RIP Passwords: New Web Standard Designed to Replace Login Method

A new web standard is expected to kill passwords, meaning users will no longer have to remember difficult logins for each and every website or service they use.

The Web Authentication (WebAuthn) standard is designed to replace the password with biometrics and devices that users already own, such as a security key, a smartphone, a fingerprint scanner or webcam.

Instead of having to remember an increasingly long string of characters, users can authenticate their login with their body or something they have in their possession, communicating directly with the website via Bluetooth, USB or NFC.

One example of how WebAuthn will work is that when a user visits a site they want to log into, they input a user name and then get an alert on their smartphone. Tapping on the alert on their phone then logs them into the website without the need for a password.

WebAuthn promises to protect users against phishing attacks and the use of stolen credentials as there will be nothing to steal, the authentication token is generated and used once by their specific device each time the user logs in.

WebAuthn should also help people use unique login details for each and every service they use, instead of using the same login and password for every site, which many people still do leaving them vulnerable to further attacks if one site is hacked.

Several sites and services already use similar methods to log in, including Google and Facebook, which can both be logged into using a USB security key. But a single cross-platform, cross-service standard ratified by the W3C will mean that many more sites and services will be able to kill the password as the defacto login method.

WebAuthn is the culmination of many years of work and the change will not happen overnight. But as it increasingly seems inevitable that our email or other online services will get hacked into, removing the password is an important step in improving online security and making using sites and services easier.

How to Fix a Slow iPad

Is your iPad running slowly? Does it seem to get bogged down after a few hours? While this is more common with older iPads that don't have the processing power of the iPad Air line and iPad Pro tablets, even the newest iPad can bog down. There are multiple reasons why an iPad may begin running slow, including an app having issues or simply a slow internet connection. 

Quit Out of Your Current App

One common reason for an iPad to start chugging along is an issue with the app itself rather than the iPad. If you experience an app that is running slower than normal, it may sound logical to click the home button to close the app and then relaunch it. However, clicking the home button doesn't actually close out of the app. It suspends the app, which basically keeps it frozen in the background.  

If your problem is mainly with a single app, we'll want to quit out of it using the task screen. This will properly shut the app down and purge it from memory, allowing you to launch a 'fresh' version of it. Please note that you can lose unsaved work by quitting out of the app. If it is currently working at a task, it can be best to wait until the app finishes the task before proceeding.

To close the application, you need to bring up a list of all apps that are running in the background:

• Double-press the home button at the bottom of your iPad.
• When you press it twice in quick succession, your most recent apps are shown as cascading windows across the screen. You can navigate through this screen by swiping from left-to-right or right-to-left. The active window will have its corresponding app icon above it.

To close an individual app:

• Hold your finger down on the active window.
• Without lifting your finger from the screen, swipe toward the top of the display. This gesture resembles "flicking" the app off the iPad. Remember: You touch the app window, not the app icon.

Reboot the iPad

Closing apps won't always do the trick. In this case, rebooting the iPad is the best recourse. This will flush everything from memory and give your iPad a clean start.

Note: Many people believe the iPad powers down when the Sleep/Wake button at the top of the iPad is pressed down or when the flap of their Smart Cover or Smart Case is close, but this only puts the iPad in suspend mode.

To reboot the iPad:

1. Hold down the Sleep/Wake button until instructions appear telling you to slide a button to power off the iPad.
2. When you slide the button, the tablet will shut down and the iPad's screen will go completely dark. 
3. Wait several seconds and then boot the iPad back up by holding down the sleep/wake button again. You will first see the Apple logo on the screen and your iPad should boot up shortly.

Once you've rebooted, your iPad should run more quickly but if it starts bogging down again, keep in mind the apps that are running at the time. Sometimes, a single app can cause the iPad to perform poorly.

Check Your Wi-Fi Connection

It might be your Wi-Fi network that's running slow. You can check the Internet speed of your Wi-Fi network by using an app like Ookla's Speedtest. This app will send data to a remote server and then send data back to the iPad, testing both upload and download speeds.

The average Wi-Fi network in the U.S. gets around 12 megabits-per-second (Mbps), although it is not uncommon to see speeds of 25+ Mbps. You probably won't see much of a slowdown with your connection unless it gets around 6 Mbps or less. That's about the amount of bandwidth it takes to stream movies and video.

