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US, Japan, South Korea vow to intensify counter efforts

North Korean blockchain bandits stole more than half a billion dollars in cryptocurrency in 2024 alone, the US, Japan, and South Korea say.…

Evropský zabezpečovací systém ETCS se postupně stává nedílnou součástí železnic nejen v České republice, ale i v Evropské unii. Jeho hlavním smyslem je sjednotit technologie napříč zeměmi, zajistit větší bezpečnost dopravy a usnadnit mezistátní provoz vlaků. Moderní systém představuje revoluci v ...

Qualcomm na CESu představil nejnižší řadu čipů Snapdragon X, které oproti vyšším modelům Plus a Elite nabídnou nižší výkon, ale zase se díky tomu objeví v cenově dostupnějších počítačích. Cílem je dostat je na 599 dolarů, tedy 18 000 Kč s DPH. První takové už odhalili oba hlavní tchajwanští ...

Cybersecurity researchers have identified infrastructure links between the North Korean threat actors behind the fraudulent IT worker schemes and a 2016 crowdfunding scam. The new evidence suggests that Pyongyang-based threamoret groups may have pulled off illicit money-making scams that predate the use of IT workers, SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) said in a report shared with The Hacker

Cybersecurity researchers have identified infrastructure links between the North Korean threat actors behind the fraudulent IT worker schemes and a 2016 crowdfunding scam. The new evidence suggests that Pyongyang-based threamoret groups may have pulled off illicit money-making scams that predate the use of IT workers, SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) said in a report shared with The Hacker Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

Byla vydána verze 11.0.0 knihovny libvirt (Wikipedie) zastřešující různé virtualizační technologie a vytvářející jednotné rozhraní pro správu virtuálních strojů. Současně byl ve verzi 11.0.0 vydán související modul pro Python libvirt-python. Přehled novinek v poznámkách k vydání.

Byla vydána nová verze 3.4.0 nástroje pro inkrementální kopírování souborů rsync (Wikipedie). Přehled oprav a vylepšení v souboru NEWS. Řešeno je 6 zranitelností.

Předloňský základní Mac mini přišel na trh za 17 490 Kč, v prosinci se vyprodával za 12 990 Kč. Teď jej můžete mít ještě levněji. Na Smarty.cz totiž stojí 11 690 Kč . [Zbozi:banner_s_obchody|https://zbozi.zive.cz/apple-mac-mini-mmfj3cz-a-d1118127935?sort=cheapest] Základní model má pouze 8 GB RAM ...

As many as six security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in the popular Rsync file-synchronizing tool for Unix systems, some of which could be exploited to execute arbitrary code on a client. "Attackers can take control of a malicious server and read/write arbitrary files of any connected client," the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) said in an advisory. "Sensitive data, such as SSH keys,

As many as six security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in the popular Rsync file-synchronizing tool for Unix systems, some of which could be exploited to execute arbitrary code on a client. "Attackers can take control of a malicious server and read/write arbitrary files of any connected client," the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) said in an advisory. "Sensitive data, such as SSH keys, Ravie Lakshmananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

** V tomto článku mapujeme novinky v aplikaci WhatsApp ** Většina funkcí se nejprve testuje ve vybraných zemích ** Poté přichází k dalším uživatelům a je nasazována plošně

OpenAI navazuje na vánoční nášup novinek a přidává další užitečnou funkci – plánování úkolů. Funkce neorganizuje vás seznam ToDo, naopak vy můžete ChatGPT nastavit až deset aktivních úkolů, které bude v pravidelných intervalech provádět. Nejlepší na tom je, že ani nemusíte mít ChatGPT zapnutý, ...

Why does ICS/OT need specific controls and its own cybersecurity budget today? Because treating ICS/OT security with an IT security playbook isn’t just ineffective—it’s high risk. In the rapidly evolving domain of cybersecurity, the specific challenges and needs for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) security distinctly stand out from traditional IT security. ICS/OT

Why does ICS/OT need specific controls and its own cybersecurity budget today? Because treating ICS/OT security with an IT security playbook isn’t just ineffective—it’s high risk. In the rapidly evolving domain of cybersecurity, the specific challenges and needs for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) security distinctly stand out from traditional IT security. ICS/[email protected]

** Hackeři prolomili ovladač k USB-C u iPhonů ** Teoreticky touto cestou hrozí prolomení iPhony nebo instalace upraveného softwaru ** Pokud se budete vyhýbat veřejným nabíječkám, nebezpečí nehrozí

** Hackeři prolomili ovladač k USB-C u iPhonů ** Teoreticky touto cestou hrozí prolomení iPhony nebo instalace upraveného softwaru ** Pokud se budete vyhýbat veřejným nabíječkám, nebezpečí nehrozí

Generative AI (genAI) is seemingly everywhere these days — and Windows is certainly no exception.

