Three contrasting examples:


No 'web snooping' bill while Lib Dems in government

Home Office plans to store details of Britons' online activity will not happen while the Liberal Democrats are in government, Nick Clegg has said. ...

... The prime minister's official spokesman said the reality was that technological change had not gone away and, while it was a sensitive issue, action was needed "to respond to those changes".

Mr Clegg said he would be willing to accept changes to take account of new technology - such as ensuring each mobile device had its own unique IP address.

But, he said: "What people have dubbed the snooper's charter - I have to be clear with you, that's not going to happen.

"In other words the idea that the government will pass a law which means there will be a record kept of every website you visit, who you communicate with on social media sites, that's not going to happen.

"It's certainly not going to happen with Liberal Democrats in government." ...


CISPA row: Slurped citizen data is ENORMO HACK TARGET

... the head of the security firm said the legislation could create several problems, not least of which was the equivalent of sticking a giant 'Hack Me' sign on the government's info stores.

The US cybersecurity bill, which passed through the US House of Representatives last week, would allow the US government to share "cyber threat intelligence" with private-sector entities. Crucially, the proposed law would also allow the firms to share their customers' web traffic information - among other things - with the Feds.

CISPA's critics also argue that the law would create a mechanism for private businesses to share intelligence with government, including private data, without judicial oversight. ...



Your phone may not be spying on you now - BUT it soon will be

... The AndroidOS-Chuli-A Trojan thrown against Tibetan protestors was "not that sophisticated for Android malware", according to Maslennikov, who explained that by targeting smartphones, spies could swipe contact information from the device and its SIM card that would be hard to obtain with other techniques.

Maslennikov described last month's Tibetan attack as a shape of things to come, rather than a one-off. Infiltration attempts using combinations of social engineering skills, zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits are more and more likely.

Meanwhile, the commercial FinFisher (AKA FinSpy) application, produced by Anglo-German firm Gamma International and marketed as a “lawful interception” suite, allows cops and spooks to infiltrate and monitor computers...


And then also there are the main IT players and still the old-school credit card and 'loyalty' cards players...

Do you know how they will have you spend your money?... And what else?


IT is what we make it,
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Is this the 'proprietary way' of abusing FLOSS?


Lots of router vulnerabilities, not many patches

... Routers from Linksys, Netgear and repeat offender D-Link are affected. Some of the vulnerabilities can be exploited to inject commands remotely. ...

...

Martin

that is why i spin my own router...

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That will stop the neighbours getting free internet :-)

As long as you use the powerline security, as anyone on the same phase and on the same side of the transformer could also see your adapters. Apparently it has happened!!

My last three BT home hubs have a secure Wi-Fi password set by default. So no real chance of the neighbors getting free Wi-Fi. Saying that I am part of the BT FON program so my router has a small part allocated to free BT Openzone Wi-Fi for any BT customers within range. Also gives me free Wi-Fi almost everywhere.

Possible reason for no "switch". One of the customers I do support work for has a shop in Covent Garden. The were having problems with their Wi-Fi. I was asked if I would have a look. So traveled from home to Covent Garden, checked the router, switched the Wi-Fi back on, traveled back home and charged the customer for two hours work. No one realised there was a switch!!

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If they want to surf dodgy porn sites, well that's their problem, and it will cost them to buy something better.

If by porn you mean celebrity gossip and music, then your statement is correct.

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@Gary - It is well known that the vast majority of all internet virus infections come from porno sex sites which are usually hosted in Eastern Europe or the Far East. More people visit those sort of sites than anyone is prepared to admit. Hence the proposed law changes in the UK to make Internet users "opt in" to be able to visit them via their ISP.

That is the oft quoted assumption.
http://wxerfm.com/blogs/post/bolson/2012/may/04/guess-what-internet-sites-are-most-likely-give-you/

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Apparentely all modern powerline adapters come as a "matched pair" with inbuilt passwords that the user only need to alter if adding extras. But yes the actual data is available to all homes on the same feed from the main transformer.

I have to say "hating" Wi-Fi is a bit strange. While staying away I kept in touch 100% on Wi-Fi. Also while on holiday in the US once again I kept in touch 100% on Wi-Fi, no other way. To me Wi-Fi is one of the best advances in recent technology wouldn' want to be without it.

The customers Wi-Fi router DID have a hardware switch and it was OFF. That was the reason NOT to have them.

PS Everyone who uses the internet should have the best possible protection as ANY site can harbor nasties. Expect the unexpected.

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I agree with Chris about Wi-Fi we invented it and it's crap to easy to hack $80 and you can buy a divice that captures packets and bing go you have somebody's password never think your Wi-Fi is not crackable .I have a Wi-Fi routor but all my machines are wired to it

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@Bernie - Very interesting comment about the powerline adapters. I thought that they only used the electrical wiring within an individual premises. Are you suggesting that my next door neighbours on the same leg from the local sub-station could access them as well? There appears to be no security that the powerline adapters have other than to sync with each other on the same circuit.

What did you think stopped the signal getting past your meter box? To a device like that, the incoming mains feed is just an extension of your house wiring.

The devices may be a "matched pair" but I'd be interested to know what encryption they use. Somehow I doubt they would be as secure as a well set up WiFi router. Just much less noticeable.

