5 Things We’ve Learned About How Companies Track You Online And Off

The ability for companies to follow you from one platform to another — from your phone to your laptop to a physical store — is called cross-device tracking, and for businesses that want to market and sell stuff to you, it is basically the holy grail. With robust tracking, a company can follow you basically Read more about 5 Things We’ve Learned About How Companies Track You Online And Off[…]

Windows DRM can find your IP without you knowing if you’re watching properly signed wmv and asf files, can uncloak your tor anonymity

If you were to modify the above WRMHEADER or any of the three identified GUID objects you would find that on opening in Windows Media Player you are prompted with a warning from Windows Media Player. However, this warning DOES NOT appear if the DRM license has been signed correctly and the Digital Signature Object, Read more about Windows DRM can find your IP without you knowing if you’re watching properly signed wmv and asf files, can uncloak your tor anonymity[…]

Google, unlike Microsoft, must turn over foreign emails: U.S. judge

A U.S. judge has ordered Google to comply with search warrants seeking customer emails stored outside the United States, diverging from a federal appeals court that reached the opposite conclusion in a similar case involving Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O). U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rueter in Philadelphia ruled on Friday that transferring emails from a foreign server Read more about Google, unlike Microsoft, must turn over foreign emails: U.S. judge[…]

Vizio coughs up $2.2m after its smart TVs spied on millions of families

California electronics maker Vizio will cough up $2.2m after its smart TVs spied on millions of people. America’s trade watchdog, the FTC, said today the payment will settle a complaint filed by the state of New Jersey accusing Vizio of violating privacy regulations: the biz had collected the viewing habits of 11 million television sets Read more about Vizio coughs up $2.2m after its smart TVs spied on millions of families[…]

Want to come to the US? Be prepared to hand over your passwords if you’re on Trump’s hit list

Previously, tourists, travelers and visa holders were warned they may have to hand over their online account names and handles so their public profiles can be studied by border agents and immigration officials. Now Kelly wants to take that further, by demanding passwords from some visa applicants so g-men can log into Twitter, Facebook, online Read more about Want to come to the US? Be prepared to hand over your passwords if you’re on Trump’s hit list[…]

Trump’s ‘Extreme Vetting’ for US Visitors Could Involve Social Media Posts and Browser Histories

Phone numbers, browser histories, and social media posts are all examples of the sort of data that could be mined from those entering the US under Trump’s “extreme vetting” policy, Department of Homeland Security secretary John Kelly said today. As Talking Points Memo reported, Kelly held a press conference this afternoon to discuss the president’s Read more about Trump’s ‘Extreme Vetting’ for US Visitors Could Involve Social Media Posts and Browser Histories[…]

Secret Rules Make It Pretty Easy for the FBI to Spy on Journalists

Secret FBI rules allow agents to obtain journalists’ phone records with approval from two internal officials — far less oversight than under normal judicial procedures. The classified rules, obtained by The Intercept and dating from 2013, govern the FBI’s use of national security letters, which allow the bureau to obtain information about journalists’ calls without Read more about Secret Rules Make It Pretty Easy for the FBI to Spy on Journalists[…]

Dropbox: Oops, yeah, we didn’t actually delete all your files – this bug kept them in the cloud

“Typically, we permanently remove files and folders from our servers within 60 days of a user deleting them. However, the deleted files and folders impacted by this bug had metadata inconsistencies,” Dropbox employee Ross S said on the company’s support forum. “So we quarantined and excluded them from the permanent deletion process until the metadata Read more about Dropbox: Oops, yeah, we didn’t actually delete all your files – this bug kept them in the cloud[…]

U.S. government begins asking foreign travelers about social media

NEW YORK — The U.S. government quietly began requesting that select foreign visitors provide their Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts upon arriving in the country […] Since Tuesday, foreign travelers arriving in the United States on the visa waiver program have been presented with an “optional” request to “enter information associated with your Read more about U.S. government begins asking foreign travelers about social media[…]

Way More People Will Now Have Access to the NSA’s Raw, Unfiltered Data

Previously, when the NSA passed data it collected through its secretive, advanced, and sometimes illegal methods, an NSA analyst would strip the data that pertained to innocent people, and would only pass on what they deemed necessary. Now, when the NSA shares information with another intelligence agency, it will pass on the raw data, with Read more about Way More People Will Now Have Access to the NSA’s Raw, Unfiltered Data[…]

