• TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more: FCC official

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    ISSUE 19.28 • 2022-07-11 PUBLIC DEFENDER By Brian Livingston TikTok, the wildly popular short-video app owned by China’s ByteDance corporation, may be
    [See the full post at: TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more: FCC official]

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    • #2459565

      Assuming the news is true, TikTok is a very bad app to have on your device

      So are Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram..

      4 users thanked author for this post.
      • #2459667

        Assuming the news is true, TikTok is a very bad app to have on your device

        So are Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram..

        Indeed, so are Messenger Edge Chrome,

        A lot of good information about this can be found on

        https://www.eff.org/     and

        https://www.bitsoffreedom.nl/english/

         

        * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
        1 user thanked author for this post.
        • #2459679

          Indeed, so are Messenger Edge Chrome,

          A lot of good information about this can be found on

          https://www.eff.org/     and

          https://www.bitsoffreedom.nl/english/

          Could you be more specific about where either of those sites says anything bad about Edge? (I could find plenty about Messenger and Chrome.)

          Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

          • #2459707

            About tracking, tracing, fingerprinting, profiling, metadatacollecting, fishing it’s a Wild Wide Web out there, as you may know.
            Edge is like Google very keen on presenting advertisements to you as they seem fit to your profile. Afterall it’s for them a businessconcept/earningconcept too.
            Those two links mentioned are merely an indication where to start searching.
            IT Security and Privacy specialists from/in Germany, Holland, England, Usa, Ca, Au, France, Belgium (and many others) they all present good information and advise to use applications and use the internet.
            It is still incomprehensible to me that a lot of people say that they have nothing to hide, and that they don’t care at all. Even for (government) managers, this is often a far too difficult subject and too expensive to take into account. Until entire databases are stolen, then people wake up a bit.
            .

            * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
            • This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Fred.
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    • #2459578

      Seems like the perfect app for secret services all around the world? Unlimited data at their disposal!

      What puzzels me is that it looks like there’s not much investigation done on such popular apps. I’m not a programmer, but it looks to me such apps are pretty easy to de-compile? And if that’s not possible, then hook up Wireshark to see what’s going in and out.

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2459587

      I read this with interest. Have only used TikTOk a half dozen times, but have it on my devices. So went to delete my profile and for the FIRST time says I have been logged out. Usually would just open.

      I entered my user name and password and it said user not found. Credentials were perfect, no typos, no old password  – just what had always worked.

      So I cannot delete my profile.

       

    • #2459611

      I have registered a name and password with tic-toc.  What can tic-toc steal if you don’t download the app but view its content through a web browser?

    • #2459616

      Really disturbing. I thought Apple was screening out misbehaving apps from their store.

      I’ve never used social media apps including TikTok, but it makes me wonder about other apps I am using.

      Thanks Brian.

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      • #2461133

        In answer to teuhausen2 #2459616I thought Apple was screening out misbehaving apps from their store.

        Last year there was a long article in the June 6 issue of The Washington Post reporting that there were applications with malware in the Apple Store. There was also a thread about this in AskWoody. I have not followed the story in recent months.

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/06/apple-app-store-scams-fraud/

        I do not have anything from the Apple Store, except for a few things, such as “Garage Band”, that came with the Mac when I got it fresh from Apple, back in 2017.

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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    • #2459696

      Wondering if one way to bypass the hurdles involved in attempts to formally ban TikTok or to de-list it from app stores, might be for anti-malware vendors to flag the app and delete/quarantine it from people’s phones.

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2459697

      especially for minors given the subject of this sickening post content
      https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/tiktok-is-sued-after-girls-aged-8-and-9-hanged-themselves/
      Tik-Tok’s western wildfire introduction at the start of the global pandemic, always no no (gut feeling) a global equivalent akin to GDPR would create jobs AND a safer internet.

      No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE
      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2459712

      Then again, the “star witnesses” cited in the top one-third of this article were Trump appointees. Party Liners. Of course they’ll say “China bad!”.

      The rest of the article also relies on shadowy “insider employees” and other innuendo, without anyone coming out and presenting acceptable evidence a US Court of Law would consider.

