security

A "smart" security camera maker has suffered a significant data breach. No video footage was leaked, but email addresses and details of some home gadgets were exposed. Manufacture Wyze hasn't revealed full details of how the breach happened, but ... denied that the leak was due to using cloud computing in China. According to Wyze, the exposed data covered 2.4 million customers and included "customer emails along with camera nicknames, WiFi SSIDs, Wyze device information, body metrics for a small number of product beta testers, and limited tokens associated with Alexa integrations. ... (view more)

Russian leader Vladmir Putin still uses Windows XP if official photographs are to be believed. Ironically it might actually be a security measure. The photos released by the Russian state news agency show Putin's computers in his Kremlin office and ... his official residence. In both cases the screens are displaying the toolbar and icons from XP, though the default desktop background image is replaced with a picture of the Kremlin. (Source: themoscowtimes.com ) It would certainly be frowned upon (if not entirely shocking) for senior government officials in the West to still be running XP due to ... (view more)

The FBI has warned users to think carefully when buying and using "smart" televisions. The warning is based on the idea that many people have bought or will buy new televisions either as part of "Black Friday" or in time for Christmas. The warning ... from the FBI's Portland office is based partly on the prospect that people might not have set out to buy smart sets, but that most or all of the TVs on offer currently have such features. (Source: techcrunch.com ) Cameras and Microphones on Some Sets A "smart" television is simply one that has an Internet connection. Previously that's mainly been ... (view more)

Mozilla has removed security tools from Avast and AVG from the Firefox extension store. It says the tools are collecting too much personal data about users. The extensions are third-party tools for the Firefox browser that add extra functionality to ... web browsing. In this case, the advertised purposes include highlighting and blocking malware that could be downloaded, and warning users when a page may be part of a phishing attack. That's where a user is tricked into typing in personal details into what they think is a legitimate site. Mozilla acted after online posts by Wladimir Palant, who ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gina V. writes: " Dear Dennis, I watch a lot of sermons from my church online, but since around October this year I keep getting 'An unanticipated problem was encountered, check back soon and try again. Error code: ... MEDIA_ERR_UNKNOWN' I don't understand what this means. I have searched Google and it seems a lot of people have the MEDIA_ERR_UNKNOWN Chrome error message when playing videos in the web browser. I also have a MEDIA_ERR_UNKNOWN Firefox error. I'm not sure what to do next. Can you please help? " My response: Generally speaking, the 'MEDIA_ERR_UNKNOWN' is a generic ... (view more)

Google is to use outside help to scan apps before they go into the Google Play store. It says the move is needed to cope with the continuing increase in the number of rogue Android apps. Just two weeks ago, 21 Android apps were reported to be rogue ... ; in early September, 24 apps were found to be rogue . The new "App Defense Alliance" involves Google working with three security companies, namely: ESET, Lookout and Zimperium. They all specialize in mobile security with a particular emphasis not just on spotting individual rogue apps, but on figuring out common characteristics and clues ... (view more)

Google has taken yet another step to try to kill off Adobe Flash. The move will dramatically reduce the visibility of Flash content in its search results. Adobe Flash was once innovative and the primary way for delivering animated and interactive ... content online, including online-based browser games and even advertisements. Even so, many web designers seemed more interested in showing off their creativity with Flash rather than making a usable and useful site. Adobe Flash Security Bugs Severe As far back as 2010, Apple made the decision to ditch Flash entirely from its devices - a move that ... (view more)

Security researchers have exposed more than 20 rogue Android apps that secretly load ads as part of a scam. The rogue apps perform their advertised tasks for cyber criminals, but also drain batteries and overheat phones in the process. It's another ... embarrassment for Google as all the apps were found in the official Google Play Store, which is designed to vet apps to reduce the chances of malicious activity. Remove These Rogue Android Apps Now Researchers at ESET antivirus say they found 42 apps have been part of an orchestrated campaign running since July last year. They were able to ... (view more)

Facebook is set to face a $35 billion class action lawsuit over claims it used facial recognition tools without permission. The case will proceed despite Facebook's protest that no one suffered direct financial losses. The case is taking place in ... Illinois, where three individual lawsuits from 2015 were combined into a single class action case. It's based on Facebook using automated recognition on uploaded photographs. The way it works is like this: let's say that Bob uploads a photograph to Facebook, which also includes his friend Alice. After the upload is complete, Facebook scans the ... (view more)

Microsoft is working with PC makers to tackle malware that strikes before Windows is loaded into memory. It's adapting a technology currently used for the Xbox games console. The "Secured-core" initiative is designed to overcome a big limitation ... with most Windows security tools: they only work once Windows is already running. That doesn't tackle malware that targets the computer's firmware. This is software, usually called BIOS or UEFI, than runs immediately when a PC is switched on. Its main role is to check all the hardware is in place and connected, then load up the operating system such ... (view more)