Recent blog posts

How to tell the NSA to go &*$! itself

Want to get the spooks off your tail? You'll have to ditch your digital footprint and start over. Here's a quick primer on how …
Facebook: Goodbye sponsored stories, hello hashtags

While the rest of us were obsessing over the NSA and domestic spying, Facebook was busy introducing a major feature while killing another.
Edward Snowden's girlfriend is now the world's most famous pole dancer

What happens when your boyfriend rats out the NSA? You become Internet famous, whether you want to be or not. Good luck getting your …
What’s wrong with the NSA’s womb-to-tomb 24/7 surveillance

The spooks can see everything we do, hear everything we say, see everywhere we go. You got a problem with that? If not, you should.
Why is the NSA spying on us?

Secretly collecting call data on millions of Americans won't do much to stop terror. So what is this data really being used for?
Enliken wants your shopping data -- and is willing to pay you for it

Enliken's Web loyalty program could make it worth your while to hand your personal information to retailers.
A better way to pay for 'free' content

Tired of ad companies tracking you? Hate paying for news you're used to getting for free? Just answer a few simple questions and all …
Google Glass fans need a reality check (and the Internet needs seat belts)

Being in public doesn't mean you give up all rights to your personal privacy -- no matter how cool that techno gadget might be.
Twitter puts all its chips on lead generation

Twitter advertisers are now dealing out discounts in exchange for your email address. AreTwitter Cards a safe bet? Read this first before …
Beware of dating sites with big ambitions and no privacy restrictions

If you're planning to share your most intimate details with a dating site, be sure to bring (privacy) protection, or you'll end …

When 'anonymous' data isn't anonymous

What do Web trackers do when the 'anonymous' data they gather reveals your identity? They redefine the word "anonymous."

By Dan Tynan

The new MySpace: I like it, I really do. What's wrong with me?

Why Facebook is full of it

Q&A: Privacy Pioneer Ray Everett

Follow Dan on Google+

Author Dan Tynan has been writing about Internet privacy for the last 3,247 years. He wrote a book on the topic for O'Reilly Media (Computer Privacy Annoyances, now available for only $15.56 at Amazon -- order yours today) and edited a series of articles on Net privacy for PC World that were finalists for a National Magazine Award. During his spare time he is part of the dynamic duo behind eSarcasm, the not-yet-award-winning geek humor site he tends along with JR Raphael.