You’re never alone

Here’s a look out my window as I write this post.  I’m all alone – I had to turn the flash on to take the picture to get at least a little light on the situation.

But am I really alone?

The moment that I turn on the computer and connect to the internet, there is all kinds of potential.  It would be kind of nice to be alone.  But there’s that connection that I need to be concerned about.

You need to check out WhatIsMyBrowser to remove all doubt.  It’s a utility website designed to presumably check out your browser.  But, when you take a look at the results, it reveals so much more.

There are things that you might expect under your browser capabilities like Flash, Java, etc.  It’s the “More Info” part that gets really interesting.

Since I’m using the Opera browser, I have its VPN ability turned on and that’s why if you hunt that IP address down, it’s located in Central Europe.  (I did it for you)

All this is great for testing and checking out your browser.  Is there a classroom application?

Absolutely.

It’s another reminder to students and others that your details are easily determined by the site you land on.  In fact, it’s the fact that these details can be ascertained that makes our browsing experience the best it can be.

But the big message is that you’re just connecting in a way that doesn’t stop the landing page from find out your details.  It’s the tip of the iceberg.  What do you do when you get there?  Every piece of information that you provide is just another piece of the puzzle.

Your kids need to understand social media’s risks, Canada’s privacy watchdog says