Aug 06
Following a wave of polls showing a remarkable turn of public opinion, Congress has finally gotten serious about bringing limits, transparency and oversight to the NSA’s mass surveillance apparatus aimed at Americans.
     |
Aug 05
This week the folks out there looking to be entirely anonymous (not to be mistaken for the Anonymous hacker collective) have been greeted by a message through the Tor web browser. Tor is a fork of Firefox – based in Firefox’s code, recreated as a web browser here to allow entirely anonymous web browsing. According […]
Aug 05
Tor browser for Windows exploit discovered, malware may be gathering info for Uncle Sam (updated)
Posted in: Today's Chili
It was just over two years ago that the paragon of internet privacy, the Tor project, decided to build its own browser by forking Firefox. Wired reports that an exploit of that very same browser has been recently discovered that allowed a number of users’ Windows computers to be infected with malware. Once installed, the code delivered infected machines’ hostnames and MAC addresses to a remote web server in Reston, Virginia, a city located just outside Washington D.C. The browser exploit — a JavaScript vulnerability inherent to Firefox version 17, the version upon which the Tor browser was built — was enabled by a breach of Freedom Hosting servers. In this case, affected Freedom Hosting servers delivered web pages to users with the JavaScript exploit embedded in them.
There’s no direct evidence that the malware comes from the government, but the malware’s command and control IP address is registered to a governmental defense contractor. Plus, the data pulled from infected machines indicates it could be an example of the FBI’s computer and internet protocol address verifier (CIPAV) software first identified by Wired in 2007. CIPAV has been used by the FBI to help identify and catch terrorists, hackers and criminals since 2002, but the exact nature of the software has never been revealed. Regardless, the vulnerability in the browser has been identified and fixed, so users need only update to the newest version of the Tor browser to keep their web traffic away from prying eyes… for now, at least.
Update: To be clear, the Firefox exploit in question was fixed, along with the Tor browser well over a month ago, and any users who have updated since June 26th were not affected.
Filed under: Internet
Via: Wired
Source: Tor Project, Tor Blog
Aug 05
OFF Pocket Phone Case Blocks Wireless Signals: It Ain’t Too Much for Me to Jam
Posted in: Today's ChiliDesigner Adam Harvey is obsessed with privacy. He’s come up with clothes that hide you from thermal sensors and x-ray machines, and an anti-paparazzi bag that ruins pictures. Recently he teamed up with materials consultant Johanna Bloomfield to make the OFF Pocket, a case that cuts your phone off from the world.
The interior of the OFF Pocket is lined with “metalized fibers”, acting as a Faraday cage that blocks Wi-Fi, Cellular, Bluetooth and GPS signals. It’s your phone’s tinfoil hat. Or tinfoil straitjacket.
Make sure your connection is secure and pledge at least $85 (USD) on Kickstarter to get an OFF Pocket as a reward. Or you could just power off your phone.
Aug 05
Over the weekend, security researchers noticed some strange activity happening on the Tor network, an anonymous "darknet" used for everything from private browsing to selling drugs
| |
Aug 02
In an age of mandatory password complexity and burgeoning biosensory protection, the idea of a four-number PIN for the ATM seems almost quaint. That doesn’t excuse the fact that the most popular PIN is still, yes, 1234. Come on, people.
| |
Aug 01
The FBI Can Remotely Activate Microphones in Android Phones to Record Conversations
Posted in: Today's Chili
The WSJ is reporting that the FBI uses super slick hacker tactics and tools to spy on people. It can get pretty dirty. Like, according to a former US official, the ability to "remotely activate the microphones in phones running Google’s Android software to record conversations" dirty.
| |
Aug 01
Edward Snowden—the former NSA contractor who revealed
| |
Aug 01
Odds are you’ve given lots of applications access to the services you commonly use. It’s a good idea to go through periodically and clean these out.
| |
Jul 31
Twitter just released its latest transparency report detailing government requests for information requests, content removal requests and copyright takedowns. Not just one or two but all three categories are up in the first half of this year.
| |
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.