2019
How to secure a smartphone
Smartphone hacking is a very lucrative business “threat actors”. Vulnerability broker Zerodium is now paying as much as $2,500,000.00 for an Android full chain (Zero-Click) with persistence. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2496"]<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/4034d23fdb.jpg" alt=" https://zerodium.com/program.html "> https://zerodium.com/program.html [/caption] The increased payouts and interest in smartphone hacking isn’t because they are easy targets but because they are valuable. For most users, the smartphone is like a second brain. It contains personal data and insights like nothing ever has in the past.
The Google Pixel 4 isn't a good deal
Many friends and colleagues asked why I am not buying the Pixel 4, here is my diatribe. I am a big gadget geek. I love everything new and shiny, I have been an early adopter of every single Nexus, and Pixel phone Google has ever made. The Pixel 4 is their first device I will not acquire and here is why. Why I buy Google-branded devices? I am a big fan of Google-branded devices because they show what Google believes their software can do running on optimized hardware.
How to search the web while protecting your privacy
They want to know everything about you It is no secret that every advertising-funded site (Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Bing, etc) works very hard to build a complete profile about you. They want to know as much as possible so they can sell expensive highly targeted advertisements. Every search you perform, every site you visit, every link you click is recorded and analyzed. You live in a filter bubble The profile we talked about above is also used to return information the site believes you will like most (therefore making themselves more sticky).
Don't buy the Zendure SuperPort or SuperTank
The Zendure SuperPort and SuperTank are positively talked about on hundreds of blogs throughout the internet. I ordered (I paid for it) 2 SuperPort USBC chargers and a SuperTank 27,000 mAh battery. Both devices have the same design defect. When you have something plugged into the 100-watt port and then plug/unplug another device in the 60-watt port, it resets the 100-watt port every time. My first 2 SuperPorts were sent back to Zendure for engineering review and the 2 replacements also exhibit the same behaviour.
How to install Firefox on a Chromebook
There are many reasons why you may want to install Firefox on a Chromebook (could be for security, privacy or just as a technical challenge). You could install the Android app but that isn’t a full featured browser. Here are the instructions on how to install it in the Linux container. Go to Settings <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/44e5e1a112.jpg" alt=""> Search for Linux and Turn it On. <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0405fafba9.jpg" alt=""> You will get the installation window.
It's time to evaluate your company
As we pass to the second half of the year, many companies start their annual merit review cycle. It is an opportunity for your leaders to evaluate the corpus of your work and determine how much value you delivered to the company (thus deserving a salary adjustment). What employees often forget is that they too should use this period as an opportunity to determine if they are doing the right job, in the right company & at the right compensation level.
The Phoozy spacesuit for your smartphone
What is a Phoozy? The Phoozy is a NASA space-suit inspired jacket for your phone that protects it from the searing rays of the sun or the frigid battery killing cold of winter. Have you ever gone to the beach and noticed your phone refusing to start with a temperature warning message (even though it was "protected" from the sun by a sun-umbrella?) The same happens at the other temperature extreme where the phone refuses to start because the components are too cold and the phone tries to protect itself.
Watch Netflix safely in the office
A new Chrome extension (called Netflix Hangouts) will make your Netflix stream look like a 4 person video conference by adding 3 additional video boxes onscreen. The Netflix show is housed in the bottom right hand box. You engage the extension by clicking on it and you stop it by clicking on it again (or closing the Netflix tab). <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0a5a30e66c.jpg" alt=""> This will not trick network based traffic inspection devices. It just makes the screen look more business like.
Operational security tips to safeguard your privacy when crossing a border
Every week I read about another traveller that is hassled at the border to turn over his laptop, tablet or smartphone and their associated passwords. Knowing that a stranger has gone through your personal “stuff” feels dirty (similar to being robbed). A question I get asked often by readers, friends and colleagues is “How do I travel through international borders without worrying that my life will be put on show for some stranger with a badge?”. You don’t believe that this can happen; here are some interesting articles:
Review of the Asus C434 Chrombook
I am lucky enough to have the chance to test a tone of devices every year. Chromebook testing is an interesting endeavour because the higher end units usually are fantastic to use, while the cheaper products are slow and clunky. Chromebooks that live in the middle ($500-600) typically inherit the bad characteristics from both categories. The mid-priced ($600) Asus C434 doesn't fall into this typical model. Build quality Most (non-premium) Chromebooks feel cheap and flimsy. They creek and crack when you grab them from an edge.
