data

Target, a popular US discount retail outlet, has confirmed that cyber-thieves have stolen debit and credit card data from 40 million people who've shopped at the store since Thanksgiving. The store is still investigating whether it was the work of ... hackers or an inside job. The information stolen covers 19 of the busiest shopping days of the year. One security expert noted that the potential haul of stolen data covers one in seven of all the credit cards in the United States. (Source: today.com ) Target learned of the attacks when credit card firms reported a dramatic increase in ... (view more)

Millions of Americans have had their most sensitive personal information exposed by hackers who bypassed the security of several major data companies. The attacks were launched by hackers who ultimately sold the stolen data to a group called SSNDOB, ... which stands for Social Security Numbers, Dates of Birth. The hackers infiltrated servers belonging to major data brokers, including LexisNexis, Kroll Background America, and Dun ... (view more)

A US federal court has ruled that Google can face charges that it unlawfully collected data through WiFi networks. Google had unsuccessfully argued that what it did was no different than picking up a radio broadcast. The ruling sets a precedent for ... the way WiFi networks are treated under the law. Experts believe it may also make it easier for the authorities to take court action against hackers who intentionally set out to steal data. The case centers on Google's Street View program, which involved taking photos for the company's Google Maps service. Google Mistakenly Collected Personal Data ... (view more)

After the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal broke earlier this year, many Internet users have attempted to protect their private data . In some cases this simply involves deleting temporary Internet files. Others, however, have ... gone a step further by using encryption techniques to protect sensitive information stored in emails and text messages. However, a new report from Britain's The Guardian newspaper and non-profit organization ProPublica reveals that the NSA has tools that allow it to read many encrypted messages. NSA Invests Billions in Decryption Research The report ... (view more)

The percentage of Internet users who say they're worried about how much of their personal data is made available to third parties -- often without their permission -- is on the rise. It's also been revealed that the vast majority of Internet users ... have taken some action towards removing their personal information from the web. The figures come from the Pew Internet ... (view more)

Data Crow 3.12.2 Carefully organize your favorite movies, music, games, and images using Data Crow, the ultimate media cataloger. This ad-free no-cost program allows you to connect to the web to find out more about your favorite media items. ... http://www.datacrow.net AntiToolbar 1.0 These days it seems like every download comes with an annoying toolbar full of useless tools. Get rid of those toolbars quickly and efficiently with AntiToolbar, which is designed to improve Internet performance by killing useless junk in your browser. http://www.anti-toolbar.com This freeware software program is ... (view more)

A newly-published report says that more than four in five of the most popular smartphone and tablet applications put users' personal data at risk. The problem: these apps send critical user information to app developers. The study comes to us from ... Appthority, a company that specializes in monitoring mobile applications. It looked at 400 apps, including 100 of the most-purchased and 100 of the most-downloaded apps for iOS and Android. (Source: appthority.com ) Overall, the firm found that 83 per cent of apps (including 93 per cent of free apps and 78 per cent of paid apps) displayed "risky ... (view more)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they've developed a system that could help speed up the Internet. The research is designed to find an alternative to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) system. TCP is the set of ... rules that govern the way data moves around the Internet. Whenever data travels online, it's broken down into small chunks known as 'packets' (in effect, info packets!). Often, these packets take different routes around the various connections that make up the net, then get reassembled at their destination. Net Currently Favors Accuracy Over Speed ... (view more)