Search history is a big privacy concern these days and many people don’t know it is being collected and stored in all kinds of places on your PC. Here’s just a few places history can be stored:

• In your web browser
• In the search box at your search engine of choice
• In any toolbars that you search from
• In Google itself, if you have a Google Account

If you aren’t deleting your search history from each of these places often you run the risk of your child, wife, boss, etc finding your search history and seeing everything you’ve searched for, which could be very private information.

People tend to think of dirty searches only and don’t worry if they aren’t doing that, they are ok, but you are actually far from it -

• Do you really want your child to find out by accident that you are terminally ill?
• Or your wife to find out what the perfect Christmas gift is that you got her, before christmas?
• Or how about your boss simply taking a peek and seeing your recent job searches… uh oh.

The list goes on and on. Luckily there is help out there!

If you need a

Firefox add-ons may help increase the security of your computer

I am a diehard Firefox junkie and I have countless plugins that just make my life better each and every day that I surf the net. Recently I have been plagued with various spyware infections obtained from different websites. It looks like many of the sites were running scripts such as ActiveX scripts or a site that forced me into downloading a so-called update to my flash player. So I set out to see if there were any Firefox plugins that assisted me in adding some additional security to my web browser.

If you are like me then you are in luck. Below are 5 of my favorite security and privacy plug-ins/add-ons for Firefox that assist you in keeping your computer secure.

1. Dr. Web anti-virus link checker: This is an excellent plug-in tool where it actually checks any download that you initiate via the Firefox web browser. If you find yourself downloading files from a source that you are not too sure of this may ease your mind by scanning the file for viruses before download.
2. NoScript 1.7.8: A great tool for limiting websites from running active content

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Open source is supposed to be a way of simplifying licensing issues and sharing your software/music/video/other content with the masses — freely and magnanimously. Problem is, what happens when something open source is found to be a (possible) violation of some else’s rights? What happens to its derivatives? Do they just pack up shop and find something else, or are they legally responsible for their actions? In what seems poised to become a landmark case on this issue, we’re about to find out.

A Texan family is now suing Virgin Mobile for using a photo of their daughter, Alison Chang, in an ad campaign – the catch is, it was released by the photographer on Flickr under the Creative Commons Attribution license, and that’s where Virgin Mobile got the photo from. The problem is, the girl featured in the photo had no idea her photo was being used – or that it was released under the Creative Commons license.

As the case currently stands, the Changs are suing consumers of open source works and not the original party responsible for the release of the work as an open source material without a proper media consent form.

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