Untangling the NSA’s latest alleged embarrassment
Last week, security researcher Mikko Hypponen found a notice on Github from an entity called Shadow Brokers, a reference to master of the galactic black market for information in the game Mass Effect. The notice was for an auction of exploits from the Equation Group (widely believed to be operated by the NSA).
The Github auction included two files. One was free and open for examination. The other, Shadow Brokers said, was for “the party which sends most bitcoins” to their payment address and who would then get the decryption information. The free samples showed that the exploits were quite real, and alarmingly powerful.
The free samples also helped researchers figure out that the exploits had been snatched from an external staging server and not the NSA itself, as many headlines this week incorrectly suggested… in a breach that happened three years ago. See, there’s nothing in the dump was newer than October, 2013.
Of course, the press is having its usual, confused feeding frenzy about anything and everything hacking and infosec, leading most people to believe that the NSA itself had actually been hacked. Well, the NSA has not been hacked; the New York Times headline asking if the NSA has been hacked and the Atlantic’s stupid “Yup! The NSA Got Hacked” are as egregiously irresponsible as they are uninformed.
Think of it like this: Your local Safeway uses a separate company to buy beer for its store. That buyer “stages” some of Safeway’s beer in a storage unit, which is robbed. Only the storage unit was burgled — but the newspapers are saying that Safeway was robbed, making everyone think the Safeway store was broken into and its security compromised.
Although, there is one thing here: This might solidify a link between Equation Group and NSA: The Washington Post confirmed the authenticity of the tools with two anonymous ex-NSA employees.
The auction page had been sitting there for two days before Hypponen tweeted his discovery. It has since has been removed by Github, as well as Pastebin and Tumblr.
It read, in part:
“How much you pay for enemies cyber weapons? Not malware you find in networks. Both sides, RAT + LP, full state sponsor tool set? We find cyber weapons made by creators of stuxnet, duqu, flame. Kaspersky calls Equation Group. We follow Equation Group traffic. We find Equation Group source range. We hack Equation Group. We find many many Equation Group cyber weapons. You see pictures. We give you some Equation Group files free, you see. This is good proof no? You enjoy!!! You break many things.”
Shadow Brokers added, “If our auction raises 1,000,000 (million) btc total, then we dump more Equation Group files, same quality, unencrypted, for free, to everyone.”
Unfortunately for Shadow Brokers, the auction hasn’t exactly been a hit. Losing bidders don’t get their money back, and the kitty is only up to 1.5 BTC ($862).
Alex Rice, CTO at bug bounty platform HackerOne, told CSO Online that Shadow Brokers had given a fortune in 0day away for free in that sample file. The exploits could’ve sold for “north of six figures” each on the grey market to governments (Hacking Team, for example, was a grey market operator). In an incredibly detailed post, Risk Based Security thought the pilfered attacks would’ve pulled in between $200,000 and a million dollars — and that’s if they’d sold the booty to “good guy” bug bounty buyers.
At Lawfare, Nicholas Weaver explained that the freebie file included eight different exploits and some dead-serious implants that circumvent firewalls, among other things. He also said that the exploits “appear to target Fortinet, Cisco, Shaanxi Networkcloud Information Technology (sxnc.com.cn) Firewalls, and similar network security systems.”
The fact that this is all from 2013, which continues to get overlooked in reporting and armchair-activist hysteria alike, is important. This week’s headlines saying “oh noes the bad tools are being used now” are bit hyperbolic in light of the fact that these tools are three years old and have likely been used “in the wild” (to a very limited extent) since.
Some of my colleagues in the press are falling all over themselves with another genuine NSA-whodunnit on their hands. So, who is the culprit? Lawfare had three great, rational, sensible, and far-too-practical-for-CNN answers to the question:
“At present, there appear to be three possibilities:
- (1) An insider stole this data.
- (2) An adversary somehow exfiltrated data from a Top Secret system.
- Or (3) an NSA operator, seriously breaches operational security protocols and copied all these files—presumably a substantial part of an ‘ops disk’—onto an unclassified system for attack staging and then left it there for four months.”
