Security
Orion Browser by Kagi: Privacy-centred performance
In a browser landscape dominated by data-hungry Chromium derivatives and restrictive ecosystems, Orion Browser by Kagi stands out as a WebKit-based alternative that prioritises verifiable zero telemetry, built-in content blocking, and native performance on Apple devices. For privacy-conscious users seeking Safari’s efficiency with Firefox’s extensibility and Chrome’s compatibility, Orion delivers—though not without trade-offs.
Now you can buy a bulletproof suit
Sure most of us don't need a bullet proof suit but it sure sound very James Bond-esque. Garrison Bespoke uses a special carbon nanotube material so that the suits are flexible and normal. The minute a bullet makes contact with the material, it hardens to protect the principal wearing this magical clothing. The material is 50% lighter than Kevlar (the traditional bullet proof material) and was tested to stop .22 and .40 caliber bullets. Before you run out to buy one, its important to remember that this wondrous tech costs about $US20,000 but I'm sure the intended customers can easily afford this additional layer of protection.
How to detect counterfeit headphones
There are thousands of counterfeit products being sold on Craigslist, Kijiji, eBay and other consumer to consumer online sites. During a trip to New York last year, I even found counterfeit Apple products and headphones being sold in a brick and mortar store. As a consumer, you want to make sure you are buying the real thing. First rule of thumb Counterfeit products never perform like the real authentic product. Don't listen to what anybody says, they just don't. Best case, the counterfeit product just per form’s bad.
Anonymous is targeting Zynga because of "unfair layoff" practices
Anonymous has now targeted the game-maker Zynga after its latest round of layoffs. The group called the layoffs “an insult to the population” and an “end of the U.S. game market.” Anonymous wants Zynga to reverse course or they will release documents showing Zynga plans to move jobs to other countries and they threatened to release a bunch of Zynga games for free. The company has been given until November 5, which is also Guy Fawkes Day. Although Anonymous is a powerful enemy, some organizations have been able to take a stand against them and have thrived.
SilentCircle protects you from espionage or government monitoring
I not only work in Information Security, I love it. In the era of “everything digital”, nothing else is as important. Well imagine my excitement when I learned of a newly formed company, called SilentCircle, which was promising a very secure yet easy to use communication product. The company The company says that it was started by 2 former Nacy Seals and the world-renown creator of PGP, Phil Zimmermann. It wanted to create a military grade encryption product for securing phone calls (VOIP), text messages, emails and video.
You are Facebook's product, not its customer
Anytime Facebook makes a site change or updates one of its mobile products, users get angry and rant about how “Facebook isn’t listening to the needs of its customers” or “How Facebook is out of touch with what its customers want”. I’m going to make a bold statement you probably won’t like but You are not Facebook’s customer, you are one of their products. Facebook’s only goal is to monetize the social graph of its users. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself how Facebook keeps the lights on.
Site refuses to delete my account
All of my accounts (username/password) are stored in LastPass and every quarter, I browse the and identify the accounts I no longer find useful. Using the built in account management features of most sites, I can delete my account myself and in some rare cases, I have to send a customer service email asking for the deletion. DVOR.com was one such site which had originally interested me but that I found "less interesting" after a while and wanted to delete my account.
Skype is spying on your instant messages
A couple of weeks ago, a group of hackers accused Skype (now owned by Microsoft) of changing its underlying architecture to make eavesdropping easier. It is still unknown if Skype/Microsoft can intercept your voice calls but reading their privacy policy, it is clearly written that they can and do comb through instant messages (which is stores for 30 or more when permitted by law) sent via the Skype service. The reason voice interception is unknown is the use of a common legal term called “includes but is not limited to” which means they list some services they monitor but reserve the right to monitor others.
Samsung accuses LG employees of theft
The Associated Press is reporting that 11 people have been charged with Intellectual Property theft from Samsung related to its advanced OLED TV technology from Samsung. 6 of those people have been identified as LG employees. LG has officially denied these claims but Samsung is sticking to its guns and claiming “systematically stole its display technology and poached Samsung employees.” A good reminder to business managers to evaluate their Intellectual Property protection systems and risk management frameworks.
Real world phishing scam with the mail service
When I mention phishing scams, you rightfully think about online tricks used to steal user information. But many of us still use the national mail service and some backwards thieves have started using a real-world phishing scam with USPS (blue) mailboxes. Would be phishers are coating the inside of the mailbox chute with an adhesive. This means they can then easily pass by and steal your mailed check or letter containing your personal information (useful for identity theft). Although this latest scam is in Texas, the USPS has said there have been over 30 arrests for similar scams in the last year.
