Articles about Privacy

Privacy-focused search engine StartPage has launched an upgraded private image search feature. With extreme concern mounting about plans for ISPs to be granted permission to sell customers' browsing histories without express permission, interest in untrackable browsing is on the increase.

Based in the Netherlands, StartPage is outside the reach of US law enforcement agencies, and it uses a secure connection so there is no way to tell what users have been searching for, and also secures click-throughs using a proxy. In addition to the private image search enhancement, StartPage has also launched Instant Answers to provide searchers with easy access to key information.

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Users of Microsoft's Docs.com website took to Twitter to complain after files marked as private were made public by the sites' search function.

In response, Microsoft pulled the search feature from the site, but it is now back up and running. Even during the time it was not possible to search the site directly, Google and Bing searches could still be conducted to reveal social security numbers, job applications, contact details, and other private information.

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WhatsApp has been criticized for failing to help police following the revelation that Khalid Masood used the encrypted messaging service shortly before running down numerous people and stabbing a policeman to death in London last week.

The UK home secretary Amber Rudd spoke out over the weekend, saying that police and other agencies should be granted access to encrypted messages with a view to countering future terrorist attacks. Later this week, Rudd is due to meet with technology leaders to talk about how the government should be able to access messages protected by end-to-end encryption -- something already dropped from the controversial snooper's charter.

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In a major blow for privacy advocates and individual rights, the US Senate has voted to permit ISPs to sell or share customers' data -- including their browsing histories -- without consent.

The vote overturns a Federal Communications Commission rule that banned such activity. While there are still legislative hoops to jump through before the result of the vote is ratified, ISPs will be rubbing their hands in glee at what the Senate has done.

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When it comes to Google, many people are concerned about privacy, and rightfully so. Look, the company makes money through advertising and data collection. In other words, if you rely on the search giant's services, such as Gmail and Maps, the company probably knows a lot about you -- including the locations that you visit.

While exposing your location is normally something people try to avoid from a security perspective, today, Google is making it easier to do so. No, the search giant isn't doing it without your permission -- it is actually a very cool new feature. The company is enabling Google Maps users to share their real-time location with others. The reason that this is cool (and not scary) is that the user can choose with whom they share the location, and for how long it is shared. Your phone will even keep you notified that you are sharing your location -- just in case your plans change and you forget to shut it off. In other words, it is totally optional.

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For the financial services industry, compliance is a major issue as there's a need to archive communication from many different sources.

To provide a solution to the industry's unique demands, financial services software specialist IPC Systems has announced a collaboration with communications compliance and archiving company Actiance. This will use Actiance's Alcatraz solution to offer IPC's financial services customers a holistic archival solution across a range of digital communications, including voice.

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Pakistan is seeking help from Facebook and Twitter to help execute its incredibly strict blasphemy laws. Anyone found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammed, or Islam in general, risks being sentenced to death, and the country is keen to track down offenders both at home and abroad.

The two social networks have only been asked to identify Pakistanis, but the move is likely to raise concerns about privacy. Of equal concern will be not only what is deemed to be blasphemous, but who makes that judgement -- particularly when Pakistan is seeking to identify offenders in other countries.

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Identity theft is a growing problem, but who is falling victim to online ID fraud, why is it still happening, and how can you protect yourself?

IT training specialist CBT Nuggets has carried out some research among more than 2,000 people in the US to find out, with some intriguing results.

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Privacy and security are major concerns when it comes to life online, but a survey by Mozilla reveals that a worrying number of people do not know how to stay in control of them. The company also found that a third of people feel they have no control over their information online, with a similar number confessing to knowing "very little" about encryption.

But these are not the only concerns of internet users. Mozilla also asked about people's greatest online fears. Topping the list is "being hacked by a stranger" (a fear held by 80 percent of people), and "being tracked by advertisers" (61 percent). As well as presenting the results of its survey, Mozilla also has some important advice.

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Without a hint of irony, Facebook has told developers that they may not use data from Instagram and Facebook in surveillance tools.

The social network says that the practice has long been a contravention of its policies, but it is now tidying up and clarifying the wording of its developer policies. American Civil Liberties Union, Color of Change and the Center for Media Justice put pressure on Facebook after it transpired that data from users' feeds was being gathered and sold on to law enforcement agencies.

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It was 28 years ago that Tim-Berners-Lee submitted his proposal for the worldwide web. What he envisioned as an open platform that would break down global barriers has become a wild beast with endless problems. Talking on the anniversary of his invention, Berners-Lee has spoken about his concerns for the web.

He has three problems in his crosshairs, and he says the trio of issues is something "we must tackle in order for the web to fulfil its true potential as a tool that serves all of humanity." But he does not come armed with solutions; it's at least partly down to us to sort things out.

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Changes to terms and conditions or privacy policies happen all the time, and this presents a few problems for consumers. As well as having to negotiate through the often impenetrable language used in these documents, it can be near impossible to work out what has changed, and what the implications are. This is where Ever Sentinel can help.

The service monitors the terms and policies for a number of popular websites and services, and not only alerts you when they change, but highlights exactly what has changed. It's part of a drive to encourage greater transparency in terms and conditions and privacy policies, and it's free for you to use to keep yourself informed.

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The FBI and CIA are working together on a joint investigation into the Vault 7 document cache published by WikiLeaks that supposedly reveals the CIA's hacking tools. Many of the companies mentioned in the documents for having exploitable vulnerabilities -- including Apple, the Linux Foundation, and Microsoft -- have spoken out about the leaks, but it has taken some time for the CIA itself to respond.

Speaking to the BBC, a CIA spokesperson said: "The American public should be deeply troubled by any Wikileaks disclosure designed to damage the intelligence community's ability to protect America against terrorists and other adversaries." FBI director James Comey has also spoken about the lack of privacy that now exists in the US.

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There is much to consider when buying a piece of technology, but price and suitability tend to be at the top of most people's lists. In recent years, however, there has been an increased interest in privacy and security, and this is something that renown reviewer Consumer Reports is going to start taking into consideration.

Consumer Reports most recently hit the headlines for deciding not to recommend the new MacBook Pro (although it later changed its mind), and now the non-profit has teamed up with a number of privacy, security, and consumer rights organizations with a view to creating a new digital standard for products to live up to. The aim is to put data security and privacy first, just as many consumers are starting to do.

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WikiLeaks has unleashed a treasure trove of data to the internet, exposing information about the CIA's arsenal of hacking tools. Code-named Vault 7, the first data is due to be released in serialized form, starting off with "Year Zero" as part one. A cache of over 8,500 documents and files has been made available via BitTorrent in an encrypted archive.

The plan had been to release the password at 9:00am ET today, but when a scheduled online press conference and stream came "under attack" prior to this, the password was released early. Included in the "extraordinary" release are details of the zero day weapons used by the CIA to exploit iPhones, Android phones, Windows, and even Samsung TVs to listen in on people. Routers, Linux, macOS -- nothing is safe.

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