The OS itself now has Copilot on its taskbar, and new PCs ship with a dedicated Copilot AI key on their keyboards. Microsoft is adding more and more genAI features as time goes by and it’s increasingly hard to search the web without getting a genAI answer from Google and other search engines.

I’ve heard from people who love the technology, and I’ve heard from people who can’t stand it. Me, I’m right here in the middle: I keep experimenting with it, but articles like this one are 100% written by a real-life human. Personally, I want to see genAI features when I choose — certainly not all the time, everywhere on my computer.

Plain and simple, you might occasionally use genAI tools to get work done, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be bombarded with it everywhere. That’s what these tips are all about: easy ways to eliminate the AI elements integrated throughout Windows and Chrome or whatever other web browser you’re using. It’s your computer, your workday, and your online experience.

Time to take back control.

Want more Windows PC tips? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. Plus, get free Windows Field Guide downloads as a bonus when you sign up!

The Windows AI asterisk

First, a quick bit of pertinent perspective: Despite all the hype, most Windows AI features aren’t actually doing anything in the background. They usually don’t do anything at all, in fact, until you click a button to summon them.

For example, the Microsoft Paint app has a built-in AI image generator tool. It does nothing whatsoever unless you open Paint and click the “Image Creator” button on the toolbar. Then, it will generate an image for you.

If you don’t want to use that image feature, just don’t click that button. If you don’t want to see the button, don’t launch Microsoft Paint. Most genAI features in Windows are exactly like that — so far.

But there are some AI features that are getting awfully insistent. So let’s get out the proverbial weedwhacker and trim them back. 

Windows AI elimination step #1: Start with Google

Most genAI features lay low unless you go looking for them; Google’s AI answers are an in-your-face exception. You’ll often get answers written by Google’s Gemini AI just when searching Google, whether you want them or not.

There are many ways to avoid AI answers on Google. Here’s a quick list:

• After searching for something on Google, click the “Web” category. You’ll only see web links.
• Add the text -ai to any search to hide AI answers.
• Install the simple “Hide Google AI Overviews” Chrome extension to hide AI answers. This extension should work on other Chromium-based browsers like Edge, Brave, and Vivaldi. It’s available for Firefox, too.

You can also create a custom search engine in Chrome to default to Google web searches. Here’s a guide to getting rid of Gemini with a custom search engine in Chrome — on both computers running Google Chrome and Android phones.

Windows AI elimination step #2: Hide Copilot

Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot app now comes pinned to the taskbar by default in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. It’s just one click away.

If you don’t want it down there, getting rid of it is easy — and the latest version of Copilot makes it even easier: Just right-click the Copilot taskbar icon and select “Unpin from taskbar.” That’s it.

Copilot doesn’t actually do anything until you open it and ask it a question, so it won’t do anything on your PC as long as you leave it closed. You can also opt to completely uninstall it, though, if you like: Just open the Start menu, search for “Copilot,” then right-click the “Copilot” shortcut and select “Uninstall.”

You can now unpin Copilot like any other app — with just a right-click.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows AI elimination step #3: Reclaim the Copilot key

All on-screen implementations aside, many new laptops now come with an actual physical Copilot key on their keyboards. That key will launch Microsoft’s AI chatbot — and it’s easy to accidentally tap. But you can stop it.

To do so, open the Settings app on your Windows 11 PC, select “Personalization,” and then choose “Text input.” Scroll down to the “Customize Copilot key on keyboard” option. You can set it to “Search” to use it as a search key instead, similar to what’s present on Chromebooks.

(You can also make it launch a different app — like the ChatGPT app, for example — if you’d prefer.)

Windows lets you transform a Copilot key into a Search key in a few clicks.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows AI elimination step #4: Tackle the toolbar

If you prefer using Microsoft’s web browser, you’ll notice it has a big Copilot AI chatbot icon right on its toolbar. You can get rid of that, too.

