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Monday, 28 January 2013

WhatsApp's data collecting violates Canadian and Dutch privacy laws

According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Dutch data authority College Bescherming Persoonsgegevens (CBP), the popular cross-platform messaging application WhatsApp violates privacy laws. A joint investigation between the two groups revealed that, with the exception of devices running iOS 6, the app requires access to a customer's address book in order to use the software. This stipulation results in non-user contact information being recorded to WhatsApp servers without permission, which contravenes Canadian and Dutch privacy laws. In September of 2012, the company added encryption to its services as a response to these investigations, but both the OPC and CBP remain concerned about unauthorized data collecting. As it stands, both organizations will continue to monitor WhatsApp's progress toward compliance, with the Dutch agency reserving its right to impose fines against the firm if necessary.

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WhatsApp's violation of privacy law partly resolved after investigation by data protection authorities

Canadian and Dutch data privacy guardians release findings from investigation of popular mobile app

Ottawa, Canada and The Hague, The Netherlands, January 28, 2013 -The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens, (CBP)) today released their findings from a collaborative investigation into the handling of personal information by WhatsApp Inc., a California-based mobile app developer.

The coordinated investigation is a global first, as two national data protection authorities conducted their work together to examine the privacy practices of a company with hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. This marks a milestone in global privacy protection.

"Our Office is very proud to mark an important world-first along with our Dutch counterparts, especially in light of today's increasingly online, mobile and borderless world," said Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada. "Our investigation has led to WhatsApp making and committing to make further changes in order to better protect users' personal information."

Jacob Kohnstamm, Chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, adds: "But we are not completely satisfied yet. The investigation revealed that users of WhatsApp - apart from iPhone users who have iOS 6 software - do not have a choice to use the app without granting access to their entire address book. The address book contains phone numbers of both users and non-users. This lack of choice contravenes (Dutch and Canadian) privacy law. Both users and non-users should have control over their personal data and users must be able to freely decide what contact details they wish to share with WhatsApp."

Key findings and outcomes

The investigation focused on WhatsApp's popular mobile messaging platform, which allows users to send and receive instant messages over the Internet across various mobile platforms. While WhatsApp was found to be in contravention of Canadian and Dutch privacy laws, the organization has taken steps to implement many recommendations to make its product safer from a privacy standpoint. At this time however, outstanding issues remain to be fully addressed.

The investigation revealed that WhatsApp was violating certain internationally accepted privacy principles, mainly in relation to the retention, safeguard, and disclosure of personal data. For example:

In order to facilitate contact between application users, WhatsApp relies on a user's address book to populate subscribers' WhatsApp contacts list. Once users consent to the use of their address book, all phone numbers from the mobile device are transmitted to WhatsApp to assist in the identification of other WhatsApp users. Rather than deleting the mobile numbers of non-users, WhatsApp retains those numbers (in a hash form). This practice contravenes Canadian and Dutch privacy law which holds that information may only be retained for so long as it is required for the fulfilment of an identified purpose. Only iPhone users running iOS6 on their devices have the option of adding contacts manually rather than uploading the mobile address numbers of their address books to company servers automatically.
At the time the investigation began, messages sent using WhatsApp's messenger service were unencrypted, leaving them prone to eavesdropping or interception, especially when sent through unprotected Wi-Fi networks. In September 2012, in partial response to our investigation, WhatsApp introduced encryption to its mobile messaging service.
Over the course of the investigation, it was found that WhatsApp was generating passwords for message exchanges using device information that can be relatively easily exposed. This created the risk that a third party may send and receive messages in the name of users without their knowledge. WhatsApp has since strengthened its authentication process in the latest version of its app, using a more secure randomly generated key instead of generating passwords from MAC (Media Acess Control) or IMEI (International Mobile Station Equipment Identity) numbers (which uniquely identify each device on a network) to generate passwords for device to application message exchanges. Anyone who has downloaded WhatsApp, whether they are active users or not, should update to the latest version to benefit from this security upgrade.
Next steps

The OPC and CBP have worked closely together, but have issued separate reports, respecting each country's data protection law (Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Dutch Data Protection Act (Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens (Wbp)). Following the issuance of their respective reports of findings, the OPC and CBP will pursue outstanding matters independently.

Following investigation, the Dutch Data Protection Act provides for a second phase in which the CBP will examine whether the breaches of law continue and will decide whether it will take further enforcement actions. The Dutch legal framework contains the possibility to enforce the Dutch privacy law by imposing sanctions.

Under Canada's PIPEDA, the OPC will monitor the company's progress in meeting commitments made in the course of investigation. In most cases, companies are cooperative in meeting their obligations, and WhatsApp has demonstrated a willingness to fully comply with the OPC's recommendations. Unlike the CBP, the OPC does not have order making powers.

Filed under: Software

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Via: Reuters

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/28/whatsapp-data-collection-violates-privacy-laws/

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Tuesday, 22 January 2013

PX at Estate Bethlehem Closed January 19 2013 - USVI Moving ...

Yesterday, working as a civilian for the Virgin Island National Guard, I received an email from the leadership of the VING, AAFES run PX at at EState Bethlehem, would close at the end of the day----for good.

Sad news, however, the leadership of the VING sent another email about an hour later-----although closed by AAFES as a PX, it will reopen in the next few months as a new and improved territorial store run by the Virgin Island National Guard.

PS Puerto Rico does this at one of the bases, it quite nice and has good prices, and a nice selection of product, to include TVS, stereos, etc.......

We keep all you veterans posted on any news of the reopening---expect 2-3 months.

