How to Disable Facebook's Facial Recognition Feature

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 9 June, 2011 - 09:39

You may have heard that Facebook turned on a new feature recently without notifying users - automatic facial recognition. When uploading photos to Facebook, your contacts will now be prompted automatically to tag you in the photos. This is done using a "picture fingerprint" (as the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls it). You may like this - but it is possible to turn it off if you don't like it or are concerned about your security... as I think many activists or civil society practitioners working in Africa should be.

How To Choose Very Strong Passwords That Are Easy To Remember

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 16 December, 2010 - 14:53

Password security is a recurring theme for Kabissa members. We just had a reminder this week how important it is to have uncrackable passwords. Below is a great primer that I suggest you follow right away to tighten up your own passwords, especially for email, facebook, kabissa and other mission critical online tools you use for your work in Africa. As usual, please reply with your own tips/suggestions/questions.

Berlin: Tactical Tech public screening of ONO - learn with robot how to understand and minimize risks of using new technologies

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 22 November, 2010 - 12:17

If you are in Berlin and able to get to this event, I strongly recommend you do so! Especially for people working on sensitive issues, ONO the robot viewing parties offer an important opportunity to learn and discuss how to strategically use mobile phones, Twitter, email, Facebook etc. It is also possible to organize your own ONO screening party in your own community and download the films from onorobot.org to watch on your own. If you do, please let us know here how it goes!

ONO in Berlin (and on TV)

crossposted from: http://www.onorobot.org/screening/957

Screening date and time: 22 November 2010
Link to screening partner: Betahaus

Location

Betahaus - Open Design City
Prinzessinnenstraße 19-20

Berlin 10969

Germany
See map: Google Maps

Join Tactical Tech and ONO at this party. All four films will be screened, there'll be drinks, an informal discussion about digital security and privacy issues as well as some limited edition ONO merchandise. Last but not least, some crew from Deutche Welle TV will be there finding out about ONO.

What will be the impact on the work of African civil society of the new @facebook.com email service?

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 14 November, 2010 - 14:05

I just read the Guardian Tech post Facebook set to launch 'Gmail killer' email system, excerpted below, about a new @facebook.com email service apparently slated to launch tomorrow. I think it's important for people working in African civil society to reflect carefully about what this means about how we all will be using Facebook and the Internet for work and play.

I like Facebook, but it is not a central tool for me or for Kabissa, and I use it despite serious concerns I have had all along about privacy on the service. I've blogged about my concerns about privacy and security issues on Facebook here and here, which have not yet really been addressed to my satisfaction. I am seriously concerned for activists who may be put in danger through unwittingly sharing their personal data and activities on Facebook. This feeling was not helped today when I also read a TechCrunch post How To Mass Export All Of Your Facebook Friends’ Private Email Addresses - which Facebook does not actually allow you to do but which apparently can be done easily using Yahoo email.  

What do you think? Is it a good thing that Facebook is positioning itself to be the only place that we all go to when we get online to get our work done as well as stay connected with friends and colleagues? 

When's the last time you changed your password? Imagine a nightmare scenario..

Submitted by Tobias Eigen on 12 March, 2008 - 19:59

Imagine your email routine. You log into your email and sit back to tackle your correspondence. You notice with some pleasure that there is a lot less spam than usual, and note that there generally is a light load to address. But then suddenly the mail you were about to read is gone. A few minutes later a few messages appear again and you start reading them. Then, boom - they are gone too. Panic takes hold.

This is the sort of thing that we all imagine can't happen to us - but is possible, and it did happen to a Kabissa member this week.

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