Interesting...

and scary reading: http://labs.detectify.com/post/133528218381/chrome-extensions-aka-total-absence-of-privacy
Like the man says, the only way to have privacy is to turn it off, unplug it and bury it in a DEEP hole, pour cement on it and pray nobody saw you.

Tell me about it! I received a notice from the US Govt Office of Personnel Management the other day informing me that since everything about me is now in the possession of Chinese hackers, that they (US OPM) is going to provide me with free "super identity protection" for the next three years. I feel so safe now. ;P

chscag said:

Tell me about it! I received a notice from the US Govt Office of Personnel Management the other day informing me that since everything about me is now in the possession of Chinese hackers, that they (US OPM) is going to provide me with free "super identity protection" for the next three years. I feel so safe now. ;P

Click to expand...

I got the same letter! Did you sign up online for the additional stuff? (I need to read the letter again to recall what it was.) I checked it out with Yahoo! and decided it was legit, so I followed the instructions.

The letter was definitely legitimate as it was from the Office of Personnel Management. And no, I didn't sign up for the additional ($$) stuff they were selling. I followed their instructions by logging on to their site and registering. They supposedly will monitor your goings on and report any oddities.

I'm on that list, too, got the letter and signed up for the free service. I get an email about once a month what what they have observed. So far, so good.

Ummm... did I miss something here?

This hack at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) exposed data about people who had any clearances from the government, plus anyone they referenced in the application for that security clearance plus their family members. The response from OPM was to engage a firm to provide identity theft monitoring for a few years. Letters are going out to those who had the information stolen. I had a security clearance, as does my daughter, so we both got hit both ways. And it includes all of our family members as well.

chscag said:

The letter was definitely legitimate as it was from the Office of Personnel Management. And no, I didn't sign up for the additional ($$) stuff they were selling. I followed their instructions by logging on to their site and registering. They supposedly will monitor your goings on and report any oddities.

Click to expand...

I'm not aware of any cost associated with the additional "protection" offered. As I said, I have to read the letter again. If I get a bill, I will cancel the added coverage.

cradom said:

Ummm... did I miss something here?

Click to expand...

Sorry, I responded to the second post. I generally do not have time to follow links. I just clicked yours and confirmed that I do not have time to read it. Plus, I don't use Chrome. But is this similar to what we know about how Google mines data?

More like how third party extension makers mine data and sell it.

cradom said:

More like how third party extension makers mine data and sell it.

Click to expand...

Then there's Windows 7, 8.x and 10 that has data collection built-in that cannot be disabled in the home and professional versions...

Do you really believe that statement about Windows not being accessed?