Posts

What to Know About Police AI Surveillance—and How to Protect Your Privacy If you live in Sarasota County, your local sheriff’s department has recently added more AI-powered surveillance tools. A story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune from early May 2026 details how the sheriff’s office is expanding its use of cameras and analytics that can automatically detect and track people and vehicles. The move has drawn criticism from privacy advocates who say the public was not given enough say before the technology was deployed. ...

Hidden Danger in Your Chrome Extensions: How to Spot a Backdoor Chrome extensions make life easier. They block ads, manage passwords, check grammar, and automate repetitive tasks. But that convenience comes with a trade-off: every extension you install gets a degree of access to your browser and the data flowing through it. ...

AI-Powered Police Surveillance Is Spreading—Here’s What It Means for Your Privacy In early May 2026, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office expanded its use of artificial intelligence–driven surveillance tools. The move, covered by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, added more cameras and analytical capability to a system that already included facial recognition and automated license plate readers. Sarasota is not an outlier: law enforcement agencies across the United States are quietly building similar networks, often with limited public debate. The trend raises real privacy risks for anyone living, working, or simply passing through areas where these systems are deployed. ...

How Your ‘Helpful’ Chrome Extension Could Be a Backdoor for Hackers You probably installed that grammar checker, tab manager, or coupon finder without a second thought. It looked useful, had good reviews, and came from the Chrome Web Store — so it must be safe, right? Unfortunately, that assumption has become increasingly dangerous. ...

Police AI Surveillance Is Expanding — What It Means for Your Privacy Introduction In early May 2026, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced it was broadening its use of artificial intelligence–powered surveillance tools. The new systems include a higher-resolution network of automated license plate readers, AI-enhanced video analytics that can flag “suspicious” behavior in real time, and an expansion of facial recognition capabilities. While local officials frame the move as a public safety measure, privacy advocates have raised alarms about the scope of data collection, the lack of clear oversight, and the potential for these systems to be used in ways that erode civil liberties. ...

Don’t Get Tricked This Shopping Season: How to Spot Online Shopping Scams and Stay Safe Intro Shopping online is convenient, but it also opens the door to scammers who set up fake stores, send phishing emails, and advertise products that never arrive. Government agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs regularly warn consumers to watch out for scams and stay safe while online shopping. The advice applies to everyone, not just veterans. This article walks through what’s happening, why it matters, and what you can do to protect your money and personal data. ...

How Productivity Chrome Extensions Are Becoming Hacker Tools: What to Do Introduction Browser extensions are deceptively small pieces of software. A grammar checker, a note-taking assistant, or a tab manager can seem harmless—even essential—for daily work. But in recent years, Chrome extensions have become a favored entry point for attackers. The same permissions that let an extension read your inbox or modify web pages can also be used to siphon credentials, exfiltrate files, or inject malicious code. ...

How to Spot Online Shopping Scams (and Stay Safe When Buying Online) Online shopping scams affect millions of consumers each year, and the risks tend to rise during peak shopping periods like the holidays. Fake websites, phishing emails, and fraudulent ads can cost you money and expose your personal data. Government agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, have issued repeated warnings about these threats. While the advice often targets benefit recipients, the same principles apply to anyone shopping online. ...

How to Spot a Malicious Chrome Extension (Before It Spies on You) If you use Chrome for work or personal browsing, you’ve probably installed a handful of extensions that promise to boost productivity – ad blockers, grammar checkers, tab managers, password helpers. Most are harmless. But a growing number are not. ...

Your Face, Your Data: What to Know About AI Surveillance in Your Neighborhood In May 2026, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office quietly expanded its use of artificial intelligence surveillance tools, according to local reporting. The move includes a suite of technologies that have become increasingly common in American policing: facial recognition cameras, automated license plate readers, and predictive policing algorithms. For residents of Sarasota—and for anyone living in a city where similar systems are being deployed—the expansion raises a set of practical questions about how these tools work, what risks they carry, and what you can actually do to protect your privacy. ...