Privacy

iOS 8.4.1 vs TaiG Jailbreak 

August 23, 2015 — Leave a comment

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The new IOS 8.4.1 update is already here. So, what is this going to be all about? Well, the most important characteristic of this update is its anti-jailbreak feature. If you are using an iPhone, which made friends with the TaiG team, then you should be aware of this change.

Otherwise, all of your apps and everything else, which work, thanks to a jailbreak will be in trouble. So, what can you do about it? Well, you can just avoid this update, and your jailbreak will be just fine. However, there is a bigger story in the background. Can you dare to guess what it is?

For what is worth, one serious rumor has it that the IOS 8.4.1 update was a rehearsal for the main thing called IOS 9. Apparently, this latest IOS will be jailbreak-proof. This is a little bit too easy to say. Let us wait what TaiG team has to say about this tempting challenge. Can it be done?

We have no other choice, than to wait and see for ourselves. Maybe Apple just had enough of this jailbreak thing. Now, they want to end it with the new IOS. Well, good luck with that. There are quite a few jailbreak experts, who will hardly resist this challenge. Let the jailbreak games begin.

$32 For 32 Million Problems

August 22, 2015 — Leave a comment

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The latest DefCon event witnessed one both surprising and disturbing presentation. Just when you dare to think that you are safe from harm, there is a gadget to spoil the fun. In this case, we are talking about the RollJam. So, what is this notorious and affordable gadget all about?

Well, according to his inventor and numerous successful tests conducted at Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Nissan, and Lotus models, you can unlock a car or even a garage, with this little “helper”. In other words, with something worth only $32, you can steal the other thing worth $32,000 or more.

There is only one thing we can do. We should offer a job to RollJam’s inventor as soon as possible, otherwise we are going to end up in a serious trouble. It is simply amazing that someone can make this kind of a cheap device, which can steal so efficiently our car and garage lock codes.

Luckily for us, this brilliant mind has decided to present its dangerous gadget at DefCon rather than some real Grand Theft Auto players. Such a shame, when you can collapse an entire safety and protection system with a couple of bucks worth gadget. How inconvenient, indeed.

Private, More Private, Mozilla Firefox

August 21, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Mozilla is eager to reshape the challenging landscape of private browsing with the new Firefox Aurora private surfing feature. What is the big deal with it, you may ask? Every single browser has it. So, what is so special about the Aurora? Well, when Mozilla says private, it really means it.

You open a new private browser, and you think that you are invisible. Little did you know that all kinds of trackers and scripts are still following you. So, what kind of private browsing is that? This is what we used to have before Mozilla decided to do something about it. And, now we are safe?

To tell you the truth, there is no privacy online. It has never been. At least not the one you are expecting to get. However, we have every right to get the privacy, when a browser claims we have it. Right? Otherwise, we have been fooled badly. And, the unwanted consequences can be devastating.

OK Firefox, we have heard enough. You can rest assured that we are going to put your private browsing stuff to a real test. We sure hope you were telling the truth. Otherwise, we cannot handle one more disappointment. That would be just more than enough. Happy private browsing Firefox cyber guys.

The False Kaspersky Decade

August 20, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Here is a serious trouble for Kaspersky busy little bees. Two of its former employees had some troubling and compromising accusations to share with the rest of the world. According to them, Kaspersky has manufactured intentional malware for more than a decade. What for?

Well, this just could not be more obvious, could it? This is a nice way to hit two targets with a single bullet. On the one side, you can discredit your competitors, while at the same time, you can present your solutions as the most reliable and efficient ones. Sounds like a perfect plan?

We are not quite sure, if these former employees are telling the truth, but the damage has already been done. Now, Kaspersky has a lot explaining and convincing to do. The biggest trouble of them all, is that we keep asking ourselves the same question, all over again.

Can Kaspersky really do such an unfair thing? It is just like you are selling the cure for a disease you have previously created, as well. We just cannot wait to see what is going to be the most probable outcome of this security scandal. Have you really done it Kaspersky? Is it really true?

Austria vs The Pirates

August 18, 2015 — Leave a comment

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It is official. The Austrian busy little cyber bees, who are not too much eager to pay for the digital content, can forget about the Pirate Bay, Isohunt.to, 1337x.to, and h33t.to. You do not have to ask why, do you? The Europeans are trying to make a point in an endless fight against piracy, or what?

On the other hand, we just could not help ourselves noticing an impressive list of countries, which have agreed to cancel the local hospitality for these notorious pirate websites. So, what is this supposed to mean? Are we going to eradicate cyber piracy in Europe? Somehow, we are not too optimistic about it.

Why? Well, for what is worth, the online pirates have proven themselves more than once to be one tough opponent. Their ability to change, adapt, and find new creative ways to continue with their forbidden work is quite an impressive one. They will think of something, in the meantime, that is for sure.

