Are you worried that everything you say and do on the Internet is being watched or recorded?

Yeah, so?

It did take me a while -- a couple of years? -- but eventually I figured out that I had to be willing for anything I've typed online to be printed out in large letters and taped to my back while I walk around a crowded mall. Oh and my husband, mom, co-workers, etc. are also in that mall.

Once I figured that out though, I have pretty much ceased to worry. (Not entirely.)

I have several examples of academic colleagues whove volunteered or contracted as "expert witnesses" and then having their own college webpages and FB accounts used as evidence against them, and the results were almost universally disastrous for them. (These various accounts are clearly done with the persons understanding that their privacy would be at risk, or at least it should be). One of my friends was very outspoken on environmental issues and his core opinion was impeached because of it. He was played as a zealot who had an agenda against all quarrying .
I recently had to get off A2K for a possible conflict that could have arisen and only returned when I was sure of my entire assignment and with a clear stipulation about what and what not I could speak on.
My speech on a particular subject is limited by contract , which is an agreement I volunteered to enter. It has nothing to do with my constitutional rights.

In several of the claims cases Ive been involved in, both sides have very capable "
net sleuths" who search out detailed information on a potential witnesses bakground. Its almost impossible to have a background in which something embarrasing doesnt show up. Ive come up with several standard approaches and lines about information presented me, about me, at my voire diere in depositions.
Every side wants to win in the worst way and tearing someones reputation a new asshole is just a tool. "Its obly business, nothin personal" If someone wants to remain forever alban, then that person should
1live a monks life in the woods

2have no private thoughts or ideass

3never hold a job in which you were asked to make decisions

4stay away from all human interaction like committees, boards, or even garden clubs.

5Turn yer WAYBACK mahine to 1860

Are you worried that everything you say and do on the Internet is being watched or recorded?

nope

What I have to saw is so incidental that no one would be interested any way.

No.



I have never been paranoid.





David

I dunno, boss . . .

North: Are you now, or have you ever been a supporter of the institution of slavery?

South: Are you now, or have you ever been an opponent of the institution of slavery?

When you practiced law we still had court scribes and everyone wpre wigs. Lawyers today,(at least the NY brands)have mastered the art of finding out everything they can which can be used against witnesses.
While most attorneys are rather ignorant of the strengths of the web, they have staffers who are expert at cyber-diving

Yeh but at least there wasnt a SNopes in 1865 that could refute the widely held belief that Jeff Davis wore a ladies dress to escape into Mexico

If someone is relying on your deposition or testimony, then they can't be very sharp law dogs if they aren't doing the same kind of search on you to establish your squeaky cleanness before employing your services. If i knew the other guy might do this, i'd do it myself, first.

If you worry about your ISP keeping records on your internet behaviors you can use a SSL proxy server located in another country or the tor network or................to keep your ISP provider completely in the dark and depending on the degree of trouble you care to go through any government in the dark also.

If you are worry about the example Farmerman came up with you can follow Firefly example and give out zero information in your public statements about yourself when placing public postings.

You can have the privacy to the degree you care to work at it.

For myself I am fairly sure if someone would care to spend the $$$$$$ they could place my real life ID to my postings as I had reveal a lot of details over the tens of thousands of postings but not by any information that my ISP provider might keep on my account.

Its just the rules of business. The law firms will not spend their clients money to do such detailed searches about an expert as much as they rely upon reputation. If your opinion in a case is something that evolves asyou do reserach and forensic work, how can the other side impeach you at the outset? Their shots would not be specific, would appear to be totally arbutrary and capricious, and would be a waste of precious resources for their own cyber spooks. At the outset, all they usually determine is that you are who you say you are, the quality of opinions youve already had on file and the cases outcomes , your testimonies, and whether or not your licenses are up to date and you havent been denied tenure for any funny reasons. The real stuff will wait for when youve filed your expert report or delivered your opinion. They sometimes wont even nail you at deposition. Ive had a colleague get nailed on aprofessional indescretion involving a mining claim . This wasnt revealed until a panel of judges was convened and the cross examination was underway. Sad but his company was denied his fee for not disclosing himself anything that could have been deemed injurious to the matter at hand.
You would decide whether a case is even in your area of expertise , your opinion being asked isnt too broad so as to hang out your expertise on shakky grounds AND whether any previous decisions have been impeached and why. These are things you must disclose yourself at the outset before you are retained.
I used to be a chemist but havent oracticed in yers, so while I give opinions about rock chemnistry, I always ask for another recent expert to back me up in areas that I could be questioned on how recent and relevant my experience is.

