Law enforcement officials are seeking help from a professor at Michigan State University with creating a special 3D printed replica of a homicide victim's fingers in order to unlock his phone using his fingerprints. In theory it sounds like a brilliant idea, one that would sidestep the potentially contentious process...
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The same hacking group that claimed responsibility for ticking off every Pokemon Go player on the planet by overwhelming the game's servers with a DDoS attack last weekend is planning another attack. Poodle Corp, as the hacker group calls itself, issued a notice on Twitter that the next barrage on Pokemon Go's servers...
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Security and related IT topics can be a little dry and tasteless at times, not to mention overly complex. There’s no question that, especially with the alarming rise of data breaches, advancing security innovation is vital to the future of technology, the enterprise and the Internet. But let’s face it, the rocket...
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If you're surfing the Internet with a browser (a rarity, we know), there's a new bug to be cautious of. With a bit of simple JavaScript, a browser's HTML5 History API can be called upon thousands of times, ultimately causing a meltdown. Of course, a dedicated website (CrashSafari.com) exists to act as a proof of...
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Over the past couple of years, and especially since the Snowden revelations, the general public has become more aware of the importance of protecting themselves while enhancing their privacy. You might think, then, that the majority of those folks would be in favor of abolishing warrantless wiretapping of our Internet...
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It's no secret that a countless number of mobile apps indulge in a bit more of our data than we'd like, and many even handshake with external servers, causing us to wonder what on Earth they're doing. Well, as some researchers at MIT have found out, a huge number of the top 500 apps on Google's Play Store send data...
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Last summer, we learned about a super-invasive piece of hardware called "StingRay" which law enforcement can put to use to keep an eye on cellular communications in a given area. Since then, those who make use of StingRay have wanted nothing more than for us to forget about it, and in some cases have tried to deny its...
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Considering that Android is installed on around eight out 10 smartphones around the world, it was pretty scary to find out about Stagefright, a vulnerability that's present on almost all of them. Even more frightening is that in many cases, the exploit could be triggered with a simple text message. In theory, an...
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The developers behind the uber-popular Plex media center software have revealed that their databases have been breached, and of course, that means just one thing: you might have a password or two to change.
In an email sent to affected users, Plex developers note that only its forum and blog were compromised, and...
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After mainboard vendors began adopting EFI en masse in recent years, security researchers all over have dissected the many different implementations out there to find that elusive crippling bug. Sometimes, though, such bugs are not actually elusive at all, like one just discovered by reverse engineering enthusiast...
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The market may be filled to the brim with image and video sharing websites, but one of the oldest ones, Photobucket, still proves to be a popular choice. As we're now finding out, though, it's a choice you may want to reconsider if you have an account with the service.
The US Department of Justice yesterday...
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A serious flaw has been discovered in the software component of some routers that feature a Realtek chipset. In particular, routers that utilize a Realtek RTL81XXX chipset and also use the 1.3 SDK (or older, potentially), are vulnerable to an exploit that could see executable code run as root.
Because it's not...
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Pepcom’s Digital Experience gives the media a chance to take a sneak peek at some of the coolest gadgets as CES kicks off, so we checked out the latest gear from HP, Patriot, and the like. This year we found ourselves dodging a number of drones, including Parrot’s Bebop, which hovered at about eye-level, taking in the show with its built-in
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The Department of Justice's U.S. Marshals Service division has reportedly been employing fake cellphone towers on planes in an effort to stay one step ahead of criminals such as drug dealers and terrorist organizations operating in the United States. Unfortunately for law abiding citizens and privacy advocates at...
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When people think about Internet security, they still think of the various bugs, flaws, and malware that pervade the online world as a Windows problem. Macs have long enjoyed special status thanks to limited market share, while smartphones aren't generally considered to be an attack vector, no matter which OS you...
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Making lemonade out of a situation wherein his credit card info was stolen in the UK and the thief went on a shopping spree, PayPal president David Marcus took the opportunity to preach the gospel of PayPal. “My card (with EMV chip) got skimmed while in the UK. Ton of fraudulent txns. Wouldn't have happened if merchant accepted PayPal…”,...
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Looking for a career change? Consider becoming a professional bug hunter. Don't worry, it's not as gross as it sounds. We're talking about software bugs, such as pieces of code with unintended consequences or underlying security vulnerabilities. Turns out you can make a lot of money doing this kind of thing. For...
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Payback? Perhaps. With the National Security Agency in the wrong kind of spotlight of late, this is probably sweet for many to read. What's being described as "chronic electrical surges" at an NSA data-storage facility have "hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of machinery and delayed the center's opening for a...
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Fueled by the recent NSA leaks brought forth by Edward Snowden regarding PRISM, along with other government eavesdropping programs that have since been brought to light, Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde and a small team have begun work on what I hope becomes a de facto chat client: Hemlis. What sets Hemlis apart...
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Amid increasing threats of cyber attacks by foreign forces, the White House is reportedly going to release an executive order intended to improve the nation's cyber defenses. Details of the directive are expected to be released during a briefing tomorrow morning at the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to The...
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There are some basic rules to follow when selecting a password. For example, while we're sure your significant other is a fine person, using their name as your password is a terrible idea. Same goes for your son's birthday. The object is to select a series of characters and symbols that's nigh impossible to guess, but it doesn't stop there....
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There was a moment in time where our smartphones and tablets offered all of the wonders of the powerful mobile computing without the cloying downside of security threats we became so accustomed to with our desktops and notebooks. That moment has more or less passed, as individuals and companies alike are getting wise...
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