protect

NQ Mobile Vault is the simplest application I've seen for keeping text messages, call history, contacts, photos, and videos private on your mobile device. Celebrities, pay attention.

Basically, Vault creates an encrypted, password-protected space on your device, in which you can store photos, videos, text messages, and call history. It's easy to move items into and out of the space, and you can even permanently delete them, if you'd like.

Once you create your password, there are a few ways to start using Vault. First, within the app, you can pull up all of your messages and … Read more

SAN YSIDRO, Calif.--They were hidden in the gas tank -- 17 tightly-wrapped packages of marijuana weighing in at 38.44 pounds.

The car was nondescript, a green 1999 Mazda 626. The driver was a male 50-year-old Mexican national, a resident of Tijuana who had presumably been hoping to make it into California without being stopped.

Instead, the man got caught with the massive haul of pot, snared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers here at the world's busiest border crossing using several tools in their arsenal -- some high-tech, some very low-tech -- to find … Read more

The bottom line: Bitdefender Total Security 2013 remains one of the best high-end security suites around. This update gives you a fully isolated Web browser for secure financial transactions.

Review: Bitdefender Total Security 2013 presents a convincing alternative to its better-known competitors. It's a strong program, with all the major tools that users expect, and some additional useful tricks in its arsenal. When it comes to efficacy, Bitdefender isn't the best in every area, but it's definitely competitive.

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review of Bitdefender Total Security 2012.

Installation Bitdefender … Read more

TUCSON, Ariz.--It's summer in the Southwest, and there may not be a hotter border anywhere in the United States. For one thing, the mercury is easily over a hundred every day. And then there's the steady flow of organized smugglers trying to sneak themselves and their substantial cargo -- of migrants and/or drugs -- across Mexico's long desert frontier with Arizona.

There are nine U.S. Border Patrol sectors stretching across America's southwestern frontier. And back in 2000, the agency was snagging more than 2,000 people a day for crossing illegally into its … Read more

If you like the idea of storing sensitive data safely, securely, and away from prying eyes, you need to create an encrypted virtual disk on your hard drive. That's easier than it sounds, thanks to Klonsoft's LockDisk. This tool creates encrypted, password-protected, hidden volumes in your system. You can specify the size of your volume to make sure you have enough space for your stuff without wasting disk space. LockDisk works in 32-bit Windows editions. Some users may need to right-click the program's Start menu entry or executable file and select Run as Administrator to use LockDisk. … Read more

Despite earlier reports saying that it might do so, Australia won't take aim at Google's Street View service over the collection of Wi-Fi data.

The country's news.com.au service reported today that Australia Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim was planning to evaluate a recently released U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report on Street View data collection to determine if his office should call on the Australian Federal Police to launch an investigation into the search giant's practices. However, in a subsequent media statement, the commissioner's office made it clear no such investigation would be … Read more

Now that the Internet isn't flooded with Facebook IPO news, we can move on to more breaking news, like Hollywood finally answering our prayers for a Hook prequel that tells the Rufio origin story.

That's right, the original actor who played Rufio, Dante Basco, recently announced in an interview that a Rufio prequel film is in the works under the directing eye of Rpin Suwannath. Maybe we'll finally get to the bottom of how he got those fabulous red tights.… Read more

In New York state, legislators in both chambers have proposed bills that would force Web sites to police the identities of anonymous commenters. 

Under the proposed Internet Protection Act (S06779), when anyone complains about an anonymous (or pseudonymous) comment, the Web site must make the commenter attach their "real name" to the comment or the anonymous comment would by law have to be removed. 

That's right: if someone doesn't like your comment the Web site will be legally bound to make you reveal your identity. The accused commenter will also be required to verify … Read more

Democrats in Washington are aiming to protect employees being asked to hand over the keys to their Facebook accounts.

A new bill introduced yesterday in the U.S. Senate would seek to stop employers from requesting passwords or access to an employee's account on Facebook and other social networks.

Known as the Password Protection Act Of 2012 (PDF), the bill is the latest response from politicians over the growing trend of employers eager to snoop around their workers' online accounts.

In some cases, current employees are being pressured to allow access to their Facebook accounts. A teacher's aide … Read more