Nearly thirty different Hewlett-Packard Windows PC models may be recording every keystroke their owners make and storing them in a human-readable file accessible to any user on the PC. Oh, boy.Switzerland-based security company Modzero recently discovered a keylogger present in an audio program in HP PCs called MicTray. Modzero reported it on their blog early Thursday morning.You can also find a complete list of affected HP PC models in the company's security advisory. Affected models include PCs from the HP Elitebook 800 series, HP ProBook 600 and 400 series', the EliteBook Folio G1, and others. The program has existed on HP PCs since at least late 2015, Modzero says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Nearly thirty different Hewlett-Packard Windows PC models may be recording every keystroke their owners make and storing them in a human-readable file accessible to any user on the PC. Oh, boy.Switzerland-based security company Modzero recently discovered a keylogger present in an audio program in HP PCs called MicTray. Modzero reported it on their blog early Thursday morning.You can also find a complete list of affected HP PC models in the company's security advisory. Affected models include PCs from the HP Elitebook 800 series, HP ProBook 600 and 400 series', the EliteBook Folio G1, and others. The program has existed on HP PCs since at least late 2015, Modzero says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Windows 10 privacy is a contentious issue. This is in part because Windows 10 is integrated with cloud-based features like Cortana, and it has features influenced by mobile such as determining your location. Then there's Microsoft's more questionable goals, like scooping up diagnostic data and gathering information for better ad-targeting.In previous versions of Windows 10, managing privacy was, to put it mildly, an insane process. Settings were strewn all over the operating system and the web.Privacy isn't much better in the recently released Creators Update, but Microsoft has consolidated its web-based privacy information related to a user's Microsoft Account. In addition, privacy settings on the PC are a little more helpful.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft Edge’s improvements with the Windows 10 Creators Update may finally make it a browser worth talking about. It debuted to shrugs with the original Windows 10 and saw incremental improvements with the Anniversary Update.Edge is still catching up to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but the browser now offers a few welcome new additions, as well as one significant change that can’t be beat on Windows 10, at least not yet. Here are the five key improvements you should check out.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you use Microsoft’s Docs.com to store personal documents, stop reading this and make sure you aren’t inadvertently leaking your private information to the world.Microsoft sets any documents uploaded to the document sharing site as public by default—though it appears that many users aren’t aware of it. That means anyone can search Docs.com for sensitive personal information that wasn’t manually set private. PCWorld found social security numbers, health insurance ID numbers, bank records, job applications, personal contact details, legal correspondence, and drivers license numbers with just a few minutes of searching.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you use Microsoft’s Docs.com to store personal documents, stop reading this and make sure you aren’t inadvertently leaking your private information to the world.Microsoft sets any documents uploaded to the document sharing site as public by default—though it appears that many users aren’t aware of it. That means anyone can search Docs.com for sensitive personal information that wasn’t manually set private. PCWorld found social security numbers, health insurance ID numbers, bank records, job applications, personal contact details, legal correspondence, and drivers license numbers with just a few minutes of searching.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google is pressing pause on its efforts to build Pixel laptops, leaving the in-house premium brand to tablets and phones.The company’s hardware chief, Rick Osterloh, recently told reporters during Mobile World Congress in Spain that Google had “no plans” to create a new Chromebook Pixel, according to TechCrunch. For now, Google is leaving it up to third-party Chromebook makers like Asus, Acer, HP, and Samsung to fill in the gaps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The good thing and the bad thing about the cloud is, well, the cloud. The latter part of that trueism was brought home late Thursday when some Google users were suddenly signed out of their accounts and devices.The problem affected Google Wifi mesh routers, Google’s OnHub router, other devices like the Chromecast, and even some plain old Google Accounts.The impact on you at home: If this problem affected you last night and you were suddenly signed out of all your accounts, don’t worry. Malcious hackers hadn’t suddenly taken over all your devices. Google says it was just a snafu with the Google Account engine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The hotly anticipated Ryzen processors are expected to start rolling out in early March, but AMD's still pushing its older FX-series chips folks looking to build a budget gaming PC. Newegg and AMD just revealed a FX processor promotion that bundles a 6- or 8-core chip with the real-time strategy game Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, the poster child for cutting-edge DirectX 12 technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The hotly anticipated Ryzen processors are expected to start rolling out in early March, but AMD's still pushing its older FX-series chips folks looking to build a budget gaming PC. Newegg and AMD just revealed a FX processor promotion that bundles a 6- or 8-core chip with the real-time strategy game Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, the poster child for cutting-edge DirectX 12 technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Verizon is just full of surprises. Over the past year, Verizon went negative on its legacy unlimited data customers by purging anyone using too much data. Now, the company wants more unlimited data customers—at least up to a point. Starting Monday, you can sign up for the company’s new unlimited data plan, called Verizon Unlimited.For $80 a month, Verizon customers receive unlimited 4G data on a single smartphone. Anyone with multiple devices can add two lines on Verizon Unlimited for $70 per line per month ($140 total), three for $54 ($162 total) per line, or four for $45 ($180 total) per line.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft's mysterious Windows Cloud is supposedly a stripped-down version of Microsoft’s operating system that runs only Windows Store apps. Microsoft's not commenting, but an early build that leaked over the weekend appears to be authentic and gives further tantalizing hints of what the company may have in mind. Windows Cloud intrigues Microsoft watchers because of its uncanny resemblance to Windows RT, Microsoft’s failed ARM-based platform. It, too, could only run Windows Store apps, plus desktop versions of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. There are numerous reasons why RT never succeeded, but the gist is there weren’t enough apps and nobody wanted to run a hobbled PC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The war on insecure webpages has begun, and Mozilla fired the first shot.Recently, Mozilla rolled out Firefox 51 to its mainstream user base. With the new release comes an insecure warning on any page that offers a login form over an HTTP connection instead of HTTPS. Chrome plans to follow suit with version 56, expected to be released to mainstream users on Tuesday, January 31, as Ars Technica first pointed out.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 6 simple tricks for protecting your passwords
