Questions tagged [internet]
The Internet is a global network consisting of many networks connecting billions of devices together via a variety of network technologies.
328
questions
127
votes
7
answers
48k
views
My ISP uses deep packet inspection; what can they observe?
I found out that my ISP does deep packet inspection.
Can they see the contents of HTTPS connections? Wouldn't having HTTPS ensure that they can't see the contents being transferred?
And can having a ...
- 1,253
117
votes
4
answers
22k
views
How would a resourceful government block Tor?
I came across this article saying that after the November 2015 Paris attacks, some French police officers proposed to ban Tor.
Tor is used to circumvent censorship! What security techniques would ...
- 1,133
76
votes
10
answers
16k
views
Is it safe to pay bills over satellite internet?
We bought a house. We need internet for basic research, email and paying bills, but there is no internet... Even a dedicated hotspot will not give us a stable connection. We are planning to get ...
- 703
70
votes
10
answers
33k
views
Is removing the Ethernet cable from the router (when I'm not using it) a good security measure?
I have here at home a router, like many people out there.
The router is connected with an Ethernet cable that comes from the modem.
But, to prevent hackers or anything else to try bothering me, if I'...
- 995
59
votes
6
answers
22k
views
Why is leaving a passworded SSH over the internet so bad?
I've heard multiple multiple times to never leave SSH with a password open over the internet. Why is this so bad?
I understand the password can be bruteforced, but what if it is a very strong ...
- 703
56
votes
11
answers
10k
views
Why is it bad to connect internal systems to the Internet?
We have an intranet system we use to book, track and process invoices for our core business. My boss would like to move this system to the Internet to make it "accessible everywhere". However, I feel ...
- 611
53
votes
6
answers
26k
views
Phones broadcast the SSIDs of all networks they have ever connected to. How can these be obtained by an attacker?
I just watched an interesting talk from Glen Glenn Wilkinson titled: The Machines that Betrayed their Masters.
He said that your phone is constantly broadcasting all the SSIDs it has ever connected ...
- 678
41
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Can anti-virus/virus protection be used to spy on you? [closed]
I'm a complete noob when it comes to these subjects. But here goes...
Let's say someone is using a VPN, TOR, or some other tool to enhance their privacy. As I understand it, you are discouraged from ...
- 509
35
votes
1
answer
22k
views
Was Goggle.com actually crazy malware in 2006?
This video shows how somebody accidentally opens Goggle.com instead of Google.com. He gets flooded with pop-ups, SpySheriff or SpywareSTOP get installed automatically, and the computer user has no ...
- 469
30
votes
5
answers
15k
views
Can FBI or government agencies get hold of my Google Docs files just by confiscating my laptop? [closed]
Assume the following:
I am doing all my work, including the one with sensitive information on Google Docs. No documents are stored on local hard drive.
I am not using the Google Drive App, just doing ...
- 905
23
votes
8
answers
13k
views
Is possible to get infected by only staying connected to the Internet (nothing else)?
I have a router and I'm the only user. I have a computer with Linux and a tablet with Windows 8.1.
Because of a few problems, I had to reinstall Windows on the tablet. Since I'm a bit paranoid about ...
- 995
23
votes
4
answers
25k
views
How do I hide the OS I am using from internet sites?
I am currently trying to mask the OS system I am using from the websites I visit. I'm doing this for an added layer of security. How would I go about hiding the OS from websites?
- 373
20
votes
1
answer
16k
views
How can I detect real location of the user through their IP address?
There were many ways to detect the user's IP, for instance we could get it through a single click link or through any other medium of communication where we could get the user's IP.
But the tedious ...
- 5,097
16
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Can all your public files on Dropbox be accessed by anyone with one of the links?
Dropbox is one of the most famous cloud storage and sharing platform.
Dropproxy's website claims that there is a weakness in the Dropbox security:
Lots of people use Dropbox. Lots of people ...
- 303
16
votes
3
answers
26k
views
Why no support for TCP Sockets in JavaScript
I know there are now WebSockets, but what is the issue with providing a socket API to allow interacting with existing protocols?
I mean, after all, I can use a hidden flash object to do the same ...