The only thing we are not sure about is, how long this meaningless legal game of a cat and a mouse is going to last. Until we become dead tired, or Hollywood spends all of its money for lawsuits, or pirates disappeared completely, or else? Or we stop writing about this topic?

Why Does My Email Heart Feel So Bad?

July 26, 2015 — Leave a comment

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The busy little bees in Symantec have some good news for all of us. It turns out that the number of spam has reached its critical minimal point in the last ten years. This can mean only one thing. The web and email service providers are doing their homework properly.

Or, we can put it in this way. One in two emails is a spam. According to Symantec this is great. Actually, this is the best thing, which happened in this field, during the last cyber decade. Are we supposed to be happy or relieved about it? Symantec has a nice reminder.

Not so long ago, three out of four emails you are supposed to get were with a spam purpose. Yes, this is a great change. No, we are not supposed to be thrilled about it. Is there something we can do to decrease spams to a harmless level of a statistical error?

If you are happy with the current situation, they you are not very likely to change it. Right? This is a moral we strongly recommend for this story. Otherwise, the spam-masters can say, great news, business will be as usual, for us.

Who Will Guard The Guardians?

July 23, 2015 — Leave a comment

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One National Guard member has exposed sensitive and private data of more than 850,000 of his fellows. How could this be? This is how, we have ended up in a vicious circle of game to blame. Really, who is to blame? The system or an individual, who has wrongfully used it?

Well, if the system works flawlessly with all of its security features, then there is nothing to worry about the potential misuse. However, if there is a flaw, then someone will take an advantage of it, sooner or later, this way or another. So, we have to blame the system. Right?

Maybe, the basic presumption that our own staff cannot do anything wrong is to be blamed. We are focused all the time to the threats coming from outside that we have completely forgotten about the cyber hazards working from inside. Which brings us back to our question.

Who and how will guard our cyber guardians? There should not be exceptions from our safety procedures and standards. On the contrary, we should apply special and additional standards for our guardians, because they are in a favorable position of taking an advantage over the system. Right?

Deadly Cyber Games

July 21, 2015 — Leave a comment

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One South Korean intelligence officer committed a suicide as a result of the unprecedented cyber spy scandal, which has deeply disturbed this country. It turns out that South Korea was importing some software “solutions” from Italy, which are supposed to be used against the North Korea.

With all due respect, the North Korean IT infrastructure is rather a modest one. Therefore, you really do not have to bother yourself with the state of the art spy technology in this field. In addition, someone among South Korean intelligence officers has figured out that this thing can be used in the home field.

This is how, we have ended up with one of the biggest cyber scandals in the recent South Korean IT history. Someone has been spying on his or her own fellow citizens. The pressure was so strong that one man took his own life, rather than to be a part of this scandal.

So, what is the moral of this sad story? One thing obviously comes without saying. Cyber actions derived from the virtual world can have the serious real life consequences. You just cannot play with other people’s privacy with no consequences, this way or another. RIP you poor man.

PayPal Your Digital Pal

July 9, 2015 — Leave a comment

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PayPal has quite a notorious reputation, when it comes to its refunding policies. However, for what is worth, PayPal has improved its protection for the so-called “digital goods”. So, what is this supposed to mean exactly? Do we need to use some plain English expressions in order to explain?

From now on, you will be able to complain, when something you order and you cannot exactly touch it with fingers, such as music or a movie, is not exactly in accordance with your expectations. This is a huge and important change, which should have taken place earlier.

Apparently, some busy little bees in PayPal have realized that the money has gone mobile these days. If you want to make your users to spend more, then you have to ensure that they are protected and secured properly. This kind of an “investment” always pays off in the long run.

We presume that our financial transactions and credit card details are safe and protected, as well. Right PayPal? This is a simple cause-and-effect situation, where the more safe you feel, the more you are willing to spend. Right again PayPal? Our hats off for this one, that is for sure.

Google vs Hollywood

July 6, 2015 — Leave a comment

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Hollywood or maybe it is better to say The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) does not have nice words for Google. This is definitely a huge surprise. Why? Well, Google has demonstrated more than once, its willingness to contribute the global-anti-piracy-cyber-war.

However, the MPAA has quite a few serious accusations that Google has not done enough. As a matter of facts, Google is caught in the hypocrisy trap. On the one side, it removes the search results for the piracy websites. But, on the other side, according to the MPAA shamelessly profit from these websites.

Is this true? Who is to blame here? Can Google become the “collateral” victim of the epic conflict between Hollywood and the Pirate Bay, for instance? What more Google needs to do, in order to satisfy the insatiable legal appetites of Hollywood? It comes without saying that this a tricky situation for Google.

You can hit the pirates with a hammer, either. They can complain against the unjustified censorship, as well. For Google, the most important thing is to run the business as usual. How to keep both parties truly satisfied? Well, this is a rocket science. Not even Google almighty does not know the right answer.