The Internet Archive to set up Canadian mirror to stay out of Trump's reach
Many people are concerned about just what Donald Trump might do when he becomes president in 2017, and some of the biggest concerns lie in the fields of technology and the internet. Worried about what the arrival of President Trump could mean, the Internet Archive is collecting donations to fund a Canadian mirror of the site.
The Internet Archive of Canada will lie outside of the jurisdiction of the US government and is being built based on the idea that "lots of copies keep stuff safe". Currently based in San Francisco, a blog post by the Internet Archive makes reference to fears about greater online restrictions that could be put in place by the US.
The Snooper's Charter is now law, giving the UK some of the most extensive, invasive and draconian web surveillance powers in the world
The Investigatory Powers Act 2016, the Snooper's Charter, legalized spying: call it what you will, the UK now officially has some of the most extreme internet surveillance powers in the world. The Investigatory Powers Bill was today given royal assent, meaning it has now passed into law.
Unsurprisingly, there have been huge protests from privacy groups, and an online petition against the new powers has already gained more than 136,000 signatures. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 not only requires ISPs to store records of their customers' browsing history, but also make this data available to dozens of government agencies, and even permits state hacking of phones and computers.
Cold War 2.0: Russia is borrowing the Great Firewall of China to implement greater state censorship and control
The Great Firewall of China is a famous tool of censorship and state control of the internet -- and Russia wants to throw up its own version of the web filtering system. Russia already operates the so-called 'red web' which is used to not only monitor what Russian citizens are up to online, but also implementing blocks and filters such as the recent ban on LinkedIn.
But now President Putin wants to step things up a notch. Russia and China have become close allies in recent years, particularly in the field of state control of the internet, and there are plans to roll out even greater controls over what web users are able to do and access online, ostensibly from fears of an uprising against the government.
Deseat.me helps you delete yourself from the internet with a few clicks
Everyone has a digital footprint these days, and it can be terrifying to think about the amount of personal information stored online in various accounts. You may have resolved to clean up your act and close a few of your accounts, and this is where Deseat.me can help.
The site takes advantage of the fact that many of your online accounts are linked together by a common thread -- Google. By signing into the site with your Google credentials, Deseat.me will find all of your linked accounts and give you the option of wiping them out in one fell swoop.
Microsoft shares Windows 10 telemetry data with third parties [Updated]
It’s no secret that Windows 10 records all sorts of usage information, some of which it feeds back to Microsoft. To help with the smooth running of Windows 10, and to get an idea of how users interact with the operating system, Microsoft collects telemetry data, which includes information on the device Windows 10 is running on, a list of installed apps, crash dumps, and more.
Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include personal information. If you’re worried about that, the news that Microsoft is sharing telemetry data with third parties might concern you.
Consumers want to know more about how their data is used
The world is ever more reliant on data, but consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about where their personal details are stored and who has access to them.
Professional technology standards body IEEE has carried out a survey of 1,000 UK adults which finds that 81 percent believe the public should be better educated on how their data is being used online.
What you need to know about GDPR
The concept of data protection has been around for many years, since the UK first implemented a Data Protection Act in 1984. The general data protection regulation is a piece of legislation drawn up by the European Commission to unify data protection within the EU and to govern the export of personal data beyond the EU’s boundaries.
GDPR is due to come into force across the EU in May 2018 following a two year transition period. Being a regulation rather than a directive, it doesn’t require enabling laws to be passed by member states.
Obama is not going to pardon Edward Snowden -- and Trump certainly won't
Edward Snowden. A liberal darling, and simultaneously a figure of hate. His surveillance leaks are now legendary, and while the NSA whistle-blower hides away in Russia, there are calls for President Obama to issue a pardon before President Trump becomes a reality.
But Obama is having none of it. In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, the out-going president was asked bluntly about pardoning the former NSA contractor. His response was: "I can't pardon somebody who hasn't gone before a court and presented themselves". Obama, of course, could pardon Snowden if he wanted, regardless of whether he has faced trial, but he's not going to say that.
Privacy alert -- Your iPhone is secretly sending your call history to iCloud
iCloud is hardly the finest example of secure cloud storage, as numerous hacked celebrities will attest. So it is perhaps a little concerning to learn that Apple is -- according to a Russian security firm -- storing months of call logs to iCloud without many users being aware of what’s going on.
Elcomsoft, which specializes in cracking software, discovered that if you are an iPhone owner with an active iCloud account, four months' worth of your phone calls have been stored online. Many people will see this as a privacy concern but, worryingly, Apple does not provide a way to disable call log syncing.
Cloud use could be putting businesses at risk
According to a new study, 69.7 percent of cloud applications do not specify whether the customer keeps ownership of uploaded data, just 8.7 percent commit to not sharing data with third parties, and only 16 percent delete data immediately after contract termination.
All three of these things could leave businesses open to non-compliance files under the EU's GDPR requirements. The report from cloud security company Skyhigh Networks analyses real life cloud usage data from 30 million cloud users worldwide to assess the risk the cloud presents.
Legal mass surveillance: Investigatory Powers Bill could become law by the end of the year
The highly controversial Investigatory Powers Bill could be enshrined into UK law by the end of the year after it was passed by both houses of Parliament. Strongly opposed by privacy campaigners, the bill -- dubbed the Snooper's Charter -- will mean a full record of every UK internet users' browsing history is accessible by the government.
All that remains is for the bill to receive royal assent -- essentially a formality -- and it will then become the Investigatory Powers Act. It means the UK will have one of the most wide-ranging, all-encompassing, and privacy-invading mass surveillance programs in the world.
Facebook's privacy-invading WhatsApp user data dipping ends in Europe
Facebook has stopped using data collected from WhatsApp users to customize ads in Europe. The move comes after the practice was banned in Germany, and after the UK's Information Commissioner announced an investigation.
The social networking giant had already agreed to stop using WhatsApp data from users in the UK, but this has now been extended on a Europe-wide basis. Last month Facebook was on the receiving end of criticism from the Article 29 Working Party who complained about the invasion of users' privacy.
Betternet is a simple, free and 'unlimited' VPN
Connecting to a virtual private network can shield your IP, maintain your privacy on insecure wireless hotspots and perhaps help you access websites you couldn’t reach normally.
VPN’s usually require paying a chunky subscription fee, but Betternet promises an unlimited service for absolutely nothing at all.
Protect your privacy with SafeErase Professional 11
O&O Software has released the latest version of its commercial secure-deleting privacy protector, SafeErase Professional 11.
The interface has been revamped for ease of use, while the core engine is even faster at wiping every trace of your confidential files.
Android backdoor found sending personal information from US users to China
Mobile security firm Kryptowire has discovered a backdoor in several Android smartphones sold in the US. The company says that the firmware collected personal data about users without consent, and sent this private information on to Chinese firm Shanghai Adups Technology Company.
Included in the reams of personal data shared to a third party server were the full text of SMS, call histories, and unique device identifiers. In addition to this, an OTA (over the air) update to firmware allowed for the non-consensual installation of apps, user location tracking and keyword monitoring.
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