Privacy & Surveillance
Cybersecurity news in this category
TV Manufacturers Admit They Cannot Fully Disable User Data Collection
Personal Data in Russian Franchise Networks: Who Qualifies as Data Operator Under 152-FZ
Dynamic Sites on Yandex Cloud Storage Enable Communication Under White-List Restrictions
Rawline Aggregates VK, MAX, DNS and Other Tunnels into One Multi-Platform VPN Client
Rawline is a new multi-platform client that combines various VPN protocols and non-standard transports into a single application for Android, Windows, Linux and macOS. The project is built on Throne using sing-box and Xray network cores and supports both conventional protocols and unusual transports such as VK and MAX calls, WebRTC, DNS and S3. Users can import profiles via links or QR codes, test latency, chain connections and apply per-app or per-domain routing rules. The developer paid special attention to security issues, removing unnecessary local proxy endpoints, protecting internal connections with random passwords and adding traffic ownership verification that is enabled by default on Android 10 and newer. Additional fixes were implemented after discovering that some transport bridges could be hijacked by external applications sending the first UDP packet. Source code and builds are available on GitHub.
Russia Freezes Entire Hosting Networks to Block VPN Traffic, Investigation Finds
An independent test of 435 endpoints across 154 hosting providers revealed that Russian internet providers are throttling connections to entire autonomous systems rather than individual IP addresses. Networks belonging to Hetzner, OVH, DigitalOcean, M247 and HostPapa are frozen after roughly 25 TCP packets, causing downloads to stall at around 16 KB while UDP-based WireGuard tunnels remain unaffected. The blocking is applied uniformly by multiple Russian operators including Beeline, MTS and home broadband providers, indicating a centrally distributed rule from Roskomnadzor via the TSPU filtering system. Smaller providers that rent IP space from the affected autonomous systems are also impacted, regardless of their own brand or location. Cloudflare-hosted resources currently pass the test, but the list of blocked networks has remained stable since mid-2025. The researcher published an open-source script that allows anyone to reproduce the measurements in under a minute.
macOS Builds Undocumented Personal Knowledge Graph Since Version 13, Inferring Family Ties via On-Device ML
Since macOS 13 in 2022, two daemons named knowledgeconstructiond and intelligenceplatformd have been constructing a comprehensive personal knowledge graph on every Mac. The system aggregates data from Contacts, Calendar, Photos, Messages, Mail, Family Sharing, Health emergency contacts, Screen Time, and behavioral signals to map users, their relationships, locations, and activities. Results are stored in ~/Library/IntelligencePlatform as SQLite databases, including graph.db containing 181 entity classes and 278 predicates. Two CoreML models, EntityTagging_Family.mlmodelc and EntityTagging_FamilyAndFriends.mlmodelc, use 144 behavioral and photographic features to classify family and friend relationships with daily updates in entityTagging.db. An embedded LLM and embedding models further label unnamed faces and infer relationships from message text when Apple Intelligence is enabled. The graph remains queryable locally and is designed to feed personalized AI features while operating entirely on-device under Full Disk Access protections.
Breaking the Ice: Claude AI Maps TSPU Deep Packet Inspection and Censorship Bypass Methods in Russia
An analysis conducted by Claude AI examines the current state of Russia's TSPU censorship infrastructure as of November 2026, based on real-world testing from the Rostelecom network. The report details how DPI equipment blocks traffic by IP addresses, SNI inspection, protocol signatures, and active probing, with specific freezes occurring after approximately 16 KB on many foreign hosting providers. Multiple circumvention techniques are evaluated, including VLESS combined with Reality and XTLS Vision, cascaded connections through Russian entry nodes, and local tools such as zapret and GoodbyeDPI. The study highlights that large providers including Hetzner, OVH, Vultr, Scaleway, and AWS are heavily restricted, while alternatives like Leaseweb and certain academic networks remain functional. Recommendations emphasize using self-hosted domains with valid certificates, Reality-based masking, and regular IP testing to maintain connectivity. The article stresses that all information is presented strictly for research purposes.
Apple to Scan iCloud Photos and Files Shared via Public Links Starting with iOS 27.3
Apple announced that it will begin scanning content stored in iCloud when users share files or photos through public links. The feature activates with the release of iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3, and visionOS 27.3. Any file made accessible to anyone with the link will now be checked by Apple for malicious materials. This change effectively means that sharing via public links grants Apple visibility into the shared content for security purposes. The move aims to detect harmful files before they reach other users through shared links.
WhatsApp for Android Tests Long-Press Chat Preview to Avoid Read Receipts
WhatsApp is developing a feature for Android users that lets them preview and scroll through messages in a floating card without triggering blue read receipts. The capability was discovered by Android Authority researchers in beta version 2.26.44.12, where holding a chat opens a preview window containing the latest messages. Scrolling and reading inside this card does not send read notifications to the other party. The same long-press action also reveals an updated action menu with options to pin, archive, mute, mark unread, or delete the chat. On iOS, a similar preview exists but does not allow scrolling through messages. The feature remains in active development and is not yet available even to regular beta testers.
AI as a Control System: How States, Intelligence Agencies and Scammers Manipulate Consciousness Through Data and Personalization
Specialized AI models now reach exceptional accuracy in narrow domains and are deployed across marketing, banking, law enforcement, modeling and research. These systems do more than recommend products; they can predict a userโs intention to switch providers weeks in advance, build detailed psychological profiles, and select the optimal key to influence behavior through preferred services and content. Corporations collect telemetry including clicks, input-device movements, retinal reactions, spoken words and typing patterns, creating unique behavioral signatures comparable to fingerprints. By combining data from insurance records, credit bureaus, medical files, diaries, maps and gaming platforms, companies construct individual portraits that allow them to infer sensitive attributes even when direct records are missing. The article explains how aggregated data improves model generalization while individualized data enables ever more precise targeting, turning information itself into a product that can implant fears, desires and even compel people to defend foreign interests at personal cost. It warns that repeated exposure to surveillance warnings leads to desensitization, making it essential to re-examine the power these datasets confer.
Personal AI Assistants Build Detailed Profiles on Friends and Family Raising Privacy Concerns
New generation AI agents such as Muse from Meta and Dots from OpenAI are gaining extensive access to user data including emails, messengers, and financial accounts. These agents operate with broad permissions to perform actions on behalf of users while automatically collecting personal information. Security researchers discovered that Muse creates detailed profiles on every person in a user's life including family members, partners, friends, and colleagues. The profiles include sections on facts, history, relationships, and strategies for strengthening connections using real evidence only. Data collection occurs through hourly background processes and nightly dream-like analysis that stores information in Markdown files and PostgreSQL databases. The architecture includes isolated VMs designed by Moxie Marlinspike to prevent swarm formation among agents but does not address third-party data exposure. This development expands existing social graphs maintained by major technology companies through previous generations of web services.
VPN vs Proxy: Technical Comparison of Data Protection Technologies
VPN and proxy servers are frequently viewed as interchangeable tools for routing internet traffic and masking IP addresses, yet their core mechanisms diverge sharply after the initial redirection step. VPN technology establishes an encrypted tunnel between the device and a remote server, protecting data from local network observers, while proxies primarily forward connections without inherent encryption. The article examines differences in encryption, traffic scope, anonymity limitations, performance impacts, and appropriate use cases for each technology. It also highlights risks associated with free services, including the 911 S5 criminal proxy network that compromised millions of devices. Detailed breakdowns cover HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 proxies, split tunneling in VPNs, DNS leakage risks, and configuration best practices for Windows 11, macOS, Firefox, and Chrome. The comparison concludes that selection depends on specific tasks rather than one technology being universally superior.
Maximizing iPhone Privacy: Essential Settings to Enable, Disable, and Verify Immediately
The article provides a detailed guide on strengthening iPhone privacy by limiting unauthorized access to messages, location data, photos, and cloud backups. It explains how to set a strong alphanumeric passcode, enable Stolen Device Protection, and restrict lock screen notifications and widgets. Users are advised to review Apple ID security, enable Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, and minimize app permissions for location, contacts, and camera. Additional steps include turning off cross-app tracking, using private Wi-Fi addresses, and activating Lockdown Mode for high-risk scenarios. The guide emphasizes regular updates, encrypted local backups, and periodic audits of shared access and active sessions to maintain long-term protection.
Top 10 Secure DNS Servers for Privacy, Threat Blocking and Ad Filtering in 2026
Public DNS resolvers differ significantly in their ability to block malicious domains, filter advertising and tracking, respect user privacy, and support modern encryption protocols. The guide evaluates ten services including Quad9, Cloudflare, AdGuard DNS, NextDNS, Control D, CleanBrowsing, Mullvad DNS, DNS4EU, Google Public DNS and DNS.SB, providing IPv4 addresses, DoH and DoT endpoints, and recommended use cases. Key distinctions include Quad9โs focus on phishing and malware blocking without logging, Mullvadโs strict no-logs policy requiring encrypted protocols only, and DNS4EUโs EU-based infrastructure with mandatory court-ordered blocks. The article explains why DNSSEC and encryption alone are insufficient and outlines four practical selection criteria: threat filtering quality, data-handling practices, encryption support, and network stability. Detailed configuration instructions cover Windows 11, Android, iOS, and home routers, along with verification methods and warnings against mixing providers with conflicting policies.
WebRTC IP Leaks Explained: Why Disabling the Protocol Harms Anonymity in Anti-Detect Browsers
The article from Aurorium details how WebRTC technology can leak real IP addresses even when users route traffic through proxies. It explains the peer-to-peer mechanics of WebRTC, the role of STUN servers in generating ICE candidates, and why standard TCP proxies fail to handle UDP traffic. Disabling WebRTC via flags or JavaScript extensions creates detectable anomalies that anti-fraud systems flag as non-standard environments. The recommended approach involves native emulation inside the browser kernel so that STUN requests return proxy IPs while preserving full API integrity across workers. Additional leaks through local network addresses, mDNS candidates, and IPv6 are also covered with practical verification methods using tools like BrowserLeaks and CreepJS.
