snooping

This Interactive Map Lets You Spy on Insecure Webcam Feeds

This new web app mashes together insecure feeds from Trendnet home security cameras with Google Maps to let you spy on people all over the world. It’s horrible, dreadful, disgusting—and utterly compelling. There is no getting around the fact that you are taking a peek into some very, very personal environments here—and if you head…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Jan 22

Use This Webapp to Find Out If Your iPhone Apps Are Spying On You

Bitdefender’s Clueful, once an iOS app in its own right that Apple apparently took offence to, is now back as a webapp. Use it to find out if your apps are spying on you, storing your personal information, and sending it anywhere you might not want them to. Essential for the paranoid; interesting for the…

Tech News Sam Gibbs - Gizmodo UK Jan 11

This Instagram-Street View Mash-Up Is a Stalker’s Wet Dream

As if Instagram wasn’t already an amazing way to snoop on what people are doing around the entire planet, a new website called The Beat lets you see exactly where the photographs were taken, too. https://gizmodo.com/spy-on-instagram-all-around-the-world-in-realtime-5931345 Put together by Rutgers’ Social Media Information Lab, the site uses Instagram’s API to tie geotagged photos to their…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Jan 2

How Rental PCs Loaded With Spyware Snooped on and Photographed Their Users

When you pay to use a computer, you don’t expect it to be tracking your each and every digital move as a result. But that’s exactly what happened to Aaron’s Sale and Leasing customers—who had their rental computers snooped on in incredible detail. Ars Technica has a great, detailed feature about the saga, which originally…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Dec 19

Ads in Internet Explorer Could Be Tracking Your Mouse

If you still use Internet Explorer, there’s more to worry about than a crappy browsing experience. Microsoft has confirmed that it’s looking in to a “mouse tracking” flaw which affects IE 6 through 10. The security problem was identified by a group called Spider.io earlier this week. It claims that versions 6 through 10 of…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Dec 14

Google: Government Surveillance Is on the Rise

Google’s released its twice-yearly transparency report, and there’s one message within it that rings loud and clear: the US government is spying on us harder than ever. Seems the search giant is increasingly being asked to hand over user data and remove content by governments and courts from around the world. As Google explains: [G]overnment…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Nov 14

Kim Dotcom Suspected Government Snooping Because of a 150 Millisecond Connection Delay in Modern Warfare 3

According to the New Zealand Herald, Kim Dotcom suspected he was being spied because of a 150 millisecond connection delay while playing his favorite game—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Kim wanted to be the king of MW3 so hard that he had a dedicated internet connection that linked his Coatesville mansion directly to the…

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz Oct 5

California Protects Social Media Accounts From the Grasp of Employers

A small victory in the fight for digital privacy: California Governor Jerry Brown has announced his signing of bills to prevent employers and universities from demanding social network login. https://gizmodo.com/facebook-tells-users-not-to-give-passwords-to-employers-5895846 In fact he’s signing two bills: Assembly Bill 1844 and Senate Bill 1349. The first prevents employers from asking workers for social media usernames or…

Social Media Jamie Condliffe Sep 28

New Forensics Tool Can Slurp a Phone’s Data via the Cloud

The police don’t even need to touch your phone anymore to know how you’ve been using it. A new off-the-shelf forensics tool lets cops retrieve all the data they want from your iPhone by accessing its contents through iCloud. The software, developed by ElcomSoft, lets investigators retrieve user data associated with iPhones from Apple’s iCloud…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe May 17

Most Popular Surveillance Cameras Can Be Hacked

In a world where security cameras are nearly as ubiquitous as light fixtures, someone is always watching you. But the watcher might not always be who you think it is. Three of the most popular brands of closed-circuit surveillance cameras are sold with remote internet access enabled by default, and with weak password security –…

Privacy & Security Kim Zetter - Wired May 15

New Bill Banning Employer Facebook Snooping Introduced in Congress

Back in March, news of employers asking employees and prospective hires for Facebook logins sparked much debate amongst public and politicians alike. After one amendment failed to pass, a pair of democrats are now fighting hard to change things in Congress. https://gizmodo.com/prospective-employees-are-now-being-asked-for-facebook-5894785 The Hill reports that the Social Networking Online Protection Act, introduced by democratic…

