security

Facebook, attorneys general kick off online safety campaign

Facebook and the National Association of Attorneys General for the U.S. have signed a deal that will see the world's largest social network educate both kids and parents on Internet safety.

Facebook has been the subject of much debate among attorneys general around the U.S. who have been concerned about children's safety on the social network. Facebook has said for years that it has worked on ensuring the protection of children, and has aided attorneys general from time to time with cases or issues they're working on.

This agreement, the latest between the parties, is … Read more

McAfee, NIST partner to boost U.S. cyberdefenses

Security firm McAfee is working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to try to shore up America's defenses against cyberthreats.

McAfee announced today that the company is now part of the the National Cybersecurity Excellence Partnership and will join cybersecurity professionals from both the private and public sector to tackle the escalating problem of computer-based threats.

The partnership is part of the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which is hosted by NIST in collaboration with the state of Maryland and Maryland's Montgomery County.

Launched in February 2012, the center has a particular slant toward sharing technology … Read more

Microsoft pulls security update over software conflicts

A security update issued by Microsoft on Tuesday isn't playing nicely with other software, prompting Microsoft to pull it from its download center.

Dustin Childs, group manager of Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, revealed the problem in a blog post late yesterday:

We are aware that some of our customers may be experiencing difficulties after applying security update 2823324, which we provided in security bulletin MS13-036 on Tuesday, April 9. We've determined that the update, when paired with certain third-party software, can cause system errors. As a precaution, we stopped pushing 2823324 as an update when we began investigating the … Read more

Guantanamo legal files mysteriously disappear from PCs

In an institution already cloaked in mystery, puzzling happenings seem to be afoot at Guantanamo Bay prison.

Not only have many legal files suddenly disappeared from the defense team's computers, but also hundreds of thousands their documents have landed on the prosecution's computers, according to Reuters. This debacle has caused several pretrial hearings in the prison's military tribunals to be delayed.

It's not clear how the files vanished or if there was any illegal action behind the disappearance. It could have been a simple computer blip, IT issues, a security breach, hackers, or one of the … Read more

How to set up Google's Inactive Account Manager

What happens to your Gmail account, Google Drive documents, Picasa photos, and the other data you have stored with Google when you head to that big cloud drive in the sky? Google introduced a feature today called Inactive Account Manager that lets you tell Google what to do with your data after you're gone, whether you want to share it with family and friends or delete it altogether.

The new Inactive Account Manager can be accessed from the Accounts page. You'll find a link to it under the Account Management section.

After reading the brief introduction to the … Read more

Prepare a digital will for your Google accounts

Google doesn't want you worry about what happens to your online self when you leave finally this world -- or just the virtual world.

The company introduced a tool today called the Inactive Account Manager that lets you tell Google what you want done with your data hosted on its network after you die, or stop using your account for a long period of time. Think of it as an automated will for your digital assets.

"Not many of us like thinking about death -- especially our own," Product Manager Andreas Tuerk wrote in a blog post. &… Read more

Privacy protections booted from CISPA data-sharing bill

A controversial data-sharing bill won the approval of a key congressional committee today without privacy amendments, raising concerns that the National Security Agency and other spy agencies will gain broad access to Americans' personal information.

The House Intelligence committee, by a vote of 18 to 2, adopted the so-called CISPA bill after an unusual session closed to the public where panel members debated and voted on the proposed law in secret.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who proposed three unsuccessful privacy amendments, said afterward she was disappointed her colleagues did not limit the NSA and other intelligence agencies from collecting sensitive … Read more

Microsoft fixes two critical flaws for April's Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has released two critical security updates for Windows and Internet Explorer as part of its latest round of Patch Tuesday updates. 

Included in the patches are seven important updates for Office, SharePoint, and Windows Server products, which are hitting the usual update channels today.

The first critical bulletin affects versions of Internet Explorer 6 and above on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It also affects Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 and Windows RT-based tablets.

It addresses two separate flaws, one that allows remote code execution -- such as a malware injection -- if an affected … Read more

Huawei and the Jonas Brothers: A match made in paradise?

This might seem like Fred Astaire and Carrot Top.

It might resemble that little-known double-act Putin and Tutu.

For some, it might even conjure Jerry Falwell and Jenna Jameson.

Here, you see, is news that the squeakiest of squeaky clean musical acts, the Jonas Brothers, are getting together with slightly more controversial gadget maker Huawei.

A breathless announcement is currently dancing before my eyes. It reveals that Huawei is to sponsor the Jonas Brothers' new tour, which, as you know, begins July 10 in Chicago. … Read more