Now's a good time for a glimpse of my mountain post-fire damage. Two fires, actually: the upper left is still recovering from December, and the rest is from recent burning. (Screencapped the original photo, for those getting all antsy about Alfred, but if you find me, and visit, give me 4 hours notice to bake something nice!)
does screencapping help confuse geolocation, then?
A lot of photos carry extra information in the metadata. That can definitely make geolocation easier for many search algorithms!
yes, i know and keep mine OFF, but J indicated that none of that data was necessary, just the photo, so i was wondering whether somehow screencapping further hid the location.
it would be handy.
At some point it really won't matter, because the sheer volume of data online to match location will always leap ahead of defenses.
For maximal safety, a good full scrub of personal data is probably best.
I don't ever share photos of *other* people's homes, but I have enough to worry about simply from local stalkers not to be as worried about abstract threats.
(Unless they want to come over for tea! Then I need baking preferences in advance!)
@stueytheround @MLClark @holon42
Also all Alfred's pic geolocation stuff is public so nothing is done via DM - followers only or unlisted
which means if I upload a pic only way for someone else to use Alfred to geolocate is public which means I'll see it being done - we can all visit Alfred's posts & replies to view all geolocated posts anytime we want - even if the original post asking for Alfred to geolocate something is deleted Alfred's reply won't be 😉
@ecksmc @stueytheround @MLClark @holon42
That’s good but what’s to stop anyone from using the same information in other AI’s ?
@Museek @ecksmc @stueytheround @holon42
Definitely a good reminder to be much more cautious with what we share elsewhere, at the very least.
@MLClark @ecksmc @stueytheround @holon42
Right but even things shared here might be used elsewhere. Even if EXIF/metadata is stripped.
If Alfred can do it, so can any other AI, it would seem, since we don’t know where that information is drawn from.
I know the visual component can be scary, but we leave a lot of digital detritus most every time we visit a site, or use our phones.
It's a little like the panic some had about vaccines implanting chips to track you. Why would that be necessary when most of us are bleeding info everywhere, via smartphones especially?
As @ecksmc notes, it's definitely a threat - but it's always been a threat, in the background radiation of most all of our activities online.
@MLClark @ecksmc @stueytheround @holon42 yes but now it’s exponentially more accessible.
@Museek @ecksmc @stueytheround @holon42
I was reading up recently on the fact that most hacking scams aren't anywhere near as elaborate as made out to be on film and TV. Some of the most effective rely on manipulating human behaviour to get people to provide their passwords in the moment, and go from there.
We have a LOT to worry about. This is part of it, but it's also part of a huge pre-existing tapestry of data vulnerabilities. Definitely something to try to combat holistically, if we can!
@MLClark @Museek @stueytheround @holon42
Yes social engineering is probably the biggest method used to get people to reveal stuff 'the art of manipulating, influencing, or deceiving you in order to gain control over your computer system: and revealing personal info about yourself like credit card, bank info etc'
Hack the person is a tried and tested method dates way back
@ecksmc @MLClark @Museek @stueytheround @holon42
Applied for a job through Indeed and got an email reply back suspiciously fast to move on to the "next stage." The link included a request for SSN and front/back image of ID.
When I circled back to Indeed to report the post, it had already been suspended. But, I wonder if anyone fell for it? People really desperate for a job and not super savvy might just figure it was a hoop they should jump through, since most applications go nowhere.
Great example.
And hot damn, I love our brain trust here.
These are the kinds of conversations we need to have - with no judgment, and no dismissal of people's fears. Just a careful, shared assessment of the risk level as it stands, and solid reminders of what we can do (however little that might be in the grand scheme of things) to stay informed, and take care of the people/spaces we can.
Super grateful to you all for this chat.
@MLClark @CLManussier @Museek @stueytheround @holon42
It is a good example another is they text msgs from parcel services saying you need to click a URL to sort out late delivery or pay a tax
Troy Hunt actually posted on X about one such msg asking others if they thought it was legit or not
https://twitter.com/troyhunt/status/1759827070610464990
Some thought it legit some not
Also some tips given by some 👍 personally I said it wasn't legit lol
@ecksmc @MLClark @CLManussier @Museek @holon42
I don't know if it's already a thing, but I do think that internet safety and data security should be being taught in schools from as young as possible to enable the coming generations to make decisions from an informed base.
@stueytheround think it is a thing now and is much better than it used to be not sure on specific classes though
Our day we were lucky if we had access to a computer once a month in school now pupils are being given laptops, mainly Chromebooks, from schools to take home I'd like to think they are being taught at least basics on staying safe, on social media, & security & data saftey
Guess it depends on what school kids are at also
@ecksmc @stueytheround @CLManussier @Museek @holon42
My nephews in Ontario are all part of Google networks through their public school system, with emails and Drives for their projects, extra permissions required for access to certain features, and in-service chat groups where teachers can monitor what they're saying.
This is for all elementary through high school kids, so they definitely start 'em young now. I hope the early oversight and closed training environments help.
@MLClark
Chromebooks, are good for that, they are set up to limit what kids can do on them at home like what they can instal etc...some even stop certain sites from functioning and like you say all can be monitored pretty easily - even if kids try and "hack" past restrictions the device can alert schools - you can't go into developer mode for one
@stueytheround @CLManussier @Museek @holon42