Uber’s Latest Update seeks location and phone info from non Uber-using friends

Now, instead of plugging in an address, you can sync up your contacts and choose a friend’s name. The lucky buddy will receive a request from Uber—via push notification if they’re an Uber user, and via text message if they’re not—to provide their location. If they accept, their location is then transmitted to the driver, Read more about Uber’s Latest Update seeks location and phone info from non Uber-using friends[…]

The New and Improved Privacy Badger 2.0 Is Here | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Privacy Badger is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers that would otherwise follow you around the web and spy on your browsing habits. Privacy Badger now has approximately 900,000 daily users and counting. Third-party tracking—that is, when advertisers and websites track your browsing activity across the web without your knowledge, control, or Read more about The New and Improved Privacy Badger 2.0 Is Here | Electronic Frontier Foundation[…]

Uber begins collection of rider location data – whether using the app or not

The app update (it’s 3.222.4, for those keeping track) changes the way Uber collects location data from its users. Previously, Uber only collected location information while a user had the app open – now, Uber asks users to always share their location with the ride-hailing company. Uber says that, even though it can harvest your Read more about Uber begins collection of rider location data – whether using the app or not[…]

These Are The 48 Organizations That Now Have Access To Every Brit’s Browsing History

While the UK was obsessing with Brexit and its aftermath, parliament quietly passed a contentious snooping law that gives authorities, everyone from police and spies to food regulators, fire officials and tax inspectors, the right to legally look at the internet browsing records of everyone in the country. […] Which government agencies have access to Read more about These Are The 48 Organizations That Now Have Access To Every Brit’s Browsing History[…]

Google’s Photo Scan App Makes Backing Up Old Snapshots Easy as Hell

The Photo Scan app launched by Google today for iOS and Android lets you scan printed photos in just a couple of seconds, using machine learning to correct imperfections in the capture process that they look great every time. Here’s how it works: Download the app, and open it up. You’ll see a viewfinder. Hold Read more about Google’s Photo Scan App Makes Backing Up Old Snapshots Easy as Hell[…]

Shazam listens to you on macs, even when you turn the mic off

Once installed, Shazam automatically begins listening for music, Most (security-conscious) users probably don’t want Shazam listening all the time. Shazam appears to oblige, seemingly providing an option to disable this listening: However, sliding the selector to ‘OFF’ did not generate the expected, “Mic was deactivated” OverSight alert. My first thought was perhaps OverSight had ‘missed’ Read more about Shazam listens to you on macs, even when you turn the mic off[…]

Chemical traces on your phone reveal your lifestyle, scientists say

Scientists say they can deduce the lifestyle of an individual, down to the kind of grooming products they use, food they eat and medications they take, from chemicals found on the surface of their mobile phone. Experts say analysis of someone’s phone could be a boon both to healthcare professionals, and the police. “You can Read more about Chemical traces on your phone reveal your lifestyle, scientists say[…]

Facebook Will Let Brands Send You Ads If You’ve Messaged Them Before

According to Facebook, if you send a message to a company, they then have permission to send you sponsored messages—or as we humans call them, ads. These will be unprompted “highly targeted, in-context” ads. Businesses that already have chat bots set up can start using the new feature immediately. Source: Facebook Will Let Brands Send Read more about Facebook Will Let Brands Send You Ads If You’ve Messaged Them Before[…]

Nvidia Tracking you on Windows now – and how to stop it (for now)

In the case of Nvidia, Telemetry gets installed alongside the driver package. While you may — and should — customize the installation of the Nvidia driver so that only the bits that you require are installed, there is no option to disable the Telemetry components from being installed. These do get installed even if you Read more about Nvidia Tracking you on Windows now – and how to stop it (for now)[…]

Atlas Recall will slurp your data and allow you to find it back from any (cough) device

The page tells you they take privacy seriously, but with that I guess they mean they seriously don’t think you should have any. I guess this is the reason it’s only available for OSX or iphone – only Apple people would be dumb enough to send literally all their data to some company. Source: Atlas Read more about Atlas Recall will slurp your data and allow you to find it back from any (cough) device[…]

Inaudible Soundwaves Expose a Spooky New Pathway for Hackers

The underlying technology in question is known as ultrasonic cross-device tracking, or uXDT. Cross-device tracking has been called a ‘holy grail’ for marketers, allowing them to, for instance, tell your phone when you’re watching a particular TV show, or share data about laptop web browsing to your tablet. […] The UCL team says the lack Read more about Inaudible Soundwaves Expose a Spooky New Pathway for Hackers[…]