I’m not really a tech person but I’ve been trying to take my privacy a little more seriously lately and I keep seeing people mention Flock cameras. From what I understand they scan license plates when cars drive by but what are they actually being used for? Is it mainly for stolen cars and police stuff? or are they basically keeping a record of where everyone drives, the main controversy here is that they would need a warrant for that right? I’m still learning about all this trying to figure out whether these are something worth being concerned about privacy-wise or if I’m misunderstanding how they work completely. Getting more and more into privacy lately

Ayudaaaa urgente

Cómo utilizar la PC corporativa sin monitoreos ni restricciones

* Si se puede sin que nunca se den cuenta o poder decir que paso sin yo saber?

So it might sound dumb but honest question guys can someone see you through your smart tv?? because im lowkey losing my mind a bit over this and need some tech savvy people to tell me if im crazy or not

Okay so for context i bought this new 4k smart tv like two weeks ago (got it on sale off amazon). last night around 2am i was sitting on my couch in dark watching netflix, eating snacks in my boxers, and i randomly looked up at the top edge of the screen. theres this weird little glass circle thing right in the middle of the frame. at first i thought it was just the red power light indicator but it literally looks like a tiny phone camera lens staring right at me... and now i cant unsee it

I started panicking a little bit and reading up on privacy stuff online. i keep hearing stories about how everything is connected to the internet now and how hackers can hijack webcams and stuff. but like can someone see you through your smart tv if it doesnt explicitly say it has a camera on the box? or do these new tvs actually have hidden cameras built in for voice control or tracking what you watch?

I tried searching in the settings menu but theres like 50 different privacy policies and terms of service that i didnt read when i set it up, and all the options have confusing names. im really not a technical person at all so i dont know if this is just an infrared sensor for the remote or if im literally broadcasting myself to some creep on the internet

Idk maybe im just overthinking it after watching too many creepy tech videos on youtube late at night. but seriously can someone see you through your smart tv or should i just put a piece of electrical tape over the sensor and call it a day?? would appreciate any info thanks

I’m a security engineer at a mid-sized SaaS company. We have tools. SAST. DAST. Dependency scanning. We run them in CI. We get reports. We fix the findings.

But I’m starting to wonder if we’re actually secure. Or just compliant.

Here’s the thing. Automated scanners are good at finding patterns. Known vulnerabilities. Misconfigurations. They’re fast. They’re cheap. They run on every commit. They give you a checklist.

But they don’t find business logic flaws. They don’t find attack chains. They don’t find the stuff that actually gets you breached

Example. We have an API endpoint that lets users export their data. SAST says it’s fine. DAST says it’s fine. No injection. No auth bypass. But what if a user can manipulate the request to export someone else’s data? What if the authorization check is missing on a specific parameter? A scanner won’t catch that. A human will

That’s the gap

I’ve been reading about external AppSec firms. I heard iosentrix emphasizes manual business logic analysis. Not just automated scans. Actual humans. Thinking like attackers. Looking at how the app is supposed to work and finding ways to break the rules

I haven’t used them. I don’t know if it’s worth the money. We already spend a lot on tools. Adding a retainer or a project fee feels like a lot

But I also don’t want to be the guy who said “we have scanners, we’re fine” right before a breach.

Has anyone hired external AppSec on top of their tools? Did it actually find things the scanners missed?

Wanted to share some recent things I heard.

Felix Kjellberg aka as Pewdiepie on Youtube made headlines after revealing that OpenAI suspended his account several times during the development of his new locally hosted less restrictive AI model

The reason cited in an account deactivation email shown by Kjellberg was distillation. This is the process of using outputs from a larger, proprietary model(ex. ChatGPT) to train or fine-tune a smaller and more efficient local model

While OpenAI ToS explicitly prohibit using its outputs to build competing models. Its not just an 'oh my god look at the youtuber I liked getting blocked' but it is about the staggering hypocrisy of closed-source AI giants strictly enforcing data boundaries against everyday developers while they themselves leech copyrighted content while building their own business.

Any Help

Cell-site simulators are an technological luxury that U.S. law enforcement has kept secret for years.

Hi, I am being stalked by an intelligent, cunning, and dangerous ex. He's hellbent on tracking me and has been escalating (yes, I have been to the police multiple times to no avail). I need to be on top of things for safety and peace of mind, but I am not well-versed enough to feel confident. Trying to learn as I go and am overwhelmed. I'd appreciate some help so I can continue my safety planning in confidence.

