Information Technology

ZDNETThere is a very thin line between our physical and digital identities.A PC or mobile device with an internet connection lets us stay entertained, research, purchase items, study, and work. Friends and family can use social media to keep tabs on how your life is going, and we can use these profiles, personal websites, and email to communicate with others. Also: The best VPN servicesBenefits of having an online presence aside, some employers will evaluate your social media presence when you apply for a new job to decide if you are a suitable candidate. Advertisers constantly invade your privacy by scraping publicly available information on you, your public profiles, and your search history for targeted marketing. A misjudged tweet from years ago or an inappropriate Facebook photo can destroy future job prospects or ruin a career. There’s the idea that once something is online, it is immortal, immutable, and almost impossible to contain. The golden rule is simple: Don’t put anything online you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. Although sometimes you aren’t in control of what gets published, and once something detrimental to you is out there, it can be tough to separate yourself. Also: How to find out if an AirTag is tracking you – and what to do about itAbuse, stalking, and bullying may also factor as reasons to erase our digital footprints and seize control of our devices. How to remove yourself from the internet and hide your identityIf you want to take control of your privacy and online data, you can take some simple steps to begin the process and then decide how much time and effort you want to contribute to the endeavor. Read on to find out where to start. More

An ESU subscription entitles customers to receive updates delivered automatically through Windows Update. If Microsoft follows its customary practices, those updates will also be available for download individually through the Microsoft Update Catalog. It’s a tedious process, but a customer who’s determined to save money could set a calendar reminder to check for new updates a day or two after those updates are delivered on the second Tuesday of the month and install them manually. If you’re managing only one or two PCs, that process might be an acceptable workaround.As an alternative, you could subscribe to the third-party service 0patch, which says it will provide “critical security patches” for Windows 10 for at least five years after the end-of-support date, at a price (in euros) that works out to something between $25 and $36 per PC per year at current exchange rates, plus tax. These aren’t clones of Microsoft’s updates. Here’s how the service explains their offering:With 0patch, you will be receiving security “micropatches” for critical, likely-to-be-exploited vulnerabilities that get discovered after October 14, 2025. These patches will be really small, typically just a couple of CPU instructions (hence the name), and will get applied to running processes in memory without modifying a single byte of original Microsoft’s binary files.Finally, there are completely unauthorized alternatives, such as the PowerShell activation scripts provided by the Massgrave hacking collective that will allow users to bypass Microsoft’s license agreements and sign up for a three-year ESU subscription without paying. Those scripts aren’t legal, of course, and businesses that rely on them will be at risk of being audited and subjected to lawsuits. Do you feel lucky? More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro is available for $180 for the Wi-Fi version and $200 for the PoE version This indoor/outdoor security camera doubles as a smart home hub, features 1520p resolution for crystal-clear images, RTSP support, and has a built-in NPU to process video with AI for visual recognition […] More

Floriana/Getty Images In October 2023, former president Joe Biden signed an executive order that included several measures for regulating AI. On his first day in office, President Trump overturned it, replacing it a few days later with his own order on AI in the US. This week, some government agencies that enforce AI regulation were […] More

Andry Djumantara/Getty Images After reversing a Biden-era executive order on AI regulation and firing staff across several government agencies, the Trump administration is gearing up to make cuts to the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) next.  On Wednesday, Axios reported that probationary employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which houses AISI, […] More

J Studios/Getty Images Just a day after its release, xAI’s latest model, Grok 3, was jailbroken, and the results aren’t pretty.  On Tuesday, Adversa AI, a security and AI safety firm that regularly red-teams AI models, released a report detailing its success in getting the Grok 3 Reasoning beta to share information it shouldn’t. Using three […] More

ZDNETIn today’s crazy world of constant schemes, hacks, breaches, and invasions of privacy, everyone should be using a measure of caution as they browse the web, shop, click links from emails (don’t do this without trusting the link), and do business.Also: 5 great Chrome browser alternatives that put your privacy firstTo get the highest level of browser privacy and security, you’ll either need to install a few extensions/add-ons to your current browser, adopt Tor Browser as your default, or go with an option like Norton Private Browser. Tor Browser is a great option, but it doesn’t always work with every website, and some might find it a bit too complicated. If that sounds like you, Norton Private Browser includes privacy that would normally require the addition of extensions or add-ons. What can you do with Norton Private Browser?Norton Private Browser More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETNearly everything you do on your desktop, laptop, phone, and tablet begins with a Domain Name System (DNS) query. Essentially, DNS turns domain names (such as ZDNET.com) into an IP address so web browsers and apps know where to get the information you want. Also: I tried a new anti-stress browser to see if it could really help me relax – and it actually worksWithout DNS, you’d have to type 34.149.132.124 every time you wanted to go to ZDNET.com. Even by simply running a Google search, DNS is at work. The problem is that standard DNS isn’t encrypted, meaning all your queries are sent over the network as plain text.Why is non-encrypted DNS a problem?Let’s say you’re on a public network  — like a coffee shop — and you start searching for things on your Android device. Or maybe you have to access a CMS or another work tool, and you don’t want the public to know the address you’re typing. If someone else is on the same network and has the skills, they could intercept your non-encrypted search queries (or the URLs you visit) and know exactly what you’re looking for.That’s where Private DNS Mode comes into play. Once you enable this feature, all of your DNS queries are encrypted, so any bad actors won’t be able to view them (even if they capture those packets). In other words, Private DNS Mode should be an absolute must for anyone who values their privacy and security.Also: How to easily use Cloudflare’s secure DNS on your Mac and why it even mattersBut how do you enable Private DNS Mode on Android? It’s actually pretty simple. Let me show you how.How to enable Private DNS mode on AndroidWhat you’ll need: The only thing you need to enable Private DNS Mode is an Android device running at least Version 9 of the operating system (which released in 2018). I’m using a Pixel 9 Pro but have used the feature going way back in the Android release cycle. Pretty much every modern Android phone is capable of enabling Private DNS. More