John Lister

British security staff used bogus copies of the LinkedIn and Slashdot websites to install spyware on tech firm networks, according to leaked documents. They were able to pull off the hacker-like attacks with the help of the National Security Agency. ... The claims come from what appears to be a secret presentation from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent to the National Security Agency (NSA). It seems the documents were made available to the NSA and then leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden. (Source: spiegel.de ) Secretive Agency Targets Telecommunications ... (view more)

Google says it plans to change the way users install add-on tools (known as "extensions") for its Chrome web browser. It's expected the changes will make the browser more secure. A Chrome extension is the same thing as an "add on" in Internet ... Explorer. It's a tool made by an independent developer that adds new functionality to the browser. For example, Amazon has released a Chrome extension that adds a button to the top of the browser screen. When you are reading a lengthy web page, such as a newspaper article, you can click the button to have a copy of the page sent to your Kindle device in ... (view more)

A court has ordered Google to remove all links to embarrassing images of an automotive industry icon. Google is appealing the verdict in a case that raises questions about legal, technical, and geographical restrictions on the Internet. The case ... centers on Max Mosley, previously the head of the Formula 1 racing circuit. In 2008, a British newspaper published photographs of Mosley in an intimate setting with several women. Mosley took the case to court and successfully argued that a breach of privacy had taken place. Mosley won a similar verdict in France, where copies of the newspaper had ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned users of its software to beware bogus file attachments. The firm says a newly discovered vulnerability in Windows Vista and the Office software suite could allow hackers remote access to a victim's computer. The flaw affects the ... Windows Vista and Server 2008 operating systems. It also affects Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010, plus Microsoft Lync, a communications package. Later editions of Windows, such as Windows 7 and Windows 8, are unaffected. The problem does not affect Windows XP, either. The problem involves the way the affected software handles image files in ... (view more)

A UK retailer has installed advertising screens that can scan a customer's face. The screens, which will be installed by Tesco at its many gas stations, then shows an advertisement based on its reading of the person's age and gender. The move has ... prompted criticism from privacy advocates, while others question how accurate the system will be. The screens are the work of Amscreen, a company owned by British businessman Alan Sugar. Sugar made a name for himself with the Amstrad computer back in the 1980s. Now he's made a deal to supply screens to 450 Tesco gas stations across the United Kingdom ... (view more)

Dell has confirmed that, due to a manufacturing fault, an unknown number of laptops shipped with an unpleasant smell. Many users who complained about the odor likened it to cat urine. The problem affected the Latitude E6430. The first complaints ... appeared online this past June, with one person insisting their laptop smelled "as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box." (Source: dell.com ) The stink was so bad that one customer who used his laptop for business said he no longer dared switch on the machine for fear of grossing out his clients. At first Dell approached the issue on the ... (view more)

A California driver appears to be the first person ticketed for wearing Google's high-tech spectacles while behind the wheel. It's prompted a legal dispute about whether existing laws actually bar people from using the device while driving. Google ... Glass is currently undergoing national testing with a selected audience before it goes on sale. The gadget is similar to a pair of spectacles, but combines a small projector on the "lens", a microphone, an earpiece and a camera. The device also has an Internet connection. Though billed as a wearable computer, it's effectively a smartphone in ... (view more)

Adobe has admitted that a recent breach of its servers was far more serious than first suspected. It's now believed that the personal information of roughly 38 million users may have been stolen. The high-profile security breach could hinder Adobe's ... plans to sell its software on a subscription basis. Earlier this month, Adobe confirmed that hackers had stolen credit card records for almost three million of its customers. It also said an unknown number of usernames and passwords had been taken. But this past weekend a website posted a file that contained more than 150 million usernames and ... (view more)

Researchers say they can figure out when two Facebook users are in a relationship just by looking at their list of 'friends'. They also say it's possible to predict when a relationship will end. Often, it's easy to tell when Facebook users are in a ... relationship because many people display this information on their profiles. However, new research says relationships can be detected even without those vital details. The research is the work of Cornell University computer scientist Jon Kleinberg and Facebook engineer Lars Backstrom. They analyzed the Facebook accounts of 1.3 million people aged ... (view more)

The US government says it will pay $2 million to the winner of a network security contest. The winning system will have to be so advanced that it can spot and fix problems before any human can even think of exploiting them. The contest is the work ... of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a government agency that works on technology for military purposes. Previously it has run some outlandish projects, such as exploring the way flying snakes stay airborne and developing a robot that can outrun Olympic champion Usain Bolt. Now, it's unveiled the Cyber Grand Challenge, which ... (view more)