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Google has started a pilot project allowing the public to look inside shops and other businesses found on its maps. The feature is an extension of the firm's Street View technology, which already lets users view 360-degree exterior images. The existing service prompted some privacy complaints from people who claimed the technology was intrusive.

Face recognition technology can be used to gain access to a person's private data, according to a new study. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University combined image scanning, cloud computing and public profiles from social network sites to identify individuals in the offline world. Data captured even included a user's social security number.

This is a new book by Hal Abelson (a renowned computer scientist and computer science education researcher) and two others that delves into how pervasive use of computing is changing our world. It combines technological and sociological material. The full title is "Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness after the Digital Explosion." The book is used in UC Berkeley's "CS 0" introductory/non-majors course. It's a goldmine of material. It's published under a Creative Commons license, so you can buy a hard copy or just download the PDF. I am sure that you will find it valuable if you assign readings for any of the topics we have been discussing over the last few weeks.

Class Website of 91.113.207 Exploring the Internet, Spring 2011, by Beibei Yang

The advance of wireless technology, smart sensors, and cloud computing have changed the government's approach to security in the face of 9-11 and global terrorism. The Internet is being used in ways we could not have imaged a decade ago. This powerpoint explores issues of surveillence, privacy, and evovling law in the context of world events.

Facebook appears to have U-turned on plans to allow external websites to see users' addresses and mobile phone numbers. Security experts pointed out that such a system would be ripe for exploitation from rogue app developers. The feature has been put on "temporary hold", the social networking firm said in its developers blog.

Facebook has apologised for the way it rolled-out a new system that recognises users' faces. The social network said that it should have done more to notify members about the global launch. Its Tag Suggestions feature scans photos and automatically picks out existing friends.

Ultra-high resolution images of several Dead Sea Scrolls are now available on the web, after Google helped digitise the ancient texts. The search firm lent its expertise in scanning documents to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Both amateur and professional scholars will now have access to 1,200 megapixel images.

Ultra-high resolution images of several Dead Sea Scrolls are now available on the web, after Google helped digitise the ancient texts. The search firm lent its expertise in scanning documents to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Both amateur and professional scholars will now have access to 1,200 megapixel images.

We have been investigating how the government seeks information from social networking sites such as Twitter and how the sites respond to these requests in our ongoing social networking Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, filed with the help of UC Berkeley's Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic. As part of our request to the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, we asked for copies of the guides the sites themselves send out to law enforcement explaining how agents can obtain information about a site's users and what kinds of information are available. The information we got back enabled us to make an unprecedented comparison of these critical documents, as most of the information was not available publicly before now.

Like other technology and communications companies, Google regularly receives requests from government agencies and federal courts around the world to remove content from our services and hand over user data. Our Government Requests tool discloses the number of requests we receive from each government in six-month periods with certain limitations.

Google has hit out at state attempts to clamp down on the internet by revealing governments' requests to remove data from the web and get information about users. Tonight it released a web page with a map showing country by country where it has had government requests or court orders to remove content from the YouTube video service or its search results, or to provide details about users of its services.

When Gadgets Betray Us gives us a glimpse into the secret lives of our gadgets and helps us to better understand-and manage-these very real risks. Technology is evolving faster than we are. As our mobile phones, mp3 players, cars, and digital cameras become more and more complex, we understand less and less about how they actually work and what personal details these gadgets might reveal about us. Robert Vamosi, an award-winning journalist and analyst who has been covering digital security issues for more than a decade, shows us the dark side of all that digital capability and convenience. Hotel-room TV remotes can be used to steal our account information and spy on what we've been watching, toll-booth transponders receive unencrypted EZ Pass or FasTrak info that can be stolen and cloned, and our cars monitor and store data about our driving habits that can be used in court against us.

Google is expanding its Street View service into some of the world's most remote places. It will photograph the Amazon and Rio Negro Rivers of northwest Brazil in partnership with charity Foundation for a Sustainable Amazon (FAS). Google will train local people to collect images, and will leave behind equipment so work continues long-term.

yber attacks on the UK are at "disturbing" levels, according to the director of Britain's biggest intelligence agency. Government computers, along with defence, technology and engineering firms' designs have been targeted, Iain Lobban, the head of GCHQ, has said. China and Russia are thought to be among the worst culprits involved in cyber attacks. On Tuesday, the government hosts a two-day conference on the issue. Foreign Secretary William Hague convened the London Conference on Cyberspace after criticism that ministers are failing to take the threat from cyberwarfare seriously enough.