www.eff.org
www.eff.org
www.dexerto.com
>Discord isn’t exactly known for generous file-sharing limits, still, the messaging app offered a 25MB limit to free users. The company has now updated its support page to reflect the upload limit for free users has been lowered to 10MB.
arstechnica.com
>A judge in Ohio has issued a temporary restraining order against a security researcher who presented evidence that a recent ransomware attack on the city of Columbus scooped up reams of sensitive personal information, contradicting claims made by city officials. >The order, issued by a judge in Ohio's Franklin County, came after the city of Columbus fell victim to a ransomware attack on July 18 that siphoned 6.5 terabytes of the city’s data. A ransomware group known as Rhysida took credit for the attack and offered to auction off the data with a starting bid of about $1.7 million in bitcoin. On August 8, after the auction failed to find a bidder, Rhysida released what it said was about 45 percent of the stolen data on the group’s dark web site, which is accessible to anyone with a TOR browser. >Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said on August 13 that a “breakthrough” in the city’s forensic investigation of the breach found that the sensitive files Rhysida obtained were either encrypted or corrupted, making them “unusable” to the thieves. Ginther went on to say the data’s lack of integrity was likely the reason the ransomware group had been unable to auction off the data. >Shortly after Ginther made his remarks, security researcher David Leroy Ross contacted local news outlets and presented evidence that showed the data Rhysida published was fully intact and contained highly sensitive information regarding city employees and residents. Ross, who uses the alias Connor Goodwolf, presented screenshots and other data that showed the files Rhysida had posted included names from domestic violence cases and Social Security numbers for police officers and crime victims. Some of the data spanned years. >On Thursday, the city of Columbus sued Ross for alleged damages for criminal acts, invasion of privacy, negligence, and civil conversion. The lawsuit claimed that downloading documents from a dark web site run by ransomware attackers amounted to him “interacting” with them and required special expertise and tools.
www.techzine.eu
For Android users seeking a privacy-focused browser, [Privacy Guides](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/mobile-browsers/#mull) recommends Mull: >Mull is a privacy oriented and deblobbed Android browser based on Firefox. Compared to Firefox, it offers much greater fingerprinting protection out of the box, and disables JavaScript Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation for enhanced security. It also removes all proprietary elements from Firefox, such as replacing Google Play Services references. >Mull enables many features upstreamed by the Tor uplift project using preferences from Arkenfox. Proprietary blobs are removed from Mozilla's code using the scripts developed for Fennec F-Droid.
www.techzine.eu
For Android users seeking a privacy-focused browser, [Privacy Guides](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/mobile-browsers/#mull) recommends Mull: >Mull is a privacy oriented and deblobbed Android browser based on Firefox. Compared to Firefox, it offers much greater fingerprinting protection out of the box, and disables JavaScript Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation for enhanced security. It also removes all proprietary elements from Firefox, such as replacing Google Play Services references. >Mull enables many features upstreamed by the Tor uplift project using preferences from Arkenfox. Proprietary blobs are removed from Mozilla's code using the scripts developed for Fennec F-Droid.
www.techzine.eu
For Android users seeking a privacy-focused browser, [Privacy Guides](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/mobile-browsers/#mull) recommends Mull: >Mull is a privacy oriented and deblobbed Android browser based on Firefox. Compared to Firefox, it offers much greater fingerprinting protection out of the box, and disables JavaScript Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation for enhanced security. It also removes all proprietary elements from Firefox, such as replacing Google Play Services references. >Mull enables many features upstreamed by the Tor uplift project using preferences from Arkenfox. Proprietary blobs are removed from Mozilla's code using the scripts developed for Fennec F-Droid.
9to5google.com
9to5google.com
9to5google.com
9to5google.com
www.yahoo.com
X briefly discouraged users from viewing a link to an NPR story about Donald Trump's recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery, raising questions about whether the Elon Musk-owned platform is putting its thumb on the scale for the former president. On Thursday, NPR reporter Stephen Fowler posted a link to a story in which he quoted an Army official who said that an employee at Arlington National Cemetery was “abruptly pushed aside” during an event attended by Trump and members of his campaign earlier this week. The outlet had previously reported that there was a “physical altercation” at the event with campaign staff over federal laws barring campaign activities at the cemetery. Some users on X who attempted to click a link to the story were greeted with a warning message saying that X deemed that “this link may be unsafe.” It stated that it could be malicious, violent, spammy or otherwise violate the platform’s rules, but didn't explain why the link was flagged. Fowler posted a thread on X, each tweet of which contained a link to his story — the warning appeared to affect the first two instances of the link but not others, for reasons unknown. It’s highly unusual for such a warning to appear before a link to a mainstream website. Other links to NPR, as well as other coverage of Trump’s visit to Arlington, don’t appear to have such a label. In a statement to an NPR reporter, an X spokesperson claimed the warning appeared due to a "false positive" and that it had been corrected. The company didn't explain further. Notably, Musk has been a vocal supporter of Trump this election, and recently held a lengthy live streamed conversation with him on X. Musk has also publicly feuded with NPR in the past, adding a “state affiliated media” label to its account for several months last year. NPR hasn’t posted from its main account on X since the label was added last April.
blog.mozilla.org
blog.mozilla.org
arstechnica.com
>Last week, Microsoft mentioned in a support document that it was formally deprecating Windows' 39-year-old Control Panel applets. But following widespread reporting of the change, Microsoft has either backtracked or clarified its language to remove the note about Control Panel being deprecated in favor of the Settings app. Here's what the original post said, as also preserved by the Internet Wayback Machine (emphasis ours): > >"The Control Panel is a feature that's been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls," the support page explains. "Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. **The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.**" > >The current version of the page has changed that last sentence considerably. It now says that "**many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.**" > >It's not clear whether this reflects a policy change or just a clarification of language. We've asked Microsoft whether it has changed plans to deprecate the Control Pane or if the original version of the support page was just incorrect in the first place, and we'll update if we receive a response.
