WebSites Found Collecting Data from Online Forms Evena Before You Click Submit

WebSites Found Collecting Data from Online Forms Evena Before You Click Submit

'Do I really need to give this website so much about me?'

That's exactly what I usually think after filling but before submitting a web form online asking for my personal details to continue.

I am sure most of you would either close the whole tab or would edit already typed details (or filled up by browser's auto-fill feature) before clicking 'Submit' — Isn't it?

But closing the tab or editing your information hardly makes any difference because as soon as you have typed or auto-filled anything into the online form, the website captures it automatically in the background using JavaScript, even if you haven't clicked the Submit button.
During an investigation, Gizmodo has discovered that code from NaviStone used by hundreds of websites, invisibly grabs each piece of information as you fill it out in a web form before you could hit 'Send' or 'Submit.'

NaviStone is an Ohio-based startup that advertises itself as a service to unmask anonymous website visitors and find out their home addresses.

There are at least 100 websites that are using NaviStone's code, according to BuiltWith, a service that tells you what tech sites employ.

Gizmodo tested dozens of those websites and found that majority of sites captured visitors' email addresses only, but some websites also captured their personal information, like home addresses and other typed or auto-filled information.

How Websites Collect 'Data' Before Submitting Web Forms

Using JavaScript, the websites in question were sending user's typed or auto-filled information of an online form to a server at "murdoog.com," which is owned by NaviStone, leaving no option for people who immediately change their minds and close the page.

When the publication asked NaviStone that how it unmasks anonymous website visitors, the company denied revealing anything, saying that "its technology is proprietary and awaiting a patent."

However, when asked whether email addresses are gathered in order to identify the person and their home addresses, the company's chief operating officer Allen Abbott said NaviStone does not "use email addresses in any way to link with postal addresses or any other form of PII [Personal Identifiable Information]."

"Rather than use email addresses to generate advertising communications, we actually use the presence of an email address as a suppression factor, since it indicates that email, and not direct mail, is their preferred method of receiving advertising messages," Abbott said.

Some websites using NaviStone's code are collecting information on visitors who are not even their customers and do not share any relationship with the companies.

"Three sites—hardware site Rockler.com, gift site CollectionsEtc.com, and clothing site BostonProper.com—sent us emails about items we'd left in our shopping carts using the email addresses we'd typed onto the site but had not formally submitted," Gizmodo writes.

After the story had gone live, NaviStone agreed to no longer collect email addresses from visitors this way, as Abbott said, "While we believe our technology has been appropriately used, we have decided to change the system operation such that email addresses are not captured until the visitor hits the 'submit' button."

Disable Auto-Fill; It’s Leaking Your Information!

In order to protect yourself from such websites collecting your data without your consent, you should consider disabling auto-fill form feature, which is turned on by default, in your browser, password manager or extension settings.

At the beginning this year, we also warned you about the Auto-fill feature, which automatically fills out web form based on data you have previously entered in similar fields but can be misused by attackers hiding fields (out of sight) in the web form and stealing your personal information without your knowledge.

Here's how to turn this feature off in Chrome:

Go to Settings → Show Advanced Settings at the bottom, and under the Passwords and Forms section uncheck Enable Autofill box to fill out web forms with a single click.

In Opera, go to Settings → Autofill and turn it off.

In Safari, go to Preferences and click on AutoFill to turn it off.

Also, think twice before filling your details into any web form, before it gets too late.

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What is Bitcoin and Bitcoin Mining? Bitcoin explained in dummy language

Bitcoin has been in news for past few days. One of the reasons is that, a few days ago, the WannaCry ransomware struck the world and made headlines. One aspect of this attack, however, was the demand by the attackers to be paid in Bitcoin rather than traditional currencies of Dollar, Pound or Euros.

However, we are much interested in the second reason. Bitcoin touched a lifetime high of $2400 last week and will soon be touching $2500. Which means if you had bought Bitcoins in the period July 2010 to December 2013 when it was $7 to $25 a piece, you could be a multimillionaire now. Bitcoin as a currency that was debunked and criticized by central bankers of almost all nations has now suddenly become the toast of the Internet. Why? Through this article, we explain what is Bitcoin and how it is produced (mined)!

New Age Currency- Bitcoin Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin is a virtual currency of the Internet also called “cryptocurrency”. A person known only by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the world to Bitcoin back in 2009. His true identity still remains hidden though many websites have claimed to have identified him or rather found him, over past 8 years.

