February 11, 2016 5:28 PM GMT
I am not intending to stoke flames here or scare people and I certainly am not critical of Transtastic, which I think is great. I do though think it's a bit unfair to shoot Tina down because anonymity concerns are a growing issue across social media. They key terms of interest are big data + data mining + data aggregation + profile triangulation. To personally identify someone, their name, DOB etc. are not required everywhere. There are industrial algorithms that can compare stats like location, browsing history, browsing behaviour and even the semantics and grammar used in posts etc.. and using probability make a reasonable guess as to which data belongs to which profile. This is then accessed by individual sites that do have the individual's personal details, and subscribe to the aggregation services to parlay the data profile held by the aggregator. This is then used to target ads, assess insurance, evaluate job interview candidates etc.. Since Google, Facebook and co collect vast amounts of our profile data anyway it's a case of accept it or cut your internet connection unfortunately .. or start paying for social media with cash rather than with data.
February 11, 2016 5:37 PM GMT
thats all true rachel, which means folks that its ill advised to go underwear shopping on a pc used by your wife (thats unless shes a fan of buying saucy knickers online)
This post was edited by Mia Wallace at February 11, 2016 5:39 PM GMT
February 11, 2016 6:03 PM GMT
Hi Rachel,
We are treating this very seriously, Beckie made a statement about it at 10.29 this morning on this thread. I have done a preliminary analysis of Jainrain, who are a reputable software company with clients like FB - all of that is in the public domain; FYI my business career included competitive intelligence analysis.
I have forwarded Tina and Mal's concerns to Beckie and Katie, together with my findings and they will examine whether or not a reputable software company is actually hacking this site.
As I said earlier in this thread they will come back with an answer next week. Having been a site administrator and moderator since Transtastic started 5 years ago I have always treated site security as highest priority. So far I have spent about 5 hours today on this issue and changed my personal plans to get to grips with it.
Yes I was tough with Tina, but she would not let go of the issue. And neither I nor Beckie nor Katie is trying to stop people voicing their concerns - all I asked for was time for the technical people to come back with a professional response rather than having to answer whataboutery issues.
As to Google and FB - anyone who has a modicum of intelligence realizes that they and HM Government know most of what we do., and through our mobile phones and tablets etc they can see where we are (if they care). After all thats what the wikileaks showed 2-3 years ago, whether the data they get ever becomes useful information is a different question.
Pauline xx
February 11, 2016 6:05 PM GMT
I did get ultra cheap car insurance with sheilas wheels this year after they sent me a random email so it's not all doom and gloom either
February 11, 2016 6:07 PM GMT
Thanks Pauline, it's all appreciated. Security is always a difficult and sticky issue x