Somebody is Watching You (Via TV)

5 Replies Jonny Hankins

Last week my local Congressman Michael Capuano introduced some important legislation into the house regarding privacy and TV.

Like many of us residing in the US, Capuano was astonished and troubled by the revelations that home TV and telephone operator Verizon was required to give the government lots of data about our telephone use. They provide a daily list of all calls, duration and codes to identify mobile devices so that the government can look for terrorists.

Capuano decided to look further into issues of privacy surrounding this particular operator, and his legislation is a result of his findings.

He found that cable TV companies are developing systems that allow the TV set to watch the viewer. The idea is that a box sits in your house and watches you watch the TV so that advertisers can market their wares better.

A woman watching TV in the dark

Watching TV

The systems will be fitted with face recognition software (see this article for an idea of how far this software has come) so that publicity can be tailor made for the consumer.

So if I am watching something the publicity will be aimed at me, and probably cross referenced with data about my interests, life and Google searches. Fast cars, motorbikes and concert tickets.

If my wife is in the room maybe the publicity will also take her presence into account, and offer her shampoo, a fitness package or the likes, or maybe target us both with a cruise or a romantic weekend in the sun for 2 or likewise. If we are sat at opposite ends of the sofa maybe some counselling or a good divorce lawyer, who knows.

I can only imagine that if the watcher is eating a bag of crisps (chips) and drinking a bottle of beer then publicity for pizza and wine would be in order, the right message at the right time if you see what I mean.

What Capuano and his co sponsor are trying to do is to pass legislation to force producers to build and market a version of their cable interface box without the cameras integrated, and that the TV must show the message “I am watching you” when the machine is watching you.

Not too much to ask you might think but in free market led America I await the outcome. Read more about the legislation here.

I was fortunate enough to interview Congressman Capuano for my Bassetti Foundation blog a couple of years ago. We spoke about technology and his responsibility as a politician to society and his electorate. A transcription of the interview is available here.

Just as a sideline the BBC has an article out about hackers taking over webcams to spy on people covertly. Apparently there is a market for access to your computer, although the stated motivations are different and the practice is not legal.

EDITOR NOTE: Don’t forget the post I wrote about keeping Java up to date Jonny; it mentions about webcam hacking too 🙂 – note by Christopher

A basic guide to digital cameras

Leave a reply Camille Mitchell

The future is officially in our present when it comes to technology and the advancements just keep rolling in. Videography, photography and everything in between aren’t forgotten when it comes to today’s continuous advancements. With DSLR cameras in households of professionals and amateur photographers all around the world and high speed imagery devices in several different genres of professions, designers and engineers behind the mechanics of these devices are on full speed development.

A photographer and DSLR cameraHere is a little more need to know information to help you get a little more insight on the ins and outs of the devises you may use at home. Digital single-lens reflex cameras are uniquely designed advanced digital cameras. The DSLR camera combines parts of a SLR camera and a digital camera back, this specialized design is the featured difference between a DSLR and any other digital cameras and recording devices. Frame rate or frame frequency essentially is the frequency rate where an imaging tool (such as a DSLR camera or a high speed imagery device) accurately produces consecutive images (frames). This general term is used when describing film and video cameras, motion capture systems, and even computer animation and/or graphics.

The standard for video is 24p (23.976 frames per second) which is standard for DSLR video recording devices. To ensure proper visual appearance there is a general rule of thumb when recording video with a DSLR video device, the shutter speed should be double the frame rate. That may seem like a mouthful of information, but it helps to know how a device really works to ensure adequate usability.

Advanced high speed cameras record details of fast mechanical movements and play them back in slow motion for adequate and relevant analysis. Just a regular high speed camera typically records over 1,000 frames per second into DRAM then reverses to slow motion playback for adequate studying purposes. There is a company called AOS Technologies which produces high speed imagery cameras and devices that are used for a wide range of purposes from crash testing all the way to defence application. Biomechanical analysis is just one of the top leading, and interesting, areas of expertise where high speed cameras are significantly making an impact. Movement sequences can be precisely recorded for analysis for training on body movement for medical purposes, video animation and or graphics, physical therapy and science. It’s safe to say that high speed imagery has and continues to assist in much of our world’s advancements in a vast spectrum of areas especially scientific purposes.

Technology is growing day by day and there are engineers eager and up for the challenge. We are extremely lucky to have such amazing tools readily available for everyday use.

Is updating Java really important?

8 Replies Christopher Roberts

This is a sponsored post. To find out more about sponsored content on Technology Bloggers, please visit our Privacy Policy.

What do you know about Java? If the answer is not much, then you are not alone. In this article I am going to explore exactly what Java is, and why it is so important that you keep it up to date.

Java or JavaScript?

Java and JavaScript are completely different things, however many people confuse them as one and the same.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language (like PHP and HTML) that is used in browsers to help render websites, and is also now used to create [relatively simple] desktop games.

We use JavaScript on our blog. One example can be found in our comment form; if you don’t tick the box to confirm you have read the comment policy and click Post Comment, a box comes up reminding you that you have to tick it to proceed – that works via JavaScript.

You can disable JavaScript, but so many websites use it nowadays, your browsing experience would be significantly affected.

Java
Java is a programming language, which is capable of doing far more than JavaScript. Java can be used to create new programs and applications that run virtually on their own, or via a browser.

Most computers come pre-loaded with Java, as do many other devices, including some cars, printers, parking machines, ATMs and more. A printer doesn’t use JavaScript, as it is a browser based language.

Malicious Java

It is possible for someone to gain access to your computer via Java. All you would need to do is visit a website with malicious Java code on it, and unknowingly to you, you could be being hacked. Some websites allow you to add your own code to their site, (like forum’s for example) so it might not even be a malicious website you are visiting, just one page which contains malicious code.

Oracle's Java logoWhen you visit a page with a malicious Java application, your browser will usually start to run the code, which will open up a direct link between your PC and the hacker – remember browsing the net is a two way process, every time you request data from a server, the server can request something back.

On face value, a page with malicious Java could look completely normal and trustworthy, as you wouldn’t be able to see the code – your browser would render it for you.

Malicious code can give a hacker almost complete access to your machine, via the internet. They could potentially browse through your files and open applications, and even receive feedback from input devices like a webcam and microphone.

Java Update

When Sun Microsystems (who are now owned by Oracle) developed Java, they didn’t plan for it to be used maliciously, and still don’t. Like with most code, hackers exploit loopholes and flaws in the language, to enable them to perform malicious activity.

Oracle's logoLike with any software, to combat malicious activity, when flaws are discovered, developers create patches and launch new versions to protect uses against their installation being misused.

Many of the know ways Java can be used to gain access to your computer are preventable, if you have the latest version installed.

It is important that you not only keep your computers version of Java up to date, but also your browser’s version. Many browsers come with a Java plugin, and this can become outdated, even if your system version of Java is up to date.

You should check to see if your browser’s extensions and plugins are up to date ideally once every week. If you have Premier IT Support, or your computer is updated by an external provider, you shouldn’t need to update Java, as that should be taken of care for you.