Bitcoins in simple terms are virtual coins that are transferred over the internet.  A bitcoin like mentioned earlier, is a currency, meaning it has a foreign exchange value just as the Euro does against the US Dollar. However, the only difference is that dollars, pounds, and euros can be stored in your pant wallet while Bitcoin can only be saved online. The reason such cryptocurrencies are in demand is because of their ability to be transferred directly between individuals bypassing the banking system and thus making the sender and receiver of every bitcoin transaction nominally anonymous though he/she can be tracked through blockchain exchange.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that isn’t regulated by anybody leave alone any central bank. Therefore it has no interest rate, repo rate or any other rate that central bankers decide to levy on their respective currencies. It is a currency that is generated by painstaking mathematical computations and policed by millions of computer users called ‘miners’. Bitcoins are basically electricity, converted into a long string of code that has monetary value. The value of a single bitcoin also varies just as any other currency with it hitting a high of $1000 USD in 2015 – the same time when its popularity spread into mainstream conscience and it has dipped significantly since before rebounding again in 2016 and now touching lifetime highs of $2500 per bitcoin.

Bitcoin Mining

Now that we understand what a bitcoin is, the next thing is to understand how is it generated. One way to get bitcoins is to buy one through many of the online Bitcoin exchanges. You will need to have a bitcoin wallet installed on one your devices or use an online wallet by one of many service providers and then one can send and receive bitcoins just as one would emails. Bitcoin is underpinned by a peer-to-peer computer network made up of its users’ machines, similar to the networks that underpin BitTorrent, a file-sharing system. Bitcoins are mathematically generated as computers in this network carry out complex number-crunching tasks – a procedure termed bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin mining is a serious business with many tech companies manufacturing special computers called ASIC computers. These ASIC computers cost lots of moolah and are capable of doing the painstaking calculations for bitcoin mining.

Once you have installed a Bitcoin wallet, you will receive an encrypted address with the ability to generate more whenever needed. This address can then be shared with anyone from whom you wish to receive payment in the form of bitcoins. This system is secured by a concept called blockchain. Workers or miners are paid freshly created bitcoins for verifying Bitcoin transactions.

The mathematics of the bitcoin system was created in such a way that there is an upper limit to the number of bitcoins that can be mined. The ceiling is said to be around 21 million. The mining of bitcoins gets tougher and tougher the closer we get to the ceiling. Being unable to be regulated by any agency, Bitcoin also has the added advantage of not having it value diluted because a government somewhere decided to jump onto the bandwagon and release bitcoins of its own.

If you did not buy bitcoins when they were available for $7-25 a piece, you probably missed the bus but you can always buy them now with a hope of a single bitcoin touching $10000 as predicted by many bitcoin aficionados.

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Extratorrent.cc shutdown effect – The Pirate Bay keeps crashing intermittently

Have you noticed a peculiar thing since the ExtraTorrent.cc shut down permanently? Visit The Pirate Bay and you will find it working normally. Search for a movie, TV show or any other torrent and the torrent website will suddenly throw up a CloudFlare error. A couple of tries later you may get your torrent download as you wished but it seems that the world’s most popular torrent website, The Pirate Bay is not able to cope up with the deluge of torrent downloaders after the demise of ExtraTorrent.cc.

• ExtraTorrent shuts down permanently; Top 3 alternatives

The problem is somewhat aggravated by the sudden spurt of ExtraTorrent clones and proxies which are filled with malware, adware and viruses. Torrent users prefer the cleaner and safer TPB to these clones and as such are flocking to TPB resulting in users getting constant errors when browsing TPB.

For the uninitiated, ExtraTorrent.cc used to be the second most visited torrent website after TPB and was used to download games, movies, music, NFSW stuff, and e-book torrents.  When the ExtraTorrent ship seemed to sail in calm waters, out of blue SAM the owner of ExtraTorrent mysteriously shut down the world’s second-largest torrent download website on May 17th.

Like SAM warned, the Internet was soon filled with wannabe ExtraTorrent clones and mirror websites. Most of these websites were using ExtraTorrent skin almost fooling the torrent community into believing they were genuine ExtraTorrent heirs. A similar site called ExtraTorrent.cd was resurrected by so-called ‘former admins.’ But soon torrent downloaders found the site filled with malicious software and viruses. So, to fulfill their torrent needs, users flocked to The Pirate Bay.  TPB apparently wasn’t prepared to handle the huge influx of former ET users.

