Researchers have discovered that many smart gadgets (such as smart TVs and streaming sticks) send data to tech companies, even when idle. The purpose of the experiment was to determine if devices were being used to monitor users, or could ... potentially leak data about the user to a third party. The research was a joint project between Northeastern University and the UK's Imperial College London. They examined 81 devices under the broad category of the Internet of Things (IoT). The study included security cameras, home automation devices such as WiFi plugs, Smart TV sets, smart speakers and home ... (view more)
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Users have highlighted two more problems with the latest Windows 10 Update, released September 10, 2019. It's messed up sound for some users, while others can no longer get online. For those keeping track, the problems are with the Windows 10 update ... KB4515384 , which has already given some users a broken Windows search tool and others a mysterious red or orange hue to their screen. Ironically, that update was designed partly to fix problems with a previous update ( KB4512941 ) which broke the Windows Search for some users, and also caused constant high processor demand for others. One of the ... (view more)
Password manager LastPass has suffered an embarrassing security glitch that reveals a user's last used password, though some security experts argue that pulling off the exploit would have been difficult at best. The purpose of LastPass is to solve ... the problem of people having too many passwords to remember, but not wanting to reuse passwords across multiple sites. Once somebody signs up to LastPass, they create a single master password which is completely secret. Even LastPass itself doesn't store this password, so if a user forgets it, they are out of luck. The master password then stores ... (view more)
It's becoming something of a pattern that Microsoft issues a Windows 10 Update that causes a problem , then issues a follow-up that fixes it, but then introduces new problems. And it's happened again. Just last week Microsoft issued an update ( ... KB4512941 ) that fixed problems in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903), but introduced new bugs with some users finding the Windows search tool didn't work at all, or their processors were under constant strain. Microsoft has since release a new bug fix (KB4515384) for the previous bug fix, but users are reporting new problems. At the time of ... (view more)
Nearly half a million users have been infected with "The Joker" malware through the Google Play store. The malware is particularly nasty and works by signing users up to premium services without their knowledge. The malware, spotted by researcher ... Aleksejs Kuprins, was found in 24 apps with a combined 472,000 downloads - though more apps may be found later. As of this writing, the 24 known apps have been removed from the Google Play store. (Source: techradar.com ) Infected Apps Need to be Removed If you have any of the following apps installed on your phone, they should be removed ... (view more)
Mozilla is to make an important change to Firefox browser security. It could reduce risks for users, but has raised concerns among governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as it could limit their tools for filtering and monitoring online ... activity. The change has to do with a feature called DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), and will first affect users in the US. It's already possible to enable DoH in Chrome, but it takes some technical know-how because the feature currently isn't widely used. DoH is all to do with the DNS (Domain Name System), which is effectively the phone book of the Internet ... (view more)
The latest Windows 10 update ( KB4512941 ) has produced two different problems. Some users report the search function is no longer working, while others have found their processors under immense strain. The problems stem from an update which itself ... fixed several problems with a major Windows 10 Update release in May, also known as Windows 10 version 1903. Note that users who do not have Windows 10 version 1903 won't have KB4512941 installed. You can find out which version of Windows 10 you have by clicking Start, then type in "winver" (no quotes) and hit enter. It will say the ... (view more)
Microsoft has changed its mind about phasing out support for Adobe Flash, which is used to help web browsers view multimedia. Both Internet Explorer and the current edition of Edge browsers will continue to support the technology by default until ... the end of 2020, in contrast to other browsers. Adobe says it's ditching Flash at the end of next year, largely because it's become redundant with website designers now preferring to create multimedia and interactive elements in HTML 5, rather than with Flash. HTML 5 works in modern browsers without the need for plug-ins like Flash. Chrome and ... (view more)
Google has released a security update fixing a major flaw in the Chrome browser. While Chrome normally updates automatically, it's a serious enough problem that it's worth manually checking for updates to the browser in order to be certain. The bug ... was highlighted by the Center for Internet Security, a non-profit organization that crowd sources security problems and fixes. It says the flaw could be exploited simply by the user visiting a compromised web page. It says that: "Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the ... (view more)
Facebook is taking new steps to prevent misleading political ads following the Cambridge Analytica scandal , which had millions of Facebook profiles harvested and used without consent for political advertising purposes. It says it's tightening the ... rules on buyers, which must now not only prove their identity, but also the organization they are associated with. Since 2018, anyone paying for an advertisement on Facebook relating to elections, politics or social issues has had to prove their identity to Facebook. They also have to include a disclaimer in the ad marked "Paid for by...", which is ... (view more)