HTTP uses an open, unencrypted connection between you and the website you’re visiting that could be intercepted by anyone monitoring traffic between you and the site. For that reason, it’s never a good idea to share login or credit card information over an HTTP connection. Most major sites offer the encrypted version—HTTPS—but every now and then you’ll come across a site that doesn’t.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The war on insecure webpages has begun, and Mozilla fired the first shot.Recently, Mozilla rolled out Firefox 51 to its mainstream user base. With the new release comes an insecure warning on any page that offers a login form over an HTTP connection instead of HTTPS. Chrome plans to follow suit with version 56, expected to be released to mainstream users on Tuesday, January 31, as Ars Technica first pointed out.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 6 simple tricks for protecting your passwords
HTTP uses an open, unencrypted connection between you and the website you’re visiting that could be intercepted by anyone monitoring traffic between you and the site. For that reason, it’s never a good idea to share login or credit card information over an HTTP connection. Most major sites offer the encrypted version—HTTPS—but every now and then you’ll come across a site that doesn’t.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Anyone who uses the popular Cisco WebEx extension for Chrome should update to the latest version pronto. Google security researcher Tavis Ormandy recently discovered a serious vulnerability in the Chrome extension that leaves PCs wide open to attack.In older versions of the extension (before version 1.0.3) malicious actors could add a “magic string” to a web address or file hosted on a website. The magic string was designed to remotely activate the WebEx browser extension. Once the extension was activated the bad guys could execute malicious code on the target machine. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Anyone who uses the popular Cisco WebEx extension for Chrome should update to the latest version pronto. Google security researcher Tavis Ormandy recently discovered a serious vulnerability in the Chrome extension that leaves PCs wide open to attack.In older versions of the extension (before version 1.0.3) malicious actors could add a “magic string” to a web address or file hosted on a website. The magic string was designed to remotely activate the WebEx browser extension. Once the extension was activated the bad guys could execute malicious code on the target machine. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the most important skills any computer user should have is the ability to use a virtual private network (VPN) to protect their privacy. A VPN is typically a paid service that keeps your web browsing secure and private over public Wi-Fi hotspots. VPNs can also get past regional restrictions for video- and music-streaming sites and help you evade government censorship restrictions—though that last one is especially tricky.The best way to think of a VPN is as a secure tunnel between your PC and destinations you visit on the internet. Your PC connects to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign country like the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, or Thailand. Your web traffic then passes back and forth through that server. The end result: As far as most websites are concerned, you’re browsing from that server’s geographical location, not your computer’s location.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the most important skills any computer user should have is the ability to use a virtual private network (VPN) to protect their privacy. A VPN is typically a paid service that keeps your web browsing secure and private over public Wi-Fi hotspots. VPNs can also get past regional restrictions for video- and music-streaming sites and help you evade government censorship restrictions—though that last one is especially tricky.The best way to think of a VPN is as a secure tunnel between your PC and destinations you visit on the internet. Your PC connects to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign country like the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, or Thailand. Your web traffic then passes back and forth through that server. The end result: As far as most websites are concerned, you’re browsing from that server’s geographical location, not your computer’s location.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the most important skills any computer user should have is the ability to use a virtual private network (VPN) to protect their privacy. A VPN is typically a paid service that keeps your web browsing secure and private over public Wi-Fi hotspots. VPNs can also get past regional restrictions for video- and music-streaming sites and help you evade government censorship restrictions—though that last one is especially tricky.The best way to think of a VPN is as a secure tunnel between your PC and destinations you visit on the internet. Your PC connects to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign country like the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, or Thailand. Your web traffic then passes back and forth through that server. The end result: As far as most websites are concerned, you’re browsing from that server’s geographical location, not your computer’s location.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
AT&T and Verizon are probably violating the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules by allowing third-parties to pay for subscribers’ data usage.That’s the determination FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler provided in a letter to several U.S. Senators on Wednesday, along with a report on the matter from The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. But Wheeler is set to step down as FCC Chair once President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office next Thursday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Ian Paul