Data

AT&T Unlimited Data Plans Back In Action

Jan 13, 2016 By

AT&T has resurrected the unlimited data plans under some conditions.

This unlimited data plan, which indirectly compels a person to buy Direct TV or U-Verse TV, starts from Tuesday for heavy wireless data users across the world.

With a strategy to gather more services, AT&T launched the unlimited data plan when all other companies have withdrawn their unlimited services. The idea is to attract more of the data plan users for high packages. The plan is also set by keeping in mind that when Direct TV customers are dropping their pay-tv service and not renewing it on time. With the unlimited data plan the high wireless users will opt for the TV service in order to get the facility of the data as well as the TV service in discounted rates.

This unlimited plan is not confined to 22 GB of data consumption. The package gives unlimited high speed data of 22 GB data. Once it’s over the speed gradually reduces and so no longer remains unlimited. 22 GB plan means 50 hours of video, 220 hours on the Internet and spending 250 hours of music which is huge.

The package is set with $60 for the data connection and $40 for each extra connection until three. From fourth till tenth extra connections goes free until 22 GB of data consumption. TV connection for Direct TV satellite services starts at $19.99 however when combined with data plan there is a discount of $10. If a Direct TV customeravails the data connection from AT&T, then the customer saves a lot due to this new plan of combined billing system.

Existing AT&T Wireless, U-Verse and DirecTV customers can sign up for this offer. Even the grandfathered unlimited-data customers may also pay for the voice as well as the texting plans.

The plan is specifically best for individuals who use more than 10GB to 15GB of data per month.

AT&T‘s competitor- Verizon has kept this service on hold and other big service providers like Sprint and T-Mobile have raised their prices. So, it’s open market for AT&T to generate good revenue. Large number of net users will move to AT& T unlimited data plan from their original service providers like Sprint and T-Mobile.

Time Warner Cable User Accounts Could Be Under Potential Threat

Jan 9, 2016 By

With the advent of technological advance and the growing use of internet around the world, no service goes completely free of any cyber threats, not even if your organisation is as big as Time Warner Cable. The television network providing giant was recently in the throes of a serious security breach which was immediately alerted to users.

Time Warner Cable informed users that there could have been a situation where the passwords and other account related information was temporarily compromised. Although no major damage seems to have been inflicted, this is a warning signal for the company to tighten up security even further. TWC was alerted by Federal Bureau of Investigation about the issue, to which the VP of Public Relations, Nathalie Burgos responded by saying that she was confident of the TWC systems capability of protecting user information and that there was no evident breach, but investigations were still being run. Burgos is of the view that the information tap could be the result of malware that the server encountered, further being unable to prevent a phishing attack.

However, the organization feels that up to 320,000 accounts of customers may have been compromised. Although there is no exact proof that that many number of accounts were actually hacked, the Time Warner Cable took initiatives to inform all the customers under threat to be quick in changing the passwords of the accounts that they were using. This would be the best way to stem the leak in the system for the time being; the company already has the experts working on the causes of the breach and a means of fixing it.

The company has advised users who feel that their accounts might have been hacked should immediately get in touch with the Time Warner cable team at 1-844-899-8913. For those who rely on the company for their business needs should reach the helplines at 1-866-892-4249.

Google Accused Of Eyeing Personal Data Of Children On Chromebooks:‏

Dec 3, 2015 By

Google might be involved in hoarding the personal data on your kids’ Chromebooks.

With the world already dealing with Belgium’s allegations against Facebook for tracking information of non users, more revelations on information spying has come to light.

This time, fingers have been pointed at Google. Complaints have been made against the Californian giant for keeping a close watch on the browsing patterns of children who use Chromebooks. The complaint has compelled the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to consult the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to understand the why Google chose to gather information from Chromebooks of school kids.

On this, EFF has expressed grave discontent. The non profit organization is a staunch supporter of civil liberties. It is of the belief that the company has been directly involved in the violation of the Student Privacy Pledge that it signed when 2015 set in.

Apparently, Google had been involved in a research on the pros and cons of using an eletronic device for education in schools. The “Spying on Students” move, or so it was called, did cover the risks of using school software on these devices in school, but also found guilty of snooping on the information kids had on these devices.

However not all is as adverse as it feels; the information is not directly copied, but as per the EFF, the Google chrome browser, that makes use of the Sync feature, is actually able to do so by indirectly making use of the browsing data of kids, by mining it. It can also make saved passwords vulnerable.

So why is Google storing so much information after all?

Such actions by Google, or as a matter of fact by any government agency is necessary to a certain extent. Some major mishaps can be thwarted, especially elaborate terror attack or cyber attack planning. This issue however, has been a bone of contention between the common man and the agencies implementing these practices; both are correct in their own way.

It is quite clear that Google does not intend any harm. The information of what kids search on Google is perhaps collected to improve search results. A reliable source like Google wouldn’t really be tampering with your personal data.

Nevertheless Google has managed to anger the EFF. The body now wants Google to stop accessing the personal information from kids and give them the privacy they need.

For this, Google says it will prevent the Chrome browser from syncing the information and thus stop collecting any more information.

What do you think of Google’s recent actions? Do you think a bit of control over the internet by the government is feasible? Express your views below.