Articles by John P. Mello Jr

Google on Thursday announced that it was expanding its Project Shield program, offering to protect news and human rights websites from distributed denial of service attacks for free. Project Shield uses Google's security infrastructure to detect and filter DDoS attacks, which flood websites with Internet traffic or service requests in order to imp...

Popularity is becoming a two-edged sword for Linux The open-source operating system has become a key component of the Internet's infrastructure, and it's also the foundation for the world's largest mobile OS, Google's Android....

IT pros -- the gatekeepers of company security policies -- are willing to bend the rules to get things done, according toAbsolute Software, based on survey findings it released last week Forty-five percent of IT pros confessed they knowingly worked around their own security policies, according to the survey....

Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Tuesday attempted to clarify his position regarding Apple's conflict with the FBI, telling Bloomberg he was disappointed that his earlier comments had been construed as taking sides with the government Apple has sparked a public debate through itsresistance to a court order to unscramble the data on the iPhone used b...

Samsung on Sunday introduced two new models of its flagship Galaxy smartphone line at the annual gala for the mobile world, the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain Both phones have similar features, but one, the Galaxy S7 Edge, has a 5.5-inch display, the same size as the iPhone 6s Plus....

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center on Wednesday announced that it paid approximately US$17,000 to resume normal operations after digital extortionists knocked its computer systems offline The Los Angeles hospital discovered its computer network infected with ransomware earlier this month. Ransomware is a form of malware that scrambles data and k...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security this month will start sharing threat information with a small number of hand-picked companies under the newly enacted Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act DHS hopes to collect threat indicators from companies and redistribute them to other companies so everyone gets a better view of threats and can use that...

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center last week revealed its computer systems were offline after a ransomware attack scrambled the data on its systems Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts data and system files on a computer and demands payment of a ransom to unscramble the files....

Google is expanding the right of Europeans to be forgotten on the Internet to domains outside their countries, according to news reports Thursday Searches made from European IP addresses for people whom Google has granted what's known as the "right to be forgotten" will turn up zero links, regardless of which version of Google the search is directe...

Twitter on Tuesday announced the formation of a panel to advise it on speech, abuse and safety issues The Trust & Safety Council, which has more than 40 members, will be part of a new strategy to ensure that people can feel safe when they express themselves on Twitter, said Patricia Cartes, head of global policy outreach....

The U.S. departments ofJustice andHomeland Security on Monday announced they were investigating reports that a hacker broke into government computer systems and stole sensitive information about employees at the agencies The hacker posted stolen information for about 9,000 DHS employees online Sunday and made public data on 20,000 FBI employees Mon...

Through an eleventh-hour maneuver, the United States and the European Union last week avoided action that could have choked the movement of data between the regions and caused financial harm to U.S. companies It may be only a temporary respite, however....

Google this week reportedly pulled one mobile ad blocker from the Google Play store and prevented another from being updated The moves come on the heels ofSamsung's announcement this week that it was opening up its mobile Web browser to ad blockers....

Apple is planning an event to unveil a refresh of its iPhone 5s and its Apple Watch, as well as to introduce a new version of its iPad Air, 9to5Mac reported Tuesday. However, the event date could change, or the company could opt for an online announcement The 4-inchiPhone 5se reportedly will look similar to the 5s and sell at the same price point: ...

Samsung on Sunday released a version of its mobile browser that supports applications that block advertising on Web pages The browser upgrade can be applied to devices running Android Lollipop and higher....

Oracle earlier this week announced its decision to scrap its Java browser plug-in The plug-in, which has been a frequent target of hackers, won't be included in the next version of the kit for Java developers, JDK 9, which is expected to ship in September....

The U.S.Food and Drug Administration last week took a step toward addressing the threat the Internet of Things poses to patients and their data by releasing some proposed guidelines for managing cybersecurity in medical devices "A growing number of medical devices are designed to be networked to facilitate patient care. Networked medical devices, l...

GoPro on Monday announced an integration with Twitter'sPeriscope app that allows live streaming from a GoPro Hero4 camera Periscope users can switch between broadcasting from their iPhone's camera to their GoPro directly from the phone screen with the touch of a button, GoPro said....

An iPhone with a 4-inch display and some features found in Apple's latest models will launch in March or April, 9to5Mac reported last week The model reportedly will be called the "iPhone 5se" -- for "special edition" -- and will be offered at the same price point as the iPhone 5s....

Worldwide downloads of Android apps in 2015 were double those for iOS, but revenues from iOS apps were nearly twice those of Android, according to anApp Annie report released this week First-time device owners in emerging markets drove the huge increase in Android downloads, researchers found....