Customer Reviews

Computer Privacy Annoyances

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If you have been thinking about what to give friends or family as a gift for their birthday or Christmas, you might want to consider O'Reilly's new book, Computer Privacy Annoyances (Dan Tynan, 177 Pages, ISBN 0596007752). Why do I say this? The bottom line reason is that the average Internet and Personal computer user need a simple, easy to follow reference guide to help them understand the threats to their privacy in the online and physical worlds. In fact, the book might better have been titled "Personal Privacy Annoyances", because the lessons extend beyond just the computer world. In fact, every ISP should hand this book out to their subscribers, new and old.

Tynan does not waste any time getting to the point, discussing privacy issues at home, work, in the stores and on the streets. In plain English, he explains worms, spam, hackers and viruses in easy to understand wording. He explains what the threats are, where they come from and how to protect against them. He talks about HIPAA, the large number of organizations not in compliance, and the loopholes that put your health care information places where you may not want it to be, You will learn about airport security, and what little you can do about it.

There is so much excellent material in this book, I could write forever. I think you can get a sense for my excitement about this book. Part of this excitement is tied to the layout. Unlike many O'Reilly (or other publishers) books which can be very dry in layout/presentation, this book is presented much like a college and/or school workbook. This makes it incredibly easy to read and follow. It is also much, much cheaper than many other technical books that offer less value.

Who Should Read This Book?

You. Your mother and father. Your In-laws. Your siblings. Your neighbors. Your ISP. Your pastor. Your childrens' teachers. Your barber. Your Doctor. The only way to win the ongoing privacy battles is to take Social Engineering and turn it on its ears by educating our friends and colleagues in a non-threatening way.

The Scorecard

A Hole-In One on a 223 Yard Par Three, playing dead into the wind.

Privacy? Good luck! Even the slightest misstep on line (or anywhere else, for that matter) can open you up to privacy intrusions that you may not know about. Dan Tynan does a really good job in outlining these areas in Computer Privacy Annoyances. This is pretty much required reading for living in our heavily computerized society.

Contents: Privacy At Risk; Privacy At Home; Privacy On The Net; Privacy At Work; Privacy In Public; Privacy And Uncle Sam; Privacy In The Future; Index

In this Annoyances title, Tynan looks at a wide range of activities and situations that involve a potential unwanted loss of privacy. Using a question and answer format, he effectively shows how seemingly innocent activities (like booking a hotel room or ordering a kosher meal on a flight) can be logged and combined to build a profile of your activities that may not present a very flattering picture of who you are and what you do (and with whom). While there's the obligatory chapters on spam, online registration sites, and the like, there are also excellent chapters that cover privacy at work (what your employers can and can not do) as well as health record concerns. Things may not be as secure and private as you think they are...

Realistically, there's already more information out there to be gleaned than you'd probably expect and be comfortable with. But by reading and digesting the contents of this book, you can start to reduce your exposure going forward. Even just the awareness of privacy concerns will start to cause you to question *why* a merchant might want certain information. They may *want* your zip code or phone number, but that doesn't mean you *have* to give it to them. Even if this book keeps you from making just one mistake that would lead to identity theft, then it's more than paid for itself. A recommended read...

Computer Privacy Annoyances
O'Reilly
By Dan Tynan
ISBN 0596007752

As someone who gets asked questions about Internet use and safety all the time, a book I had been itching to read was "Computer Privacy Annoyances", by Dan Tynan. According to the cover, the book covers "How to avoid the most annoying invasions of your personal and online privacy."

The quick and dirty? The book gives very practical, real-world examples of how your data can be used, yet the author manages to avoid sounding like a doomsayer... even some of the more scary scenarios don't come off sounding like sensationalism, just honest (and sometimes even apologetic) examples of what could very realistically happen. (I thank you, Mr. Tynan.)

I'll take bets on anyone that doesn't learn at least ten new things they didn't know about their privacy rights. Mr. Tynan has taken the proverbial "They" and reduced it to the very organizations that "they" really are. Did you know you can request a copy of your FBI files? Do you know who has the power view it? Do you know who is collecting data on you at this very moment and what they are doing with it?

The book's format allows for a surprisingly fast read. Well organized sections such as privacy at home, on the Internet, in public, at work, and even on a federal level allow for quick chapter absorption. In each chapter, the author states the annoyance, and then the fix. This allows for quick skipping over an 'annoyance' that might not annoy you that much.

I did notice that the author made no mention of the everyday information users give out about themselves without even realizing it, such as usernames that contain birthdates and such. But the Internet privacy chapter is only a small portion of the topics covered in this book. In fact, if I had to find one fault with this book, however, I'd say they lost a much larger audience that could have easily benefited from the book by calling it *Computer* Privacy Annoyances.

As a tech professional, if I could get all my clients, users, friends, family and complete strangers to read this book, I strongly believe identify theft could become a thing of the past. And it might even reduce global blood pressure, too. Bonus!

Informative, practical and exceptionally witty. A must read for all those concerned about sharing personal information.

Dan Tynan's Computer Privacy Annoyances is sharp and smart, full of tips and oozing with snark that makes for non-stop reading fun. Considering the subject matter, that's pretty astonishing.

The Net is so convenient that we don't like to think beyond running anti-spyware and keeping our AV's and firewalls up to date. The why of doing these things raises the blood pressure -- but here, you can learn while being entertained. It's one of those actual win-win situations you so rarely hear about.

What impressed me most, though, is that Tynan is so thorough that he mentions dangers to avoid that I hadn't thought of on my own. O'Reilly books are generally excellent resources and this one shines in particular.

Excellent book. Information is easy to digest. Clear instructions on how to protect your privacy. Content is useful and accurate. Our library ordered several copies.

Scary and informative...anyone with any self-respect who reads this book will be compelled to take action. Well detailed and laid out--A real roadmap for gaining control of (what you thought was) personal information which is actually quite public, all written with a poignant sardonic wit.

This book covers more than just your digital privacy. It sweeps on a wide variety of privacy topics. I find that a good thing since it's comprehensive. In reality your digital identity is interspersed with your physical identity and both a very important.

This is the most accessible of the privacy books I've read. The advice is presented in bite sized bits that are easy to understand and implement. It gives both background and practical advice. Both of which are necessary to understand the problem and the solutions.

This book is an eye-opener on privacy invasion, and how it can harm you in countless ways. It is a comprehensive study of the many forms privacy invasion can take, especially as practiced on the Internet, and what you can do to protect yourself. Author Dan Tynan has studied these offensive practices for years, and gives us the benefit of his research and findings. Find out what is going on, and what you can do protect yourself, not only on the internet, but in other aspects of your life as well.

Much as we don't want to, privacy is something we all need to think about and protect these days, unless we want to give up our computers and other gadgets and go back to stone tablets. Now we have an easy, funny, understandable guide to protecting ourselves in the online age, and we'd be foolish (and just asking for trouble) to ignore it. Dan Tynan has done all the hard work for us; now we just need to make sure that everyone we know reads this book!