To remove Copilot from Edge’s toolbar:

• Click the menu button at the top-right corner of the Edge browser window and select “Settings.”
• Click ”Copilot and sidebar” in the left pane.
• Click the “Copilot” app under “App and notification settings.”
• Turn off the “Show Copilot” option.

You can use Edge without the Copilot icon on your browser’s toolbar.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Windows AI elimination step #5. Total Recall removal

While I’ve mentioned that most AI features on Windows don’t do anything unless you launch them, the one exception is the Windows Recall feature — which runs in the background and saves snapshots of your PC’s screen so you can search your PC usage later. Bear in mind, this is only on new “Copilot+ PCs,” and it’s disabled by default. Also: Your Recall data is never sent to Microsoft — it’s processed entirely on your PC.

At the moment (in January 2025), Recall is only available in Insider versions of Windows 11. Of course, it will almost certainly come to all Copilot+ PCs at some point this year.

You can check whether the Recall feature is active on Windows 11 by opening the Settings app, selecting “Privacy & security,” and clicking “Recall & snapshots” under Windows permissions. From here, you can turn off “Save snapshots” if you don’t want the AI-powered Recall feature capturing snapshots in the background.

Don’t see anything about “Recall & snapshots” in the Settings app? That means your Windows PC doesn’t have Recall. Most Windows PCs don’t!

Recall only runs in the background if you choose to enable it.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Choose your own AI adventure

Remember: AI doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You might prefer a traditional Google search experience and a Copilot-free Windows desktop, but you might still launch the ChatGPT app now and then or use whatever AI tools your workplace provides.

The choice is yours — and now, you know exactly how to make it happen.

Let’s stay in touch! Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. You’ll get three new things to try every Friday. Plus, I’ll send you free in-depth Windows Field Guides as a special welcome bonus.

Demand for generative AI (genAI) courses is surging, passing all other tech skills courses and spanning fields from data science to cybersecurity, project management, and marketing.

Coursera, in its fourth annual Job Skills Report, says demand for genAI-trained employees has spiked by 866% over the past year leading to strong interest in online learning. Over the past two years, 12.5 million people have enrolled in Coursera’s AI content, according to Quentin McAndrew, global academic strategist at Coursera.

Mastering AI skills is essential to stay competitive now, McAndrew said, and students are shifting from understanding genAI to applying it in their roles to save time, work smarter, and deliver “measurable impact.”

“AI and GenAI have become the most in-demand skills across all industries,” she said. “AI skills now appear in almost every job posting, which unlocks opportunities for higher wages and career growth for job seekers.”

“Demand for genAI learning has exceeded that of any skill we’ve ever seen on Coursera, and learners are increasingly opting for role-focused content to prepare for specific jobs,” said Marni Stein, Coursera’s chief content officer.

The rush for online learning about genAI isn’t restricted to Coursera. Other online learning hubs, including Udemy, O’Reilly and Workera, are seeing much the same thing.

At Coursera, the top genAI courses in 2024 were:

1. Google AI Essentials (Google)
2. Generative AI for Everyone (DeepLearning.AI) 
3. Introduction to Generative AI (Google Cloud) 
4. Generative AI with Large Language Models (Amazon Web Services; DeepLearning.AI) 
5. Generative AI: Introduction and Applications (IBM)
6. Generative AI for Executives and Business Leaders – Part 1 (IBM)
7. Introduction to Generative AI for Software Development (DeepLearning.AI)
8. Microsoft 365 Copilot: Personal Productivity for All (Vanderbilt University)
9. Accelerate Your Learning with ChatGPT (Deep Teaching Solutions) 

Greg Brown, CEO of online learning platform Udemy, echoed what Coursera officials have seen. “As genAI skills become the new standard for workplace tech proficiency, we are seeing a surge in demand for skills like ChatGPT and leadership for change management,” he said.

Udemy research found that while nearly 90% of employees see leadership as key to their company’s genAI transformation, only 48% feel confident their top execs are prepared to lead the initiatives.

“AI proficiency is no longer novel or ‘nice-to-have,’” Brown said. “It is mission-critical for organizations to future-proof their workforce and for professionals to further develop their careers.”

