Credit to Author: Paul Ducklin| Date: Tue, 03 May 2022 16:42:06 +0000
Despite concerns that some websites might break when Chromium and then Firefox reached version 100, the web still seems to be intact.
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Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:53:00 -0700
Privacy-centered search engine DuckDuckGo today launched the beta of its desktop browser for macOS.
The browser is designed from the ground up to maintain privacy, the company said, meaning it will not collect information about users and will not install cookies or tracking codes on devices. DuckDuckGo also said it can block “hidden trackers” before they load.
Duckduckgo first announced plans for a macOS desktop browser in December 2021. (The browser is already available as a download for mobile devices). In 2019, DuckDuckGo added Apple Maps support and has since made other improvements to how it works on Apple devices.
Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2022 09:27:00 -0700
We’re told that one of the best ways to stay secure is to make sure our computers are patched. But we need to always be aware that at any given time, there are several vulnerabilities probably known and in use by attackers. The good news is that the number of days between when a bug is identified and when it’s patched is slowly going down, according to the Google Project Zero. It tracks how long it’s taking vendors to patch bugs and found that “in 2021, vendors took an average of 52 days to fix security vulnerabilities reported from Project Zero. This is a significant acceleration from an average of about 80 days [three] years ago.”
Credit to Author: JR Raphael| Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2022 03:00:00 -0700
Gather ’round, kiddos — ’cause it’s time for a story.
Once upon a time, Chrome was a lean, mean browsing machine. It was the scrappy lightweight kid in a block filled with clunky old blobs of blubber. People had never seen a browser so fast, so thoughtfully constructed! It stripped everything down to the essentials and made the act of browsing the web both pleasant and secure — qualities that were anything but standard back in that prehistoric era.
Chrome was “minimalist in the extreme,” as The New York Times put it — with “extremely fast” page loads and a “snappy” user interface, in the words of Ars Technica. Its sandbox-centric setup and emphasis on supporting web-based applications made the program “the first true Web 2.0 browser,” as some other tech website opined.
Credit to Author: Paul Ducklin| Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2022 14:04:50 +0000
Latest episode – listen now (or read it, if that’s your preference)…
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Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2022 03:00:00 -0800
Over the past several years, Ashland Specialty Chemicals, a global specialty materials and chemical company with about 4,200 employees, has been downsizing. It shuttered its physical datacenter and adopted more of a software-as-a-service strategy for business apps such as Salesforce and Workday. With the shift to the cloud, the company also had to address keeping web traffic secure as its hybrid workforce accessed sensitive data online.
While the company continues to use more traditional, and costly, firewalls such as Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to secure web gateways, it has also been testing an enterprise-specific browser from a start-up company named Island.
Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2022 04:00:00 -0800
A start-up has emerged from stealth mode to announce what it describes as one of the world’s first enterprise-specific browsers, capable of governing how users interact with all SaaS and web applications.
The new Island web browser is based on the widely used Chromium open-source platform. Launched by a company with the same name, Island offers users a familiar online experience while governing what sites they can visit, the data they can view, and what files they can download or upload. Restrictions can be dialed up or down and can be specific to a user’s role in an organization.
For example, a user could be surfing the web with the standard Chrome, Edge, or Safari browsers, but if they try to access a site that’s off-limits based on the Island settings, they’d be blocked and told to use their secure browser. The Island browser can even stop an employee from taking screenshots of sensitive data, depending on the settings IT admins choose to implement.
Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2022 09:08:00 -0800
In business, we’ve used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for years. But I’m now seeing recommendations that consumers use VPN software to make internet connections more private so sites can’t snoop on your surfing and other communications. As someone who runs a website that uses IP address reputation as a guide to know who is and is not reputable on my site, I can tell you that using a VPN often assigns you an IP address that’s less than stellar. As a result, if you attempt to access sites that check for reputation, such as your bank, you may find yourself blocked.
I’m not against the concept of consumer-based VPN software, but I’m not convinced it’s the security panacea many think it is. Users think it’s keeping sites from tracking them, or keeping them safe when surfing on coffee shop Wi-Fi. They think it keeps prying eyes from reviewing our web traffic. But all VPN software is not created equal. I recently read new research from Consumer Reports that tested various VPN platforms; I was surprised to find that the top VPN providers included vendors I’ve not even heard of.
Credit to Author: Gregg Keizer| Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 11:11:00 -0800
Mozilla has started to turn on DNS-over-HTTPS, or DoH, as part of its overall strategy of stressing user privacy.
“We know that unencrypted DNS is not only vulnerable to spying but is being exploited,” wrote Selena Deckelmann, Mozilla’s new vice president of desktop Firefox, in a Feb. 25 post to a company blog. “We are helping…to make the shift to more secure alternatives [and] do this by performing DNS lookups in an encrypted HTTPS connection. This helps hide your browsing history from attackers on the network, helps prevent data collection by third parties on the network that ties your computer to websites you visit.”
Credit to Author: Mike Elgan| Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2020 13:55:00 -0800
Google and Microsoft are using dark pattern design to trick or force users to do things they never intended. Is it time to switch to more ethical browsers? (We list 10 alternatives.)
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