Americans fear the COVID-19 crisis will lead to more government tracking
As COVID-19 has spread around the globe, governments everywhere have been taking extraordinary measures to try to contain the pandemic.
There are fears though that some of these measures could become the new normal. The CyberNews.com website decided to ask people in the US how they feel about possibly giving up their privacy during the government's response to the coronavirus.
Malwarebytes launches its own VPN
Well known for its endpoint protection and malware removal solutions, Malwarebytes is now moving into the online privacy space with the launch of its own VPN.
Malwarebytes Privacy aims to offer best-in-class encryption without compromising on performance. It doesn't log the user's online activities and it offers a choice of virtual servers from over 30 countries in order to protect their real location.
Zoom 5.0 is a major update with enhanced encryption and more security options
Zoom Video Communications has announced details of Zoom 5.0, a major update to its video conferencing client which goes a long way to addressing many of the security and privacy issues that have been found in recent weeks.
With the upcoming release, users can benefit from the addition of AES 256-bit GCM encryption, as well as the ability to choose routing options for calls.
How to easily lock down Windows 10, block telemetry, and uninstall unwanted apps
Windows 10 isn’t a bad operating system by any means, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be better.
Each major update of the OS resets your privacy settings to default, and it comes with various apps you likely don’t want or use. There are plenty of free third-party programs available you can call upon to tweak Windows 10’s settings, but they can be complicated or confusing to use.
10 top tips to help you use Zoom safely
Zoom's privacy and security issues have been in the headlines for a number of weeks now, causing concern for lots of users. But many people have no option but to use the software after it has been selected by the company they work for.
If you find that you have to use Zoom, there are steps you can take to ensure your experience is as safe as possible. Security firm Kaspersky has offered up a series of tips to boost your security and privacy on the platform.
Read the Microsoft Edge Privacy Whitepaper here
Microsoft has published a whitepaper about privacy in its Edge browser. The paper goes someway to answer the questions user may have about the data Edge is collecting about users.
The company says that the whitepaper is an exercise in transparency which "explains how Microsoft Edge features and services work and how each may affect your privacy". Microsoft insists that it practices data collection minimization, and it uses the whitepaper to come clean about just what data the browser is gathering.
'Not a safe platform': India bans government officials from using Zoom -- but offers up some great security advice
The unrelenting criticism of Zoom continues, with India being the latest to slap an official ban on the video conferencing tool.
Voicing concerns that Zoom is "not a safe platform", the Indian Cyber Coordination Centre issued an advisory saying that the tool is "not for use by government offices/officials for official purpose". But the country recognizes that many people will want or need to continue using Zoom and the ministry of home affairs has issued a helpful guide to safe use of the service.
Zoom releases software update to improve passwords, protect meeting IDs and secure cloud recordings
Zoom has been forced to take a long, hard look at its security and privacy in recent weeks. The company has not only put a pause on new features, it is focusing instead on making existing options more secure.
In an update to the software, Zoom has taken steps to improve the security of passwords, as well as introducing random IDs for meetings. The company has also enhanced password protection for meeting recordings stored in the cloud, and added other key security features.
Hackers are selling two serious Zoom zero-day vulnerabilities for $500,000
Both the Windows and macOS versions of Zoom have critical, unpatched security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers to target users and spy on calls and meetings.
Security experts say -- despite not having seen the actual code for the exploits -- that the Windows version of Zoom is affected by an RCE (Remote Code Execution) described as being "perfect for industrial espionage". The zero-days have been offered for sale for $500,000.
Hundreds of thousands of stolen Zoom accounts for sale on hacker forums for next to nothing
Problems for Zoom and users of the videoconferencing software seem just about unending. Following on from the revelation that a number of account credentials were available on the dark web, a new report shows that in fact there are credentials for hundreds of thousands of accounts available on hacking forums.
In all, over half a million account details have been found available -- some sold for fractions of a penny, and others made available completely free of charge.
Apple is the brand most imitated in phishing attacks
A new study from Check Point Research highlights the brands which are most frequently imitated by criminals in attempts to steal individuals' personal information or payment credentials.
The Brand Phishing Report for the first quarter of this year shows Apple was the brand most frequently imitated, up from seventh place in the final quarter of 2019.
Zoom will soon let some users choose which countries their data is routed through
As part of its continuing efforts to regain trust following a series of privacy and security scandals, Zoom has announced that it is introducing the option for users to choose which countries their data is routed through.
The move comes after concerns were voiced at Zoom's admission that some US calls were being routed through China. The new option will allow users to opt in or out of specific data center regions; unfortunately, this feature will not be made available to everyone.
Cloudflare ditches Google's reCAPTCHA because of privacy concerns and costs
Cloudflare has moved away from using Google's reCAPTCHA, opting instead for the independent hCaptcha bot detector.
The company explains the reasons behind the change, citing not only the fact that Google would now like to charge Cloudflare for what used to be a free service, but also the privacy concerns that stem from anything to do with Google.
US big data firm is using confidential UK coronavirus patient information to build 'COVID-19 datastore'
There are privacy concerns following the revelation that confidential data from UK coronavirus patients is being used by technology firms and government to build predictive computer models to help fight the pandemic.
US big data firm Palantir and UK AI startup Faculty are working together to put together what has been described as a "COVID-19 datastore". Pulling together information from government databases as well as information from health services, the project also makes use of highly personal data relating to individual patients according to documents seen by the Guardian.
Zoom is taking steps to improve privacy and security, and to prevent Zoombombing
The various security and privacy issues that have plagued Zoom in recent weeks have not only caused users to look at the video conferencing software differently, but also forced the company to take a long, hard look at itself.
Having already apologized for the numerous issues people have experienced, as well as making changes to the way the service works, Zoom has now also taken steps to prevent users from being Zoombombed. The change is a relatively minor one in the scheme of things, but it's an important one.
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