Hasta La Gadget!

Google has drawn flak for wanting much of our access to its services linked under a single Google+ identity — and preferably a real one. However, company internet evangelist Vint Cerf argues that Google shouldn’t (and doesn’t) cross a line in the sand on user anonymity. He contends in a Reuters interview that no one should be forced to use their real name, and that Google won’t press for one, especially in politically oppressive situations where there could be dire consequences to protesting under a real identity. What about less sensitive conditions, however? Cerf would like to strike a balance: he prefers solutions that “strongly authenticate” people when necessary, without eliminating anonymity altogether. We’re glad to hear that there’s a place Google won’t go in its quest for social network supremacy, although we’re sure some would like the search giant to take another step back and restore the controls over anonymity and privacy that they believe have been lost.

[Image credit: Joy Ito, Flickr]

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Source: Reuters

Cloud notetaking service Evernote has been hacked, the company has revealed today, with an unidentified attacker compromising servers and extracting usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. The attack has forced a mandatory password reset, meaning all users must change their password before they can log back into their account, but Evernote says there is no evidence of either notes being viewed by a third-party, or payment details of Evernote Premium or Business users being accessed.

Evernote has begun to notify all users by email of the breach, though the company is confident that data itself is safe. “The passwords stored by Evernote are protected by one-way encryption” Evernote said, “in technical terms, they are hashed and salted.”

“On February 28th, the Evernote Operations & Security team became aware of unusual and potentially malicious activity on the Evernote service that warranted a deeper look. We discovered that a person or persons had gained access to usernames, email addresses and encrypted user passwords. In our ongoing analysis, we have found no evidence that there has been unauthorized access to the contents of any user account or to any payment information of Evernote Premium and Evernote Business customers” Evernote spokesperson

Exactly how the hack took place has not been revealed, though Evernote says its Operations & Security team is still investigating. However, it’s believed to be “a coordinated attempt” to steal, change, or delete user-data.

Evernote insists that its “password encryption measures are robust” but says also that it is “taking additional steps” to bolster security, of which forcing a password change is part of it. The company also suggests people choose more complex passwords, avoiding dictionary words, and don’t use the same password across multiple sites or services.

Evernote hacked: Emails, encrypted passwords stolen is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It feels a bit strange to report on a webcam privacy shade as if it were a novelty: various products already let users put a decorative background on screen in lieu of a live stream, or even pull a physical shade across the lens. What Apple is apparently proposing, though, is a camera with such privacy filters built into the camera module itself. The company just applied for a patent on a camera whose images could selectively transition from opaque to transparent and back again, depending on how much privacy is called for.

Based on that illustration up there, we’re going to hazard a guess it could be used in Apple’s MacBook and iMac lines, though the patent application doesn’t explicitly exclude mobile devices, either. (In fact, the filing acknowledges a camera like this could be used in, ahem, a television.) What we’d really like to know is how easy it would be for the user to active the privacy mode. Alas, though, the USPTO doc doesn’t give any definitive answers — the filing suggests the user could choose to switch modes, or that launching certain applications (i.e., those that use the camera) might trigger a change in privacy settings. In any case, that’s about all we can glean from the patent application, but feel free to peek for yourselves if you feel like letting your imaginations get ahead of you.

Filed under: Desktops, Cameras, Laptops, Apple

Comments

Source: USPTO

Graph Search is Facebook’s bold new way of browsing the social network, letting you call up photos of your family in California, restaurants your friends like in New York, or any public updates from Gizmodo employees who also like hot air ballooning. It’s currently only available to a limited number of users, but it’s coming to your timeline soon. And in the wrong hands, it can be the ultimate stalker search engine. More »

Early last year when Google revealed that it would be combining its privacy policy across all its services, many people cried foul, stating that such a move allowed it to gather far too much information about its users. Google contended that the short, simpler privacy policy is something that users prefer, and that having one policy across multiple products and/or services is not uncommon. European regulators quickly jumped on the change, however, and after some back and forth, they still aren’t satisfied with how Google has handled the issue.

Earlier today, European regulators announced that they will proceed against the search engine giant over issues with its one-policy-to-rule-them all method. Although the single privacy policy is not against the law, it is being viewed as a high-risk practice, putting users’ private information in a vulnerable position. Initially, the French National Commission for Computing and Liberties, more commonly known as CNIL, was pulled in to decide whether the single privacy policy put EU users’ data at risk. That same watchdog will once again look into the issue, stating that Google failed to address the problems it had outlined.

Said CNIL, “Google did not provide any precise and effective answers. In this context, the EU data protection authorities are committed to act and continue their investigations. Therefore, they propose to set up a working group, led by the CNIL, in order to coordinate their reaction, which should take place before summer.”

Google disagrees, however. According to the company, it had responded to the CNIL in early January of this year with a series of actions it had taken to deal with the concerns. Said Google spokesman Al Verney, “We have engaged fully with CNIL throughout the process and will continues to do so.” He also pointed out that the privacy policy does not violate the law.

[via Reuters]

European regulators tell Google to get its privacy policy issues sorted is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.