---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <7A666B49-5E66-4451-AAAE-C2928BCD40BE@roscom.com> Date: 14 Jan 2020 18:15:18 -0500 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Verizon offers no-tracking search engine, promises to protect your privacy With "OneSearch," Verizon promises no cookie tracking or personal profiling. By Jon Brodkin Verizon today launched a new search engine, claiming that its "OneSearch" service will offer users more privacy than the standard options in a market dominated by Google. Verizon's actual search results are provided by Microsoft's Bing, but Verizon added several privacy-focused features - while retaining the ability to serve contextual ads. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/verizon-offers-no-tracking-search-engine-promises-to-protect-your-privacy/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** Incipient Paranoia department ... I get the feeling that there's a lot of behind-the-scenes change happening to the net. It might be another phase of the neverending battle between content providers (Google) and bit movers (Baby Bells and the CableCo's). Google bought AdBlocker, which gave them both a blocking platform that is furnished with Chrome - and control of which ads it blocks. Verizon says it's interested in protecting its users' privacy - from everyone but them. Who, I wonder, is the man behind the curtain? Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <9140D17A-5C44-4C90-B39C-EC3C701DA479@roscom.com> Date: 14 Jan 2020 11:26:07 -0500 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Don't trust the US gov't, states tell court in T-Mobile/ Sprint merger case States blast DOJ and FCC as T-Mobile/Sprint merger case nears finish. By Jon Brodkin The United States government approved the T-Mobile/Sprint merger without fully investigating whether the deal's anti-competitive harms can be offset by merger conditions, state attorneys general argued in a court filing. The US Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission both found that the merger would harm consumers, a group of states that are trying to block the merger pointed out in a court filing last week. The DOJ and FCC approved the deal with conditions they claim will make the merger good for consumers, but the states say both US agencies failed to properly evaluate whether the conditions are likely to achieve that goal. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/01/dont-trust-the-us-govt-states-tell-court-in-t-mobilesprint-merger-case/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <A56C7AD5-3E01-44C4-BEBB-A5D126D12A0B@roscom.com> Date: 14 Jan 2020 16:19:24 -0500 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Patch Windows 10 and Server now because certificate validation is broken Microsoft's scheduled security update for Windows includes a fix to a potentially dangerous bug that would allow an attacker to spoof a certificate, making it look like it came from a trusted source. The vulnerability, reported to Microsoft by the National Security Agency, affects Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server version 1803. Microsoft has rated the update as "important" rather than critical. But in a blog post, Mechele Gruhn, the Principal Security Program Manager for Microsoft Security Response Center, explained that this was because "we have not seen it used in active attacks." However, researchers outside Microsoft - including Google's Tavis Ormandy - have a much more dire assessment of the vulnerability and urge users to patch quickly before an active exploit appears. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/patch-windows-10-and-server-now-because-certificate-validation-is-broken/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <DBDD43E8-8172-4198-B2AF-2C8CA61B1B90@roscom.com> Date: 14 Jan 2020 16:20:12 -0500 From: "Monty Solomon" <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Researchers find 17 Google Play apps that bombard users with battery-draining ads Developers employed a variety of tricks to populate Google Play with more than a dozen apps that bombard users with ads, even when the apps weren't being used, researchers said on Tuesday. Among the tactics used to lower the chances of being caught by Google or peeved users: the apps wait 48 hours before hiding their presence on devices, hold off displaying ads for four hours, display the ads at random intervals, and split their code into multiple files, researchers with antivirus provider Bitdefender reported. The apps also contain working code that does the things promised in the Google Play descriptions, giving them the appearance of legitimacy. In all, Bitdefender found 17 such apps with a combined 550,000 installations. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/researchers-find-17-google-play-apps-that-bombard-users-with-battery-draining-ads/ ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 16 Jan 2020