Technology

For an extra layer of online protection, author P.W. Singer advises making your security answers something counterintuitive, like pizza.

Today's Internet users have become accustomed to stories of hacking, identity theft and cyberattacks, but there was a time when the freedom and anonymity of the Web were new, and no one was sure what rules — if any — applied to its use.

In the introduction to his new book, Full Upright and Locked Position, aviation consultant Mark Gerchick writes that for most people, "the magic of air travel has morphed into an uncomfortable, crowded and utterly soulless ordeal to be avoided whenever possible."

Science journalist Emily Anthes talks about how scientists are engineering mice with tumors and working to create pigs that can grow organs for human transplant and insects that could serve as drones for the military.

In her book Alone Together, psychologist Sherry Turkle explains how digital devices are affecting our communication and relationships. "What is so seductive about texting, about keeping that phone on, about that little red light on the BlackBerry, is you want to know who wants you," Turkle says.

New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg says that consumers and innovation are the big losers in the patent wars. "Patents have become a toll gate on the road of innovation," he says.

ProPublica investigative reporter Peter Maass says that cellphone companies monitor where we are, who we call, what we buy -- and often provide it to law enforcement when requested. "They are collecting a heck of a lot more information than we expect them to be collecting about us," he tells Fresh Air.

What does the Internet look like? Journalist Andrew Blum decided to find out. His new book, Tubes, is a journey into the Internet's physical infrastructure -- where our data is stored and transmitted.

Parents should be paying very close attention to the digital media their children are using, says child advocate James Steyer. "Young people in particular often self-reveal before they self-reflect," he says. "There is no eraser button today for youthful indiscretion."

Advertisers collect information with every digital move people make. They then target ads based on that information. Communications scholar Joseph Turow worries that advertisers will use such data to discriminate against people and put them into "reputation silos."