security

Apple expanded the reach of one of its strongest security features to more users this week, following a limited rollout earlier this year.

Apple's two-step verification for its Apple ID account system is now in more than a dozen additional countries beyond the five it launched with in late March, 9to5Mac reports. Some of those newer countries include Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Italy.

The system sends a four-digit passcode by text message to a user's phone and must be used on top of a regular password. In practice, this could keep an account from being compromised by an … Read more

It's no secret that any information you provide to a Google service is no secret.

When Google changed its terms of service last year, the company granted itself and any other company it chooses complete, unfettered access to anonymized (we hope) versions of all the messages you send and receive via Gmail, all the files you upload to Google Drive, and all the terms you enter in the Google search box.

As CNET's Rafe Needleman reported in April 2012, Google's rights go beyond simply perusing your personal information. Google's terms of service include the following:

Last week Facebook rolled out a new Trusted Contacts feature to help make your account more secure. Should you lose access to your account, either by forgetting your password or having your account "hacked," you can enlist the help of three to five friends to regain access.

Once you're locked out of your account, you'll need to reach out to those people you have added as Trusted Contacts and ask them to help you out. Here's what you'll need to do on your end to get it set up.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI believe they don't need a search warrant to review Americans' e-mails, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and other private files, internal documents reveal.

Government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and provided to CNET show a split over electronic privacy rights within the Obama administration, with Justice Department prosecutors and investigators privately insisting they're not legally required to obtain search warrants for e-mail. The IRS, on the other hand, publicly said last month that it would abandon a controversial policy that claimed it could get warrantless access … Read more

Yesterday, Avast Software made news with its acquisition of privacy company Secure.Me, a small developer best known for its Facebook apps of the same name. Secure.Me protects users' Facebook accounts, monitoring all activity and photos, detecting malware links, and identifying content that is questionable or unsuitable for children.

Today, Avast makes news again with a minor update to its complete suite of Windows security applications--Avast Free Antivirus; Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, and the full monty, Avast Premier.

Avast version 8.0.1488.286 fixes some bugs in the interface, adds a progress bar to the … Read more

Samsung is now clear to start pitching its new flagship phone to the government.

The handset maker announced Friday that its Knox-enabled mobile devices have been approved by the Pentagon for government use. Samsung's Knox software offers high-level encryption, a VPN feature, and a way to separate personal data from work data. The software also enables IT administrators to manage a mobile device through specific policies.

For now, the Galaxy S4 is the only Samsung device equipped with Knox. But the company promises that other smartphones as well as tablets will receive the security software.

The thumb's up … Read more

BlackBerry 10 devices have succeeded in passing the rigorous U.S. Department of Defense security requirements, according to Reuters. The agency approved on Thursday the company's entire line of devices running on its new operating system, which includes BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones, and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

BlackBerry, Apple, and Samsung have all recently been in the running to get security approval for their newest devices to be used by the Department of Defense's some 3 million employees. BlackBerry is now the first to get approval. It's expected that both Apple and Samsung will also get authorization … Read more

Both Apple and Samsung have been in ongoing talks with the Department of Defense to bring their devices to the agency's employees, and now it looks like approval for device security is finally around the corner.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Defense Department reportedly plans to give security approval for Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and Apple's iPhones and iPads within the next few weeks.

The Defense Information Systems Agency, which rules what commercial technology the Pentagon can use, will decide within the next two weeks whether to accept Samsung's Galaxy smartphones loaded with Knox security … Read more

To paraphrase an old expression: Give a man an apple and you feed him for a day; teach a man to phish apple IDs and you feed him for a lifetime -- with stolen data. That's what some bold phishers are hoping for, according to a new report by security intelligence company Trend Micro, which documents a major phishing scam that has already compromised 110 sites in a plan to steal Apple IDs.

According to Trend Micro, all of these sites are "hosted at the IP address 70.86.13.17, which is registered to an ISP in … Read more