On Udemy’s platform, students are choosing to upskill with AI tools such as ChatGPT, MidJourney, and DALL-E. The company’s Top 100 Surging Workplace Learning Skills list ranked ChatGPT and generative AI as the second fastest-growing skill, with AI in the sixth spot.

Udemy said its top business courses over the past 90 days include:

1. Machine Learning A-Z: AI, Python & R + ChatGPT Prize [2025]
2. Artificial Intelligence A-Z 2025: Build 7 AI + LLM & ChatGPT
3. ChatGPT: Complete ChatGPT Course For Work 2025 (Ethically)!
4. How to use ChatGPT and Generative AI to help create content
5. LLM Engineering: Master AI, Large Language Models & Agents
6. Artificial Intelligence & ChatGPT for Cyber Security 2025

Learning about genAI for productivity at Udemy has surged 859% from a year ago, with more than four million enrollments. Numerous AI certification courses, including Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate and Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals, have also grown significantly — up 311% and 197%, respectively.

“Forward-thinking companies understand the power of genAI,” Brown said. “Integrating genAI across the workforce is like migrating your infrastructure to the cloud,.”

According to a new study by tech learning platform O’Reilly, AI technologies are driving the most significant shifts in technology education. Interest in almost all of the top skills is up from 2023 to 2024: Prompt Engineering grew 456%; AI Principles grew 386%; Generative AI grew 289%; Natural Language Processing grew 39%; AI grew 190%; and Machine Learning grew 9.2%.

Interestingly enough, among the top topics the most significant decline was for GPT itself, which dropped by 13%. “Not a huge decline but certainly a significant one,” said Mike Loukides, vice president of emerging technology content at O’Reilly.

That loss of interest in some ways dovetails with what research firm Gartner said last August — that genAI was slipping into the “trough of disillusionment.”

Loukides said developers are now prioritizing foundational AI knowledge over platform-specific skills to better navigate across various AI models such as Claude, Google’s Gemini, and Llama.

“This year’s report also highlights the rapid rise of critical AI-related skills tied to LangChain and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which have rapidly gained prominence and are now comparable in usage to established AI libraries like PyTorch and Keras,” he said. “These advancements empower developers to build more sophisticated applications on top of AI models, marking the next frontier in AI development.”

The biggest AI usage increases were in prompt engineering (up 456%), AI principles (up 386%), and genAI (up 289%). Notably, GitHub Copilot content saw a 471% surge, highlighting developers’ growing interest in productivity-enhancing tools, according to the O’Reilly report.

The next wave of AI development will be building agents — software that can plan and execute complex actions mostly autonomously. “This year marks a pivotal transition in technology, with AI evolving from generative capabilities to a transformative force reshaping how developers approach their craft,” Loukides said.

Loukides said interest in learning programming languages appears to be waning, with Rust being a notable exception. If that’s happening because users expect AI to handle language details, that could be “a career mistake,” he said.

But Kian Katanforoosh, CEO Workera, an AI-driven talent management and skills assessment provider, said people aren’t less interested in learning programming languages — Python recently surpassed JavaScript as the most popular language. Instead, there’s been a decline in learning the specific syntax details of these languages, he said.

“What most people should focus on is understanding what a programming language enables them to do and how it works at a high level, rather than memorizing syntax…,” Katanforoosh said. “The mindset of programming remains crucial — it fosters problem-solving skills that are widely applicable.”

Over the past two years, AI-assisted programming has allowed developers to write code faster — and often, more accurately — using digital tools to create code based on natural language prompts or partial code inputs. (Like some email platforms, the tools can also suggest code for auto-completion as it’s written in real time.)

For now, Loukides said, computer programming still requires knowledge of programming languages. While tools like ChatGPT can generate code with minimal understanding, that approach has significant limitations.

“First, what do you do if the generated program is incorrect? Can you debug it? Can you describe what’s wrong with it? What if the problem you solve is relatively complex, and isn’t amenable to a simple solution?” Loukides said. “If you aren’t familiar with the programming language you’re generating, using AI to write code is sort of like traveling to a foreign country with only a phrasebook. If you’re a tourist, that’s probably OK. If you want to live there, though, you’ll eventually need to acquire fluency.

