The federal spending bill signed by US President Donald Trump on Friday does more than fund the budget. It also makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to demand access to online information no matter what country the data is stored in. Lawmakers added the CLOUD Act (PDF), which stands for Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use …

How many clicks does it take to keep your Facebook data private? That was the question I set out to answer when I created a Facebook account on Wednesday. Specifically, I wanted to discover what it takes to stop my Facebook friends from sharing data from my account (created under the alias Lauren Mapala, because I’d make a terrible spy).  …

In the list of big security flaws that could let hackers compromise phones, there’s one name that comes up a lot: Android. In 2015, we learned that Google’s operating system for phones was vulnerable to the StageFright bug, which hackers could exploit just by sending a text message. In 2016, security researchers revealed that millions of Android phones were infected …

As major tech companies get better at ridding their platforms of gory videos and calls to commit violence, terrorists are finding new ways to post their messages, Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, said Tuesday. “They’ve continued to demonstrate their will,” Nielsen said, noting that blogs, chat rooms and encrypted chat apps can serve as ways …

Want to obsess over the 2018 Winter Olympics on your iPhone? The Apple News app has some features for you. In a special section of the app, Apple created a calendar to remind you of upcoming events, display list of curated articles, and — for those who want to stay on top of which country is bringing home the bling …

Uber drivers and riders throughout the country tweeted out complaints Thursday that the ride-hailing service was down.  Drivers trying to pick up or drop off fares were unable to log into the app, according to tweets from several accounts. Uber users in Las Vegas, Atlanta, New York City, Washington, DC and other major cities were unable to access the service, tweets said. …

Net neutrality may not be the law of the US, but it’s now the law of New York state.  On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order (PDF) that requires New York state agencies to only contract with internet service providers that follow net neutrality principles. This means ISPs doing business with the state must promise to treat internet …

You want to stay safe from hackers while still using an older version of Apple’s MacOS, the underlying software that runs its laptops and desktops. Now, there’s a patch for that. On Tuesday, the company released updates to the Sierra and El Capitan operating systems that will protect users from Meltdown, the design flaw that could let hackers access sensitive …

Intel pumped the brakes on updates to some of its processors Monday, telling phone and computer makers as well as users to stop updating systems until Intel finishes investigating why the patches were causing devices to reboot unexpectedly. The company recommends that manufacturers and users “stop deployment of current versions, as they may introduce higher than expected reboots and other …

For all the controversial issues US lawmakers have debated lately, there was one bill that made it through both houses of Congress and on to President Donald Trump with little fanfare. There was so little fuss around its passing, you might be surprised to hear the law renews two government surveillance programs that less than five years ago caused public …