Forensics and expert witnessing can be a hurtful area to a career or it could be areal builder of reputation. I enjoy the give and take and have helped in managing any focus defects by forcing my thinking processes.

Youve gotta have swum in the pool to be conversant in the tricks involved.

If anyone followed my internet browsing today they would be humped over their desk with their head on their arms snoring loudly.

Me too unless looking at butt clevage on peopleof walmart is exciting to you - then yeah they'd find my browsing boring.

I was cataloging the latin names of plants followed by comparing hotel prices in Philadelphia. Next up is looking for a recipe that contains kale, carrots, peppers and cheddar cheese because that's what is in the fridge. Oh, I also searched around Ebay for prices on old Royal Doulton series ware...still awake?

I was on ebay too - just to see if there was anything good - I think you have me beat though with latin name of plants in boredom

i saw that! ...


in fact, i've seen every single word of every reply in this thread - and a whole lot in some other threads. really can't begin to describe this sense of power i'm feeling...

Don't bother about the ISP.

When we get our annual lecture from the forensic auditor we are reminded that each piece of info we send out into the internet is 'captured' at least 15 times on its way to its destination.

The ISP is a tiny piece of the overall picture.

Google seems to be going crazy.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-tracks-consumers-across-products-users-cant-opt-out/2012/01/24/gIQArgJHOQ_story.html


By Cecilia Kang, Google said Tuesday it will follow the activities of users across e-mail, search, YouTube and other services, a shift in strategy that is expected to invite greater scrutiny of its privacy and competitive practices.

The information will enable Google to develop a fuller picture of how people use its growing empire of Web sites. Consumers will have no choice but to accept the changes.

.The policy will take effect March 1 and will also impact Android mobile phone users, who are required to log in to Google accounts when they activate their phones.

The changes comes as Google is facing stiff competition for the sometimes fleeting attention of Web surfers. It recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing last week to meet earnings predictions. Apple, in contrast, reported record earnings Tuesday, blowing past even the most optimistic expectations.

Google’s move appears to be aimed squarely at Apple and Facebook — titans of the tech industry that have been successful in keeping people within their ecosystem of products. Google, which makes money by selling targeted ads, is hoping to do the same by offering a Web experience tailored to personal tastes.

“If you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services,” Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy, product and engineering wrote in a blog post.

“In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience,” she said.

Google can track users when they sign into their accounts. It can also use cookies or find out where people are if they use a Google phone or its maps program. The company will now attempt to mix all of that information together into a single cauldron for each person.

For instance, a user who has watched YouTube videos of the Washington Wizards might suddenly see basketball ticket ads appear in his or her Gmail accounts.

That person may also be reminded of a business trip to Washington on Google Calendar and asked whether he or she wants to notify friends who live in the area, information Google would cull from online contacts or its social network Google+.

Google said it would notify its hundreds of millions of users of the change through an e-mail and on its main search site.

Privacy advocates say Google’s new policy may betray users who did not expect their information would be shared across different Web sites when they signed up for a single service, such as Gmail.

A user of Gmail, for instance, may send messages about a private meeting with a colleague and may not want the location of that meeting to be used in Google’s maps application or social network.

“There is no way anyone expected this,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of privacy advocacy group the Center for Digital Democracy. “There is no way a user can comprehend the implication of Google collecting across platforms for information about your health, political opinions and financial concerns.”

Google recently settled a privacy complaint by the Federal Trade Commission after it allowed users of its now defunct social network Google Buzz to see contacts lists from its e-mail program. The company said it fulfilled its requirement to review any privacy changes with federal regulators.

Privacy advocates in recent weeks filed a separate complaint that Google deceived consumers by using information from its new social network Google+ in general search results.

Some worry about security. Gmail users, including some White House staff, last year were targeted by hackers who were able to breach the company’s e-mail accounts.

Google on Tuesday described its new business plan as changes in its privacy policy and terms of service for all its services except for Google Wallet, its Chrome browser and Google Books.

Claudia Farrell, a spokeswoman at the FTC, declined to comment on any interaction between Google and regulators on its new privacy changes and the agency’s view toward the integration of user information.

Google has also faced greater scrutiny that it is using its dominance in online search to favor its other applications. Google’s decision to blend Google+ data into search results has been included into a broad FTC antitrust investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is private.

Engineers from Twitter, Facebook and MySpace responded by launching a Web tool that they say shows Google is moving away from its stated mission to be a neutral Web directory.

On the Web site for the plug-in, the engineers wrote that searches for generic terms such as “movies” or “music” prioritize Google+ results over more relevant content.




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