While the sideshows of conspiracy theories and government hyperbole spin-up, Risk Based Security wrote an extremely grounded post. It included this salient section about the timing of it all:
“While technical evidence may be completely lacking and speculation ruling the day, it cannot be ignored that the timing of this leak in the current U.S. political climate is suspect. With the last few weeks of U.S. news dominated by Donald Trump and questionable ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin, as well as Trump’s speeches calling for Russia to hack U.S. government resources (in jest or not), it begs the question if the Equation Group leaks are part of a political agenda.
The Register is one of many news outlets to put that theory forward, in addition to hundreds of Twitter denizens. This is the type of speculation that is important to discuss, but prudence demands that it remain part of the discussion until evidence surfaces.”
Of course, Edward Snowden struck a few suggestive poses on Twitter while confirming the validity of the finds (hey, it’s a living). The sycophantic elite cooed; The Intercept released code from deep in their years-old and coveted treasure trove of Snowden files that matched a couple exploits in the dump.
The Intercept triggered another simultaneous release — of public anger at the organization’s hoarding of critical information on tracking malware strains.
https://t.co/SPena9rsLO You guys sat on documents that included instructions for “track[ing] [the] use of [NSA malware]” for *three years* ?
— Andreⓐ (@puellavulnerata) August 20, 2016
Hacker Matt Suiche has a great post with an ex-NSA analyst, who had many great points, including this one:
“Technically speaking, Edward Snowden is also just speculating and the only major leak we have heard of from the NSA was actually from him and he was an insider. And that media tend to take every ‘speculative statements’ he makes as a “fact” (which is true, many of my friends complained about it) — especially since the NSA cannot confirm or deny any of those ‘facts’ publicly.”
And that’s a much needed dose of common sense in this whole NSA circus revival.
Broadcast your Blizzard games right now via Facebook Live
As originally announced in June, game developer Blizzard Entertainment and social media powerhouse Facebook have agreed to a deal that enables FB users to stream their Blizzard gameplay over Facebook Live. And, starting Friday (hey, that’s today!), users will actually be able to.
The service is currently limited to PC-gamers in the Americas, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, though Blizzard is working to expand to other platforms and regions. In order to enable streaming, simply connect your Battle.net account to Facebook. For more instructions on how exactly to do that, watch this short video:
Via: Verge
Source: Blizzard (YouTube)
Tech giants pledge to close the gender pay gap
To celebrate Women’s Equality Day, President Obama has announced a group of 29 major US employers who have signed the White House Equal Pay Pledge and promised to help close the gender pay gap. On the list are 10 top tech giants including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel and IBM.
According to the White House, the pledge includes five key points:
- Acknowledging the critical role businesses must play in reducing the national pay gap.
- Committing to conducting an annual company-wide gender pay analysis across occupations.
- Reviewing hiring and promotion processes and procedures to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers.
- Embedding equal pay efforts into broader enterprise-wide equity initiatives.
- Pledging to take these steps as well as identify and promote other best practices that will close the national wage gap to ensure fundamental fairness for all workers.
While Facebook and Microsoft confirmed earlier this year that they have no gender pay gap, the acknowledgement from Obama is sure to add a little credibility to those claims. Rounding out the rest of the tech-focused businesses who signed on today are: Akami Technologies, Dropbox, LinkedIn, MailChimp and MuleSoft. One company is conspicuously absent, however: Earlier this year, Amazon claimed it pays men and women equally, but only revealed its salary figures when the SEC came knocking.
Source: The White House
VW aims for an EV that goes 300 miles on a 15-minute charge
In the wake of its emissions scandal and lawsuit with US authorities, German automaker Volkswagen has been pushing its electric concept vehicles and rushing its 84-mile-per-battery E-Golf into the consumer market. But for range and convenience rivaling Tesla’s lineup, VW’s first entry in its next generation of EV will be revealed to the public at the Paris motor show in October, a company chairman told German magazine WirstschaftWoche. While the car’s compact Golf-like size combined with the roomy Passat-like interior space is promising, the real kicker is the recharge speed the company’s engineers are aiming for: Plug the car in for 15 minutes and it should be able to drive for 300 miles.