I have no doubt that someone who knew what they were doing could hack them pretty easily.

T.A.

The devices may be a "matched pair" but I'd be interested to know what encryption they use. Somehow I doubt they would be as secure as a well set up WiFi router. Just much less noticeable.

I have no doubt that someone who knew what they were doing could hack them pretty easily.

From what I have read you are correct but of course you can only hack them if you are on the same circuit, but yes a determined neighbor would probably have more luck than with a strong WPA-2 Wi-Fi password.

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One to watch out for...


Your phone may not be spying on you now - BUT it soon will be

Smash it with a hammer now, it's the only way to be sure

Eastern European governments' mobiles allegedly snooped on by state-sponsored hackers. Malware feared injected into gadgets during customs inspections.

You've seen these headlines. And according to Kaspersky Lab’s senior malware analyst Denis Maslennikov, there will be more of the same.

In March, Tibetan activists were hit by a highly targeted form of Android malware that accessed their contacts, call logs, text messages, location data, and other information. ...


Note also that there are readily available apps to deliberately report the position of a GPS enabled smartphone to a web server so that the phone (and you) can be tracked. There's also the various social media sites experimenting with tracking you so that you can be notified when 'friends' or 'things you might want to buy' are nearby.

And then there is the handset tracking that is a part of the mobile phone system operation to keep your phone connected to a base station for making quaint old fashioned phone calls. That data is recorded by the phone company and can be made available to others...


IT is what we make it...
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Bit of a non-story there! just switch off & take the battery out solves that problem.

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My old company trialed an iPhone app that allowed managers to track engineers. It was quite successful. You could view an online map that gave a position update at set intervals. No idea if they used it as I moved to a different group. This was 3 years ago so phone tracking apps are not new.

And yes if you don't want anyone to know, where you are or what you have been doing, it's best to switch you phone off forever and disconnect any computer or tablet from any connection to the internet. That is the only way to be totally safe.

Enjoy.

PS Your "friends" on Facebook can report to all their and your friends if they are with you and where!

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Keep your old phone like say a Nokia E63 no gps but is 3g and a so called smart phone .

Ops that whont work they the men in black sunny's and a trench coats can still find you cameras everywhere and face recognintion software .

Are you a person of interest ?

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Oh no I better go and do wot the Kori's do go walkabout in the bush

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Here's an issue that can be problematic if setup the wrong way & its one that I've seen companies move more & more to since the economic crisis started....

..just how is the term "Monthly" seen by computer systems?

My wife has just fallen foul of it. For some considerable time she purchased a weekly travel ticket to cover her transport costs to work. Over the years the cost has been increased, not by much, but it all adds up.

Recently, she was talking to staff at the local bus station & they informed her that as a regular commuter, she would be better off financially if she purchased their new Smart Card, which is only monthly.

Weekly = £13.00
Monthly = £52.00 (we never went for this as a photocard was required which curtailed anyone else from using it, compared to the weekly one where anyone can use it)
Smart Card = £42.50

Just over a year ago, the monthly changed to 28 days & still at a cost of £52.00.

The smart card was setup by a regular recurring monthly payment from her debit card & as she is paid on the last working day of every month, we started the initial payment on the 3rd April as the payments are taken a few days before the actual renewal date - in this case 3rd May, so she expected the next payment to be taken on 1st May, which is no problem as she gets paid on the 30th April.

On checking her e-mail this morning, she has found 2 e-mails from the bus company & payment company stating that her card had failed - date received 28th April.

As far as I'm concerned, Monthly is a full calendar month with only 12 per year.

Computer cockup or human cockup?

Personally, I believe they're using a 28 day month for the recurring payments (it does not state that on their website, just recurring monthly).

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Yes, that was what got me worried. However, I have regular recurring D/D's from my account & on setup, regardless of amount, are taken out on the 1st of every month & only 12 times per year.

As far as I'm concerned, a recurring monthly payment should mean just that as there is only 12 months in a year.

I have e-mailed the company & just waiting for them to reply.

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Update

Not a computer cockup after all. Company replied. the recurring payment will be the same day as the original purchase - makes sense I suppose, but then that just proves me right, many that use computers just do not understand what they're doing or what they're reading!

I made the original purchase on 28th March, therefore all future payments will be on the 28th (they did mention a workaround which I intend to use to bring it to the 1st of every month), but the start date was 3rd April meaning it would expire on the 2nd May, making that the recurring payment date for the smart card to recommence on the 3rd of every month!

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssh give me strength!

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I got a headace just trying to read that double duch .......if it starts on the 3rt what has the day your bought the dam thing got to do with the debit ????

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I got a headace just trying to read that double duch .......if it starts on the 3rt what has the day your bought the dam thing got to do with the debit ????

Exactly my point. Personally, think they do that deliberately. Just think of all the people that purchase those cards & fell for the same catch....

...all that lovely $$$$ 3 to 5 days early earning them interest!

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I had a prob with my Electicy they where over charging me so I phone's them up and they bounced me around every freaking department for 3.5hrs it was lucky I used a friends landline and not my mobile .In the end they owed me $279 they hadn't given me a rebate i'm spose to get for 9mths

Like you said there quick to take ya cash but not fix or give ya the money back
you just got to persist and tell them 5 days different that b/s make it the 3rd or 2nd

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