The more we use websites such as facebook and twitter the more we are becoming aware of our privacy. In our modern world we have to turn our minds to other state-of-the-art products and exactly how their use of technology might influence our feelings and social lives.
What if your camera was to disclose the most intimate details of your personal life in spite of your confidence that you had deleted any embarrassing pictures and movies that you may have taken? You might have heard the story of the man who sold his digital camera in a yard sale only to see formerly erased 'bed room pictures' recovered and displayed to his community.
Facebook has personal privacy settings. We could modify them and limit, to some degree, who can see our photographs and personal information. But have you ever considered your digital camera? Modern cameras are more than just image recording gadgets. Some can record sound and video along with still images. Lots of modern cameras can record location info through the use of Global Positioning Satellites.
What numerous individuals have no idea about is that the portable memory cards that fit inside cameras do not erase the photos you've taken when you press the 'Erase' button (or whatever it's called your camera).
When you push the button that you think is deleting your picture, what actually takes place is that it's marked as being unwanted. It's never shown to you again on the camera screen however it stays on the memory card for an indefinite period of time - simply asking to be 'un-deleted' by any passing teenager with the right cost-free software.
For a lot of people this is not an issue. However for a minority this feature could make potentially a life altering difference. There's an ever growing trend among couples and young people to spice up their sex lives by making their very own bedroom pictures and videos. If these photographs remain personal, within a happy relationship, it's difficult to predict any issue. However consider what happens if the images escape and are found by friends, family members or managers? And what if the images make it all the way to Twitter?
Looking after our on-line privacy is something we have to become more wise about. The realities of our world is forcing this upon us. Figuring out the best ways to safely erase images and videos from a camera memory card is just one of the skills modern day, experimental humans have to master.
It's worth you seeing just how easy it is for somebody to recover previously erased images from a camera memory card and publish them anywhere they like. This video from YouTube does exactly that:
Read between the lines though: this is not just about photographs certain people might take at night. It's about company data, patient details, confidential papers and reports. Digital data can be easy to recover whether it's a photograph, PDF or accounts file. Flash memory is everywhere. And if someone can get their hands on it, they can scan it for deleted files.
If your work requires you to handle any sort of confidential information, you might think about how you should protect it just as you would protect 'sensitive' photographs of you and your partner. Digital data is here to stay and we have to learn how to control it.
What if your camera was to disclose the most intimate details of your personal life in spite of your confidence that you had deleted any embarrassing pictures and movies that you may have taken? You might have heard the story of the man who sold his digital camera in a yard sale only to see formerly erased 'bed room pictures' recovered and displayed to his community.
Facebook has personal privacy settings. We could modify them and limit, to some degree, who can see our photographs and personal information. But have you ever considered your digital camera? Modern cameras are more than just image recording gadgets. Some can record sound and video along with still images. Lots of modern cameras can record location info through the use of Global Positioning Satellites.
What numerous individuals have no idea about is that the portable memory cards that fit inside cameras do not erase the photos you've taken when you press the 'Erase' button (or whatever it's called your camera).
When you push the button that you think is deleting your picture, what actually takes place is that it's marked as being unwanted. It's never shown to you again on the camera screen however it stays on the memory card for an indefinite period of time - simply asking to be 'un-deleted' by any passing teenager with the right cost-free software.
For a lot of people this is not an issue. However for a minority this feature could make potentially a life altering difference. There's an ever growing trend among couples and young people to spice up their sex lives by making their very own bedroom pictures and videos. If these photographs remain personal, within a happy relationship, it's difficult to predict any issue. However consider what happens if the images escape and are found by friends, family members or managers? And what if the images make it all the way to Twitter?
Looking after our on-line privacy is something we have to become more wise about. The realities of our world is forcing this upon us. Figuring out the best ways to safely erase images and videos from a camera memory card is just one of the skills modern day, experimental humans have to master.
It's worth you seeing just how easy it is for somebody to recover previously erased images from a camera memory card and publish them anywhere they like. This video from YouTube does exactly that:
Read between the lines though: this is not just about photographs certain people might take at night. It's about company data, patient details, confidential papers and reports. Digital data can be easy to recover whether it's a photograph, PDF or accounts file. Flash memory is everywhere. And if someone can get their hands on it, they can scan it for deleted files.
If your work requires you to handle any sort of confidential information, you might think about how you should protect it just as you would protect 'sensitive' photographs of you and your partner. Digital data is here to stay and we have to learn how to control it.
About the Author:
Consider reading more of James Somerset's writing on Facebook here. For more videos stop by the Incyder Photography Blog's YouTube Channel.
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