Docx Anonymizer: Open-Source Chrome Extension Uses Fine-Tuned rubert-tiny2 to Anonymize Personal Data Before AI Uploads
A Russian developer has released Docx Anonymizer, a browser extension that automatically detects and replaces personal data in documents using a lightweight NER model before they reach public AI services such as ChatGPT. The tool was created to help organizations comply with Russiaโs 152-FZ personal data protection law while avoiding the risks of uploading contracts and other sensitive files to cloud-based LLMs. It runs entirely locally via ONNX Runtime and WebAssembly, requires no network calls, and supports any AI chat interface. The underlying model, rubert-tiny2, was further trained through knowledge distillation on WikiANN, factRuEval, and synthetic business documents, reaching strong F1 scores for person and organization entities after int8 quantization. The extension intercepts text on the fly, performs named-entity recognition in under two seconds for typical contracts, and replaces detected entities with placeholders. The project is fully open source and designed for minimal user friction, addressing the growing problem of employees inadvertently leaking corporate and personal data to public AI platforms.
Hybrid Post-Quantum Message Sealing: X25519 + ML-KEM-1024 in Umbera Messenger with Public Rust Tests
Umbera messenger has open-sourced its cryptographic core and published seven Rust tests that anyone can run to verify its hybrid post-quantum message sealing scheme. The design combines X25519 with ML-KEM-1024 so that an attacker must break both algorithms to decrypt a message. Messages are protected by Double Ratchet for forward secrecy, sealed sender packaging, and per-message ephemeral keys derived via HKDF-SHA256 into AES-256-GCM. The relay server stores only an opaque box identifier and encrypted blob with no sender or recipient fields visible. Media calls use DTLS-SRTP end-to-end while TURN servers see only encrypted datagrams. Addresses for message boxes rotate weekly and are derived solely from the shared secret between the two parties.
Free Ad Blocker for iPhone, Android, and Desktop Uses DNS Parsing Without Libraries and Skips YouTube Influencer Ads From the First Second
A new free ad-blocking solution has been released for iPhone, Android, and desktop platforms. The tool relies on a lightweight DNS parser that operates without external libraries. It includes a dedicated mode for users who already run VPN connections. An accompanying browser extension automatically skips sponsored segments in YouTube videos, even when the advertisement begins at the zero-second mark. The developer describes the technical challenges encountered after launch and the fixes applied to maintain compatibility across operating systems. The project emphasizes user privacy by avoiding unnecessary data collection and third-party dependencies.
Why Replace Proprietary BIOS and UEFI with the Fully Free GNU Boot Firmware
The Free Software Foundation announced in September 2026 that it is providing financial and legal support to the GNU Boot project, which aims to deliver a completely open-source replacement for traditional BIOS and UEFI firmware. GNU Boot builds on coreboot to initialize hardware at boot time and layers a free bootloader such as GRUB or SeaBIOS on top, ensuring no proprietary binary blobs are required. The initiative emerged after a 2022 split from Libreboot, which began accepting closed-source components to broaden hardware support, while GNU Boot strictly adheres to GNU licensing criteria that prohibit any non-free code. Supported platforms remain limited to older systems from roughly 2008โ2012, including specific ThinkPad models, certain early Apple MacBooks, and a handful of AMD and Intel desktop boards, because newer Intel Boot Guard and AMD equivalent mechanisms enforce signed firmware that prevents unsigned replacements. Closed firmware from Intel Management Engine and AMD Platform Security Processor runs before the main operating system, possesses unrestricted memory access, and cannot be audited or disabled on most modern hardware. By offering reproducible builds and clearer installation instructions, GNU Boot seeks to lower the barrier for users who want to eliminate potential backdoors, Wi-Fi whitelist restrictions, and forced updates found in vendor firmware.
WhatsApp Help Pages Hid Secret Instructions Directing AI Bot to Avoid GDPR References
Researchers at Redact discovered hidden instructions embedded in WhatsApp's public help documentation that instructed the company's AI support chatbot to avoid recommending users contact data protection regulators. The instructions also prohibited the bot from referencing GDPR, LGPD, or CCPA when users mentioned legal proceedings or lawyers. The findings emerged after Redact analyzed 545 help pages and identified 102 concealed blocks across 80 of them. One directive explicitly told the bot not to suggest contacting supervisory authorities even when users had lost access to their phone number and could not delete their account, despite WhatsApp's own European privacy policy stating that such complaints are permitted. WhatsApp confirmed to WIRED that the blocks were intended solely for its internal chatbot and attributed their public exposure to an error. The company stated the restrictions aimed to prevent the bot from offering legal advice. All hidden blocks were removed by October 18.
WhatsApp Secretly Instructed AI Support Bot to Suppress References to Data Regulators and Privacy Laws
Investigators discovered hidden instructions embedded in WhatsApp's public help pages that directed the company's AI chatbot to avoid recommending users contact data protection authorities. The instructions also prohibited the AI from citing privacy regulations such as GDPR, LGPD, or CCPA, even when users raised these topics themselves. The directives appeared on pages about account deletion and complaints, remaining invisible to human visitors but delivered to crawlers and the AI model. WhatsApp later confirmed the text was intended for its internal support chatbot and attributed the exposure to an error that has since been corrected. The findings highlight a gap between the company's publicly stated privacy policy and the operational guidance given to its AI systems.
Developer Builds Password Manager with Plausible Deniability Using Argon2id and XChaCha20-Poly1305
A Java backend developer rewrote a personal password manager originally built with Electron and React, migrating it to Tauri and Rust while redesigning its storage to support plausible deniability. The new implementation derives keys with Argon2id using a single per-install salt and encrypts files with XChaCha20-Poly1305, storing only random 32-character hex filenames without any headers or magic bytes. Multiple decoy vaults of identical size are created automatically for every user, and all files in the folder receive synchronized timestamps to eliminate metadata-based identification of the active vault. History and sync data are stored as additional encrypted files of the same format, making it impossible to distinguish real from decoy vaults from the filesystem alone. The approach mirrors VeraCrypt hidden volumes but operates on ordinary files and folders, with the explicit goal of providing deniability when a user is compelled to reveal a password.
LxBox Evolves from VPN Client to Comprehensive Network Traffic Management Ecosystem
LxBox has grown from a personal Android client for sing-box into a full ecosystem spanning mobile, desktop, and router platforms. The project now supports a wide range of VPN and proxy protocols within a single routing framework, allowing users to manage corporate SSL VPNs, home WireGuard connections, and proxy servers together. Key security features include default ingress blocking to prevent unauthorized reverse connections through VPN tunnels and protections against traffic leaks via excluded applications. The developer introduced progressive configuration levels, from one-click WARP setup to advanced JSON editing and AI-friendly documentation. The core sing-box-lx fork ranks among the top sing-box derivatives and powers third-party tools such as the upcoming NekoBox 6. LxBox is available on Google Play, F-Droid, and GitHub, with desktop launcher support for Windows 7 and later, macOS, and Linux.
Understanding Russia's TSPU: How DPI Filtering, DNS Manipulation and Traffic Throttling Work
Russia's TSPU system combines hardware filters from RDP.ru with EcoFilter and EcoDPI software to perform both simple IP/port/transport blocking and advanced protocol recognition. The platform inspects DNS queries, SNI fields in TLS handshakes, QUIC packets and HTTP headers to enforce domain blacklists or apply throttling. When simple blocking fails, operators fall back to traffic shaping that drops packets or limits bandwidth after an initial window. Multiple bypass techniques including encrypted DNS tunnels, ECH, and specialized proxies such as Hysteria 2, NaiveProxy and Shadowsocks are examined in detail. The article also outlines future developments including expanded residential whitelists and neural-network-based traffic classification.
ONYX 2.0 Removes Central Servers for Fully Decentralized Tor-Based Messaging and Calls
ONYX 2.0-beta marks a major shift from its previously centralized design to a serverless architecture that relies entirely on Tor for all communications. Each user account is now represented solely by a cryptographic key pair generated on first launch, with recovery handled through a 12-word seed phrase. Devices connect directly via onion services, and the application bundles its own Tor daemon on desktop platforms while using tor-android on mobile devices. Voice calls are supported through an embedded local TURN server, delivering acceptable quality with 1-3 second latency despite the anonymity overhead. Message delivery now depends on recipient availability, with undelivered messages stored locally on the sender and retried automatically. The update deliberately removes features such as HTTP or SOCKS5 proxies and link previews to prevent IP leaks or external traffic. Developers released the beta to gather feedback on stability across network changes and multi-device scenarios.
Privacy-Focused Browser Tool Compresses PDFs Locally Without Uploading Sensitive Documents
A developer created a PDF compression tool that runs entirely inside the browser to protect sensitive personal and professional documents from third-party servers. The solution addresses repeated situations where embassy submissions, financial presentations, contracts, and internal reports exceeded size limits, forcing users to choose between installing desktop software or risking data exposure through online services. The tool reduces scanned and photographic PDFs by 66 to 97 percent depending on quality settings while honestly reporting weaker performance on text-heavy files compared with Ghostscript. It works on both desktop and mobile platforms, including iPhone and Android, requires no installation, and continues functioning offline after the first page load. On mobile devices the application respects memory constraints by limiting images to four megapixels, preserving readability for A4 documents intended for printing. The project originated from a single evening script built around Ghostscript and evolved into a full web application after similar compression needs recurred across multiple devices and locations.
Building Prizrak: How a Developer Created a Federated Messenger That Masks All Traffic as Legitimate HTTPS
A developer created Prizrak, a federated messenger with end-to-end encryption where all traffic, including calls, is indistinguishable from ordinary HTTPS connections. The project addresses three common limitations of existing messengers: centralized control points, mandatory phone numbers, and detectable encrypted traffic. It uses real TLS 1.3 handshakes to actual domains, multi-port listening, and a hidden token mechanism inside the encrypted channel. When servers cannot reach each other directly, messages are delivered through a network of storage nodes modeled after Ceph's RADOS system. Voice and video calls run on a native media stack with custom STUN-like functionality and careful UDP buffer sizing to avoid packet truncation. An integrated two-hop VPN reuses the same stealth transport while keeping messenger traffic outside the tunnel.
