Latest news with #personalData
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Quarter of adults pay little or no attention to how their data is used, survey finds
A quarter of Irish adults pay little or no attention to how their personal data is used by organisations, according to a survey. Fewer than one in five people said they pay close attention to how their data is used, with just 7 per cent of 18–24s saying they pay serious attention to the use of their data. Advertisement The State's data protection watchdog published its first public attitudes survey on Thursday as it launched its annual report. The online survey of 1,034 adults was carried out by FleishmanHillard and Empathy Research in May. It indicated that there was a 'significant level of concern' about how children's personal data is being shared and used online, with 77 per cent of respondents reporting being quite/very concerned. The second highest concern was over personal data being used to create a digital profile of you, which is shared with, traded or sold to others (76 per cent). Advertisement A further 61 per cent said they were quite or very concerned about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is applied. There was a slightly lower level of concern about social media and tech companies creating profiles to personalise content, and personal data being used for targeted ads (59 per cent and 58 per cent respectively). Fewer than one in five people reported paying close attention to how their personal data is used by organisations, with around a quarter admitting to hardly any or no attention at all. 'Most people occupy a middle ground of passive awareness, and levels of engagement vary by region and social class,' the research said. Advertisement 'This suggests that, despite growing concerns over data privacy, public attention to data use by organisations remains shallow, highlighting the need for greater education and engagement efforts.' Almost three in four adults said it was either quite or very important that organisations comply with data protection requirements, even if this causes a slight delay in releasing the product or service. Just under half of respondents said they were either very or quite knowledgeable on data protection. The Data Protection Commission's annual report for 2024 showed an 11 per cent increase in data breaches last year. Advertisement Of notified data breaches, half were due to correspondence being sent to the wrong recipient. The Data Protection Commission said among the issues featuring 'prominently' was correspondence sent to incorrect recipients because of poor operational practices and human error – for example, the wrong document in an envelope addressed to an unrelated third party. The DPC said it received 7,781 valid data breaches in 2024, of which 7,346 were General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) notifications. The GDPR total was made up of 3,958 reports about the private sector, 3,137 about the public sector, and 251 from the voluntary and charity sector. Advertisement GDPR, a major part of the EU's data protection and privacy laws, regulates how people's personal data is used, stored and transferred. Ireland Data Protection Commission asked for extra €4m in... Read More Public sector bodies and banks accounted for the 'top 10' organisations with the highest number of breach notifications, while insurance and telecom companies featured prominently in the top 20. Dr Des Hogan, chairman of the Data Protection Commission, said: 'The protection of our personal data is more important than ever as our daily transactions now routinely occur through technologies. 'The DPC's wide range of activities during the last year points to how fair, consistent regulation can lead to individuals across Europe trusting that their personal data is being used in a lawful and safe manner and that they have control over their data.'
CNET
2 days ago
- General
- CNET
The Ultimate Google Maps Cheat Sheet for Smarter Travel and Exploring
907 We and ourpartners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting I Accept enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. Selecting Reject All or withdrawing your consent will disable them. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Manage Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage [or the floating icon on the bottom-left of the webpage, if applicable]. Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Check your phone NOW: Major mobile brand will delete thousands of accounts within weeks - how to check if you're affected
If you're a smartphone user, urgent action may be needed to avoid losing your personal data. Samsung has warned customers that they have only weeks to save their Samsung account from deletion. The free membership service lets people view and manage content across smartphones, tablets, TVs and more. If affected users don't act fast, important data such as photos, videos, contacts, calendar events could be lost for good. But even iPhone users can be affected too – if they previously used a Samsung phone. The Korean tech giant said the 'important changes' to its policy leaves many Samsung account 'subject to deletion'. 'Accounts and data that are deleted cannot be restored,' it warns. Here's how to check if you're affected – and the steps you'll need to take. In an email being sent to users, Samsung said its new policy is effective from July 31 – in just over six weeks' time. The policy will delete Samsung accounts that have been inactive for two years. The message reads: 'Thank you for using Samsung account. 'We are writing to inform you of important changes related to using your Samsung account. 'Samsung is implementing an inactive Samsung account policy to protect the data of users who have not used their account for an extended period of time. 'Once this policy is implemented, Samsung accounts that have not been logged in to or used for twenty-four (24) months will be considered inactive and will be subject to deletion. 