Mac app Adware Doctor caught stealing users' browsing histories

MacBook Pro

A highly popular anti-adware tool in the Mac App Store "surreptitiously steals your browsing history", alleges a security researcher. "All your data are belong to China!", as he puts it.

Patrick Wardle conducted research into Adware Doctor -- one of the most popular paid-for apps in the App Store -- after concerns were raised by another security researcher. His research "uncovered blatant violations of user privacy and complete disregard of Apple's App Store Guidelines", including the theft and sharing of browsing history with a Chinese server.

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41 percent of industrial control systems attacked in 2018

refinery industry

Industry increasingly relies on automated systems for the control of processes, but a new report from Kaspersky Lab shows that 41.2 percent of industrial control systems (ICS) computers were attacked by malicious software at least once in the first half of this year.

Based on analysis of systems protected by Kaspersky Lab solutions, the data shows that in 2017, the percentage of ICS computers attacked was 36.61 in the first half of the year and 37.75 in the second half.

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Huawei has been cheating in benchmarks

Huawei P20

UL -- the company behind benchmarking software 3DMark -- has delisted a number of Huawei phones after the Chinese handset manufacturer was found to be cheating in benchmarks.

As has been the case with handsets from some other manufacturers, the Huawei P20, P20 Pro, Nova 3 and Honor Play were found to increase performance when benchmarking software is running. Interestingly, Huawei has not denied the accusations leveled at it.

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Steganos releases 'anniversary edition' Privacy Suite 20

Who do you trust in 2018? We often get asked for our security recommendations and it’s a struggle to come up with a definitive answer. We won’t go in to detail in public, but there are reasons why we might avoid recommending a well-known security suite and it’s not just due to recent issues involving potential backdoors either.

There is a general consensus that you can trust solid German engineering (VW/Audi issues emissions issues aside) and this same theory should apply to security software. You know your data is secure, your privacy intact and it will perform a solid job looking after your PC.

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Apple is developing an online tool for police to request data

Apple building logo

Apple is looking to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to request user data and is working on an online tool to help facilitate this.

A letter seen by Reuters shows that Apple is not only developing a data request tool, but also planning to train police about the data that it can and cannot provide. A new online system will make it easier and quicker to track data requests, and would be far more efficient than the current method of communication -- email.

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Why container frameworks risk taking the focus off development [Q&A]

cloud containers

Enterprises often adopt containers as a way to save money. But they can end up spending time, resources and cash building their own container management framework and in the process getting away from their core business objectives.

We spoke to Kieron Sambrook-Smith, chief commercial officer at cloud application specialist Platform.sh, to discuss why enterprises tend to lose sight of business goals in order to manage containers, and the strategies they can implement to stop distracting their developers from doing what they do best, writing code.

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British Airways hack exposes personal and financial details of 380,000 customers

British Airways plane

British Airways has fallen victim to what it describes as a "very sophisticated" attack in which hackers stole financial data relating to hundreds of thousands of customers.

The airline revealed that hackers gained access to its systems and managed to remain undetected for two weeks. The theft of data took place between August 21 and September 5 and the attackers managed to compromise both the ba.com web site and the airline's mobile app.

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Twitter hits Alex Jones and Infowars with permanent bans

Twitter and Alex Jones

Fueling the right-wing conspiracy theorist's view that the world is out to get him, Twitter has followed the lead of other social media companies and banned Alex Jones from its platform.

With his output dubbed "hate content", Jones found himself removed from Spotify, Facebook and iTunes, but Twitter's Jack Dorsey previously refused to follow suit saying that the Infowars frontman "hasn't violated our rules", insisting that his company enforces its rules "impartially, regardless of political viewpoints". But after Jones posted videos earlier this week that violated Twitter's policy on abusive content, he has been permanently banned.

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Elgato unveils Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock

Thunderbolt 3 docks can be quite amazing. I recently reviewed such a dock made by StarTech and came away very impressed. That dock can transform a MacBook Pro or Windows 10 laptop into a desktop. It is designed to be kept at home or in the office -- stationary on a desk.

But what if you want a Thunderbolt 3 dock for when you are on the go? If you have a MacBook Pro, for instance, that isn't so crazy. Since you only have USB-C ports, a portable dock can be a great way to expand connectivity without carrying multiple dongles. In fact, there are already some portable TB3 docks on the market, Today, Elgato (a company recently acquired by CORSAIR) unveils its latest such product -- Thunderbolt 3 Mini Dock.

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Save money on these two great smart locks

Locking and unlocking doors with a key is so last century. Smart locks are the future, but they can often be a little pricey.

If you’ve been thinking of getting a smart lock for your home or office, but have been put off by the price, we have sizable savings on two great products -- the Yale Real Living Assure Lock SL HomeKit Enabled Key Free Touchscreen Deadbolt, and the August Smart Lock Pro + Connect, from Wellbots.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18234 to Skip Ahead

While work is continuing apace to polish up the Windows 10 October 2018 Update prior to its release next month, Microsoft is also hard at work on the following feature update due next spring.

Today the software giant releases Build 18234 for that update to Insiders in the Skip Ahead ring, and it offers a large number of new features and improvements.

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Microsoft extends Windows 7 support for businesses, but will punish them for taking too long to upgrade to Windows 10

The end of extended support is looming for Windows 7. Microsoft is set to stop supporting the aging OS on January 14, 2020, but is aware that many businesses may take longer than that to make the switch to Windows 10.

As a result, the company has today announced that it will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through to January 2023. These will be available for all Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise customers in Volume Licensing, and there will also be a discount available to those with Windows software assurance, Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education subscriptions. There is a catch, however.

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New AI capability helps empower DevSecOps teams

DevOps

Security teams are constantly caught between the need to keep pace with security testing and the ability to allow developer teams to operate in a rapid DevOps environment.

To address this, application security provider WhiteHat Security is adding artificial intelligence to its dynamic application security testing solution WhiteHat Sentinel Dynamic.

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Amazon announces all-new Fire HD 8 with Alexa Hands Free

Amazon updates its own hardware products on a regular basis, often with little fanfare. There are no major press events, or hyped launches. Today, the retail giant announces another product update that likely won’t thrill the world, but will prove to be another big earner for the company.

The new Amazon Fire HD 8 with Alexa Hands-Free is what you’d guess from the name. An 8-inch HD Fire tablet with added, always ready, Alexa support.

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EU green-lights Apple's purchase of Shazam

Shazam app on iPhone

It's now ten months since Apple announced its plans to buy music-recognition firm Shazam, and a little under half a year since the European Commission started an investigation into the purchase because of concerns about competition.

EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager today announced that the commission will not stand in the way of the deal.

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