The Register

Alternative Services spec bungled by browser makers

The HTTP Alternative Services header can be abused to conduct network reconnaissance and attacks, to bypass malware protection services, and to foil tracking defenses and privacy assumptions, according to a paper scheduled to be presented at the WOOT '19 security conference on Tuesday.…

Big Brother rang...

New research suggests almost 40 per cent of people will have some sort of unique mobile identifier service by 2024.…

You know, the US spy station with the golf balls

A curious thing happens when you look at a map of fibre-optic cables – most of the UK section of American cable operator GTT's network appears to link the NSA spy station at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire with continental Europe.…

(Yes, pedants, we know natural methane is odorless. Don't get in the way of a Bowie headline)

Ever since methane was detected on Mars, boffins have been trying to find out how it got there. Research published in Scientific Reports on Monday has ruled out one source – rocks being eroded by wind.…

Grab a Register reader discount – and learn to sharpen your negotiation tactics and reduce costs

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Nature isn't perfect either, eh

Aussie astroboffins think they have worked out one of the more unusual oddities in the universe - glitchy pulsars.…

Expensive renewals once a year... or free certificates any time? Tough choice

CA/Browser Forum – an industry body of web browser makers, software developers, and security certificate issuers – is considering slashing the lifetime of HTTPS certs from 27 months to 13 months.…

Child abuse swap-shop admins to spend decades behind bars

The FBI is keeping quiet how exactly it brought down a Tor-hidden pedophile haven, having secured decades-long prison sentences for four of the website's administrators.…

Government officials will guess the future and deny those likely to utilize public benefits

The Trump administration on Monday previewed a pending rule change that will make it more difficult for legal immigrants to obtain green cards or temporary visas in Amerca if they use public benefits like food stamps or Medicaid.…

Powerful code signed by Microsoft littered with vulns

DEF CON Too many trusted Windows 10 peripheral drivers, signed off by Microsoft and running with powerful kernel-level privileges, are riddled with exploitable security vulnerabilities, according to infosec biz Eclypsium.…

Plus: The spambot that actually DOES record screens of pr0n users

Roundup Here is your friendly summary of recent news from the front lines of information security beyond everything else we've already reported.…

Politicians appeal to hackers to take up the fight

DEF CON Despite some progress, the US is still massively underprepared for a serious cyber attack and the current administration isn't helping matters, according to politicians visiting the DEF CON hacking conference.…

Or why My Chemical Romance broke up

South Korea has retaliated against Japanese trade measures by removing the country from its white list of automatically approved export partners.…

Faulty F-15s, at-risk airbases and much more

DEF CON For the first time, Vegas's annual DEF CON hacking conference has an "aviation hacking village", and the US military is scouting around there for a few good hackers to find bugs that its own hackers have missed.…

More unregulated creepycams blight London

Britons working for Google at its London HQ are being secretly spied on by creepy facial recognition cameras – but these ones aren't operated by the ad-tech company.…

Interim measure until Brexit, or never... whichever happens first

The UK government has threatened hosting platforms with big fines for providing access to unpleasant videos and will task UK comms regulator Ofcom with looking after how that happens.…

Not ready for production yet, warns team, as it expands ZFS support

Canonical is expanding Ubuntu's support for ZFS, an advanced file system originally developed by Sun Microsystems.…

'It should be up to Android users which search engine they use, and absolutely not up to Google'

Tree-planting search engine Ecosia has said no thanks to the Android search choice screen Google was forced to offer users as part of a European Commission settlement.…

This is fine

Newly analysed recruitment figures from British Russell Group universities show a slowing of recruitment of European academics and increasing departures.…

Not working as intended, says browser security team

The next version of Google's Chrome web browser, 77, will not indicate whether a site has an EV (Extended Validation) certificate unless the user drills down into the Page Info dialogue.…