Category Archives: Privacy

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Google tracking your private browsing activity?

A class action was filed against Google on Tuesday, accusing the tech giant of invading the privacy of millions of users without their knowledge by tracking internet use even when using private browsing mode.   The class action accuses Google of tracking and collecting consumer browsing history and other web activity data even when using private browsing mode.  The complaint, filed to the District Court of Northern California, claims Google tracks users’ browsing data and other identifying information through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, and various other application and website plug-ins, such as Google applications on mobile devices and the Google Sign-In button for websites regardless of what mode of browsing is chosen. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Zoom won’t add end-to-end encryption so it can aid the police

Zoom’s decision not to add end-to-end encryption to free users’ calls keeps the door open for law enforcement cooperation, CEO Eric Yuan told analysts in a Tuesday conference call, as previously reported by Bloomberg. “Free user, for sure, we don’t want to give that because we also want to work together with FBI, with local law enforcement…” Yuan said. End-to-end encryption, which the videoconferencing company is currently working on, secures connections all the way from each device to every other device on a call. It’ll only be enabled on paid accounts…

CNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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That old Android phone might not be safe to use: 6 things to consider

If your Android phone isn’t running the latest software, your security and privacy might be in jeopardy. … Manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, Google and HTC only provide support to a phone for so long. Each new handset that’s released and each new version of Android require new threat assessment and patching. That’s a lot of work…

CNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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How to use an authenticator app to improve your online security

Want to avoid having your online accounts hacked? Enable two-factor authentication, a crucial security measure that requires an extra step when signing in to high-value services. I explain how to set up 2FA and which accounts to focus on first. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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Best password managers for business in 2020

Everyone needs a password manager. Period, full stop. It’s the only possible way to maintain unique, hard-to-guess credentials for every secure site you, your family members, and your team access daily.  The 15 programs listed in this guide share many core features.  On a Windows PC, a Mac, or a mobile device, you install a stand-alone program or browser extension that does the work of saving sets of credentials in a database whose contents are protected with high-grade, 256-bit encryption. To unlock the password database, you enter a decryption key (your master password) that only you know. …

ZDNet.com click the link to read the rest of the story.  Get our free tools here.

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The 6 life-changing tech habits you need this year

Most of these tech recommendations will make anyone smarter and safer, except # 6.  They are saying standard antivirus programs are not as good as Windows Defender, but you need something better than Windows Defender.  We only recommend Next-Gen Antivirus programs like Cylance, Sentinel, Carbon Black.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Cyber security 101: Protect your privacy from hackers, spies, and the government

Simple steps can make the difference between losing your online accounts or maintaining what is now a precious commodity: Your privacy.

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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fake software update downloads malware when you click ‘later’

The hacking campaign has two variations, according to tech security company Zscaler, which has been tracking it. In the first version, the crooks hack into insecure WordPress sites using the theme plugin vulnerability and inject malicious redirect scripts into the compromised site. This allows them to display a fake Flash Player update alert to the user over the compromised site, which aims to trick website visitors into starting a software update. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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How SMS Works—and Why You Shouldn’t Use It Anymore

Text messages are sent in a multi-step process. While your message might be encrypted from your phone to the first cell tower, it’s not encrypted after that. And your SMSC may keep the message even if both the sender and recipient delete it. ..

popularmechanics. com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Beware of public USB charging stations

Travelers are advised to avoid using public USB power charging stations in airports, hotels, and other locations because they may contain dangerous malware, the Los Angeles District Attorney said in a security alert published last week. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Is Microsoft OneDrive confusing? Start with this cheat sheet

For Windows 10 and Office 365 users, the default cloud storage service is Microsoft OneDrive. Use this guide quickly get up to speed on Microsoft’s cloud storage app. …

TechRepublic.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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How to prepare for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

CCPA is important because it represents the first real, comprehensive privacy legislation in the U.S. And because the CCPA applies to all California residents, any company that works with data from California residents will be subject to it.  …

Geek-wire.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Brave browser reaches v1.0, its first stable version

Brave, a privacy-first browser, rolls out its first stable release, complete with innovative features such as its own private ad platform and a users and websites rewards initiative. …  Developed from the ground up to be a privacy-first alternative to modern-day browsers, Brave 1.0 comes with many features not present in any other competitor’s software. This includes: Brave blocks all ads by default, and instead uses its own private ad platform, designed to work right inside the browser, and with a focus on preserving users’ privacy. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Google keeps a staggering amount of information about you. Here’s how to manage it

Google collects a staggering amount of information about you — maybe even more than you realize. Google remembers every search you perform and every YouTube video you watch. Whether you have an iPhone ($699 at Amazon) or Android phone, Google Maps logs everywhere you go, the route you take to get there, when you arrive and what time you leave — even if you never open the app. When you really take a look at everything Google knows about you, the results can be shocking — maybe even a little frightening. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do about it. …

Cnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

Have you reviewed your Google data, yet?

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FBI Warning: Multi-Factor Authentication Is Being Defeated

The FBI has now warned that it “has observed cyber actors circumventing multi-factor authentication through common social engineering and technical attacks.” … But according to the FBI, this use of secondary tokens or one-time codes to back-up usernames and passwords still isn’t enough. Unless companies employ “biometrics or behavioral information—such as time of day, geolocation, or IP address,” there is a risk that an attack can either trick a user into disclosing a multi-factor authentication code or use technical interception to create one for themselves. …

Forbes.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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America’s First Privacy Law Is Here: What it Means for Business and You

The new rules will have significant effects on U.S. business and on privacy norms. There remains, however, considerable confusion over how the law will be enforced, and how much of a burden it will be to U.S. companies. What follows is a plain English explanation of the law, the politics surrounding it, and how it will affect businesses and consumers. What is CCPA and why is it such a big deal?

