Articles about Privacy

Last week it transpired that PureVPN had helped the FBI track down a cyberstalker from Massachusetts. This came as something of a surprise to other PureVPN users who were under the impression that using the service made them completely anonymous -- a belief strengthened by the company's assertion "We do NOT keep any logs that can identify or help in monitoring a user's activity."

Strictly speaking, this is true, but that's not to say that the company doesn’t maintain IP logs that can be used to identify users. The company does exactly this, logging IP addresses and timestamps, and this is how it helped the FBI. In a blog post, the company tries to explain this as it attempts to convince concerned users that it is not logging their activities.

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The data collecting activities of Windows 10 has landed Microsoft in trouble again. Investigating the telemetry built into the operating system, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has said that Microsoft's spying is a violation of local privacy laws.

Of particular concern to the authority is the fact that users are not clearly told that data will be collected in both Windows itself and Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft's web browser gathering data about every URL that's visited by users who have not opted out of telemetry, and Windows 10 itself sucking up detailed information about app usage, the DPA is concerned that users are not adequately informed or protected.

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Last week it emerged that OnePlus has been secretly gathering a huge amount of data from handsets, revealing a wealth of personally identifiable information about their users. Now the smartphone company has spoken out in response to the uproar, and vowed to give users the ability to opt out of data collection.

Company founder Carl Pei took to the OnePlus community forums to explain why data was collected, stressing that OnePlus takes privacy seriously. But while Pei promises that an update is on the way by the end of the month that will introduce the ability to opt out of telemetry, users are still not happy, and many questions remain -- particularly about the secrecy involved.

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With the Google Home Mini, the search giant was hoping to get its smart speaker into more homes than ever before. But the latest privacy revelation about the device means that people may think twice about buying one.

Artem Russakovskii from Android Police was the first to -- publicly -- talk about the issue. He noticed that his Google Home Mini was active and recording sound throughout the day, not only when he uttered the "OK, Google" keyword. Google says that the privacy violation is down to a bug.

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Phishing is still a key tool for cyber criminals as they seek to insert malware onto machines and to get hold of personal details.

Although most people are aware of the threat there are still some subject lines that are much more likely to deliver results for the phishermen than others, according to security awareness training specialist KnowBe4, which has released its Top 10 Global Phishing Email Subject Lines report for the third quarter of 2017.

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Chief finance officers are becoming more confident about the use of the cloud to store their company's data according to a new survey.

The study from cloud performance management company Adaptive Insights finds that just three years ago only 33 percent of CFOs trusted the cloud for their financial data, but today 73 percent do so.

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OxygenOS, the customized version of Android used by OnePlus on its smartphones, has been found to be collecting data about users -- and it's not anonymized. Telemetry is something that has been associated with Windows 10, but now the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has its fans concerned.

That a phone collects certain information about usage is not particularly unusual -- it helps to identify problems and speed up software development. But a security researcher's discovery that his OnePlus 2 was sending highly detailed information back to OnePlus without consent has set privacy alarm bells ringing (the issue also affects more recent OnePlus handsets). OnePlus might prefer that you spend your time thinking about the upcoming OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 6, but this tale of telemetry is going to dominate for a little while.

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As companies continue to violate our privacy, such as Microsoft with the latest version of Skype for iOS and Android, we slowly become desensitized to it. In other words, as time marches on, people slowly become more and more accepting of being spied on. This is tragic, as our private information has value, and many will simply turn it over in exchange for a free service or other nonsense.

Purism is a company that is fighting for your rights -- regardless of whether or not you appreciate it. The company maintains the privacy-focused Pure OS Linux distribution, plus it manufactures very secure laptops with radio, webcam, and microphone hardware kill-switches. Purism also wants to produce a secure Linux-based smartphone, called Librem 5. Unfortunately, the company needed $1.5 million to get started. Well, folks, I am elated to say that earlier today, Purism met and exceeded that goal! In other words, it looks like the Librem 5 will become a reality.

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Cortana is a decent voice assistant. Hell, "she" is probably better than Apple's woefully disappointing Siri, but that isn't saying very much. Still, Microsoft's assistant very much annoys me on Windows 10. I don't necessarily want to use my desktop PC like my phone, and sometimes I feel like she is intruding on my computer. While some people like Cortana, I am sure others agree with me.

Depending on how you feel about Cortana, you will either hate or love Microsoft's latest move to shoehorn the virtual woman into your life. You see, starting today, Cortana is coming to Skype on mobile for both Android and iOS. I don't think anyone actually wanted her in Skype, but oh well, she is on the way. Unfortunately, there is one huge downside -- Microsoft is using her to scan your private messages! Yup, the Windows-maker seems a lot like Google with this move.

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No longer operating under the illusion that the internet offers a mask of anonymity, increasing numbers of people are turning to VPN software to protect their privacy and mask their identity online.

But a recent case shows that the FBI used the logs of PureVPN to track down a user believed to be an internet stalker. This may make PureVPN users think twice about just how anonymous they really are, particularly when the company claims: "We do NOT keep any logs that can identify or help in monitoring a user's activity."

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The strange, unintuitive way Bluetooth and Wi-Fi toggles work in iOS 11 has drawn ire from many quarters. The latest voice is that of digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) which says that the "off-ish" setting now offered is misleading.

As we have covered in a previous story, Apple has changed the behaviour of the two toggles so that when they are flicked to the off position, the Bluetooth and wireless radios are not actually switched off. EFF says that this is "bad for user security" and calls for greater clarity from Apple.

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Despite their potential to reduce bills and make life easier, 76 percent of British consumers are worried about the impact of smart technology and connected homes.

A study by price comparison site MoneySuperMarket polled more than 2000 people and reveals many are fearful of the smart homes concept, with unapproved data collection cited as the greatest worry.

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Consumers don't care about privacy anymore, right? Wrong -- some actually do. True, we are systematically being conditioned to surrender our private information and rights nowadays, but some people are still fighting the good fight. In many ways, both the Linux and open source communities can be seen as the foundations of internet privacy.

The most popular mobile operating system on the planet, Android, is already based on Linux, but with Google in charge of it, many consumers cannot depend on it for privacy. With that said, Purism is planning to fight the impossible fight against Android and iOS with the "Librem 5" smartphone. This is a device that will run a privacy-focused Linux-based OS called "Pure OS," but the hardware is wide open for any OS, really. Purism is trying to raise $1.5 million through crowdfunding, and earlier today, it reached a significant milestone --  $1 million! Maybe the fight isn't impossible after all...

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The UK Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has admitted that she doesn't understand end-to-end encryption, but still wants to "to find the best way to combat" it anyway. Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, she said that Silicon Valley had a "moral obligation" to help fight the crime and terrorism she believes is abetted by encryption technology.

Despite having previously voiced support for back doors into systems such as WhatsApp, Rudd said she does not want such access, nor is she seeking to ban encryption. Saying "I don't need to understand how encryption works to understand how it's helping -- end-to-end encryption -- the criminals," she added that she wants technology firms to make it easier for police and security services to access encrypted data.

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Mozilla has announced an update to Firefox's Privacy Notice which aims to better inform users about what data is collected and why.

As well as making its privacy policies more understandable, Mozilla is also trying to ensure that more people actually see them. For new installations, the Privacy Notice is automatically displayed in a tab. But it's the layout and accessibility of the updated document that's the real change.

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