Source: http://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,195960,195960

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Monday, 21 January 2013

Legend, 2 Chainz, MC Lyte honored at Hip-Hop Ball

John Legend is seen at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington. (Photo by Larry French/Invision/AP)

Rosario Dawson is seen at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington. (Photo by Larry French/Invision/AP)

2 Chainz is seen at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington. (Photo by Larry French/Invision/AP)

Doug E. Fresh is seen at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington. (Photo by Larry French/Invision/AP)

Swizz Beatz is seen at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 in Washington. (Photo by Larry French/Invision/AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? John Legend believes hip-hop played its part in helping Barack Obama become president, and he's proud at how the genre has matured over the years.

"I think hip-hop had a role in making sure we elected a black president in America because we made it so that black people were in people's homes ... through our music and through our culture," the R&B crooner said Sunday night at the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball.

"I think it made Barack Obama and more people like him possible, so I'm really thankful for hip-hop and the role it plays in society," he continued.

Legend was awarded the humanitarian award at Sunday's event, and it was one of many honors handed out at the Harman Center for Arts.

Hip-hop pioneers MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh were both given lifetime achievement awards. Fresh even hit the stage, beat boxing while comedian-actor-singer Wayne Brady cooed Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" At one point, Brady even busted out his own rhymes.

Rapper Yo Yo earned a roaring cheer when she hit the stage to honor MC Lyte; Lil Mama also paid tribute to the "Ruffneck" rapper.

2 Chainz, who had a breakthrough year with his Grammy-nominated solo debut and multiple rap hits, earned the street soldier award for encouraging young voters as a spokesperson for the Hip-Hop Caucus' "Respect My Vote!" campaign.

"Doing my thing on the charts is one thing, but to be getting honored on another avenue, it just feels like a blessing," he said in an interview. "I'm keeping my head leveled and staying humble."

Actress Rosario Dawson won the vanguard award for her work as chairman of the Voto Latino organization.

"It's time to step out of the shadows. It's time to not just be talked about by other people, it's time to take the leadership ourselves and that first step of leadership is voting," Dawson said of the importance of the Latino vote.

Rappers Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill also earned honors at the event, attended by a few hundred hip-hop fans, including model Tyson Beckford, former NBA star Dikembe Mutumbo and Victor Cruz of the New York Giants. La La Anthony and Terrence J hosted the ball.

British singer Marsha Ambrosius also delivered a rousing performance, and playful jokes about Obama.

"I got a call from the president and he asked me to perform his favorite song," she said before singing the R&B jam "Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)."

Then she sang "Butterflies," a song she co-wrote for Michael Jackson's 2001 "Invincible" album.

"This might have been his favorite," she said.

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-21-Inauguration-Hip-Hop%20Ball/id-7a6b45fc16c24f0b8a4a31b32c8dd48a

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Turn a Cheap $2 Plastic Stapler Into a Booklet Stapler

Turn a Cheap $2 Plastic Stapler Into a Booklet Stapler If you want to staple standard office paper into a booklet you will typically need a long reach stapler?standard desktop staplers are not long enough to staple the middle of a page. Specialized booklet staplers can often cost $25 or more, but if you have access to a bit of aluminum rectangular tubing, a hacksaw, and a drill you can augment a cheap $2 dollar-store stapler into having a much longer reach.

Instructables user kenyer basically disassembled the donor stapler, cut two pieces of aluminum stock to size and formed them into a U-beam, and attached the two pieces of aluminum stock to the stapler using screws at a 90-degree angle. Now the stapler doesn't need to be as long to access the spine of your booklet.

DIY Booklet Stapler | Instructables

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/X7UYjCfz2AY/turn-a-cheap-2-plastic-stapler-into-a-booklet-stapler

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Saturday, 19 January 2013

Women's Health and Fitness Australia ? February 2013-P2P ...

Women?s Health & Fitness is the perfect gift for women who value the benefits of an active and healthy life. It features quality articles on health, nutrition, beauty, weight loss, workouts, fitness tips, sex and relationships, low-fat recipes, diet, supplementation and more.

Women?s Health and Fitness Australia ? February 2013-P2P
English | 132 Pages | HQ PDF | 91.8 MB
Download: HERE

Source: http://www.rlslog.net/womens-health-and-fitness-australia-february-2013-p2p/

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Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Stagetecture Radio ? Protecting Winter Home/Interview ? 1.16.13 ...

Entry #2011, January 14, 2012

We don?t like to talk about it but unwanted pests such as rodents and unwelcomed furry friends in your home in the winter can be a nuisance. Today, my guest blogger from ?Do My Own Pest Control? will share information to keep your home and family safe.

Episode 11 stagetecture radio 1.16.13

January 16, 2013 at 12:00pm- 12:30pm EST

On Stagetecture Radio ? > Listen here: or go to Http://stagetecture.com/episode11

Want to call in and ask me a question? (713) 955-0779

?Protecting your Winter Home?

Protect your winter home and family from pests with helpful tips for keeping your family safe from intruders such as rodents, bugs and more. I interview ?Do My Own Pest Control? and learn green tips, and essential information to keep your winter home comfortable for all! See their guest blog on Stagetecture ? Protecting your home from unwanted pests here.

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111 Simple Tips Ebook: All tips are highlights are for saving time and money are in the book.

Want to see all of the great inspiration for today?s show? Follow my Pinterest board for each episode to lend inspiration you can do at home to complete the look

Pinterest ?> See pictures here: or go to Http://stagetecture.com/Pinterest

Did you miss the show, or want to download on iTunes so you can listen to again? You can look for Stagetecture Radio show every Wednesday after the show and download my episode or any of the other shows.