In recent weeks, Verizon and AT&T have been caught up in a privacy firestorm over their use of so-called "permacookies," a method of tracking what their users do while browsing the Web with the intent of sharing that data with advertisers. Verizon's permacookie program lives on, but AT&T has ceased the practice, ProPublica reported on Friday.
Nick Mediati | 18 Nov | Read more
Anonabox, a piece of home networking equipment designed to allow you to connect to the Internet anonymously, had raised nearly $600,000 in pledges on Kickstarter--blowing its $7500 goal out of the water. But on Friday, Kickstarter suspended the project, according to Ars Technica.
Nick Mediati | 20 Oct | Read more
If you used a certain third-party Snapchat client, photos you received may be among the over 100,000 photos allegedly taken in a major privacy breach, according to Business Insider.
Nick Mediati | 13 Oct | Read more
If you use gaming video streaming site Twitch, you'll want to be careful what you click on. A new piece of malware spread through Twitch's chat feature will attempt to bleed your Steam account dry, according to security software maker F-Secure.
Nick Mediati | 14 Sep | Read more
A funny thing happened on the Internet on Sunday as a cache of nude photos of Kate Upton, Jennifer Lawrence, and other big-name stars made their way onto 4chan, as BuzzFeed notes. Reports indicate that this leak may have been the result of a hacker (or hackers) taking advantage of a flaw in Apple's iCloud service.
Nick Mediati | 02 Sep | Read more
Internet experts hope the Internet has plenty of good days ahead of it, but are still worried that various factors will put a damper on the open Internet we know today. That's the takeaway of a new study from the Pew Research Center, which polled 1400 experts to gauge their views on the future of online freedom.
Nick Mediati | 07 Jul | Read more
Newly leaked documents show a large percentage of electronic communications intercepted by the NSA is from ordinary Internet users not suspected of wrongdoing, according to a new report from the Washington Post.
Nick Mediati | 07 Jul | Read more
Conventional wisdom dictates that to maintain your security and privacy, you should encrypt your Wi-Fi network. But what if the conventional wisdom is wrong? The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argues that partially opening up your home Wi-Fi network could actually enhance your privacy, and is working on a tool to make it easier to do so.
Nick Mediati | 22 Jun | Read more
Here's another reason to think twice before you post photos of yourself on the Internet: The New York Times reported Sunday that the National Security Agency collects millions of photos each day from electronic communication and analyzes them as part of a major facial recognition effort.
Nick Mediati | 02 Jun | Read more
You can't fault a company for trying. The Washington Post reported on Friday that Verizon challenged--albeit unsuccessfully--the NSA's phone call surveillance program.
Nick Mediati | 27 Apr | Read more
If you have an account with HealthCare.gov, you can expect to change your password the next time you log in. And you can thank Heartbleed for it.
Nick Mediati | 20 Apr | Read more
Did you renew your driver's license or pay a fee to the California Department of Motor Vehicles using your credit card? You may want to keep a close watch on your credit card statements. That's the message the state agency is sending to its customers after a hack affected its payment processor.
Nick Mediati | 23 Mar | Read more
Your Gmail account probably contains some sensitive information--emails from your friends and family members, information about accounts for other services, candid pictures, you name it. What if someone else has been poking around in there? Fortunately, Google gives you the tools necessary to find out.
Nick Mediati | 28 Jan | Read more
Anyone who's paid attention to computer security over the past few years will probably tell you that your password isn't enough. Passwords are often awkward and hard to remember--leading people to use the same password for multiple sites--and if someone gets a hold of your login credentials, they can wreak havoc with your personal information. Not good.
Nick Mediati | 30 Oct | Read more
If you use PayPal and don't take your account security seriously, you are asking for all sorts of trouble, what with all the financial information your account holds. After all, you don't want someone to get into your PayPal account and pay themselves your entire life savings. Using two-factor authentication can help keep malicious types at bay.
Nick Mediati | 29 Oct | Read more