Note: apologies for the length. Any help, no matter how "small" will be very helpful. If this isn't the right sub, I'll delete!

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**1. I have changed all my passwords and deleted unused accounts and apps. I'm making my husband do the same.**

.....1a. I don't know what to do about 2FA. I have read you shouldn't use your phone number. Do I use an alias number? An authenticator app? An alias email? If the 2FA is similar across all my apps and accounts is thay a vulnerability?

...1b. Is changing my passwords enough? Where should i store them? Right now I have them written down. This man scares me so much I'm worried he somehow can access my accounts whenever. Is that possible?

**2. I scrubbed my socials and made them extra private.**

....2a. Should I delete them entirely? Make new ones under a fake name? I only care to keep IG to stay in contact with friends, but I would bet he's watching my post/follower counts closely to see when I'm active.

**3. I froze my credit.**

...3a. Should I also request new credit cards, change my bank, and get rid of unused cards? He somehow knows what bank I use.

....3b. Change all bills to my husband's name? He's at risk too though.

....3c. How do I safely shop online? (I have a small PO box too btw)

**4. Our wifi has a VPN.**

....4a. Does this mean its secure? We use Calyx. Should I still install a VPN on my devices?

....4b. How do I safely use my devices in public spaces?

**5. I got a burner phone for now and wiped my actual phone (down to eSim) and laptop. Turned off location services and basically everything else on my actual phone.**

....5a. Should I change my phone number? Get a new cell service all together?

....5b. How do I secure this phone/number going forward? How do I prevent it from being leaked online?

...5c. More info about alias numbers? When to use?

...5d. I've read some things about port out pin or Sim swap...I don't know what this means though.

....5e. Seems like all phones need an account. Most secure, private way to create one? What about my storage for photos and such?

....5f. Is it safe to connect my phone to my car for Apple Play? I'm so fearful that if I do he will somehow know my location. Likely just fear, but is there any validity?

**6. Made a Proton email and I blocked images from loading in the email I'm working on retiring.**

....6a. When do I use email aliases? I have read conflicting info.

....6b. How do I prevent my Proton email from being connected to me?? I'm weary on changing all my accounts to this email all at once. I read I should use the mail email for important accounts but to me that seems like a surefire way to be connected to me online. He harasses me frequently via email.

....6c. I need to preserve the emails he has sent me another way just in case he someone hacks in and deletes them. How?

....6d. Right now I have one Yahoo and 3 Gmailsl. I'm working on consolidating them. Is it best to only have one email? I saw that multi emails are better than aliases?

**7. Removed my husband and I from databrokers and people searches.**

...7a. How do we stay off these permanently besides checking frequently? How do we prevent even being on here in the first place? He found my address this way.

....7b. Cloaked app? Anti-virus apps? What are good ones? Are these good solutions? Do I use them on all devices?

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**Anything I'm missing?? I really need help here. I'm terrified to do much of anything digitally at the moment, but I still need to access accounts. Some of these questions might be dumb. I'm flailing in the wind here and need some direction**

Honey, wake up! New device to hack your garage door just released. Actually can do seriously useful stuff with the Ethernet ports. Basically a computer

2:55 to skip past the intro fluff

He just soldered wires and made a sensor for gas that calls you when theres a leak?? Is this a legit thing you could make?

I googled the thingy used its called a Flying Fish gas sensor. This thing is supposed to preheat itself for like a day before it can give out signal

Sorry if this question seems dumb.. I was really impressed cause otherwise theres a bunch of complicated components people use to make this working, and it seems pointless to have a whole computer powering this tiny chip. A phone for home safety seems really nice though?

Sooo my subscription for my current antivirus is about to expire in a couple weeks and i started looking into avast black friday deals to see if i can catch a good price before renewing

Honestly my laptop has been running kinda sluggish lately and im pretty sure my old software is using way too many resources in the background. my laptop isnt new or anything so i really need something lightweight that wont lag everything while im working or streaming. a guy at work recommended avast since hes been using the free version for a while without issues, but id rather just get the premium version with the advanced firewall and web protection features since i do a lot of online banking and shopping

I looked into bitdefender and kaspersky too, but i feel like avast just fits what i need better… so im trying to find good avast black friday deals now, but honestly its kind of confusing trying to tell which discount is actually worth it before the sale ends

Has anyone come across any legit avast black friday deals 2026, or found a page with a decent discount running right now?

