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Facebook spent $23.4 million on Mark Zuckerberg's personal security
Facebook spent $23.4 million on CEO Mark Zuckerberg's personal security last year, according to a new report.
A third of TikTok’s US users may be 14 years old or younger
As much as a third of TikTok’s 49 million users in the US may be 14 years old or younger.
Instacart workers will strike over lack of COVID-19 protections
Fed up with the company's response to the coronavirus, Instacart workers announced today that they'll go on strike beginning Monday. They will not return to work until their demands are met, Instacart Shoppers and the Gig Workers Collective wrote in a blog post. Their dissent is not uncommon. It's reflective of growing dissatisfaction among employees, especially gig workers, who must continue working in public settings while corporate employees work from the safety of their homes.
Democrats move closer to passing the 'Save the Internet' Act
Democrats have just made significant progress in restoring net neutrality rules in the US. The "Save the Internet Act" unveiled last month has now been approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which means it can now be considered by the full House of Representatives.
USB-C could soon offer protection against nefarious devices
USB chargers and devices are universally accessible and easy to use, but they come with a host of potential security risks, namely the spread of malware from infected devices, and data leakage should a device fall into the wrong hands. Now, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) -- the big dog in the advancement of USB tech -- has launched its USB Type-C Authentication Program, which will help mitigate these issues.
Court rules accessing smart meter data constitutes a government search
Smart meters are designed to reduce energy consumption, lower household bills and, by extension, help the planet along a little bit. But could they also be used by the government to spy on you? This is the question that was thrown into the spotlight this week when the Seventh Circuit handed down a landmark opinion ruling, stating that data collected by smart meters is protected by the Fourth Amendment.
OneDrive makes it easier to backup your desktop clutter
Microsoft rolled out a new OneDrive folder protection feature to its business users in June -- now it's available to regular users, too. The feature lets you choose which folders you want to automatically back up to Microsoft's cloud service -- desktop, pictures or documents -- and it'll keep this activity in sync across multiple Windows 10 PCs, which is handy if you're a fan of downloading files to your desktop.
EU agrees to data deal with Japan as US pact hangs in the balance
The EU and Japan have reached an agreement that will allow businesses in both regions to freely share and transfer data without additional safeguards or authorizations. The deal, which covers information such as credit card details and browsing habits, will help to fortify links between the EU and Japan, which recently signed the world's largest free-trade agreement.
Julian Assange’s protection reportedly cost Ecuador millions
The Ecuadorian government has apparently spent quite a bit of money protecting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. According to a report at The Guardian, the country had the full assent of the Ecuadorian president and foreign minister to "protect" Assange via "Operation Guest," which sources say had an average cost of at least $66,000 per month.
Google bans ads for bail bond services
In its continued bid to clean up the online advertising space, Google is banning ads from bail-bond companies. In a blog post, the company referred to studies that consistently show for-profit bail bond providers "make most of their revenue from communities of color and low income neighborhoods when they are at their most vulnerable" and wrote that such adverts are "deceptive or harmful."
Avast claims its secure browser is 30 percent faster than yours
Avast has updated its browser to give users greater control over their online privacy. According to the company, its renamed Avast Secure Browser (formerly SafeZone) is designed to plug the security gaps that result from users' misplaced protection expectations. Features such as Stealth Mode, HTTPS Encryption, anti-tracking and anti-fingerprinting have been designed to account for the 69 percent of UK consumers who believe standard private-browsing modes will anonymize their identity, and the 81 percent who believe their browser would alert them to web-based threats, such as malicious cryptomining and extensions.
Opera update keeps sites from hijacking your browser to mine bitcoin
Did you know that your browser can be tricked into mining cryptocurrency like BitCoin without your knowledge? Apparently, there are scripts floating around out there on various servers and website plugins that can hijack your web browser and use its CPU for mining purposes, even after the browser window is closed. Yikes. Opera version 50 releases tomorrow at 10 AM CET, and it includes with cryptocurrency mining protection built right into its ad blocker software.
The FCC is helping cable companies evade consumer protection rules
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): is it an information service or a telecommunications service? This is the question that sits at the heart of an ongoing dispute between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), as the FCC takes steps to help cable company Charter avoid state consumer protection rules.