      If there is evidence of specifically what traces TikTok is leaving of its alleged “spying” and data transfers to the Chinese government, I’d like at least the opportunity to see the original data dumps. And some citations of specific blocks of code found within the app which do what is claimed.

      I’m sure the US tech industry and computer security experts have much more evidence than was presented in this article. I’d like at least references to some of the specific details, even if they are too technical to include in an article aimed at general-purpose readers.

      Some who have posted here have included additional, more specific citations, but I still am not seeing any smoking guns here.

      -- rc primak

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    • #2459778

      In reply to 2459712:

      Elsewhere in the article, it says that TikTok has been banned from the armed forces, Homeland Security, and the TSA. These are all run by the Biden administration, who are not exactly devotees of a Trump party line. By now, they’ve had a year and a half to reverse any policies by the previous administration that they disliked.

      Brian Livingston’s piece also quotes a Washington Post report that the current administration is “developing new regulations that are expected to rein in not only TikTok but other apps that feed data to Chinese organizations”.

      And Brian also quotes an official of the Council of Foreign Relations to the effect that TikTok’s response is inadequate. You will not find a more “establishment” outfit than the CFR.

      Please, let’s not turn this into a partisan issue.

       

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    • #2459779

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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      • #2459839

        The “Bloomberg” link was improperly copied above. This now seems to work properly:

        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-12/tiktok-sued-after-10-year-old-dies-in-viral-blackout-challenge

         

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2459799

      Perhaps, rather than the “Daily Mail”, that is a sensationalist and tendentious yellow-press rag

      Care to expain that claim further?

      • #2459810

        Mele20: “Care to expain that claim further?

        I would, but to do it alone, just by itself, would be off topic.

        Maybe this helps?

        https://www.quora.com/Are-The-Daily-Mail-and-the-Mirror-considered-reliable-and-reputable-news-sources

        People can find more by searching the Web with keywords such as: “Daily News” sensationalist Murdoch

        Besides, that was my comment. Cybertooth is blameless.

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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        • #2459884

          Quora is the site to be suspicious of….not Daily Mail….besides, I never read the Science tab there. I read Home and Health tabs. But this is OT so I will not say more or reply further.

          1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2459836

      From Brian Livingston’s article

      To ensure you don’t have the equivalent of a keylogger sucking up every document you open and every password you type, “There’s only one thing to do,” as Albert Khoury of tech site Komando explains. “Remove TikTok from your phone immediately. Even if you don’t create content on the app, the company still collects data on you.”

      To ensure you don’t have the equivalent of a keylogger“: Yes, that sounds about right.

      Fortunately, I am not at risk, because I have a Mac and TikTok is not available for Macs. (Always assuming I would be interested in something like TikTok.)

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2460071

      Master Livingston, thank you for the coverage.

      On the only smartphone on which I wanted to try TikTok for my media broadcast porpoises — I was never able to get TikTok into a testable condition. There were always authentication problems. Eventually I set its testing aside.

      And, now that I’ve just now deleted it because of this Ask Woody thread, I wonder if the mysterious uptick in spam on my phone might be related to the virtual phone number of my biz line —  which I’d provided to TikTok. There are two additional apps for which I could test hypotheses about this.

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2460104

      If there is evidence of specifically what traces TikTok is leaving of its alleged “spying” and data transfers to the Chinese government, I’d like at least the opportunity to see the original data dumps.

      There isn’t evidence just as there was never evidence found that Kaspersky software is spying for the Russian.
      It’s McCarthy era yet again.

      Brendan Carr is a republican a President Trump nominee and was with the FCC when they Killed Net Neutrality.

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #2460354

      Alex: “[About alleged complicity of Kaperski with the Kremlin] It’s McCarthy era yet again.
      Brendan Carr is a republican a President Trump nominee and was with the FCC when they Killed Net Neutrality.

      How relevant can all this be to the alleged China espionage or to the fact that a young girl hanged herself and died, because she was playing a “blackout” game she found in TikTok?

      (For that I have provided three links, in an earlier post here, to three sources with good reporting credentials.)

