Blog

Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram went down for six hours last week. Here’s why, and what you should do next

On Monday October 4, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram went totally dark for what felt like a pretty long time. It suddenly became impossible to talk to anyone, spread misinformation, or post selfies. We all realized that we don’t have anyone’s phone number anymore. And a lot of people who depend on these services for their […]
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How to watch any Youtube video from anywhere

Youtube = video. If you want to watch something, chances are it’s either on Youtube or it just got taken down.  But you can’t always watch whatever you want on Youtube. Firewalls and georestrictions can stop you accessing it. The solution? You need to unblock Youtube. Why do I need to unblock Youtube?
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To see the future of operating systems, look at browsers and servers

Just like the internet has gotten more spy-ey and creepy as time’s gone on, so operating systems have followed suit. I thought it was great that I could get OS X updates right down the wire, no disks or payment required. I still think it’s great.
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Article 13: Just as bad as everyone said

What happened? Article 13 has passed. In a monumental act of stupidity, the European Parliament has decided to force companies to censor the internet. It’s also imposed the notorious link tax. How did we get here? The story of how we ended up saddled with this piece of trash is shocking in places. For instance, […]
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Watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3 the minute it’s released

If you’re an avid fan of the comedy-drama The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, you’ll know filming of season 3 has just begun and news of a release date has got to be on the horizon. As it’s the time of year when we start booking vacations abroad though, how can you make sure you’ll be able […]
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Stream the Punisher Season 02 on Netflix

Rumors of cancellation notwithstanding, Frank Castle is back on Netflix to continue explaining the difference between punishment and vengeance with his fists (and a variety of weapons). Jump to :  How to Stream The Punisher Season 2
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Isn’t It Romantic is out on Netflix now!

Imagine you were living in a romantic comedy, and partway through you figured it out.
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How to watch and Stream Season 23 of The Bachelor

The Bachelor is back for its 23rd season on BC. Here’s the lowdown on who’s on the show, and how to watch it wherever you are. Jump to :  How to Stream The Bachelor Season 23
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The Bandersnatch: Watch Black Mirror’s darkest and most experimental season on Netflix

Charlie Brooker’s hit Black Mirror returns for another season — in the form of the single, film-length episode The Bandersnatch. With Bandersnatch, Brooker’s team has made an interactive version of the show, but never fear: it’s just as dark as ever! Jump to :  How to Stream Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine is back! What to expect, and how to Stream it

Goofy cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns after being picked up by NBC. Here’s what to expect and how to watch it wherever you are! Jump to :  How to Stream Brooklyn Nine Nine
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How to stream SVT Play when you’re abroad

SVT Play is a great service. But you don’t get such great service when you’re abroad. Thanks to GEO-restriction, what you mostly get is blocked. How can you get around that to access SVT wherever you are? Read on! Jump to :  How to Stream SVTPlay when you are abroad
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How to watch Watchmen on HBO in 2019

Watchmen comes to the small screen in 2019. Here’s what to expect and how to watch the show. Jump to :  How to Stream the Watchmen Series
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How to Stream The Passage regardless of your location

Fox’s adaptation of the best-selling vampire series The Passage aired on January 14. Here’s what to expect, and how to watch it — anywhere you are. We dugg through all the possibilities for streaming the show regardless of your location and found a solution! Jump to :  How to Stream the Passage
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Facebook’s VPN scandal could be its worst, and most costly, yet

Facebook doesn’t seem to be able to stay out of the news. When it’s not being caught deceiving its core business audience about the effect of their ads on its platform, it’s being caught spying on its users — over and over again. It’s most recent scandal might be its worst, and not just because […]
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Watch Netflix’ comic-book adaptation The Umbrella Academy

Adapted from the Eisner award-winning series of graphic novels by former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy follows forty-three infants, unexpectedly born to separate and unconnected women who had not been pregnant the previous day. Each child goes on to demonstrate surprising abilities, and seven are adopted by eccentric, not to say […]
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How to watch Eurosport in the US

Eurosport is the service Europeans and the British use to stream a ton of live sports. As of 2018, it even had the rights to broadcast the Olympics, as well as cycling, football, Wimbledon tennis and many, many other sporting fixtures and events. But, there is an issue with Eurosport. It’s heavily geoblocked. Jump to […]
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How to watch Season 5 of Luther — even from outside the UK

After a three-year hiatus, DCI John Luther is back, and this time he’s investigating crimes that bring a chill to the spine. Jump to : How to Stream Luther
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How to watch HBO’s True Detective Season 3 Starting January 13, wherever you are

After one of the longest waits in TV, Season 3 of True Detective is finally here. Here’s what to expect — and how to watch it, wherever you are. Jump to :  How to Stream True Detective S03
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How to stream Marvel’s Runaways Season 2 on Hulu

Marvel dropped season 2 of its comic-book adaptation Runaways on December 21 last year. The second season is in full swing now, so if you’re a fan, here’s what you need to know — including where to watch it. (If you’re new to the show, jump to the streaming guide or you’ll see some slight […]
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How to stream the final season of Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black is coming back, but only once. Here’s a video message from the cast, courtesy of the official OITNB Twitter account: Warning: This may make you cry. The Final Season, 2019. #OITNB pic.twitter.com/bUp2yY0aoK— Orange Is the New… (@OITNB) October 17, 2018 If you’ve been following the adventures of Piper Chapman, you […]
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How to Stream the Oscars 2019