That’s the plan, VW Group CEO Matthias Müller confirmed to Autocar, with a pricetag they hope to be lower than a comparable combustion-engine car. Which will be wonderful if it arrives from the production line as advertised at the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019, a hopeful date mentioned by the chairman, though Müller only affirmed a 2025 target for the car’s release. But even the Tesla Supercharger can only manage to refill 50 percent of its battery after 20 minutes, equivalent to 115 to 126 miles. The range VW is boasting is in line with their estimates for that of its Modular Electric Platform (MEB) proposed for its BUDD-e microbus concept back in January, which claimed to charge 80 percent of its 373-mile maximum in 15 minutes.
The VW-owned Porsche boasted the same rate for its sportsy Model E electric car, which they announced would roll off assembly lines in 2019. But as TechCrunch points out, further research into and technical development of an 800-volt charging method is necessary for the performance vehicle to reach that refilling speed. Meanwhile, Tesla’s existing Model S can net up to 58 miles per hour from a 240-volt socket and an aftermarket second in-car charger, hitting its own 80 percent mark in about four hours. It’s not up to the rate that VW is claiming, but it’s a tested standard without additional infrastructure or a dedicated Supercharger station.
Regardless, the VW chairman told WirstschaftWoche that the unnamed EV sedan will be the first in a lineup of “New Urban Vehicles” designed to use MEB. It will include a city-ready SUV, a coupe, a small delivery van akin to the previously-announced BUDD-e concept minibus and a luxury sedan.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Autocar
Apple CEO Tim Cook Sells More Than $35M in Stock
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sold more than $35 million worth of Apple stock, according documents filed with the SEC this week.
Cook sold 334,000 shares at prices ranging from $107.21 to $107.69, netting himself almost $36 million dollars.
Apple also sold more than 656,000 shares on Tim Cook’s behalf, an amount over $70 million, to settle the tax liability for the RSUs that vested earlier this week as he reached his five-year anniversary as CEO of Apple.
Cook on Wednesday unlocked awarded stock bonuses worth more than $100 million for both his time spent at Apple and the company’s performance under his leadership, earning 1,260,000 total shares.
That number consists of 980,000 tenure-based RSUs and an allotment of 280,000 shares awarded because Apple’s shareholder return reached 61%, putting it in the top-performing third of the S&P 500 index.
Tim Cook continues to hold more than 1.3 million shares of Apple stock following the sale, which is worth more than $140 million.
Tag: Tim Cook
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EasyAcc Monster 26000mAh power bank is freaky massive and can charge 4 phones simultaneously (review)
Battery life is one of the most important factors in a smartphone. One would logically think with a decade of building smartphones, that the battery life would be around two to three days by now. However, our smartphones are becoming increasingly powerful to handle our desire to do everything through our phones which leads to stagnation in battery life efficiency. Replaceable batteries are going by the wayside as well, and are being sealed inside of the smartphone. That leaves power users, or travelers limited options for staying charged up while on the go. It pretty much leaves us with portable power banks to charge our devices while we are away from a wall or car charger.
If you’ve ever checked for external batteries on Amazon, you’ll thousands of options with a wide range of prices and sizes. I’ve been using the EasyAcc Monster power bank, and it is called the Monster because it is literally one of the biggest batteries you can buy today.
Build and Usage
The EasyAcc Monster Power Bank is the largest portable battery I have ever used. It is rated at 26000mAh, which is about 7.5 times larger than the 3500mAh internal battery on my Samsung Galaxy Note 7. There are power banks that are twice this size if you do a search on Amazon, but those are mainly for laptops and cost twice as much.
It’s made of typical plastic that has a matte finish to prevent fingerprints. The Monster is heavy for a portable battery weighing in at a full pound. Even though it isn’t physically all too large at 6.57 x 3.1 x 0.86 inches, you probably won’t be carrying this in your pant pockets. A battery with this much capacity would typically take up to 16 hours to fully charge with a 2A standard input, which is a long time. EasyAcc did something I haven’t seen before, it included dual input slots so you can charge it with two microUSB cables.