Fortune.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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How The U.S. Hacked ISIS

In August 2015, the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, the military’s main cyber arm, were at a crossroads about how to respond to a new terrorist group that had burst on the scene with unrivaled ferocity and violence. The one thing on which everyone seemed to agree is that ISIS had found a way to do something other terrorist organizations had not: It had turned the Web into a weapon. ISIS routinely used encrypted apps, social media and splashy online magazines and videos to spread its message, find recruits and launch attacks.  A response to ISIS required a new kind of warfare …

NPR.org click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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California’s new privacy law gets teeth with proposed regulations

California proposed regulations on Thursday to dictate how the state will enforce its tough, new privacy law. The law, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act, gives consumers more control over how companies collect and manage their personal data. It goes into effect on Jan. 1.  The CCPA, seen as establishing the most stringent data privacy protections in the nation, allows people to request that data be deleted and gives them the opportunity to opt out of having their information sold to a third party. …

Cnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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OneDrive adds Personal Vault option for private files and photos

A new feature in the consumer version of Microsoft’s OneDrive lets you store sensitive files in the cloud with extra encryption and authentication options. But you’ll need an Office 365 subscription for unlimited access. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Silicon Valley is terrified of California’s privacy law. Good.

In a little over three months, California will see the widest-sweeping state-wide changes to its privacy law in years. California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) kicks in on January 1 and rolls out sweeping new privacy benefits to the state’s 40 million residents — and every tech company in Silicon Valley.  California’s law is similar to Europe’s GDPR. …

TechCrunch.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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How Much Is Your Privacy Really Worth?

Facebook alone hauls in about $30 per year in revenue per North American user, or about $2.50 per month, and, of course, it’s just one of the countless companies tracking your online behavior. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Simjacker attack exploited in the wild to track users for at least two years

Simjack exploits a technology residing on the SIM card, the attack also works independently of the user’s device type.  “We have observed devices from nearly every manufacturer being successfully targeted to retrieve location: Apple, ZTE, Motorola, Samsung, Google, Huawei, and even IoT devices with SIM cards,” researchers said.  The only good news is that the attack doesn’t rely on regular SMS messages…

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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An In-Depth Look Into All The Ways Google Tracks You in 2019

Have you been wondering how Google tracks you? What kind of data does it collect? What is this company doing with all that (incredibly personal) data? Well, I’ll do my best to untangle this purposefully-created mess of misleading marketing messages and hard-to-read privacy policies.

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Ransomware Attack Hits 20+ Local Governments In Texas

The number of local government entities in Texas affected by a ransomware attack is now up to 23. In a release Saturday afternoon, the Texas Department of Information Resources said the local governments reported the attacks Friday morning. The majority of them are smaller local governments. …The DIR said it is continuing to investigate the origin of the attack, but at the moment believes it came from a “single threat actor.”

Kut.org click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Warshipping: new hack tools shipped to your business

Researchers have described a new technique which could be used by cyber attackers to infiltrate corporate setups — with a little help from your friendly neighborhood delivery workers. … Dubbed warshipping, the technique is the result of the researchers’ investigation into possible infiltration methods through package deliveries to the office mail-room — or an individual victim’s front door. …

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Microsoft alert: Hackers using IoT to breach business networks

One of Russia’s elite state-sponsored hacking groups is going after IoT devices as a way to breach corporate networks, from where they pivot to other more high-value targets.  Attacks have been observed in the wild said the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center…

ZDnet.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Capital One Data Theft – What it means for you

Federal prosecutors this week charged a Seattle woman with stealing data from more than 100 million credit applications made with Capital One Financial Corp. Incredibly, much of this breach played out publicly over several months on social media and other open online platforms.  … That data included approximately 140,000 Social Security numbers and approximately 80,000 bank account numbers on U.S. consumers…

Krebsonsecurity.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Is Gmail’s new Confidential Mode the Snapchat-ification of Email?

Google announced that on June 25, 2019, Gmail’s new Confidential Mode will be switched on by default as the feature becomes generally available for both G-Suite and personal users.  For email recipients, it means that an email can be set to effectively self destruct after it’s been opened and read. No copying, forwarding or downloading either; email just vanishes as if it had never been. …

Medium.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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The New Ways Your Boss Is Spying on You

It’s not just email. Employers are mining the data their workers generate to figure out what they’re up to, and with whom. There’s almost nothing you can do about it. …

HOW TO KEEP YOUR PRIVATE LIFE MOSTLY PRIVATE

Maintain separate devices: Only use your employer-issued phone and laptop for work and keep a separate phone and computer for personal use.

Avoid linking your personal devices to corporate Wi-Fi networks: “Companies routinely log network activity to protect business interests, and most policies make clear there is no expectation of privacy of company equipment,” …

Be careful what you share on your resume: Recommends using a Google Voice or internet-based calling phone number rather than your cellphone number, and a commercial mail receiving address like a UPS store.

Use a USB data-blocker: These devices look like thumb drives and sit between a smartphone and a charging cord or dock. They protect smartphone data from being transferred to public charging stations, rental cars or company-owned computers.

Avoid leaking information: Don’t publish information about your personal life on public social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter profiles, which can be mined for potentially damaging information by your employer or a company where you have applied for a job.

WSJ.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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Microsoft adds OneDrive Personal Vault to secure your critical files

Microsoft’s OneDrive Personal Vault locks down a portion of your OneDrive cloud storage with time-limited two-factor authentication.  Personal Vault is designed for files you really hold dear: tax information, scanned passports, that sort of thing.  … Microsoft says that Personal Vault applies an extra layer of protection, essentially by reducing the timeout period. …

PCWorld.com click the link to read the rest of the story. Our FREE Tools can help!

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