GrapheneOS Setup Guide: Configuring Pixel Phones for Corporate Surveillance-Free Daily Use
This comprehensive engineering guide explains how to deploy GrapheneOS on supported Google Pixel devices to eliminate corporate telemetry collection. It follows three core principles: rejecting proprietary ecosystems, applying Zero Trust through cryptography and open-source audits, and enforcing strict compartmentalization via isolated user profiles. The tutorial covers official installation via the Web Installer, basic owner profile hardening with PIN shuffling and automatic reboot, and the use of Obtainium for direct FOSS app management from GitHub repositories. Detailed recommendations include privacy-focused tools such as KeePassDX, Aegis Authenticator, AmneziaVPN, Signal, and Fossify applications, along with VPN kill-switch configuration. Regional profiles are created for sandboxed Google Play, Aurora Store, RuStore, and Huawei AppGallery to safely run banking, marketplace, and social apps without cross-profile tracking.
Following the White Rabbit: Developer Builds Custom Rust VPN PAYPHONE Using QUIC and Obfuscation to Evade Detection
A Russian developer has released PAYPHONE, an experimental IPv4 VPN written entirely in Rust that uses QUIC datagrams and optional TLS-over-TCP transport with custom obfuscation. The project aims to provide an alternative to AmneziaWG and Xray/VLESS+REALITY stacks that are commonly used to bypass Russian internet filtering. The article details the full packet path from TUN interface through a 16-byte PAYPHONE header, session management with Ed25519 tokens, and multiple post-launch bugs including MTU miscalculations, self-routing loops on macOS, and timer lifetime issues in Tokio. Key technical choices include RFC 9221 datagram support to avoid head-of-line blocking for multiplexed TCP flows and token-bucket rate limiting tied to subscription tokens. The author also describes route monitoring every 400 ms and interface-bound sockets to prevent the tunnel from swallowing its own control traffic.
WhatsApp Introduces Parental Controls for Teen Privacy Settings
WhatsApp, owned by Meta (recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia), has rolled out new parental control tools for family accounts. Parents can manage privacy settings, group participation, channel access, status visibility, and Meta AI usage for teens, but cannot read personal messages due to end-to-end encryption. All controls are voluntary and require joint setup with the teenager, protected by a single PIN code that prevents easy reversal of restrictions. Notifications alert parents when teens join or leave groups or when group sizes change significantly. Separate options cover channel usage, viewable statuses, and audience controls for teen posts. Meta AI access can be set to a standard 13+ mode or a stricter Limited Content mode with undisclosed restrictions. The company plans to expand these features gradually based on family feedback while maintaining encryption protections.
Can Wi-Fi Owners See Your Google Search History? HTTPS, DNS, SNI and ECH Explained
A viral social media video sparked widespread concern that Wi-Fi owners could view users' search history and visited sites simply by knowing the router password. Security experts from Cybernews and Surfshark clarified that modern HTTPS encryption prevents reading of actual search queries or page content. However, metadata such as DNS requests, SNI fields in TLS handshakes, and device MAC addresses remain visible to the network administrator. The introduction of Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) under RFC 9849 aims to hide domain names, yet Russian authorities have blocked many ECH-enabled connections since November 2024. Corporate or school-managed devices with installed root certificates represent the main real-world exception where full traffic inspection is possible. VPNs hide destinations from the local router but transfer visibility to the VPN provider. The article emphasizes that password-protected Wi-Fi grants access only to connection metadata, not browser history.
Yandex Deploys OPRF Protocol to Protect Phone Numbers in Mandatory Audience Measurement Data Sharing
Yandex has detailed a cryptographic scheme using Oblivious Pseudorandom Function (OPRF) to help Russian audiovisual services comply with new legislation requiring transmission of user identifiers linked to phone numbers. The approach replaces a naive shared-secret hashing method that created a single point of compromise across dozens of competing companies. Instead, two independent third parties each hold separate secret keys and process blinded elliptic-curve points derived from normalized E.164 phone numbers. Services obtain deterministic identifiers without learning the third-party keys and without exposing raw numbers to the authorized research organization. The design distributes trust, limits offline brute-force attacks to scenarios requiring both keys plus final identifiers, and adds rate limits plus key-rotation capabilities to deter abuse. Yandex positions the solution as a practical compromise between regulatory demands, competitive secrecy, and user privacy.
CookieTin Extension Manages Partitioned Cookies Across Firefox, Chrome and Edge
Developer Perruer2 has released CookieTin, an open-source browser extension that fully supports partitioned cookies under Firefox Total Cookie Protection and Chrome CHIPS. The tool addresses limitations in older managers like Cookie Quick Manager by correctly retrieving and deleting cookies stored with partitionKey values. It works across Firefox, Chrome and Edge using a single Manifest V3 codebase written in TypeScript and Preact. Key features include accurate cookies.txt export compatible with curl and yt-dlp, protected cookies that survive explicit deletion, and pre-save validation of browser rules for __Host- prefixes and SameSite attributes. E2E tests using Puppeteer verify handling of HttpOnly, partitioned and container cookies in all three browsers.
Kaspersky Premium for macOS Gains App Uninstall Feature to Remove Residual Files
Kaspersky Premium now includes an App Uninstall tool for macOS that locates and deletes leftover files such as caches, cookies, settings, and logs after applications are removed. The feature also identifies duplicate copies of programs and lets users remove all instances or select specific ones while preserving shared components used by other software. Survey data from Kaspersky shows that only 44 percent of macOS users delete unused applications, even though 56 percent regularly clear browser data and 54 percent remove unwanted media files. Residual files can contain sensitive information including account tokens, passwords, IP addresses, event logs, and personal documents, creating privacy risks especially when a device is sold or accessed by unauthorized parties. Deleted files can be restored from the trash or directly within Kaspersky Premium before the application session ends. The company also warns that malicious programs are frequently disguised as legitimate macOS cleaning utilities.
Bypassing VPN Detection on iPhone: Detailed Methods to Avoid App Blocks
Many iPhone users encounter apps that detect and block active VPN connections even after switching servers or protocols. The detection often occurs locally on the device by inspecting network interfaces rather than relying solely on external IP addresses. This guide explains how apps identify VPN tunnels through iOS network data and provides practical workarounds including moving the VPN to a router, configuring per-app exclusions, and using web versions of services. It also covers why protocol obfuscation and port changes fail to hide local VPN activity from applications. Additional troubleshooting addresses automatic VPN profiles, ad blockers, and iCloud Private Relay interference. The article emphasizes that no universal toggle exists in iOS to hide an active VPN from all apps.
New Obfuscation Method Dissolves Personal Data Records in Layer of Plausible Variants
A Russian information security researcher has proposed a data protection technique that renders stolen personal records unusable even after full compromise. The approach mixes real data such as phone numbers, emails, passports, addresses, INN and SNILS with vast numbers of semantically valid alternatives. Attackers receive nearly complete information including a 361-character message containing PIN codes and word order, yet lack the secret vector space and reconstruction algorithm required to identify the correct record. Without these components, brute-force attempts produce millions of plausible results with no architectural method to verify accuracy. The method is presented as an alternative to traditional encryption when data must remain accessible yet protected against extraction. A public sandbox is available for testing the approach.
Hydrat Project Builds Automated WireGuard Gateway for Resilient VLESS and Tor Routing
A developer has released Hydrat, a self-hosted gateway that connects devices via WireGuard while automatically managing VLESS and Tor backends to survive server blocks and quality degradation. The system maintains a pool of tested proxies, performs continuous health checks, and switches routes without requiring client-side profile changes. Two Go processes handle control logic and network enforcement separately, using SQLite for state and nftables plus Xray for traffic routing. TCP and UDP can be assigned independent exits, with geoip.dat support and custom rules to keep marketplace apps functional. The project emphasizes stability over direct connections and is designed for deployment on servers in Russian jurisdiction.
OpenAI Contractors Manually Review Real User Chats in Project Lily
OpenAI has engaged hundreds of external contractors to analyze actual user conversations with ChatGPT as part of its model improvement efforts. The reviewers, working under project Lily, examine real queries that may contain personal, medical, or other sensitive information despite the use of a Privacy Filter. Contractors summarize prompts, compare four model responses, and assign ratings from one to seven while flagging behaviors such as excessive sycophancy or inappropriate emojis. User identities are hidden and some data is filtered, yet OpenAI acknowledged that not all personal information is reliably removed. The same human review process is also employed by Anthropic for its Claude model. Users can opt out of future training use through account settings, although prior data remains unaffected.
UDP Proxies and QUIC Protocol: How Real IP Addresses Leak Through Anti-Detect Browsers
Anti-detect browser users relying on UDP-capable proxies face a hidden risk of real IP leakage when the browser fails to properly route UDP traffic. The QUIC protocol, which powers HTTP/3, runs over UDP and enables features like 0-RTT handshakes, independent streams, and connection migration that can bypass proxy routes. WebRTC connections using ICE, STUN, and TURN further increase exposure because they often attempt direct UDP paths outside the configured SOCKS5 proxy. Without deep network stack control such as TUN interfaces or socket interception, browsers may send WebRTC and QUIC packets through the host's real network interface. Aurorium Browser claims to solve this by natively supporting UDP proxying so that both QUIC and WebRTC traffic stays inside the tunnel. The article stresses that simply disabling WebRTC or forcing HTTP/2 fallback is insufficient and can itself create detectable anomalies for anti-fraud systems.
