Security & Privacy

Google will alert users to DNSChanger malware infection

Google is about to begin an ambitious project to notify some half a million people that their computers are infected with the DNSChanger malware.

The effort, scheduled to begin this afternoon, is designed to let those people know that their Internet connections will stop working on July 9, when temporary servers set up by the FBI to help DNSChanger victims are due to be disconnected.

"The warning will be at the top of the search results page for regular searches and image searches and news searches," Google security engineer Damian Menscher told CNET this morning. "The text will say, 'Your more

Vote likely on Facebook privacy policy changes

If you don't like proposed changes to Facebook's privacy policy you will soon get a chance to vote yay or nay on them.

There's a little known provision in the company's revised Statements of Rights and Responsibilities that says: "If more than 7,000 users comment on the proposed change, we will also give you the opportunity to participate in a vote in which you will be provided alternatives. The vote shall be binding on us if more than 30 percent of all active registered users as of the date of the notice vote." Facebook now more

Rutgers student gets 30 days for spying on gay roommate with Webcam

A Rutgers University student was sentenced to 30 days in jail today for spying on his gay roommate's romantic encounter, an act that may have been related to the roommate's subsequent suicide.

Dharun Ravi, 20, set up the Webcam several times, urged others to watch and tweeted about watching his roommate, Tyler Clementi, "making out with a dude." The 18-year-old Clementi jumped to his death from a bridge a few days after learning about the spying.

Ravi, who faced up to 10 years in prison, was charged with 15 counts, including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, hindering apprehension more

Mac OS users on security: No worries

Despite the recent spate of malware attacking Apple's Mac OS, consumers remain oblivious to the threat and consider the operating system "impenetrable." This, in turn, has security observers worrying that such mindsets will invite more attacks on the platform.

Last month, the Flashback malware, which exploits a security flaw in Java to install itself on Mac OS devices, was discovered and more than 550,000 Macs were controlled by the malware at one point. That same month, Kaspersky Labs expert, Costin Riau, revealed that another malware--the Sabpab backdoor Trojan--was released into the wild and exploits the same more

Hacktivists claim takedown of Chicago police Web site

Hacktivists from the online group Anonymous claim to have taken down the Chicago Police Department's Web site in the wake of violent clashes between the police and protesters.

Members of AntiS3curityOPS, which claims to be affiliated with Anonymous, posted a video on YouTube taking credit for a hacking that allegedly brought down the page and accusing Chicago police of brutality during clashes Saturday night with protesters, who were demonstrating against the NATO summit discussing the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

"We are actively engaged in actions against the Chicago Police Department, and encourage anyone to take up the cause and more

Backdoor security flaw found in ZTE Score M

A security hole was recently discovered in MetroPCS' ZTE Score M, allowing third parties the ability to control the device.

On May 10, a guest post on Pastebin included a hard-coded password for a root shell backdoor that would allow a hacker access to the Score M.

The post reads:

The ZTE Score M is an Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) phone available in the United States on MetroPCS, made by Chinese telecom ZTE Corporation.

There is a setuid-root application at /system/bin/sync_agent that serves no function besides providing a root shell backdoor on the device. Just give the more

FBI 'looking at' law making Web sites wiretap-ready, director says

FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed that the bureau has renewed its push for a new Internet wiretapping law, which CNET reported two weeks ago.

In an appearance this week on Capitol Hill, Mueller downplayed privacy concerns, saying the FBI's wiretap proposals -- social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail are the primary targets -- would still require a court to be involved.

We want to "be able to obtain those communications," Mueller said on Wednesday. "What we're looking at is some form of legislation that will assure that when we get the appropriate more

Facebook sued for $15 billion over alleged privacy infractions

As Facebook prepares to start trading on the Nasdaq, a class-action lawsuit has been brought against it.

Law firm Stewarts Law US announced today that it has combined 21 privacy lawsuits against the social network into a single, class-action suit, charging the world's largest social network with violating user privacy by allegedly tracking their Web usage.

Stewarts Law is asking for $15 billion -- a sum it arrived at by calling on the U.S. Wiretap Act, which "provides statutory damages of the greater of $100 per violation per day, up to $10,000, per Facebook user," the law more

Caught snooping: U.K. government staffers

Don't worry about hackers illegally accessing government systems. It turns out government workers and civil servants who are trusted with private citizen data are more likely to access your data illegally.

The U.K. government is hemorrhaging data -- private and confidential citizen data -- from medical records to social security details, and even criminal records, according to figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests.

Just shy of 1,000 civil servants working at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were disciplined for accessing personal social security records. The Department for Health (DoH), which operates the U.K.'more

Socialcam closes hole that enabled accidental sharing

Popular video-sharing app Socialcam has made changes that are designed to prevent inadvertent sharing of videos, a privacy advocate says.

Socialcam representatives did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment, but Jules Polonetsky, director of The Future of Privacy Forum, told CNET that the app maker informed him that they were making some changes to address concerns he had brought up to them.

"Two weeks ago I saw a rabbi in my network share a bikini-type video" using Socialcam, Polonetsky said. "Facebook posts are full of friends clicking to view these videos" that were no doubt mistakenly shared.

The "social more