SEE ALSO: [Deal] Pay what you want to learn everything about Android development
The power bank has four full sized USB A output slots and all can be used simultaneously. The output per slot is 2.4A, which isn’t Quick Charge 2.0 or 3.0 compatible, but it is still faster than your typical charge of 2A. There’s no need to worry about compatibility as the charging ports will automatically detect what kind of charge to give your devices. I used several USB Type C smartphones with this battery and they all charged without issue.
There’s a flashlight built into the front which is bright enough to help you locate items in your car, purse or backpack when you need it. It’s not a flashlight you would rely on for camping, but it is sufficient for most purposes and is a nice feature to have on a battery of this size.
Testing a battery of this size takes time. I needed to get through at least five full cycles to test its reliability. In order to test it, I frequently recharged up to four smartphones at the same time, with a mix of tablets and accessories as well. The Monster recharged four cell phones at the same time with ease, and still had two of its four LED indicators on leaving me with 50% power. Recharging the battery from nearly dead to 100% took almost eight full hours, so you’re going to need to leave it connected overnight before you head out on your adventures.
A battery of this size is perfect for families who need power. Or it is also great for extreme users of Pokemon Go who venture out in groups to capture the little beasts. This is the type of battery I would bring along with me on my next camping trip. I can keep my smartphone and portable speaker powered all weekend long with this bad boy. My friends will also use it to charge their phones as well.
SEE ALSO: Android OEMs, this is what we’ve been wanting in smartphones!
When I tested this power bank with my Note 7, I frequently got 6-7 charges out of the Monster, but I never recharged my Note 7 from 0%. Instead I hooked it up when I hit 20%. I basically used my Note 7 for an entire week without ever connecting it to a car or wall charger.
There aren’t many bells and whistles associated with this battery. While it is made of plastic, I prefer that over metal as it is already heavy enough. The build is solid, sturdy and is built to last a long time.
Summary
If you need a lot of power, the EasyAcc 26000mAh battery is the one for you. It’s priced right at $49.99 at Amazon, and if you’re using it just for yourself, you can easily get a full week’s usage out of your smartphone and this battery. Or if you have a family that consumes a ton of power while you’re out and about, having one massive battery is a great option to keep everyone happy.
I’ve used several EasyAcc products in the past and they’ve all held up very well. It’s one of the brands I trust and recommend to friends and family.
Check out the EasyAcc 26000mAh Monster Power Bank at Amazon, priced at $49.99.
Garmin Forerunner 735XT review – CNET
The Good Lightweight and waterproof, and has GPS for tracking a variety of sports and an optical heart-rate sensor. All-day activity tracking, interval training and phone notifications are helpful. There’s a multisport mode to time triathlon transitions and easily switch sport profiles. It’s compatible with a wide-range of Garmin accessories.
The Bad It’s expensive; there’s no altimeter for measuring ascent and descent; and battery life may not be long enough for a full Ironman triathlon.
The Bottom Line The Forerunner 735XT is an exceptional watch for serious triathletes, but there are better and cheaper alternatives for both dedicated runners and more casual athletes.
The Garmin Forerunner 235 is one of my favorite running watches and for good reason: It has everything runners need to take their training to the next level. It’s not ideal for multisport athletes, though.
The 235 is primarily a running watch, but its more expensive cousin, the Forerunner 735XT, is equally good and better suited for serious triathletes. This watch can track running, cycling, swimming and other sports, includes an optical heart-rate sensor, and has interval training, all-day activity tracking and phone notifications. Its special triathlon feature can time transitions and switch sport profiles with a single button press.
The Forerunner 735XT costs $450, £360 or AU$700. That’s a premium of $120, £80 or AU$230 over the 235, but for hardcore triathletes, it’s a price I think is well worth paying.
