secure

Review: Avira Free Mac Security provides real-time virus and malware protection

With its options for heuristic scans and security settings that are certainly thorough, Avira Free Mac Security for Mac protects your Mac in real-time against threats. On the whole, this is a competent free program that does what it's meant to do but with a rather slow performance.

Installation of the program on OS X Mountain Lion was quite cumbersome. We were compelled to force quit installer a few times before we finally managed to have Avira Free Mac Security for Mac installed correctly. After installation, the application still needed to download almost 30 additional minutes worth of updates. … Read more

Facebook's outmoded Web crypto opens door to NSA spying

Secret documents describing the National Security Agency's surveillance apparatus have highlighted vulnerabilities in outdated Web encryption used by Facebook and a handful of other U.S. companies.

Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden confirm that the NSA taps into fiber optic cables "upstream" from Internet companies and vacuums up e-mail and other data that "flows past" -- a security vulnerability that "https" Web encryption is intended to guard against.

But Facebook and a few other companies still rely on an encryption technique viewed as many years out of date, which cryptographers … Read more

How to move Google Authenticator to a new device

Two-step verification can help thwart malicious attacks against your online accounts. Anyone trying to break into your account would need both your password and the mobile device that authentication codes are sent to in order to gain access.

Google has done a splendid job of providing options for those who are interested in setting up this extra security measure: you can get text alerts, or you can use Google's authenticator app, available for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS.

When using the app as your method of authentication code delivery, you may wonder what happens when you want to retire an … Read more

Surveillance 'partnership' between NSA and telcos points to AT&T, Verizon

Want to play a game of "guess who?"

A newly disclosed top secret document lauds the National Security Agency's "productive" and long-standing surveillance "partnership" with a pair of telecommunications providers -- that permitted tapping into their fiber links -- but without naming names.

This is where things get interesting for clue sleuths.

Even in the top-secret document published by the Guardian today, the firms are described only as "Company A" and "Company B." But the NSA's inspector general did disclose that, at the time the program was being … Read more

Secret court lifts veil, slightly, on Google, Microsoft lawsuits

The most secretive court in the nation, which has been criticized for authorizing domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency, has taken a tiny step toward openness in lawsuits brought by Google and Microsoft.

CNET has learned that Reggie Walton, the presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, told the Obama administration last week that -- barring any objections from the government -- he would take the unusual step of disclosing procedural information about the Internet companies' litigation.

The Department of Justice responded yesterday by saying it had no objections. Neither Google nor Microsoft's legal briefs "contain … Read more

Data, meet spies: The unfinished state of Web crypto

Revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance abilities have highlighted shortcomings in many Internet companies' security practices that can expose users' confidential communications to government eavesdroppers.

Secret government files leaked by Edward Snowden outline a U.S. and U.K. surveillance apparatus that's able to vacuum up domestic and international data flows by the exabyte. One classified document describes "collection of communications on fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past," and another refers to the NSA's network-based surveillance of Microsoft's Hotmail servers.

Most Internet companies, however, do not use an privacy-protective encryption technique … Read more

Symantec brings new Insights to Mobile Security

On Wednesday, Symantec released a new version update to Norton Mobile Security. The main focus of this release highlights Symantec's goal to prevent apps from leaking private data.

With this version comes the debut of Norton Mobile Insights, the byproduct of a massive endeavor to analyze over 4 million popular apps across various app stores to determine whether an app puts users' personal data at risk. "The issue of privacy is a complex and evolving one, for both consumers and developers," said Con Mallon, Symantec's Senior Director and product manager. Mallon believes that users are starting … Read more

Bitdefender drops the number and goes Photon on your PC

Today, Bitdefender released the 2014 version of its flagship Bitdefender Total Security product, replete with an interface redesign, adaptive technology, and noticeably absent version-number attribution.

With this year's release of Total Security comes the debut of Bitdefender Photon, an adaptive technology that aims to optimize the speed and performance of your PC as it adjusts to your computer.

Photon was actually introduced earlier in Bitdefender 2013, but since then the company has made major improvements while minimally impacting performance. Now, Photon officially becomes its own product component.

Bitdefender Total Security also introduces an online credential aid called Wallet. Not … Read more

Student group files complaint against U.S. firms over NSA data snooping

A student group has charged several U.S. technology companies with violations of European law for allegedly cooperating with the NSA to collect data on private citizens.

Known as Europe-v-Facebook (EVF), the group of Austrian students announced Wednesday that it filed formal complaints with the EU against Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Skype, and Yahoo. The group contends that since the five companies do business in Europe through subsidiaries, they fall under European privacy laws.

Such laws allow the export of data only if the company's European subsidiary can guarantee an "adequate level or protection" in the home country. … Read more