'If an account is deleted, access to the account will be restricted and all data linked to the account will be deleted.' It adds that deleted accounts and data cannot be restored, although some may be saved in 'accordance with local legal requirements and applicable legislation'. For those people who haven't used their Samsung Account for a while, it might be worth doing so as soon as possible What is a Samsung account? A Samsung account is a membership service that lets people use Samsung content on smartphones, tablets, TVs and more. It includes access to services such as Samsung Pay for mobile payments, Samsung Cloud for backing up data and SmartThings for connecting devices. People can use multiple Samsung services with one Samsung account, without having to register for each service separately. A Samsung account includes access to services such Samsung Cloud, which stores personal data including photos, videos, contacts, calendar events and more. It also includes Samsung Health details, Samsung Pay for mobile payments and SmartThings for managing connective devices, like TVs and fridges. So there's potentially a lot of personal data at risk of being lost forever if Samsung customers don't act soon. If you're a regular Samsung account user anyway, you needn't worry about the company's new policy. For those who haven't used theirs for a while, the problem can be averted by logging into your Samsung account. This can be done by tapping on the Settings app on your Samsung device, followed by a banner on the top that reads 'Sign in to your Galaxy'. You'll then be prompted to enter your email address and your password (or you can sign in with your Google account). Alternatively, on a desktop you can head to click 'Sign in' and then enter your email address and password likewise. Logging into your Samsung account, or using a service/product while logged in to a Samsung account, counts as activity that will save it from being deemed 'inactive'. If you use an iPhone but used to be a Samsung user, it might be worth turning on your old smartphone (if you have it) and logging into Samsung account. That way, your old personal data under your Samsung account such as photos and videos will be saved. If you cannot see the email from Samsung in your inbox, you probably logged into your Samsung account recently – but it would be risky to leave it too long before doing so in the future. Samsung will likely send further email warmings as it gets closer to the July 31 deadline before the policy is implemented. 'Notifications will be sent to your email address before your account is deleted to prevent unwanted deletion,' it adds. It follows a similar move from Google, which started deleting inactive accounts in December 2023. Samsung's full email to users Dear Customer, Thank you for using Samsung account. We are writing to inform you of important changes related to using your Samsung account. Samsung is implementing an inactive Samsung account policy to protect the data of users who have not used their account for an extended period of time. Once this policy is implemented, Samsung accounts that have not been logged in to or used for twenty-four (24) months will be considered inactive and will be subject to deletion. If an account is deleted, access to the account will be restricted and all data linked to the account will be deleted. Accounts and data that are deleted cannot be restored. However, some data may be retained in accordance with local legal requirements and applicable legislation. Policy effective date: 31 July 2025 Key details of policy: Deletion of Samsung accounts that have been inactive for twenty-four (24) months. Samsung defines account usage/activity as follows: Creating a Samsung account Logging in to Samsung services/products using a Samsung account Using a service/product while logged in with a Samsung account To prevent your account from being deleted, and to ensure proper use of Samsung Services, your account must have at least one usage/activity every twenty-four (24) months. However, there are some exceptions to this policy and accounts that meet at least one of the exceptions will be considered active. Exceptions include, registered family accounts, accounts with a record of accumulating/using reward points, and accounts used to purchase products on You can see the complete list of exceptions here. Notifications will be sent to your email address before your account is deleted to prevent unwanted deletion. In addition, we are making a change to how we notify you about updates to our Terms and Conditions. Moving forwards, we will notify you via email only when material changes are made, those that directly affect your rights and obligations. If you need help with your Samsung account, please contact the Help Center at Thank you.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Forbes
How To Tell If Your Phone Has A Virus – And What To Do
For many of us, our phone is an essential part of daily life, used for everything from social interaction to banking or working. That means that anything going wrong can be quite a headache. And if your Android phone or iPhone becomes infected with a virus, that can cause very big problems indeed. A virus is a type of malware that can replicate itself and spread through a system; a phone is generally infected when the user clicks on a dodgy link or ad, visits a risky website or downloads a malicious app. We look at the signs that your phone may be infected with a virus, and what to do if it is. A virus can impact the performance of your phone, but it can have more significant effects too, from stealing your personal data to, potentially, financial costs. There are a number of signs that your phone may have been infected with a virus, mostly related to the phone's performance. One common symptom is a fast-draining battery; others include overheating, an unexpected increase in data use or the appearance of unfamiliar apps or features. Meanwhile, apps may take longer to open, or close on their own, and the screen may freeze more often than usual. You may spot random messages being sent from your phone, or even fraudulent purchases. If your phone feels unusually hot to the touch or is running out of battery quickly, this may be a sign that you've got a virus. The reason is that unauthorized apps or processes are running in the background, using your phone's resources. One of the first things that hackers are likely to do is install malicious applications on your phone, aiming to access your files. These apps may look perfectly innocuous, but don't click on them: they may activate malware when you do. If your friends and family start saying they've been receiving strange messages from you, it's a sign that hackers are attempting to phish them by sending suspicious links. You may spot these messages yourself. If you suspect your phone has a virus, you should check your bank and credit card statement, in case unauthorized purchases have been made. Don't disregard what appear to be tiny purchases: criminals often put through purchases for tiny amounts to check that they can, before going ahead with larger amounts. If a virus is running unauthorized background processes, this may show up in the form of higher-than-usual data usage. If your data plan shows a spike in usage when you haven't been using your phone any more than usual, this could be a sign that it's been hacked. If you find that your phone has a virus, the first thing to do is to check using a virus scan, removing any that you find. Remove any apps that you didn't install yourself, along with any