Archive for March, 2018

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Downloading Your Facebook Archive May Make You #DeleteFacebook Once And For All

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 27, 2018 by itnerd

I’ve said many times over the years that when you use Facebook, you are the product. If you want an illustration of how much info Facebook gathers on you to make you the product, I would suggest downloading your Facebook archive. That will show you how much Facebook knows about you from the moment that you started using Facebook. And that might be enough to make you #DeleteFacebook due to how invasive their data collection practices truly are.

Here’s how you download your Facebook archive:

  • Go to Facebook.com/settings
  • Tap “Download a copy of your Facebook data.”
  • Tap “Download Archive.”
  • It might take a few minutes, but Facebook will alert you when your archive is ready.
  • When it is, click “Download Archive” again, and a zip file will download to your computer.
  • Browse through that archive by opening each file inside the folder.

I strongly suggest that every Facebook user do this and take a look at what Facebook has on you. You might be shocked, horrified, surprised, or all of the above.

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Foxconn Buys Belkin, Wemo, and Linksys…. IF Trump Allows It

Posted in Commentary with tags , on March 27, 2018 by itnerd

Foxconn, the company best-known for manufacturing Apple iPhones among other Apple devices has announced that one of its subsidiaries, Foxconn Interconnect Technology, is purchasing U.S.-based Belkin for $866 million in cash.

But there’s a catch. According to The Financial Times, the purchase is subject to approval from the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment. In other words, there is a very real chance the acquisition could be blocked. Seeing as The Trump Administration has blocked other attempts of foreign companies to buy US companies, this has the very real possibility of being shot out of the sky very quickly. Thus I would suggest watching this space to see what happens. It won’t take long to see what happens next I assure you.

 

#PSA: If You Want To Ensure Your Mac Is Secure, Download KnockKnock Today

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 27, 2018 by itnerd

I came across something recently that will help Mac users ensure that nothing bad is running on their computers. While you can run anti-virus software, it doesn’t guarantee that something has snuck onto your Mac. That’s where a piece of software called KnockKnock comes in handy.

KnockKnock is Mac security software from Patrick Wardle. He’s a security researcher who’s well known for looking at the emerging threats on the macOS platform as well as mobile platforms such as iOS. That makes him very qualified to come up with KnockKnock which focuses on “persistently installed software” and accesses the VirusTotal database to help identify malware.

Using it is dead easy. A simple Scan button checks kernel extensions, login items and startup scripts, launch items, browser extensions, Spotlight importers, authorization plug-ins, cron jobs and periodic scripts, library inserts and proxies, login/logout hooks, extensions and widgets. You can click on an item for more info, including signing data, VirusTotal info and a link to show the file in the Finder. That way you can find out what the item is and delete it if required.

Best of all, it’s donation ware. And I’d suggest making a donation as I tried it this morning and used it to find a couple of things that caught my attention. Not because they were evil, but because they were items from programs I thought I had properly uninstalled. KnockKnock is totally worth downloading if you want to ensure your Mac is as secure as possible.

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Guest Post: Facebook’s Onavo Protect VPN Might Be Gathering Users’ Psychological Profiles

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 27, 2018 by itnerd

In the midst of growing concerns about Facebook’s stance regarding privacy of its users, Facebook decided to release a free VPN service called Onavo VPN for all its users. The move has been massively criticized since the start, pointing out Facebook’s long-standing tradition of privacy invasions.

Even the VPN app’s description states that all browsing data is actually collected by Facebook to improve its products and services, thus making the VPN obsolete.

According to Google Play, Android version of Onavo Protect alone has already been installed between 10M and 50M times. The popularity of Onavo and of other free VPNs – such as HotSpot Shield – shows many users might not fully understand what they are getting themselves into.

After VPNspecial.com started a minor investigation of Onavo VPN’s Android application, we noticed a few worrying details, which might prove that Facebook’s free VPN is doing much more than just collecting data for Facebook and Onavo service improvement.

After downloading the Onavo Android application apk file, we de-compiled it and opened it with Android Studio. Soon, we noticed that Onavo uses HotKnot, which is mostly used to exchange data by touching two compatible devices one with the other. However, by doing that, a user is also able to make a payment and that information might be tracked. HotKnot is usually used by AMR processors in Chinese and Asian markets for collecting data and using it for market research:

GIF image.gif

Decompiled OnavoProtect APK code tree

We reported our findings to Facebook and were told that HotKnot was not being used with Onavo VPN. After we provided sufficient proof that the files are actually there, the response was more elaborate: “While we did not use them (the functions are empty as you can see when decompiling), they have been removed and will not be included in new versions of Protect.”