The Academy Awards. The Oscars. Showbiz’ biggest Shindig is just a few short weeks away, on February 24. The nominations have been announced, but there’s still no host and no sign of one being recruited in time. Jump to :  How to Stream The Oscars Many of the year’s most popular films are slated for […]
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How to Stream Star Trek Discovery Season 02

Star Trek’s thrillingest, mushroomiest franchise returns for another season. Michael and crew, even including a certain Captain Pike, will be addressing personal issues and saving the galaxy weekly on Netflix. Jump to :  How to Stream Star Trek Discovery Season 02
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How to Stream the Witcher s01

Henry Cavill (Superman) will be leading the cast as The Witcher comes to Netflix on
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How to stream The Expanse s04

The Expanse has been saved. Fans already know this, of course, but if you’ve been in the shadow of an asteroid for a few months and you missed it, the news is good: the Roci’s still flying.
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How to stream Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Disney’s first foray into the Star Wars universe will be unveiled later this year, though we all know networks like to keep release dates on the QT and we don’t have any solid details yet, like when it’s actually going to come out! Jump to :  How to Stream Star Wars the Mandalorian when it […]
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ICE and the DEA have been hiding cameras in street lights

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies have hidden an unknown number of cameras in American streetlights. We don’t know where they’ve been installed, where they’ll be installed next or which specific cases they have been used on.
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How to stream Star Trek: Picard (when it comes out)

Star Trek: The Next Generation may have been more cerebral in its depiction of moral agony than the original show, though many of the characters were analogs. But its viewing figures don’t lie: at its peak, more than 11 million people were tuning in to watch Picard and his crew’s continuing mission. Jump to :  […]
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How Google helps state agencies snoop the planet

Google is 20 years old. In those 20 years, it’s risen to control half of all online ads, access a billion email accounts via Gmail, mediate 25% of all internet traffic in North America, supply the OS to 82% of smartphones, and perform 80% of web searches. It’s the second most valuable company in the […]
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How to watch Good Omens Season 1 on Amazon prime on May 31

After a few years of development hell, Good Omens — the TV show based on Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name — is set for release this year as a six-part miniseries. After months of uncertainty, during which it seemed like creator Neil Gaiman didn’t even know when Amazon Prime would […]
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How to watch the last season of Game of Thrones wherever you are

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock has heard of Game of Thrones, so an intro to the show would be kind of redundant. But after nine years, and seven seasons, of scheming, murdering and woeful personal hygiene, the weather outlook is freezing cold with a chance of dragonfire. Winter is here.
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How to Stream Stranger Things S03 on Netflix

Stranger Things is back. The 80s horror/nostalgia show that blew up 2016, made a star of Millie Bobbie Brown and put more D&D footage on screens than all previous TV shows and movies put together, returns for its third season on Netflix in July.
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Google+ Shut Down

Google moves Google+ shutdown date forward after finding another bug (and keeping quiet about it) Google announced that it would shut down its tumbleweed-ridden asocial network, Google+, earlier than intended after the discovery of another huge data breach affecting 52.2 million users, caused by an API bug. Originally the search giant had planned to drop […]
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Australia’s Parliament just voted to ban encryption. What does that mean, for privacy and for Australia?

On the last day of the legislative session, Australia’s government voted to force backdoors in encrypted messaging. Presented as a counter-terrorism measure, the new legislation would apply to companies, forcing even non-Australian firms to install backdoors in their tools, for Australian spooks and cops to use to spy on Australians. Under the new rules, Australian […]
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Why Article 13 could mean the end of your online life

The EU’s Article 13 is part of its Copyright Directive, an effort to update copyright across the EU. That makes sense — the last time this was done was over a decade ago and a lot’s changed since then. Article 13, on the other hand, doesn’t make sense at all. Crammed in at the last […]
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Is this the end of memes?

Are we looking at a whole new internet, one without memes, satire, or even holiday pictures? If the EU gets its way, yes.
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Mozilla Publishes ‘Don’t Buy These’ Gift List

Mozilla has published its second annual list of Christmas gifts that aren’t secure, showing consumers 70 different ways they could be spied on by… well, by anyone who wanders past, often. The company’s ‘Privacy Not Included’ guide showcases connected gifts that make security job # none.
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So you lost your VyprVPN free account. Now what?

Today’s the day when all VyprVPN free accounts close for good. So what do you do now? Users of Vypr’s free VPN have some options:
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Google Minus: The world’s least-used social network just imploded – and your data could be at risk

Google announced that it’s shutting its social network, Google Plus, after a data breach that could have affected as many as 500,000 users. The issue was an API — an Application Programming Interface, which allows apps to talk to each other more easily. In this case, a little too easily: The Artist Everyone Still Calls […]
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As Americans head to the midterms, let’s talk about voting machines

So, this looks set to be a contentious election. And in the background, all kinds of issues about how American votes are bubbling away. Why are so many congressional districts such a weird shape? Why are there two Senators from California (population: 40 million) and two from Wyoming (population 544,000)? Logically California should have 160 […]
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Pop Quiz: What do 123456, password and 12345678 have in common?