Speaking with TorrentFreak, a TPB staffer said that the ‘big wave of new visitors’ has caused ‘gateway errors’ a tech lingo for website downtime due to heavy traffic. TPB admin Spud17 says that though TPB has seen a heavy increase in torrent downloaders, their membership registrations remain constant suggesting that torrent users are just seeking an alternative torrent download website.

“Registrations haven’t suddenly increased or anything like that, and visitor numbers to the forum are about the same as usual.”

Indians had been great fans of ExtraTorrent.cc and India accounted for over 50% of the total ExtraTorrent.cc visitors. Now, Spud17 says that over 40% of new visits registered on The Pirate Bay came from India. Mind you, ExtraTorrent was blocked by the top Indian communications watchdog, TRAI in 2016 and could be visited only by using VPN or proxies.

More Torrent website shutdowns to come?

We had reported at the start of 2017 that the media companies, anti-piracy groups, and authorities were creating extra pressure on torrent websites to shut down their business. The ExtraTorrent’s shutdown comes in the wake of other popular torrent site closures.  Authorities successfully shut down KickAssTorrents and Torrentz.eu last year and it was followed by the shutdown of popular movie streaming websites like Putlocker.ch and Coke&Popcorn. TPB has been the top target of such anti-piracy groups but it has withheld the pressure preferring to shift its hydra-like domain to different addresses. With Google, Microsoft and other tech companies joining hands with ISPs to root out torrents websites altogether from the face of the earth, TPB and the remaining torrent websites face a daunting task to stay afloat.

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Microsoft accidentally releases faulty Windows 10 internal build 16212 which bricks PCs and Laptops

Microsoft is known for its bungled updates and patches but this one takes the cake. Due to some inadvertent error, Microsoft released an internal Windows 10 build to users. The problem with the released build is that it was in testing phase and never meant to be released. As you all know, Windows 10 automatically updates the releases that Microsoft issues. The same happened with this faulty build and the members of Windows 10 Insider Program automatically updated and bricked their PC/laptops.

The issue was first noticed by MSPowerUser which reported that PC/laptops which automatically updated the faulty update. Microsoft accidentally rolled out the Windows 10 build 16212 for x86 PCs and phones running Windows 10. The immediate result of the update was bricked PC/laptops and smartphone running on Windows 10.

While such faulty update releases from Microsoft are a part of the tech folklore, this internal build 16212 was probably meant for internal testing by Microsoft engineers. It can be safely said that the internal build 16212 that was released was not even an alpha update. Geeks would know that companies generally release beta candidates to their testers for bugs and error reporting. As soon as the PCs/laptops and mobiles which updated to the new build, they crashed.

Some users reported that their Pcs/laptops/mobiles went to a boot loop after being updated this internal build 16212 PCs.MSPowerUser also reported that the Build 16212 causes Windows 10 Mobile devices to enter a boot loop, requiring users to reset their device using the Windows Device Recovery Tool. Resetting your device means losing your personal data which every person hates.

The internal build 16212 was also released to some regular users who aren’t part of the Windows Insider program. This may mean that some Windows 10 users who are not part of the Windows 10 Insiders Program may also become part of the mayhem. Dona Sarkar of Windows Insiders community tweeted warning both power users and testers not to update their PCs/mobiles with the new update.

 Follow

Dona Sarkar 

✔@donasarkar

#WindowsInsiders: pls do not install any builds being offered til you hear from us with a blog post. If you have installed, reset with WDRT.

2:54 AM - 2 Jun 2017 · Redmond, WA

 
•  284284 Retweets
 
•  355355 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Here is what you should do if your PC/laptop/mobile is updated with the new Internal Build 16212

At present it is unclear exactly how many Windows 10 users have updated this faulty build. Microsoft has said that its analysis shows only a small portion of Insiders got these builds. If you are one of the users who has already updated the internal build 16212, Microsoft has issued the following advice.

“If you received this build (from RS_EDGE_CASE) on your PC: Please be aware that this build was never intended to go out to Windows Insiders and may include issues that impact usability of your PC – more so than the normal builds we give you.

“You can either sit tight and wait for us to publish a newer build to you or you can roll-back to the previous build via Settings > Update & security > Recovery. And check your Windows Insider Program settings.

