Top Stories Security
- How To Skip The Line And Manually Update Your Nexus Device
- How To Block All The Companies Tracking You On Facebook
- What Windows 10's 'Privacy Nightmare' Settings Actually Do
- How To Survive A Browser Hijack
- Five Common Granny Scams (And How To Avoid Them)
- How To Configure Windows 10 To Protect Your Privacy
Android updates take forever. While that’s OK most of the time, it can be a problem when a new, terrible security vulnerability is found. Whether you want to protect your phone, or just can’t wait for new updates, here’s how to skip the line and update your Nexus phone (and occasionally other devices) manually.
Last month, a hacker collective known as The Impact Team stole 37 million users’ data from the infidelity “dating” site Ashley Madison. Today, that data was unleashed to the masses. Many consider this to be just deserts or even divine justice. But hang on a minute. Doesn’t everybody deserve the same rights to privacy?
Facebook is a great utility if you want to stay in touch with friends and family, share photos, and see what other people are up to in their lives. It’s free, of course, but that doesn’t mean it comes without a price. If you’re using Facebook, you’re giving the company a ton of information about yourself which it is selling to advertisers in one form or another.
Dear Lifehacker, I have bought an online digital code for Windows 10. Is there a website I can use to verify if it’s genuine? Obviously I know that when installing the software it asks for the code and if you pass that point it is valid, but I’m thinking of checking a code before installing to verify its authenticity.
The average user doesn’t give much thought to mobile operating system security, but with the number of threats increasing every day, the likes of Samsung and Apple are paying a lot more attention. The former even announced recently that it would be dramatically improving its Android update process to respond faster to vulnerabilities.
With all the noise regarding Windows 10 and its somewhat flexible definition of privacy, it might be worth giving the rest of your most-used applications the once over to make sure they’re not sending your information back home without your knowledge.
Dear Lifehacker, It was recently reported on the ABC that hundreds of Australian computers are being infected with ransomware, which I guess is a form of the cryptlocker virus. It seems that this problem is becoming more widespread. My question is: how can I prevent my computer from being targeted? And is there anything I can do if it’s already too late?
Android: Last month, we got news of a particularly nasty Android vulnerability called Stagefright that affects nearly every Android device. If you want to find out if you’re vulnerable, Stagefright Detector can let you know.