Google to Offer Granular Controls for Advanced Protection Mode in Android 16
Google is preparing more flexible settings for its Advanced Protection security mode that first appeared in Android 16. The changes were discovered by Android Authority researchers while examining Google Play Services version 26.36.30. A new Expert features section will let users enable individual protections such as USB Protection, intrusion detection logging, and restrictions on unsafe Wi-Fi networks without activating the entire strict mode. USB Protection blocks new USB connections while the screen is locked to prevent physical attacks, though it can interfere with fast charging on Pixel 6 and newer devices. Users will also be able to opt out of automatic connections to open or risky Wi-Fi networks if they regularly use public hotspots. Intrusion Logging remains optional and stores encrypted security logs in the cloud. The update aims to preserve core security benefits while removing the all-or-nothing requirement of the current Advanced Protection implementation.
rkn-block-checker 0.6.0 Adds Local Web UI and Reduces False Positives on Anti-Bot Responses
The open-source tool rkn-block-checker received a major update in version 0.6.0 that improves accuracy when detecting Russian ISP censorship blocks. The previous version incorrectly flagged sites protected by anti-bot systems as blocked by Roskomnadzor because it searched for common stub-page strings without checking HTTP status codes. A new logic layer now separates rate-limit responses such as HTTP 429 from genuine provider stub pages that typically return 200 OK or 451. The release also introduces a fully local Web UI built with Pythonโs standard-library HTTP server and vanilla JavaScript, eliminating the need for heavy frameworks. Results stream in real time via NDJSON so users can watch checks complete without polling or WebSocket connections. The project remains available on PyPI and GitHub under the MIT license.
Digital Surveillance in Your Pocket: Audit Uncovers Tracking and Weak Cryptography in 11 Top Russian Android Apps
An independent security researcher conducted a static analysis and passive logcat review of 11 popular Russian Android applications from banks, government services, marketplaces, and navigation tools. The audit identified 237 vulnerabilities in total, including six apps signed with outdated RSA-1024 or DSA-1024 keys that violate current NIST standards. VK led the risk ranking with 11 trackers and a 98/100 surveillance score, while Gosuslugi transmitted analytics signals to VK, Yandex, Google, and Huawei ecosystems. Five apps used WebRTC ICE candidate leaks to detect VPN usage, potentially bypassing user privacy protections. Only Goskluch scored low at 42.4/100 by limiting trackers to two, avoiding VPN detection, and using a compliant RSA-2048 signing key. The methodology relied solely on MobSF, jadx, and logcat without bypassing SSL pinning or requiring root access.
Amnezia VPN Survives Coordinated Russian Censorship Campaign Targeting AmneziaWG Protocol Fingerprints
Amnezia VPN has published a detailed post-mortem on the multi-wave blocking campaign conducted by Russian authorities against its Amnezia Free and Amnezia Premium services during June and July. The company describes a shift from simple protocol blocking to sophisticated fingerprinting of AmneziaWG traffic combined with infrastructure DDoS attacks and automated IP-subnet blacklisting. Engineers closed multiple detection vectors including zero-length UDP packets, fixed-size keepalive messages, handshake timing patterns, and nonce zero bytes. The incident forced accelerated migration to AmneziaWG 2.0, discontinuation of legacy client support, and development of AmneziaWG 3.0 while expanding VLESS infrastructure as a backup. Self-hosted users largely avoided direct protocol blocks but still faced subnet-level restrictions. The report highlights how Roskomnadzor now applies cumulative scoring across multiple traffic features rather than single definitive markers.
Data Masking: 8 Critical Questions Businesses and Developers Ask About Protecting Sensitive Data
Garda expert Dmitry Larin addresses common challenges in data masking during a recent webinar titled 'Data Masking: Battle of Opinions'. The discussion covers why masking remains essential even when encryption is deployed, how to preserve application functionality after anonymization, and the performance trade-offs of processing large databases such as 5 TB PostgreSQL instances. Different masking types including static, dynamic, selective, and streaming are explained with specific use cases for DevOps pipelines, external contractors, and BI systems. The article also examines why machine learning alone is insufficient for discovering personal data and why custom scripts fail at scale across heterogeneous environments like PostgreSQL and Oracle. Practical recommendations include combining masking with encryption, using deterministic transformations for deduplication, and separating replication from masking tasks to avoid production impact.
MAX Desktop Client Tested for VPN Detection on Windows, No Tracking Signs Found
A Habra user named Slava_B conducted an experiment on September 8, 2026, to determine whether the MAX desktop client on Windows could detect or route traffic through a VPN configured at the router level. The setup used a Keenetic router that directed Russian resources directly while sending other connections via an OpenConnect tunnel to a European VPS, with no VPN client or virtual adapter present in Windows itself. Monitoring tools including Process Monitor, Wireshark, TCPView, and tcpdump revealed that MAX.exe and MAX-service.exe processes communicate locally and connect to MAX/ONEME infrastructure along with AppTracer services. The application repeatedly accessed MachineGuid, computer name, proxy settings, device IDs, and microphone/camera information, though these reads may support diagnostics and anti-fraud functions. No connections appeared on the VPN interface, and the client did not attempt to reach IP-checking services, Telegram, or WhatsApp. The researcher noted that TLS traffic was not decrypted, so actual transmission of identifiers could not be confirmed, and results apply only to this router-based configuration.
PII-Guard: Open-Source Detector for Personal Data in Russian Text
Andrey Ivanov, an NLP researcher at red_mad_robot, has released PII-Guard, an open-source system that detects and masks personal data in Russian text before it reaches language models. The tool combines rule-based checks with a fine-tuned ruBert-base NER model to handle names, addresses, phones, passports, INN, SNILS, bank cards and other entities. It replaces detected PII with structured XML-like tags that preserve grammatical information such as gender and entity ID, allowing models to generate coherent responses that are later restored with real values. The hybrid pipeline first applies normalization, pattern matching, Luhn and weighted checksum validation, and context windows with positive and negative keywords, then merges results with model predictions via an arbitration module. Evaluation on four public datasets, including Hivetrace, alexen2 and alrosait, shows PII-Guard outperforming other open solutions on both strict span matching and type-overlap micro-F1 metrics. The project, including datasets and code, is available on GitHub and aims to reduce leakage risks while maintaining downstream model utility.
Google to Add Explicit Content Warnings in Android System Photo Picker
Google is preparing a new safety feature for the system photo picker in Android that will scan images and videos for explicit or nude content. The tool is designed to warn users before they share intimate photographs, whether accidentally or due to a momentary lapse in judgment. This functionality will operate at the system level, meaning it applies across multiple apps that use the built-in photo selector. The feature aims to reduce the risk of unintended distribution of private images that could lead to embarrassment or privacy violations. By integrating the check directly into Android, Google seeks to provide a consistent layer of protection without requiring third-party applications to implement similar logic themselves.
LG Smart TVs Record Audio in Standby Mode and Scan Home Networks for Advertising Data
Researchers from the Gamers Nexus YouTube channel analyzed multiple LG OLED television models, including the LG G5 series, and discovered that the devices continue to capture audio through built-in microphones even when the screen is off and the television is in standby. The TVs scan local networks to identify smartphones and smartwatches, collect internal IP addresses, available Wi-Fi network names, and location data. When internet connectivity is removed, audio recordings are stored locally and transmitted once the connection is restored. The devices also employ Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to generate digital fingerprints of viewed content, with the resulting data reportedly sent to LG Ad Solutions for targeted advertising. Additional vulnerabilities were identified in webOS that could potentially allow remote code execution. LG has not yet commented on the findings, and experts recommend disconnecting the televisions from the internet and using external streaming devices until official clarification is provided.
Engineer Details Six Weeks Spent Training and Testing Signature Redaction Models for Closed-Loop Document Anonymization
A detailed case study describes attempts to automatically redact handwritten signatures from scanned and text-based PDFs containing personal data such as names, phones, addresses and signatures. The work was performed inside an air-gapped environment on a single GPU machine with no internet access. Multiple approaches including color-based ink gates, pre-trained YOLO detectors, custom-trained YOLO11s models, Tesseract OCR heuristics and various vision-language OCR engines were evaluated on 492 real pages plus synthetic augmentations. Key findings include rotation handling bugs, line-assembly failures in Tesseract, the necessity of using apply_redactions instead of draw_rect for true removal, and the limited value of vision models once rule-based pipelines are mature. The final pipeline reduced expensive vision-model calls from 50 pages to 18 pages while achieving zero leaks across thousands of redactions. The author also measured twelve OCR engines and demonstrated that combining PaddleOCR detection with Tesseract recognition yields the best accuracy-to-speed trade-off.
pg_anon Open-Source Tool Receives Major Updates for PostgreSQL Data Masking and Partial Database Operations
Tantor Labs has released version 1.11.0 of pg_anon, an open-source utility designed to mask personal data in PostgreSQL databases while preserving structure and relationships. The update introduces packaging as a standard Python package, support for partial dumps and restores using whitelist and blacklist dictionaries, and improved handling of complex schema elements such as partitioned tables, generated columns, and custom types. Performance improvements include switching the dump engine to asyncio, single-query metadata collection, and on-the-fly gzip compression to reduce memory usage on large databases. New CLI options allow clean or drop operations on target databases, privilege ignoring, and passthrough of pg_dump and pg_restore flags. A REST API was added to enable integration into CI/CD pipelines and automated self-service systems for nightly masked database refreshes. The tool helps organizations comply with data protection requirements by creating pseudonymized copies suitable for development, testing, and contractor environments.
Pegasus Spyware Returns in Serbian Surveillance Campaign via Zero-Click iMessage Exploit
A Serbian student activist's iPhone was infected with the Pegasus spyware through a zero-click exploit in iMessage, allowing silent installation without any user interaction. The infection, confirmed by Citizen Lab in collaboration with the SHARE Foundation, showed indicators of compromise between December 2025 and January 2026. Apple later sent the target a notification warning of a mercenary spyware attack attempt. The exploit granted full access to photos, messages, files, and enabled covert microphone and camera activation. The vulnerability was addressed in the iOS 18.4.1 update released on April 16, 2025. The incident forms part of a wider surveillance wave in Serbia, with at least 14 individuals including students, activists, a parliament member, and a local political representative receiving similar Apple alerts. Additional targets were hit with Android spyware variants linked to NoviSpy.
Mozilla Adds Built-in Ad Blocker to Firefox for iOS Devices
Mozilla has integrated a native ad-blocking feature directly into its Firefox browser for iOS. The update allows iPhone and iPad users to block third-party advertisements and associated trackers before web pages load, eliminating the need for separate extensions. Appleโs App Store policies have long restricted the use of third-party content blockers on iOS compared to desktop and Android platforms. The new functionality targets intrusive elements such as pop-up windows, content-overlapping banners, and other advertising formats. By handling blocking at the browser level, Firefox for iOS improves user privacy and reduces exposure to tracking mechanisms without requiring additional software installation.