Three things: 1: They’re the three most-hacked passwords of 2017. 2: They’re going to be illegal in California from 2020. California’s Governor Jerry Brown signed the ‘Security of Connected Devices’ bill into law on October 5, which has a decent stab at making it illegal to use what are basically big ‘rob me’ signs as […]
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You know that info you gave facebook for ‘security purposes’? It’s on sale to advertisers

Facebook’s big sell to digital marketers is the ability to make a ‘custom audience.’ You can pick out who to show ads to: people in a certain place, with certain interests. The targeting gets deeper than that, with marketers keen to use one of the deepest and widest data sets available anywhere to put their […]
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The Hardware Hack; or, How the Chinese State Built Itself Into Our Infrastructure

China’s state security apparatus is one of the most intrusive and heavy-handed in the world; less brazenly insane than Saudi Arabia’s, less openly brutal than Putin’s bargain-basement KGB operation, but still a terrifying megalithic tyranny. So it would ideally be best if they didn’t have a door into the inner workings of major US corporations […]
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Zuck on the Hook: Facebook faces a $1.6bn fine for last week’s massive data breach

Facebook is creepy spyware no-one should use. (I use it.) And it’s no secret that the company likes to hang on tight to two things: its money and your data. But having lost the data, they might now face being parted from a significant wedge of the money too.
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Chinese hacking scandal: Apple, Lenovo affected

Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo saw share prices plummet after revelations broke about spy hardware installed on Chinese-manufactured motherboards. In the initial report, published by Bloomberg on October 4, it was revealed that the Chinese military hid physical spyware on server motherboards bound for giant US corporations and the US military. But that spyware wasn’t just […]
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Email is extremely unsafe. What can you do about it?

Email must be the most hated communication tool ever invented, as well as the most ubiquitous. To put it bluntly: everyone uses it, and everyone wishes they didn’t. But it’s not just that it doesn’t handle multiperson conversations well, or that stuff gets lost in inbox, never to return. Some of the very factors that […]
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The end of memes, links and sharing? The EU has voted yes on Articles 11 and 13 today

We’re back at the EU’s attempt to deal with some of the underlying problems of the digital economy. It’s not like there aren’t any: as ad revenue falls and print outlets struggle to make ends meet, publications shed staff or curl up and die. Creators watch their work pirated and shared freely while they have […]
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British Airways loses personal data on hundreds of thousands of customers

Hackers stole data on hundreds of thousands of BA customers from its website, ba.com. The airline, the UK’s largest, sai that the personal and financial details of customers who made bookings between August 21 and September 5 had been compromised, and told TechCrunch that ‘around 380,000 card payments’ had been affected.
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T Mobile just lost details of 2 million customer accounts

T-Mobile says it’s lost the account details of two million of its users. The company soft-pedalled the announcement, saying that some customer data ‘may have been exposed’ before they caught the leak. In fact, around 3% of T-Mobile’s customer base – two million people – may have been affected by the leak, which laid open […]
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Privacy? Nope. Netflix. Half of ALL VPN use is for TV and movies

Hong Kong web design firm just released an infographic on how VPNs get used, and the results are… well, decide for yourself.
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Facebook wants to grade YOU

Facebook has come under fire in recent months for selling everybody’s data to everyone ins sight. All of a sudden we all woke up to the fact that this enormous corporation was coining in millions of our data, and leaving us to pick up the pieces. The attempts by our lawmakers to make some kind […]
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Ajit Pai said the FCC got hacked. Guess what? He lied

Ajit Pai isn’t famous for a close relationship with the truth. Earlier this year, we tried to catch him red-handed, saying something that was actually true. All we could find was his promise to dismantle net neutrality; otherwise, it was all Ajit Lies.
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Not only can kids hack voting machines. They can do it in minutes – on their first try

When you hear people talking about security around elections, they’re usually talking about voter fraud – which does happen but is vanishingly rare. But what relatively few people are talking about is the truly astonishing vulnerability of voting machines. Until DEF CON, the annual white hat hacker conference, rolled around. Now, everyone’s talking about it.
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Facebook denies wanting your bank details. No-one believes a word of it

Facebook has denied reports that it has asked banks for their customers’ financial details in return for sharing its user information with them. The service would be ‘entirely opt-in,’ the social media giant and creepy spyware purveyor said. But Facebook has proven before that it can’t be trusted to say what it really wants to […]
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Internet of dodgy spyware becomes self-hacking

Back when we all thought the face of global robot hegemony would look like a grinning metal skull with machine guns for arms, the great fear was that some networked system that controlled nukes would go awry. Either it would just glitch, or it would achieve consciousness, with predictable results.
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Now China’s looking up its citizens’ alimentary canals to see if they’ve been using drugs

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a cop. Having said which, if I was tossing someone’s apartment for drugs, the toilet is one of the first places I’d look. Baggie in the cistern’s a classic; up under the inside rim is nasty but it’s a good bet. Where I probably wouldn’t think to look […]
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Can municipal broadband save net neutrality?

The fight for net neutrality is a truly unusual American story, even though it affects us all. Most of the country is split 49-51 on a lot of major issues. But on net neutrality the battle lines are a little different. Here, over 80% of Americans support net neutrality legislation. Over against them stand ISPs […]
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What you can do to protect yourself from the death of net neutrality

Stopping the death of net neutrality isn’t going to be an easy fight. We might lose. If the battle in Congress doesn’t go our way, state and local legislatures are the next stage. But even then, some parts of the USA might have to resign themselves to being used to a world where massive corporations […]
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Should parents spy on their kids? Not if they want them to be safe

You wouldn’t think this would be a major topic of conversation, but it turns out, there’s a lot of people trying to make up their minds – and ours. Some folks are sure, others less so. Kirsten Weir says parents shouldn’t spy on their kids; Barbara Ellen thinks you should, because you might save lives; […]
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The data from the UK Porn Pass may be in the hands of one company: MindGeek