      As to spying for China, Brian’s article quotes other sources, besides Carr, as it has ben pointed out here already by Cybertooth.

      And no, this is not the return of McCarthyism’s Red Hysteria, whether or not allegations about Kapersky are true. Because this topic now under discussion is, above all, about taking a candid look at the scary ugliness of the world we have worked us humans into, all by ourselves, either by action or inaction.

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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    • #2460427

      young girl hanged herself and died

      What young girls hanging themselves has to do with TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more ?
      There is no shred of evidence to that just as there is no evidence for Kaspersky spying for Putin.
      So yes, US McCarthyism is back legacy of Trump.

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      • #2460453

        Alex: “What young girls hanging themselves has to do with TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more ?
        There is no shred of evidence to that just as there is no evidence for Kaspersky spying for Putin.
        So yes, US McCarthyism is back legacy of Trump.

        I was commenting more generally than just answering to Alex. I am not even sure of what TikTok has to do with Kapersky, other than as an analogy.
        As to “no shred of evidence” of girls unwittingly killing themselves because of something they saw in TikTok, the “Blackout Challenge”, that thought it would be fun to do: if sure that is untrue, please write a letter to the editors of the New York Times, NBC News and Bloomberg’s complaining about their publication of such questionable assertions (that I have provided the URL links to, further up in this thread). Or write to The Verge:

        https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/7/23199058/tiktok-lawsuits-blackout-challenge-children-death

        And as to McCarthyism: it was the open persecution of mostly innocent citizens in the 1950’s by powerful and ambitious politicians out to make a name for themselves no matter how, notably US Senator Joseph McCarthy, and also by their equally motivated collaborators and informers, quite notoriously in Hollywood, with contrived accusations against well-known screenwriters, directors and others, but also in the USA government and, generally, against anybody that correctly or falsely was labelled as “communist” or as being associated with communists. As a result, many of those so accused lost their jobs, the possibility to work in their professions, and even their freedom. This Wikipedia article makes for interesting and informative reading about a both disgraceful and revealing period still in living memory, my own included:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

        That situation then is not like what is happening in our own time, including the main issue now under discussion here. Not because things are great now, which they are not, but because whatever is wrong with our time, it is also more different from, than alike to what was wrong then. In many ways, this is a different world from that one. Not better, just different.

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2460458

      young girl hanged herself and died

      What young girls hanging themselves has to do with TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more ?
      There is no shred of evidence to that just as there is no evidence for Kaspersky spying for Putin.
      So yes, US McCarthyism is back legacy of Trump.

      1st:Kaspersky spying: well also,  there is something like solidarity for the poor Ukrainians and the barbaric mideaval mass slaughtering that’s going on.
      2nd: all countries and data-firms are spying. Possibly to preserve the other and great values of our ecological_footprintless society, I presume?

      Well, McCarthyism has it ever been away?. In other countries these fobia are called differently. Mainly driven by the capitalistic ideas of always wanting to consume more and more, dividend-driven one may say. So the oil boycot mesures are turning against the western economies, petrol becomes priseless over here. There is an
      economicpower-war right now, settling between the mayor societies, that started already in the years ’70

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
      • #2460463

        For the record: Alex wrote what Fred has quoted above, not I, except for the first line, about those girls. My detailed answer to Alex’s is just above Fred’s comment, here #2460453.

        As to why ‘McCarthyism’ is a concept that does not apply to the topic under discussion, I already have explained this in my previous comment, linked above, amplified by the article in Wikipedia I also linked there. Odious things have happened here since 1954, no doubt, but they are not McCarthyism, they are something else. Similarities do not imply equivalence. Assuming that they do leads to incorrect conclusions.

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2460472

      And no, this is not the return of McCarthyism’s Red Hysteria, whether or not allegations about Kapersky are true. Because this topic now under discussion is, above all, about taking a candid look at the scary ugliness of the world we have worked us humans into, all by ourselves, either by action or inaction.

