ADNAUSEAM – Clicking Ads So You Don’t Have To

AdNauseam is a browser extension designed to obfuscate browsing data and protect users from surveillance and tracking by advertising networks. Simultaneously, AdNauseam serves as a means of amplifying users’ discontent with advertising networks that disregard privacy and facilitate bulk surveillance agendas. Source: ADNAUSEAM – Clicking Ads So You Don’t Have To

New IBM tech lets apps authenticate you without personal data

Identity Mixer is designed to protect users’ privacy by focusing just on the essentials of the proof. Thanks to a set of algorithms based on cryptography work done at IBM Research, the tool allows developers to build apps that can authenticate users’ identities using what’s known as a “zero-knowledge proof” that collects no personal data. Read more about New IBM tech lets apps authenticate you without personal data[…]

How TV ads silently ping commands to phones: Sneaky SilverPush code reverse-engineered

Earlier this week the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) warned that an Indian firm called SilverPush has technology that allows adverts to ping inaudible commands to smartphones and tablets. Now someone has reverse-engineered the code and published it for everyone to check. SilverPush’s software kit can be baked into apps, and is designed to Read more about How TV ads silently ping commands to phones: Sneaky SilverPush code reverse-engineered[…]

Massive Hack of 70 Million Prisoner Phone Calls Indicates Violations of Attorney-Client Privilege – calls recorded and searchable

The materials — leaked via SecureDrop by an anonymous hacker who believes that Securus is violating the constitutional rights of inmates — comprise over 70 million records of phone calls, placed by prisoners to at least 37 states, in addition to links to downloadable recordings of the calls. The calls span a nearly two-and-a-half year Read more about Massive Hack of 70 Million Prisoner Phone Calls Indicates Violations of Attorney-Client Privilege – calls recorded and searchable[…]

How to Create an Untraceable Messaging Device With an Old Phone

Secret, anonymous messages aren’t just for the dastardly. Luckily, a little privacy isn’t difficult to get. With some effort and a spare phone, you’ll be whistleblowing, protecting your privacy from harassers, and staying anonymous when selling on Craigslist or looking for dates on Match. Here’s how. Source: How to Create an Untraceable Messaging Device With Read more about How to Create an Untraceable Messaging Device With an Old Phone[…]

Cops are asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for their customers’ DNA

When companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe first invited people to send in their DNA for genealogy tracing and medical diagnostic tests, privacy advocates warned about the creation of giant genetic databases that might one day be used against participants by law enforcement. Source: Cops are asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for their customers’ DNA So, people Read more about Cops are asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for their customers’ DNA[…]

Microsoft now uses Windows 10’s Start menu to display ads

We’ve all become used to the idea of ads online — it’s something that has become part and parcel of using the internet — but in Windows? If you’ve updated to build 10565 of Windows 10, you’re in for something of a surprise: the Start menu is now being used to display ads. Source: Microsoft Read more about Microsoft now uses Windows 10’s Start menu to display ads[…]

EU Court of Justice declares that the Commission’s US Safe Harbour Decision is invalid

The EU courts have found that Safe Harbour means that the 4th Reich may not have EU citizens’ data beamed to it, unless the company doing the beaming (eg Facebook) is prepared to safeguard the data from spying by the KGB. I mean Stazi. I mean NSA. Source: The Court of Justice declares that the Read more about EU Court of Justice declares that the Commission’s US Safe Harbour Decision is invalid[…]

AVG to flog your web browsing, search history from mid-October

We collect non-personal data to make money from our free offerings so we can keep them free, including: Advertising ID associated with your device. Browsing and search history, including meta data. Internet service provider or mobile network you use to connect to our products. Information regarding other applications you may have on your device and Read more about AVG to flog your web browsing, search history from mid-October[…]

UK GCHQ stashes away 50+ billion records a day on people.

By 2010, GCHQ stated it was logging “30bn metadata records per day. By 2012, collection had increased to 50 billion per day, and work was underway to double capacity to 100 billion.”GCHQ has since “developed new population scale analytics for multi-petabyte cluster,” which allows “population scale target discovery.”In a vision document for 2013, its aim Read more about UK GCHQ stashes away 50+ billion records a day on people.[…]

Minority Report Predictive Policing hits US

The strategy, known as predictive policing, combines elements of traditional policing, like increased attention to crime “hot spots” and close monitoring of recent parolees. But it often also uses other data, including information about friendships, social media activity and drug use, to identify “hot people” and aid the authorities in forecasting crime. Source: Police Program Read more about Minority Report Predictive Policing hits US[…]

UK DRIPA privacy invasion blocked by EU courts

The judges identified two key problems with the law: that it does not provide for independent court or judicial scrutiny to ensure that only data deemed “strictly necessary” is examined; and that there is no definition of what constitutes “serious offences” in relation to which material can be investigated. For legal authority, the judges relied Read more about UK DRIPA privacy invasion blocked by EU courts[…]

ProxyGambit – anonymise your internet traffic via GSM or Radio links

ProxyGambit is a simple anonymization device that allows you to access the Internet from anywhere in the world without revealing your true location or IP, fracturing your traffic from the Internet/IP through either a long distance radio link or a reverse tunneled GSM bridge that ultimately drops back onto the Internet and exits through a Read more about ProxyGambit – anonymise your internet traffic via GSM or Radio links[…]

Fake Mobile Phone Towers Operating In The UK

Sky News has found evidence that rogue mobile phone towers, which can listen in on people’s calls without their knowledge, are being operated in the UK.IMSI catchers, also known as Stingrays, mimic mobile phone masts and trick phones into logging on.The controversial surveillance technology is used by police agencies worldwide to target the communications of Read more about Fake Mobile Phone Towers Operating In The UK[…]

How To Make A Secret Phone Call

His step-by-step instructions for making a clandestine phone call are as follows: Analyze your daily movements, paying special attention to anchor points (basis of operation like home or work) and dormant periods in schedules (8-12 p.m. or when cell phones aren’t changing locations); Leave your daily cell phone behind during dormant periods and purchase a Read more about How To Make A Secret Phone Call[…]