Tag Archives: privacy

A VPN might sound like a needlessly technical complication to add to your home internet connection, but there are a lot of advantages to using one. It affords you greater privacy and security — useful if you’re working from home during the pandemic — and with some simple tweaks, you can appear to be located …

If you’re sick of websites tracking you and just as frustrated with website pop-ups prompting you to dig through obscure browser cookie settings — good news. An alliance including web publishers and browser makers has developed technology to stop websites from selling or sharing the data they gather about you, and you can try it now. If the effort succeeds, …

Chrome running on your smartphone now can check whether your passwords have been hacked. The feature previously worked on personal computers, but now works on Apple iPhones and devices powered by Google’s Android, the company said Tuesday. The feature sends usernames and passwords to Google servers to check if they’ve been compromised in known data breaches. Google itself can’t see …

Apple has never been shy about beating its own drum when it comes to data protection tools and user privacy. With iOS 14, Apple is giving iPhone and iPad owners even more power over their data, ranging from better location options to tracking controls that require an app to be more transparent about the data it collects about you, and how the …

“Scott, did you charge the phone?” I hear this and know my wife meant the Apple Watch. But it’s how we think of it in our family: It’s the wrist-phone. Now that the new Family Setup feature allows Apple Watches to work for family members, unleashing the watch from the iPhone a bit, it’s suddenly become a way for my …

Imagine you’re training to be a pilot or a doctor, experiencing a simulation in VR with convincing images and tools that feel like the real thing. And not only do you get to know how you did afterwards, but you can see how you focused, what your pulse rate was and maybe even what you were feeling.  VR headsets like …

Facebook Messenger users will be able to chat with people who are on Instagram without having to download a new app and vice versa, a move that links both services more closely together. Instagram and Facebook Messenger will still remain as standalone apps and a user’s inboxes will stay separate, the companies said. The new messaging option could change the …

I recommend using a VPN the way your dentist admonishes you to start flossing more frequently. It’s important, especially if you frequently connect to public Wi-Fi networks or want to protect your privacy while surfing from home. And like flossing, it might seem complicated and troublesome, but it’s really easy to do. You have a lot of VPN choices, but …

TikTok removed more than 104 million videos from its platform during the first half of 2020, according to the company’s latest transparency report, released Tuesday. TikTok said that’s less than 1% of all videos uploaded to the popular app between Jan. 1 and June 30. The update comes as TikTok’s fate in the US remains in jeopardy, pending the finalization …

Twitter faces a class-action lawsuit for providing advertisers access to people’s phone numbers without consent. The complaint, filed Monday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, seeks $5,000 in damages for every person in the state affected by Twitter’s privacy misstep.  The lawsuit alleges that Twitter violated a Washington law against unauthorized procurement or sale …