“Programming is the same,” he said. “Sure, you can use AI to generate code. But if you want to be a professional, you need fluency. You will want to read the code, you’ll want to debug it, you’ll want to improve it, you’ll want to adapt it to other situations.”

AI is still a powerful tool for exploring ideas, finding libraries, and drafting solutions, he noted, but programming skills in languages like Python, Go, and Java remain essential. Programming isn’t becoming obsolete, he said, AI will enhance, not replace, programmers and their work.

It’s also important, Katanforoosh said, to recognize the different tiers of AI learners:

1. AI-aware individuals, who want to understand AI concepts and their implications.
2. AI practitioners, who are focused on leveraging AI technologies to build applications.
3. AI builders, who develop the models or infrastructure that power AI.

“Each group is learning distinct skills, and tailoring education to these tiers could unlock even greater potential for AI adoption and innovation,” Katanforoosh said.

Along those lines, Coursera’s fourth annual Job Skills Report, based on insights from five million enterprise learners and more than 7,000 institutional customers, found the key skills organizations and individuals are prioritizing for 2025. They included:

1. GenAI — using AI to generate text, images, and more
2. Artificial neural networks — building computer systems that learn like human brains do
3. Computer vision — teaching computers to “see” and understand images
4. PyTorch (machine learning library)— using this tool to build powerful AI applications
5. Machine learning — teaching computers to learn from data
6. Applied machine learning — using machine learning to solve real problems
7. Deep learning — building advanced AI systems for complex tasks
8. Supervised learning — training AI using labeled examples
9. Reinforcement learning — training AI through trial and error
10. Machine learning operations (MLOps) — managing and deploying machine learning systems effectively.

According to Coursera’s Stein, the top three fastest growing skills for 2025 are Prompt Engineering (Vanderbuilt University), ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis (Vanderbilt University), and Preparing Data for Analysis with Microsoft Excel (Microsoft).

Malé sebevražedné drony zcela změnily styl taktických operací. Moderní bojiště se už bez nich prakticky neobejde. Číně je to naprosto jasné – většina komponent se montuje právě tam –, a tak rychle rozšiřuje výrobní kapacity a zrychluje zavádění letounů do svých ozbrojených sil. Podle Defence Blog ...

One of the most prickly misconceptions around Android is that it’s completely incompatible with privacy. If you use Android, the wonky thinking goes, you’re giving into a lifetime of unavoidable surveillance (gasp!) and the big, bad Google monster monitoring and monetizing everything you do (egads!).

Well, surprise, surprise: Like so many conversations around Google and privacy, this line of thinking is oversimplified and shockingly short on nuance. (Déjà vu, anyone?) The reality, unless you live inside Apple’s marketing department, is that (a) Android can be as private as you like — and (b) it’s up to you to make educated decisions about what kinds of basic data-sharing you’re okay with and what kinds of compromises you’re willing to make.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the info Google and also third-party app developers collect across Android is completely impersonal and of little to no meaningful consequence — other than potentially showing you more relevant ads in different places, programmatically and based on your online activity. But it’s absolutely possible to access and adjust all of that activity and stop any of it from happening entirely, if you’re so inclined.

I recently put together an extensive Android privacy guide that goes through every last area of Android privacy and all the most advanced adjustments — along with what exactly you’ll sacrifice by making any such changes. While most of the knowledge there revolves around stuff at the operating system level, the guide also includes one third-party tool that’s especially interesting for anyone eager to gain a complete understanding of what types of data apps on your device might be monitoring.

It’s interesting enough that I thought it warranted an extra spotlight — especially since my privacy guide hit in the midst of the December holidays, when lots of us were hibernating or otherwise tuned out.

Let me show you a little more about this standout Android privacy addition and why it might be worth your while to check out.

[Keep the enlightenment coming with my Android Notification Power-Pack — six powerful enhancements for any Android device — next.]

The ins and outs of Android app tracking

First things first, an important reality to be aware of: In addition to all the higher-profile ways info about your activity can be accessed across Android, any apps you install are able to track a certain amount of data on their own, independently — based on the permissions you give ’em.

By and large, this is pretty innocuous stuff. Most apps monitor certain types of activity within their own environments so their developers can look at and improve performance across a variety of Android device types and also spot potential bugs before they turn into serious problems. Others follow common online ad patterns and use broad data on behaviors to influence what ads you’re shown, anonymously, in order to pay the bills and offer you services at little to no ongoing cost.

