You have seen the ads on TV and many internet users are turning to DuckDuckGo for their preferred search engine and email.
Search Engines are Tracking You
Trackers can track your search history, location history, browsing history and other information to infer your age, ethnicity and gender.
Companies can use our data to build detailed profiles of us, including information about our families and friends. Companies can follow us with creepy ads that make it seem like our phones are listening to our conversations, even though they're not.
These profiles can be used to influence what you see online and can result in manipulation and discrimination based upon what they know about your.
DuckDuckGo is known for its commitment to privacy and has earned a great reputation. The tiny search engine revealed last year that it was testing a free service to avoid email trackers in an effort to protect its users' privacy.
Email Protection works by removing email trackers from emails.
DuckDuckGo's Email Protection service was initially only available to those who were on a waiting list. Sign up was required. You could sign up if a spot opens for you. The company reported that trackers were found in 85 percent of the incoming messages during its waitlist testing period.
DuckDuckGo's Email Protection service has been moved to Open Beta. This means that anyone can now get an @duck.com address. The company allows you to create as many private email addresses you want and they can be accessed from any device, whether it is an Android, iOS, or desktop computer.
The service promises to remove unwanted email trackers and will provide a report that details exactly which trackers were found in your messages. The service includes a Link Tracking feature to prevent tracking across emails links.
Smart Encryption is also available. This allows you to upgrade unencrypted HTTPS links in email messages to secure HTTPS versions whenever possible. In lieu of your usual address, you can reply to messages using an @duck.com address.
You will need to download the DuckDuckGo Privacy browser for iOS and Android in order to make use of this service. To test it, you can simply navigate to the Email Protection section in the Settings menu.
You will need the DuckDuckGo Privacy essentials extensions for your browser if you plan to use it on your desktop computer. You can use it with Chrome, Edge, Brave or Firefox. After you have the extension installed, go to the email section on the company's site.
Microsoft Teams Vulnerability Found
Part of the Microsoft product line is Microsoft Teams which is used by over 270 million people to do videoconferencing, exchange text messages and file storage.
Vectra Protect, a cloud based cybersecurity company, discovered an exploitable vulnerability in Microsoft Teams' plaintext storage drive while researching for a client. This vulnerability allows malicious actors to gain valid user credentials, whether they have remote or local access. Vectra discovered that all GCC Desktop Teams clients on Windows, Mac, and Linux were affected by the unencrypted credential administration weakness.
Vectra posted a blog entry on September 13, 2022 informing the public about the vulnerability. It also gave an example of how hackers might exploit it.
Vectra explained how malicious actors could pretend to be the user using Teams-related apps like Skype and Outlook, bypassing multifactor authentication. Hackers could also access team-related apps and impersonate top executives within the company.
Connor Peoples, a Vectra security architect, wrote that "Attackers could tamper avec legitimate communications within an organization by selectively destroying or exfiltrating, and engaging in targeted phishing attack."
Because it doesn't have any "extra security safeguards to guard cookie data," the desktop application is particularly vulnerable to attacks.
Microsoft recognizes Vectra's concern, but states that the technique described is not suitable for immediate service, as an attacker must first gain access into a target network.
Integrated Technology Systems recommends that users use the browser-based Microsoft Teams version because of the uncertainty surrounding a solution. The browser's additional security features help users avoid potential security flaws that could easily be exploited.
Integrated Technology Systems
6 East 45th Street, Suite 400
New York, NY 10017
212-750-5420
https://www.itsnyc.com