Facebook is testing a feature that stops profile photo theft
Facebook has begun testing new tools in India that prevent anyone from sniping your profile picture for who knows what purpose. If you live in the country, you might see an option to turn on "profile picture guard" next time you visit your News Feed. When you have the guard up, other people will no longer be able to save your pic or even screenshot it with an Android device. People not in your friends list won't be able to tag anyone or themselves in your profile picture regardless of your tag settings, as well.
Catalyst Case for iPhone 5 / 5s provides rugged, waterproof protection
Last year I reviewed the now defunct Griffin Survivor + Catalyst iPhone case. This year, Catalyst Lifestyle is now a stand-alone company with an updated range of cases. I had the opportunity to try out the Catalyst Waterproof Stealth Black case for iPhone 5 / 5S (US$64.99). Design The Catalyst Waterproof is 13.2 mm thick, 134.3 mm tall, 67.2 mm wide (0.52" x 5.29" x 2.65"). It weighs 41 grams (1.4 Oz). It obviously adds a bit of bulk to your iPhone, but it is less bulky than the model I reviewed last year. Catalyst has got rid of the large latches that locked last year's case in place. The Catalyst Waterproof simply fits together by snapping the case front into the case itself. The case provides IP68 protection from water and dust, and will protect your iPhone in up to 5 meters (16.4 ft) of water. It's also given the 810G military standard rating for protection from shocks and drops up to 2m (6.6ft). Performance My iPhone fit snugly into the Catalyst Waterproof without a hitch. All features of my iPhone, including Touch ID worked perfectly, though it is recommended that you rescan your fingerprint with the iPhone in the case to get an exact image. In terms of operating my iPhone, the only small adjustment was having to press down on the screen a little bit harder than I normally would for it to register. Make sure you push the iPhone right down into the case to make sure there's good contact between your iPhone's screen and the case screen. As with last year's review, the Catalyst Waterproof comes with strict instructions for testing the case before submerging it in water. However, things have been simplified significantly. There's still an O-ring that is essentially the waterproof seal for the case. You need to make sure this ring is sitting properly within the case and that it is not twisted in any way. Catalyst provides full instructions on its website. Aside from that and making sure the charger port / audio jack plug is closed, you're good to go. I performed Catalyst's recommended test and found no water penetration into the case. If your iPhone was to go for an unexpected swim, the Catalyst Waterproof case will make sure not a drop gets in. In terms of protection from knocks and drops, the Catalyst Waterproof provides excellent, all round protection. If your iPhone was to take a tumble, knock or drop, you can rest assured that the case provides significant protection. Conclusion The Catalyst Waterproof's slimmer form-factor and easier operation makes it a solid option for those who want a high level of protection for their iPhone with the least amount of additional bulk. For everyday protection -- or even specific occasions where you know your iPhone will be at particular risk of damage -- the Catalyst Waterproof is definitely worth considering.
CloudFlare donates tech to stop politically-sensitive sites from being knocked offline
If protecting yourself from hackers wasn't tough enough, there's another crippling internet attack that knocks websites completely offline while you're a target: a denial of service attack. That's why a company called CloudFare has launched Project Galileo, a free service that helps "protect politically and artistically important organizations and journalists against attacks that would otherwise censor their work." CloudFlare has been in the business of protecting sites for quite some time, operating as a content delivery network that offers DDoS protection, but only to paid customers.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: We do transmog better than anyone
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. I got to do some tanking in Heroic Siege this week - nothing major, just offtanking on Dark Shaman - and it was pretty fun all around. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy tanking in raids. It was fun to get to see the Warrior 2 piece Tier 16 tanking bonus in action in a current raid at the cutting edge of content, instead of in an LFR or using it to solo Cataclysm raids. It's a very solid set bonus, and I'm going to write more about it in the future - basically, I think it should be baked into the baseline Shield Block and Shield Barrier abilities, or perhaps be baked into Shield Slam in some way (so that, for ten seconds after a successful Shield Slam, you heal a percentage of your Shield Barrier absorb or Shield Block damage prevented, as one possible example) - but I'm not quite ready to write about that yet. Now, as I said, I've been using my tank set and prot spec to solo Cataclysm raids, up to and including the first three bosses in 10 man Dragon Soul. It's not always easy, but it is possible, and the reason I've been doing this is because I freaking love transmogrification, and therefore, I've been pursuing it with a fevered dedication that has completely robbed me of bank, void storage and even bag space. I've wanted to write about transmog and warriors forever, but I felt such deep shame at letting Cable, the mutant son of Cyclops and Madeline Pryor, write about it first. I mean, I'm so in love with transmog that I started a tumblr about it. So let's talk about transmog and warriors. (If you're not interested in transmog, you should probably come back next week.) Why do I argue that warriors do transmog better than anyone? Well, here's a few reasons.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: On reaching 90 and the basics - Protection
