authentication

Fox Network to limit Web access to its shows

Fox Network announced late today that it will begin delaying Web access to many of its popular TV shows to give cable and satellite TV providers greater exclusivity with programming, essentially putting up a de facto pay wall around its content.

Beginning August 15, only those people who subscribe to a participating video distributor will be able to view TV shows on an Internet portal the day after shows air on the network, the company said in a press release. All other viewers who are used to seeing episodes of "The Simpsons," "Bones," and "Glee&… Read more

Dropbox confirms security glitch--no password required

Web-based storage firm Dropbox confirmed this afternoon that a programmer's error caused a temporary security breach that allowed any password to be used to access any user account.

The San Francisco-based start-up attributed the security breach to a "code update" that "introduced a bug affecting our authentication mechanism." Access without passwords was possible between 1:54pm PT and 5:46pm PT yesterday, the company said.

"This should never have happened," Dropbox co-founder and CTO Arash Ferdowsi said in a blog post. "We are scrutinizing our controls and we will be implementing additional … Read more

Iris recognition gadget eliminates passwords

Imagine logging in to Facebook or eBay with just a blink of an eye. A new gadget for consumers may soon make that possible.

Designed by the Hoyos Group, a device called EyeLock uses iris-recognition as an alternative to passwords to log you in to password-protected Web sites and applications. Although similar eye-scanning devices are already used in the business and industrial markets, Hoyos calls EyeLock "the first and only portable iris-scanning device for consumers."

The scanning device, which resembles a wand, plugs into a base that connects to your PC via a USB port. After you install the software and choose the sites and applications that you want to iris-protect, you pass the scanner in front of your eye. A snapshot is taken of your iris to confirm your identity. Assuming you're the real you, you're then granted immediate access to the secure Web site or application.

With security always a primary concern, the company boasts that the device is unhackable.

"Every time you log in, it reads your iris and creates a unique key, which is a series of numbers, and this key changes every time you log in, so no one can hack it," Tracy Hoyos, assistant marketing director, said in an interview with CNN.… Read more

Facebook adds new user security features

Facebook is launching several new security features today designed to protect users from malware and from getting their accounts hijacked.

First, the site will display warnings when users are about to be duped by clickjacking and cross-site scripting attacks in which they think they are following a link to an interesting news story or taking action to see a video and instead end up spamming their friends.

For example, a scam was circulating yesterday in which Facebook users were inadvertently commenting on what looked like a news site with details of the iPhone 5. Clicking on the link leads to … Read more

What LastPass security issue means for RoboForm (Q&A)

After LastPass reported a possible security breach and potential theft of some of its users' master passwords last week, we wondered what it meant for other password managers, such as RoboForm.

Both LastPass and RoboForm help you create and manage strong passwords to log into the increasing array of secure Web sites that we all juggle these days. But is there an inherent vulnerability in relying on a single service to keep track of all your passwords? Should RoboForm users be concerned about the possibility of a similar "anomaly" exposing any of their data?

To answer those questions and learn how RoboForm strives to keep its own customers' data secure, CNET recently spoke with Bill Carey, RoboForm's vice president of marketing.

Q: Bill, from what you may know of what happened at LastPass, what was your take on it? Carey: That's a good question. I don't think anybody really knows what happened yet. I'm not even sure LastPass really knows what happened yet. I've read some of the articles and I read their blog, and they said there was an anomaly. It appears someone had access to their servers for a certain amount of time and that there could've been a transfer of data. But I don't think it would be fair for me to comment on it because I'm not really sure what happened yet. But I appreciate that you're writing it from our standpoint because no one's really thinking about "well, who else is out there and what are they doing and how are they protecting [their data]."… Read more

WinRAR is a winner

WinRAR is a lightweight, flexible, and easy-to-use archiving utility that can unpack most archive formats, as well as compress to both RAR and ZIP. Free to try for 40 days ($29 for single license), WinRAR is definitely top dog in the compression category.

WinRAR's interface is about as simple as it gets. Start creating (or add to) an archive by dragging and dropping your files into the interface or by browsing through the Folder Tree side panel (when enabled). From there, the most common functions are laid out in the form of colorful, mostly intuitive icons, which can all … Read more

WinRAR is a winner

WinRAR is a lightweight, flexible, and easy-to-use archiving utility that can unpack most archive formats, as well as compress to both RAR and ZIP. Free to try for 40 days ($29 for single license), WinRAR is definitely top dog in the compression category.

WinRAR's interface is about as simple as it gets. Start creating (or add to) an archive by dragging and dropping your files into the interface or by browsing through the Folder Tree side panel (when enabled). From there, the most common functions are laid out in the form of colorful, mostly intuitive icons, which can all … Read more

Behind Comodo hack, an insecure Web (roundup)

A breach of the Internet's trust system arises from an outmoded method for assuring that a Web site is authentic, and it has browser makers rethinking their approach to security.

Comodo hack may reshape browser security A breach that let a hacker spoof digital certificates for Google.com, Yahoo.com, and other Web sites is prompting browser makers to rethink security. (Posted in Privacy Inc. by Declan McCullagh) April 4, 2011 4:00 a.m. PT

Comodo hacker says he's protesting U.S. policy The person (or persons) involved with high-profile intrusion into Comodo's network says he'… Read more

What the RSA breach means for you (FAQ)

RSA warned its customers yesterday that its network had been breached and data had been stolen that could affect customers using its popular SecurID token authentication technology. Although details are scarce, here's what we know so far.

What happened? Someone launched an "extremely sophisticated cyberattack" on RSA in the form of an Advanced Persistent Threat and data was stolen related to the SecurID technology, the company said in a statement on its Web site. APT attacks are often used for espionage, targeting source code and other information within a company or government agency. They typically involve knowledge … Read more