Tag Archives: computer security

We have it all, yet it is so far away…

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Well, this lovely thought came to me this morning after a strange incident with Apple which profoundly effects the way I look at the company.

I received an email saying my credit card settings had been changed.  Like anyone, I called to inquire since I hadn’t done it.  Apple’s answer was that I didn’t have a pay per incident contract so they would not be able to help me with the problem on their side.  And in a cheerful voice, the person tells me I will receive articles to read and figure it out on my own their security hiccup!  That’s the treatment I used to get from Microsoft, but Apple?

Here is the bottom line. I have no time to read anything about the problems I encounter on your services I pay for.  Your site has problems recognizing my password that have been reset but I am not allowed to reuse them since they have been used over the past year.  On a deeper level, what this shows again is that Apple has become its own nemesis, another big corporation more interested in your wallet’s opening potential than you.  Now I know how women feel on the first date with a person whose attentions are not what they appear.  If Apple cannot resolve basic security issues on their side from a paying user, then what else will it do?

I was about to renew my Mobile Me subscription as well as eventually getting an iPad and a Mac Mini server but this last hiccup makes me seriously question Apple.  What’s to do?  The answer is simple in the end.  I’m canceling Mobile Me and I am not rushing to get anything from them.

So corporations should ask those very simple questions;

  • Is it smart to make a paying customer pay for incidents they are not responsible for, especially something as potentially important as a security issue?
  • And, if a company does that, how long can it maintain this?  See example from Microsoft and others who abused their clientele.

Hopefully Steve will reply to me email.  In the meantime, this is such an unusual experience from Apple that it makes me wonder if the company’s best days are behind?

Online Privacy, Is There Such A Thing?

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These days, it seems you cannot escape the online privacy articles that pop up on a daily basis.  Facebook this, Google that, to name a few.  So I decided to poke around my settings.  And what did I find?

Horror of all horror!  Google Documents had listed in my documents, although not shared all the documents that were sent to me as attachment as far back as 2006.  That is, all documents sent to me even before Google Documents existed.  Facebook is notorious for poor privacy settings, loose agreements and never being upfront about what actually is open to its third party allies.  Facebook applications open up doors into your data on your computer that can be used by whomever Facebook chooses.  Sorry, but considering how corporations treat their users these days, that is a no-no in my book.

So I decided to remove everything.  I have removed all the documents in Google Documents that should be there in the first place.  I am removing all posts and comments on my Facebook profile that is not relevant to coaching.  That is gargantuan task.  It is amazing to see how much you can write and in the end, how much of it is really relevant or even remotely interesting?

This makes me wonder, as I am sure many of you also do.  Why are these company treating people’s private intellectual properties like that when they sue anyone who infringes on their private intellectual properties?  If convenience is the reason, then it is not worth it to me.  Another question that begs to be asked is why are these things done without letting users know clearly they have your information, documents and more on their servers?  Even if they are not set to be shared, the very least would be to treat me as a mature and responsible human being by asking me first.  And this is finally the crux, in the name of convenience, we have accepted much too many things that in the end make our social network… not convenient.

In the end, those who understand the nature of computers and certainly that of the Internet do know one thing without doubt, there is no such thing as privacy on the Internet.  The Internet was created to share information, not withhold it.

Things that make you go: “Hummmm…”