoting the document, "A fundamental difference, then, between digital signatures and handwritten signatures is that digital signatures require a combination of computer systems and third parties to exist, and computers can have both accidental errors and malicious subversion. Handwritten signatures do not require the same ecosystem, and are not exposed to the same risks." As mentioned, though computer errors are very few and wide between, a small error or a virus in the machine could compromise your private key and thus compromise your digital signature.

Ultimately, handwritten signatures will be here for a while, at least until the major issues with digital signatures have been resolved.

Resources

https://signnow.com/resources/handwritten-vs-digital-signatures