John Lister

Yesterday Mozilla's security chief told users to stop using the latest edition of his company's browser. Michael Coates said the first release of Firefox version 16 contained a serious security flaw. Fortunately, hackers were unable to exploit the ... flaw and Mozilla has since offered a solution to the problem. The problem was particularly serious because Firefox users may have unknowingly upgraded to the new edition. Mozilla uses background updates, so security patches and new editions are downloaded and installed without user control or approval. Most of the time this isn't a problem. In this ... (view more)

A security company has come up with a way to reduce the effectiveness of website hacking. The plan is to split customer passwords and store them in two or more separate locations. The idea for split passwords comes from security firm RSA, which says ... the new technique aims to frustrate hackers who breach website security in order to acquire user names and passwords. Sometimes that data are stored without any encryption. Even when they are encrypted, hackers are often able to break the encryption, given enough time. Such breaches of security can be particularly dangerous if any of the site's ... (view more)

Several security advisors are warning Skype users to watch out for bogus messages with links that install malicious software. Once installed, a worm virus may pretend to hold the user's files hostage and demand payment for releasing them. Graham ... Cluely of security firm Sophos warns that the scam involves instant messages rather then voice or video chats. Potential victims receive a message containing phrases such as "lol is this your new profile pic?" The message includes a link that takes the user to a Google website featuring their own Skype name. In fact, the link points to "Goo.gl ... (view more)

A prototype car offers self-driving technology with a twist: valet-style parking. The Nissan vehicle, which is codenamed NSC-2015, can also foil thieves by streaming live footage of a potential break-in. This new model was recently shown off by ... Nissan at a tech conference in Tokyo. Several companies are already working on driverless cars. However, in the few locations where their use is or will be allowed, laws say a driver must be inside the vehicle to take over in case of a malfunction. Nissan could circumvent these laws if the feature is used only on private land, such as driveways and ... (view more)

A woman whose business intentionally scammed computer users by means of bogus security software has been ordered to pay a $163 million fine. Kristy Ross was vice president of Innovative Marketing, a firm legally registered in Belize (likely for ... favorable tax purposes) but actually operating out of Ukraine. The company has been the subject of legal action by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the past four years. (Source: ftc.gov ) Bogus Security Scan Attracted Customers Innovative Marketing's business was actually a scareware scam: placing bogus website ads that pretended to scan a user's ... (view more)

Manufacturers of a three-dimensional printer have pulled the plug on a customer who planned to use the device to make a replica hand gun. The 3D printer works like a standard laser printer, but with two key differences. First, it uses a special ... "ink" made of plastic that becomes solid when heated. Second, it can print multiple layers on top of one another. Because the printer is driven by a computer, users can "print" almost any 3D shape using design software. 'Printed Gun' Info Tests Free Speech Limits A group called Defense Distributed wants to use the technology to make a point about ... (view more)

Tech analysts are questioning whether the new Windows Store will have enough software available when Windows 8 launches later this month. It could make it difficult to build momentum for such a big change in the way software is distributed. Windows ... 8 will introduce people to a new way to acquire and install software. Until now Windows users acquired software from developers and used an installation tool provided to them by that developer. Microsoft thinks there are a couple of problems with this process. Firstly, software developers don't always follow Microsoft's preferences for the ... (view more)

Iran's government has removed its block on Gmail in that nation, claiming it didn't mean to restrict access to the service. It now says the block was an unintended result of a deliberate effort to stop Iranians from viewing YouTube. These new claims ... contradict an earlier comment from an Iranian official who said last week: "Due to the repeated demands of the people, Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide. They will remain filtered until further notice." Another government official now says: "Unfortunately, we do not yet have enough technical know-how to differentiate between these two ... (view more)

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has banned several companies from using spy software on computers they rent out. The banned software not only logged users' keystrokes but unobtrusively accessed the computers' webcams. PC Rental Agent is the ... software that appears to have been used in more than 400,000 "leasable" computers around the world, including those rented out by 1,617 rent-to-own stores in North America and Australia. (Source: ftc.gov ) The software is ostensibly designed to track down computers when rental customers disappear with the machines. However, the FTC has ... (view more)

Business groups are objecting to government proposals to restrict the way websites collect data about children. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly prepared to disregard that opposition. Back in early August the commission ... announced its proposed changes, designed to bring old rules (written in the 1980s) up-to-date. Advertisers Forced Into Major Changes The new rules dramatically change how online advertising works. Under the new scheme, advertisers could no longer show children behavioral ads, which are selected based on the child's browsing history. In addition, for ... (view more)