Latest news with #datasecurity
CNET
3 hours ago
- Business
- CNET
You Can Recycle Your Old Computers and Printers for Free. Here's Where
Summer is almost here, but it's not too late to get that last bit of spring cleaning done. And though it can be difficult to get rid of that old laptop, desktop or printer you've got sitting around -- even when it's been over a decade since you last plugged it in or switched it on -- recycling old tech is important, and it can free up a lot of space in your home. A recent CNET survey found that 31% of US adults are still holding onto unused old devices, including laptops, because they're unsure of what to do with them. The survey also found that 19% of respondents just toss old devices in the trash -- which is actually illegal in many states and can draw hefty fines -- while 29% use a recycling service to dispose of old tech. But there are easy and sustainable ways to clear out all that ancient tech. Recycling computers and printers can be as easy as bringing them to major retailers such as Best Buy, Office Depot and Staples. Some stores will even give you credit for offloading your old devices, as hard as it might be to let go of them. Here's what you need to know about recycling your old tech. For more, learn how to recycle your old phones. What to do before recycling your old computer Wherever you choose to take or mail in your items to be recycled, you'll want to protect your data by removing it as best you can. One way to do this is to perform a factory reset on your computer. Our guide walks you through the process. Where to recycle computers and printers Some retail stores will accept computers and printers for recycling, but it's not always a free service. Policies vary by company. Apple Store You can recycle your old Apple computers, monitors and peripherals, such as printers, for free at an Apple store, but there's a costly catch. According to the Apple Free Recycling program, you must also purchase a qualifying Apple computer or monitor to receive this service. Need another option? A third-party company called Gazelle buys old MacBooks to recycle them. After accepting Gazelle's offer, you print a prepaid label or request a prepaid box and ship the machine to them. Read more: Phone and Laptop Repair Goes Mainstream With Push From iFixit Best Buy stores Best Buy generally accepts up to three household items per household per day to be recycled for free, including desktop computers and printers, as well as other items ranging from e-readers to vacuum cleaners. While three is the limit for most items, there's a higher standard for laptops -- Best Buy will take five of those per household per day. Note that rules for dropping off monitors vary by state, and it's not always free to do so. Best Buy also offers a mail-in recycling service for select items, but that's also not free. A small box that holds up to 6 pounds costs $23, while a large box (up to 15 pounds) costs $30. Office Depot stores Office Depot and OfficeMax merged in 2013. The retailers offer a tech trade-in program both in-store and online where you may be able to get a store gift card in exchange for your old computers and printers. If the device has no trade-in value, the company will recycle it for free. Office Depot also sells its own tech recycling boxes that you can fill with electronics to be recycled and then drop off at the stores, but they aren't free. The small boxes cost $8.39 and hold up to 20 pounds, the medium ones cost $18.29 and hold up to 40 pounds, and the large boxes cost $28 and hold up to 60 pounds. Staples stores You can bring your old desktop computers, laptops, printers and more to the Staples checkout counter to be recycled for free, even if they weren't purchased there. The retailer also has a free at-home battery recycling box which, according to a Staples rep, has led customers to recycle thousands of batteries per week, up from an earlier average of 50 per week. Here's a list of everything that can be recycled at Staples. Read more: How to Factory Reset a MacBook, Windows Laptop or Chromebook How to find an electronics recycling center If you don't live near a major retailer or would rather take your computers and printers to a recycling center, you can locate places near you by using search tools provided by Earth911 and the Consumer Technology Association. Earth911 recycling center Use the recycling center search function on Earth911 to find recycling centers near your ZIP code that accept laptops, desktops and printers. Note that the results may also turn up places that accept mobile phones and not computers or printers, so you may have to do a little filtering. Greener Gadgets recycling center Consult the Consumer Technology Association's Greener Gadgets Recycle Locator to find local recycling centers in your area that will take old items. The search function also allows you to filter the results to separately hunt for places that take computers versus printers.
CNET
3 days ago
- Business
- CNET
184 Million Passwords Leaked for Google, Facebook, Instagram and More. How to Protect Your Accounts
You might have seen the news of a database leak containing 184 million passwords tied to accounts from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Roblox and other organizations. The report by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler on Website Planet says login credentials for bank and financial accounts, health platforms and government portals from numerous countries were also exposed. The data was left unprotected by an unknown database owner and then accessed by cybercriminals via infostealer malware. Although the database has been removed from public access, the damage is seemingly done. So what should you do if you think any of your login credential data was compromised? A percentage of the login credentials in the 47.42GB file are likely outdated. But some passwords and usernames may still be active. In fact, Fowler wrote in his post that he emailed multiple people whose information was in the database and they confirmed the emails and passwords were still in use. How can I protect myself from this data leak? If you think you were impacted by the bad actors who accessed this database, here are a few steps you should take as soon as possible to limit the potential damage. Change your password It's good to get in the habit of changing your passwords regularly. Your new passwords should be unique from other accounts. This thwarts a cybercriminal's ability to take over several of your accounts by using the same exposed login credentials. Keep in mind that the longer the password is the better, because it'll make it harder for bad actors to crack. Start with account passwords we know may have been impacted in this data leak like, Instagram, Facebook, Google or Roblox. From there you can update other passwords to sensitive accounts you haven't updated in the past year. Consider a password manager If keeping track of all your different passwords is too cumbersome, you can sign up for a password manager. CNET recommends Bitwarden. Password managers create unique passwords for every online account you create and will scan the dark web for any compromised passwords. They even guard against phishing attacks by not autofilling passwords on suspicious websites. Turn on two-factor authentication You should turn on two-factor authentication for every online account you have. When a bad actor attempts to log into your account, you will receive a text message or email with a code to verify it's you logging in from a new device. Be aware of phishing attacks Cybercriminals will use stolen data to target potential victims via phishing attacks. These can occur over phone, text, email and even direct messages on social media. Do not click on any suspicious links, download files or scan QR codes from unknown sources. You can't stop your data from being compromised in a leak or breach, but identity theft protection can monitor your information on the dark web and alert you if something is awry. Aura Aura CNET's best overall identity theft protection service Protect your personal data and get peace of mind with CNET's top pick for identity theft software.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Tell us: have cyber attacks affected your shopping habits?
