Personaldata.info Blog

That QR code sticker on the parking meter looks innocent enough - but scanning it could drain your bank account in seconds. Welcome to the world of “quishing” - the latest QR code phishing scam leaving victims compromised. Criminals are preying on the explosion of QR code usage by creating fake codes that direct to malicious sites. Once scanned, your login credentials, financial information and even identity are at risk.

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We’ve all been there - you’re browsing a website, interested in the content, when suddenly an intrusive pop-up appears asking you to sign up for a newsletter. You dismiss it, only to be interrupted again by aggressive requests to turn off your ad blocker. The endless distractions make it hard to focus on the actual content you came for. These frustrating experiences point to growing issues with the modern web that affect both user experience and privacy.

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The web console provided by modern browsers offers developers invaluable insight into their web applications. However, variances between browser implementations also introduce the possibility of using the console as a fingerprinting vector. While console fingerprinting is unlikely to be deployed in the wild, here at personaldata.info, we try to fingerprint everything we can get our hands on. It serves as an illustrative example of how nearly any browser feature can aid fingerprinting efforts.

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“What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.” That’s Apple’s promise to customers about protecting privacy. But does their controversial billion-dollar deal with Google to remain the default search engine on iPhones undermine that pledge? This cozy arrangement reveals a conflict of interest that calls Apple’s privacy principles into question. When massive profits are at stake, even companies claiming to champion user privacy can become ethically flexible. The Google deal highlights how Apple’s ideals have a price, no matter what their slick marketing slogans suggest.

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These days, it seems like everywhere you go online, your data and privacy are at risk. Between companies tracking your activity for targeted advertising and governments conducting mass surveillance, it can feel impossible to browse the web without leaving a trace. This is where tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) and The Onion Router (TOR) come in. They allow you to encrypt your internet connection and reduce your online footprint. However, VPNs and TOR work quite differently under the hood, with unique advantages and drawbacks.

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