tracking

Mozilla has removed security tools from Avast and AVG from the Firefox extension store. It says the tools are collecting too much personal data about users. The extensions are third-party tools for the Firefox browser that add extra functionality to ... web browsing. In this case, the advertised purposes include highlighting and blocking malware that could be downloaded, and warning users when a page may be part of a phishing attack. That's where a user is tricked into typing in personal details into what they think is a legitimate site. Mozilla acted after online posts by Wladimir Palant, who ... (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)

Mozilla has made two major changes to make Firefox browsing easier and safer. It's adding a robust password manager and and enhanced cookie blocking feature that will help avoid dubious online tracking. The password manager is called Firefox ... Lockwise. For now it's only available as a browser extension, rather than being built into the browser itself. It's the same service that was previously available on mobile devices as "LockBox." The basic functions of Lockwise include being able to store login credentials and access from multiple devices, and are much the same as on third-party ... (view more)

Google is set to make it easier for users to block tracking cookies. Perhaps unsurprisingly the reported changes would also be very helpful for Google. Cookies are small files that a website saves onto a computer's hard drive via the web browser. ... When the user next returns to the site, it will check for cookies and use the information to customize the site's content or appearance. For example, if a user were to enter in their name and password on a forum website and then selected the "remember me" option, this preference would be saved using a cookie. The next time the user visits ... (view more)

Google has been tracking mobile device users movements even when they have "Location History" switched off. It turns out users need to turn off a less well-known setting to stop tracking altogether. The issue doesn't just affect devices running ... Android. Some iPhones are also affected if they have Google apps such as Maps or Search running. In theory, switching off the Location History setting on your device or in a Google account will prevent the company tracking and storing location information. The immediate effect is visible as the timeline feature in Google Maps will stop updating. ... (view more)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has banned military staff from using geolocation tools such as GPS-enabled fitness trackers in "operational areas." The move follows fears such data could be unintentionally public and threaten security. Earlier ... this year fitness tracker company Strava published a worldwide map showing the most popular routes for its users to run and carry out other exercise activity. The map showed routes in increasing levels of brightness depending on their popularity. Middle East Bases Unintentionally Mapped Several users then spotted several routes in countries such as ... (view more)

Google is being sued for a potential $4 billion over claims it intentionally bypassed security settings on iPhones. It's likely to succeed following similar cases in the past. The case has been filed in the UK by a group called 'Google You Owe Us'. ... They are seeking "representative action" status, which is similar to class action status in the United States. If that's granted, any settlement or damages in the case could apply to as many as 4.4 million people. (Source: theguardian.com ) Claims May Sound Familiar On the face of it, the case looks bad for Google as it covers the same issue ... (view more)

Fitness apps used by soldiers may have inadvertently revealed their location and activities while deployed overseas. They've been warned to activate privacy options that can prevent data collection. The problem is with an app called Strava, which ... lets users track their activity when they go running or cycling. It goes beyond some apps that simply allow individuals to keep their own records or choose to share them with friends for motivation or suggested routes. Instead, Strava combines all the data collected from a reported 27 million users and produces "heat maps" that show the most ... (view more)

Google has admitted it tracked the location of cellphone users even when they had location services switched off. It says it's now stopped an 11-month program designed to improve "message delivery." Having location services switched on allows an ... Android phone to collect information about a user's location, commonly combining GPS data, details of nearby WiFi networks, and the location of nearby cellphone towers - all of which can be detected by a phone. Google - and third party app makers - use this data for tools such as mapping, navigation and finding nearby outlets of a particular chain of ... (view more)

Uber has ditched a policy that meant it could track a user's location for five minutes after the cab has dropped them off. The move could be related to a change in management. Until last November, users had the option to only give the 'ridesharing' ... app permission to access location data on their phone while they were actually using it. Following an update, users had to choose between giving permission for continuous tracking or having location details switched off completely. Customers Choose Between Privacy and Convenience The latter option meant that although the app would still work, users ... (view more)