data

Cops: U.S. law should require logs of your text messages

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to capture and store Americans' confidential text messages, according to a proposal that will be presented to a congressional panel today.

The law enforcement proposal would require wireless providers to record and store customers' SMS messages -- a controversial idea akin to requiring them to surreptitiously record audio of their customers' phone calls -- in case police decide to obtain them at some point in the future.

"Billions of texts are sent every day, and some surely contain key evidence about criminal activity," Richard Littlehale … Read more

Five-deal Friday: Cheap storage, cheap calls, cheap gaming, and more!

How much do I love Cheapskate readers? So much that even when I'm a little under the weather (cough), I can't help serving up five sweet deals (sneeze) to carry you into the weekend (moan). That's love, people.

1. Storage to go Oh, flash drives, you so crazy. Crazy-cheap, that is. Today only, and while supplies last (not long, I'm guessing), Best Buy has the Kingston DataTraveler Special Edition 16GB USB 2.0 flash drive for $7.99 shipped, plus sales tax. This tiny drive includes Kingston's urDrive software, which helps manage, organize, and back … Read more

EU feeling pressure to tweak data, privacy legislation

Just over a year after the European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding lifted the lid on plans to reform the data protection and privacy laws in the region, Brussels is facing its greatest challenge yet by no other than its own member states.

The Commission may "water down" proposals after a group of EU member states said they were heavily opposed to a number of proposed measures, according to the Financial Times of London. These include measures that could see EU-based firms fined up to 2 percent of a company's global revenue for data breaches.

Due to an … Read more

Sprint unveils shared data plans for small businesses

Sprint now offers small-business customers a way to pool their mobile data usage and trim costs.

Introduced on Friday and available only until June 13, the new plans are geared for businesses with up to 30 mobile devices. The plans cover smartphones, tablets, mobile hot spots, and USB dongles and require the standard two-year contract.

The smartphone plan allocates 20GB of shared data across 10 devices, 40GB across 20 devices, or 60GB across 30 devices. The more data and devices, the higher the cost -- ranging from $139.99 through $349.99 per month. The first device must be a … Read more

Google's European conundrum: When does privacy mean censorship?

How Google and other American Internet companies operate in Europe could come down to a link that, depending on what side of the Atlantic Ocean you're on, should or should not be deleted.

A case heard Tuesday before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) hinges on a complaint submitted by a Spanish citizen who searched Google for his name and found a news article from several years earlier, saying his property would be auctioned because of failed payments to his social security contributions.

Spanish authorities argued that Google, other search engines, and other Web companies operating in Spain should … Read more

Dropbox users getting spammed, might be from earlier hack

It looks like Dropbox may be grappling with some leftover issues from hackers' access into the system last July.

Over the past 24 hours, users have been posting on the file-sharing site's forum, saying that they're being hit with spam e-mails sent to e-mail accounts used only for Dropbox.

"My Dropbox specific email has been receiving spam since the 20th of February," Daniel B. wrote today. Richard F. wrote, "I have an internal to my company email address that I used for Dropbox only and I am getting the same fake paypal scam emails. This … Read more

RSA sees 'big data' as key to corporate security (podcast)

Big data is one the the big themes at this week's annual RSA security conference in San Francisco.

That's because analyzing a company's stores of data is another step in improving information security, RSA Vice President Brian Fitzgerald said.

"Classic security defenses are no longer that effective in a world where data centers no longer have a fixed perimeter. They're connected to suppliers and to customers. Information is flowing between partners on a massive scale," he said in an audio podcast (scroll down to listen).

Analyzing a company's data allows you to "… Read more

Apple: Employee computers were targeted in hack attack

Apple today said it too was targeted as part of the string of hacking efforts on companies and news agencies.

The iPhone and Mac maker told Reuters that hackers targeted computers used by its employees, but that "there was no evidence that any data left Apple."

In a statement, Apple said it discovered malware that made use of a vulnerability in the Java plug-in, and that it was sourced from a site for software developers:

Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware … Read more

Create Databases with 4LightData Base for Mac

In personal and business settings, tools such as databases, word processors, spreadsheets, and Web browsers have become an everyday necessity. 4LightData Base for Mac is designed to handle all your data efficiently, but unfortunately it might not be the solution for all of your document creation needs.

4LightData Base for Mac is a free multiple-component productivity suite. The interface of the program is very simple but doesn't follow any logical order. The program is a collection of pieces that contain basic versions of a database, a word processor, a Web browser, a drawing program, and a spreadsheet. Although it … Read more