The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, the FBI, and the White House jointly announced that Russian hackers are laying the groundwork for future cyber attacks and spying on Western governments.
privacy
5 Private Chat Apps and How They Compare With Each Other
There are plenty of private chat apps on the market, but are they all the same?
GrayKey Underscores Why We Need Strong iPhone Passcodes
The GrayKey box is available only to law enforcement, but it’s a perfect example of why strong passcodes for our iPhones are so important.
iPhones, Strong Passcodes, and GrayKey - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-17
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to talk about why longer iPhone passcodes are becoming more important, plus they discuss the GrayKey iPhone hacking device available to law enforcement.
PSA: Opera VPN Shutting Down
Opera launched its own VPN service called Opera VPN a couple years ago with the promise it would be free for life. Turns out “life” meant about two years because Opera VPN is shutting down at the end of April.
How to Set an Alphanumeric Passcode on Your iPhone or iPad
A six-digit passcode for your iPhone or iPad is good, but if you want to make is really difficult for anyone to hack into your device you need an alphanumeric passcode. Here’s how to set one up.
Russia's Telegram Ban Could Be First Salvo against Apple's iMessage and Other Encrypted Platforms
On Monday, state regulators began blocking access to Telegram, and Bryan Chaffin is wondering what that might mean for Apple and its iMessage platform, and to other encrypted communications platforms.
PSA: Keep Your Fingerprints Out of Social Media Posts
Thanks to a photo shared through WhatsApp, police got enough of a fingerprint to identify and arrest a drug dealer and his accomplices.
The Father of the Web is Backing a Private Social Network
It doesn’t own, track, or share information that users provide. And there are no ads.
WhatsApp: How to Enable Two-Step Verification
WhatsApp may give you end-to-end encryption for your conversations, but it’s stunningly simple to log into your account unless you enable two-step verification. Read on to learn how.
Facebook's Shadow Profiles - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-13
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet take a look at Facebook’s shadow profiles on people who don’t have accounts, and how those accounts may impact online privacy legislation.
Mac Keyboards, Trusting Facebook, and Being Profitable and Green - ACM 457
In this episode, Bryan and Jeff discuss Mac keyboards, and what they like about clicky, long-throw keyboards, including the Azio Classic Retro BT keyboard Bryan just reviewed. They also go through a thought experiment on whether Facebook could ever earn our trust on privacy by radically reshaping their policies. They cap the show with a look at how Apple manages to be profitable and green, both.
Senator Kennedy: Facebook's User Agreement Sucks
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a Congressional hearing on April 10th about his company’s privacy policies and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) took him to task saying, “Facebook’s privacy policy sucks.”
Companies Committing to User Privacy, Apple's R&D Efforts - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-10
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to discuss the push to get tech companies on board with user security pledges, and to talk about Apple’s R&D efforts.
Should Tech Companies Sign a Security Pledge? Here Are The Ones That Haven't Yet Signed
The pledge involves how these companies handle customer data, and consists of five principles that companies should abide by.
Surprise! Facebook Scans Your Private Messenger Conversations
If you’re worried that Facebook isn’t stripping away every last shred of your privacy, don’t be because the company confirmed it scans the conversations you have in its Messenger private messaging platform.
Facebook's Powerful Draw, Limiting Online Tracking - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-05
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss how Facebook works to hold our interest, and talk about ways to limit how much the social network tracks us.
Mark Zuckerberg vs. Tim Cook, Apple's New AI Chief, and Making HomeKit Great - ACM 456
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been trading public barbs on privacy, and Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss the public tiff. They also discuss Apple’s hiring of Google’s former head of artificial intelligence and what it might mean for Siri (hint: good things!). They cap the show with a look at what it would take to make HomeKit the premier home automation platform.
macOS High Sierra: 3 Ways to Sandbox Facebook for Optimal Privacy
We won’t go so far as to suggest using a virtual machine just for Facebook, because at that point you might as well stop using it. But there are smaller steps you can take.
Apple Hires Google's AI Chief, Tim Cook Touts His Commitment to Privacy
In a letter to employees, Tim Cook said that John Giannandrea shared Apple’s commitment to privacy and “our thoughtful approach” to machine learning.
Here's How You Can Download Your Google Data Into an Archive
Google allows you to download an archive that contains a tremendous amount of information, for example, your bookmarks, calendars, activity, searches, requested map directions, photos and so on. The list is long. Here’s how to do it.
Understanding DNS, Dave's Wi-Fi Mesh Router Update - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-02
Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to dive into DNS and Cloudflare’s new server, plus we get an update on the state of Wi-Fi Mesh routers.
Cloudflare Intros New DNS Servers to Keep Your Browsing Activity Private
Cloudflare launched its own DNS servers that focus on privacy, speed, and avoiding online censorship.
Apple Profile Downloads, Business Chat Explained - TMO Daily Observations 2018-03-30
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple letting us download the data associated with our Apple ID, plus they take a look at Business Chat in Messages.