Make Sure You Are Running the Current Version of iOS

iOS is the operating system running on the iPad. While a major update sometimes will actually slow the iPad down a little, it is always a good idea to run the latest operating system. Not only will this ensure that you have the most recent performance tweaks, it also ensures that you have the latest fixes for any security issues.

You can check the version of iOS you are running by going into your Settings app, tapping General settings and tapping Software Update.

Install an Ad Blocker

If you are primarily seeing a slow down while browsing the web in the Safari browser but your Internet speed isn't slow, it may be more a symptom of which pages you are browsing than the iPad itself.

The more advertisements on a web page, the longer it will take to load. And if any one of those ads stalls out, you may be left waiting for the web page to pop up.

One solution to this is to install an ad blocker. These widgets enhance the Safari browser by disallowing ads to load on the web page. They make both for easier reading and faster loading. Sites like this one make money from ads, so this is a balance you have to wrestle with.

Turn Off Background App Refresh

This one could actually save you some battery life as well as keep your iPad lean and mean. Background App Refresh allows apps to refresh their content even when you aren't using them. In this way, Facebook might reach out and retrieve posts to your wall or a news app may fetch the latest articles.

However, this uses a little bit of your processing speed and your Internet connection, so it could the iPad to run a little slower. This usually isn't the main cause, but if you often find the iPad running slow (and especially if the battery drains quickly), you should turn off Background App Refresh.

To turn off Background App Refresh:

1. Go to your iPad's settings.
2. Select General from the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Tap Background App Refresh.
4. Tap the on/off slider at the top of the screen.

Clear Storage Space

If you are running desperately low on storage space, clearing up a little extra elbow room for the iPad can sometimes improve performance. This can be accomplished by deleting apps that you no longer use, especially games that you don't play anymore.

It's easy to see which apps are using the most space on your iPad:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select General from the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Tap Storage & iCloud usage.
4. Tap Manage Storage (under the upper Storage section). This will show you which apps are using up the most storage.

You can also speed up Safari by deleting your cookies and web history, although this will cause you to log back into any websites that have saved your login information.

Here's the Data Facebook Can Learn From Your Selfies

Today the Wall Street Journal listed all the data Facebook can grab when you upload a photo, based on Facebook’s privacy and data collection policies. The list illustrates what we’ve said before: Facebook doesn’t need to spy on your through your microphone, because you already let it spy on everything else you do.

As the Journal says, Facebook gets your photo, your caption, and which user profiles you tagged. It studies your photos with facial recognition tech to see who’s in them. (That means if you take a photo in public, Facebook might recognize more faces in the shot than you do.) But it also gets a lot more.

By uploading a photo to Facebook, you’re sharing where and when you took the photo, what kind of phone you’re using, what specific phone you’re using (your unique device ID), your mobile provider, nearby Wi-Fi beacons and cell towers (which can determine your current location), and more. You even share your battery level.

You can strip some of this data by editing the photo’s EXIF data or by changing your camera settings, but some data is shared just by opening the Facebook app. (Most social apps can get all the same data—the difference is whether they promise, or choose, not to.)

Facebook can then cross-reference all this data—so Facebook could theoretically record the location of anyone whose face it recognizes, whether or not you tag them. It can also cross-reference this data with everything it already knows about you. And as we’ve seen, this can make Facebook seem positively psychic.

It’s hard to remember that every time you share a small bit of data with Facebook, it learns so much about you. But as news comes out from Mark Zuckerberg’s Senate testimony, expect to hear a lot more about just what you’ve been sharing.

Avoid, Detect & Get Rid of Malware

Malware includes viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software that gets installed on your computer or mobile device without your consent. These programs can cause your device to crash, and can be used to monitor and control your online activity. They also can make your computer vulnerable to viruses and deliver unwanted or inappropriate ads. Criminals use malware to steal personal information, send spam, and commit fraud.