We’ve spoken before about the lunacy that is the UK’s ‘porn pass’ – a unique number tied to your verifiable identity that you would purchase at the newsagent’s and input as age verification into any website deemed too ‘adult’ for you to look at all by yourself. If that seems like a loopy Orwellian brainfart, […]
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How local and state legislatures are fighting the repeal of net neutrality

The United States is definitely one country, not fifty. But states retain considerable power, including local government structures that mirror the federal government, except that they’re headed by a Governor rather than a President. And the system of checks and balances, intended by the founders to stop the government from taking over the country, is […]
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Comcast and AT&T the new, corporate-takeover internet

There’s some pretty rapid consolidation going on at the top of the corporate world right now; spying the opportunity to achieve vertical integration, Disney and Comcast are both bidding on entertainment giant 21st Century Fox. Disney has won antitrust permission to bid on Fox, offering a stock-based $52.4bn deal… Are you asleep yet? Here’s why […]
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Facebook gave your data to Vladimir Putin

Wish I was joking. But it turns out that Cambridge Analytica is the least of it. In between giving Facebook user data to companies that did psyops for hostile foreign powers – and how is that not an even bigger scandal? – they gave it or sold it to a few other people too.
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Behold, the Demogorgon of Net Neutrality: Brett Kavanaugh

Law is boring, while politics is not just dull but nasty and fake, like a deliberately depressing satire on professional wrestling. But boy, does it matter. If you care about freedom, you care about net neutrality – and if you care about that, then grab your d20, because: Do I have a new monster to […]
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European governments are using smartphone data to deport refugees

Europe and its refugees have a complex relationship with the smartphone. On one hand, refugees often depend on smartphones to keep in touch with family who, by definition, can’t be contacted in other ways – you can’t send a letter to someone who’s walking across a continent and sleeping in parks. And they use phones […]
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Down but not out: the fight over the EU’s Copyright Directive isn’t over yet

The European Parliament has voted down the insane Articles 11 and 13 of the new EU Copyright Directive, which would have ended the internet as we know it by laying a financial levy on linking to sources of information. Which is insane because the internet doesn’t work that way. The right to use and reuse, […]
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Legit Pai or Ajit Lie? Infographic

Ajit Pai – most hated man on the internet, scourge of big-government regulation or turncoat corporate shill, depending who you listen to – has had a lot to say on the contentious subject of net neutrality. It’s easy to find out what he said, and just as easy to get commentary and interpretation. But we […]
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MEPs vote TODAY on crazy new EU copyright rules

Live in Europe? You need to read this now. While we’ve mostly been obsessed by the end of net neutrality in the US, there’s another assault on the internet as we know it. This one comes from Brussels, not Washington, and it will deliver ownership of the web to copyright holders. The EU is trying […]
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Does GDPR mean people in Europe don’t need a VPN anymore?

GDPR has revolutionized security. That’s not hyperbole. The massive pivot in emphasis at the basis of GDPR makes it a genuinely radical piece of legislation with profound implications. Yeah, so I‘m not running for Congress, so I’ll ease up on the twenty dollar words now. Thing is, GDPR really has changed how privacy law works.
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Facebook sold your data to over 60 device manufacturers

Did I say sold? I meant, is selling. They haven’t stopped, despite the Cambridge Analytica scandal. When Facebook shut one leaking door, it left another open. And Mark Zuckerberg may have lied to Congress about it.
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More and more sports fans are turning to VPNs to watch events (because it works)

The 2018 World Cup is a soccer event so huge, even I’ve head of it. If you’re reading this in America, it’s the Superbowl of soccer; if you’re reading this in Brazil, you know what it is already.
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Net neutrality is dead

But it can be revived. Don’t you quit on me, damn you. Don’t you quit. There are fights to save net neutrality going on even now, at every level of the United States government and civil society from the federal government down through state, city and local legislatures to neighborhood associations, campaigning groups and individuals. […]
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The internet officially sucks, starting now. But the fight isn’t over

Net neutrality died yesterday. Welcome to the commodified, censored, spied-on corporate web. But… doesn’t it seem kind of the same as it did yesterday? Yes. The corporations who gave Ajit Pai nearly three quarters of a million in grubby, brown-envelope cash to kill net neutrality aren’t fools. (Look how cheap they bought him for.) They’re […]
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Amazon Alexa records and shares private conversation

Alexa is Amazon’s flagship home product: a voice-activated smart assistant that saves you from the onerous effort of Googling things yourself and writing dates down, like our pioneer forefathers used to do in the early 2000s when they weren’t breaking in horses or blackleading the stove.
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The British government wants you to buy a porn pass at the corner store

In Britain, the government has finally figured out how to present going back in time as progress. They’re going to force people who want to view pornography (as they define it) online to buy an official government pass from the corner shop.
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If you ever cared about freedom online, now’s the time

Right now, the FCC plans to destroy net neutrality in June. But Congress is voting to overrule FCC chairman Ajit Pai’s  assault on the free and open internet. The vote is on Wednesday, and we don’t yet know exactly when – Senate majority leader Kevin McCarthy hasn’t published a schedule for Wednesday to his website […]
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The corruption of the FCC goes right the way up to the President. But Congress can still win

Any time someone plasters on a smile and tells you that things are going to get a whole lot better once you’re really free, make sure you know where your wallet is. We could see this in action with the FCC: Republican congresspeople telling docile news cameras that they couldn’t wait to reduce the burden […]
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Windows 10 is Spyware Too, But has the backlash begun?

