Windows 10 phones home (A LOT) even with all reporting and telemetry disabled
One computer user has become so disillusioned with Windows 10's spying features that he has been driven to using Linux Mint as his primary operating system. But Voat user CheesusCrust was curious to find out just how pervasive Microsoft's privacy invasion is. The results of his investigation are quite staggering.
Using a router kitted out with DD-WRT, and a copy of Windows 10 Enterprise installed in a virtual machine on his Linux laptop, he started by disabling every single one of the tracking and telemetry features found in the operating system. Eight hours later, 4,000 connection attempts to 93 different IP addresses were logged, with most of these IPs addresses being linked to Microsoft.
Industry's reaction to Europe's new EU-US Privacy Shield
After months of negotiations, this week saw the European Commission (EC) announce a replacement to Safe Harbor after it was declared invalid in October 2015.
The new framework, dubbed the EU-US Privacy Shield, has been put in place to protect the rights of Europeans when their data is transferred to the United States and ensure legal certainty for businesses.
Brits say their smartphone data is worth £6,504
Choosing between the wallet and the smartphone, the majority of Brits would rather have their wallet stolen, a new research by the Ponemon Institute and Lookout has found.
But that’s not because of the smartphone’s quality, value or price. It’s what’s inside that counts.
The future of the NSA: fight the hackers or embrace the hackers
With its well-known habit of uncompromising surveillance, the NSA has earned itself something of a poor reputation among internet users. But while the spying side of the agency is what it is most famous for, it is actually made up of two different divisions: offensive and defensive.
Later this week the NSA is expected to announce an internal restructuring that will see the two divisions merging. This presents the agency with an interesting predicament: does it continue to work to fight the efforts of hackers, or does it adopt hacker-like techniques to help gather data? Experts says that the merger is a mistake, largely because the aim and modus operandi of the two departments are diametrically opposed.
Snooper's Charter is vague and confusing
A group of MPs has criticized plans put forward in the Draft Investigatoy Powers Bill after consulting with several top technology firms, including the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google.
The Science and Technology committee has slammed the bill as being vague and confusing, issuing a 43-page report outlining its views on key issues such as encryption and data collection.
New risk management software helps companies handle sensitive data
Endpoint security and digital investigations specialist Guidance Software is launching a new solution to help organizations identify and classify confidential data.
EnForce Risk Manager allows organizations to reduce their surface area of risk, limiting the potential damage from breaches and improving their ability to comply with global data protection rules.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow update brings Adblock Plus to Samsung phones and tablets
Earlier today we learned that a new API is bringing adblocking to Samsung's own mobile web browser. Adblock Fast was the first to take advantage of the new option and now, hot on its heels, comes the big guns -- Adblock Plus.
Today Samsung is rolling out an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update and once this has been installed, Adblock Plus can also be installed. The extension brings content blocking capabilities to Samsung's own web browser, but you'll have to jump through the relevant hoops to gain the privacy and bandwidth preserving capabilities.
It's all a facade: Encryption may do nothing to reduce surveillance or increase privacy
Living in a technological age where there is a near-fanatical obsession with privacy, a move towards encryption seems to make perfect sense. While there have been calls from some governments to ban encryption and demands for decryption keys to be handed over, there is a drive by companies and online services to try to increase security and privacy with encryption.
But a new report (Don't Panic: Making progress on the encryption debate) from Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society suggests that encryption may be all but pointless when it comes to curtailing surveillance. While governments and surveillance agencies may balk at the idea of people using encryption to 'go dark' online, and many people embrace the idea as a means of increasing their privacy, the report suggests that the task of surveillance is not going to be made impossible, and could be helped by the Internet of Things (IoT).
Emotionally retarded? Facebook Likes soon to be bolstered by just 5 new 'reactions'
The 'liking' of online content goes hand in hand with using Facebook. It's a simple idea, and one that has been copied by the likes of Google, Twitter and countless other sites. But as great as the iconic Like button is, it's hugely limiting and insufficiently expressive. There was talk of Facebook introducing a Dislike button but this idea (if it ever existed) was canned in favor of 'reactions'. Facebook has been testing reactions for a while, and now the feature is on the verge of a global rollout.
Mark Zuckerberg said this week that the glorified emoji will spread to all users 'pretty soon', but while people will undoubtedly embrace the option to do something other than just 'like' friend's post (how appropriate it is to 'like' the status "My cat just died"?), reactions are still very limited. Users will be restricted to expressing just five emotions -- cut down from six as testers were apparently too stupid to understand a 'yay' emoji -- meaning that reactions will be almost as limiting and blunt as the humble Like button.
Stop using Microsoft Edge's InPrivate mode if you value your privacy
It's possible that you reached this article purely by chance, or you may have Googled 'how to change the default search engine in Microsoft Edge'. However you got here, the fact that you're reading this indicates that you're either interested in Windows 10's Edge, or actively use it -- and this means there's something you need to know.
If you fall into the latter camp and use Edge's InPrivate mode to cover your online tracks, you might want to think about changing your web browser. Edge has already got some stick for its lack of extension support -- "it's coming, it's coming!" Yeah, whatever... so's Christmas -- but now it turns out that InPrivate mode is a privacy nightmare. It is possible to peak behind the curtain and see which sites have been visited when using a browsing mode that should mask this.
How to ensure paper records comply with EU's new data protection regulation
At the end of last year, the European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) proposed by the European Commission.
The new rules, which will come into force in early 2018, represent the greatest change to data protection legislation since the dawn of the Internet. They will affect any organization across the world that handles data of European origin.
Bittium Tough Mobile is ready to take on Blackphone for the most secure phone crown
Surveillance, privacy concerns and other issues have brought security into sharp focus for mobile users the world over. Apple, Google and Microsoft all offer encryption options, but for those with real security and privacy worries, the likes of Silent Circle's Blackphone 2 and the ARCHOS GranitePhone have a healthy following. Now there's a new security and privacy-focused handset vying for attention: the Bittium Tough Mobile.
At Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona next month, Bittium will show off not only its secure smartphone, but also its Bittium Secure Suite device management and encryption software. With these and Bittium SafeMove -- a secure remote access tool -- the company hopes to increase business and enterprise confidence in mobile and the Internet of Things.
One in three Americans are victims of healthcare data breaches
In the last year there have been a number of data breaches involving the healthcare industry. These included high profile attacks such as those on Premera Blue Cross and Anthem compromising millions of records.
According to the 2016 Healthcare Breach Report from cloud access specialist Bitglass more than 111 million individuals' data was lost due to hacking or IT incidents in the US alone.
Continuous security helps protect consumer data
As individuals, the amount of personal data we have online has grown thanks to social networking and the number of organizations that encourage us to do business via the internet.
It's set to grow still more as the Internet of Things takes off, and this presents problems when it comes to sharing information. Conventional solutions rely on checkboxes or cookies, but these struggle to cope with current demands.
6 essential security tips for Data Privacy Day
Data Privacy Day may not sound like the most exciting event to add to your calendar, but it serves as a hugely important reminder of the value of security. January 28 is the big day, and there has never been a better time to ensure that you are following best practice -- and there's no reason not to get started ahead of time.
35 years ago, Data Protection Day was launched, and over the years this evolves into Data Privacy Day. The aim is to improve privacy and security awareness online, on mobile, and on computers in general. Whatever you use your phone, computer and other devices for, there's plenty you can do to increase your security and privacy.
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