Any computer running the Chrome browser can be subverted to eavesdrop on conversations happening around it, claims a developer. Israeli coder Tal Ater found the bug while working on his own speech recognition software. Despite Google finding a way to fix the bug in October 2013 the update has yet to be rolled out to…
Category: Misc
Live Q&A with Edward Snowden: Thursday 23rd January, 8pm GMT, 3pm EST
From Free Snowden: Edward Snowden will be answering questions submitted by the public on his official support site, freesnowden.is, this Thursday 23 January at 8pm GMT, 3pm EST. The support site is run by The Courage Foundation and is the only endorsed Snowden Defence Fund. This is the first Snowden live chat since June 2013 and will…
Your Email Address Isn’t Personal Information. Get Over It.
Hillary Kelly describes the recent uproar over Google’s announcement that if you’re signed up with Google Plus, you can now email any other Gmail user who’s also signed up for Google Plus—even if you don’t know their email address or they yours. But is the uproar from privacy advocates reasonable? Kelly writes, in part: A CNN…
California PUC rejects tougher smartphone privacy protections
Marc Lifsher reports: California regulators decided Thursday not to consider the need for tougher privacy protection for smartphone users. In a 3-2 vote, the Public Utilities Commission denied a petition from consumer groups asking it to investigate the need for stronger privacy standards. It would have been the PUC’s first attempt to update 2-decade-old phone…