Hey, guess what, I found some more. I realize I’m in anger of becoming the ‘everything is spyware’ guy. But that’s not because I’m a bizarre paranoiac.
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You need a VPN for your iPhone

You have a VPN on your desktop. But not your iPhone. Time to fix that. Yes, Samsung users need to read this too. But iPhone users are especially at risk. Why? Because of the OS myth.
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You need a router that supports a VPN

Here’s a secret that a lot of people don’t want you to know. Ready? Every computer is a computer. Sounds dumb, right?  Let’s break it down.
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Telcos killed net neutrality. Can states bring it back?

There’s no way that repealing net neutrality could make the internet go absolutely crazy. No way that lawmakers and corporations would seize the chance to drive their favorite boondoggles, insane brainfarts and most dearly-longed-for scams through the internet that’s now become a major portion of the public square as well as a crucial marketplace, with […]
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Your Kids’ Toys are spying on them so much even the FBI is a little worried

Sensors inside kids’ toys could be putting their privacy and even safety at risk. Toys that are designed to be interactive don’t usually carry their processing power onboard. Instead they have a basic interface that connects back to HQ via wifi or Bluetooth to deliver their lines or make their karate chop actions. Basically, think […]
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Mr Zuckerberg goes to Washington

A few things we’ve learned from Facebook’s founder-CEO putting on a tie and spending a couple of days in front of a joint Senate panel and Congress.
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Google and Apples crusade to block ads

In February, Google announced it would be blocking certain ads. That’s right: the world’s biggest ad company, that takes a gigantic chunk of its revenue from ads, is now in the ad blocking business. Around about the same time, Apple announced that Safari, its proprietary browser, would be automatically blocking ad tracking. Which of these […]
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MyFitnessPal hacked February this year: 150 MILLION accounts affected

UnderArmour’s data wasn’t under enough armour, it turns out. The company has announced that the personal data of 150 million users of its fitness portal MyFitnessPal was compromised in a breach in february this year.
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VPN vs Socks5 vs HTTP vs DNS: what’s the difference and how do they stack up?

What’s the difference between an HTTP proxy, a DNS proxy, a Socks5 and a VPN? And what are they good for? Each works a little differently, and each provides a slightly different balance of speed, anonymity and security. Some are more familiar than others – most folks have heard of a ‘proxy,’ but it’s pretty […]
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You’re using Google, in Chrome, on Windows. Stop it.

Many of us are still using the browser we got with our machine. Windows machines come with Internet Explorer, so a small group of Windows users keep on using that. And Macs come with Safari, so that keeps a few die hards (or don’t-cares) too.
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Facebook is spyware

We talk a lot about how spyware can be installed on devices and used to track you. And a little about tools like Facebook’s own brand ‘VPN’ service. But it’s time to look the facts in the Face. Facebook itself is spyware. I mean that in two distinct senses. First, Facebook explicitly exists to spy […]
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China’s VPN crackdown: What if it’s just about money?

China’s VPN crackdown aims to stop people using VPNs to avoid heavy-handed government censorship. The weeks after ‘president’ Xi Jinping made himself boss man for life saw some truly tragicomic attempts to make people stop laughing at the state of the emperor’s clothes. In one particularly tin-eared move, the regime banned the online use of […]
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Guess what? Public wifi’s still not safe – in fact it’s worse than ever

Public Wifi is a lifesaver when you really need to answer work emails in the airport – or continue futile Facebook arguments in the queue at Costa. But it leaks like a sieve. As soon as you’re connected to public wifi there’s a target on your back. It’s really that simple. This has been true […]
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Could a VPN actually make your internet connection faster?

At first glance this doesn’t make much sense. A VPN should always make your connection slower, never faster. But sometimes, the opposite can be true. Let’s start with the basics. What’s the difference between a naked internet connection and one where you’re using a VPN?
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Your ISP is not your friend

(Source: https://www.quora.com/What-does-my-ISP-know-when-I-use-Tor) Your route to the internet is via your ISP – your internet service provider. Every piece of data you send or receive goes through their fingers. And Lord, don’t they help themselves. In the UK, they are now required to hang on to it by law for a year and surrender it to… […]
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Can blockchain technology make VPNs even more secure?

Blockchain is everywhere. In a way, it’s a victim of the rule of accidental value – just like Viagra was originally used to treat high blood pressure, not cause it, so cryptocurrencies intended to make mediums of exchange totally decentralized have actually centralized mining in just a few companies and seen the creation of, not […]
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Everyone sucks at cybersecurity. (Don’t be everyone.)

Here’s a joke: what does Equifax have in common with the Russian troll farm that’s working to destabilize Western democracies by interfering in their online discourse? Tough. Scratch your head. One’s a credit reference an checking business with $3.1 billion annual revenue. The other is basically the KGB saying ‘LOL.’ But they do have one […]
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China’s crackdown: a lesson and a warning

For years now, the Chinese government has played a game. Officially, certain online activities were against the law. And things being against the law in China, which is still using its old Maoist-era prison camps as detention centers, is no laughing matter. But while the law forbids you to use Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Reddit, […]
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It’s not just user naivete that makes malware a threat

If you follow stories about digital security, it’s easy to get the idea that most malware works because people are gullible and easy to manipulate. If we’re not clicking dodgy links, we’re refusing to stop using the same easy-guess password for everything. In 2017, a survey of leaked data revealed the most common passwords still […]
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No more net neutrality means you need a VPN yesterday

There are already enough candidates for ‘top reason to get control of your anonymity online.’  Everything from your browser to your laptop to the websites you visit can be messed with to spy on you. The reason? Mostly, advertising. The big differentiator for ads now is targeting them to the right audience, at the right […]
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Even the blockchain can’t keep you safe from spoofers and scammers. (So what can?)

