---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <ndrikv$ot3$1@dont-email.me> Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2016 13:10:58 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Apple doubles down on encrypted phones, while Google aims for 'digital vault' As Apple faces criticism from the FBI for refusing to help law enforcement break into iPhones, rival Google is sitting on technology that would upgrade existing mobile devices with an encrypted "digital safe" that secures data, messages, and video and voice calls. The technology, known as Project Vault, was created by a team led by Peiter Zatko, a hacker and security expert also known as Mudge who has since left Google. This month he called on Google to release the technology to underline its support for Apple's refusal to open phones for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Google spokeswoman Victoria Cassady wouldn't reply when asked whether the project was still active, but she hinted that there might be updates at Google's annual developer conference in May. Zatko said he is not permitted to comment on Google's plans. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601058/as-apple-doubles-down-on-encrypted-phones-google-sits-on-its-design-for-a-digital-safe/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <A71D47FC-DC50-48F6-94C9-12760C2C6ED6@roscom.com> Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2016 11:44:20 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Why I Don't Make Financial Decisions on My Smartphone By Shlomo Benartzi According to a recent survey by the Federal Reserve, 52 percent of adult smartphone owners use mobile banking services. It's easy to understand the appeal of these financial apps, as they give us the ability to get real-time updates on our account balances and spending. Research I conducted with Yaron Levi has shown that such updates can deliver real benefits, helping people cut their spending by 15.7 percent. However, many financial apps now go far beyond the delivery of information. They also allow us to perform a breathtaking range of actions. We can sell stocks, borrow money from a friend and cash out our 401(k)'s, all without interacting with another person. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/your-money/why-i-dont-make-financial-decisions-on-my-smartphone.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <ndqhng$50t$1@dont-email.me> Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2016 07:45:53 -0000 (UTC) From: David Clayton <dc33box-cdt@yahoo.com.au> Subject: Re: The Real Story Behind The FBI Dropping The Suit With Apple On Thu, 31 Mar 2016 16:54:32 -0400, tlvp wrote: > On Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:26:12 -0400, Bill Horne wrote: > >> ... >> http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankminiter/2016/03/31/the-real-story-behind-the-fbi-dropping-the-suit-with-apple/#32d5b5331d9c >> ... > > Alas, Forbes is too clever for its own good. I tried to visit the link > above using a browser (an ancient edition of Safari running on Windows > Vista) that is adblocker-free, but Forbes sniffed hard, and balked, > saying: > > : We noticed you still have ad blocker enabled. By turning it off : or > whitelisting Forbes.com, you can continue to our site ... > > Forbes should realize that there can be no sign that an adblocker has > been turned off when there's no adblocker present to begin with :-) . If your browser doesn't support the required Javascript call that loads the ads then the code on the web server that detects that the ad has not been downloaded does not know the difference. It's hardly worth their while to write specific code for unsupported web browsers. Smarter web blockers will still download the ad (and run any embedded code) but not display it instead of simply not downloading it and therefore allowing the web server to detect that it hasn't been downloaded. -- Regards, David. David Clayton, e-mail: dc33box-cdt@yahoo.com.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have. ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Mon, 04 Apr 2016