Retailers Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and most recently Adidas have all been hit by cyber attacks in recent weeks. Adidas disclosed on Tuesday that customers' personal information had been stolen. We would like to hear from people who have changed the way they shop in light of incidents such as these. How have cyber attacks affected your shopping habits? Do you choose to shop on the high street more often instead? Do you think differently about sharing your personal data online? Let us know below. You can tell us how cyber attacks have affected your shopping habits using this form. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible. Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first. Contact us on WhatsApp or Signal at +447766780300. For more information, please see our guidance on contacting us via WhatsApp, For true anonymity please use our SecureDrop service instead.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Google Warns iPhone And Android Users—Do Not Make These Calls
The image displays a teenager reading shocking news on his cell phone as he is lying on a couch in ... More the dark. Forget unpaid toll and undelivered package texts. The attack that's now targeting your data and your money is much harder to detect and is surging, "having more than doubled over the past few months.' Google is on a mission to warn phone and PC users to be more alert — do not make these calls on your iPhone or Android phone. 'Customer support scams, where fraudsters impersonate legitimate support to steal sensitive information, are evolving,' Google has just warned. Gone are the days of clumsy emails and messages, we're now at a new level. Scammers 'often rely on impersonating well-known brands," and are 'now exploiting user distress through social engineering and web vulnerabilities to display fake phone numbers.' Guardio warns that while such scams are not new, the current surge is 'closely tied to scammers using AI tools to scale their operations, allowing them to create convincing scams at scale.' And it's now all about tricking users into making phone call to as fake Microsoft or Google 1-888 number. If you do, a well-practiced scammer will be eagerly waiting to take your call and your money. Google says such scams are 'an increasingly prevalent form of cybercrime, aimed at extorting money or gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data.' And while it might start with an 'alarming pop-up warnings mimicking legitimate security alerts,' you might even see 'full-screen takeovers' before a helpful support number pops up. 'Even as people become better at spotting potential scams,' Google says, 'transnational crime groups continue to evolve their tactics and defraud people around the world. In 2024, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance reported that in just 12 months, scammers stole $1 trillion globally. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission recently shared data in March showing a 25% year-over-year increase in reported losses to fraud.' Do not make these calls. For transnational read Chinese. The likes of Smishing Triad and Panda Shop as outed by Resecurity are fueling a cybercrime epidemic that has 'no fear of FBI' and 'does not care about U.S. law enforcement agencies.' Operating out of China, the current standoff between Beijing and Washington makes these gangs feel untouchable. Google wants brands to use its 'dedicated' search feature to formalize support numbers, but as attacks induce a sense of panic and urgency and then push a phone number on users, that doesn't help. Not unless those users know never to call. The recent Android and Chrome anti-scam upgrades will hopefully be more effective. Google says always 'seek out official support channels directly by using information from packaging or contracts. Avoid unsolicited contacts or pop-ups. Never grant remote access unless certain of official support. Always verify phone numbers for authenticity.' But just as with those unpaid tolls and undelivered packages — two of the other scams highlighted by Google, this won't be resolved unless and until users know that DMVs will never reach out with threatening texts, delivery services will never text parcel fees, and you must never call a support number on a popup or on-screen message.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Research Institutes Achieve Record-Breaking Performance in Data Security
A joint team of researchers led by scientists at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) reported the fastest quantum random number generator (QRNG) to date based on international benchmarks. The QRNG, which passed the required randomness tests of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, could produce random numbers at a rate nearly a thousand times faster than other QRNG, said KAUST in a statement on Tuesday. 'This is a significant leap for any industry that depends on strong data security,' said KAUST Professor Boon Ooi, who led the study, published in Optics Express. According to the statement, random number generators are critical for industries that depend on security, such as health, finance, and defense. But the random number generators currently used are vulnerable because of an intrinsic flaw in their design. 'Most random number generators are 'pseudo random number generators.' In other words, they seem random, but in reality, they are complicated algorithms that can be solved. QRNGs do not suffer from this concern,' explained Ooi. The reason is that QRNG use the principles of quantum mechanics to produce a truly unpredictable random number. The high random number generation rate reported in the new study was the result of innovations made by the scientists in the fabrication and the post-processing algorithms of the device. The QRNG was constructed using micro-LEDs (light emitting diodes) less than a few micrometers in size, which reduces their energy demands and suggests the QRNG are portable, expanding the types of applications. 'KACST, in its capacity as the national laboratory, is committed to advancing applied research that directly supports the objectives of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, particularly in establishing global leadership across strategic sectors, including quantum-enabled innovations,' said study contributor, Microelectronics and Semiconductors Institute researcher, and KACST Center of Excellence for Solid-State Lighting director Dr. Abdullah Almogbel. 'Undertaking such research initiatives is expected to generate substantial value for a wide range of industries and further solidify their global standing,' he added. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is recognized internationally for providing benchmarks to ascertain the quality of randomness.