Considering that Facebook is inaccessible in China without VPN and that the majority of Chinese citizens are using one, it does not surprise that Facebook decided to access this steadily growing market. Facebook is simply doing what it always does – collecting the maximum possible amount of data, which it can sell or use afterwards.

The use of HotKnot, in addition to the usual Facebook tracking features, would allow Facebook to know its users’ shopping habits, and by correlating the purchase information with geo-location, would be able to gather much more in-depth information, such as psychological profiles and deeply personal preferences.

While Onavo might be helpful to some Facebook users who live in countries with oppressive governments and Internet censorship, others should steer away in order to protect their privacy.

ABOUT VPNSpecial.com

VPNSpecial is one of the biggest global VPN review and comparison sites. Close to 100 professional VPN reviews are provided, with important highlights and speed tests. Users also favor VPNSpecial Server Map tool which depicts physical location of 10 biggest VPNs servers. Started in 2015, VPNSpecial has grown to a website helping half a million privacy enthusiasts select best VPN Service each month.

 

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Gainsight Announces The Largest Industry Gathering In Customer Success at Pulse 2018

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2018 by itnerd
Gainsight, the Customer Success company, today announced its sixth annual Customer Success industry conference, Pulse 2018, is expecting more than 5000 executives and Customer Success professionals to convene at the San Mateo County Events Center in San Mateo, CA. on April 10-11, 2018. Pulse is the annual destination for Customer Success professionals from all industries to share best practices, learn about new industry developments, network with peers, and celebrate being pioneers of the emerging profession.
 
The two-day event aims to help executives and professionals in post-sales and customer-facing roles manage effective Customer Success programs and grow into successful recurring revenue businesses. The conference includes educational sessions on industry best practices, exciting special events and compelling keynotes from leading companies such as Box, Microsoft, Okta, ServiceNow, VMware and others. Gainsight has partnered with over 30 companies to produce the conference, including N3, ServiceRocket, Accenture, Deloitte and others.
 
Confirmed to keynote Pulse 2018 this year is Beth Comstock, former Vice Chair at GE and one of the most prolific change agents in modern business, as well as Geoffrey Moore, business luminary and author of books such as Crossing the Chasm and Zone to Win: Organizing to Compete in an Age of Disruption. In addition to the conference, Gainsight is also offering Pulse Academy Live, the premier Customer Success education event, on April 9th for Customer Success professionals of any level. The day-long event will include a keynote, workshop, breakouts, and opportunities to connect with peers and ultimately accelerate the careers of Customer Success professionals.
 
Registration and ticket information is available at www.gainsight.com/pulse.

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STEM Camp Launching In Canadian First Nation communities

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2018 by itnerd

STEM Camp, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and Bruce Power are pleased to announce the launch of two STEM Camp’s in the communities of Saugeen and Neyaashiinigmiing this upcoming summer. Through discussions and coordinating with the community Youth Leaders and Bruce Power’s Indigenous Relations team, this initiative will be the first-ever STEM Camp to be carried out within First Nations.

The purpose of providing a STEM Camp to these communities is to provide inspirational and fun educational activities for Indigenous children aged 5 through 13 and to provide a mechanism to learn more about their history and culture through, or in conjunction with, STEM-based activities. This is a pilot project that, if successful, could be transferred to other First Nation communities.

STEM Camp is a Canadian registered not-for-profit organization with a mandate to offer quality STEM-based programming through educational activities. STEM Camp started in 2013 and specializes in summer camps designed to inspire children ages 5-13 through hands-on and inquiry-based activities in the STEM fields. In the summer of 2017 STEM Camp was expanded in Ontario to 46 locations resulting in 8500 campers enrolled. In 2018 STEM Camp has committed to 77 locations including 15 francophone and/or bilingual and to the exploration of pilot projects within indigenous communities.

 

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FTC Investigating Facebook

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2018 by itnerd

Well, I bet a bunch of people in Facebook HQ are saying “oh noes” right now because the news is out that the FTC is investigating Facebook according a statement put out by Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC:

“The FTC is firmly and fully committed to using all of its tools to protect the privacy of consumers. Foremost among these tools is enforcement action against companies that fail to honor their privacy promises, including to comply with Privacy Shield, or that engage in unfair acts that cause substantial injury to consumers in violation of the FTC Act. Companies who have settled previous FTC actions must also comply with FTC order provisions imposing privacy and data security requirements. Accordingly, the FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook. Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices.”

