Items tagged with EFF
The battle over privacy online rages between key platform holders who strive to protect their users from monopolistic megacorps that earn their money turning personal data into cash. In this particular case, the platform owner is Apple, a megacorp of its own whose recent App Store policy changes on iOS and macOS force...
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Ring has been in the news a lot lately over lapses in security with its camera products. After thousands of accounts got hacked, Ring took the brunt of the backlash, but explained that user credentials were most likely obtained 1) from unrelated account hijacks and 2) because customers were using the same login...
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Back in April, Google announced a redesign of the Gmail web interface along with some new features meant to provide more secure ways of sending emails. Now that users and security experts have had plenty of time to test out the new features, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is stating that Google is...
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The jailbreaking community is alive and well, and people frequently install "unauthorized" software on their smartphones and tablets once they’ve cracked the bootloader. This practice is often frowned upon by device OEMs (especially Apple), but it is legal to do so under an exemption in Section 1201 of the Digital...
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Apple released its iOS 11 operating system late last month, and users have already run into a number of problems with the operating system. There have been complaints about battery life, and two quick point releases have been issued during the first month of availability (iOS 11.0.1 and 11.0.2) to fix lingering...
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) definitely has a lot of pull in the tech industry. Within 24 hours, the EFF’s public call-out of HP’s decision to brick third-party ink cartridges in customers’ printers has generated a sincere apology.
HP Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jon Flaxman issued the apology in a blog...
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Hewlett-Packard came under fire earlier this month when it was revealed that it was purposefully “bricking” third-party ink cartridges in customers’ printers. Customers were unaware that such trickery was even going on until printers around the globe starting throwing up error messages at the same time on September...
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The Electric Frontier Foundation (EFF) is calling out Microsoft for disregarding user privacy in Windows 10. The foundation is concerned that in Microsoft’s race to get Windows 10 on a billion devices by 2018, it has put user privacy on the back burner.
Microsoft first installed an app in users’ system trays that...
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The FBI is determined to gain access to any and all electronic information from targeted devices whenever it wants, and by any means necessary (as we’ve seen in the drawn-out and very public battle with Apple over encryption). However, many feel that the FBI is really overstepping its authority with an expansion of...
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All the hoopla surrounding T-Mobile's controversial Binge On program has the company's outspoken boss, John Legere, in the limelight more than usual. Drawn to defend the benefits of Binge On, both in social media and to news outlets alike, Legere is prone to lose his cool at times, and he regrets recent comments he...
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If you're a fan of online drama, grab a bucket of popcorn and get cozy, the show has already begun. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a showdown involving T-Mobile and its outspoken CEO John Legere versus everyone who doesn't agree with the wireless carrier's Binge On program, particularly the EFF.
In...
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) caused quite a stir this week when it alleged that Google is using its Chromebook platform, which has made a significant impact in the education sector, to snoop on students. The charges were damning, with the EFF claiming that Google was violating its own corporate policies...
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Google is no stranger to accusations of invading user privacy, but the latest one comes from Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and relates to a highly sensitive market: education.
Google would like to see its Chromebooks in the hands of as many people as possible, especially in education, so it's crafted a...
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As great as it was to win the battle for net neutrality, it would have also been great to experience the same victory with CISA. Alas, it has not happened, and the reality of it couldn't be more unfortunate, or perhaps discouraging.
CISA stands for "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act", and its name doesn't leave...
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If you believe that your privacy is important - so important that the government can't even breach it - you're not going to like president Obama's latest comments. During a meeting at the White House with UK prime minister Dave Cameron, it was established that both leaders share the same stance on user privacy: you're...
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Just how secure is your favorite chat app? The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) found out and is sharing the results of its research as part of its battle against NSA surveillance. As you’d probably expect, it has some complaints about the security of certain mainstream chat programs, but there are a few...
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Woe is the gamer who suddenly can't play a particular title because a developer or publisher pulled the plug on an authentication server without releasing a patch to remove the requirement of checking in with the defunct mothership. About the only thing you can do at that point is pound sand or brave the shady side of...
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Ever since 9/11 and the passage of the Patriot Act, the federal government has pursued an aggressive set of data collection policies and surveillance practices. Edward Snowden's leaks last year may have raised public awareness of many of these events, but simply being aware of practices doesn't do a thing to stop them. Recent court decisions,...
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From Apple to Yahoo, tech companies have a great deal of our data in their hands, and thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden, we know that the government wants as much of it as possible--and has been too successful in that regard. In some cases, there’s just nothing much a company can do when the NSA comes...
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Earlier this week, Apple released an updated set of legal guidelines spelling out exactly what it can and cannot access on your iDevice, what material it will turn over to the police, and under which circumstances it will surrender it. What's particularly interesting is the split response we've seen from different...
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It’s an interesting proposition, to be sure: What if, instead of locking down your wireless network with the strongest encryption available, you simply left it open and unsecured so that any Dick or Jane with a WiFi-enabled device nearby can use it? For most people, especially those who have been haranguing friends and family to protect...
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Taxpayers in the United States could soon be stuck footing the bill for some very costly copyright infringement enforcement. For those that don't know, the PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 or Senate Bill S.968) is a piece of...
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