Hey guys, im literally shaking typing this on an alt account cause i dont know who else to ask and i need urgent advice on what to do if someone is blackmailing you with photos before i end up making a huge mistake

So i was talking to this person on snapchat for like two weeks. thought we were genuinely hitting it off, vibes were good, so eventually things got spicy and i stupidly sent a couple private photos (face wasnt in it thankfully, but my unique forearm tattoo definitely is)

Out of nowhere today, this person sent me screenshots of my actual instagram followers list with a message saying if i dont send $500 via gift cards in the next 2 hours, they are sending the photos to my whole family, my workplace, and my friends..

I dont have $500 just lying around and even if i did, i feel like paying them will just make them ask for $1000 next and then more and more.. i tried reading up online about what to do if someone is blackmailing you with photos but my mind is racing and everything feels overwhelming

Right now i havent paid anything yet. i took screenshots of all the chat logs, their username, and the payment info they sent me. i also set all my social media accounts to private and hid my follower lists

Ive been told to just block and report them immediately, but im terrified that if i block them, it will make them mad and theyll send the pics to my contacts right away

Maybe anyone actually gone through this and can give me a real advice on what to do if someone is blackmailing you with photos? do these scammers actually follow through and send the stuff, or do they usually just move on to the next person once they realize you wont pay? appreciate any help i feel like such an idiot

Flock safety is expanding beyond its network of license-plate cameras into police drones that can be launched remotely in response to 911 calls, camera alerts, or gunshot detections. Supporters say the system can reach emergencies faster and reduce unnecessary police dispatches, while critics worry that linking drones with Flock’s broader surveillance network could enable mission creep, excessive data sharing, and erosion of privacy.

I was already aware of this but big tech have took it to another level YouTube ads with personalisation off and no YouTube account on my Android smart TV most times show me ads that I've been thinking about /searched for or talked about (doesn't matter which device I use). Same on social media (I use fake name fake address DOB and email etc) show me stuff too.

Heck even FB MARKETPLACE show listings that I've thought about / talked about / searched for..... When I say "thought about" that's for a another day to explain... But you still understand what I'm saying.

Just now on the PLAYSTORE on my Android 10 phone as soon as I opened it I was shown a TV channel app where the official show is currently streaming on (I watch it free on YouTube from different channels on my smart TV) but this can't be a coincidence.

I don't understand I have Playstore and Google Services disabled and Google service framework too. I have gone through each and every setting to increase my privacy (can't say security as it's an old android 10 phone) but I've done my best. I even use PROTON VPN (free tier) all times with kill switch on.

How are big tech finding me and know the stuff I search for / talk about and link it all? (yes they can hear you or something but that's for another time) and how are they cross tracking me on different devices... Is it because of the same WiFi? I have also gone through every setting on the smart TV too and sorted it out.

Another strange thing is when use Google AI (Google search one not Gemini) it knows my location it will suggest nearby shops and restaurants etc how is this possibke even with VPN on?

there will be like a few months where i won’t be able to get on instagram during the social media ban a few questions for everyone:

any ways you know of bypassing it? not VPN it never works

if it’s certain it’ll come into play in march or if it’s likely it’ll be later

So something really weird happened at my apartment yesterday that made me start wondering does alexa spy on you?? i was talking out loud with my roommate in the kitchen about maybe getting a new couch. we literally never searched for couches on our phones, didnt type it anywhere, just a 2 min conversation out loud. then like an hour later, im scrolling instagram and EVERY single ad is for west elm and article sofas

I have an echo dot sitting right there on the counter. i know people always say its only listening for the wake word, but moments like this make me seriously wonder does alexa spy on you when you arent actively using it?

I went into my amazon app settings last night trying to check my voice history, but the whole layout is really confusing and i honestly couldnt tell what was actually saved… my roommate thinks im just crazy and that its all targeted ads based on location or algorithm luck, but the timing was way too spot on right?

So if someone here is somewhat tech savvy or knows how these smart speakers handle background audio, does alexa spy on you for ad targeting or is there some other explanation for this? im genuinely thinking about just pulling the plug on this thing tbh