De-Clouding IoT Devices: Local Control for Midea Air Conditioners and Tuya-Based Cat Feeders
A security researcher detailed a methodical approach to eliminating vendor cloud dependency for Wi-Fi IoT devices in a smart home setup. After acquiring a cat, the author was forced to integrate several Tuya-based appliances that only worked through proprietary cloud apps. Using hardware analysis tools including UART adapters, multimeters, and soldering equipment, the devices were disassembled and their controllers identified. The Midea air conditioner controller based on TYWE3S ESP8266 was reflashed with ESPHome to enable direct Home Assistant integration. For the Tuya WBR3-powered cat feeder running on an RTL8720CF chip, OpenBeken firmware was installed after extracting the original firmware with ltchiptool. Detailed UART communication analysis between the Wi-Fi module and MCU allowed full recreation of scheduling and control functions locally via MQTT.
Russia Starts Blocking Encrypted DNS Protocols DoH and DoT Across Major ISPs
Since mid-August 2026, subscribers of Rostelecom, Dom.ru, Tattelecom, SkyNet and Beeline have reported sudden failures of encrypted DNS services from Google and Cloudflare. The blocking affects both DoT on port 853 and DoH on port 443, but the mechanisms differ: DoT connections receive TCP RST packets while DoH sessions are silently dropped after the TLS ClientHello. Analysis shows the interference originates from TSPU equipment performing DPI on SNI fields and known resolver domains. At the same time, ordinary UDP DNS queries are being intercepted and answered by the NSIDI infrastructure, returning NXDOMAIN for blocked domains. The changes indicate a centrally coordinated rollout of new filtering rules rather than isolated operator actions. Users are advised that encrypted DNS no longer provides reliable privacy or circumvention and that full VPN tunnels remain the only robust option.
Glassbox Tool Exposes Browser Fingerprinting Risks and Limitations of Incognito Mode
Developer and security researcher David Dale has released Glassbox, an open tool that runs over 30 browser fingerprinting checks to show how identifiable a user appears to trackers. The service evaluates Canvas, WebGL, installed fonts, WebAssembly functions, available APIs, third-party authentication state, and audio processing characteristics entirely in the browser. Results include raw test data and an identifiability score capped at roughly 33 bits, sufficient in theory to single out one person among the global population. Tests reported by The Register showed Chrome at 99 percent identifiability, Firefox at 89 percent, and Tor Browser at 56 percent, though these figures rely on a mathematical model rather than real-world visitor databases. Dale warns that overly hardened configurations can increase uniqueness and recommends using Tor or VPN together with WebRTC leak prevention to blend into larger anonymity sets.
Android 17 Adds Local Network Protection and Strengthens Wi-Fi Privacy Controls
Android 17 introduces Local Network Protection, requiring apps to obtain explicit permission before scanning or connecting to devices on the same Wi-Fi network. The feature limits unauthorized discovery of TVs, cameras, printers, consoles and other local equipment that could previously be used to build detailed user profiles. The update also enables Encrypted Client Hello by default to hide domain names during HTTPS handshakes from network observers. Certificate Transparency is now activated by default to detect fraudulent or mis-issued certificates that could enable interception attacks. Additional safeguards block forced downgrades to insecure 2G networks often exploited by fake base stations for SMS-based fraud. These changes collectively reduce passive tracking and man-in-the-middle risks without disrupting legitimate local network functions such as media casting.
Review of GL.iNet Mudi 7 and Xray Configuration for Flexible Traffic Routing
The article provides a hands-on review of the GL.iNet Mudi 7 portable router combined with detailed instructions for deploying Xray. The author explains moving away from managing multiple separate VPN clients by installing Xray directly on the router. This setup allows all connected devices to route traffic intelligently without manual configuration on each endpoint. Local and Russian services connect directly to avoid latency, while international traffic is forwarded through a personal server. The guide covers practical scenarios for home use and emphasizes maintaining speed for permitted connections while ensuring selective proxying for the rest of the traffic.
Taiwan Man Uses Robot Vacuum Camera to Prove Wife's Affair, Wins Compensation but Receives Prison Sentence for Illegal Recording
A resident of Taiwan suspected his wife of infidelity after discovering a stranger's toothbrush in their countryside home. He reviewed footage from a parking lot camera and later accessed the live feed of their robot vacuum cleaner through its mobile application, capturing intimate recordings without consent. The man preserved the video evidence and successfully sued for breach of marital rights, receiving approximately $19,000 in compensation. His wife filed a counterclaim, arguing that the recordings violated her right to privacy because the device's sensors and indicators did not clearly indicate active surveillance. Although the footage was accepted in the civil case, the court ruled that the illegal method of obtaining it outweighed marital obligations, prioritizing personal privacy protections. The husband was sentenced to five months in prison and fined 150,000 Taiwanese dollars, representing 30 percent of his awarded compensation.
Russian Firms Accumulate Digital Clutter: 35% of Corporate Files Unused for Years, Weak Passwords Expose Sensitive Data
A study by Russian cybersecurity firm Garda examined more than 157 terabytes of data and over 511,000 user accounts across more than 100 companies. Researchers found that approximately 35% of files in corporate repositories had not been accessed for more than five years, while duplicate data could occupy another 35% of storage volume. In several industries, up to one-third of stored content consisted of personal photographs, videos, and archives unrelated to business operations. More than 33% of accounts used critically weak passwords or credentials that had not been changed for extended periods, and numerous contractor and temporary employee accounts remained active despite being unused for over 90 days. Direct access permissions bypassing security groups were widespread, allowing broad access to folders containing passport scans, client registries, and database exports. Garda recommends automated inventory, classification, centralized access management, and lifecycle automation to reduce risks instead of manual cleanup.
Apple Updates Private Relay Domain for Sign in with Apple: Why Email Cannot Serve as Account Identity
Apple announced that new Private Relay addresses for Sign in with Apple will use the private.icloud.com domain starting later in 2026, while existing privaterelay.appleid.com addresses will continue functioning without interruption. The change highlights a deeper architectural issue: many applications incorrectly treat email addresses returned by Apple as stable identifiers rather than transient contact channels. Proper implementation requires separating the signed identity token, the verified subject claim, and the optional email relay address into distinct data models. Developers must validate the full identity token on the server, including signature, issuer, audience, nonce, and expiration, before linking any Apple identity to an internal account. Using provider and subject pairs as the unique key prevents duplicate accounts, accidental merges, and broken logins when relay domains or email claims change. The article provides concrete recommendations for data models, token verification boundaries, and test cases that remain resilient to future Apple updates.
Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Personal Data from Search Engines, Databases and Social Networks
The guide provides a practical seven-step checklist for individuals seeking to reduce their digital footprint by removing personal information from websites, search engines, and social platforms. It emphasizes starting with a 20-minute audit to compile exact URLs rather than vague requests, followed by direct contact with site owners under Russia's 152-FZ personal data law. Subsequent steps cover submissions to Yandex and Google for de-indexing, manual cleanup of old social media accounts, handling of phone numbers in caller ID services, and removal from directories and review sites. The process includes templates for formal requests, timelines for responses, and escalation paths to Roskomnadzor when operators fail to comply. Special attention is given to leaked databases, where technical removal is impossible, and to web archives such as Internet Archive that require specific legal justifications. The full cycle is estimated at two months, with quarterly maintenance recommended to sustain results.
telEgo Combines MTProxy and WEB Proxy on Single Port 443 with TLS Fronting
telEgo, a Go-based Telegram MTProxy implementation using the gnet network engine, now supports all four WEB proxy transport modes alongside traditional MTProxy connections on the same public port 443. The solution allows FakeTLS with ee secrets, Obfuscated2 with dd secrets, and WEB carriers including https, https-lanes, websocket, and websocket-lanes without requiring separate ports or secret changes. telEgo performs handshake detection, forwards ordinary TLS traffic to Nginx on a private port using PROXY protocol v2, and routes authenticated WEB streams back to the internal MTProxy backend. The setup uses Docker Compose with separate containers for telEgo, Nginx, and certificate management via Certbot, keeping ports 8080, 8443, and 8444 internal. Existing MTProxy links continue to function while new WEB proxy links become available for Telegram Desktop. The configuration supports Prometheus metrics, connection limits, and automatic certificate renewal through systemd timers.
From HAProxy to VLESS+Reality: Overcoming DPI Blocks for MTProto Telegram Proxies
A detailed case study describes the challenges of running an MTProto proxy for Telegram on Russian servers facing ISP-level DPI. Initial attempts using HAProxy TCP relays and SOCKS5 tunnels failed because modern DPI systems detect MTProto and fake-TLS signatures regardless of transparent forwarding. The author eventually succeeded by layering mtg with an Xray VLESS+Reality tunnel that performs genuine TLS 1.3 handshakes to legitimate domains. Key configuration pitfalls included the xtls-rprx-vision flow breaking non-TLS payloads, missing mux causing handshake timeouts on short-lived connections, and provider-specific network policies. Final architecture places mtg and an Xray client on the Russian entry server while the foreign exit server runs Xray in VLESS+Reality inbound mode. The guide supplies complete docker-compose examples, key generation commands, and a checklist of common misconfigurations to avoid.
TLS MITM and Throttling to 10 Mbps: Two Distinct Network Degradation Patterns Observed in Russia
Russian users have reported sudden slowdowns and instability on international connections over the past several days. Analysis of Tunnel Cat logs revealed two separate issues that produce similar user symptoms but require different diagnostic approaches. The first pattern involves successful TCP and TLS handshakes followed by sharp drops in throughput, often from 80 Mbps to 8-12 Mbps, consistent with DPI-based throttling of international traffic. The second pattern shows TLS certificate substitution on Windows systems, indicating active man-in-the-middle interception. Tunnel Cat now detects invalid certificates and terminates such sessions, yet the underlying network phenomena persist. The observations highlight the need to examine both bandwidth dynamics and certificate chains when troubleshooting connectivity problems from Russia.
