Category Archives: Websites

Security, Websites

Is this Legit?

Scam attack flow / Source: BleepingComputer

Take a look at the image above. Does it look like a friendly notification from PayPal, or does it set off your spidey-sense?

If you said phishy, you’re on the right track!

Cyber crooks are at it again — this time exploiting PayPal’s “add address” feature. They’re sending out emails that look suspiciously real, informing you that a new address has been added to your account. Who wouldn’t panic a little at that?

The email even mentions specific details, like a MacBook M4 Max purchase, to really crank up the anxiety and cause a sense of urgency to react. It’s a classic case of playing on our fears to get us to click that “review” button or call the “support” number.

This can lead to a fake login page or remote session where your precious credentials are ready to be taken.


How the scam works

The real kicker? This scam is particularly effective because it leverages a legitimate PayPal feature, making it seem authentic. 

So, if you get an email about a new address, resist the urge to click! Instead, log into your PayPal account through your browser or app — not from the email link! — and check for suspicious activity.

Please remember: If an email makes you feel that little twinge of “something’s off,” trust your gut. It’s probably right.

This material reposted from the CyberSecurity Insider newsletter from TehRepublic.com

CLICK HERE if you are interested in more from Cybersecurity InSider.

More, Network, Security, Websites

Social Media: How to OPT OUT of training AI models

This information is taken from https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/How-to-opt-out-of-AI-training-across-social-media-platforms

Pretty much anything you post on social media is being used to train an Artificial Intelligence Model.

Why should you care?

There are several reasons you should consider taking steps to prevent your information from being used to train AI models, including the following:

  • No control over how your information — including images or private information — is used.
  • Plagiarism issues on your thoughts and text posts.
  • Spreading of false information — including misinformation and disinformation.
  • Lack of privacy.

“Once a model is trained on your data, there’s no way to make it ‘unlearn’ or erase it, making it safer to exclude such data from AI training to protect privacy,” John said.

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/How-to-opt-out-of-AI-training-across-social-media-platforms

Here is how to opt out of various social media platforms – read the entire article for more details.

Discord

To stop Discord from training their AI on your data, go to “Privacy & Safety” under “User Settings” on the left side. Scroll to “How we use your data” section. Turn “use data to improve Discord” and “use data to customize my Discord experience” off.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn also lets users opt out of training AI models with their data. They posted FAQs outlining how they used personal data for generative AI.

Click on the “Me” tab at the top of the screen. Select “Settings & Privacy,” and then the “Data Privacy” tab on the left column to opt out. Then select “Data for Generative AI Improvement” under “How LinkedIn uses your data.” Toggle the button to off.

When you select this option, LinkedIn and its affiliates will no longer use your data for AI models moving forward. However, this does not affect previous training before you selected this option.

Meta

Meta states in its privacy policy that it might use public Facebook and Instagram posts, comments, profile photos and audio to train AI systems — including its AI chatbot.

If you do not want to share your information, make your account private. If you belong to any public groups, any posts you make and share might also be used to train.

To make your account private on Facebook, adjust your privacy settings in the “Audience and visibility” section of “Settings & privacy.” Select “Friends” or “Only Me” instead of “Public” in “Followers and public content.”

Click on the privacy settings instructions for the other Meta apps to learn how to make the following accounts private:

Reddit

Reddit is a little trickier because it is a public platform, and AI will crawl its forums similar to other websites. Reddit states in its privacy policy when users submit content it is a public part of services, and the content might also be available in search results and provided in AI chatbot answers. The privacy policy also states, “You should take the public nature of the Services into consideration before posting.”

Users cannot opt out of not sharing public posts because of the nature of the platform, but private messages and posts in private communities are not shared with third parties. Reddit has deals to share platform data with Google and OpenAI to help train AI models.

Read more about Reddit’s other privacy settings.

Snapchat

Snapchat has an AI chatbot and a “My Selfie” feature that lets users turn their selfies into AI-generated images. These images can be turned into advertisements and used to develop and train machine learning models as stated in Snapchat’s terms of service.

To turn off the My Selfie feature, go to “Settings” then “My Account.” Select the “My Selfie” feature and toggle “See My Selfie in Ads” to off. This will prevent your image from being used in AI-generated images for sponsored content.

To clear data from the My AI chatbot used for personalized ads and Snap products, go to “privacy controls” and select “clear data.” There is a “Clear My AI Data” option.

TikTok

TikTok offers private and public accounts. However, there is not much engagement with private accounts. It does use generative AI features on its platform. Learn how to adjust privacy settings on TikTok by reading their account settings.

Tumblr

Tumblr states it discourages “crawlers” from getting information off of its site. However, Tumblr reportedly has agreements with OpenAI and Midjourney to have access to information for their AI models.

To opt out, go to blog settings, then click “visibility.” Toggle the “prevent third-party sharing” to “off.” For multiple blogs, you will have to complete this step for each.

X, formerly Twitter

X updated its terms and services that go into effect on Nov. 15, 2024. The new terms of service state, “You agree that this license includes the right for us to analyze text and other information you provide and to provide, promote, and improve the Services, including, for example, for use with and training of our machine learning and artificial intelligence models, whether generative or another type.” This means that continuing to post on X allows them to use your data to train their AI models.

If you do not want your data used to train the AI chatbot — Grok — you must opt out. Go to “Settings.” Select “Privacy and safety.” Under “Data sharing and personalization” there is a tab for “Grok.” Toggle the option to “off.”