FTC finalizes charges against Snapchat over user privacy

The FTC has approved final charges against Snapchat after the company's lax security policies were exposed, placing user data at risk.

In an advisory posted 31 Dec, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed final charges set against the messaging app company. The Snapchat app

Top 4 tech habits you need to break right now

It's a brand new year, so why not start it off right by ditching the shackles of old habits and trying some new things to make your tech life easier? We know that old habits die hard and that's why we've also included links to show you how to handle these common practices

1. Using the same passwords for multiple sites

Android malware threat rears its head again — and this time it means business

A malware threat first observed in 2012 has evolved and hijacked more than 4 million Android devices to send spam emails, buy event tickets in bulk and crack WordPress accounts. In its new and improved form, the threat is now putting enterprise networks at risk.

Mobile security firm Lookout

U.S. Authorities Are Reportedly Gathering Phone Data Using Fake Celltowers On Planes

Edward Snowden may have gone public with his NSA leaks more than 18 months ago, but the rate at which we learn new information about government spying programs shows little sign of slowing. Witness today, the Wall Street Journal published a report claiming that the U.S. Justice Department is “snagging [mobile data belonging to] a large number of

Samsung and BlackBerry team up for better Android security

Samsung is tapping an unlikely source to tighten up its security offerings for enterprises:BlackBerry.

The two companies announced a new security-focused partnership Thursday that will bring BlackBerry's encryption system to businesses using

Microsoft quietly patches potentially dangerous Windows security hole

Microsoft released 14 regular security updates for Windows on Tuesday, but one in particular shines a light on a sizable critical vulnerability that affects most widely-used versions of the operating system, including Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Vista, RT and more.

Samsung assures people that ‘Find My Mobile’ is perfectly safe

There have been recent reports that Samsung’s Find My Mobile service, which tracks and locks misplaced smartphones, was vulnerable to attacks from hackers. On its blog, Samsung not only announced that the service was patched, but that there is nothing to worry about.

According to Samsung, to hack

Spying And Police Requests For Facebook Data Up 24% Since 2013

Facebook continues to fight dragnets for private data by governments, but the combined number of requests from local law enforcement and federal spy agencies like the NSA went up 24 percent from the last half of 2013 to the first half of 2014, according to Facebook’s new government requests report. In

Whisper app tracks users’ locations, shares data with Department of Defense and FBI

Whisper’s promise of anonymity while sharing secrets via its app rings less true today than it did last week, thanks to a searing report from The Guardian about the app’s questionable tracking and use of user data. Among the revelations were that WhisperText (the company behind the app) tracks the location of users who have

Half of all Android devices still vulnerable to 'privacy disaster' browser bug

Over a month ago Google released patches for bugs affecting the built-in browser on all pre-KitKat devices, yet today half of all Android devices remain vulnerable, according to mobile security vendor Lookout.

The same origin policy (SOP) bug in the browser that ships

How You Can Avoid a BadUSB Attack

Thanks to a couple of enterprising (or thoughtless) security experts and hackers presenting at Derbycon in Louisville, Kentucky, last week, BadUSB is now out in the wild — Or at least downloadable on GitHub. It's enough to make your stomach turn and certainly