Is Xbox One the ‘future of PRISM’?

The Xbox One has been a public relations nightmare so far for Microsoft. The console’s debut was marred by unclear policies and misinformation, and gamers haven’t been shy in letting Microsoft know how they feel. But it’s not just the used game policy, game-sharing limitations and connectivity requirements that have people up in arms — … Continue Reading

First Lawsuit Over NSA Phone Scandal Targets Obama, Verizon

The first of what likely will be many lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the NSA’s dragnet phone surveillance program was lodged Sunday, calling the newly disclosed operation an “outrageous breach of privacy.” SOURCE Wired: Threat Level

NSA Surveillance Heat Map: NSA Lied To Congress

anagama writes “NSA officials have repeatedly denied under oath to Congress that even producing an estimate of the number of Americans caught up in its surveillance is impossible. Leaked screenshots of an NSA application that does exactly that, prove that the NSA flat out lied (surprise). Glenn Greenwald continues his relentless attacks with another bombshell … Continue Reading

Leaked court documents reveal NSA is collecting bulk call logs from Verizon

A court document published today by The Guardian reveals the NSA is currently collecting call records in bulk from Verizon. The request, granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on April 25th, extends until July 19th and mandates Verizon produce all call detail records on a daily basis to the NSA. The data collected includes … Continue Reading

American Targeted By Digital Spy Tool Sold To Foreign Governments

An anonymous reader points out a report in Wired of an American woman at a “renowned academic institution” who received targeted malware from what was most likely a foreign government. “… analysis of [the downloader] showed that it was the same downloader that has been used in the past to install Remote Control System (RCS), … Continue Reading

UK Police Launch Campaign To Shut Down Torrent Sites

An anonymous reader writes “City of London Police inform TorrentFreak that they have begun targeting sites that provide access to unauthorized content for ‘criminal gain.’ The initiative is part of a collaboration with Hollywood studios represented by FACT and the major recording labels of the BPI. In letters being sent out now, police accuse site … Continue Reading

Verizon Store Still Won’t Sell Me A Smartphone Without A Contract

(dooley) Greg recently fought a new battle in his ongoing war with Verizon. His war is in defense of a noble goal: over and over, he just wants to buy a phone for the full retail price without signing a new two-year contract. If this seems like it should be pretty straightforward, you don’t work … Continue Reading

Verizon Galaxy S3 Struggling With LTE After Latest Update, Other Issues Too?

Verizon’s variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 received a pretty major update earlier in the week, but according to multiple comments from readers who have taken the new build, the phone may be experiencing some major issues. We’re seeing everything from complaints of poor 4G LTE connectivity to phones auto-subscribing to the newest bloatware add-on … Continue Reading