Microsoft has restricted its Wi-Fi-powered geolocation database after a researcher investigating Wi-Fi geolocation and position tracking raised privacy concerns about the information recorded. This follows a similar move from Google, amidst identical privacy complaints.
FLICKERING lights are annoying but they may have an upside. Visible light communication (VLC) uses rapid pulses of light to transmit information wirelessly. Now it may be ready to compete with conventional Wi-Fi.
"At the heart of this technology is a new generation of high-brightness light-emitting diodes," says Harald Haas from the University of Edinburgh, UK. "Very simply, if the LED is on, you transmit a digital 1, if it's off you transmit a 0," Haas says. "They can be switched on and off very quickly, which gives nice opportunities for transmitting data."
Insecure Wi-Fi is the easiest way for people to access your home network, leech your internet, and cause you serious headaches with more malicious behavior. Read on as we show you how to secure your home Wi-Fi network.
Why Secure Your Network?
Mobile networks in North America are filled to 80 percent of capacity, with 36 percent of base stations facing capacity constraints, according to a survey by investment bank Credit Suisse.
A Minnesota hacker prosecutors described as a “depraved criminal” was handed an 18-year prison term Tuesday for unleashing a vendetta of cyberterror that turned his neighbors’ lives into a living nightmare.
Barry Ardolf, 46, repeatedly hacked into his next-door neighbors’ Wi-Fi network in 2009, and used it to try and frame them for child pornography, sexual harassment, various kinds of professional misconduct and to send threatening e-mail to politicians, including Vice President Joe Biden.
Microsoft has published "relevant portions" of the source code from its Wi-Fi data collection software so that the public can examine it for any privacy concerns. According to Reid Kuhn, Partner Group Program Manager for Microsoft's Windows Phone Engineering Team, this was done to "provide even more transparency" about how the company gathers information through "managed driving", in which Microsoft uses vehicles equipped with mobile phones to gather available data about Wi-Fi access points and cell tower locations.
Microsoft has released some of the source code for the software it uses to collect details of people's Wi-Fi hot spots, so that it can be examined for privacy implications.
In a blog post on Friday, Reid Kuhn, partner group program manager for the Windows Phone engineering team, said the publication of the code should demonstrate Microsoft's commitment to privacy and ensuring the protection of people's information.
Looks like Google Street View cars may have been "officially" riding dirty and Google may get slapped hard for its Wi-Spy fiasco. A federal judge did not dismiss the case against Google; instead in the first such decision of its kind, the judge ruled that sniffing open Wi-Fi packets might violate the Federal Wiretap Act.
New government test results show that a proposed high-speed wireless broadband network being launched by a company called LightSquared could jam GPS systems used for aviation, public safety, military operations and other uses.
All too many businesses start a wireless network by installing Wi-Fi the same way you would at home. They will buy a low-end, consumer-grade access point from a Linksys, D-Link, or Buffalo Technology and put it in a common area, such as a conference room. Just like that, potentially for less than $100, you have a wireless network that is convenient for your employees and guests to use. You saved a bundle, but it's a big mistake.
