A bombshell New York Times report says that there's basically nothing you can do to prevent apps from tracking your every move https://t.co/FfCrfVTfRA

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) December 11, 2018

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Yet this has also led to policies that can be very disturbing for the ordinary citizen. For example, authorities have the right to search your laptop when you’re entering the country. I’ve never experienced this but you can see how this will be used for travelers with high-risk profiles.

Which brings us to the story of a Canadian man who was charged at the Canadian border for not sharing the password from his phone upon returning from the Dominican Republic. Who knows why he refused – maybe he was partying with some hotties and had compromising photos. Maybe he really had something to hide. Or maybe like the rest of us he was appalled at the notion of border agents asking to browse through his phone.

Regardless, he’s in trouble now and the rest of us can only hope never to be in that situation.

One of the beauties of securities trading is that you can do it practically anywhere, these days. With mobile devices, mobile internet and the right apps, you can be wherever you need to be without worrying that you will miss out on a crucial bit of news or a great trade opportunity. Of course, most independent securities traders do their trading from home most of the time, and while smartphones and tablets do make trading on the go possible, there is a lot to be said for having a great set up in your home office that puts everything you need at your fingertips. Here we take a look at the must haves for your home trading desk:

Peace, Quiet and Comfort

Keeping up to speed on the markets and planning your trades can take a lot of concentration, so having an environment to trade in that is comfortable and free from distractions is essential. While this is true of any home office, for trading it can be even more essential as you often have to be able to think and work fast to make the trades you want happen. Having a room set up as a private study where nobody is allowed to bother you unless it is business related can be a good idea, because trying to trade on the dining room table from your laptop while the kids run riot is usually not ideal!

Once you have the space decided on, comfort is the next thing to consider. When it comes to commercial offices there are plenty of regulations about what is comfortable and indeed safe for employees to have to work on for prolonged periods, but a lot of people overlook these when setting up work areas at home. This can be bad for your health and make trading more tiring and stressful than it should be. Design a home office with ergonomic furniture and everything set up correctly for your height and size, and you will be able to feel energised and focus better, as well as avoid posture issues and back pain.

The IT Infrastructure to Help You Work at Your Best

There is plenty of specialist software available for general office use, and specifically for trading. While some packages can be expensive, you can sometimes get cheaper licenses by looking for introductory deals, or trialling new products. As with anything trading related, you have to consider the offset of the money you spend on being ready to trade against the profit you stand to make, so it pays to look for bargains on the hardware and software you need even if money isn’t really a problem. Hardware wise, it can be a good idea (if you use a laptop) to dock it with a proper keyboard and monitor when you are at home, again, to avoid strain or discomfort over time. Some traders prefer a two monitor set up, as then they can watch their usual trading platform while also looking at news sources or doing other work.

With a comfortable office and a well equipped IT set up, you are ready to take on the world of securities trading head on!

The amount of surveillance we all face now in society is getting to be pretty alarming. Body cameras will only make things worse from a privacy point of view.

Still, this case of a hate crime quickly solved due to a surveillance camera coupled with one citizen using social media shows the power of technology in the face of senseless crimes.

The debate will rage as cameras become a bigger part of our lives at an exponential rate. Here we have the positives. There will be plenty of negatives as well.

The great surveillance debate is about to heat up again, as President Obama has proposed reforms to the FISA court process in an attempt to address the criticisms of the NSA surveillance program. It will be fascinating to see how this debate evolves. Many of the reforms seem to make sense and suggest a willingness to reach a consensus on this issue. Still, many critics were not impressed. We’ll see how this goes.

Things are getting interesting in California. Tech companies are fighting privacy advocates over a California bill that would require companies like Facebook, Google and other social networks to disclose to users the personal data the services have collected and with whom they have shared it. It doesn’t restrict what they can do, but the disclosure requirements are still very controversial and could be very expensive.

We can gripe all we want about privacy, but the plain fact is that we can now be recorded for video and sound just about anywhere.

Of course this is useful for fun for people interested in tracking others, and that’ where surveillance gadgets come into play. With super-small HD video recorders, we’re seeing all sorts of surveillance and video recording equipment getting pushed in the consumer market. Now anyone can channel their inner 007 and spy on others.

Above we have a photo of the new Sony Digital Binoculars priced at $1,999.

Look into the first fully digital, 3D, high-def-recording binoculars and you’re not gazing through glass, you’re observing dual independent electronic viewfinders. Why’s that better? You can adjust the image, focus instantly, and with the push of a button start recording the identical view in 1080p high-def, and 3D. The possibilities for the DEV-5 are limitless—birding, sports action, checking out that apartment across the street with the hot neighbor who always leaves the lights on… ok, maybe not (better to simply take advice from The Girl Next Door by getting her tips on love, sex, and dating sent right to your inbox).

Along the same lines we have the Pivothead HD Recording Sunglasses which can be used to record everything around you with POV video. You can record your adventures, but also record other people of course.

Just keep in mind your local privacy laws when using these devices. It’s one thing to record video out in public, but it’s quite another to record people when they have an expectation of privacy.

OK, so maybe that a bit of an exaggeration, but this portable radio/flashlight that can be powered by a crank shaft, a solar strip or conventional methods can really come in handy during and after a storm, or while you’re out in the middle of nowhere like on a camping vacation. The Etón FRX3 Radio can also charge up your cell phone, and that’s a really important feature.

Here’s a fascinating story of how car insurance companies can monitor your driving.

When Zshavina Meacher of Cleveland traded in her car for a new 2011 Chevy Malibu last summer, her insurance premium jumped to $510 every six months. Her insurer, Progressive Corp., asked her whether she wanted to cut her rate.

If Meacher agreed to install a device in her car that monitors how safely she drives and the results were good, her rates would go down. If the results weren’t so good, her rates would stay the same. She agreed.

During the first few weeks, the device told Meacher that she slammed on her brakes a lot. She stopped the hard braking.
In February, the 23-year-old’s insurance bill dropped by $120 per six months, or 24 percent.

Meacher is happy her rates went down. And Progressive is happy the risk of Meacher getting into an accident went down. Fewer claims will help keep Mayfield-based Progressive profitable.

If you haven’t heard of telematics — a device that monitors your driving — then get ready. While Progressive started dabbling in telematics in the 1990s, it started pushing it in 2010 with its “Snapshot” program, and other insurers have stepped up interest in the last year.

Of course this is voluntary monitoring, and safe drivers can save money on their car insurance, but it raises all sorts of privacy issues. What’s next? Will health insurers want constant monitoring of our heart rates to see if we are exercising?