websites

Microsoft has joined a group determined to ditch the traditional password as a security measure. The group wants to develop alternatives that are more capable of protecting our favorite devices and most sensitive data. The group is called the FIDO ... (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, which is based around the idea that passwords, although widely used and easy to understand, are an inherently flawed security measure because they can be guessed or stolen. Although many new authentication measures -- such as fingerprint scans -- have emerged and are more secure from a technical perspective, FIDO ... (view more)

A member of international hacking group Anonymous has been sentenced to three years in prison for attacking a series of law enforcement websites. John Anthony Borell III will spend the next thirty-six months in a federal penitentiary. The ... 22-year-old Borell is a native of Ohio but the sites he targeted were based in all parts of the continental United States. During the early part of 2012 Borell hacked the websites of police agencies located in Utah, New York, and California. He also targeted a municipal government website based in Missouri. Utah Police Site Disabled For Three Months Court ... (view more)

The war of words between China and the United States over alleged cyber-espionage continues. A Chinese government official has revealed data that he says shows US sources are behind more than a million annual attacks on two Chinese websites. An ... American security firm recently published a report indicating that a Chinese hacking group has carried out at least 140 security breaches of US websites in an attempt to steal sensitive information. US Firm Tracks Hacks Back to China The report said the group's attacks could be traced back to a specific building in Shanghai known to be operated by a ... (view more)

We recently received this question about pinning items to the Windows 8 desktop: "Dear Infopackets team, Last week, when complaining about having to sift through an extensive list of my preferred websites under the "Favorites" tab in Windows 8's ... Internet Explorer, one of my co-workers suggested that I start pinning these sites to my desktop. I went home to do some more research and stumbled upon a website called "Pinterest." Yes, I can upload my favorite websites, but it looks like everyone will be able to see my list if I decide to go this route. I really don't want to make this a ... (view more)

The French government has persuaded one of that country's major Internet providers to drop a plan that would have blocked all website advertising automatically. Government officials said the move could have placed the future of many successful ... websites in doubt. Free, a broadband provider to more than five million French subscribers, proposed to update software on its cable modems to, by default, block website advertisements. Its customers would see a blank space where advertisements appeared on websites delivered via its competitors' Internet services. (The firm's name -- Free -- reflects ... (view more)

An international law enforcement effort has taken down 36 websites allegedly responsible for selling stolen credit card information. In Europe, three men were arrested over claims they bought and sold the personal data. The operation was led by the ... United Kingdom's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The two agencies oversaw raids in the UK, US, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Ukraine and Australia. Officials say they have been working on the case for two years. The three dozen disabled websites were allegedly offering packages ... (view more)