Articles about Privacy

Concerns about online privacy and security mean that more and more people are turning to VPNs. It can be hard to know which VPN to choose, and to determine whether it is best to go for a free or paid-for tool. For users of its Edge browser, Microsoft is readying another solution.

The Microsoft Edge Secure Network is a Cloudflare-powered VPN service which Microsoft is looking to integrate directly into Edge. Microsoft's VPN would not only eliminate the need to install a third-party tool -- something that serves as an obstacle to many people -- it also includes a free data quota to help entice users.

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After being hit with a fairly hefty €150 million fine by regulators earlier in the year, Google has added a new Reject All button to the cookie consent banners that have become ubiquitous on websites in Europe.

Google says that the change is in response to the fact that, "regulators who interpret European laws requiring these banners [...] have updated their guidance for compliance". So what exactly does the change mean, and is it likely to extend outside of Europe?

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Google's AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project is designed to speed up the web for mobile users, but it has big privacy implications because it allows Google to further track user actions, as well as prioritize its own ads on pages.

Today, both DuckDuckGo and Brave announced changes to their respective products to protect against Google AMP tracking.

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Towards the end of last year, we learned that 2022 is the year that DuckDuckGo's privacy-focused web browser is coming to the desktop.

Today the company has launched the beta version of DuckDuckGo for Mac -- meaning macOS users will have another alternative to Chrome et al before people running Windows 11. The DuckDuckGo browser is billed as offering a high level of security, fast performance, and privacy by default which is more than just a replacement for Incognito Mode.

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Google is rolling out a new feature to Chrome users which it says will help to protect privacy while online.

Although the Privacy Guide does not add any new privacy options, it serves as a step-by-step guide that will enable users to implement the settings that are most appropriate. As well as providing guidance through what can be a confusing sea of settings, the new addition also offers up explanations about different options.

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Launched last year, Avast One aimed to offer a comprehensive protection suite with both free and paid for editions.

The company has now announced significant enhancements to the product, with new features designed to protect people from online scams, fraud, and other personal privacy threats.

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If you’re worried about your privacy, there’s plenty you can do to secure it. Tails, The Amnesiac Incognito Live System, is a live Linux-based operating system that you can boot into on any computer. Once running it can be used to encrypt your files, emails and instant messaging chats.

Today, the developers release a beta version of Tails 5.0, and this is the first version of the distro based on Debian 11 (Bullseye). It offers new versions of most of the software included in Tails, as well as some important usability improvements.

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Ever since Facebook rebranded itself as Meta at the tail end of last year the metaverse has been creating a buzz in the tech world -- though not so much outside it.

Real-time engagement API specialist Agora has carried out a study that looking at how developers feel about the current state and evolution of the metaverse, which finds that data privacy is the biggest concern.

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Privacy, Regulations, and Cybersecurity: The Essential Business Guide is your guide to understanding what "privacy" really means in a corporate environment: how privacy is different from cybersecurity, why privacy is essential for your business, and how to build privacy protections into your overall cybersecurity plan.

First, author Chris Moschovitis walks you through our evolving definitions of privacy, from the ancient world all the way to the General Law on Data Protection (GDPR).  He then explains -- in friendly, accessible language -- how to orient your preexisting cybersecurity program toward privacy, and how to make sure your systems are compliant with current regulations.

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A new study commissioned by Imperva from Forrester Research finds 58 percent of sensitive data security incidents are caused by insider threats.

And yet 31 percent of firms don't believe insiders are a substantial threat. Indeed only 37 percent of participants report having dedicated insider threat teams, and 70 percent of organizations in the EMEA region don't have a strategy for stopping insider threats.

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Third-party cookies are already blocked by Firefox and Safari and will also be blocked by Google Chrome by the end of 2023. But new research from Twilio shows 81 percent of companies still rely on them, while 85 percent of consumers want brands to use only first-party data.

The change is likely to bring more issues for brands that rely on such cookies to identify and track visitors to their websites. More than half (55 percent) of companies say they are not fully prepared for a cookieless world, and 42 percent predict that the impending changes will lead to lower returns on their marketing spend.

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In a paper published by Douglas J Leith of Trinity College Dublin, it is claimed that the Messages and Dialer apps found in Android have been sending data back to Google. The paper, entitled "What Data Do The Google Dialer and Messages Apps On Android Send to Google?" says that data is sent without user knowledge or consent.

In what could be a breach of GDPR legislation, it is claimed that there is also no way to opt out of the data sharing. Among the data said to be shared with Google are phone numbers, call duration, hashes of messages and more.

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Google and privacy are not really happy bedfellows, but from time to time the company does make a nod in that direction. One example of this is the option to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history which iOS users have enjoyed access to since the middle of last year.

The feature is a handy way to cover your tracks should you forget to enable incognito mode and don't fancy the idea of trawling through your search history to manually remove anything you'd rather keep private. Now, some nine months after treating iOS users to this, Google has finally brought it to users of its own mobile operating system.

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Almost 60 percent of people believe it's worth allowing companies to access their personal data if it means a better user experience, according to a new survey from API management company Axway.

There's an interesting geographic split, 75 percent of Brazilians and 59 percent of US citizens say it is worth giving companies access to their personal data if it means a better user experience.

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Meta is adding a new warning to encrypted chats in Messenger so that users will know if another participant has taken a screenshot of the conversation.

The company formerly known as Facebook has already implemented this same feature into messages sent when the app's Vanish Mode is activated. While Messenger has not been updated to prevent screenshots from being taken in in E2E encrypted chats or Vanish Mode conversations, the appearance of the warning should serve as a deterrent against secret screen grabbing.

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