Hands-on with the Garmin Forerunner 735XT…
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A laundry list of features
The watch is comfortable and lightweight. It feels good on my wrist when training or while wearing it throughout the day. It’s a tad lighter (40.2 grams compared to 42 grams) and has less of a bezel, but otherwise the two devices are remarkably similar, but only when it comes to design. Garmin was able to squeeze even more functionality into the 735XT. It has all of the features of the 235 and more — a lot more.
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The Forerunner 735XT (left) next to the 235 (right).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Here’s everything that’s different:
- Added tracking for pool swimming, open water swimming, paddle boarding, rowing, hiking, cross country skiing and strength training
- Added support for running dynamics (with a special optional heart-rate chest strap, it can measure ground contact time, vertical oscillation, stride length, vertical ratio and more)
- Added stress score, lactate threshold, functional threshold power and performance condition measurements (when paired with a chest strap)
- Added Courses, Virtual Partner and Virtual Trainer features to compete against a digital person or past runs
- Compatible with Garmin Vector pedals, Varia Radar and lights, Shimano Di2 electronic shifters, Varia Vision heads-up display and ANT+ power meters
- Compatible with Garmin Tri and Swim-HRM straps
Triathlon support
The watch includes a profile specifically for triathlons, along with an auto-multisport feature. That means you can switch between each sport (swimming, biking and running) with a single button press, rather than having to manually stop one and start the other. It also times how long you take during your transition period. This isn’t unique — this mode, or a similar one, is also present on the Garmin Fenix 3/HR, Forerunner 920XT, Polar V800 and Suunto Ambit3.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
You won’t have any problems wearing the watch in the pool, the ocean or the shower. The 735XT carries a water-resistant rating of 5 ATM, which means it can withstand depths of up to 50 meters.
The built-in heart-rate sensor doesn’t work while swimming, although that’s true for most devices. Garmin is instead offering a triathlon bundle for $500 that includes the Swim-HRM (pool) and Tri-HRM (open water) chest straps. Both of these record heart rate data while swimming — the latter also supports running dynamics — but the data isn’t displayed in real time and will only be available for review after your workout has been completed.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Missing features
The 735XT doesn’t have a barometric altimeter, which is used for measuring altitude. It attempts to measure altitude using the GPS, although I found it wasn’t nearly as accurate when compared to the altimeter-equipped Fenix 3.
LG WM3575CV review – CNET
The Good LG’s $1,100 WM3575CV washing machine cleans clothes surprisingly fast — it even has a 15-minute Speed Wash cycle.
The Bad The WM3575CV scored low on stain removal. Its control panel looks cluttered, and its Smart Diagnosis troubleshooting feature doesn’t come with clear instructions.
The Bottom Line The LG WM3575CV will work in a pinch, but I’d look elsewhere for something more well rounded.
For all of the things LG’s $1,100 WM3575CV washing machine gets right, it has one fatal flaw — poor performance. Out of all of the front-loaders we’ve reviewed so far, this model earned the lowest overall stain removal score. Given its subpar cleaning skills, I can’t recommend the LG WM3575CV. Look instead to the Electrolux EFLS617S or the Whirlpool WFW87HEDW.
Taking LG’s WM3575CV washer out for a spin
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Speed demon
Before I got the WM3575CV’s performance results, I was fairly impressed with it. This LG machine dominates when you stack its features against competitors in the same price range.
It comes in an attractive “Graphite Steel” finish (that’s code for gray), has a 4.5-cubic-foot-capacity, 12 cleaning cycles and a related Android and iPhone app for troubleshooting repair needs and other potential issues.
Here’s a closer look at the WM3575CV’s specs versus the Electrolux and the Whirlpool:
Comparing washing machines
| LG WM3575CV | Whirlpool WFW87HEDW | Electrolux EFLS617S |
| $1,100 | $1,199 | $1,099 |
| Graphite Steel, White (for $1,000) | Chrome Shadow, White (for $1,099) | White, Titanium (for $1,199) |
| 4.5 cubic feet | 4.3 cubic feet | 4.4 cubic feet |
| 12 | 10 | 9 |
| 90 kWh/year | 109 kWh/year | 85 kWh/year |
| 27×38.7×29.7 inches | 27×38.7×33.1 inches | 27x38x31.5 inches |
| 1 year, limited | 1 year, limited | 1 year, limited |
| 120V; 60Hz | 120V; 60Hz | 120V; 60Hz |
| Yes, Android and iPhone | No | No |
In addition to having a slightly larger drum capacity, slightly more cleaning cycles and an app, the WM3575CV can also complete a laundry cycle faster than the competition.
