Tag Archives: security

Girl Leaves Parents Hilarious Note About Password Protecting Their Computer (PHOTO)

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Girl Leaves Parents Hilarious Note About Password Protecting Their Computer (PHOTO).

Some people are picky about Internet security, but this 7-year-old is adamant about unfettered access to the web.

In a colorful memo to her parents, one little girl threatens to make mom and dad’s lives a little less than pleasant if they opt to use password protection on their home computer.

Reddit user surprisemailbox posted the photo to the website, explaining that a friend’s little sister had left the message next to her parents computer.

By the looks of this note, this girl is certainly someone who knows how to get her message across, much like a young man who penned a rather detailed rant describing how he would destroy his mother’s “damnable” alarm clock.

Applause for concision and orange construction paper.

(Via Reddit)

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Regulators Tell Facebook To Boost Privacy Features

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Regulators Tell Facebook To Boost Privacy Features.

Ireland’s data protection commissioner has asked Facebook to improve its privacy practices and offer users more information about how the social network stores and shares their personal data.

The regulator performed a three-month audit of Facebook, described by the DPC as “the most comprehensive and detailed ever undertaken” by the office. The commissioner’s report follows less than a month after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled charges Facebook “deceived” consumers by changing its privacy policies.

Though the DPC’s investigation did not conclude Facebook had violated local laws, certain practices by the social networking site concerned regulators, who have asked Facebook to simplify its privacy policies, reduce the time it stores certain data, allow users to delete information, and more clearly explain what personal details can be accessed by third parties, including apps and advertisers.

Facebook’s policy of indefinitely storing ad-click data was deemed “unacceptable” by the DPC in its report. Facebook noted it would “immediately” revise its practices and store that data for a maximum of two years.

The commissioner faulted Facebook for its rollout of a facial recognition feature used to tag individuals in photos, noting that Facebook Ireland “should have handled the implementation of this feature in a more appropriate manner” and urging the site to ensure it properly obtained consent from its users.

The DPC also took issue with the manner in which Facebook monitors third party app developers and their use of user data. The regulator urged Facebook to take additional preemptive measures, rather than spot-checking developers and trusting them to follow the site’s rules.

“We do not consider that reliance on developer adherence to best practice or stated policy in certain cases is sufficient to ensure security of user data,” the DPC wrote in its report. “We expect FB-I [Facebook Ireland] to take additional steps to prevent applications from accessing user information other than where the user has granted an appropriate permission.”

Facebook was further encouraged to boost internal security systems to prevent employees from inappropriately accessing user data.

On the whole, the DPC said it was satisfied with Facebook’s policies.

The audit “found a positive approach and commitment on the part of FB-I to respecting the privacy rights of its users,” wrote Gary Davis, deputy commissioner of the DPC. “Arising from the audit, FB-I has already committed to either implement, or to consider positively, further specific ‘best practice’ improvements recommended by the audit team.”

The DPC will review Facebook’s efforts to implement the recommendations in July 2012.

Facebook highlighted the DPC’s report in a post on its official blog.

“We are pleased that following three months of rigorous examination, the DPC report demonstrates how Facebook adheres to European data protection principles and complies with Irish law,” Facebook wrote. “The DPC recognized that Facebook’s success rests in part from our constant evolution and innovation. We appreciate that the DPC acknowledges that the pace at which we offer new products and features requires continual dialogue with regulators to ensure that adequate protections are in place.”

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Digital image can dupe Android face-based lock

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Digital image can dupe Android face-based lock | Security – CNET News.

A new feature in Android 4.0 will allow you to unlock the phone using facial recognition. But if you want high security, don’t rely on it.

A video demonstration created by mobile blog SoyaCincau shows that the Face Unlock feature can be fooled by showing it a mere image of the face used to set up the locking mechanism. The video shows someone unlocking a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, by holding in front of the device a digital photo taken of him that is displayed on another phone.

Per the description of the YouTube video:

While some of you think that it is a trick and I had set the Galaxy Nexus up to recognise the picture, I assure you that the device was set up to recognise my face…. I would love to do this test again but I don’t have a Galaxy Nexus, it is VERY hard to come by as it is not launched yet, but I urge anyone with a Galaxy Nexus to do the same test. Program the device to recognise YOUR FACE and then try to trick the same device with a similar looking picture, it will work.

The demo is done at an event where the Galaxy Nexus, which hasn’t yet been publicly released, was on display. The information under the video says the test was conducted after someone sent the blogger a tweet asking if a printed photo could fool the Face Unlock feature. There was no printed picture handy, so the demo was done with a digital image of a face taken on a Galaxy Note phone.

A Google representative contacted by CNET said the feature is considered low security and experimental. Even the interface warns users that “Face Unlock is less secure than a pattern, PIN, or password” and that “Someone who looks similar to you could unlock your phone.”

It’s also true that someone would have to plan ahead to have a photo of a target and wait for that person to leave the phone unattended to get access to a device locked with the feature. There is no question that using this low-level security feature is better than not locking the phone at all, as long as you understand the limitations.

Given the video demo, it’s unclear why a Googler would have suggested recently that using a photo would not open up a device protected with Face Unlock. Last month, Koushik Dutta, a developer of the Android after-market firmware replacement CyanogenMod, tweeted: “The face recognition unlock thing is really easily hackable. Show it a photo.” In response, Tim Bray, who is on the Android team, tweeted: “Nope. Give us some credit.”

“It was safe to assume that Google wouldn’t let its face-recognition technology be bypassed using a photo but this confirms it,” The Next Web wrote at the time. “Good news for those who were worried about their friends hacking their smartphone by using a Facebook profile photo or something similar.”

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