Security - SlashGear

‘security’ Stories

Google IP addresses link Indian contractor to vandalism of Open Street Map

Shane McGlaun, Jan 17th 2012 Discuss [1]

Someone hiding behind a range of Google IP addresses in India has been up to no good. Allegedly, the person or persons behind the range of Google IPs have been accessing the open-source map project called Open Street Map and using tools there to vandalize maps of major cities. The vandalism has included things that could get some users of the map into danger. Read The Full Story

Google makes accessing Gmail on a public computer safer

Shane McGlaun, Jan 17th 2012 Discuss [4]

If you are using gmail for your personal or business emails and have had the need to access the site on a public computer, you may have felt a bit uneasy about that. Having someone else access your account is a big problem for a lot of us. Google has unveiled a new method of accessing your account that is more secure and involves your smartphone. Read The Full Story

Featured

SlashGear 101: Basic Password Security

Chris Burns, Jan 16th 2012 Discuss [48]

This morning there was a rather large break-in of a couple of sites related to online sales of clothing and shoes, Zappos and “6pm” amongst them, and one theme sticks out as a beacon to us as far as how users can avoid being smashed by this situation: password safety. Ironically it’s not that you need to change your personal details, not your credit card numbers, your phone numbers, any sort of address information at all, but your password itself, and not necessarily on the site that got hacked. The simplest way to keep yourself secure on the internet is to use different passwords on each “secure” site you interact with.

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Zappos discount site 6pm hacked too; International shutters slammed

Chris Davies, Jan 16th 2012 Discuss [2]

Zappos isn't the only site to suffer an embarrassing hack to its customer databases; discount affiliate 6pm has also been affected by the data theft. Just as with the main site, 6pm has contacted registered users to warn them that their personal details - including delivery and billing addresses, phone numbers, partial credit card details and more - have been extracted from a Kentucky data center. Read The Full Story

Zappos reveals data hack affecting 24m customers

Chris Davies, Jan 16th 2012 Discuss [0]

Online shoes and clothing retailer Zappos has warned customers of a security breach that exposed partial credit card details, billing and shipping addresses and other personal information, in a hack effecting 24m users. Detailed in a blog post last night, the Zappos attack was apparently though a Kentucky data center, though the servers responsible for storing full credit card and payment details was not impacted. Zappos is now mandating a change of password for all customers to restore security. Read The Full Story

Google “mortified” at Kenya database raid

Chris Davies, Jan 14th 2012 Discuss [5]

Google is "mortified" that its Getting Kenyan Businesses Online team raided the database of a local startup for crowd-sourced business details, the company has said, and is investigating the use of false claims about its rival. "We've already unreservedly apologized to Mocality" Nelson Mattos, Vice-President for Product and Engineering, Europe and Emerging Markets at Google told us, after the startup revealed server logs and an investigation of its own that suggested staff at Google call centers in Kenya and India had been grabbing leads from Mocality's database and using them to promote their own business. Read The Full Story

Researchers find Blackberry Playbook flaw that allows email snooping

Shane McGlaun, Jan 13th 2012 Discuss [1]

The Blackberry Playbook has been one of the bigger failures in the tablet realm. It's still trying to find success in the market, but is having a tough road. A pair of security researchers has found a flaw in the way the Playbook connects to a Blackberry smartphone for connecting to corporate emails. The flaw that the researchers are exposing is in the Bridge application used to connect the tablet and smartphone. Read The Full Story

CES Live

D-Link Cloud Camera 5000 hands-on

Chris Burns, Jan 10th 2012 Discuss [0]

The folks at D-Link have both revealed and shown off the Cloud Camera 5000, a ball on a pedestal with the code-name DCS-5222L with full pan and tilt capabilities and automatic day and night viewing. You'll be recording all of your best friends with the loving friendliness of a full moving camera which allows you "peace of mind" as they say all night and day. You can record 340 degrees and 170 degrees and will be able to control the camera from mydlink.com as well as iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Read The Full Story

Belkin WeMo promises iPad home automation

Chris Davies, Jan 10th 2012 Discuss [3]

Home automation is something plenty of geeks dream about, but has a reputation for being tricky and expensive to implement; now Belkin hopes to address both of those concerns with its new WeMo standard. Using a combination of a WiFi-enabled AC plug adapter - which can be remotely turned on or off - and a WiFi-enabled motion sensor, along with a free iPhone and iPad app, WeMo promises to make setting up a smart home headache-free. Read The Full Story

Dropcam HD WiFi camera promises 60 second setup

Chris Davies, Jan 9th 2012 Discuss [0]

Dropcam has revealed its latest wirelessly-connected webcam, the Dropcam HD, promising straightforward setup, HD picture quality and the peace of mind that comes with knowing you're spying on somebody. The company's first in-house hardware design, the Dropcam HD is little bigger than its lens, coming with a removable, posable stand and hooking up to your home or office network via WiFi. Read The Full Story

Israel promises retaliation against hacker that leaked credit card details

Shane McGlaun, Jan 9th 2012 Discuss [3]

Recently a hacker targeted Israelis in an attack that resulted in 6,000 valid credit cards for Israeli citizens being stolen. The stolen card details were later published online by the hacker, who calls himself OxOmar. Israel has vowed to retaliate against the hacker and has said that it will treat the hack and leak of the card details just as it would other terrorist acts. Read The Full Story

Samsung SmartCam streams to iOS and Android

Chris Davies, Jan 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

Samsung has joined the increasingly crowded WiFi IP security camera market with the new Samsung SmartCam at CES today, a 1.3-megapixel webcam with integrated WiFi b/g/n and ethernet. The company is pushing the ease of use of the SmartCam, with WPS for easy network connections - with a compatible router - along with mobile apps for Android and iOS devices so that you can log in from your phone or tablet. Read The Full Story