Social Media Jamie Condliffe Apr 30

This Is How Much Carriers Charge for Cellphone Wiretaps

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that phone tracking was an extremely widespread phenomenon across US police forces. Now, another of their leaked documents reveals how much cell carriers charge for the services. https://gizmodo.com/phone-tracking-isnt-just-for-the-fbi-any-more-5898261 In fact, flicking through the document makes it seem like a rather day-to-day practice. It lists the costs…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Apr 4

Phone Tracking Isn’t Just For the FBI Any More

If you thought phone tracking only happened to super criminals, think again. According to an investigation by the New York Times, police forces are now using phone tracking—something that was previously the domain federal agents—as a routine tool. In fact, the report suggests that it’s a widespread tactic, hushed up by police departments to avoid…

Privacy & Security Jamie Condliffe Apr 2

Legally Dubious Aerial Drone Records Your Wireless Conversations

A model airplane hobbyist and an Air Force vet decided to put their combined skills to use by creating a spy drone. But it’s not just any spy drone—it’s designed to record private phone conversations. Great. There’s no doubt the electric WASP—Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platform—is technically impressive. It maneuvers using a built-in HD cam, runs…

Tech News Sam Biddle Aug 1

AT&T Introduces Somewhat Creepy FamilyMap Snooping Service

AT&T now offers a $10/month plan that gets you the realtime location of two of your plan’s phones ($15/month for five). But unlike other family trackers, this one doesn’t appear to need parental permission/notification. One of our editors tried it out, and was able to track members of his family without them knowing (UPDATE: Text…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Apr 14

UK Gov’t Creating Centralized Snooping Silo to Monitor all Calls, Texts, Emails, IMs and Surf Histories

The UK government has decided to spend hundreds of millions of pounds (gajillions of dollars in US currency) on a huge central silo for all of the country’s communications data. What’ll that entail? Well, apparently “the one-stop-shop database will retain details of all calls, texts, emails, instant messenger conversations and websites accessed in the UK…

Gadgets Adam Frucci Aug 19

Intelius Says They’re Dropping Super Invasive Cellphone Directory…Kinda

Remember Intelius, the company that was making a giant directory of unlisted cellphone numbers that you could search (and pay money for)? They’re changing the project after the huge negative response from consumers and the media. Hit the jump for their own reasons why they made the directory in the first place and why they’re…

Tech News Jason Chen Feb 1

Secret Agent Spy Ear for Eavesdroppers, Snoops and Busybodies

If you’d like to hear those mice crawling around in the walls, the Rechargeable M-7 Secret Agent Spy Ear is for you. Its earpiece is designed for stealth, letting you listen in on conversations across the room undetected. Just pop the wireless device into your ear and somehow you can hear better than ever. Perhaps…

Gadgets Charlie White Feb 20

This Interactive Map Lets You Spy on Insecure Webcam Feeds

Use This Webapp to Find Out If Your iPhone Apps Are Spying On You

This Instagram-Street View Mash-Up Is a Stalker’s Wet Dream

How Rental PCs Loaded With Spyware Snooped on and Photographed Their Users

Ads in Internet Explorer Could Be Tracking Your Mouse

Google: Government Surveillance Is on the Rise

Kim Dotcom Suspected Government Snooping Because of a 150 Millisecond Connection Delay in Modern Warfare 3

California Protects Social Media Accounts From the Grasp of Employers

New Forensics Tool Can Slurp a Phone’s Data via the Cloud

Most Popular Surveillance Cameras Can Be Hacked

New Bill Banning Employer Facebook Snooping Introduced in Congress

This Is How Much Carriers Charge for Cellphone Wiretaps

Phone Tracking Isn’t Just For the FBI Any More

Legally Dubious Aerial Drone Records Your Wireless Conversations

AT&T Introduces Somewhat Creepy FamilyMap Snooping Service

UK Gov’t Creating Centralized Snooping Silo to Monitor all Calls, Texts, Emails, IMs and Surf Histories

Intelius Says They’re Dropping Super Invasive Cellphone Directory…Kinda

Secret Agent Spy Ear for Eavesdroppers, Snoops and Busybodies

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