Google Calendar users have been hit by a spate of spam "events" that are nothing more than dubious web links. Users have several ways to stop the problem, but with some drawbacks. The problem involves mysterious entries appearing in Google Calendar, ... sometimes seeming to have been added by friends. Speaking from experience, I had several entries appear for an "event" which was supposedly a time-limited offer to pick up a free iPhone, along with a link to confirm I wanted to take advantage. Although I did not click on the link, it's a safe bet it would not have taken me to the Apple store. ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Neil W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your interesting article on whether a VPN is safe for online banking . However, one question I can't seem to find the answer to is: do I need VPN on a public network? Do I need a VPN on a ... private network? What about a VPN on a shared network? An example might include a student doing banking at a university shared network. What do you think? " My response: Short answer: A VPN, or virtual private network is useful in a few cases - for example: hiding your tracks online (to some extent, but with major limitations) or accessing geo- ... (view more)
Chrome may soon warn users if their passwords have been compromised. It works by checking inputted passwords against those exposed in public data breaches. The feature is already available for Chrome from an official Google extension known as ... Password Checkup, but users need to actively install this extension to use it. Web browser Mozilla Firefox already has a similar feature built-in. Now a similar feature named "password leak detection" has been spotted in the code of Chrome Canary. That's a version of Chrome that includes test features planned for release in the main Chrome edition in a ... (view more)
Users of both Apple devices and the VLC media player should watch out for potentially serious security bugs. The former is a particular embarrassment for Apple. It turns out the company fixed a security bug in iOS 12.3 in April, then accidentally ... removed the fix in iOS 12.4, which it released last month. It now plans to fix it imminently in an emergency update to be titled iOS 12.4.1. The bug is very serious as it potentially allows a rogue app to "execute arbitrary code with system privileges." That effectively means malware could have complete control over an iOS device, something that's ... (view more)
Facebook is to show users what data it collects about their activity on other sites. It won't stop tracking, but will make the data anonymous if users ask. The changes will come in a new settings option called "Off-Facebook Activity." This will list ... all websites and apps that share data about user activity with Facebook. This most commonly happens through two methods. One is that the user has opted to log in to the third-party site through Facebook. In other words, as long as they haven't logged out of their Facebook account, they don't need to create or input user names and passwords for the ... (view more)
Researchers say there's a risk that microphones and motion sensors in smartphones could make it possible to figure out information being typed on nearby keyboards. But media headlines that "hackers can work out your password" are a significant ... stretch. The research comes from the Darwin Deason Institute for Cyber Security at Southern Methodist University, based in Texas. It stemmed from the thought that smartphones could pick up sound in two ways: not just the sound waves in the air through the microphone, but vibrations such as on a table collected through the motion sensors in the phone. ... (view more)
More than one million fingerprints were exposed online for at least a week, according to security researchers. The company responsible for the data says it will take immediate action if there's a security threat. The data is held by Suprema, which ... operates a biometric lock system called Biostar 2. It lets building owners restrict access by fingerprint or facial recognition, rather than relying on measures such as physical keys or pass codes. The Guardian newspaper reports that Biostar 2 is used in a wider system that has 5,700 customers accessing 1.5 million locations across 83 countries. ... (view more)
Chrome and Firefox will stop indicating when websites have received an "extra level of verification" to prove they are in fact genuine. The move is largely due to the fact that most users aren't aware of the Extended Validation SSL (EV SSL) system. ... The Extended Validation SSL (secure socket layer) security certificates go beyond the standard SSL certification scheme, which browsers use to show that data being sent to and from a website is in fact encrypted and secure. This means that communication is encrypted, and that no one can eavesdrop or steal data mid-stream. In other words, ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Jeanie G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I believe I have been scammed by Quick PC Experts ( quickpcexpert.com ). I was using my web browser and suddenly a virus warning appeared on my screen, stating that I needed to call Microsoft ... certified support at 1-855-724-2570 . There was no way for me to close the virus alert window. I was very frightened and so I called the 1-800 number. The person I spoke to had a very thick Indian accent . Quick PC Expert then confirmed that my computer was infected, and that's when I let them remotely connect to my PC. They installed a firewall and ... (view more)
Apple is offering a million dollar bounty to anyone who can successfully hack an iPhone and shares the details. But its limited to specific circumstances that will mean the payout is well worth it for the company. Like several tech giants, Apple ... already had a reward scheme for people who find and report bugs. To date the biggest bounty Apple has offered is $200,000 and only to people who have previously been approved to explore Apple bugs. The million dollar bounty is officially open to anyone. The new offer was made at the Black Hat convention in Las Vegas, the leading annual gathering of ... (view more)