Every week, WoW Insider brings you The Care and Feeding of Warriors, the column dedicated to arms, fury and protection warriors. Despite repeated blows to the head from dragons, demons, Old Gods and whatever that thing over there was, Matthew Rossi will be your host. Last week, we covered arms. This week, we're covering protection. Like last week, this article assumes you just leveled your first warrior to 90, but it can also be useful for someone who's played a warrior for a while but who never tried tanking on her. If you're unsure about giving tanking a try, I can understand why that would be - it's a lot of pressure, it's fairly gear dependent and you may not have it yet, and most of all it's often expected that a tank will be leading a dungeon run, which can be daunting if you're unfamiliar with a dungeon. Frankly, I always found raid tanking preferable to PuGging, but I still tanked PuG's and I had a few tricks for how to establish myself when doing so. It's okay to admit it's your first time or that you're new at something. Even experienced tanks don't always know the specific dungeon they're about to tank very well - if you're a new tank and you're feeling uncomfortable or unsure, go ahead and say so. Even if you're comfortable with your class abilities as a tank, but are unsure about boss strategies, see #1 - often someone in the dungeon will be happy to explain to you what you should or shouldn't do. Avoid the two extremes of 'tank megalomania' and 'tank doormat' - don't be an egotist who makes the tank run all about him or herself, and don't let yourself be walked over by players who deliberately make your life harder. Also, be cognizant of gear discrepancies when evaluating your own performance as a tank - if you're in 463 blues and the guy pulling threat is in Heroic Warforged gear, cut yourself some slack. You're simply not going to be able to do much against over one hundred ilevels in his favor. Be cognizant of the healer. I know that you want to run and pull more stuff while you have a full rage bar. Believe me, I know how it feels. But if your healer is undergeared and needs a break, let them have it. It's good to get in the habit of paying attention to your healer's mana - believe me, healers will tell you when you can run and pull like a fiend. Also, one of my pet peeves as a DPS who knows how to tank is tanks who pull mobs, put no threat on them, then run down the hallway. No. I know you love chain pulling, but if you can't hold them, you're not chain pulling. You're just hitting mobs then running away and letting someone else tank them. Make sure you have solid threat before you decide to run away. But let's get to the actual process of tanking - how do we play as protection?
Liquipel debuts Skins to protect your phone from physical damage
We've highly regarded Liquipel for its clever "watersafe" nanocoating, which has been known to give phones the same protection from liquids and other materials as an IPX7-certified device. That doesn't prevent physical damage from occurring, however, so the company's announcing Skins, its answer to drops, hammers and plenty of other things that cause blunt force trauma. Even better, Liquipel claims that it requires a three-step dry installation process that doesn't involve squeegees, water bottles or bubbles; once you're done, you'll enjoy a "literal shock absorber" for your trouble. Skins for the iPhone 4S and 5 should be available today for under $20 on the company's site, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 will soon follow (it's currently listed as "out of stock") and other models will be ready in the coming months. Check out the video and press release after the break.
Turn your iPhone into a multitool for the ultimate survival accessory
Having a mobile phone with you at all times is a great tool for communication, but sometimes you might need a tool in a more literal sense. Enter the TaskOne iPhone case, a protective cover that is designed to not only protect a handset in the case of a fall but also provide a litany of handy accessories should you ever find yourself in need. The TaskOne houses a total of 22 different tools including screwdrivers, a knife, wirecutters, a bottle opener, and several others. Of course, you'd never want to attempt to board a plane with the case strapped to your smartphone, but other than that it seems like it could come in handy - plus, an iPhone with a giant blade sticking out of the top is kind of cool looking on its own. Unfortunately, the cost of rolling like MacGyver isn't cheap, and the TaskOne will set you back a cool $100. Still, there are probably worse ways to blow a Benjamin. [Via PSFK]
