*You should clear your browser cookies and history on a regular basis

TechViews.org Browsers, Identity Theft, Privacy, Tips & Hints

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Cookies are a tool that, along with browsing history, help web browsers speed up users’ browsing sessions. But cookies also pose a threat. Attackers could steal them to gain access to our accounts and, by extension, make off with our personal information.

You’ve probably heard someone at one point tell you to delete your cookies/browsing history and/or clear your cache when you were experiencing technical issues online. There are other valid reasons as well.

Before we get into the notion of deleting cookies and other elements of a user’s browsing history, it’s important that we first understand how users generate histories while browsing the web.

Taking a broad view, “history” in this situation refers to information that a user generates while using a web browser. This data ranges from files downloaded to sites visited to other important tidbits. Every piece of history falls into one of seven categories.

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*Company in Wisconsin to implant chips in employees. The start of Big Brother?

TechViews.org Privacy, Public Threats

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Three Square Market (32M), a River Falls, Wisconsin based software design company, says starting August 1st, it will become the first business in the U.S. to offer microchip implants to its employees.

Three Square Market has partnered with Swedish biohacking firm BioHax International for offering implanted microchips to all their employees. Although the program is optional, the company wants at least more than 50 of its employees to undergo the procedure.

The chips will be implanted underneath the skin between the thumb and forefinger, which will allow employees to pay for food and drinks in the company’s break room, open security doors, and login into their computers without any special cards—or passwords. Continue reading →

*Cybercriminals now using fake messaging apps to steal your personal information

TechViews.org Identity Theft, Mobile Devices, Online Dangers, Privacy, Smartphones

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Cybercriminals have been trying to get a foothold in Smartphones without much success. The primary way was through fake apps in your phones’ app store where it was hidden with legit apps.

That works if you are someone who mindlessly downloads apps for fun. Unfortunately that behavior is mostly among the younger crowd who don’t know any better. But occasionally we all find something interesting and want to try it out. A person could download an app that looks legit and … wham … they get a bad one that infects their smartphone.

Most phone carriers now have ways for spotting those fake apps and are starting to block them. That is good for the users, but also creates a reason for the scammers to find other ways to infect your phone.

Lately, it seems like cybercriminals have been turning their attention to popular messaging apps to trick users into installing malicious software or worse, giving away their sensitive information. Currently, the most dangerous way to get a smartphone infection is through messaging apps used by people who feel the need to message and text 24/7. Continue reading →

* Why you should have a ProtonMail account — Privacy!

TechViews.org Email, Encryption, Tips & Hints

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After last year’s massive Yahoo email breach, and the questionable privacy of Gmail, a lot of people are looking for a secure & private way to transmit email messages without snooping.

ProtonMail is much more secure than any other mail provider and is the ideal place for password resets and bank account statements. I don’t usually advocate for specific products, but you SHOULD use ProtonMail for important emails that NEED to be private.

Now it’s always smart to have a couple of ‘throwaway’ email accounts for things like registering on junk websites, or signing in to read the news or favorite recipes, and such. But there are some communications that need to be private, and may contain personal information such as medical conversations, banking or shopping information. You get the idea.

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*Windows 10 Still doesn’t measure up

TechViews.org Internet Security, Microsoft, Windows-10 Dangers

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Windows 7 continues to be the most popular, and solid Windows OS on the market. Windows 8-8.1 was a massive failure, thanks to the smartphone-like tiles and Microsoft’s thrust to unify all products with one common OS.

Windows 10 is certainly better than Win 8.x, but it’s still not an experience that users like … or want. And quite frankly, the people clutching to Windows 7 aren’t so crazy.

The biggest problem with Win 10 is the privacy aspect, or lack thereof. Microsoft’s push to capture personal data in the manner of Facebook and Google through telemetry is a good thing for the development of the operating system, but users shouldn’t be forced to participate. Continue reading →

*US rebuilding its Cyber-Command infrastructure

TechViews.org U.S. Military

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Within the operations of the National Security Agency (NSA) exists another super-secret agency – the U.S. Cyber Command.   This past week, NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers announced that the Trump administration is finalizing plans to revamp the nation’s military command for defensive and offensive cyber operations in hopes of intensifying America’s ability to wage cyber war against her enemies.

As part of the reorganization, the U.S. Cyber Command would eventually be split off from the intelligence-focused National Security Agency.

The goal is to give U.S. Cyber Command more autonomy, freeing it from any constraints that stem from working alongside the NSA, which is responsible for monitoring and collecting telephone, internet and other intelligence data from around the world — a responsibility that can sometimes clash with military operations against conventional enemy tactics. Continue reading →

*Disable Auto-Fill – It’s Leaking Your Information!

TechViews.org Browsers, Identity Theft, Internet Security, Privacy, Tips & Hints

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Just like most of you, I too really hate filling out web forms, especially on mobile devices. To help make this whole process faster, major browsers offer the “Autofill” feature that automatically fills out web form based on data you have previously entered in similar fields.

However, it turns out that an attacker can use this autofill feature against you and trick you into spilling your private information to hackers or malicious third parties.

As soon as you have typed or auto-filled anything into the online form, the website captures it automatically in the background using JavaScript, even if you haven’t clicked the Submit button.

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