Deleted Database Records Remain Recoverable in SQLite Files Despite DELETE Operations
A standard DELETE query in SQLite removes rows from the table view but leaves the actual data intact inside the database file until pages are reused. The pragma secure_delete setting controls whether freed pages are zeroed immediately or simply marked as available. With the default setting of 0, strings containing names and credit card numbers can still be extracted using grep even after deletion. The same behavior appears in PostgreSQL through dead row versions until VACUUM runs and in MySQL InnoDB through undo logs and the binary log. The issue directly affects compliance with personal data deletion requests because backups, replicas, and analytics exports often retain the original records. Proper mitigation requires enabling secure_delete, running VACUUM after bulk deletions, or encrypting sensitive fields with per-record keys that can be destroyed on request.
Russian TSPU Systems Redirect DNS Queries to Google and Cloudflare Servers Toward National Domain Name System
Since the evening of August 26, Russian technical means of countering threats (TSPU) began intercepting open DNS queries sent to Google and Cloudflare public resolvers. For domains such as YouTube and RuTracker, UDP-based queries received NXDOMAIN responses while TCP queries successfully reached the original servers and returned valid IP addresses. Analysis with low TTL packets revealed that responses originated from IP address 195.208.5.1 belonging to the National System of Domain Names (NSDI). The mechanism performs targeted DNAT on recognized DNS traffic, making the query appear directed to NSDI rather than the foreign resolver. The redirection is imperfect, allowing subsequent identical queries sent in quick succession to bypass the system and reach Google. The findings come from experiments conducted by Habr user angry_agent and have not yet received official confirmation from Russian authorities.
HTTPS Lock Icon Present but List of Visited Sites Remains Visible
Even when HTTPS is active and passwords stay protected, DNS queries and the SNI field in TLS handshakes expose the exact domains a user visits over public Wi-Fi. Classic unencrypted DNS over UDP sends domain names in plaintext, allowing anyone on the same network to observe them with simple packet captures. The SNI extension reveals the target hostname before encryption is negotiated, enabling domain-based filtering without decrypting traffic. DNS over HTTPS moves queries inside encrypted channels but shifts visibility to the chosen resolver instead of the local network. Encrypted Client Hello offers partial protection for SNI yet requires support from both browsers and server infrastructure. The practical takeaway is that metadata about services used, timing, and frequency leaks more readily than credentials in modern public networks.
Russian TSPU Begins Intercepting UDP DNS Queries to Cloudflare and Google Public Resolvers
Starting on the evening of August 26, Russia's TSPU DPI system began actively intercepting plaintext DNS queries sent over UDP to public resolvers operated by Cloudflare and Google. Queries to 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 now return NXDOMAIN responses for blocked domains instead of the real IP addresses. The interception works exclusively on UDP; TCP-based DNS queries continue to receive legitimate answers from the original resolvers. Technical analysis shows the system performs targeted DNAT, rewriting the destination IP to the NSDI server at 195.208.5.1 only when a DNS query is detected inside the packet. Experiments with varying TTL values confirm that the redirection occurs after the traffic passes the TSPU node, and rapid successive queries can sometimes bypass the filter and return genuine records. The change affects netflow statistics visible to network operators, as traffic previously destined for foreign resolvers is now redirected domestically.
Google Develops Public Android API for On-Device Content Safety Classification
Google is creating a new public Android API that will allow third-party applications to analyze images and other files locally on the device and assign them one of four safety statuses. The system builds on the existing SafetyCore component already used in Google Messages to blur intimate images. ContentSafetyManager will process images, raw files, and multimedia content entirely on-device without transmitting data to Google servers. Applications will then decide whether to display, blur, or hide the content based on the classification result. Experts warn that malicious apps granted broad permissions could misuse the classifier to scan large volumes of user files and build detailed profiles. SafetyCore itself previously sparked controversy after being installed automatically without explicit user consent and without a visible icon, leading some users to install blockers to prevent reinstallation via the Play Store. Google continues to emphasize minimal permission requests and local processing as safeguards for user privacy.
WhatsApp Adds Support for Multiple Passkeys on Single Account
WhatsApp has expanded its account protection features by allowing users to register more than one passkey on the same profile. The update particularly benefits users who switch between Android and iOS devices while maintaining phishing-resistant login methods. Passkeys replace traditional codes and passwords with biometric authentication, facial recognition, or device lock mechanisms. Meta reports that more than one billion people already use the feature on WhatsApp, with Android support introduced in 2023 and iOS support added in 2024. The change reduces reliance on a single device during authentication by associating multiple keys with one account. Users can manage keys through Settings > Account > Passkeys. WhatsApp has also strengthened two-factor verification by allowing replacement of the six-digit PIN with longer passwords containing letters, numbers, and special characters.
Russian ISPs Begin Disrupting Encrypted DNS Services from Google and Cloudflare
Users of several major Russian internet providers have reported widespread issues accessing encrypted DNS protocols offered by Google and Cloudflare. The affected services include DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT), which are designed to prevent providers from inspecting domain queries. Measurements show that connections to Cloudflare addresses 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 on port 853 establish TCP handshakes but are then reset with ECONNRESET errors before TLS authentication completes. Google Public DNS endpoints experience different interference, with sessions stalling after the TLS ClientHello or terminating with unexpected EOF errors. The disruptions have been observed across Rostelecom, Dom.ru, Tattelecom, and SkyNet subscribers, with varying impact depending on region and operator. Tattelecom support reportedly advised one customer to disable both protocols to restore connectivity. No official confirmation of centralized blocking has been issued, yet the coordinated pattern across multiple providers suggests deliberate interference rather than random failure.
DuckDuckGo Study Shows Users Confide Sensitive Personal Details in AI Chatbots Without Realizing Data Retention
A new DuckDuckGo survey reveals that chatbots have evolved from simple search tools into digital confidants where users disclose highly personal information. Nearly one in three AI users admitted sharing details they would not discuss with friends, family, colleagues, or doctors. The figure rises sharply to 56 percent among users who describe themselves as strong AI enthusiasts. The research underscores that many people remain unaware that AI systems store and can later reference these conversations. This behavior creates significant privacy risks as conversational data becomes part of long-term model memory. The findings highlight a growing gap between user expectations and the actual data-handling practices of AI platforms.
Telegram Desktop Adds WEB Proxy to Hide MTProxy Traffic Inside HTTPS and WebSocket Connections
Telegram Desktop has received an initial implementation of a new WEB proxy designed to conceal messenger connections within ordinary HTTPS and WebSocket traffic. The feature makes user activity appear as simple website browsing to network providers while MTProxy continues to operate underneath. Developers inserted more than 3,000 lines of code, including a dedicated WEB-proxy transport, domain configuration options, and interface elements such as โOpen browserโ and โWaiting for browser.โ The mechanism works by opening an embedded web page that establishes a secure WebSocket link to a domain resembling a regular site. Multiple MTProxy connections are multiplexed into a single stream and sent through this channel. On the server side an intermediate node demultiplexes the stream and forwards the individual connections to a standard MTProxy instance without decrypting message content.
Gesture Dynamics CAPTCHA Emerges as Privacy-Focused Drop-in Alternative to reCAPTCHA
A new open-source CAPTCHA system called Aptogon replaces traditional image-based challenges with analysis of hand gesture dynamics to verify human users. Instead of clicking on traffic lights or buses, visitors draw a free-form gesture for about ten seconds while the system measures velocity variance, pause entropy, rhythm irregularity, and micro-corrections that distinguish human motor patterns from bots. The solution addresses recent reCAPTCHA restrictions, including Google's reduction of free monthly verifications from one million to ten thousand and tightened GDPR data responsibility rules starting in April 2026. An iframe architecture loaded from the vendor origin eliminates cross-origin issues and CORS blocks while supporting public and secret key pairs for domain validation. Machine learning relies on a local gradient boosting model for confident decisions and an LLM only for borderline cases, with fail-closed behavior returning 503 errors when the classifier is unavailable. Coordinates never leave the browser; only derived statistics are sent, satisfying GDPR requirements without cookie banners or biometric templates. The project is released under AGPL-3.0 with a free tier of one thousand checks per month and integration examples for HTML, React, Node, Python, and PHP.
Cat Tunnels Service Deploys Kotator-Rotator to Counter Mass Blocking of Relay Nodes in Russia
The operators of the decentralized Cat Tunnels service faced a sudden wave of blocks that disabled all several dozen of their tracker nodes inside Russia. Without these anchor relays, new user connections slowed dramatically and existing sessions degraded. The team responded by building Kotator-Rotator, an automated system that continuously evaluates node reachability from the client side and replaces failing relays with fresh instances. The decision engine relies on Grohotator, an aggregated availability metric derived from client technical logs that also triggers an audible alarm when thresholds are crossed. Analysis of the logs revealed that blocking activity follows a clear weekday pattern, pausing on Friday evenings and resuming Monday mornings. The experience demonstrated that server-side health checks alone are insufficient when censors interfere with paths between clients and relays.
Google Chrome Tests Visible Global Privacy Control Toggle in Canary
Google is testing a new visible toggle for Global Privacy Control in Chrome Canary that lets users send a standardized request asking websites not to sell or share their personal data and not to use it for targeted advertising. When enabled, the browser adds the Sec-GPC: 1 header to web requests and exposes the setting via navigator.globalPrivacyControl. In regions with supporting laws such as California's CCPA, the signal can serve as a formal opt-out from data sales. The feature currently appears primarily on Android, with experimental flags available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS, though the desktop interface remains incomplete. Two separate flags are requiredโone to show the toggle and another to actually transmit the signalโbecause enabling only the UI does not send Sec-GPC: 1. The mechanism is not a guaranteed enforcement tool; websites decide how to respond, and effectiveness depends on legal frameworks and site compliance. The feature is absent from the stable Chrome release and may still change before wider rollout.
