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Silent audio fingerprinting: AliExpress tracks devices without consent
8 hours ago•Source: Cybernews
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6.795 min•19 days ago
Public Wi‑Fi Risks Escalate as Captive Portal Attacks Target Travelers
Microsoft Threat Intelligence warns of the CaptiveCrunch campaign that targets hospitality wifi networks (hotels, airports, conference centers) by abusing captive portal prompts to phish credentials, push malware, and perform man-in-the-middle attacks. Travelers are urged to rely on private connections (mobile hotspots or cellular data), use an enterprise-managed travel router or VPN with a kill switch if public wifi must be used, carefully inspect login prompts, avoid downloading software through captive portals, and keep devices and apps up to date to minimize risk.
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Smart TVs Are Turning Into Data Traps for Ads
Smart TVs are increasingly becoming data-collection devices as a sprawling network of ad-tech vendors tracks viewers through cookies, device IDs, IPs, precise/non-precise location, and user profiles. The article catalogs hundreds of vendors with cookie lifetimes spanning from days to years, notes some vendors don’t use cookies or rely on other storage, and highlights pervasive cross-device tracking and potential privacy risks for households. Viewers may need to adjust privacy settings or limit ad tracking on their TVs to curb data collection.
AI in ad tech leaves a cookie trail across the web
The Register exposes a sprawling, cookie-heavy ad‑tech ecosystem driven by AI, listing dozens of vendors and the data they gather (IP addresses, device identifiers, precise locations, user profiles) with cookie durations spanning from days to years. While some vendors cite consent or legitimate interest, others rely on alternative storage or “no cookies,” underscoring the scale of online tracking and the resulting privacy and regulatory concerns.
FBI Recovered Deleted Signal Messages Through iPhone Notifications
The FBI reportedly retrieved incoming Signal messages from a defendant’s iPhone not by accessing the Signal app, but by scraping the device’s push notification database to capture alerts that displayed messages on the Lock Screen, even after the app was deleted. Signal users can mitigate this by enabling notification content blocking (Settings > Notification Content > No Name or Content) to prevent revealing who a message is from or what it contains; note that any app displaying lock-screen previews can create a similar vulnerability.
Private Computing on Any PC with Tails via USB
The article introduces Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System), a Debian-based Linux distro you can boot from a USB drive to maximize privacy by routing all activity through the Tor network. It includes built-in apps like LibreOffice, GIMP, and Inkscape, and data isn’t saved by default unless you enable Persistent Storage. It also provides steps to get started: download Tails, create a bootable USB with Rufus (Windows) or Etcher (macOS), and boot from the USB on most computers (Apple Silicon Macs aren’t fully supported yet).
New App Warns When Smart Glasses Are in Your Area
Nearby Glasses is an Android app that scans for Bluetooth Low Energy signatures from smart-glasses makers (Meta, Luxottica, Snap) and notifies you when someone wearing smart glasses is nearby; it may misidentify mixed-reality headsets as glasses, and an iOS port is in development. The piece also notes privacy concerns about inconspicuous cameras and Meta's planned Name Tag facial-recognition feature for Ray-Ban/Oakley glasses.
DHS Moves to Unmask ICE Critics on Big Social Platforms
The Department of Homeland Security has issued hundreds of subpoenas to major social platforms to uncover identities behind anonymous accounts that criticize ICE or expose agents’ locations; DHS says the data is needed to protect officers, but civil liberties advocates warn it threatens privacy and free expression, noting many subpoenas are withdrawn before court review and the ACLU is offering legal help to affected users.
The ad-tech cookie web: a comprehensive snapshot of rivals' tracking data
The Register compiles a sweeping inventory of third-party ad-tech vendors (TCF and others), detailing each vendor's cookie usage, durations, and data collection practices. The list shows cookie lifetimes ranging from days to multiple years, and data collected including IP addresses, device identifiers, location data, user profiles, and authentication-derived identifiers. It notes whether vendors use other storage, and whether they rely on legitimate interests or consent, with several vendors not using cookies or using alternative storage. The piece underscores how pervasive and varied online tracking is across the ad ecosystem.
Record-Breaking Great White Sharks Capture Spotlight
Yahoo informs users about its use of cookies and personal data for site functionality, security, analytics, and personalized advertising, offering options to accept, reject, or customize privacy settings, with the ability to change preferences anytime.
Sydney Sweeney's 'The Housemaid' Sequel Confirmed for 2026
Yahoo informs users about its use of cookies and personal data for site functionality, security, analytics, and personalized advertising, offering options to accept, reject, or customize privacy settings, with the ability to change preferences anytime.
Timothée Chalamet Thanks Kylie Jenner Amid Award Win and Public Praise
Yahoo informs users about its use of cookies and personal data for site functionality, security, analytics, and personalized advertising, offering options to accept, reject, or customize privacy settings, with the ability to change preferences anytime.