NOTE: You have up to 10 days to roll-back and this will only work if you did not do Disk Cleanup to remove your previous Windows installation.

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5 Reasons why internet security is crucial in 2017

Ever imagined a week without the internet? That sounds crazy, especially if your bread and butter require that you always stay online. As we live in the Internet Age, it is next to impossible to imagine life without staying connected. The internet is a useful tool in many aspects of our life, from communication down to business.

While the internet is proven to be useful, it also comes with a few drawbacks. Some people are using the Internet to cause harm to others. In the United Kingdom alone, there were an estimated 6.2 million incidents of cyber crime in 2016. Even Singapore, which is dubbed as the safest country in Asia, is not free from online scams. 

The government, as well as many private organizations, are becoming more proactive in dealing with the growing rate of cyber security. Here are some reasons why Internet security is of the utmost importance in 2017:

1. Computer viruses and malware are more complex than ever. The Locky ransomware, by far, is the most dangerous computer virus you could have. The intruders will send you a fake email demanding you to open an attached Word document. Once you open the document, it will enable Macro commands and the malware could get inside your computer.
2. Scammers are using more advanced ways of tricking users. PhishMe’s chief technology and officer Aaron Higbee said the recent Google Docs phish scam tricks the user into granting permissions to a third-party app. The scammers will not lead you to fake websites for you to give up your passwords. They will not use malware to cause harm. The scammers are pretty good at mimicking Google web pages you would think they are authentic.
3. Data breaches in 2017 are the worst so far. When an unauthorized individual used your sensitive and confidential data, you just became a victim of data breaching. Aside from individuals, popular hotel chains, fast food chains, and even job-seeking websites have been victims of data breaching.
4. There are hackers who will do everything they can to cause disruption. Some hackers will not harm your computer with a virus but will steal your data for their advantage. Hackers usually target government networks because it becomes easier for them to access people’s personal information, including social security numbers and fingerprints.
5. Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack would likely continue to grow according to FBI. In this kind of phishing scam, the attacker will impersonate a company’s executive and will encourage customers or employees to transfer funds. You may use an email protection kit to stop attacks before they reach your inbox. 
   

How will you protect yourself from any form of phishing? The best way to do that is to install a legitimate antivirus software that offers an overall protection from threats. The best computer antivirus according to Computer Fixperts has a thorough malware detection. Furthermore, it should safeguard you against dangerous websites, harmful downloads, and suspicious emails. For maximum protection against online threats, make sure that your antivirus software is up-to-date.

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LinkedIn Hacker, Wanted by US & Russian, Can be Extradited to Either State

LinkedIn Hacker, Wanted by US & Russian, Can be Extradited to Either State 


The alleged Russian hacker, who was arrested by the Czech police in Prague last October on suspicion of massive 2012 data breach at LinkedIn, can be extradited to either the United States or Russia, a Czech court ruled on Tuesday.

Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Nikulin, a 29-years-old Russian national, is accused of allegedly hacking not just LinkedIn, but also the online cloud storage platform Dropbox, and now-defunct social-networking company Formspring.

However, he has repeatedly denied all accusations.

Nikulin was arrested in Prague on October 5 by the Czech police after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against him.

Nikulin appeared at a court hearing held inside a high-security prison in Prague on Tuesday and emaciated after eight months in solitary confinement.
The court ruling, pending appeals, left the final decision in the hands of Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, who can approve extradition to one of the countries and block the other.

The United States has requested Nikulin extradition for carrying out hacking attacks and stealing information from several American social networking companies, including LinkedIn, Dropbox, and Formspring, between March 2012 to July 2012.

However, Russia, where Nikulin is facing a lesser charge, has requested his extradition on a separate cyber theft charge of stealing $3,450 via the Internet in 2009.

"Both [case] documents are very, very sufficient for reasonable suspicion that [the offenses] took place and that there is a reason to press charges," the judge said.

Hacker Claims FBI Pressured Him to Confess to US Election Hacks

Nikulin's arrest last October came three days before the United States officially accused Russia of hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

Nikulin's lawyer says the case is a set-up, indicating that his arrest may have deeper inclinations than over the cyber attacks against American firms.

The Guardian reported Nikulin was interrogated in Prague, where he currently remains imprisoned, by FBI special agent Jeffrey Miller.

