Monday: May 17, 2010
- Google may have been accidentally snooping in on your wi-fi connections.
Let this be a lesson to you all to never leave a wi-fi network unsecured. The good news is that Google has agreed to stop collecting this data, at least for now.
Tuesday: May 11, 2010
- FYI, Windows 7 'compatibility checker' currently masquerading as trojan horse virus.
Once a victim has installed the software, criminals can pretty much do whatever they want on the PC, Cosoi said. That could mean installing a keylogger to steal banking credentials or even gaining full access to the hacked system.
Monday: May 10, 2010
- Cablevision decides not cripple their DVR service for their customer base.
Don't worry, you won't be losing the ability to fast forward through commercials for now. The article has some interesting tidbits about how your DVR habits are tracked and the legal purposes as to why their DVR system functions the way it does.
Tuesday: April 13, 2010
- New study discovers that frequent password changes are basically useless.
someone who obtains your password will use it immediately, not sit on it for weeks until you have a chance to change it. 'That’s about as likely as a crook lifting a house key and then waiting until the lock is changed before sticking it in the door,' the Globe says.
Monday: April 12, 2010
- Nine little known secrets to living past the ripe old age of ninety.
You don’t need hours of unbroken sleep as you age, but you do need a solid seven to nine hours of sleep when you get older. So if you do it a little bit at a time, napping in the afternoons, and getting sleep at night (even if it is disjointed) it can help you live longer.
Monday: April 5, 2010
- Yes, the Apple iPad has already been jailbroken - it only took one day.
A jailbreak was virtually expected following the iPad's launch, but the rapid discovery has shown that the iPhone 3.2 firmware used on the device hasn't patched all of the security holes that were present in the 3.1.3 code.
Tuesday: March 30, 2010
- A list of the ten riskiest cities for cyber-crime. Good to know.
Traveling to Seattle, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Raleigh, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Denver, Austin or Portland in the near future? Make sure your computer is up to date with the latest virus protections and all of that - although it may not make much difference.
Wednesday: March 24, 2010
- Security flaws over at the IRS could mean that your personal data might be at risk.
The Internal Revenue Service's failure to use strong passwords, install patches quickly, and adequately control access to computer systems and information makes the system vulnerable to insider threats and attacks from outside, a new government report concludes.
Wednesday: March 17, 2010
- Blockbuster would like you to know that they may be going bankrupt in the near future.
'Our level of indebtedness may make it more difficult for us to pay our debts as they become due and more necessary for us to divert our cash flow from operations to debt service payments,' the company said in its filing.
- Turns out that more and more employers are using tech to track workers.
This post details just how easy (and cheap) it is in this day and age to monitor exactly what people are doing in the workplace. If you happen to have some sort of job in a tech-related field - it's even easier. If you think Big Brother is watching you - well, he probably is.
Monday: March 15, 2010
- Netflix decides to cancel new contest amidst privacy concerns.
The retreat announced Friday settles a lawsuit alleging Netflix's plans to release millions of movie-rental records that could have illegally exposed sensitive information about its subscribers' tastes and lifestyles.
Thursday: March 11, 2010
- New survey shows that 12% of employees knowingly violate IT policies.
With 12 percent of those people actively working outside of stated IT policy (and plenty more who do so out of ignorance), IT admins certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to maintain a tight ship.
Tuesday: March 9, 2010
- Your rechargeable batteries may come with a free Trojan horse virus.
The battery maker said it does not know how the Trojan got into the software. 'Energizer has discontinued sale of this product and has removed the site to download the software,' the statement said.
Friday: March 5, 2010
- Turns out that Microsoft has a secret phone waiting for use with Verizon's network.
The phone is dubbed as 'Project Pink' (but may just end up being called 'Pink') and runs the brand new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system. Verizon is most likely the exclusive carrier.
Wednesday: February 10, 2010
- Microsoft decides to finally fix a security hole that plagued them for seventeen years.
