Safety & Security
Obama Relying on Untested Oversight Board on NSA
June 19, 2013 9:26 am | by Stephen Braun, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence...
Google Asks US Secret Court to Lift Gag Order
June 19, 2013 9:22 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle on Tuesday sharply challenged the U.S. government's gag order on its Internet surveillance program, citing what it described as a constitutional free speech right to divulge how many requests it receives from the government for data about its customers in the name of national security...
AT&T Rolls Out Emergency Alerts
June 17, 2013 10:43 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAT&T this weekend started rolling out emergency alerts to customers using iPhone 5 and 4S. The alerts will come as a software update that includes Wireless Emergency Alerts. The messages are government-issued safety messages that include AMBER Alerts...
Report: VZW, T-MO Not Part of NSA Surveillance Program
June 14, 2013 10:45 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsVerizon Wireless and T-Mobile may not have been required to particpate in the NSA's phone surveillance program. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal today reported that the NSA may have exempted T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless from the program for their foreign ownership...
Survey: Many Americans Say 'Big Brother' Is Here
June 13, 2013 9:29 am | by Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThere's little wonder why George Orwell's novel "1984" is seeing a resurgence in sales. More than half of Americans polled in a survey released Thursday said they agreed with the statement "We are really in the era of Big Brother." The survey from the University of Southern California was conducted last year...
New AAA Report Suggest Hands-Free Tech Still Distracts
June 12, 2013 9:31 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsHands-free technologies may not be making using mobile devices behind the wheel any safer, according to a new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. According to the new findings, dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road...
Is Big Data Turning Government into 'Big Brother'?
June 10, 2013 9:42 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsWith every phone call they make and every Web excursion they take, people are leaving a digital trail of revealing data that can be tracked by profit-seeking companies and terrorist-hunting government officials. The revelations that the National Security Agency...
SF, NY Officials to Meet over Cellphone Thefts
June 6, 2013 9:58 am | by Terry Collins, Associated Press | News | CommentsTop law enforcement officials from San Francisco and New York plan to meet with some of the nation's largest smartphone makers next week to help thwart the rise in cellphone thefts and robberies. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman...
Schumer Urges Look at Security in Sprint Deal
May 28, 2013 9:29 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSen. Charles Schumer urged regulators to "use extreme caution" when reviewing the proposed acquisition of No. 3 cell carrier Sprint Nextel by Japan's Softbank, saying the Japanese company's use of Chinese networking equipment could open up U.S. networks to snooping and hacking...
Google's Products Dig Deeper into People's Lives
May 17, 2013 9:11 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsFor Google CEO Larry Page, happiness is a warm computer. "Technology should do the hard work so people can get on doing the things that make them happiest in life," Page told a crowd of 6,000 software developers and entrepreneurs who flocked to San Francisco Wednesday for...
Big 4 Cellphone Carriers Unite on Anti-Texting Ads
May 14, 2013 9:54 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe country's four biggest cellphone companies are set to launch their first joint advertising campaign against texting while driving, uniting behind AT&T's "It Can Wait" slogan to blanket TV and radio this summer. AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile will...
CTIA's John Walls: My Experience at the Boston Marathon
April 25, 2013 1:33 pm | by John Walls, Vice President of Public Affairs, CTIA | Articles | CommentsLike most of us, I use my wireless device every day—email, text, talk, “surf”. All of the usual stuff. But on the afternoon of April 15, my smartphone was transformed into the most precious and helpful tool I’ve ever needed, giving me invaluable connectivity to the world outside of the chaos surrounding me...
AVG Android App Hits 70M Downloads, Investors Cheer 1Q
April 25, 2013 10:58 am | News | CommentsAVG Technologies, which offers Internet and mobile security, is hitting a chord with Android users. The company said today that its flagship mobile product, AVG AntiVirus Free for Android has surpassed 70 million downloads on Google Play...
Facebook: Audit Finds Privacy Practices Sufficient
April 25, 2013 9:31 am | by Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsFacebook says that an independent audit found its privacy practices sufficient during a six-month assessment period that followed a settlement with federal regulators. Facebook Inc. said it submitted the findings to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday evening...
Carriers Deny Cell Shutdown Following Boston Bombings
April 16, 2013 10:14 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsWireless operators say they did not shut down cell service following the deadly bombings at the finsh line of the Boston Marathon yesterday. Amid the chaos and confusion immediately following the explosions, the Associated Press issued a report citing an unnamed source who claimed cell service had been terminated in the Boston...
Crisis Hotlines Turning to Text to Reach Teens
April 1, 2013 9:46 am | by Leanne Italie, Associated Press | News | CommentsThey stream in from teens around the United States, cries for help often sent in by text message. "I feel like committing suicide," one text read. "What's the suicide hotline number?" Another asked: "How do you tell a friend they need to go to rehab?"...
ZTE Taps Intrepidus for Smartphone Security
March 19, 2013 10:18 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsChinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE today said it is partnering with Intrepidus on providing security for its devices. ZTE said it seeks to become a "leader in smartphone security." As part of the agreement, Intrepidus will evaluate the security mechanisms of ZTE...
Monitoring Your Kids on Facebook? That's so 2009
March 18, 2013 10:42 am | by Anne Flaherty, Associated Press | News | CommentsRelieved your kids aren't posting embarrassing messages and goofy self-portraits on Facebook? They're probably doing it on Instagram and Snapchat instead. The number of popular social media sites available on kids' mobile device...
More US than Europeans Drivers Are on the Phone
March 15, 2013 9:31 am | by Joan Lowy, Associated Press | News | CommentsDistracted driving is more widespread in the U.S. than in Europe, according to a study released Thursday that surveyed drivers about their cellphone and texting habits. More U.S. drivers reported talking on their cellphones behind the wheel than their counterparts in seven European countries...
AP Source: Google to Pay $7M to Settle Wi-Fi Case
March 11, 2013 10:49 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsGoogle will pay a $7 million penalty to settle a multistate investigation into the Internet search leader's collection of emails, passwords and other sensitive information sent over wireless networks several years ago in neighborhoods scattered around the world...
FTC Issues Mobile Privacy Guidelines
February 4, 2013 9:42 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsThe FTC has issued a set of guidelines for mobile application developers. While not legally binding, the new rules were released on the same days as regulators announced a settlement with social network provider Path...
FTC Wanders Down the Wrong Path
February 1, 2013 5:06 pm | by Andrew Berg | Blogs | CommentsFriday’s announcement of Path’s settlement is illustrative of the way regulation works when you're trying to safeguard consumers from technology that the regulators themselves don't understand. It's also the way regulation works when you're trying to drum...
Shriek! Texts on Missing Kids Startle Cell Users
February 1, 2013 10:51 am | by Tami Abdollah, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe next time a child is abducted near you, your cell phone may shriek to life with an alert message. A new national Amber Alert system officially rolled out earlier this month to millions of cell phones, and because the alerts are automatically active on most newer phones, the messages...
China's Huawei Criticizes US Security Complaints
January 21, 2013 9:50 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChinese tech giant Huawei on Monday criticized U.S. claims the company might be a security risk as trade protectionism that harms consumers. The comments came as Huawei Technologies Ltd., a maker of network switching gear and smartphones, disclosed details of its 2012 performance...
Man Files Lawsuit Against LinkedIn
January 2, 2013 10:51 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsA Pittsburgh-area man has filed a federal lawsuit against the networking company LinkedIn, claiming that it must tell him who put his name, personal cell phone and personal email on the site. Rick D. Senft, president of Passavant Memorial Homes, claims in the...
