Day: February 11, 2020

Tens of millions of biz Dell PCs smacked by privilege-escalation bug in bundled troubleshooting tool

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dell has copped to a flaw in SupportAssist – a Windows-based troubleshooting program preinstalled on nearly every one of its newer devices running the OS – that allows local hackers to load malicious files with admin privileges. The company has issued an advisory about the flaw, warning that a locally authenticated low-privilege user could exploit Read more about Tens of millions of biz Dell PCs smacked by privilege-escalation bug in bundled troubleshooting tool[…]

Super-leaker Snowden punts free PDF* of tell-all NSA book with censored parts about China restored, underlined

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Snowden’s bestseller Permanent Record is now available as a free download in Chinese after Communist Party censors cut out all the parts of the former IT admin’s memoir referring to China’s Great Firewall censorship system. The Great Firewall is one of the main means, in the digital era, by which the party maintains its iron Read more about Super-leaker Snowden punts free PDF* of tell-all NSA book with censored parts about China restored, underlined[…]

Antarctica Just Set a New Temperature Record

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It’s positively balmy in Antarctica. The National Meteorological Service of Argentina announced on Twitter that its Esperanza weather station recorded a new high for the continent: 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit). The previous temperature record for Antarctica was set on March 24, 2015, when this same weather station recorded 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.5 degrees Read more about Antarctica Just Set a New Temperature Record[…]

Uncle Sam tells F-35B allies they probably won’t make minimum viable product unless they fly them a whole lot more

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US Department of Defense’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE) warned that the multinational F-35B fighter jet fleet is lagging behind a key flight-hours metric needed to show maintenance maturity. On top of that, the supersonic stealth jet project’s move towards Agile methodology for “minimum viable product” (MVP)-phased development of critical flight and Read more about Uncle Sam tells F-35B allies they probably won’t make minimum viable product unless they fly them a whole lot more[…]

Instagram-Scraping Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As legal pressures and US lawmaker scrutiny mounts, Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that claims to have a database of more than 3 billion photos scraped from websites and social media, is looking to grow around the world. A document obtained via a public records request reveals that Clearview has been touting a “rapid Read more about Instagram-Scraping Clearview AI Wants To Sell Its Facial Recognition Software To Authoritarian Regimes[…]

Almost Every Website You Visit Records Exactly How Your Mouse Moves

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When you visit any website, its owner will know where you click, what you type, and how you move your mouse. That’s how websites work: In order to perform actions based on user input, they have to know what that input is. On its own, that information isn’t all that useful, but many websites today Read more about Almost Every Website You Visit Records Exactly How Your Mouse Moves[…]

US gov buys all US cell phone location data, wants to use it for deportations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The American Civil Liberties Union plans to fight newly revealed practices by the Department of Homeland Security which used commercially available cell phone location data to track suspected illegal immigrants. “DHS should not be accessing our location information without a warrant, regardless whether they obtain it by paying or for free. The failure to get Read more about US gov buys all US cell phone location data, wants to use it for deportations[…]

Software error exposes the ID numbers, birthdays and genders for 1.26 million Danish citizens, 1/5th of the population

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A software error in Denmark’s government tax portal has accidentally exposed the personal identification (CPR) numbers for 1.26 million Danish citizens, a fifth of the country’s total population. The error lasted for five years (between February 2, 2015, and January 24, 2020) before it was discovered, Danish media reported last week. The software error and Read more about Software error exposes the ID numbers, birthdays and genders for 1.26 million Danish citizens, 1/5th of the population[…]

How to Remove Windows 10’s Annoying Ads Masquerading as ‘Suggestions’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a perfect world, every new computer with Windows 10 on it—or every new installation of Windows 10—would arrive free of annoying applications and other bloatware that few people need. (Sorry, Candy Crush Saga.) It would also be free of annoying advertising. While that’s not to say that Microsoft is dropping big banners for Coke Read more about How to Remove Windows 10’s Annoying Ads Masquerading as ‘Suggestions’[…]

Israeli Voters: Data of All 6.5 Million Voters Leaked

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A software flaw exposed the personal data of every eligible voter in Israel — including full names, addresses and identity card numbers for 6.5 million people — raising concerns about identity theft and electoral manipulation, three weeks before the country’s national election. The security lapse was tied to a mobile app used by Prime Minister Read more about Israeli Voters: Data of All 6.5 Million Voters Leaked[…]