But still, knowledge is power — and even if it’s typically not nefarious, it’s entirely advisable to make yourself aware of what’s happening on your device and then make your own active decisions about what you are — or aren’t — okay with.

And while Android itself doesn’t have a native mechanism for analyzing this specific area, you can find an impressively effective blacklight into app-tracking activity in an unlikely place.

I won’t keep you waiting: It’s the DuckDuckGo Android web browser. While DuckDuckGo may be known primarily as a search service and Chrome alternative, its Android app has a handy tool for seeing exactly what sorts of tracking activity is happening behind the scenes with apps on your device — and, if you wish, for blocking any or all of that activity from continuing.

You don’t necessarily have to use DuckDuckGo as your Android search provider or default browser to take advantage of the option, either. 

In fact, all you need is about 30 seconds of simple setup — then all the info imaginable will be at your fingertips, along with a helpful set of simple controls.

30 seconds to Android app-tracking insights

All right — ready? First, go install DuckDuckGo from the Play Store, then open ‘er up and wade your way through its slightly irksome welcome sequences. When DuckDuckGo prompts you to set it as your default system browser, remember: You don’t have to do that. Just hit “Cancel” on that pop-up if you want to skip over that suggestion and stick with whatever standard browser you’re already using.

Then, once you’re looking at the main DuckDuckGo home screen, tap the three-dot menu icon in the app’s upper-right corner and select “Settings” followed by “App Tracking Protection.”

Tap “Continue” a couple times, then tap the big blue “Enable App Tracking Protection” button and tap “OK” on the confirmation box that pops up.

At that point, you can go about using your phone normally — and you can just periodically peek in at your notifications to see how much tracker-like activity DuckDuckGo is detecting across all of your installed apps.

DuckDuckGo’s app tracking notification shows you how much activity it’s blocking at any given moment.

JR Raphael, IDG

Tap that alert — or make your way manually back into that same “App Tracking Protection” area of the DuckDuckGo settings — and you’ll see a detailed breakdown of exactly what types of invisible tracking activity DuckDuckGo is both sensing and blocking across your device.

You can see detailed info on exactly what data different apps are collecting within DuckDuckGo’s “App Tracking Protection” area.

JR Raphael, IDG

As you can see, there’s quite a bit going on there! But as with most things in the modern tech universe, it’s all about the context. And, unfortunately, that’s the one area where DuckDuckGo’s app-tracking blacklight is lacking.

When you really dig in and examine what most of the apps in DuckDuckGo’s tracking list are doing, the vast majority of the activity will almost certainly come down to the two core areas we mentioned a moment ago — first, performance monitoring and bug detection, and second, more effective advertising based on an anonymized view of your activity and alleged interests. (As always, if you’re gonna see ads somewhere, you’re unavoidably gonna see ’em no matter what. The only question is if the ads might be more aligned with things you’re actually interested in or just random and irrelevant.)

Alarming as it may be at a quick ‘n’ casual glance, in other words, most of the activity you’ll see listed is no actual cause for concern. And by blocking it, it’s entirely possible you’ll cause certain areas of apps to stop working the way they should — or, at the very least, make it more difficult for their developers to keep an eye on performance and keep things running smoothly, since DuckDuckGo may well block mechanisms that are crucial or in some way important to an app’s overall operation.

But, hey, it’s your phone. And it’s your right to understand what’s happening behind the scenes and take control of it, if you so desire.

On that note, that same section of the DuckDuckGo settings lets you selectively turn off tracking and blocking on an app-by-app basis — so even if you do decide to leave it running in general, you can disable it for specific apps where you see strangeness or for whatever reason don’t want to block what’s happening. After a few days, you may well decide this knowledge is more nuisance than anything for you and not worth keeping active. If so, all you’ve gotta do is uninstall DuckDuckGo from your phone — or just flip the switch within that “App Tracking Protection” area of the app’s settings to disable it.

But now you know how to find all that knowledge and decide for yourself — whether that ends up being a short-lived glimpse into the inner-workings of your device or an ongoing blocking of any and all app “tracking.”

The power is in your hands. And just like with every other Android privacy consideration, it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.

Don’t stop there: Snag my free Android Notification Power-Pack next to take total control over how your apps alert you — in ways you never even knew were possible.