Privacy & Security

If You Use IE8, Firefox, and Safari, Today Is a Bad Day

No browser is safe: Internet Explorer 8, Firefox, and Safari, all of them have been hacked at 2010 Pwn2Own, and used to take full control of a Windows 7 machine (Chrome wasn’t targeted). [Zdnet, Zdnet, Zdnet] Correction: IE 8 and Firefox took control of Windows 7. Safari took control of Mac OS X.

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz

Airport Employee Abused Body Scanner to Get a Naughty Look at a Coworker

An employee at Heathrow airport has been given a harassment warning by police officers after he snuck a peek at one of his female coworkers when she accidentally walked through a full-body scanner. Apparently that’s considered “misuse” of the scanners. Now whether this fellow intentionally misused the equipment for his own perverse kicks or whether…

Privacy & Security Rosa Golijan

This High Tech Criminal Wunderkind Puts Any Bond Villain To Shame

Wired has an incredible article on Gerald Blanchard, a young criminal mastermind with a “savantlike ability to assess security flaws.” The story opens with him parachuting onto a Viennese castle to steal a $2 million diamond jewel. Yeah. In addition to his unique ability to find security holes, Blanchard used every type of surveillance gadget…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

Law Enforcement Appliance Subverts SSL

That little lock on your browser window indicating you are communicating securely with your bank or e-mail account may not always mean what you think its means. Normally when a user visits a secure website, such as Bank of America, Gmail, PayPal or eBay, the browser examines the website’s certificate to verify its authenticity. At…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

The Department of Defense Covertly Dismantled a Terrorist Message Board…Created By the CIA

An incident from 2008, brought to light recently by the Washington Post, reveals just how discombobulated our nation’s cybersecurity efforts actually are. A terrorist-tracking forum, created by the CIA and Saudi government, was shut down by the National Security Agency. The message board was started by the CIA and Saudi government as a “honey pot”…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

Google Street View, Meet Your Avian Nemesis

Now leading the privacy crusade against Google: birds! Spotted in the English beachside town of Brighton, where even the gulls are nervous about the Big G. [Google Maps]

Privacy & Security John Herrman

Netflix’s Million Dollar Contest Shut Down Amidst Privacy Concerns

Yesterday, Netflix announced that they’re pulling the plug on the sequel to their supercool Netflix Prize in which teams competed to improve the company’s recommendation algorithm for a million dollar reward. Privacy: can’t live with it, can’t live without it. https://gizmodo.com/netflix-prize-competition-comes-to-a-thrilling-conclusi-5323261 In December, a woman filed a lawsuit against Netflix in which she claimed that…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

SuperCrypt USB 3.0 Flash Drive Soothes Even the Most Paranoid Early Adopters

I’m imagining a Venn diagram of 1.) People who’ve already built a PC compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.) people who are gravely concerned about data security. The middle section is quite large! Hence, the Super Talent SuperCrypts. These jumbo-sized flash drives, which are backwards compatible with USB 2.0, have been built around AES hardware…

Privacy & Security John Herrman

How to Manage Passwords In Any Browser And On Any OS

I want a universal password manager—something that can work with any browser and any OS—and I want it to be simple, secure, and completely dummy-proof. Turns out that such a thing actually exists. Meet LastPass. https://lifehacker.com/the-easy-any-browser-any-os-password-solution-5483119 Lifehacker’s Kevin has a great guide to how LastPass works and how you can get the most out of…

Privacy & Security Rosa Golijan

Security Expert: Flash Is the Root of Browser Insecurity (Oh, and IE8 Isn’t So Bad!)

You’re probably relatively confident in your various machines’ integrity against hackers. Repeat Pwn2Own hacking competition victor Charlie Miller would like you to know that you’re wrong—especially if you have Flash. In an interview with OneITSecurity, Miller picks off questions about hacking and security with just enough ease and nonchalance to make me queasy. Like, you…

Privacy & Security John Herrman

A Hypothetical Look Inside the Webcam-Spying Principal’s Office

You’ve probably heard about the school district that installed spy software on laptops issued to its students so they could spy on them without their knowledge. Creepy! Well, here’s a peek at the principal who came up with the idea. https://gizmodo.com/school-spies-students-through-their-laptop-cameras-5474614 The other fellow in the video is DC Pierson, of Derrick Comedy fame. He…

Privacy & Security Adam Frucci

NY Vice-Principal Brags About School’s Laptop Spying to PBS

Apparently using laptop webcams to spy on students isn’t an isolated problem. An assistant principal in the Bronx recently not only bragged about doing just that to PBS—he demonstrated it live. Heads up: this gets real creepy. https://gizmodo.com/school-spies-students-through-their-laptop-cameras-5474614 Dan Ackerman is an administrator at Intermediate School 339, in the Bronx, and he appeared in a…

Privacy & Security Brian Barrett

At Laptop-Spying School MacBook Use Was Mandatory, Tampering Grounds For Expulsion

Details continue to trickle out about Lower Merion School District, their MacBook loan program, and the unsavory security practices they used to keep those computers safe. The latest: the school-supplied MacBooks were required for classes and students could not use their own personal machines in their place. Worse yet, it was impossible to disable the…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