Much as been made of the fact that the hole is 17 years old, but Ormandy said he informed Microsoft about it in June 2009. 'You can criticize them for taking a long time to fix a bug,' but not if they didn't know about it, said Pedram Amini, who runs the Zero Day Initiative.
Friday: January 29, 2010
- A handy tutorial regarding how to permanently erase data off of a hard drive.
Feeling a little insecure about your personal data on that old hard drive? Follow these steps to make sure none of that data can ever be recovered again even after you ditch the hard drive. You must destroy the platters!
- Cyber extortion of the U.S. power grid quite rampant according to McAfee.
What Americans don’t know, however, is that many of these enterprises are paying extortion fees to hackers who compromise their systems, threaten operational shutdowns, and demand payment to desist.
Tuesday: January 26, 2010
- FAA would like to make sure that next generation 747 is hack-proof.
Essentially, the FAA seemed worried that the 747-8 will be vulnerable to outside access and that the 'applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for these design features,' mandating the issuing of the special conditions.
Wednesday: January 13, 2010
- Facebook to team up with McAfee for beefed up security operations.
Become a fan of McAfee on Facebook and get ten percent off your next anti-virus subscription. To qualify you'll need to purchase McAfee's Internet Security Anti-virus Privacy System Protection Suite. Enjoy.
Wednesday: December 30, 2009
- Paper airplane manages to set brand new flight record over in Japan.
If you can make a paper airplane capable of staying in flight for more than twenty-six seconds (using just one sheet of paper and nothing else) alert your local news station because you've just broken a record.
Wednesday: December 16, 2009
- No one is safe from Facebook's new privacy settings, not even their CEO.
This opening may be a result of Facebook's new default settings; or could be a result of Zuckerberg trying to reverse the PR debacle of the new privacy system by opening up the content himself; or could be a combination of both.
Wednesday: December 9, 2009
- Facebook to start reminding all users about their current privacy settings.
As part of this initiative, all Facebook users will be prompted to review and confirm their privacy settings. The page will list the items with privacy that needs to be confirmed and give users the option to retain their existing setting or change it to a setting Facebook recommends.
Tuesday: December 8, 2009
- Ten of the most alien-like insects currently residing on this planet.
Go ahead and enjoy this gallery of alien-like insect photography. For the squemish, it's probably better to view this link post-breakfast. I find assigning each insect a ridiculous cartoon voice makes the whole thing more enjoyable.
- Yahoo decides to launch an online privacy tool for all of us consumers
In the past, users were able to rejected targeted ads, but they weren't able to edit and modify their personal preferences — for instance, saying 'no' only to ads for video games or ads with a health focus.
Friday: November 13, 2009
- Five tips for fixing up your Facebook page from the folks at CNN.
Article covers everything from how to block a friend's annoying Farmville stats to setting up privacy for your racy uploaded photos. Happy Facebooking.
Monday: November 9, 2009
- World's first iPhone worm is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down.
In addition to his own iPhone being attacked, he said a flatmate's iPhone 3G was also sullied with the image of Astley. Users who tried to delete the image were chagrined to find it reappear once they rebooted their device.
Tuesday: November 3, 2009
- A handy tutotial on how to browse the Interwebs without leaving a trace.
A comprehensive guide from the folks at Lifehacker regarding how to surf the web and then make a successful attempt at covering your tracks. Not that you have anything to hide, right?
Monday: October 19, 2009
- These days even a parking ticket can masquerade as a computer virus.
Drivers found the following message on the yellow ticket on their windscreen: 'PARKING VIOLATION This vehicle is in violation of standard parking regulations'. The ticket then instructed drivers to visit a website...
Thursday: October 15, 2009
- Some Kindle tricks and features that you not have previously known about.
Yes, it's quite possible to take screenshots and play games with your beloved Kindle. Who knew?
- A list of the top seven technology disasters of the decade.
In what has been called the largest credit card crime of all time, earlier this year, Heartland Payment Systems announced that hackers had broken into the computers it uses to process about 100 million transactions each month for 175,000 merchants.