VPN Support coming to Linux apps on Chromebooks
It seems everyone has jumped on the VPN bandwagon these days. On Chromebooks, we can use VPN extensions, but these don't protect Android apps. We can use Android VPN apps, which protect the entire ChromeOS (including Android apps but not Linux apps). So what happens today? Even if you have an Android VPN running, the Linux apps go our via your origin IP bypassing the VPN network adapter. If you need to use a VPN with the Linux container today on ChromeOS, you have to install a Linux VPN client in the container itself.
Comparing NordVPN and ExpressVPN
This is not a sponsored post, and none of the links are affiliate links? Readers regularly ask me to compare NordVPN to ExpressVPN "Can you compare NordVPN to ExpressVPN?" "Is NordVPN better than ExpressVPN?" "Is ExpressVPN faster than NordVPN?" Both NordVPN and ExpressVPN are considered to be top of the line premium VPN services. Both offer similar premium services and functionality such as: reliable connectivity fast connection speed well designed strong encryption 30-day money back guarantee
Send large file via the internet securely and for free
I wrote about the original test version of the free Mozilla Firefox Send service in July 2018. <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/8f643b0a3a.jpg" alt=""> Mozilla Firefox Send is a free service open to any user, accessible with any browser, that allows you to securely send a large (up to 2.5GB) file to another internet user. The process is very simple, you upload a file, they provide a unique link that you share with the intended recipient. The file can be expired after one to one hundred downloads or 1 to 7 days.
Mozilla Firefox 67 will allow letterboxing to protect your online identity
September 2016 I wrote an article entitles “Your browser will betray your identity” that discussed the various techniques legitimate (marketers) and illegitimate (threat actors) use to keep track of your identity even if you aren’t logged into any of their sites. The purpose-built TOR version of the Mozilla Firefox browser has (for a while) implemented a technique called letterboxing to protect users from this type of nefarious identification through browser fingerprinting. Most browsers allow a site to send client-side javascript code that detects the display size of the browser.
Smartphone chargers just got a powerful upgrade
This is NOT a sponsored post. Anker Atom PD-1 <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/1ac68fe707.jpg" alt=""> At first glance, the Anker PD-1 may seem unremarkably normal looking. After all, it looks like the small wall charger that came included with your iPhone. It is almost the same size as that iPhone charger, but it delivers a full 30 watts of USBC power (it’s 35-40% smaller than the equivalent MacBook charger). Ravpower 45W PD Charger <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/89d899c494.jpg" alt=""> Ravpower have taken the same technology to greater heights by designing a slim (14mm) 45 watt USBC charger .
GrandCrab Ransomware As A Service (RaaS)
What is GrandCrab? GrandCrab is a successful ransomware that encrypts files on the infected machine and demands payment to decrypt them. Easy Money What is you are a horrible human being willing to make gains from the suffering of others but you are lazy. You want to screw other people but don’t want to spend the time setup your own Command and control server? You don’t want to customize the malware to talk to your C2 server? This is where Ransomware as a Service comes in.
Exciting new multi-monitor feature coming to Chromebooks
Every professional understands the power of a dual screen setup. The additional real estate enables a more fluid and productive work process. I use a tone of platforms (mainframe & mini to Mac, Windows and Linux) and I find that ChromeOS handles multi-screen setups with ease and grace. Every time I have hooked an external display to a "good" Chromebook (something that costs $500 or more), it has worked flawlessly immediately without having to fiddle or fine tune. I have successfully connected 2 external monitors to my Pixelbook at work using a Lenovo USB hub but this isn't something most people will have access to and therefore the 3 monitor option normally isn't used.
Google to protect users from IDN Homograph Attacks
What geeks call an International Domain Name Homograph Attack, the general public callstypo-squatting. This is when threat actors buy domain names that are close to popular ones hoping to trick users, examples: gma1l.com instead of gmail.com paypa1.com instead of paypal To help protect users from these tricksters, Google is launching Navigation suggestions for lookalike URLs. Think of this as an AI powered auto-correct for URLs. This feature is in active experimentation in Canary 70 and should enter the mainstream version in the coming months.
TorCard selling international bank accounts
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1003”]TorCard #TOR based #darkMarket is selling bank accounts for about 10% of the accounts balance. Accounts come from the#USA, #Italy , #France , #UK , #Germany and #Spain . aqdkw4qjwponmlt3.onion/Buyaccoun… #Theft #Fraud #Cyber #Security #Infosec [/caption]
TOR Cardshop selling stolen creditcards, Western Union, Moneygram
. A #TOR #Darkweb hidden marketplace is selling stolen #creditcards #Moneygram #WesternUnion & #Paypal balances [vgw2tqqp622wbtm7.onion](http://vgw2tqqp622wbtm7.onion/) 5 #Visa/#Mastercard CCs for $499. A $7,599 @WesternUnion money transfer for $499. #Fraud #Theft #Security #Cyber #Infosec