      Just for the record,
      I think Alex is right pointing out a major problem of present times: Real investigation is very rare. Journalists telling the truth are expelled or convicted, everywhere. Wars are fought for reasons that are not public, so tells the very recent history.
      This so called canded-look is a peculiar way to put it. The winner writes the history, and Googles Search and Profiling Algorithms are leading the way to most people.
      Society may watch out for not destroying itself, like lead was destructive for the Romanempire

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
      1 user thanked author for this post.
      • #2460473

        Fred, We are sort of agreeing. Can we move on?

        Can we go back to TikTok’s alleged misdeeds, leaving all the other ills of the world aside for just a brief moment?

        I am going back there, anyway. And to bed. So: good night.

         

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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    • #2460484

      Fred, We are sort of agreeing. Can we move on?

      Can we go back to TikTok’s alleged misdeeds, leaving all the other ills of the world aside for just a brief moment?

      I am going back there, anyway. And to bed. So: good night.

       

      By all means you are invited and free to stand still for ever at Tiktok and all other ‘Zuckerberg-like’ welldoings to this society priveledged.

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
    • #2460591

      TikTok steals your files, passwords, and more:

      No different to Microsoft, Apple, Chrome and all the rest!
      Microsoft have taken a lot of functionality away from the user to make it harder for users turn things off, also by collecting data i.e. advertising data to find out about your interests, location, timeline, camera, microphone, Cortana and diagnostics just to name a few. I don’t fully trust any of them.

      I use Windows 21H2 but I have read that Windows 11 is even worse fore data gathering.

       

    • #2460632

      Rabbit hole folks, we’re getting a bit rabbit hole and thus moderation will be done accordingly.

      Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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    • #2460766

      I am surprised and discouraged to learn here that something potentially good as a source of innocent and amusing entertainment has developed such a nasty dark side. I wonder if there is some social network or service comparable to an ideal TikTok and what it might be like. Or if such a thing is even possible in this day and age. I appreciate Brian Livingston and others for bringing those different unsavory issues to the attention of people here concerning TikTok.

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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    • #2460803

      I am surprised and discouraged to learn here that something potentially good as a source of innocent and amusing entertainment has developed such a nasty dark side. I wonder if there is some social network or service comparable to an ideal TikTok and what it might be like. Or if such a thing is even possible in this day and age. I appreciate Brian Livingston and others for bringing those different unsavory issues to the attention of people here concerning TikTok.

      quote: “something potentially good as a source of innocent and amusing entertainment”
      …..  Is it really?

      Another perspective from the guys who own and made these apps;

      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/19/tim-cook-i-dont-want-my-nephew-on-a-social-network

      https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/steve-jobs-apple-ipad-children-technology-birthday-a6893216.html

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
      • This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Fred.
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    • #2461189

      Really disturbing. I thought Apple was screening out misbehaving apps from their store.

      TikTok is a legitimate app until proven otherwise.

      Yes, Apple is screening and removing apps

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    • #2461197

      The legitimacy of TikTok has been very seriously questioned in this thread. Also: Apple might be removing unsafe “apps”, but has not been doing a great job of it, according to the Washington Post. Links to articles in support of these statements, all by reputable sources, can be found in previous comments. And, of course there is also Brian Livingston’s Newsletter article on TikTok’s ill-doings that got this thread going. Please, if interested, read them.

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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    • #2461202

      Really disturbing. I thought Apple was screening out misbehaving apps from their store.

      TikTok is a legitimate app until proven otherwise.

      Yes, Apple is screening and removing apps

      Chinese spying via seemingly innocuous products has been going on since at least 2008: see here and here.

      IMO the proper approach to take regarding TikTok is a seriously skeptical eye. Perhaps not quite “guilty until proven innocent,” but something close to it.

      And yes, a generally jaundiced view of all digital products from whatever country is a prudent policy. There is no reason to privilege TikTok as “legitimate until proven otherwise” when we are security-conscious about so much else that’s available on the Internet.

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    • #2461632

      IMO the proper approach to take regarding TikTok is a seriously skeptical eye. Perhaps not quite “guilty until proven innocent,” but something close to it. And yes, a generally jaundiced view of all digital products from whatever country is a prudent policy. There is no reason to privilege TikTok as “legitimate until proven otherwise” when we are security-conscious about so much else that’s available on the Internet.

