Free Republic

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you." I don't know, or care, who said that originally, but in this age of hacking and cyber corruption – and the deep state trying desperately to defeat the forces of light - it's becoming increasingly clear that there appears to be folks out in cyberspace who don't have your best interests in mind. Indeed, you may have heard about how Facebook and Google have been revealed as corrupt data miners more interested in raking in cash and helping their fellow political travellers than in providing the benign...

A new Obama administration privacy policy released Friday explains how the government will gather the user data of online visitors to WhiteHouse.gov, mobile apps and social media sites, and it clarifies that online comments, whether tirades or tributes, are in the open domain. "Information you choose to share with the White House (directly and via third party sites) may be treated as public information," the new policy says. The Obama administration also promises not to sell the data of online visitors. But it cannot make the same assurances for users who go to third-party White House sites on Facebook, Twitter...

An American business group has called on China to improve its Internet security, ease controls on Web use by businesses and open its online industries wider to foreign participation. The appeal by the American Chamber of Commerce in China on Wednesday adds to pressure on Beijing to embrace global Internet standards following reports of cyberspying traced to China. …

Researchers have spotted a new banking Trojan subbed 'Tinba' that appears to have hit on a simple tactic for evading security - be as small as possible. An astonishing 20KB in size, Tinba ('Tiny Banker') retains enough sophistication to match almost anything that can be done by much larger malware types. Its main purpose is to burrow into browsers in order to steal logins, but it can also use 'obfuscated' (i.e disguised) web injection and man-in-the-browser to attempt to finesse two-factor web authentication systems. A particularly interesting feature is the way it tries to evade resident security, injecting itself into...

A pair of threat reports out Tuesday show changing fraud trends. Phishing, where people are fooled into entering account numbers and passwords at faked sites, continued to rank among several kinds of prevalent threats, in security firm McAfee’s (MFE) Q4 trends report. The company says phishing URLs in the form of the IRS, gift cards, reward accounts and social networking accounts were among the most popular.

Common Online Threats Malware. Criminals can use malware to steal personal information, send spam, and commit fraud. OnGuardOnline.gov provides tips on how to secure your computer and protect yourself from Internet fraud. They also provide a glossary of Internet-related terms that include common forms of malware such as:· Spyware - A software program that may be installed on your computer without your consent to monitor your use, send pop-up ads, redirect your computer to certain websites, or record keystrokes, which could lead to identity theft.· Virus - A program that can sneak onto your computer-- often through an e-mail attachment--...

Security researchers and legal experts have voiced concern this week over the prosecution of an information-technology professional for computer intrusion after he allegedly breached a university's online application system while researching a flaw without the school's permission. Last Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California leveled a single charge of computer intrusion against San Diego-based information-technology professional Eric McCarty, alleging that he used a Web exploit to illegally access an online application system for prospective students of the University of Southern California last June. The security issue--which could have allowed an attacker to manipulate a database...