News & Analysis
LA Fires Remind Us to Backup Data and Prepare for Outages
Whether it’s fires, earthquakes, tornadoes or even massive hack attacks, it’s important to make sure your data is backed up.
Beware of ‘Smishing’ Scams
The first few times I got a text message from a stranger that appeared to be directed at someone else, I politely informed them that they’d reached the wrong number.
How Americans Feel about AI
Talking to your family about artificial intelligence.
China Ownership Grabs Headlines, but TikTok has Reasonable Teen Safety Policies
President Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok within a year or face a U.S. ban.
2024 May Be the Year of Extended Reality
XR, short for “extended reality” includes not just video images that take up your entire field of view, but augmented reality, or mixed reality, that combines computer-generated images with the real world.
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What is Catfishing and Why It’s Dangerous
Catfishing can result in disappointment and broken hearts, but — as in the case in Riverside — it can also end in tragedy.
Shop Safely this Holiday Season
There are indeed some real bargains out there, but beware of any that are “too good to be true.”
Surveys Shed Light on Teen and Parent Feelings about Social Media
It’s relatively rare to get new research on teens, parents and social media but three surveys dropped this week.
Why You Should Review Your App Privacy Settings
Chances are you have a lot of apps on your phone, and there’s a good chance that there are some you’re not using or maybe not even aware of.
Snapchat Launches Family Center
The new tool allows teens to opt-in so that their parents have insight into how they’re using the popular platform.
Instagram Testing Age Verification Technology
Instagram has announced new ways to verify the approximate age of its users, including Face-Based-Age-Prediction (FBAP) technology that can anonymously determine a person’s approximate age.: How it works and why it matters
Apple’s Upcoming Safety Check Quickly Turns Off Location Sharing
Apple, in cooperation with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Women’s Service Network, has developed Safety Check for the next version of iOS – the operating system for iPhones and iPads.
Is There a Relationship Between Tech Use and Gun Violence?
It was bullets, not bytes — that took the lives of 10 people in Buffalo and 21 people, including 19 elementary school students, in Uvalde, Texas. Still, some are blaming video games and social media, along with mental illness.
Pair of California Bills to Protect Kids Online Show Promise, but there are Concerns
California lawmakers are considering a pair of bills to regulate kids’ use of online services. The state’s tech laws can impact the entire country.
Instagram Testing Age Verification Technology
Instagram has announced new ways to verify the approximate age of its users, including Face-Based-Age-Prediction (FBAP) technology that can anonymously determine a person’s approximate age.: How it works and why it matters
Apple’s Upcoming Safety Check Quickly Turns Off Location Sharing
Apple, in cooperation with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Women’s Service Network, has developed Safety Check for the next version of iOS – the operating system for iPhones and iPads.
Is There a Relationship Between Tech Use and Gun Violence?
It was bullets, not bytes — that took the lives of 10 people in Buffalo and 21 people, including 19 elementary school students, in Uvalde, Texas. Still, some are blaming video games and social media, along with mental illness.
Pair of California Bills to Protect Kids Online Show Promise, but there are Concerns
California lawmakers are considering a pair of bills to regulate kids’ use of online services. The state’s tech laws can impact the entire country.
Despite Laws and FCC Rules, Robocalls Remain a Problem
Google the term “robocall,” and you’ll find an FCC webpage that begins, “Unwanted calls – including illegal and spoofed robocalls – are the FCC’s top consumer complaint and our top consumer protection priority.”
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One Person’s Internet Junk is Another Person’s Treasure
That expression, “one person’s junk is another person’s treasure” could certainly be applied to the internet. But when it comes to some controversial content, I’d go a step further to say “one person’s sewer is another person’s rose garden.”
Well-Being on Instagram: The Latest Advice
We had a wide-ranging discussion with Instagram's head of safety, Vaishnavi J, about feeling pressure to present a...
Cybersecurity During COVID-19 (Webcast)
Larry Magid and Kerry Gallagher spoke with McAfee's Baker Nanduru, who had some excellent advice for all of us who are...
Gmail Anti-Phishing Technology Looks Promising
Phishing is one of the internet’s biggest security risks. That’s when a scammer sends you an email that appears to...
Online Dating in the Time of Covid-19 and Divisiveness
We spoke with online dating expert Julie Spira about dating during Covid-19 and "dating in the age of Trump." We...
Facial Recognition Loses Support as Bias Claims Rise
Following the lead of San Francisco, Boston and several other cities, Detroit is poised to end a contract with a company that provides facial recognition technology to its police department.
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Reporter on How to Find Trustworthy News
ConnectSafely's Kerry Gallagher and Larry Magid spoke with Alan Miller of The News Literacy...
TikTok Adds Parental Controls and Disables Direct Messaging for Users Under 16
TikTok, the popular app that allows users to share short (typically 15 second) videos announced Family Pairing to give parents greater control over their teen’s safety setting.
Apple and Google Building Automated Covid-19 Contact Tracing Technology
You may have heard about the technology developed jointly by Apple and Google to automate contact tracing to help alert people who may have been in proximity to someone infected with COVID-19.