Tag: ENCRYPTION

Facebook's customizable privacy settings may allow users to hide their comments from co-workers and ex-boyfriends, but a new tool called uProtect.it can conceal them from a much more ubiquitous observer: Facebook itself. Developed by Reputation.com, Inc., uProtect.it is a free app that encrypts all comments posted across Facebook, rendering them visible only to a select group of friends. After ...

On Tuesday, a so-called "master key" crack required to unlock the high-definition, copy-protection (HDCP) codes encrypted on Blu-ray discs began worming its way around the Internet. While many initially doubted the legitimacy of the key, Intel has now confirmed that it is indeed real, effectively declaring open season on Blu-ray copying. "We have tested this published material that was on the ...

Getting around censorship in countries like China is never easy. It often devolves into a game of tug-of-war between the government and its people, who are forced to resort to tricks like setting up proxy servers to circumvent the restrictions on browsing. But a new tool created by researcher Sho Ho could greatly simplify bypassing blocks like the Great Firewall (of China) when it lands this ...

Hacker Christopher Tarnovsky has accomplished what many thought was nearly impossible: cracking the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Described by some as a "digital Fort Knox," the TPM is a specialized processor dedicated to encrypting data and keeping sensitive information from prying eyes. The chips, found in many PCs, are an important line of defense for businesses and governments who need to ...

Karsten Nohl, a German computer scientist and encryption expert, claims to have cracked the algorithm that protects wireless communications over GSM networks, the chosen route for 80-percent of global cellular traffic. As part of what Nohl told the Chaos Communication Congress is an attempt to "push operators to adopt better security measures for mobile phone calls," he published the 2 terabytes ...

Call us devilish, but we just can't help but love these types of stories. Here we have yet another overly confident group of researchers grossly underestimating the collective power of the hacking underground, as gurus from all across Europe have joined together to announce "the first commercial communication network using unbreakable encryption based on quantum cryptography." Interestingly ...

In these digital times, it seems as though everything about us these days is reduced to bits and bytes and stored on computers -- so it's only fair to ask that those computers be secure. Well, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute, half of all the business travelers surveyed said they fly regularly with important information on their laptops. Most of them -- more than two thirds ...

Intel is joining forces with a bunch of other heavy weights in the computer industry, including Absolute Software Corporation (a data protection and hardware tracking company), BIOS maker Phoenix, Utimaco (a data security company), and McAfee, along with manufacturers Lenovo and Fujitsu, to create ATT (Anti-Theft Technology). Company representatives were short on details about the technology, ...

If Switched was around in the 1940's, and if we all had access to highly classified information, we would have been raving about Colossus as the hottest piece of tech in the world. Created in 1943, the vintage computer was about the size of a school bus and relied on wheels and paper tapes for input rather than multi-touch screens and voice recognition. So today it's a bit obsolete, a fact that ...

A reader writes: My wife just got a new laptop through work, which means we now have two computers in the house. I want to set up a wireless network so we can split our cable Internet connection, but I don't want any hassle. The last time I set one up was a few years ago, and I remember it being a total headache. What's your advice for getting a Wi-Fi network up and running quickly and ...

Got a wireless home network? Which level of encryption are you rocking: WEP, WPA or WPA2? No clue what we're talking about? Well, before you slow-pitch another password, credit card number or embarrassing email into the wheelhouse of a potential hacker, you'll want to study this wireless security FAQ from PC World. Or, if you'd rather sit back and watch a video, check out the AOL Digital ...