Tag: Security
PayPal advises Safari users to ditch their browser
Ever popular eBay has sent a warning to anyone using the Safari browser to access its PayPal service.
Apparently, because Safari currently lacks any form of “anti-phishing” and Extended Validation measures, it makes it a terrible security threat. Extended Validation is a system which turns the browser’s address bar green if the user is visiting a safe site.
Michael Barrett, PayPal’s chief information security officer, said that, “Apple, unfortunately, is lagging behind what they need to do, to protect their customers. Our recommendation at this point, to our customers, is use Internet Explorer 7 or 8 when it comes out, or Firefox 2 or Firefox 3, or indeed Opera.”
All-knowing ISPs may start advertising to you based on how you surf
It would be naïve to think that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) doesn’t hold an incredible amount of information about you. Unless you’re incredibly stealthy / geeky, they have access to every web site you view, every email message you send, every instant messaging conversation you hold… well I could go on, but you get the idea.
Now, a formula: ISP with a lot of personal information about you + ISP wanting to make more money = showing you targeted advertising while you use the Internet.
In reality, some ISPs have probably already been sharing bits of your data with other companies, but now a company called Phorm wants to insert relevant ads as you surf.
Hand-drawn passwords on the way – everyone to start using a drawing of bosoms
Some “scientists” are developing a way to let us all use drawing instead of numbers for passwords. So instead of simply typing “1919” or “BradPitt69” you’ll be forced to fumble for a stylus and attempt to recreate the drawing of your private parts you foolishly set as a pass-drawing.
The idea is that these drawings will be harder to copy and easier to remember, a bit like a signature. The exciting new thing about this version of the technology is…
AT&T is getting all 1984 on yo' asses, so if you criticise them, you're out
Want another reason to dislike those sharks at AT&T? As if the awful mobile reception and huge phone bills weren’t bad enough, stories have surfaced in the past few days about their controversial Terms of Service, which allow the US company to terminate a customer’s service if acts of a defamatory or damaging manner are made against their reputation.
If caught criticising them on blogs, for instance, they reserve the right to terminate your connection completely. A spokesperson for the company however denied they would stoop to censorship…
A third of social networking users enter false information to protect their identities
A growing trend amid all the Web 2.0 hype is concern over whether your MySpace or Facebook profile is a security risk. Certainly if you’re a smart identity thief, you could probably retire from rooting through dustbins, in favour of simply scanning social networks for people who give up too much information.
It seems many people are aware of this, though. A survey conducted by research firm Emedia suggests that 31% of users have entered false information on their profiles to protect their identity, while 62% say they’re worried about the safety of their personal data on these sites.
Keep an eye on things with the RC Surveillance Cam
Do lots of people really want to set up their own home surveillance systems? Normal people, I mean, who don’t live in expensive houses that could be robbed at any minute by a passing burglar.
The makers of the RC Surveillance Cam hope there’s a market. Costing £119.95, it consists of a camera, and a handset which you use both to control the cam’s pan’n’tilt, but also to watch the live streaming footage on a 2.5-inch screen, and listen through the speakers.
Facebook opening up public profiles to search engines
Log in to your Facebook profile (of course you have one) and you may see a new alert letting you know that you could soon have a “public search listing”.
Facebook’s developers yesterday announced that they’d be opening up publicly-available member profile information to the likes of Google and other search engines, and allowing non-members to search for people from the front page of Facebook.
All users have a choice over whether their listings are accessible in this way, by altering their privacy settings. However, given recent member stupidity, that’s easier said than done. A lot of Facebook users, it has to be said, are more interested in adding bizarre applications and letting their personal information spread itself all over the place, rather than limiting their profiles.
Buffalo intros TurboUSB-charged USB hard drives, speedy file transfer and performance
Buffalo Technology has announced the availability of an enhanced range of MiniStation and DriveStation products, now featuring TurboUSB technology which is supposed to significantly improve the speed of file transfers and overall performance.
The TurboUSB MiniStation is a portable, shock-resistant USB 2.0 external hard drive, offering up to 64% better file transfer rates than traditional USB 2.0 hard drives. It features a wrap-around cable, tough armoured outer case, and shock-absorbent internal design, and is able to draw its power from the PC via a powered USB port or hub. It will come in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 250GB, and 300GB capacities.
Buffalo’s TurboUSB DriveStation is intended for users who want to easily back up their files, and boosts file transfer speeds by up to 37%. It comes in capacities of 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB. The unit features an auto-setup function, auto power-on, and auto-backup scheduling.
House of Lords Committee wanted to redesign the Internet, until told they couldn't
Whether they’d been talking to Elton John, or just wanted to live up to their popular reputation, isn’t clear, but the House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee (bet you didn’t know they had one, did you?) recently decided that the Internet had bad things in it, and needed to be redesigned in order to make it more secure.
Believing the Internet to be like “‘a Wild West’ operating outside of the law”, their report claimed that, “While the internet supports astonishing innovation and commerical growth, it is almost impossible to control or monitor that traffic that uses it. So we have to ask the question, whether it is possible to redesign the internet more securely?”
Panasonic eyes up new walkthrough iris-recognition gate
One of the best technology launches I’ve ever attended was for some new iris-recognition based ID systems for airports. Why? It’s the only press conference where serious security journalists were asking questions like ‘Could it detect severed eyeballs?’ and ‘Can it tell a live person’s eyes from a dead person’s?’. I wanted their jobs.
