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Do you own a Hewlett-Packard (HP) Windows PC or laptop? Multiple HP customers from around the world are reporting that HP has started deploying a "spyware" onto their laptops—without informing them or asking their permission. The application being branded as spyware is actually a Windows Telemetry service deployed by HP, called "HP Touchpoint Analytics Client," which was first identified on November 15. According to reports on several online forums, the telemetry software—which the HP customers said they never opted to have installed and had no idea was continually running in the background—was pushed out in a recent update. However, it's not yet clear whether the software has come with the latest Microsoft's Windows updates, or via HP's support assistant processes. An official description of the software says that the program "harvests telemetry information that is used by HP Touchpoint's analytical services." HP Touchpoint...

If the death of online privacy rules wasn't enough for Internet Service Providers and advertisers to celebrate, Verizon has planned to pre-install spyware on customers' Android devices in order to collect their personal data. The telecom giant has partnered with Evie Launcher to bring a new application called ' AppFlash ' — a universal search bar that will come pre-installed on the home screens of all Verizon Android handsets for quickly finding apps and web content. AppFlash is simply a Google search bar replacement, but instead of collecting and sending telemetry data including what you search, handset, apps and other online activities to Google, it will send to Verizon. What's worse? Just like other pre-installed bloatware apps, Android users can't uninstall AppFlash quickly, unless they have rooted their phone. AppFlash allows you to search inside apps or browse through listings of nearby restaurants and entertainment. The built-in Google Search ...

Vulnerability Management (VM) has long been a cornerstone of organizational cybersecurity. Nearly as old as the discipline of cybersecurity itself, it aims to help organizations identify and address potential security issues before they become serious problems. Yet, in recent years, the limitations of this approach have become increasingly evident.  At its core, Vulnerability Management processes remain essential for identifying and addressing weaknesses. But as time marches on and attack avenues evolve, this approach is beginning to show its age. In a recent report, How to Grow Vulnerability Management into Exposure Management (Gartner, How to Grow Vulnerability Management Into Exposure Management, 8 November 2024, Mitchell Schneider Et Al.), we believe Gartner® addresses this point precisely and demonstrates how organizations can – and must – shift from a vulnerability-centric strategy to a broader Exposure Management (EM) framework. We feel it's more than a worthwhile read an...

The Giant search engine Google has lost an anti-monopoly appeal in Russia against ruling related to its Android mobile OS The Moscow Arbitration Court on Monday ruled that Google had violated its dominant position with the help of its free open source mobile platform " Android " by forcing its own apps and services like Youtube, Google Map, and others, on users — reducing competition. The complaint was brought against Google last February by competing search engine Yandex — Russian Counterpart of Google — which had argued that Google broke competition rules by requiring handset manufacturers to pre-install its apps on Android phones and tablets. Yandex-1, Google-0 According to the survey conducted by Liveinternet data in September 2013, Yandex accounted 57.4% of the Russian search market, while Google shared 34.9%. This stats reflected in the share market, as their shares were 62.2 and 26 percent respectively. These statistical analyzes really worried...

A sigh of relief indeed! Google is finally listening to us; it is ditching its haunting bloatware from the upcoming Android smartphones and tablets. As per the current situation, our Android devices are attacked with Google's suite of apps like Google Play Games, Google Newsstand, Google Play Books. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is expected not to be pre-occupied with Google+. Though Android is an open source platform where a user can only give their inputs, the final call is taken by Google; writes and updates Android itself. We can get our own copy from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) repository. For this, Google has listed thorough instructions to help you build it into a fully functioning version of Android. No Space for Unwanted Apps The phone manufacturers are also given access to the Android source code for free exactly in the same way as users. They can modify and change any parts they like. However, when it comes to installing G...