It's School Bus Safety Week!

Every day students are at risk from people who drive dangerously around school buses. That's why it's National School Bus Safety Week.

The thought of your child being in a bus accident is a scary thought for parents, but despite the lack of seat belts, they're a pretty safe place to be.

It's generally more dangerous for kids when they're getting on and off the bus. The danger zones are the areas around the bus where the kids are most likely to be hurt. That includes being hit by passing cars or the bus itself, but a few easy habits can help keep kids safe at the bus stop.

Kids need to stay 10 giant steps away from the bus. they need to make eye contact with the driver so the driver gives them the signal that it's okay to cross and okay to load or unload.

One area where there's a lot of confusion about passing a bus with flashing lights is major roads and intersections. A turning lane is not enough, drivers must stop unless there is a physical barrier like a concrete median.

Kids should also be warned that if they drop something under the bus , they should alert the bus driver and not try and retrieve it themselves. They should also take off their backpacks and put them on the floor of the bus to ensure the kids are properly protected in the event of a crash.

Facebook Apps Leak User Info

Some Facebook applications have been leaking user information — specifically, Facebook UIDs — to third party companies.

The apps in question have a huge combined userbase. The Wall Street Journal reports that all of the 10 most popular Facebook (Facebook) apps are guilty of giving away user IDs to third parties, specifically Internet (Internet) research and advertising companies.

These include Zynga’s FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker (texas holdem poker) and FrontierVille; according to AppData, FarmVille alone had more than 80 million users in February 2010.

Facebook confirmed some of the issues in a blog post, claiming most of the apps in question shared the user IDs inadvertently, due to “technical details.”

“Our policy is very clear about protecting user data, ensuring that no one can access private user information without explicit user consent (…) Recently, it has come to our attention that several applications built on Facebook Platform were passing the User ID (UID), an identifier that we use within our APIs, in a manner that violated this policy. In most cases, developers did not intend to pass this information, but did so because of the technical details of how browsers work,” the post said.

Earlier this weekend, Facebook blocked LOLapps, one of the biggest social games providers on the Facebook platform, due to “violations of Facebook’s terms.” The WSJ claims that some of the apps created by LOLapps were also transmitting user info to third parties. LOLapps (whose apps have now been reinstated on Facebook) has confirmed this was the case in a blog post, claiming it shared the info inadvertently.

Facebook also said that “knowledge of a UID does not enable anyone to access private user information without explicit user consent.”

This is true, but Facebook UID can be very revealing, depending on the user’s privacy settings. Knowing the ID of a Facebook user who shares information with “Everyone” can potentially give you access to his/her name, phone number, e-mail, photos and other personal info. Even if a user has set the strictest possible privacy settings on his/her account on Facebook, the ID may still reveal his/her name and Facebook friends.

And then there’s the issue of scale. If an application with tens of millions of users shares Facebook UIDs with an advertising company, that’s a lot of data. Depending on your privacy settings on Facebook, this particular advertising company now may only know your name and the names of your friends or much more. But the real question is one of trust: Have you agreed to any of this, and do you want to be in this company’s database?

This is another in a long line of Facebook’s privacy missteps. Although Facebook has claimed time and time again that it’s doing everything it can to preserve its users’ privacy, this latest incident won’t do much to convince its users that this is really the case.

Thanks to Stan Schroeder for the heads up.

William Mattar Law Offices Rewards Safe Drivers Who Buckle Their Seat Belts

Whether or not to wear a seat belt could be the most important choice one makes when driving or riding in an automobile.  The simple and smart decision to buckle up can mean the difference between life and death.  Therefore, every year our firm implements the William Mattar Buckle Your Belt Campaign.

The main purpose of this campaign is to encourage the people of Western New York to practice seat belt safety.  Up until late August visitors of Mattar.com had the opportunity to enter for a chance to win a trip for four to Fern Resort; a beautiful, all-inclusive family getaway in Ontario, Canada. William Mattar Law Offices is pleased to announce that one lucky winner was chosen - Western New York native Geoffrey Goodrell!

 William Mattar (right) presents Fern Resort vacation package to Geoffrey Goodrell at the winner's home in Rochester, NY.

Our current giveaway allows New Yorkers the chance to win a FREE laptop computer.  To become eligible visit www.mattar.com, register in the William Mattar Buckle Your Belt Campaign before December 2010 and agree to wear your seatbelt every time you are traveling the roads in a motor vehicle.  Now making the choice to buckle up can not only save your life, it can win you some amazing prizes.

William Mattar Law Offices Takes Part in "Paint the Village Pink" Initiative

Williamsville, New York (October 7, 2010) – Local businesses throughout Amherst and Williamsville are "Painting the Village Pink" to kick off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Town residents and passersby visiting Main Street between Kensington Avenue and Youngs Road will see pink ribbon banners hanging from streetlights throughout October.  They'll also catch a glimpse of participating businesses decked out with large pink breast cancer ribbons.

"It is a great feeling to know that our participation is making a difference in creating awareness of breast cancer, the most common form of cancer affecting women." ~ William Mattar

 

William Mattar Law Offices will show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness by participating in the amazing "Paint the Village Pink" campaign.  The office will be decorated with large pink ribbons and staff members will be showing their support throughout the month by wearing pink.

According to the American Cancer Society, you have a 100% chance of survival if breast cancer is detected in Stage 1.  Events like "Paint the Village Pink" do an incredible job of generating awareness of facts such as this and the need for proper screening.