Avoid Malware

Scam artists try to trick people into clicking on links that will download viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software — often by bundling it with popular free downloads. To reduce your risk of downloading malware:

• Install and update security software, and use a firewall. Set your security software, internet browser, and operating system (like Windows or Mac OS X) to update automatically.
• Don’t change your browser’s security settings. You can minimize "drive-by" or bundled downloads if you keep your browser’s default security settings.
• Pay attention to your browser’s security warnings. Many browsers come with built-in security scanners that warn you before you visit an infected webpage or download a malicious file.
• Instead of clicking on a link in an email, type the URL of a trusted site directly into your browser. Criminals send emails that appear to be from companies you know and trust. The links may look legitimate, but clicking on them could download malware or send you to a scam site.
• Don’t open attachments in emails unless you know who sent it and what it is. Opening the wrong attachment — even if it seems to be from friends or family — can install malware on your computer.
• Get well-known software directly from the source. Sites that offer lots of different browsers, PDF readers, and other popular software for free are more likely to include malware.
• Read each screen when installing new software. If you don’t recognize a program, or are prompted to install additional “bundled” software, decline the additional program or exit the installation process.
• Don’t click on popups or banner ads about your computer’s performance. Scammers insert unwanted software into banner ads that look legitimate, especially ads about your computer’s health. Avoid clicking on these ads if you don’t know the source.
• Scan USBs and other external devices before using them. These devices can be infected with malware, especially if you use them in high traffic places, like photo printing stations or public computers.
• Talk about safe computing. Tell your friends and family that some online actions can put the computer at risk: clicking on pop-ups, downloading "free" games or programs, opening chain emails, or posting personal information.
• Back up your data regularly. Whether it's your taxes, photos, or other documents that are important to you, back up any data that you'd want to keep in case your computer crashes.

Detect Malware

Monitor your computer for unusual behavior. Your computer may be infected with malware if it:

• slows down, crashes, or displays repeated error messages
• won't shut down or restart
• serves a barrage of pop-ups
• serves inappropriate ads or ads that interfere with page content
• won’t let you remove unwanted software
• injects ads in places you typically wouldn’t see them, such as government websites
• displays web pages you didn't intend to visit, or sends emails you didn't write

Other warning signs of malware include:

• new and unexpected toolbars or icons in your browser or on your desktop
• unexpected changes in your browser, like using a new default search engine or displaying new tabs you didn’t open
• a sudden or repeated change in your computer's internet home page
• a laptop battery that drains more quickly than it should

Get Rid of Malware

If you suspect there is malware on your computer, take these steps:

• Stop shopping, banking, and doing other online activities that involve user names, passwords, or other sensitive information.
• Update your security software, and then scan your computer for viruses and spyware. Delete anything it identifies as a problem. You may have to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
• Check your browser to see if it has tools to delete malware or reset the browser to its original settings.
• If your computer is covered by a warranty that offers free tech support, contact the manufacturer. Before you call, write down the model and serial number of your computer, the name of any software you've installed, and a short description of the problem.
• Many companies — including some affiliated with retail stores — offer tech support.Telephone and online help usually are less expensive, but online search results might not be the best way to find help. Tech support scammers pay to boost their ranking in search results so their websites and phone numbers appear above those of legitimate companies. If you want tech support, look for a company’s contact information on their software package or on your receipt.

Best Buy Customers May Want to Check Their Accounts

If you’re a Best Buy customer, you’re going to want to check your credit cards. Just a day after Sears, Kmart, and Delta admitted that they were affected by the breach of the data firm [24]7.ai, Best Buy has come forth with a statement of its own, effectively raising its hand to say that it has been impacted as well.

“Best Buy offers chat services for customers coming to us via their phone or computer,” the company noted in a blog on its corporate website. “We, like many businesses, use a third-party for the technology behind this service and that company, [24]7.ai, told us recently that they were the victim of a cyber intrusion.”

This hack (in fact, a piece of malware) happened between September 27 and October 12 of 2017, and as a result, it would appear that payment information “may have been compromised.” And if [24]7.ai compromised customer payment information, that means that Best Buy customers were likely affected.

Best Buy notes that since the data firm gave notice of the potential risk, the company has been hard at work attempting to solidify “the extent to which Best Buy online customers’ information was affected.” And thus far, the electronics giant seems to be quite optimistic. In fact, it says, “As best we can tell, only a small fraction of our overall online customer population could have been caught up in this [24]7.ai incident, whether or not they used the chat function.”

This is much better than Sears, Kmart, and Delta, who collectively believe that thousands of their own customers were likely victims of this attack. All the same, even if it is only a “small fraction” of Best Buy’s customer base, for folks who are impacted, it’s still far too many. To that end, the company noted, “We are fully aware that our customers expect their information to be safeguarded and apologize to the extent that did not happen in this case.”