Kudos to our own Rich Mogull, whose TidBITS article about protecting your privacy from Facebook landed him a guest spot on the NPR radio show Science Friday with Ira Flatow (himself a TidBITS reader at one point). You can either listen to the audio of the show or read the transcript on NPR's Web site.
Google is trying to counter waves of bad publicity about how it handles data and discloses its actions by offering a beta test of a secure Web site for search.
The brouhaha surrounding privacy on Facebook continues to expand, with the New York Times producing a fascinating info-graphic that shows just how complex Facebook has made the topic, with 50 settings containing over 170 options. And the Facebook privacy policy? It's longer than the U.S. Constitution.
Improves reliability, security, and compatibility for Java in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. (Free, 78 MB)
Improves reliability, security, and compatibility for Java in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. (Free, 122 MB)
The latest version of PGP Whole Disk Encryption supports Snow Leopard and Boot Camp (at least to some extent), and sports some other interesting changes. Joe Kissell puts it through its paces.
In a change in Orbicule's Undercover 4, the theft-recovery tool gives you the information generated by a stolen computer, as well as sharing it with law enforcement. You can also optionally track your laptop in real time.
In this excerpt from his massive "Mac Security Bible," Joe Kissell explores the theory and practice of encrypting files on your Mac's hard drive.
Apple has announced that the MobileMe features Find My iPhone, Remote Wipe, and content syncing are now available for both the iPad with Wi-Fi and the upcoming model that includes 3G. Forgetful road warriors would do well to consider purchasing a $99 MobileMe membership, as the location-finding and data-clearing features would be worth the cost alone should your iPad go missing. Also, iPad owners who have an iPhone will be pleased to know both devices can work with a single MobileMe account.
The optional four-digit passcode required to access a locked iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch may be enough to thwart casual pickpockets, but determined thieves can get through it easily. A new alternative ensures that only you know the combination.
Mac OS X 10.6.3 is one of those updates that addresses issues throughout the operating system, ranging from fixes that affect iMovie and Logic Pro 9 to security improvements.
ZDNet reports on a survey from the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group that finds a surprising number of people open suspect spam messages and even click on included links or forward the messages. We're not entirely sure what to make of the survey findings overall, but anyone interested in the spam problem would be well served to read the full survey (in PDF, linked in the ZDNet article) and ponder the results.
In Google's ongoing effort to prevent Gmail account hacking, Google has added warnings about geographically suspicious logins. In its blog, Gmail's engineering director says that with the feature turned on - which it is, by default - you will be warned if your account is accessed from broadly different parts of the world. Google also recently added an option to log out other open Web sessions.
Are you an owner of a Time Capsule that's kaput? You're certainly not alone - nor up a creek. Apple is replacing some faulty units. We look at the backstory to these replacements, and how you can keep your Time Capsule working properly
Our friends at the EFF have compiled a list of situations in which the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA - the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 - have been used to chill free expression and scientific research, attack fair use, impede competition and innovation, and interfere with computer intrusion laws. Isn't it time to rewrite the DMCA so it can no longer be used to hinder the legitimate activities of journalists, scientists, innovators, and the rest of us?