Simplify password management [for free] with LastPass
Every couple of weeks, we hear about another site being hacked and user account information being stolen. Security evangelists are constantly asking the community to choose complicated passwords and to not reuse the same password for multiple sites. The biggest complaint I hear is that the above makes remembering passwords impossible. But guess what… you don’t need to remember them because of a fantastic free tool called Lastpass. Lastpass is a strong and easy to use password manager that offers 85% of its functionality for free and has plug-ins for most modern browsers.
A social networking privacy experiment
All too often, people forget to secure their facebook profile page and then post stupid self deprecating comments that site can easily scoop up and archive forever. This may be a good time for you to read my post on securing your Social Media information found here. We Know What You’re Doing is the brainchild of an 18 year old web programmer who wanted to show the world just how stupid people can be. Using the publicly available Graph API, his site collects interesting updates and categorizes them into one of these categories:
Take 2 minutes to secure your social media information
If you are like most social media users, you grant [app] access to your account way too easily and probably have dozens, even hundreds of apps with read and write access to your accounts. Take a second and think about what this means for your online privacy (or lack thereof). The tool Tech entrepreneur, Avi Charkham, faced the same dilemma and was frustrated by how much time it took him to locate the account permissions pages for the 8 most popular social media sites (often taking 5 clicks or more ).
Governments are requesting more user info from Google
Google geeks and privacy advocates love Google’s “Transparency Report” (now in its 5th version). In the latest version, it is interesting to note an upward trend of requests Google defines as “troubling”. An interesting new feature is the ability to see aggregated court orders and other requests worldwide. To add some meat to this discussion, consider the fact that from July to December 2011, governments requested information on 28 562 user accounts. This number includes requests for user information and takedown requests for blog posts and videos.
A review of SocialFolders
With over 900 million registered Facebook users, social networking is now a now a household term. You are likely to hear a teen talking about it as a grandmother. These sites are an excellent way to keep in touch and share your life with others. Whether you are dealing with the established 800 pound gorilla or a new technology company freshly out of their “garage”, you should start to think about locally backing up your social life. Think of locally backing up your social information as “social life insurance” in case your networks of choice get bought, shut-down or dramatically change their business model.
Popular journal app Path uploads your personal contact information without notice
Well well… another day, another security issue with a popular mobile app. This time the culprit is a popular life journal app called Path. Arun Thampi discovered that Path uploaded his entire address book (names, numbers, emails) to Path without his prior consent. Arun highlighted the fact that the app never asked for permission to upload this type of sensitive info to Path. Path’s founder and CEO responded to Arun: “We upload the address book to our servers in order to help the user find and connect to their friends and family on Path quickly and [efficiently] as well as to notify them when friends and family join Path.
TSA agents may steal your belongings
Would you be surprised if I told you that some TSA agents have been caught stealing from passengers? The TSA is reporting that an agent at JFK may have stolen up to $5,000 in cash from passengers as their personal affects rolled down the screening conveyor belt. Another TSA employee, this time in Dallas, has been put on administrative leave because he may have stolen up to 8 iPads from passengers. MSNBC interviewed (Nico Melendez ) a TSA spokesperson who made some interesting recommendations for travellers:
Be safe when staying in a hotel (part 4) - Hotels are for spying
In most countries, a hotel is simply a convenient place for you to stay and recharge. Without naming any specific countries, local intelligence agencies in some of them are known to use hotels as an information collection tool on guests. In these countries, you should assume that everything you do is monitored including telephone conversations via the telephone assume the hotel's internet service is monitored assume the room is bugged for audio monitoring and sometimes even video This being said, it is important to never leave your laptop, PDA or confidential/important documents in the room.
Be safe when staying in a hotel (part 3) - What to do when checking in
When travelling, it is best to assume that anyone can be a hostile. When you pull up to the hotel, ensure all of your luggage is removed from the taxi or bus. Stay with your luggage until it is brought into the hotel lobby. Even in the lobby, always keep an eye out for your luggage. Remember that thieves are always looking for distractions and a busy lobby may be the perfect opportunity to snatch your items (or stuff something) in your bag.
Be safe when staying in a hotel (part 2)
How to choose the safest hotel room Always choose a room between the 4th and 6th floor (never lower and never higher). The 6th floor maximum is in place because most fire department truck ladders have a maximum height equal to the 6th floor[ of most hotels]. Any higher and rescue during an emergency becomes problematic. The 4th floor recommend is in place to make it difficult for someone to enter your room from the ground floor (from the outside).