Marijuana News Site “Leafly” Exposes User DataByBill Toulas-October 12, 2019 632 Leafly sends emails to thousands of its users about violation notices. There was no access to payment data so those involved in the Buddender training are free. Data leaks are always bad but they are even worse when they concern themselves with controversial topics such as cannabis sex preference disorder etc. Leafly one of the most common cannabis news sources in the world has exposed consumer details after leaving a database unprotected by mistake. On September 30th 2019, the company realized its blunder and sent warning notes to the users affected. The records that exposed data back to July 2nd, 2016 and contain user email addresses usernames encrypted password names ages gender and mobile numbers. As Leafly advised the affected in their note it would be a good idea to change passwords immediately across all of the online services you use. Every month Leafly has 10 million active users and 1,4 million cannabis strain dispensaries reviews and various related items. The company recently launched an online educational program for “budtenders” training, trying to help their followers find a job in a new and growing market. Some people entered their online payment information so they were obviously worried about the violation. Leafly clarifies that the exposed account is only a secondary one so the incident did not involve credit card details. Leafly is currently working with a third party forensic security consultant to help them identify all facets of the breach as well as protect their networks in a way that minimizes the risk that such an event will happen again in the future. They also urge people to contact their customer support team at “[ emailprotected ]” in addition to their sincere apologies to their audience and address any questions or concerns they may have. For now the website has chosen not to disclose the actual number of users affected and its website remains free of any such announcements. While the world seems to turn a page on cannabis, many still consider the substance to be a dangerous and highly addictive drug. That said, the stigma that accompanies the people active in this field is still a great deal of a thing. That said, if you are interested in cannabis either as a plant lover or from a business point of view be very careful with your personal information and with which platforms you choose to share it. Use email addresses and usernames if possible which do not reveal your real name. How to Protect Your Privacy by Removing Metadata from Pdfs Images Documents
BySydney Butler-June 16, 2018 633 Nowadays it is so easy to share all kinds of media with others. If you want to send somebody on the other side of the world a photo you can probably do it in a few seconds. The same goes for documents relating to videos and any other file type. There is much more to a single file than just what you can see as the user. Most types of files are packed with a “metadata” Information that travels with that file. Many people are entirely unaware that metadata still exists. Even if you have a Vpn using a virtual machine and sending information through Tor it doesn’t matter if your personal information is inserted into the file! Different types of files such as Word files Pdfs and images may have a fingerprint which can be traced back to you. How can you have them removed? Here are the commonest approaches for the most common types of files.Open the document in Word Click “file” Now click “info” Choose “check for issues” Click “inspect document” These instructions work on the latest version of Office 365 but you can search for any version you may have on the Microsoft Support website.
Removing Pdf Metadata
635 Well that might be true but when it comes to Pdf there is still the possibility of private metadata. Unlike most free Pdf readers in Microsoft Office, they do not provide a way to get rid of that metadata. You just don’t need a copy of Windows. Here’s what you’re doing in Windows 10: Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the file Right click on it and select “Properties” tab Next select “Information.” Now you can choose to strip the info from the file itself or make a copy of the removed data. The metadata should have gone anyway. If that doesn’t work then there are a number of tools to do the job. Sadly only Acrobat Dc’s paid “Pro” version has the option of removing metadata. It is actually pretty hard to find a good free download solution. Digital editors like Pdf Candy are free to use. Pdf Candy also has a Windows application, but this pro feature will have to be paid for.
Removing metadata from images
Web-shared images is perhaps one of the most dangerous things you can do to compromise your privacy. That’s because image files can contain both specific camera details that the editing software used and even exact Gps coordinates from where it was taken from. The good news is that most social media platforms will automatically strip this kind of data when it is uploaded. But that isn’t the main issue here. Besides the fact that social media itself comes with a host of privacy issues that aren’t the case of dangerous use. The problem is when you’re sharing photos via disk ftp email or any other method that doesn’t modify it. On the other end, the person can look up the data and use it to identify you. Let’s look at methods to get the Exif data from your snaps. Name the file and choose an export location Click “Export” On the export dialog box uncheck “Save Exif data” Click Export again Now the new version of the file should not contain any Exif data. There is also a variant of the software for Mac and Linux so you’re protected in one way or another! Using Mobile Apps
If you need to get rid of Exif data while you’re on the go, using a mobile app designed for that purpose is the obvious solution. Exif Eraseris a lightweight Android device app that’s quick and easy to do. Users of iOs may use an app such as ViewExifand simply choose to save a new image copy without any metadata.
Metadata is one of those privacy issues that may seem minor, but where it matters most, your privacy and anonymity may be blowing apart. Think of whistleblowers or whoever wants to anonymously report information. What if your identity as author of a report or other sensitive document is to be kept secret? Leaving metadata in place may ruin a well thought-out plan, otherwise. So think about sending your files to cyberspace before you do!Open the document in Word Click “file” Now click “info” Choose “check for issues” Click “inspect document” These instructions work on the latest version of Office 365 but you can search for any version you may have on the Microsoft Support website.
Removing Pdf Metadata
635 Well that might be true but when it comes to Pdf there is still the possibility of private metadata. Unlike most free Pdf readers in Microsoft Office, they do not provide a way to get rid of that metadata. You just don’t need a copy of Windows. Here’s what you’re doing in Windows 10: Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the file Right click on it and select “Properties” tab Next select “Information.” Now you can choose to strip the info from the file itself or make a copy of the removed data. The metadata should have gone anyway. If that doesn’t work then there are a number of tools to do the job. Sadly only Acrobat Dc’s paid “Pro” version has the option of removing metadata. It is actually pretty hard to find a good free download solution. Digital editors like Pdf Candy are free to use. Pdf Candy also has a Windows application, but this pro feature will have to be paid for.
Removing metadata from images
Web-shared images is perhaps one of the most dangerous things you can do to compromise your privacy. That’s because image files can contain both specific camera details that the editing software used and even exact Gps coordinates from where it was taken from. The good news is that most social media platforms will automatically strip this kind of data when it is uploaded. But that isn’t the main issue here. Besides the fact that social media itself comes with a host of privacy issues that aren’t the case of dangerous use. The problem is when you’re sharing photos via disk ftp email or any other method that doesn’t modify it. On the other end, the person can look up the data and use it to identify you. Let’s look at methods to get the Exif data from your snaps. Name the file and choose an export location Click “Export” On the export dialog box uncheck “Save Exif data” Click Export again Now the new version of the file should not contain any Exif data. There is also a variant of the software for Mac and Linux so you’re protected in one way or another! Using Mobile Apps
If you need to get rid of Exif data while you’re on the go, using a mobile app designed for that purpose is the obvious solution. Exif Eraseris a lightweight Android device app that’s quick and easy to do. Users of iOs may use an app such as ViewExifand simply choose to save a new image copy without any metadata.
Metadata is one of those privacy issues that may seem minor, but where it matters most, your privacy and anonymity may be blowing apart. Think of whistleblowers or whoever wants to anonymously report information. What if your identity as author of a report or other sensitive document is to be kept secret? Leaving metadata in place may ruin a well thought-out plan, otherwise. So think about sending your files to cyberspace before you do!