Nikulin wrote in a letter from prison that during his interrogation, Miller reportedly brought up the US election hacking and claimed that the FBI agent pressured him to admit to the DNC hack and promised him good treatment if he accepted to cooperate.
Nikulin wrote in the letter that he rejected the offer. His lawyer indicated that Nikulin was not a hacker, but just a victim of an FBI plot.

"Do you really imagine that a high-ranking FBI agent is going to travel all the way from San Francisco just to read this guy his rights?," Nikulin lawyer said.

Mark Galeotti, a senior security researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague, also showed his concern about an FBI agent traveling to another country to extradite a hacker.

"An FBI agent traveling from the US to a third country as part of an extradition request is extremely unusual and highlights that the case is seen as significant," Galeotti said, as quoted by the Guardian.

Nikulin's Russian lawyer stated that his client's life revolved around buying and selling luxury cars, adding that Nikulin was "useless with computers" and capable of checking his email and no more and, far from being a super-hacker who can hack big firms.

Tuesday's court hearing was held in a tiny room inside the prison for security reasons, to which Nikulin’s Czech lawyer said: "In all my 25 years as a lawyer, I don’t remember any cases being tried inside the prison, including serial killers or organized crime cases."

Now, the final decision is in the hands of the Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, who is slated to decide where Nikulin will be extradited: The United States, where he can face a "disproportionately harsh" sentence of 54 years behind bars, or Russia, where he faces a lesser charge of cyber theft.

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Online Training for CISA, CISM, and CISSP Cyber Security Certifications

Online Training for CISA, CISM, and CISSP Cyber Security Certifications 


Believe it or not, but any computer connected to the Internet is vulnerable to cyber attacks.

With more money at risk and data breaches at a rise, more certified cyber security experts and professionals are needed by every corporate and organisation to prevent themselves from hackers and cyber thieves.

That's why jobs in the cyber security field have gone up 80% over the past three years than any other IT-related job. So, this is the right time for you to consider a new career as a cyber security professional.
Cyber security experts with industry-standard certification are coming from a wide range of backgrounds, who prepare themselves to protect computer systems and networks from viruses and hackers.

But before getting started your career as a cyber security expert, it's important to understand basics of networks and how data moves from place to place, and for this, you are highly advised to gain some valuable cyber security certifications.

Cyber security certifications not only boost your skills but also verify your knowledge and credibility.

THN Deals Store this week brings you the Cybersecurity Certification Mega Bundle, which will walk you through the skills and concepts you need to master three elite cyber security certification exams: CISA, CISM, and CISSP.

Online Training for CISA, CISM, and CISSP Certifications

With this online training course, you will get the materials you require to dive deep into the most proven and practical methods for protecting vulnerable networks and any business environment.

From the fundamentals of cryptography and encryption to the security holes in computer networks and mobile apps, this course will help you learn about information security audits, assurance, guidelines, standards, and best cyber security practices in the industry.
If you don't know what are CISA, CISM, and CISSP certifications, below you can find brief information about the courses and their importance in IT industry.

CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor

The CISA certification is renowned across the world as the standard of achievement for those who audit, monitor, access and control information technology and business systems.

Being CISA-certified showcases candidates for their audit experience, skills, and knowledge, and signifies that you are an expert in managing vulnerabilities, instituting controls and ensuring compliance within the enterprise.

CISM - Certified Information Security Manager

The demand for skilled information security managers is on the rise, and CISM is the globally accepted certification standard of achievement in this area.

The uniquely management-focused CISM certification ensures you are re-equipped with the best practices in the IT industry and recognises your expertise to manage, design, and oversee and assess an enterprise's information security.

CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional

The CISSP certification is a globally-recognised certification in the field of information security and has become a standard of achievement that is acknowledged worldwide.

Offered by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, commonly known as (ISC)², CISSP is an objective measure of excellence, which requires a broad level of knowledge.

How to Join Cybersecurity Certification Training?

If you want to select the best and cost-efficient course to pass CISA, CISM, and CISSP certifications, the Cybersecurity Certification Mega Bundle course is the one for you to begin with.

You can get Cybersecurity Certification Mega Bundle for just $69 (after 93% discount) at the THN Deals Store.

So, to Sign-up for the Cybersecurity Certification Mega Bundle course, click on this link and get your online course now.

We also provide 15-Day Money Back Guarantee. So in case, you are not satisfied with this course for any reason, we will issue a refund within 15 days of purchase. We want you to be happy with every course you purchase!

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