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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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It's easy to set rules for handling privileged account passwords, but harder to ensure that they're being followed and that they meet best practice and security guidelines.

IT security specialist Thycotic is aiming to help organizations by launching a free online tool that demonstrates how companies compare to other, similarly-sized, organizations when meeting password management practices.

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If you give an inch, people can take a mile. This old adage can be good advice when it comes to privacy. Some people may decry a privacy advocate's efforts with the cliche "if you have nothing to hide" argument, but that is poor logic. Look, even if you are following the law, your privacy should be looked at as sacred. Fight for it, y'all.

Today, Uber announces that it is tracking its drivers' smartphone data. At first glance, you might be up in arms. With that said, the company is claiming it is for the benefit of its customers. So, is it right, or wrong?

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We've heard endless talk about our phones being tracked by the government and law enforcement, all done without a warrant. In other words, it's a massive gathering of data "just in case it's needed". That's a very broad swath, and likely most of it is never used for any reason, though there may be scans for certain keywords -- bomb, would be a good example.

The rules for this data gathering have been challenged in court and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is at the forefront of this battle.

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The importance and awareness of online privacy issues have been brought into sharp focus in the 21st century. It's not entirely down to Edward Snowden, but the revelations from the former NSA contractor are a constant reference point for those concerned with privacy, security and freedom of speech.

One of the greatest problems facing anyone trying to tackle the problem of privacy on the web is dealing with the ideologies of different countries, and how this affects data sharing. A level of surveillance that is deemed acceptable in the US, for instance, may be considered completely objectionable in another. The latest suggestion to help overcome this seemingly insurmountable problem is to set up a privacy ombudsman that would be able to handle European complaints and queries about US surveillance.

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So many companies get hacked these days that it’s almost easy to be blasé about the news of another data breach. If your password gets compromised, you can change it. If your credit card details leak, you can cancel the card. But what happens when an extramarital affairs website you’re a member of gets hacked, and your personal details fall into the wrong hands?

When Ashley Madison was hacked last year, members had two straight choices -- come clean to their other half, or stay calm and hope it all blew over. Unfortunately, the fallout from the hack continues unabated, and some unfortunate Ashley Madison users have started to receive blackmail letters through the mail. And, for the recipients, the letters are truly terrifying.

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