Using non-Latin characters that look very similar to their ASCII counterparts helps scammers, spammers and phishing crooks send emails from legitimate-looking addresses. Now Google’s putting a stop to that with a set of new spam filters. 
Monthly Archives: August 2014
Patch Tuesday wrap-up, August 2014: RCE + ASLR bypass + EoP == patch early, patch all!
Patch Tuesday is here again. Paul Ducklin explains how this month’s vulnerabilities can work together for harm, and why *all* the updates matter, not just the ones that ended up with a “critical” or “severe” tag…
DEA paid out $854,460 for free Amtrak passenger data
Since 1995, a former Amtrak employee has been selling passenger data to the US Drug Enforcement Administration – information that cost the DEA $854,460, but which it could have gotten for free.
Facebook ordered to disclose records on underage users
Facebook says it doesn’t keep them longer than six months, but a court in Belfast is nonetheless ordering it to hand over any records it might have or control about its underage users. The case concerns a girl who, starting at the age of 11, took out four Facebook accounts and used them to post sexually suggestive photos. 
Why the Facebook Messenger app is not the privacy nightmare people think it is
There’s good reason to be skeptical of Facebook when it comes to privacy, but the Facebook Messenger app isn’t the privacy nightmare that some people think it is. Here’s why …
War Kitteh hunts out your unsecured Wi-Fi
Coco the cat was outfitted with Wi-Fi sniffing equipment in his collar, enabling him to map out 23 unique Wi-Fi hotspots, 4 of which used feeble WEP encryption, 4 of which were wide open, requiring no password. He also caught a mouse, showing him to be adroit in both analog and digital media. 
Most people think public Wi-Fi is safe. Seriously?
Talk about dismaying numbers! In Ofcom’s recent report, three quarters of the public were unconcerned about security when accessing Wi-Fi outside of their homes, and were quite happy to do *anything* on public Wi-Fi. Help us educate them, please!
Android “Heart App” virus spreads quickly, author arrested within 17 hours
Q. How to attract the attention of the police if you’re a bored student on summer vacation? A. Write a virus that unleashes 20,000,000 SMSes, infects 100,000 devices, and steals personal data…
Pwnie Awards for Heartbleed, “goto fail”, Mt. Gox
The golden My Little Pony statuettes have been passed out at the Black Hat Security 2014 conference, commemorating select infosec glories and groans. Best song: the haunting “SSL Smiley Song”, sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells”. 
Apple iPads and MacBook Pros banned for Chinese government use
China has banned government officials from buying Apple products, reportedly to avoid the possibility of the US hijacking the technology to spy on Beijing. 