OpenAI ChatGPT Computer History Feature on macOS Could Expose Detailed User Activity Logs to Infostealers
OpenAI has introduced the Computer History feature in its macOS ChatGPT app, which records application switches, clicks, keystrokes, and accessibility context to generate AI summaries and memories. The feature is disabled by default and requires explicit activation of Memories, with availability limited to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users outside the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. While raw event files are deleted after 48 hours and not used for model training, the resulting Markdown memory files remain unencrypted on the local Mac. These files can be read by any process running under the same user account, creating a ready-made activity log for infostealers and other malware. OpenAI also warns about prompt injection risks where hidden instructions from websites or apps could influence ChatGPT or Codex behavior. Users retain controls to select participating apps, pause collection, or delete history, but the lack of encryption on stored memories raises significant privacy concerns.
AirTag and SmartTag: How to Detect If a Bluetooth Tracker Is Following You
Phones can now warn users when an unknown Bluetooth tracker such as an Apple AirTag or Samsung SmartTag is moving alongside them for an extended period. The alerts do not automatically confirm stalking, since the same tags can be left in taxis, rental cars or borrowed bags, yet they should never be ignored. AirTag and SmartTag rely on crowdsourced Bluetooth networks rather than built-in GPS or cellular connections, allowing them to report approximate locations only when nearby phones relay the signal. The article details differences from traditional GPS trackers, explains how to interpret notifications on iOS 17.5+ and Android 6.0+, and provides step-by-step guidance for locating hidden devices in clothing, vehicles or personal items. It also covers immediate safety actions, evidence preservation for police reports, and practical steps to reduce future tracking risks through account and permission hygiene.
VPN Encryption Alone Cannot Hide Traffic from Network Detection Systems
A Habr user known as mr_tom detailed why encrypted VPN connections remain detectable despite their encryption. Observers can identify connections through visible metadata such as server IP addresses, ports, transport protocols, handshake patterns, packet sizes, timing intervals, and overall flow behavior. Simple DPI systems block traffic by restricting known IPs or ports, while advanced filters build traffic fingerprints and use active probing to verify suspicious endpoints. The popular combination of VLESS, XHTTP, and REALITY operates across different layers rather than functioning as three equivalent VPN protocols. Even traffic on port 443 can be distinguished from standard HTTPS by analyzing handshake details and subsequent packet behavior. The core conclusion is that no universally unblockable VPN exists, as detection can rely on IP blocking, new signatures, or active verification regardless of encryption strength.
Browser Extension Anonymizes Sensitive Data Before Sending to AI Chatbots
A new browser extension automatically detects and replaces sensitive information such as names, INN numbers, bank cards, and emails with pseudonyms before any text or files reach AI chat services. The tool operates entirely locally in the browser, ensuring original data never leaves the user's device while allowing AI models to process anonymized placeholders. Responses from the AI are decrypted back to readable form only on the user's screen using an in-memory mapping that disappears when the browser closes. The solution supports over 70 file formats including DOCX, XLSX, and PDF, plus offline OCR for scanned documents to handle the most common leakage vectors used by HR, legal, and accounting teams. Multiple validation layers including checksums, Luhn algorithm, entropy checks, and normalization for Russian name declensions reduce false positives that plagued earlier regex-based attempts. The extension is available in a free version on the Chrome Web Store covering 33 data categories, with advanced file and scan features offered on request.
Browser Privacy Ranking 2026: Tor Browser Leads at 9.5 While Chrome and Yandex Rank Lowest
SecurityLab.ru has published a detailed 2026 browser privacy ranking that evaluates major browsers across six criteria including initial network behavior, site isolation, fingerprint resistance, funding model, configurability, and code auditability. Tor Browser scores highest at 9.5 for its comprehensive protections including unified fingerprinting and layered JavaScript controls, followed by Mullvad Browser at 9.0 and LibreWolf at 8.5. Brave earns 7.5 for built-in tracker blocking but faces criticism over default telemetry and cryptocurrency features. Firefox scores 6.0 out of the box yet reaches 8.5 after extensive configuration, while Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Yandex Browser occupy the bottom positions due to persistent tracking mechanisms and closed-source components. The report also highlights the Local Mess localhost tracking technique used by Meta and Yandex that bypassed browser isolation entirely.
Russian Ministry Certificates Enable Potential State MITM on Foreign Domains
Russian companies facing sanctions have started adopting root certificates issued by the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications to maintain HTTPS access after commercial CAs revoked or refused to renew their certificates. Installing these Ministry certificates allows browsers to trust sites using Russian national CAs but also creates a pathway for man-in-the-middle interception by state-controlled entities. The article details a concrete threat model where a government-linked operator could use the Ministry root to generate on-the-fly certificates for any domain, including foreign services outside Russian jurisdiction. To mitigate this, the author demonstrates how to re-sign the Ministry root with OpenSSL nameConstraints limited to .ru, .su, and .ัั domains only. Tests on macOS with Homebrew show that the constrained certificate still validates Russian banking sites such as online.sberbank.ru while correctly rejecting attempts to validate foreign domains like sberbank.com. The technique requires users to maintain their own cross-signed root and never rely on pre-installed Ministry or Yandex Browser roots for full protection.
Bypassing Blocks, Privacy, and Anonymity Remain Separate Challenges for Decentralized Networks
The developers of the decentralized circumvention tool Tunnel Cat have clarified that their service addresses only traffic delivery and does not guarantee privacy or anonymity. Transport-layer TLS encryption protects data in transit between nodes but provides no end-to-end protection for conversation content. The team explicitly recommends using separate E2E-encrypted messengers such as Signal or Matrix rather than relying on Telegram. Operational telemetry is retained to comply with legal obligations in multiple jurisdictions and to monitor blocking patterns inside Russia. Because client devices relay traffic for others, the architecture inherently prevents strong anonymity guarantees comparable to Tor. The project deliberately separates the circumvention function from messaging and anonymity tools to avoid overpromising security properties.
How to Detect and Remove Stolen Photos from Fake Profiles, Listings and Ads
Photos are frequently stolen from social networks, old listings, building chats and review sites, then reused in fake profiles, advertisements and rental scams. Russian law under Article 152.1 of the Civil Code protects the right to one's image, while separate copyright rules protect the photographer. Victims are advised to gather strong evidence including full-page screenshots, PDF copies and original files before contacting platforms. Search tools such as Yandex Images, Google Lens and TinEye help locate copies across multiple services. Complaints can be filed directly with site administrators on VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Avito and Telegram, or escalated to Roskomnadzor and police when personal data or fraud is involved. Preventive steps include lowering image resolution, adding watermarks and restricting album visibility through privacy settings.
Configuration Drift Silently Breaks Multi-Hop Chains in sing-box Reality Fleet
A post-mortem analysis of a censorship circumvention network using sing-box and Reality revealed that four out of seven nodes were unreachable due to outdated allowlists, even though all monitoring reported green status. The fleet consisted of 14 endpoints across seven machines and four providers, with traffic routed in two hops where entry nodes only knew client identities and exit nodes only knew destinations. White-list rules on entry nodes permitted only five addresses instead of all required relays, causing urltest to silently discard most chains without logging failures. Canary checks, external probes, and the relay-lockdown.sh script all passed because none compared the allowlist against the full signed configuration. Two private paid nodes lacked any route section entirely, exposing them to potential abuse. The issue stemmed from configuration drift over time, with no single person maintaining an overview of the entire system. Automated fixes were implemented with safeguards to prevent fleet-wide lockouts.
Why Distributed Mesh Architectures Resist IP Blocking Better Than Centralized Servers
The article explains the fundamental limitations of single-server or small-server setups when facing IP-based censorship and DPI systems. A centralized infrastructure relies on a finite, relatively static list of addresses that can be discovered, tracked, and blocked over time. In contrast, a client-side mesh turns user devices into active transport nodes that relay traffic peer-to-peer, creating a constantly changing set of endpoints. This architectural shift transforms address blocking from a one-time list-maintenance task into an ongoing discovery problem. The design still requires an auxiliary trust and coordination layer called the backbone network, while anti-DPI techniques such as ClientHello rotation and decoy traffic protect individual connections. The approach carries real costs in battery life, bandwidth, and operational complexity on client devices.
Chrome Adds On-Device Gemini Nano While Ask Gemini Sends Page Content to Google Cloud
Google has introduced an 'AI on device' toggle in Chrome settings that enables local execution of the Gemini Nano model directly on the user's computer. Several gigabytes of Gemini Nano weights are now stored in the browser profile directory and can run on CPU or GPU for tasks such as initial analysis of suspicious pages. Despite the local model being present, the user-facing 'Ask Gemini' feature does not use it and instead routes page content, URLs, and up to ten additional tabs to Google's cloud infrastructure. The company uses two distinct systems under the Gemini name: the cloud-based Ask Gemini / Gemini in Chrome service and the on-device Gemini Nano accessed only through internal APIs or by websites and extensions. When Enhanced Protection is enabled, results from the local Safe Browsing analysis may still be transmitted to Google Safe Browsing servers. The naming and interface choices have created confusion, as users cannot directly invoke the downloaded Gemini Nano model for tasks like summarizing open pages.
Yandex Details Alice Voice Assistant Audio Buffering and Data Handling in Android Apps
Yandex has issued a detailed technical response to an analysis of its Android applications that raised concerns over potential collection of audio, contacts, bank card data, and other sensitive information. The company acknowledged the existence of a cyclic audio buffer that retains approximately 1.5 seconds of sound before an activation phrase and 0.5 seconds after it, with some pre-command audio possibly transmitted to servers for speech recognition quality checks. Yandex clarified that the Alice assistant only listens locally for the wake word when the app is open and does not continuously record conversations. Access to contacts was explained as necessary for voice commands such as calling entries from the address book, with the full book sent on first sync and only changes thereafter, without hashing to support accurate speech processing. The firm rejected claims of reading messaging app conversations and stated that bank card details are routed directly to an isolated PCI DSS-compliant environment rather than standard application servers.
