Internet security

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Here Are the 10 Worst Passwords of 2020
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Want to Make a Hacker's Day? Use One of These Passwords

NordPass has released its worst candidates for 2020

(Newser) - We get how brain-melting it can be to remember all of your various passwords—really, we honestly, truly get it. But you've got to try harder than the people whose passwords popped up on NordPass' 2020 ranking of the 200 most common passwords, which, as Suzanne Humphries succinctly puts...

Facebook's New Headache: It Might Employ a 'Pro Stalker'

Company looking into claim that security engineer used his access to data to cyberstalk women

(Newser) - Already under fire for its user data scandal , Facebook is facing new allegations on the misuse of customer data that veer into the cyberstalking realm. It started on Sunday with a tweet from Jackie Stokes, head of the Spyglass Security computer security firm: "I've been made aware that...

Google Hands Out $6,006.13 Reward, an Inside Joke

Sanmay Ved actually bought Google.com for $12 in September—for a minute

(Newser) - Google handed out more than $2 million to more than 300 people in 2015 who spotted bugs and security issues, but one award in particular stands out, reports Beta News . The odd sum of $6,006.13 went to Sanmay Ved, a former Google employee and current MBA candidate at...

Yahoo Mail: We're Killing Passwords

Email service will now use push notifications on mobile devices to sign users in

(Newser) - Yahoo Mail is turning 18, and it's marking the occasion with a big move: no more passwords. The company announced Thursday it's dumping what one Gartner security analyst calls the "antiquated" process of punching in a password to access messages and replacing it with a push notification...

Sony Hid Passwords in a Folder Called 'Password'

BuzzFeed finds them, quickly

(Newser) - The latest document dump in the Sony hack has exposed thousands of the company's passwords for various accounts, reports BuzzFeed . The reason this came to light so quickly? The passwords were kept in a file directory called "Password." Among them are hundreds of usernames and passwords for...

How Technology Led to a Child's Abduction— and Rescue

iPod helped authorities find girl said to have been talking to man online

(Newser) - The story of a 12-year-old girl's kidnapping fuels concerns about the dangers of the Internet—even as it demonstrates how today's devices can come to the rescue, Ars Technica reports. The Baltimore-area girl, identified in court as Jane Doe, communicated with several men via Xbox Live and social...

Brits Unwittingly Give Up Firstborns for Free WiFi

Security experiment uses 'Herod clause' to show vulnerabilities in public hot spots

(Newser) - What would you give for free WiFi? A handful of Londoners would apparently sacrifice their oldest child, according to F-Secure, a security firm that set up a public hot spot in June as part of an experiment to show how insecure public WiFi is, the Guardian reports. While connecting to...

Why You Shouldn't Panic Over That Russian Hack
Why You Shouldn't Panic Over That Russian Hack
OPINION

Why You Shouldn't Panic Over That Russian Hack

Skeptics think threat is overblown, for a variety of reasons

(Newser) - The New York Times struck fear into Internet users everywhere yesterday with its report that Russian hackers had gotten hold of a staggering 1.2 billion username and password combinations. But is the threat exaggerated? At Forbes , Kashmir Hill finds it a little fishy that Hold Security, the Wisconsin security...

Russian Hackers Might Have Your Password

Small group has stolen about 1.2B, biggest known collection: NY Times

(Newser) - If all the previous reports about Internet security breaches and stolen passwords weren't enough to scare you into changing your info, this one might: The New York Times reports that a small group of Russian hackers has collected 1.2 billion username and password combos, along with about half...

Seriously, Don't Download 'Yo'
 Seriously, Don't Download 'Yo' 
OPINION

Seriously, Don't Download 'Yo'

App has already been hacked

(Newser) - Well that was fast: Yo has been hacked. The app that lets you send messages that say "yo" (yes, that's all it does) was virtually unknown a week ago, but then it got a $1 million cash injection, prompting a flood of mostly incredulous news stories —and...

Tech Titans Throw $3.6M at Preventing New Heartbleed

Google, Microsoft, Amazon among firms backing effort

(Newser) - Competing tech giants don't want to see another Heartbleed, and they're putting their money where their mouth is to ensure that they don't. Some of tech's biggest names—Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Dell, to name a few—are now jointly funding an effort to support...

The Dangerous Life of a Cybercrime Blogger

Brian Krebs revealed Target hack

(Newser) - Brian Krebs, a Washington Post reporter turned private blogger, has made a name for himself in the world of cybersecurity—in particular through his revelation of the enormous Target hacks . But such security success doesn't come without a price: Hackers know who Krebs is, writes Nicole Perlroth in the...

Google Buys Tech That Could Replace Passwords

SlickLogin uses an almost inaudible sound to unlock sites

(Newser) - Google has just purchased a startup that hoped to change the way people log in. SlickLogin has been developing a system in which sites would play a uniquely generated and virtually inaudible sound, the BBC reports. An app on users' phones would pick up the sound, and send back a...

US, Internet Giants Cut Deal on Data Disclosure

Companies can say how often they give up your information

(Newser) - The government and leading Internet companies today announced a compromise that will allow those companies to reveal more information about how often they are ordered to turn over customer information to the government in national security investigations. The Justice Department reached agreements with Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, and LinkedIn that...

HealthCare.gov Still 'Dangerous': Security Experts

But site's operators say no attacks have yet succeeded

(Newser) - More than three months into its disastrous rollout, HealthCare.gov is still wide open to hackers despite pleas that date back to October to fix more than 20 vulnerabilities, a group of security experts says. Users' personal information and computers could be commandeered, they tell Reuters , and hackers could damage...

Microsoft Attacks 'Army of Zombie Computers'

Cut connections of botnet netting criminals $2.7M per month

(Newser) - A major hacking operation involving a worldwide "army of zombie computers" hit a snag yesterday when the FBI, Europol, and Microsoft teamed up to shut it down. A months-long investigation by Microsoft found the ZeroAccess botnet infecting some 2 million computers with malware that generated bogus clicks on ads,...

Hackers Post 2M Facebook, Google, Yahoo Passwords

Most common one? '123456'

(Newser) - Some 2 million user credentials for Facebook and other top services have appeared on a Russian-language website, likely thanks to malware installed on users' computers, experts tell the BBC . They believe a crime ring was probably behind the dump, which claimed to include 318,121 Facebook usernames and passwords, along...

Twitter Rolls Out Beefed-Up Security

Matches competitors with a 2-step log-in process

(Newser) - Twitter has finally rolled out its two-step log-in process , cracking down on security in the wake of a number of high-profile hacks and bringing it on par with other major tech companies. Called Log-in Verification, the new system adds an extra layer of security by allowing users to have a...

Los Alamos Has Ultra-Secure 'Quantum Internet'

Researchers have been using it for more than 2 years

(Newser) - The concept of a "quantum Internet" is like the holy grail of online security—any such system would guarantee that all communication is safe. Now it appears that researchers at Los Alamos have made real progress: They've been using an uber-secure system of their own design for about...

'Malware Monday' More Bark Than Bite

ISPs say they've been working to keep affected customers online

(Newser) - With about 64,000 computers in the United States in danger of getting cut off from the Internet at midnight last night once the FBI shut down two servers connected to the DNSChanger virus , the dawning of a new day is set to bring ... well, precious little, reports the Wall ...

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