With help from its TurboWash setting, this LG model can wash a regular ol’ load of laundry in 30 minutes flat. It also has a 15-minute Speed Wash cycle that I used to wash some of my clothes in a hurry. Here’s a list of all of the WM3575CV’s available cleaning options:
- Cotton/Normal
In other washer news:
- So-so performance cramps this washer’s style
- This giant washer dominates its top-load competition
- Kenmore’s massive washing machine holds more
- How we test: Washing machines
- Bulky/Large
- Perm. Press
- Delicates
- Hand Wash/Wool
- Speed Wash
- Tub Clean
- Heavy Duty
- Bright Whites
- Towels
- Drain+Spin
- Small Load
Frigidaire FGID2466QF 24 In. Gallery Built-In Dishwasher review – CNET
The Good The smudgeproof stainless-steel finish helps the $650 Frigidaire Gallery FGID2466QF look like a much more expensive dishwasher. It backs up those looks with quality cleaning performance and plenty of cycles to choose from.
The Bad The interior of the FGID2466QF doesn’t have a lot of features to help you load your dishes. In fact, the arrangement of the upper rack makes fitting your bowls and glasses particularly tedious.
The Bottom Line If you’re willing to work with the tedious upper rack, sleek design and solid performance make the FGID2466QF a fine budget-friendly dishwasher.
One of these days, we’ll find the perfect dishwasher. Until that day comes, I present to you the $650 Frigidaire Gallery FGID2466QF. It joins a trio of budget dishwashers we’ve reviewed recently that prove you don’t need to shell out big bucks for good cleaning capability. Like the others — the $600 GE GDF610PMJES and the $700 Kenmore 13699 — this Frigidaire model has drawbacks. In particular, it has an upper rack that makes loading your bowls and glasses painful, it’s louder than its more expensive counterparts, and it has a plastic inner tub instead of stainless steel.
Also like the others, this Frigidaire Gallery dishwasher cleaned as well as models that cost twice as much. If you don’t mind spacing out your dishes on the top rack, it’s worth your consideration. In fact, if you prioritize looks, I’d recommend this model over both the GE GDF610PMJES and the Kenmore 13699. The smudge-resistant stainless finish and fully integrated control panel look great. The GE GDF610PMJES has the best feature list of the group, and the Kenmore 13699 cleans the best of the trio, but the Frigidaire FGID2466QF isn’t far behind on either, making it a well-rounded option at a reasonable price.
Stain free shine from the Frigidaire Gallery…
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Got no stains to hold it down
Low cost, good clean
- Kenmore 13699
- Bosch SHS63VL5UC
- GE GDF610PMJES
We’ve seen it on other Frigidaire appliances, but I was still impressed by how well the smudgeproof stainless finish on the Frigidaire Gallery FGID2466QF dishwasher kept fingerprints off of the front of the machine. Especially for $650, its appearance held up remarkably well throughout our rigorous testing.
As usual with large appliances, you can find this dishwasher for less than that $650 price. You can use the Frigidaire site to find retailers in your area. It’s available at major appliance retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot, and Amazon. Best Buy and Home Depot both have it for just under $400.
Spider leg surprise
Despite the plastic tub, I still liked the look of the interior of the FGID2466QF. The stainless tubs of higher end models do save energy, but with this dishwasher, I didn’t notice a big difference as far as style is concerned.
The blue wheel of jets at the bottom of the tub accents gray racks and tines that look professional but not boring. Loading dishes into the racks, however, was less pleasant.
The blue wheel of jets at the bottom of the tub looks good and does a good job of covering every dish with water.