Cryptocurrencies are based on a system of security that should make them more or less unhackable and unforgeable. It’s the unique strength of the blockchain technology, that each change has to be checked against the records of every part of the network; there’s no central clearing house or head office to hack, break into or […]
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Facebook just created its own VPN service. So all your security worries are over… right?

Facebook isn’t known for its concern for privacy. When you post something to Facebook, that content then belongs to the company in perpetuity. And while the platform’s huge user base uses it as a place to socialise, its commercial purpose is to analyse your preferences and behaviors so that information can then be sold to […]
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Basics of How to Be Less Traceable Online

Many internet users think that they are advanced in safety matters when they manage to tweak Facebooks privacy and security options, clear cookies, empty browser caches or use the incognito mode in Chrome. Every advanced privacy option enabled is great although it does not mean that users are aware of privacy setting in their browsers, […]
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What Motivates Hackers

The first step in protecting your systems from ransomware, viruses, malware and hackers might be to understand what actually motivates hackers to attack a network. For most individuals, it is almost impossible to imagine why anyone would get involved in illicit activities. Some hackers that allowed interviews have revealed that they do it for the […]
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Avoid scams this Olympic period

 The Winter Olympic Games have already kicked off, but hackers and attackers have also started some Olympic Games, but the venue is not South Korea, it’ll be in your inbox and other online platforms. Some of their games include phishing, spams and other campaigns in which you don’t win gold, but lose it all. One […]
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The Keylogger Campaign Return Infects thousands of WordPress Sites

Security researchers have established that thousands of WordPress sites have been infected with a crypto-mining malware. The malware, a keylogger that’s being loaded on the WordPress backend login page can steal resources from the visitor’s computers to mine digital currencies as well as log in each of the visitor’s keystroke.
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Malvertising is now hijacking top-tier websites

Online ads have been around for a long time now, and they are one of the most powerful online revenue generators. On the internet, anything that can make income usually attracts the bad guys, and they have been known to be in this niche for also a long time. Over the period, malvertising was a […]
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The Adobe Flash player Zero-Day Exploit Spotted In The Wild

If you were looking for a reason to uninstall Adobe Flash player here it is; an increasingly sophisticated hacking group from North Korea has been exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe’s Flash Player that gives them access to take full control of infected machines, researchers said Friday.
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Are cookies a threat?

This depends on the type of cookies. Others may aid you in gaining weight and others, well, you might give out sensitive information as soon as you accept them. Although one should not be worried about cookies, extra caution should be taken when dealing with them especially when dealing with matters that involve cybersecurity. If […]
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Android devices hit by ADB.Miner worm

Despite efforts to make Android devices more secure, it seems there’s always a loophole for malware. This time the threat is a miner that utilizes the Android Debug Bridge (ADB). Security researchers from 360netlab said it is a cryptocurrency mining malware that can replicate itself over port 5555 on any android devices which have an […]
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Risks of privacy: Strava fitness tracker gives away sensitive military info

Who knew keeping fit would give away sensitive information? Well, now there’s a map with exact locations of the US military bases for those who know how to look. Strava, a fitness tracking company uploaded a heat map around November that shows activities of users around the world. It wasn’t a big deal until last […]
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Are you using a VPN and not being able to accessing geo-restricted content? Here is what to do

Ever used a VPN to unlock blocked content and failed? Well, you are not the only one. Among the myriad functions of a VPN is to unlock geo-restricted content. A VPN achieves this function by using a location and a respective IP address for the specified location. For instance, if you want to access a […]
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A security bug in Uber’s two-factor authentication

Uber is once again in the limelight, with a new year new tale. Last year, it shocked everyone when it was reported that about 57 million records of customers and driver’s data were accessed in a security breach that Uber concealed by paying the hackers to delete the stolen data. In lasts years issues, hackers […]
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Basics of Cybersecurity, what to consider this 2018

If there’s one thing that 2017 thought us, is to be prepared and cautious all the time especially when dealing with matters revolving around cybersecurity issues. 2017 was an eye opener of how unprepared we are when dealing with an imminent hit and what to do when the inevitable happens or is about to happen. […]
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Attackers are using Microsoft Office Vulnerabilities To Spread Zyklon Malware

Security researchers have spotted a new malware campaign. This campaign is using three recently disclosed Microsoft Office vulnerabilities to spread an advanced botnet malware. This malware, dubbed Zyklon, has resurfaced after nearly two years and is targeting telecommunications, insurance, and financial services. Zyklon has been in existence since 2016. The HTTP botnet malware uses the […]
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Identifying substandard VPNs

Censorships, content restrictions, privacy and anonymity alongside other functionalities have made VPNs to be a necessity in the day to day internet activities. There are a lot of VPNs out there, and that’s the dilemma new users face when it comes to choosing the right VPN for their needs, essentially, every VPN seems to be […]
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WPA3 will make public WIFI much safer

Last year, there were many cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and one of them was a flaw in the WPA2 WIFI protocol. This vulnerability impacted every device that relies on the protocol especially WIFI routers. Using an exploit when in range, an attacker could intercept sensitive data from the victims. The flaw was dubbed as KRACK as the […]
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More demand on Canadian VPN as protests continue in Iran