      I agree that “equal opportunity” skepticism for all things digital is appropriate.

      And on a somewhat, but hardware related tangent, consider the Huawei cybersecurity concerns that Huawei’s infrastructure equipment may enable surveillance by the Chinese government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei

      Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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      • #2461694

        I have been vaguely aware of the Huawei controversy, knew that part of it was that there was a pending request to Canada for the extradition to the USA of a woman now there, a Chinese citizen, accused to be involved in alleged Huwaei’s shady practices in the USA and possibly also there.

        Basically, I was not more aware because I am not in the least interested, and certainly not itching to get my hands on 5G anything.

        But when reading the Wikipedia article linked just above this reply by JohnW, my mind just blew up and now I am having trouble stuffing it back inside my cranium, where it usually belongs.

        Much as it is the case with TikTok, here under discussion, this is yet another sign of the corruption of the utopian dream, back in the mid to late 1990s, that the Internet was going to be, in all places, at all times and for everyone, along with other useful or entertaining things, first and foremost a freely accessible source of the truth all citizens everywhere have the responsibility and the unbridgeable right to know, as well as an open forum for freely debating the important issues of the day.

        We can and should do better, no just for ourselves, but for future generations. Minding what our legacy to them will be.

        Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

        MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
        Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
        macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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        • #2461730

          “un-abrigeable” not “unbridgeable” right to know. The illiterate spell check/correction software and some poor aiming have done it again!

          Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

          MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
          Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
          macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2461733

      But when reading the Wikipedia article linked just above this reply by JohnW, my mind just blew up and now I am having trouble stuffing it back inside my cranium, where it usually belongs.

      Sorry about that!

      But without passing any judgement of my own, it appears that governments have attempted to “militarize” technology as fits their needs. Skepticism IMO is justified!

      In any case I don’t even exclude my own (US) government. I am not intending to scapegoat any particular government, or raise “political” discussion here. Sadly, it just seems that the former technical “utopian” dream is barely visible in the rear view mirror these days… sigh…

      Windows 10 Pro 22H2

      4 users thanked author for this post.
      • #2461821

        But when reading the Wikipedia article linked just above this reply by JohnW, my mind just blew up and now I am having trouble stuffing it back inside my cranium, where it usually belongs.

        Sorry about that!

        But without passing any judgement of my own, it appears that governments have attempted to “militarize” technology as fits their needs. Skepticism IMO is justified!

        In any case I don’t even exclude my own (US) government. I am not intending to scapegoat any particular government, or raise “political” discussion here. Sadly, it just seems that the former technical “utopian” dream is barely visible in the rear view mirror these days… sigh…

        This is neatly worded, and without gossip; there is still so very much to say about this to increase general awareness. Huawei is just such a really small example, while the bad bad wwweb is full of this for many years.

        * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
    • #2461846

      JohnW: “But without passing any judgement of my own, it appears that governments have attempted to “militarize” technology as fits their needs. Skepticism IMO is justified!

      And technology has more than once said to those governments “glad to oblige; what else can we do for you?”

      Huawey has been worth noticing here because of it being suspect of secretly spying and helping steal industrial secrets for the benefit of a dictatorial regime, and, or the interest of influential parties in deploying its services, or having them deployed. TikTok, because of its alleged insidiousness as a  sort of “panopticon” espionage tool targeted at its users and also a possible legal responsibility for those girls deaths. But do our own governments also do some of this kind of thing: spying, hacking, perhaps some rogue agencies even stealing? Or some plausibly deniable “Black Wings” even …?

      As the old sarcastic rhetorical question goes: “Is the Pope Catholic?” We are  now in the Age of Cyberwarfare. Its weapons are made mainly of code and Internet access and social engineering. They are both defensive and offensive. One may accept this fact and go from there, or live in denial and go nowhere.

      While the old splendid dream of the Internet as a force for political enlightenment and a greater degree of personal freedom with better informed individuals and populace, is in the rear mirror, where things are never closer than they look.

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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      • #2461937

        “Sticks and stones can’t hurt you” was never true and less true now.

