Search Results for: facebook vpn

Project Ghostbusters: Facebook Accused of Using Your Phone to Wiretap Snapchat, Youtube, Amazon through Onavo VPN

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Court filings unsealed last week allege Meta created an internal effort to spy on Snapchat in a secret initiative called “Project Ghostbusters.” Meta did so through Onavo, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service the company offered between 2016 and 2019 that, ultimately, wasn’t private at all. “Whenever someone asks a question about Snapchat, the answer Read more about Project Ghostbusters: Facebook Accused of Using Your Phone to Wiretap Snapchat, Youtube, Amazon through Onavo VPN[…]

Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user’s phone and web activity, similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June and that was removed in August. Facebook sidesteps the App Store and Read more about Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them[…]

Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not Download Onavo, Facebook’s Vampiric VPN Service

Posted on by Robin Edgar

There’s a new menu item in the Facebook app, first reported by TechCrunch on Monday, labeled “Protect.” Clicking it will send you to the App Store and prompt you to download a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service called Onavo. (“Protect” shows up in the iOS app. Gizmodo looked for it on an Android device and Read more about Do Not, I Repeat, Do Not Download Onavo, Facebook’s Vampiric VPN Service[…]

Apple bows to Kremlin pressure to remove leading VPNs from Russian AppStore – in other news, Apple still active in Russia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Apple has removed several apps offering virtual private network (VPN) services from the Russian AppStore, following a request from Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media regulator, independent news outlet Mediazona reported on Thursday. The VPN services removed by Apple include leading services such as ProtonVPN, Red Shield VPN, NordVPN and Le VPN. Those living in Russia will no Read more about Apple bows to Kremlin pressure to remove leading VPNs from Russian AppStore – in other news, Apple still active in Russia[…]

NSO Group: Facebook tried to license our spyware to snoop on its own addicts – the same spyware it’s suing us over

Posted on by Robin Edgar

NSO Group – sued by Facebook for developing Pegasus spyware that targeted WhatsApp users – this week claimed Facebook tried to license the very same surveillance software to snoop on its own social-media addicts. The Israeli spyware maker’s CEO Shalev Hulio alleged in a statement [PDF] to a US federal district court that in 2017 Read more about NSO Group: Facebook tried to license our spyware to snoop on its own addicts – the same spyware it’s suing us over[…]

Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!]

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has been prompting some users registering for the first time to hand over the passwords to their email accounts, the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday—a practice that blares right past questionable and into “beyond sketchy” territory, security consultant Jake Williams told the Beast. A Twitter account using the handle @originalesushi first posted an image Read more about Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords [note – never give out your email password!!!!][…]

Turning Off Facebook Location Services Doesn’t Stop Tracking – you have to hide your IP address

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Aleksandra Korolova has turned off Facebook’s access to her location in every way that she can. She has turned off location history in the Facebook app and told her iPhone that she “Never” wants the app to get her location. She doesn’t “check-in” to places and doesn’t list her current city on her profile. Despite Read more about Turning Off Facebook Location Services Doesn’t Stop Tracking – you have to hide your IP address[…]

Turkey Doubles Down on Censorship With Block on VPNs, Tor

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In what’s a significant escalation in its censorship efforts, the Turkish government now wants to block the very same tools that tech-savvy citizens use to get around the government-imposed social media blocks. On Friday, the Turkish information technologies and communications authority, or BTK, ordered internet providers in the country to block Tor and several other Read more about Turkey Doubles Down on Censorship With Block on VPNs, Tor[…]

Online age verification is coming, and privacy is on the chopping block

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A spate of child safety rules might make going online in a few years very different, and not just for kids. In 2022 and 2023, numerous states and countries are exploring age verification requirements for the internet, either as an implicit demand or a formal rule. The laws are positioned as a way to protect Read more about Online age verification is coming, and privacy is on the chopping block[…]

Indonesian Government Blocks Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, Nintendo and more for 270 million people

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Over the weekend, the Indonesian government began the task of blocking any website or service that had failed to register as part of new “internet control” laws. That ended up being a lot, including everything from Steam to the Epic Games Store to Nintendo Online to EA and Ubisoft’s platforms. Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Read more about Indonesian Government Blocks Steam, Epic, Ubisoft, Nintendo and more for 270 million people[…]

Which governments censor the tech giants the most?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Note: these numbers do not take into account the amount of secret removal requests from governments, which are probably most in the US (also see https://www.linkielist.com/global-domination/us-judge-rules-twitter-cant-be-transparent-about-amount-of-surveillance-requests-processed-per-year-due-to-national-security-of-the-4th-reich/) In 2009, Google started recording the number of content removal requests it received from courts and government agencies all over the world, disclosing the figures on a six-month basis. Read more about Which governments censor the tech giants the most?[…]

Branch.io bug left ‘685 million’ netizens open to website hacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Bug-hunters have told how they uncovered a significant security flaw that affected the likes of Tinder, Yelp, Shopify, and Western Union – and potentially hundreds of millions of folks using these sites and apps. The software sniffers said they first came across the exploitable programming blunder while digging into webpage code on dating websites. After Read more about Branch.io bug left ‘685 million’ netizens open to website hacks[…]