Every day there’s an assault on freedom of speech, especially in its digital form. Recently, protests in Iran led to the Iranian government to shut down major social media channels and disrupting the internet access in general. As the protestors block and cause chaos in the street, the Iranian government has taken its blockades on […]
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Freezing machines halt chip bug patch

On January 3rd, it was discovered that major vulnerabilities have been affecting the speculative execution nature of the CPU world. With everything on the loose, the whole industry and major tech companies have been in a rush ever since to patch the flaws. At the CES 2018 during the Intel keynote, Intel’s CEO announced that […]
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CES 2018: Intel to make flawed chips safe in a week

Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws that nearly affect all computing devices put chip makers especially Intel in the spotlight. These flaws put a deep dent in Intel’s reputations a few days to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). But at the CES Intel’s keynote, Brian Krzanich, Intel’s CEO addressed this issue and gave the world good […]
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China’s censorship to further block VPNs and SD-WANs on Jan 11

China has again opened its censorship Pandora box, and this time the surprise will rob the remaining internet freedom from its citizens. On January 11, VPN and SD-WAN companies with facilities in China will be blocked if they won’t have registered them with the government before the set date. Registering with the government means only […]
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Meltdown and Spectre processor flaws leave Apple and other companies vulnerable

Intel and other chipset manufacturing companies such as ARM and AMD, and their clients including Apple did not start this new year as happy as it seems. This is after a security analyst discovered vulnerabilities in the design of the chipset which, without a system update could be used to steal sensitive data on your […]
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VPNs, Apple & China

Many Apple users were caught by surprise when the company notified that it would remove all VPN applications from the China app store on the 29th of July 2017. Several VPN service providers made statements at the time and shared their disappointment as well as a surprise during the unfortunate event. Apple was caught up […]
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Botnets; servants for hackers

Not long ago, Botnets used to hit the headlines in the cybersecurity realm. These days, it seems that many people have forgotten them till recently. This might be attributed to significant concerns in computer security such as ransomware, data breach and leaks. Also, the latter has immediate effects while botnets take a while for its […]
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Free VPN Use Risks

One of the most recommended security internet tools is VPNs providing users safe and secure access to unsecured networks. While most VPNs offers privacy and anonymity at a low and affordable monthly rate, many can be used free, by selecting to use a free VPN service it is vital that the terms & conditions are […]
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More tips on how to protect your privacy and security

In the current digital world, there’s nothing like an ideal perfect privacy and security situation. This is because of the evolving threats and ways in which attackers and hackers use to get your information. But there’s one thing we can do that guarantees us of a minimal breach or impact once the threats happen. Learning […]
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What is doxing and what do if you’re being doxed

In today’s era, doxing isn’t as hard as it used to be before. Like other vulnerabilities and data breaches, today doxing may rely on human as a vulnerability. Just type a person’s name on a reputable search engine, and you get all their information. Doxing has been made easier by the ever-growing social media popularity […]
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Triton Malware

As Christmas is approaching, you are likely to receive gifts from Santa, but in the cybersecurity realm, expect to get malware. On Thursday 14, FireEye’s Mandiant threat research team revealed that there was malware called Triton planted on the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) on a certain company situated within the Mideast.
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Biometrics in favor of passwords

Data breaches have proved that passwords are not that effective even when there’s no human error involved. For passwords to be effective, one needs to use passwords of between 12 characters to 16 characters long.
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Google advanced protection

Months ago, Google announced a feature which is an upgrade to the current security of Google accounts, and not many people are using it. Google called this feature Advanced protection, and it aims to provide the strongest security to people who need it most.
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Symantec: Cybersecurity predictions for 2018

If you thought 2017 was a rough year in terms of cybersecurity breaches, fasten your seatbelts and braces yourselves for a worse fate in 2018. After Force points predictions, now Symantec has also revealed their predictions and 2018 is going to be murky if the necessary measures will not evolve. Ransomware incidents and other breaches […]
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How secure is your smart tv?

Gone are the days of digital and cable Tv, nowadays when talking about Tv you are likely to come across these words; cord-cutting. This essentially means that you no longer use a cable to watch TV, why pay expensively when you can get the same services online cheaply or for free. And when talking about […]
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Net neutrality rules weakened by US regulator

After a three to two vote, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the net neutrality rules. Net neutrality prohibited internet service providers from charging for higher service quality, blocking websites, slowing down internet speed for some companies and all other injustices ISPs do. They oversaw equality in the way the internet was provided to various […]
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Ways ransomware is becoming a deadly menace

After Bad Rabbit, 2017 is still yet to see another malware attack, at least it is anticipated. The ransomware that hit mid-year proved that most companies aren’t prepared in case of a cybersecurity attack. The impact was felt through operations and financial sectors in most businesses.
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How to protect your credit card this festive season

Bells will not jingle if there aren’t enough presents and gifts. The best way to get the gifts and also get a free delivery is via online shopping. Last time we talked about how to protect your online shopping, we’ll dig dipper into the detail of how to protect your credit card.
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NSA leak spills secret data: Red Disk

Data breaches and ransomware have been the tunes in 2017, but there’s a new beat that has joined, the National Security Agency (NSA). This time, it isn’t clear whether the NSA was hacked, but it seems that it hasn’t entirely fixed its leaking problem. According to ZDNet, an NSA virtual disk image (hard disk) was […]
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A blow to Kaspersky as government issues warning against the antivirus

Kaspersky, the world’s reigning champion when it comes to combating viruses, malware, and other internet vulnerabilities has suffered a massive blow in the UK. Kaspersky is best known for detecting and averting threats that other antiviruses can’t see. But recently. It has been popularly known for collecting information for the Russian government. Although the Moscow-based […]
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Cyber-attacks you should prepare to encounter