- 279
15
votes
4
answers
4k
views
How can a service like Fastly have such an impact on the Internet? [closed]
Fastly WAF service was down a while ago, and it has affected a lot of major internet platforms and sites such as Amazon, PayPal, eBay, Spotify, HBO Max, the UK's main government website - Gov.uk, and ...
- 1,403
14
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What parties have access to the *full* requested URL of a website accessed via the HTTPS protocol? [duplicate]
What parties have access to the full requested URL of a website accessed via the HTTPS protocol?
Here are some possibilities I can think of, and there could be more:
local device accessing the ...
10
votes
3
answers
10k
views
How to prove my Gmail has been hacked?
I believed that someone had hacked my Gmail because they were using information contained within my emails in an attempt to try to convince me that they were psychic. I told them that I didn't believe ...
- 125
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
With whom does my PC communicate at startup?
I've been reading about Windows 10 and its incessant desire to call home. I've tried putting some firewall rules in place. I am sure they are working but I got to thinking that many events probably ...
- 101
10
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How to improve the security and privacy of Firefox
What would be a sensible approach to enhance the security and privacy of Firefox?
I did not find a question about this and I feel that some guidelines for casual web users would be handy.
Currently ...
- 657
10
votes
1
answer
350
views
Setting up a IPv6 Darknet/Network Telescope
I would like to setup a IPv6 Darknet/Network Telescope. It is unused address space a network that is completely passive and sends no outbound traffic. This talk gives more details.
Most residential ...
- 101
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How to explain to a non IT person whether the Internet can be "shut down"? [closed]
When Donald trump first stated he wanted to "shut down the Internet", a few people asked me if he could do that.
How can I simply explain that the Internet is a Web and not a two way stream?
- 271
9
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Is There Any Risk When Visiting Websites Without Secure Connections If You Don't Enter Personal Info?
Sometimes when I click on a link to a website, from google search, etc., I get a warning that says "Your connection is not private. Attackers may be trying to steal your personal info", and makes me ...
- 93
9
votes
2
answers
10k
views
How does a government shutdown Internet (and how to bypass it)?
Recently the government of India shutdown Internet in the state of Gujarat due to riots. How does this "internet shutdown" work? How can someone who is in the country circumvent this? What can a ...
- 91
8
votes
6
answers
13k
views
Can my ISP censor my internet?
Can the internet be censored from the ISP itself? And what to do if the internet is censored by my ISP?
Even TOR is not showing me the results I want: I had previously searched for the same keywords ...
- 125
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What techniques do advertisement companies use to get my browsing information, and how can I stop them?
In the past year, I've noticed a strangely increasing incidence of advertisements on various web sites being for products that I was browsing for elsewhere.
This makes me extremely uncomfortable. It ...
- 273
8
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is it possible to detect VPN in the network?
Is it possible to detect the use of a VPN in a network?
Let's say that I'm going to use a VPN during my connection in a country where the internet is filtered, and to avoid being monitored I installed ...
- 459
8
votes
1
answer
12k
views
PayPal is asking for my Bank Details. How secure is this? [closed]
I am from the UK but I'm living in Poland. I have two British bank accounts and a Polish account. The two British accounts are linked to a PayPal account registered from the UK and the Polish one is ...
- 193
8
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Is there a way to block your ISP from controlling the password of your main router?
I got internet installed at my home earlier today by Bright House Networks.
When I asked the installation technician about changing the router administration password, he said that he can change it ...
user63673
7
votes
5
answers
6k
views
How to detect self destructing emails? How to prevent from self destruction?
Recently I came across a gmail extension for Chrome browsers which claims to send self destructive emails. I tested by sending self destructive emails to my email account and it works fine
Now my ...
- 5,097
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to find out whether an ISP adds a perma-cookie to my requests?
I am interested in finding out whether my (or any) current ISP (Internet Service Provider) uses a technology known as "perma-cookie" oder "sticky cookie" when I am browsing the internet.
This ...
- 4,066
7
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there any point to opting out of interest-based ads?
There are various browser extensions for opting out of interest-based ads, e.g.:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/iba-opt-out-by-google/gbiekjoijknlhijdjbaadobpkdhmoebb
https://chrome.google....
- 2,542
7
votes
2
answers
973
views
What are the security benefits or risks of HTTP/2?