Facebook stock which was already in free fall because of this data breach scandal promptly cratered as per this image:

fb.JPG

This is not the worst case scenario for the company. But it’s pretty darn close. The FTC doesn’t fool around which implies that Facebook is in a world of hurt because the FTC can force Facebook to radically change the way they do business or face all sorts of untold pain and suffering. Either way, it could be an extinction level event for the company.

Stay tuned. This is about to get interesting.

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#PSA: Apple Watch Apps Need To Be Native Staring Sunday April 1st

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2018 by itnerd

If you’re an Apple Watch owner, you can expect a slew of updates for the apps on your Apple Watch this week and next week. That’s because Apple a while ago gave those who develop apps for the Apple Watch a deadline of Sunday April 1st to have make their apps to be native apps. What does that mean for you? It means the following:

  • The apps can work with as little as a Internet connection to the Apple Watch and without a phone being present.
  • The apps will perform better.
  • The apps will get access to new background modes for navigation and audio recording, built-in altimeter capabilities, direct connections to accessories with Core Bluetooth among other things. That will make the apps way more functional than they are now.

Thus when you get requests to update the apps on your phone over the next couple of weeks, and you know that it installs an accompanying app on your Apple Watch, you should install it as you’ll likely get a bit of an improvement in terms of how it works and performs.

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#DeleteFacebook Is Your Only Option As It’s Been Discovered That Facebook Gathers Up Far More Data Than Previously Thought

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 26, 2018 by itnerd

Last week, I posted a story and a tweet about your choices when it came to Facebook. From the #DeleteFacebook camp came this story that laid out the reasons why you should delete Facebook. But if that wasn’t you, this tweet laid out a second option:

But today, I’m here to tell you that the second option is not an option. I say that because of this story on The Register where users of Facebook who decided to join team #DeleteFacebook discovered that Facebook was gathering up all sorts of info including text messages, call histories, and interactions with other apps that weren’t owned by Facebook. Oh yes, this also applies to Instagram which is owned by Facebook.

Now you likely agreed to all of this data collection when you signed up to Facebook as that was likely in the terms of service that you likely didn’t read. But it doesn’t make it any less creepy. In my mind it means that you need to #DeleteFacebook as this company has really shown that it’s not above doing things that at the very least are unethical.

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Tumblr Deleting Russian Linked Accounts

Posted in Commentary with tags on March 24, 2018 by itnerd

It seems that Facebook and Twitter aren’t the only ones that have problems with Russian linked accounts that may be up to no good. According to a reader (thanks for the tip by the way) of this blog, it seems that Tumblr is sending out emails to users that inform them that they have come in contact with Russian linked accounts and that those accounts are being deleted. Here’s the first part of the message:

As part of our commitment to transparency, we want you to know that we uncovered and terminated 84 accounts linked to Internet Research Agency or IRA (a group closely tied to the the Russian government) posing as members of the Tumblr community.

The IRA engages in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. When we uncovered these accounts, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts.

While investigating their activity on Tumblr, we discovered that you either followed one of these accounts linked to the IRA, or liked or reblogged one of their posts:

The next part of the message details the Tumblr accounts that were linked with the users accounts, followed by this:

You aren’t in trouble, and don’t need to take any action if you don’t want to. We deleted the accounts but decided to leave up any reblog chains so that you can curate your own Tumblr to reflect your own personal views and perspectives.

Democracy requires transparency and an informed electorate and we take our disclosure responsibility very seriously. We’ll be aggressively watching for disinformation campaigns in the future, take the appropriate action, and make sure you know about it.

— Tumblr

This is an interesting tactic on the part of Tumblr as I am pretty sure that they don’t want to be the next protest hashtag that trends because they didn’t do anything to stop Russian linked accounts. I do wonder how effective it will be though. But I suppose that they have to start somewhere. I also wonder how leaving up any content that has been reblogged helps this situation. I guess Tumblr doesn’t want to be seen as censors. But if it were me I would zap it all so that these Russians don’t continue to benefit from the posts in question. In any case, This is an interesting development as I must admit that I didn’t see this coming.

 

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