Apart from the security attacks that you should be aware, of there are other cyber-attacks that you are likely to face in your day to day activities. If you are not careful, you might underestimate or ignore an attack that really poses a great risk and even open more vulnerabilities.
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Predictions for 2018 Security Threats

Once again, Forcepoint, a global leader in cybersecurity that focuses on what matters most has released its report about 2018 security predictions. It has also provided the required guidance on threats companies and organizations are going to face.
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Tips to make your employees take cybersecurity seriously

On an analysis done on company attacks, the majority of the company attacks resulted from employees. When vulnerabilities are weighted, employees are found to be a company’s largest vulnerability when it comes to online security. As much as people are an organization’s greatest asset, they may also be the reason why a company can make […]
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Bloomberg: Uber Paid Hackers to Delete Stolen Data

This month is full of security and data breach surprises, apart from Imgur’s case in which the company realized that it was hacked three years ago, Uber’s case will perplex you. Around October 2017, hackers attacked Uber and got access to data that can further compromise the security of affected victims. Most of the accessed […]
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Imgur Data Breach Affects Millions

It’s now clear that 2017 isn’t a good year especially for enterprises and organizations which have experienced security challenges. But it is a nightmare when companies realize in 2017 that they were hacked three years ago. An example is Imgur an image hosting and sharing platform which realized a data breach that affected more than […]
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Mistakes that make your security vulnerable

In this digital era, every thing is prone to security attacks. And as pointed out, people are the greatest vulnerability; we are the enablers of most of these attacks, especially the end users. The attacks are as a result of things we do and other things that we take for granted; at times accidentally or […]
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How to protect your online shopping

Holidays are here again and its that time of the year where everyone will rush to get the discounted prices and goodies which come with holiday shopping. Most importantly, most of this shopping will be done online. Predictions have it that there will be more online sales as everyone is scouring the internet for websites […]
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The internet will never be same after the end of net neutrality

On 21st November, the FCC chairman Ajit Pai introduced the commission’s’ proposal to repeal the current net neutrality regulations; the changes were published on Wednesday. The chairman argued that the current regulations are heavy handed and they have deterred investments as well as depressing the investments required to build and expand broadband networks. The significant […]
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TorMoil Bug; the Tor IP Leak

Tor has been in use for quite a number of years now, and it’s becoming even more popular. This can be attributed to the increased cyber concerns posed by government legislation as well as threats from cybercriminals.
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Security Concerns in Connected Toys

Internet-connected toys may be precious items for children, but they may as well pose a very serious security threat to them. Connected toy security concerns began to grab headlines in late 2015, when VTech, a toy manufacturer, announced that one of its databases has been hacked. This security breach led to the exposure of names, […]
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IoT Devices, Vulnerabilities and Threats

The dawn of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has taken over the technological world by storm. The milestones that Internet of things has achieved is quite noticeable. Despite these achievements, the attack and numerous threats on the Internet of Things devices have been on the rise as well.
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Russia’s law bans VPNs

Ironically, World Wide Web is not worldwide anymore for people living in Russia. A law outlining the ban was approved by the Duma, the lower house of parliament and was signed by President Putin. The law which came into effect on 1st November, saw Russia follow China’s footsteps; banning the use of VPNs and other […]
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Bad Rabbit: What you need to know about this latest ransomware attack

2017 has been well graced with the worst ransomware attacks. With cyber threats and other vulnerabilities wreaking havoc, Bad Rabbit is the most recent to join the wagon and third major ransomware attack. Bad Rabbit spreads through company computer networks once it has been downloaded into a single computer.
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Online Scams and Fraud Statistics

One in every ten individuals are victims of online fraud, and according to Crime Correspondent, Martin Evans, people are twenty times more likely to be robbed by computer criminals.
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Internet Cyber Crimes

Reflecting back on the most destructive, ingenious or ground-breaking cybercrimes, clouded with mega-heists, reveals that hackers turning malware creating, into art and new crops of purpose-driven worms struck computers.
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How to Help Protect Your Kids While Online

Cybercrime is one of the most complicated illegal acts born from the development of the internet. While millions enjoy the easy access to information and other benefits, some misuse internet for criminal activity such as web jacking, virus attacks, e-mail bombing, cyber stalking and cyber pornography, while children are the latest victims of cyber-crime.
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KRACK Wi-Fi Vulnerability and Why It Should be Patched

Earlier this week, it was disclosed that the WPA2 WIFI protocol has a weakness. Any device that supports WIFI connectivity uses this protocol that is responsible for WIFI security. In a nutshell, this means every device with WIFI capability has the vulnerability and is susceptible to an attack.
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What to Look for in a VPN

 A VPN or a Virtual Private Network is a service that secures and protects your connection when you surf the internet. A VPN ensures that you don’t fall victim to internet vulnerabilities such as; snooping and censorship. That’s, it ensures your privacy, security as well as enabling you to access blocked content.
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How-To: Bypass GEO Blocks

Have you ever searched the internet for something to watch, then after awhile find something interesting; hit play and get the message “THIS CONTENT IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE”. This is called geo-blocking and can be really frustrating, however there is a solution.
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Why do you need a VPN – Infographic

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”] Internet and privacy are hot topics at the moment with Edward Snowden leaks revealing more secrets of how our internet privacy is being exploited. It’s well known using a VPN will protect your privacy however the uses of a VPN don’t end there.
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