One Request, Five Observers: What Websites, Providers, DNS and VPNs Learn When Loading a Page
The article breaks down exactly what each participant in a typical web request can observe when a user visits a page over HTTPS. It examines the roles of the browser, DNS resolver, ISP, VPN service and the destination site itself, showing that each sees different pieces of metadata or content. HTTPS protects the page body and parameters from network observers, while Encrypted Client Hello and secure DNS further limit visibility of domain names. VPNs replace the user's home IP address with the VPN exit node but introduce a new trusted party that sees all traffic metadata. Browser fingerprinting, cookies and account logins often allow sites to re-identify users even after an IP change. The piece stresses that privacy tools must be chosen according to the specific threat model rather than relying on any single mechanism.
Windscribe Releases Open-Source PowerShell Script to Remove Microsoft's Persistent Global Device Identifier from Windows
Windscribe has published an open-source PowerShell script called deGDID that removes Microsoft's Global Device Identifier (GDID) from Windows systems and prevents the creation of new identifiers. The persistent tracker survives IP address changes and operates below the VPN layer, allowing Microsoft to maintain device tracking even when users employ privacy tools. The script was developed after the FBI used GDID to identify a suspected hacker, raising concerns about undisclosed device fingerprinting. deGDID modifies registry access control lists and blocks the DeviceAdd interface to stop Windows from regenerating the identifiers after reboots or server contacts. While effective at disabling the tracking mechanism, the tool can break authentication to login.live.com and disrupt certain Microsoft cloud services. It is intended only for unmanaged consumer devices and will not run on domain-joined or corporate-managed systems. The project is described as experimental and cannot delete identifiers already transmitted to Microsoft servers.
Yandex Apps Leak Pre-Trigger Audio Buffers, Payment Data, and Contacts via Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering of Yandex Search and Yandex Browser APKs reveals extensive data collection practices on Android devices. The apps maintain a server-controlled pre-trigger audio buffer that captures up to three seconds or more of microphone input before the wake word Alice is detected. WiFi fingerprinting, full contact book synchronization via ContentObserver, and transmission of PAN and CVV details to mobpayment.yandex.net occur before tokenization. Additional findings include 94 JavaScript Bridge methods, logcat exfiltration with AES encryption, hardcoded Yandex DNS servers, and a native surveillance library named libquarkenstein_daemons.so. The analysis also covers passive geolocation, cell tower data collection, and inventory of installed applications including competitors such as Chrome, Firefox, WhatsApp, and Telegram. These mechanisms operate under remote configuration flags and bypass several Android privacy restrictions through manifest queries.
TSPU Filtering Disrupts Timeweb Cloud Servers: Diagnosis, CDN Failures, and Reverse Proxy Bypass
Russian hosting provider Timeweb Cloud experienced widespread TSPU-based DPI filtering starting in early June that selectively blocked TLS handshakes on port 443 while leaving SSH, ICMP, and TCP connectivity intact. The issue affected multiple providers including Beget and Selectel, was publicly acknowledged by Timeweb on June 5, and proved highly variable by region, operator, and time of day. Attempts to mitigate via new IP addresses or Timeweb's own CDN failed due to poisoned caches and platform outages, while Yandex Cloud CDN blocked all POST requests required for WordPress functionality. A working solution involved deploying a minimal nginx reverse proxy on another Russian cloud VPS that preserves full HTTP methods, handles certificate synchronization, and routes ACME challenges correctly. Timeweb support later closed tickets without resolution after requesting ineffective mtr traces that cannot detect DPI behavior. The case highlights systemic challenges in diagnosing state-mandated filtering and the limitations of standard network diagnostics against selective TLS interference.
UnifiedPush and Public ntfy.sh: Why Push Notifications Fail on Android Without Google Services
Developers building a messenger without Google services adopted UnifiedPush with the public ntfy.sh instance as the default distributor and push server. Production logs revealed that four out of five delivery attempts failed from day one, with error codes 507, 429, and 400 dominating. The 507 errors occurred because ntfy from Google Play relies on Firebase for instant delivery, leaving no active subscriber visible to the server when FCM is unavailable. Rate-limit 429 responses were triggered against the recipient's IP rather than the sender, collapsing under carrier-grade NAT used by mobile users. WebPush endpoints additionally rejected requests missing the mandatory TTL header. The team ultimately deployed a self-hosted ntfy instance and an embedded distributor inside the app to bypass these constraints.
Innovative Tunneling Techniques Leverage File Storage, IMAP, Meek, and NTP for Covert Connectivity
A new wave of experimental tunneling tools has emerged for establishing network connectivity through unconventional channels such as shared file storage, email accounts, legacy CDN protocols, and NTP. File-Tunnel enables TCP proxying by writing data to common storage backends including S3 and WebDAV, allowing traffic to blend with ordinary object storage access. True IMAP Tunnel (Secure) turns an IMAP mailbox into a bidirectional transport by storing encrypted frames as draft messages, supporting providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yandex while offering optional AES-256-GCM encryption. Meek, originally from the Tor project, is being repurposed as a standalone pluggable transport that uses HTTP POST requests with session headers to traverse CDNs and shared hosting environments. ntptun implements IP-over-NTP and UDP-over-NTP by embedding payloads in NTP extension fields, with poll and push modes for downstream traffic and integration options with GOST for KCP-based proxies. These methods target dissidents and network experimenters seeking resilient bypass techniques against filtering and surveillance.
Six Bitrix24 Disk Migration Errors That Force Portal Redesign After Six Months
A detailed analysis reveals that copying a legacy file share structure directly into Bitrix24 Disk creates persistent access control, ownership and performance problems that surface only after several quarters of operation. The article examines six specific mistakes including one-to-one folder replication, overuse of personal My Disk storage, assignment of rights to individual users instead of departments, dumping unclear documents into the common drive, attaching file copies rather than links to CRM and tasks, and enabling full desktop synchronization. Each error is illustrated with real symptoms, root causes from rushed migrations, and concrete remediation steps using REST and D7 API calls. A Toyota T-Connect case from 2013-2023 demonstrates how unmonitored open permissions can remain undetected for a decade. The guidance stresses pre-migration inventory, pilot testing on one department, named owners for every top-level section, and quarterly rights audits. The piece is aimed at integrators and IT leads who handle large Bitrix24 deployments.
TGLock 2.0 Restores Telegram Connectivity with Local MTProto Proxy Over WebSocket
Russian developer babin2002 has released TGLock 2.0, a free open-source application for Windows, macOS and Linux that helps users restore Telegram when the client remains stuck on the Connecting screen due to content filtering systems. The tool launches a local MTProto proxy and routes only Telegram traffic through an encrypted WebSocket tunnel to the messengerโs own web infrastructure, leaving all other network activity untouched. Unlike the first version, TGLock 2.0 now verifies that a working WebSocket tunnel has been established before displaying the โTelegram connectedโ status and automatically tries alternative routes when a connection drops. The application avoids disabling TLS verification, changing system DNS or importing third-party Cloudflare domain lists, although users may optionally supply their own Cloudflare Worker. A LAN mode allows a smartphone on the same network to use the computer as a proxy, but voice and video calls may fail because UDP traffic is not proxied. No Android version is currently available and the macOS build is not signed with a Developer ID certificate.
Smart Speakers Always Listen: Privacy Controls for Yandex Alice, Marusya, Salyut, Siri and Google Assistant
Voice assistants from Yandex, VK, Sber, Apple and Google keep microphones active in standby mode to detect wake words such as Alice, Marusya, Salyut or Hey Siri. No audio leaves the device until the activation phrase is recognized, yet false triggers, stored interaction histories and third-party app permissions create ongoing privacy exposure. Hardware mute buttons on Yandex Stations and VK Capsules cut microphones at the circuit level and display red indicators. Users can also disable voice activation, delete activity logs and turn off model-training options inside Yandex ID, Apple Settings and Google account controls. The article details exact steps for each platform and warns against placing always-listening devices in rooms where sensitive conversations occur.
Apple Updates Find My in iOS 27 to Automatically Switch Location Source to Apple Watch
Apple is enhancing the Find My application in the upcoming iOS 27 release to intelligently switch the source of a user's location data between devices. The current system relies on a single selected device, typically the iPhone, which causes inaccurate location reporting when the user leaves the phone at home. In iOS 27, the app will detect when paired Apple Watch devices move far from the iPhone and automatically begin transmitting coordinates from the watch instead. The feature supports both standard Apple Watch models and cellular variants, with LTE-equipped watches providing more reliable updates without depending on Wi-Fi or nearby iPhones. watchOS 27 will also consolidate the separate Find People, Find Devices, and Find Items apps into a single unified Locator application featuring a full-screen map and Digital Crown navigation. Both iOS 27 and watchOS 27 are currently in beta testing, with a public release expected in September.
Russian Users Report BiP and KakaoTalk Inaccessible Without VPN, Suspecting Roskomnadzor Filtering
Russian home users have started complaining about disruptions in BiP and KakaoTalk messenger services. Messages fail to send or receive without a VPN connection, but function normally once a VPN is enabled. The issue reportedly began three days ago and affects the author, relatives, and friends according to a Pikabu post. Beeline support denied any operator-side restrictions, and Roskomnadzor has issued no official statement on blocking the services. Similar reports have emerged from other users, including those in the Volga region, with the consistent symptom that direct connections fail while VPN routes succeed. No independent technical confirmation of traffic filtering exists yet, and complaints may relate to specific operators, regions, or service infrastructure. The pattern matches previous Russian experiences with content filtering, though official confirmation of any block on BiP or KakaoTalk remains absent.
One Underscore, 18 Months in Prison: Username Typo Sends Innocent Man to Jail
Brandon Klaym, a resident of Nova Scotia, spent 18 months in prison after Canadian and U.S. authorities confused two similar Kik usernames during a child exploitation investigation. Police sought records for the account fus__ro_dah but requested data for fus_ro_dah, directing them to the wrong individual. The error originated in a 2018 Wisconsin case involving 125 messages sent to a 12-year-old girl; the real suspect used a Skyrim reference that contained two underscores. Kik supplied Klaymโs subscriber information, and his IP address led investigators to Canada. Despite finding no evidence on his devices and no proof he had ever used Kik during the relevant period, prosecutors charged him with multiple child-sex offenses. He was convicted in 2023, served his full 18-month sentence, and was only exonerated in 2024 when the correct username was examined during appeal proceedings.