        🍻

        Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.
        1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2462048

      “Sticks and stones can’t hurt you” was never true and less true now.

      I thought it was “sticks and stones can break your bones but names can never hurt you”. But names can, as I think you were trying to say.

      Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      • #2464591

        I thought it was “sticks and stones can break your bones but names can never hurt you”. But names can, as I think you were trying to say.

        thanks how did i manage to write that i don’t know 🙄
        thank u much for the correction.

        🍻

        Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.
    • #2464200

      Quote from the Malwarebytes-blogs
      “TikTok is “unacceptable security risk” and should be removed from app stores, says FCC”

      https://blog.malwarebytes.com/privacy-2/2022/07/tiktok-is-unacceptable-security-risk-and-should-be-removed-from-app-stores-says-fcc/

      [Moderator edit] trimmed URL

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
      • This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Fred.
    • #2465245

      Copied from Politico, half way down the page.

      6. HUAWEI OR THE HIGHWAY: “FBI investigation determined Chinese-made Huawei equipment could disrupt US nuclear arsenal communications,” by CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis: “Among the most alarming things the FBI uncovered pertains to Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest. … [T]he FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons.”

    • #2465274

      Here there is quite a bit more about the Huawei story from a CNN article linked inside the Politico’s one linked, in turn, in PaulK’s comment above this one of mine. In short, it says that the China/Huawei/spying/threat to military installations/alleged anti-Chinese racism can of worms is complicated, unclear and the US government’s action on this matter so far, haphazard, lacking transparency and poorly done.

      Whew!

      https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html

      Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

      MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
      Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
      macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

    • #2471517

      Over a month later the app is still available so has it been updated to limit data collection or have the companies simply chosen App Store revenue greed over responsible action?  I guess the thing that bothers me are the alarm bells these articles sound, but follow up is rare so concerned users are left wondering. If there has been follow up and I missed it, I apologize!

    • #2471551

      Over a month later the app is still available

      The app is still available and mobile app is keylogging everything you type (passwords, credit cards, ….)

    • #2473752

      Quote from the Malwarebytes-blogs
      “TikTok is “unacceptable security risk” and should be removed from app stores, says FCC”

      https://blog.malwarebytes.com/privacy-2/2022/07/tiktok-is-unacceptable-security-risk-and-should-be-removed-from-app-stores-says-fcc/

      [Moderator edit] trimmed URL

      • This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Fred.

      Vulnerability in TikTok Android app could lead to one-click account hijacking https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2022/08/31/vulnerability-in-tiktok-android-app-could-lead-to-one-click-account-hijacking/

      * _ the metaverse is poisonous _ *
      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #2473975

      In my opinion, this is the biggest problem with TikTok:

      Boy, 14, dies after doing same viral TikTok challenge as Archie Battersbee

      Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      • #2474085

        I was previously unaware of steps taken by TikTok to combat this (but presumably only since last week, or they are ineffective):

        [Mother 2]: “I went on TikTok and wrote out words similar to blackout challenge. The amount of video results that came up on it is ridiculous.”

        The tragedy of Leon’s death comes just weeks after Archie Battersbee died on August 6. Archie was also found unconscious by his mother Hollie Dance at his home in Essex in April this year. The young boy had suffered a “catastrophic” brain injury and was placed on life support.

        He passed away after his family lost a long-running legal battle to continue the treatment that was keeping him alive.

        Ms Dance [Mother 1] has publicly spoken out on her belief that Archie had participated in the Blackout Challenge.

        TikTok told the Record it has measures in place to prevent users from sharing videos on the trend and searching the term ‘Blackout Challenge’ takes users to a safety centre on the app. Users are also able to report any videos that contain graphic content.

        TikTok also deletes videos of the challenge from the platform.

        A TikTok spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to Leon Brown’s family during this incredibly difficult time. The safety of our community is our priority and we take any claim about a dangerous challenge very seriously. Content of this nature is prohibited on our platform and would be removed if found.”

        Boy, 14, found dead in bedroom by mum after taking part in viral challenge ‘seen on TikTok’

        Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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