Hotel Locks Defeated by Piece of Wire, Secured by Towel

Hotel rooms tend to have locks that use magnetic swipe cards—something reasonably high-tech and innately trusted. Bad news? A piece of bent wire can defeat these locks. Good news? A towel prevents such low-tech break-ins. The tool shown in the video isn’t just a plain piece of wire, instead it’s a special “government only” tool,…

Privacy & Security Rosa Golijan

Laptop-Spying School Accessed Webcams 42 Times; FBI Begins Investigation

Surely by now you’ve heard about the high school student suing Philadelphia’s Lower Merion School District for remotely accessing his webcam. And maybe you read the Superintendent’s response and thought, “well, maybe this whole business is getting blown out of proportion.” It isn’t. https://gizmodo.com/school-spies-students-through-their-laptop-cameras-5474614 According to a Washington Post report from early this morning, the…

Privacy & Security Kyle VanHemert

Laptop-Spying School District Superintendent Covers Ass By Claiming Security Feature

Dr. Christopher W. McGinley, Superintendent of the Lower Merion School District—the district accused of invading students’ privacy by accessing their laptop’s webcams remotely—has sent an email to parents and guardians explaining why. Kind of: https://gizmodo.com/school-spies-students-through-their-laptop-cameras-5474614 ————— Forwarded message ————— From: Date: Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 9:33 PM Subject: Email from Lower Merion School District…

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz

Update: Students Knew “MacBook Cameras Turned On Randomly” as School Administrators Gave Technical Excuses

One of the students involved in the class-action lawsuit against the administrators who used school-provided laptops to spy on them, contacted Gizmodo with details about what was happening. https://gizmodo.com/school-spies-students-through-their-laptop-cameras-5474614 Frequently, the green lights next to our [Early 2008 MacBook] iSight webcams will turn on. The school district claims that this is just a glitch. We…

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz

School Spies Students Through Their Laptop Cameras

High School students have sued the Lower Merion School District in Philadelphia for spying on them using their laptops’ built-in cameras. School administrator activated the webcams remotely and recorded students’ activities at home. Way to go, KGB-wannabe assclowns. Updated The situation was discovered by the Robbins, when their kid was disciplined for “improper behavior in…

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz

Remote-Controlled Roaches: The Next Front Line in Nuclear Defense

I’m sorry, roaches that I’ve squashed. I didn’t know that one day your kin would be our nuke-detecting salvation. Nuclear engineers from Texas A&M, who clearly are less squeamish than I am, have attached radioactivity sensors to the backs of cockroaches. Oh, sorry, to the backs of remote-controlled cockroaches, which sounds like the start of…

Privacy & Security Brian Barrett

TSA To Start Swabbing Travelers’ Hands Looking for Explosives

And you thought taking your shoes off was annoying! In the TSA’s never-ending quest to make traveling possibly safer and definitely more annoying, they’re going to start randomly swabbing passengers’ hands at airport checkpoints. Really, this makes a hell of a lot more sense than the shoe-checking and liquid-limiting that makes traveling such a pain…

Privacy & Security Adam Frucci

If You Use IE8, Firefox, and Safari, Today Is a Bad Day

Airport Employee Abused Body Scanner to Get a Naughty Look at a Coworker

This High Tech Criminal Wunderkind Puts Any Bond Villain To Shame

Law Enforcement Appliance Subverts SSL

The Department of Defense Covertly Dismantled a Terrorist Message Board…Created By the CIA

Google Street View, Meet Your Avian Nemesis

Netflix’s Million Dollar Contest Shut Down Amidst Privacy Concerns

SuperCrypt USB 3.0 Flash Drive Soothes Even the Most Paranoid Early Adopters

How to Manage Passwords In Any Browser And On Any OS

Security Expert: Flash Is the Root of Browser Insecurity (Oh, and IE8 Isn’t So Bad!)

A Hypothetical Look Inside the Webcam-Spying Principal’s Office

NY Vice-Principal Brags About School’s Laptop Spying to PBS

At Laptop-Spying School MacBook Use Was Mandatory, Tampering Grounds For Expulsion

Hotel Locks Defeated by Piece of Wire, Secured by Towel

Laptop-Spying School Accessed Webcams 42 Times; FBI Begins Investigation

Laptop-Spying School District Superintendent Covers Ass By Claiming Security Feature

Update: Students Knew “MacBook Cameras Turned On Randomly” as School Administrators Gave Technical Excuses

School Spies Students Through Their Laptop Cameras

Remote-Controlled Roaches: The Next Front Line in Nuclear Defense

TSA To Start Swabbing Travelers’ Hands Looking for Explosives

The Films and Shows You Should Be Streaming in April 2026

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

Chinese Startup Debuts Super-Bendy Robotic Arm for Orbital Repairs

Your Devices Are Targets. Bitdefender Shields Them All — For Less Than You Think

Of Course, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Post Credit Scene Is Another Big Cameo

Proton Just Launched Meet, and It Makes Zoom Look Like a Privacy Nightmare

America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

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