Chris Monroe/CNET
A few of the tines on the top rack look like spider legs. Folded in, they’re spaced such that you can fit bowls between them. Fold them out and the tines line up next to the exterior columns, leaving an open spot in the front middle of the upper rack where you could fit larger serving dishes. It’s a creative idea, but the spacing never actually made it easier for us to load the dishwasher in practice.
We follow the recommended loading pattern in our dishwasher tests, and doing so with this model resulted in tight spacing and awkwardly placed bowls. We had to squeeze glasses into the second and fourth columns and the sound of glass scraping glass as we shoved them past the bowls in the middle column wasn’t pleasant. The bowls themselves weren’t sitting securely in their spot, and ended up nesting next to each other often, though we did our best to prevent them from doing so.
The spider-leg-shaped tines make it tough to load your dishes.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The nested bowls resulted in missed spots on the cleaning tests — since the water couldn’t get between them. For the most part, the Frigidaire FGID2466QF is a good cleaner, but the poor upper rack tines prevented it from shining the bowls.
The arrangement of tines on the bottom rack is more run-of-the-mill and less offensive. The back two rows fold down, and the two middle rows of tines are shorter, encouraging you to fit small dishes between rows of larger plates on the outside.
The lower rack tines don’t add much, but don’t make it harder to load your dishes.
Chris Monroe/CNET
How to stop WhatsApp from sharing your data with Facebook – CNET
For the first time in four years and since being acquired by Facebook, WhatsApp is updating its terms and conditions, as well as its privacy policy. Part of this update includes WhatsApp sharing your account information with Facebook to, among other things, provide better targeted ads.
What information is being shared with Facebook?
The updated WhatsApp FAQ page says that the phone number you used to sign up for WhatsApp with will be shared, as well as the last time you used the service.
Thanks to end-to-end encryption, Facebook will not be able to see your messages, photos or other media you share. Only you and the person you send messages to will ever be able to see that information. And any information that is shared by WhatsApp will not be publicly visible to anyone using Facebook. Meaning, if WhatsApp shares your phone number with Facebook, it won’t fill in the phone number field on your profile and make it visible to anyone.
Why is your information being shared?
The FAQ page says sharing your information with Facebook will help the two companies “coordinate more.” The claim is that it will help them “fight spam and abuse” more efficiently, as well as — and this is likely the bigger and more feasible reason — “improve your experiences within [Facebook] services” through targeted ads.
They say having your number will help them deliver product suggestions from companies “you already work with” versus one you’re not familiar with. How your phone number makes this possible isn’t exactly clear.
Will I start seeing ads in WhatsApp?
No. Well, at least not in the conventional banner ad style. However, WhatsApp is exploring ways to allow businesses to communicate with customers. In the same way that you can interact with your bank via SMS to check account balances or pay your cell phone bill with a text message, WhatsApp wants you to receive information from business, such as receipts for flight information.
The good news is, WhatsApp is (for now) continuing to put you in control. It says, “We do not want you to have a spammy experience; as with all of your messages, you can manage these communications, and we will honor the choices you make.”
Time will tell if being part of Facebook will alter their stance on this, as well.
Stop WhatsApp from sharing your info with Facebook
Screenshot by Taylor Martin/CNET
Seeing as this goes against WhatsApp’s previous policy of never sharing your information with its parent company, this update to the terms is understandably rubbing many the wrong way.
Fortunately, you can opt out and remove yourself from the whole situation very easily. Here’s how:
- Open WhatsApp on your phone.
- On Android, tap the action overflow button in the upper right corner and select Settings. On iOS, tap the Settings tab in the lower right corner.
- Select Account.
- Tap the check mark to the right of Share my account info.
- To disable the feature, tap Don’t Share.
The pop-up that appears reads, “If you tap ‘Don’t Share’, you won’t be able to change this in the future.” And they mean it. After you follow through with this action, the option will no longer be visible from the Account section of Settings and there is no turning back.
On the bright side, your account information and app usage won’t be shared with Facebook anymore. Though, it doesn’t say whether it has already shared your information or whether, if shared, that information will be redacted.
AIVAnet 