unfamiliar devices. You should also notify your friends and other contacts, in case they've received any messages from you containing dodgy links that could mean they get infected themselves. Change all passwords immediately to new, strong ones. It's possible for a virus to spread from your phone to your PC if you've connected the two devices via a network or USB — so you may need to check that out too. If all else fails, you could restore your phone to its factory settings — although this means losing everything stored on the device. Your first step should be to change your Apple or Android password to something strong and hard to guess. If you can't, you should be able to reset it through the company's support department. At the same time, turn on two factor authentication if it isn't already enabled. Next, you should access your account to check that your personal or security information is correct, and change any incorrect information back. Next, you should remove any unauthorized devices from your account via Settings. Check for any you don't recognize and remove them. It's a good idea to contact your email provider and mobile network provider to make sure you're actually in control of every email address and phone number associated with the device. Check your financial accounts for activities that you don't recognize, and query any that you find. And check through your emails for notifications of login attempts on other accounts such as social media or Gmail. If your phone has a virus, there's a fair chance that you've unwittingly been spamming your contacts with dodgy links that, if clicked, will spread the malware to them too. It's a good idea, therefore, to alert them to the danger. It should be possible to remove a virus from your phone and keep access to your data — though if all else fails, you may need to restore your phone to its factory settings, in which case you'll probably lose your data. The basic moves are the same, whether you're using an iPhone or an Android phone — run an antivirus scan, clear cache and browsing history and uninstall suspicious apps — but the process for doing this is a bit different depending on the type of phone. Below are the basic steps to follow in each case. Step 1: Restart Your iPhone This should allow you to back up your data in case you need to carry out a factory reset — though it almost certainly won't actually remove the virus in itself. Step 2: Run A Virus Scan While iPhones don't have a built-in virus scanner, you can run a third-party package that should be able to identify and remove any viruses. Step 3: Install Software Updates Software updates can patch security vulnerabilities, and in some cases remove the virus itself. To check for an iOS update. Go to Open Settings, General, then Software Update and pick Update Now. Step 4: Delete Suspicious Apps The virus may well have arrived via a dodgy app, so you should uninstall any that you don't remember installing. Step 5: Clear Browsing History Clearing browser history removes cached data and cookies, and can eliminate any browser-based threats. Step 6: Revert To An Earlier Version Or Restore Factory Settings If you can restore your iPhone from a backup created before the infection, you should be able to eliminate any viruses. Restoring factory settings, though, is a last resort, as it deletes all your personal data, apps, photos and settings. Step 1: Run An Antivirus Scan Running a good antivirus app should not only help you detect a virus, it should remove it too. Step 2: Clear Your Cache And Cookies Clearing your browser's cache and cookies can help remove hidden malicious files or data that the malware might be using. This may sign you out of your active accounts, so you'll need to sign back in again afterwards. Step: 3 Reboot Your Phone In Safe Mode Rebooting your phone in safe mode will disable third-party apps, preventing malware from running via those apps while you're trying to remove it. Step 4: Factory Reset This is very much a move of last resort, but a factory reset will get rid of any malware from your device. However, unless you've been able to back up your data first, it will also remove all the apps and files on your phone. The first line of defense against a virus is, where applicable, to have a strong password and to use two-factor authentication. Only ever download apps from a trusted source, and never click on a link you're uncertain about. Clear your cache regularly, and keep your operating system and apps fully updated so that you're receiving any security updates. And be selective about the permissions you give to apps, so that they don't have any more data than they need. Bottom Line Whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone, finding out that you have a virus can be a worrying discovery. It's a common problem — but one that can usually be fixed fairly easily, while there are a number of steps you can take to keep you better protected in future. What Is The Difference Between A Virus And Malware? The term malware refers to a broad range of malicious software, covering spyware, adware and ransomware, for example, as well as viruses themselves. A virus, specifically, is a piece of malware that can replicate itself by inserting its code into other programs. Viruses are activated by opening an infected file and can be spread via infected websites, emails, shared storage and flash drives. Hackers use viruses to gain control of devices, steal data and carry out financial fraud. Can iPhones Get Viruses? Thanks to Apple's security and privacy features, iPhones are famously secure, but that doesn't mean they can't be hacked. Criminals can exploit flaws in new or outdated versions of the operating system, or can trick users through phishing attempts. While viruses are rare, they do occur, so it's important to be aware of the signs. How Do You Run A Virus Scan? Whatever your type of phone, you can download and install a third-party security app. To run a scan, simply open the app and look for a 'scan now' or similar command. Then, simply follow the on-screen instructions, which should be completely straightforward. If the app detects anything untoward, it will prompt you to remove it with a click or two.
CNET
31-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Best M2 MacBook Air Deals: Save Up to $600 on These Lightweight 2022 Models
912 We and ourpartners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting I Accept enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. Selecting Reject All or withdrawing your consent will disable them. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Manage Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage [or the floating icon on the bottom-left of the webpage, if applicable]. Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy
