ComputerWorld – Page 29 – Computer Security Articles

There has been some concern that Windows 10 gathers too much private information from users. Whether you think Microsoft’s operating system crosses the privacy line or just want to make sure you safeguard as much of your personal life as possible, we’re here to help. Here’s how to protect your privacy in just a few minutes.

Note: This story has been updated for Windows 10 version 22H2. If you have an earlier release of Windows 10, some things may be different.

Turn off ad tracking

At the top of many people’s privacy concerns is what data is being gathered about them as they browse the web. That information creates a profile of a person’s interests that is used by a variety of companies to target ads.

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 27, 2022 admin

Google execs knew 'Incognito mode' failed to protect privacy, suit claims

A federal judge in California is considering motions to dismiss a lawsuit against Google that alleges the company misled them into believing their privacy was being protected while using Incognito mode in the Chrome browser.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District Court of California by five users more than two years ago, is now awaiting a recent motion by those plaintiffs for two class-action certifications.

The first would cover all Chrome users with a Google account who accessed a non-Google website containing Google tracking or advertising code and who were in “Incognito mode”; the second covers all Safari, Edge, and Internet Explorer users with a Google account who accessed a non-Google website containing Google tracking or advertising code while in “private browsing mode.”

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 26, 2022 admin

Is performance tracking about to go mobile?

Productivity and performance tracking have been on the rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote and hybrid work. Now, as pandemic restrictions recede and more traditional work habits reemerge, it’s inevitable some organizations will want to extend tracking beyond the company PC to mobile devices.

That means IT could soon be involved in selecting, implementing, and supporting productivity and performance monitoring solutions that keep tabs on workers wherever they are — even if they’re not sitting in front of a computer.

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 17, 2022 admin

Zero-day flaws mean it's time to patch Exchange and Windows

This month’s Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft deals with 84 flaws and a zero-day affecting Microsoft Exchange that at the moment remains unresolved. The Windows updates focus on Microsoft security and networking components with a difficult-to-test update to COM and OLE db. And Microsoft browsers get 18 updates—nothing critical or urgent.

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 14, 2022 admin

Zero-days flaws mean it's time to patch Exchange and Windows

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 13, 2022 admin

Would a US digital dollar let the government track you?

US legislators continue to press for the creation of a digital dollar, raising questions about whether the move could make it easy for the federal government to track business and consumer transactions.

Putting all the digital dollars on one electronic ledger operated by the Federal Reserve would also be a tempting target for cyber criminals.

In March, lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow the US Treasury to create a digital dollar and pilot it to determine its viability. That same month, President Joe Biden called for more research on developing a national digital currency through the nation’s central bank. The order highlighted the need for more regulatory oversight of cryptocurrencies, which have been used for nefarious purposes such as money laundering and other criminal activities.

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 12, 2022 admin

EU-US data sharing agreement: Is it a done deal?

The thousands of companies waiting for a new US-EU data-transfer agreement to go into effect soon and ease the burdensome legal work necessary for cross-border data transfer shouldn’t get their hopes up. US President Joe Biden’s executive order to implement rules for the Trans-Atlantic Data Policy Framework agreed on earlier this year is a move in the right direction, but the new pact won’t go into effect until next spring at the earliest, and even then it is bound to face legal challenges, say public policy and legal experts.

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ComputerWorld Independent

October 6, 2022 admin

Online privacy: Best browsers, settings, and tips

“You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it,” Scott McNealy said of online privacy back in 1999, a view the former CEO of the now-defunct Sun Microsystems reiterated in 2015. Despite the hue and cry his initial remarks caused, he’s been proven largely correct.

Cookies, beacons, digital signatures, trackers, and other technologies on websites and in apps let advertisers, businesses, governments, and even criminals build a profile about what you do, who you know, and who you are at very intimate levels of detail. Remember that 2012 story about how Target could tell a teenager was pregnant before her parents knew, based on her online activities? That is the norm today. Google and Facebook are the most notorious commercial internet spies, and among the most pervasive, but they are hardly alone.

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