Survey Shows Teens Are Concerned About Their Screen Time

August 30th, 2018

According to a recent survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 54 percent of teens say that they spend too much time on their cellphones.

Acknowledging you have a problem is the first, necessary step toward correcting it, and the survey reports that significant percentages of teens are taking steps to do just that.

Encrypted Chats Are Now Available In Skype

August 29th, 2018

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it had entered into a partnership with Open Whisper Systems, the makers of the Signal app.   The purpose of the partnership was to bring Signal's open source, end-to-end encryption protocol to Skype.

As of the latest Skype builds, that is now a reality.

Gmail Releases New Confidential Mode 

August 28th, 2018

Google has introduced a new Gmail feature called "Confidential Mode," which seeks to make sending and receiving important or sensitive emails more secure.  Unfortunately, it may have inadvertently created as many problems as it solves.

Here's how the new feature works, and why you may be leery of using it:

To send a confidential email, compose your message as normal, and then, click the "lock" icon located at the bottom of the email screen.

New Intel Vulnerability Named Foreshadow Found

August 25th, 2018

Intel has had a tough time of things so far this year.  The most recent trouble stems from yet another newly discovered security flaw in the company's processors, bearing the inelegant name of "L1 Terminal Fault," or "Foreshadow" by those who have discovered it.

Macs Can Be Hacked With Synthetic Dismissal On Warning Boxes

August 24th, 2018

Depending on the lens you view him through, Patrick Wardle (former hacker for the NSA and macOS security expert) is either your best friend or your worst nightmare.

Most people (whether fans of Apple or not) will readily concede that the company works hard to make their products as secure as possible.

Fax Machines Might Be Gateway To Next Hacker Attack

August 23rd, 2018

Nothing bad could possibly happen to your company's network if the only piece of information the hackers have is your fax number, right?

Unfortunately not, according to recent research by employees at Check Point.

They recently revealed details about not one, but two different REC's (Remote Code Execution) techniques that exploit flaws in the communications protocols of tens of millions of fax machines spread all over the globe.

Cortana May Have Flaw Allowing Unauthorized System Access 

August 22nd, 2018

Researchers at McAfee have demonstrated a method that hackers could use to perform an end-run around Cortana and access data, run malicious code, or even change a locked computer's password.  In this case, however, the emphasis is on the word "could.

Android Still Tracking Users With Location History Turned Off

August 21st, 2018

According to Google's support page on the matter, disabling your phone's "Location History" in your phone's privacy settings will prevent Google from tracking every move you make.

The support page reads as follows:

"You can turn off Location History at any time.

Social Media App Filters Could Alter Beauty Perception

August 20th, 2018

File this one away under "unintended consequences."  There's a newly emerging trend in the medical community called "Snapchat Dysmorphia" that's leaving plastic surgeons around the country to sound the alarm, and in some cases, scratch their heads in disbelief.

Survey Shows People Are Most Concerned About Data Theft

August 18th, 2018

How seriously does the average consumer take data theft?  It's an interesting (and fair) question, and one that Radware recently attempted to answer when the company sent out surveys. They contacted more than three thousand people to conduct its recent survey titled "Consumer Sentiments: Cybersecurity, Personal Data and the Impact on Customer Loyalty.