ChromeOS is toast? Google is merging it with Android?

Rumor is that in a few years there won't be a ChromeOS, only Android.  What will they call the Chromebooks?

SnapChat:You own your SnapChat images but we can use them for free, forever.

New Terms of Service from SnapChat says that they get free use of your uploaded pictures forever as do any of their business partners.

Google issues demands of Symantec for their issuing of bogus certs

Seems that Symantec issued some 2500 bogus SSL certs and Google is mad.

000webhost.com loses 13.4 million passwords

An old version of PHP led to the loss of customer data.

Top 10 Vulnerable Programs on your Windows PC

Uninstall them if not in use, otherwise routinely patch these programs.

It's still illegal to RIP your DVDs and BluRay

Library of Congress says no to backing up media you bought that has encryption.

You can hack your own car.

Library of Congress, overseers of the Patent Office, say you own it, you can hack it as long as you don't break any other laws.

The CISA bill

The Senate has just passed the CyberSecurity Information Sharing Act designed to ease the sharing of "scrubbed" data among law enforcment agencies.  Some say the wording would allow the NSA and others to effectively eliminate the "scrubbing" of personalized information from the collected data.

Adobe Patches Shockwave Player

Shockwave is not Flash.  If you've installed Shockwave you get Flash but not the reverse.

Facebook makes your public posts searchable

If you made them public, you shouldn't be surprised if they show up in Google results soon.

Apple Releases Security Updates for IOS and OS X

Go to the App Store to update your Apple products.

Ars reviews Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book

The Book and the Pro 4 get reviewed.

New iMacs to have AMD chips?

Will AMD be supplying the CPUs for 2017/18 iMacs?

Microsoft bringing OpenSSH to Windows

Working with NoMachine (NX) to bring remote connections protected by SSH.

WD My Passport drives have easy to crack encryption

The onboard chip used during encryption can be forced to give up "the key."

Google: If it runs Marshmallow, it needs to be able to encrypt its storage.

Google says that any device running Marshmallow must make full disk encryption available. 

Apple says IOS 8+ is "unlockable."

Apple can't help law enforcement to unlock IOS devices running 8 or 9.

Oracle Patches Java for October

A new batch of patches for Oracle's Java has been released.  If you use Java, update ASAP.

Adobe Posts Emergency Flash Patch

If you use Flash, make sure you update ASAP as the exploit is in use "in the wild."

EPB's NextNet brings 10G to Chattanooga

Businesses and Residents of Chattanooga can now get 10G speeds for $300/month.

Flash Being Exploited, Disable or Remove if you can

Another Flash exploit is making the rounds. You need to disable Flash (or minimize its use) as there is no patch available. If you're a Window's Power User think about EMET.

DRM in JPEG?

They're trying to put DRM in JPEG image format.

Apple loses patient war over A7, A8 processor tech

The Univ of Wisconsin has won its lawsuit against Apple and may get $800M+ in damages.

Dridex Botnet Nuked

US and UK authorities worked to kill off the credential stealing botnet.

Today is Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has released this month's patches that includes 4 that are critical. Adobe has also released patches for Acrobat and Reader.

MIT's free online coursework can lead to a degree

If you can pass the tests and you can pay the fee.

Adobe teams with Dropbox

You can now access PDFs on your Dropbox from within Adobe products.

Windows 10 will validate Win 7/8 keys

Soon users of Windows 10 will be able to activate their copy using old Windows 7/8 keys.

IT Security at the University

The Atlantic covers some of the difficulties with IT security vs academic freedom.

LogMeIn buys LastPass

Seems like the majority of LastPass users are not happy about this.

Data breach at Dow Jones

Up to 3500 subscribers may have had payment info stolen.

Flaw found in Netgear routers.

Make sure that public access to your administrative page, that allows you to configure the router, isn't turned on. (off by default) A new flaw has been found allowing takeover.

Dell Buys EMC

The $65B deal also includes companies like RSA

New version of GPG

New fixes and features in the open source PGP replacement.

Google's Customer Match

Advertisers will be able to upload your email address to target you via Google's AdWords ad network.

New IOS Malware, YiSpectre, targest non-jailbroken devices

Multiple infection vectors (HTML, app install, QQ social network) and digitally signed components improve the odds of infection. It spies on you, produces ads, installs programs, and more...

HTC says monthly updates unrealistic

HTC will not be updating its phones on a monthly schedule saying carriers will prevent this from happening.

Donation Site Patreon Hacked

Patreon allows people to support artists with donations. The site suffered a security breach but the admins say everything is hashed (except email addr and names) and no CC numbers are stored there. Users should change their passwords just to be safe.

T-Mobile Users Beware

A breach at Experian, a credit company used by T-Mobile, could have put 15 million user's data at risk.

Peeple, the "rate everyone" app

Anyone will be able to "rate" you using this app, and all these will be publicly available including summaries and scores.

StageFright 2.0

The next phase of exploiting a vulnerable library (StageFright) could happen via the mobile browser.

Microsoft vs. Google Patent War is Over

No one knows who won, but MS and GooG have dismissed all patent lawsuits between the two.