A judge in Georgia says she is "gravely concerned" that electronic voting machines could be hacked. But she says it's too late to scrap them for this year's elections. Amy Totenberg was ruling on a lawsuit originally filed May 2017 against Georgia's ... Secretary of State. It called for the use of the Direct Recording Voting machines to be banned for the elections. Among the arguments in the lawsuit were that the system doesn't create a paper trail for verifying any discrepancies; that the software on the machine could be altered or replaced without detection; and that the system makes it ... (view more)

Google is extending its parental monitoring tools to cover teenagers as well as children. There's a pretty major flaw in the program however. The change is to "Family Link," which Google introduced last year. That's a way for pre-teens to have a ... Google account of their own, letting them use an Android handset, but with heavy parental supervision and controls. Key features include parents being able to control which apps the child is allowed to install, when they can use their devices, and how long they can use the device for in total during the day. Parents can also access location ... (view more)

Google has apologized for remotely switching on "battery saver mode" on some Android phones. It says it was an internal test that was mistakenly rolled out. Battery Saver is an optional mode first added to the Android system in 2014. It aims to find ... a balance between reducing battery drain and maintaining convenience and functionality. The mode is effectively a collection of settings changes. These include reducing background processes (activity by apps the user isn't actively using), cutting down on screen animations, and stopping apps from automatically updating. It also disables ... (view more)

Microsoft is asking users to think twice before installing browsers such as Firefox and Chrome. A "warning message" is being tested in Windows 10. The message has been spotted by people in the Windows Insider program that lets them get early access ... to new features. The idea is to test the features on computers being used out in the 'real world' rather than in Microsoft labs. One such user has posted a screenshot of a message that appeared when they attempted to install Mozilla's Firefox browser. It reads "You already have Microsoft Edge - the safer, faster browser for Windows 10." ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tina A. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've been reading articles on the Internet about cyber criminals breaking into computer networks, encrypting files and then demanding a ransom. I've also read that if I leave my computer connected to ... the Internet, I could be susceptible to ransomware. I don't know what to believe. So my question is: is ransomware a threat? Is ransomware malware? Should I be worried? " My response: This is a pretty big question to answer. The simple answer is that: yes , ransomware is a threat, and yes you can get infected with ransomware just by having your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently upgraded my OpenVPN from version 2.3.2 (back in 2014) to the latest version 2.4.6, but now my OpenVPN server is broken. I checked the log files and it says ' SSL ... routines:SSL_CTX_use_certificate:ca md too weak ', followed by 'Cannot load certificate file /path/cert.crt'. I have tried embedding my certificates inside the server.ovpn file (rather than having it point somewhere externally), but that does not help. It simply won't load the certificate. I've researched this issue for days and keep coming across a forum post on the ... (view more)

Smart TV sets that passed on user data without permission might have to display a message suggesting users sue the manufacturers. It's an unusual proposal in a class action lawsuit. Last year Vizio agreed to pay $3.7 million in fines to settle ... investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New Jersey attorney general. The TVs in question used Internet connectivity (providing the TV was connected to Internet access at the home by the user), which then utilized a feature called "Smart Interactivity". Though the feature was enabled by default, users could switch it off ... (view more)

Windows 10's next major update will add a couple of features to make life easier for people with an Android phone. Using text messages and accessing photos on the PC will be possible without having to touch the phone. The services are both in a new ... built-in Windows 10 app called Your Phone. However, to use the new features, phone owners will also need to install "Microsoft Apps" from the Google Play Store on their handset. (Source: 9to5google.com ) Typing Possible On Full Size Keyboard The messaging tool covers SMS text messages. Users will be able to see the latest batch of messages received ... (view more)

Have you heard of the Deep Web, Dark Net, Dark Web, or Dark Market while surfing the Internet? What is the difference? Is there a difference? In each case, these are technical terms used to describe various parts of the Internet that are not ... normally accessible to users using a standard web browser. Below we'll describe the differences using easy to understand key examples. Deep Web In the most simplest terms, the Deep Web is any web page that is not indexed by a search engine. Let's look an example. A Deep Web can be your bank account details, after you've logged in securely to your online ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Abdul M. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few weeks ago my computer gave me a warning message that I was infected with virus and that I needed to call 1 800 208 0798 to fix the problem. The man I spoke to had an Indian accent and said he ... was from Microsoft. He then connected to my computer and removed the virus, then demanded $199 payment which I paid. He then forwarded me to another security specialist, who examined my system and said that my firewall was broken and it would cost another $350 to fix it. If I didn't pay it, he said hackers would attack my computer . At this point I ... (view more)