Microsoft contractors listen to some Skype calls to check the accuracy of translations, a whistleblower has revealed. Although Microsoft says it meets privacy laws, critics say its terms and conditions don't clearly warn users about this. The human ... listening takes place on some calls that use Skype's "automatic" real-time translation service. Until now, most users have assumed that the translation is done entirely by a combination of speech recognition and artificial intelligence to work out the context of a sentence and find the correct translations. While that's largely the case, a ... (view more)
A proposed law would dramatically increase maximum fines that can be imposed on companies that break monopoly rules. Tech firms would be among the most likely to be affected in the admittedly unlikely event the law was enacted. The proposed bill ... would be known as the Monopolization Deterrence Act of 2019. It's designed to change the current system by which the maximum penalty for violating the main US antitrust law, the Sherman Act, is $10 million. That applies regardless of the size of the company or companies involved. Critics say such penalties are little deterrent to major companies, ... (view more)
Mozilla has designed a site that will open 100 tabs at once, quite likely crashing a web browser. It's meant as a creative way to show how web tracking works. The stunt is based around cookies: small text files put onto a computer via the browser to ... customize an online session to a website. Third-party tracking cookies are then generated, which keep a record of the sites a user visits. This information is then used by ad servers to deliver targeted ads based on website history. "Track THIS" works by opening 100 tabs selected to represent a particular type of web user. The idea is that there ... (view more)
Microsoft may be ending the need to have a physical disk to reinstall Windows 10. A 'Cloud Download' option could save time and hassle. At the moment, the main way to reinstall Windows is to use a recovery disk (or a copy of the relevant files kept ... on a hard drive or USB device.) That's got a few limitations, most notably that not everyone who gets a recovery disk with a new computer will be able to find it. Other problems are that recovery disks don't always have the drivers necessary to make sure Windows 10 works smoothly with a specific PC, and that the disks don't usually work well for ... (view more)
Google says it has found half a dozen major security flaws in Apple's iPhone messaging system. A new iOS update fixes five of the problems, but Google says one remains unpatched. The flaws were discovered by Google's Project Zero, a department that ... takes its name from the idea of "zero day" bugs . That's where would-be hackers become aware of a security issue before the relevant software developers are able to patch the bug. The zero day bugs are then exploited which often results in elevated privileged access levels given to a rogue program. The problems are with iMessage, the instant ... (view more)
Financial records of almost every adult in Bulgaria have been stolen in a cyber attack. It's led to the unlikely situation of the country's leader reportedly exaggerating the attacker's skills. One man has been arrested following the attack, which ... looks to have involved unauthorized access to a database with records for every working adult in the country. That's almost five million people. There's some debate over exactly what was involved in the breach. Press reports suggest it not only included personal information such as date of birth and address, but also tax ... (view more)
Infopackets Reader Sue P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I stumbled upon your website and read your article about GoDaddy email not syncing with Outlook. I have been dealing with a similar issue - GoDaddy emails are slow to send, and GoDaddy emails are slow ... to deliver. In fact, just about everything with GoDaddy is slow - yet, I'm paying over $300 a year to host my site at GoDaddy. They initially got me to sign up on $5.99 a month promise, but with all the extras I've agreed to, the costs add up quickly! Surely their must be a better choice. I was wondering can you give me a rough idea as to how do I ... (view more)
The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly backed a bill to crack down on unwanted robocalls. The bipartisan measure would increase regulatory power and make use of technology to tackle the problem. The proposed Stopping Bad Robocalls Act ... passed by 429 votes to 3. It follows a 97 to 1 vote in the Senate on a similar bill in May. It's now highly likely one of the bills will pass through both houses and become law. (Source: appleinsider.com ) Robocalls are automatically dialed phone calls. Because there's no need for a human to dial the number, both legitimate marketers and scammers can ... (view more)
Google is cracking down on Chrome browser extensions that risk user privacy. The new policies err on the side of caution and follow a Washington Post investigation that claimed millions of users had data stolen by rogue browser extensions. A browser ... extension, also called an "add-on" in some browsers, is a third-party tool that users can incorporate into their web browser. It's designed to add extended functions to the browser, which then make using the browser and web much easier. Examples of extensions include: a password manager, which can remember user passwords and ... (view more)
Google is changing the way its "incognito" mode works. It says the move is necessary, but some news and magazine website owners are upset by the change. Incognito is Google's version of private browsing. Despite the name, it's mainly about privacy ... on the user's device: when in incognito mode, the local browser stops adding websites to its browsing history, which consists of a list of pages the user has visited and the searches they've carried out. The mode won't stop the activity being recorded by an Internet service provider (ISP) or by a local network administrator - something that has ... (view more)
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