Since HTTP/2 is starting to get adopted by more and more sites everyday. Are there any security benefits or known risks regarding HTTP/2?
- 6,427
6
votes
4
answers
9k
views
Self-signed certificates not working over Internet?
My self-signed certificates are not working over Internet. What can be the problems?
Here are the setup details:
I have a Windows Virtual Machine in Azure with IIS, and a self-signed certificate ...
- 63
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Google DNS query pointing at ISP instead of Google
I am not sure if this is actually an issue or not or if I am just being too paranoid, but I noticed this upon arriving home to Alaska recently (location is important as you'll see shortly). In short, ...
- 163
6
votes
1
answer
475
views
What information is still exposed when visiting an HTTPS website using DNS over TLS?
DNS over TLS is now supported in Android Pie, which allows a user to define a private DNS server, and by DNS providers such as CloudFlare's 1.1.1.1. This opens up the world of DNS security to more ...
- 163
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Do ISP Detect and Block Pen Testing Tools?
I one of the earliest books I read on security - The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing (978-0124116443); the author emphasized that you cannot use these Penetration Test Tools over the ...
- 458
6
votes
2
answers
280
views
Is there a formal common Internet threat model?
I'm looking for a common Internet threat model that describes active attacks formally. By active attacks I mean attacks of an attacker with literally unlimited resources and full control over the ...
- 61
5
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How likely is it that I was hacked by running a local server for development?
Over the last couple of days I've been learning Apache and servers in general - I installed Apache, PHP and mySQL on my Ubuntu system and accessed my website with 'localhost'. I have always thought ...
- 51
5
votes
2
answers
766
views
Are string comparson timing attacks practical over public networks
Related are-there-any-working-proof-of-concept-string-comparison-timing-attacks
I was looking at doing some encryption and hashing in PHP and came across this note
Please be careful when ...
- 537
5
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Is it possible to ping a LAN card through its MAC address? [duplicate]
As you can start a PC through its 'WAKE ON LAN' feature on private networks, can you trace someone's online status through their MAC address over the internet ?
- 1,225
5
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Is revealing a PC account user name bad?
Typical computers with modern operating systems require log-on accounts with a user name and a password. Is it dangerous to reveal the user name of the log-on account to the public?
My research:
I ...
- 153
5
votes
4
answers
538
views
How can I avoid getting exposed while travelling to Russia?
UPDATE: There is a similar question, but my question is different because it is very narrow and about a very specific security concern. In short, I used a laptop to make posts on a Russian social ...
- 185
5
votes
3
answers
18k
views
I want to host a server from my home computer; safe?
I am planning to make public a website I have been working on; it seems to me that the only way I can do this without needing to pay any extra money to external hosts etc. is by hosting the server ...
- 207
5
votes
3
answers
31k
views
What information can be gained from an Apple device's screenshot or its EXIF data?
I often take screen grabs from my Apple devices for professional purposes (iPhone, iMac, Powerbook...), sometimes sharing them on forums, imgur or S.E. sites for technical support.
What informations ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
754
views
Monitoring Github/Internet for source code leaks
We teach an online course and would like to issue takedown notices if source code for our projects are made publicly available.
Is there a way to automate a periodic online search for any code that ...
- 3,946
5
votes
1
answer
552
views
What about Long Router Passwords and WPS Push-Buttons
I have a question related to the WPS push-button capability on my router. I know that there is some material on the web about this question, but I haven't found anything that's current enough for my ...
- 371
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How does pornhub infer gender? [closed]
The adult website Pornhub (very NSFW) has an active data science blog (mostly SFW) that tracks usage statistics.
One frequently reported statistic is gender, as exemplified by the SFW post "Women and ...
- 304
4
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Windows 7 consent.exe attempting to access the internet
Looking at Firewall logs, I see that consent.exe, which is responsible for the Windows 7 UAC UI, attempts to connect to the internet. I have verified the file is a genuine executable provided by ...
4
votes
3
answers
543
views
Is it possible to have a protocol that sits on top of TCP/IP that encrypts packets?
I was wondering if it is possible to make a new protocol which sits on top of TCP/IP and encrypts the packet which is going to be sent. One of the issues I can see is the metadata being available ...
- 141