www.engadget.com
>Peloton is in something of a financial rut lately, and we all know what companies do when that happens. They take it out on consumers. To that end, the exercise machine maker just announced it will be charging a $95 “used equipment activation fee” to anyone who buys one of its machines on the secondhand market, according to a report by CNBC. >The company made this announcement in its Q4 2024 shareholder letter. The fairly exorbitant fee will apply to any machine bought directly from a previous owner, meaning anything purchased via Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or, heck, even a neighbor down the street. Without tithing $95 to the church of Peloton, the machine won’t have access to any of the classes or features the company has become known for. >The company says this activation fee is just to ensure that new members “receive the same high-quality onboarding experience Peloton is known for.” In a recent earnings call, however, a company representative was more transparent, calling the fee a “source of incremental revenue and gross profit,” according to The Verge. >The standard Bike, for instance, sells new for nearly $1,500, but you can pick up a used one online for $300 to $500. Now, that price goes up to $400 to $600. Peloton also requires a monthly membership fee to access content, which is around $44.
arstechnica.com
>Microsoft will begin sending a revised version of its controversial Recall feature to Windows Insider PCs beginning in October, according to an update published today to the company's original blog post about the Recall controversy. The company didn't elaborate further on specific changes it's making to Recall beyond what it already announced in June. >For those unfamiliar, Recall is a Windows service that runs in the background on compatible PCs, continuously taking screenshots of user activity, scanning those screenshots with optical character recognition (OCR), and saving the OCR text and the screenshots to a giant searchable database on your PC. The goal, according to Microsoft, is to help users retrace their steps and dig up information about things they had used their PCs to find or do in the past. >The problem was that other users on the same PC, or attackers with physical or remote access to your PC, could easily access, view, and export those screenshots and the OCR database since none of the information was encrypted at rest or protected in any substantive way. >Among the changes Microsoft has said it will make: The database will be encrypted at rest and will require authentication (and periodic reauthentication) with Windows Hello before users will be allowed to access it. The feature will also be off by default, whereas the original plan was to turn it on by default and make users go into Settings to turn it off.
www.techspot.com
>Mozilla has a close relationship with Google, as most of Firefox's revenue comes from the agreement keeping Google as the browser's default search engine. However, the search giant is now officially a monopoly, and a future court decision could have an unprecedented impact on Mozilla's ability to keep things "business as usual." >United States District Judge Amit Mehta found Google guilty of building a monopolistic position in web search. The Mountain View corporation spent billions of dollars becoming the leading search provider for computing platforms and web browsers on PC and mobile devices. >Most of the $21 billion spent went to Apple in exchange for setting Google as the default search engine on iPhone, iPad, and Mac systems. The judge will now need to decide on a penalty for the company's actions, including the potential of forcing Google to stop payments to its search "partners completely," which could have dire consequences for smaller companies like Mozilla. >Its most recent financials show Mozilla gets $510 million out of its $593 million in total revenue from its Google partnership. This precarious financial position is a side effect of its deal with Alphabet, which made Google the search engine default for newer Firefox installations. >The open-source web browser has experienced a steady market share decline over the past few years. Meanwhile, Mozilla management was paid millions to develop a new "vision" of a theoretical future with AI chatbots. Mozilla Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation managing Firefox development, could find itself in a severe struggle for revenue if Google's money suddenly dried up.
www.techspot.com
>Mozilla has a close relationship with Google, as most of Firefox's revenue comes from the agreement keeping Google as the browser's default search engine. However, the search giant is now officially a monopoly, and a future court decision could have an unprecedented impact on Mozilla's ability to keep things "business as usual." >United States District Judge Amit Mehta found Google guilty of building a monopolistic position in web search. The Mountain View corporation spent billions of dollars becoming the leading search provider for computing platforms and web browsers on PC and mobile devices. >Most of the $21 billion spent went to Apple in exchange for setting Google as the default search engine on iPhone, iPad, and Mac systems. The judge will now need to decide on a penalty for the company's actions, including the potential of forcing Google to stop payments to its search "partners completely," which could have dire consequences for smaller companies like Mozilla. >Its most recent financials show Mozilla gets $510 million out of its $593 million in total revenue from its Google partnership. This precarious financial position is a side effect of its deal with Alphabet, which made Google the search engine default for newer Firefox installations. >The open-source web browser has experienced a steady market share decline over the past few years. Meanwhile, Mozilla management was paid millions to develop a new "vision" of a theoretical future with AI chatbots. Mozilla Corporation, the wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla Foundation managing Firefox development, could find itself in a severe struggle for revenue if Google's money suddenly dried up.
9to5mac.com
>Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has hinted that in future some subreddits could be paywalled, as the company seeks to devise new sources of income. >He suggested that the company might experiment with paywalled subreddits as it looks to monetize new features. “I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has,” Huffman said. “But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.” >This is another move likely to anger Redditors. While the platform is a commercial enterprise, its value derives almost entirely from freely offered user content. That means Redditors feel at least some sense of ownership in a community endeavour, so the company needs to tread carefully when it comes to monetization at user expense.
arstechnica.com
>Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: [enshittification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification) for growth. The once-beloved startup—with its unofficial "Don't Be Evil" motto—has instead become a [major Internet monopolist](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/08/google-loses-dojs-big-monopoly-trial-over-search-business/), as a federal judge ruled on Monday, dominating the market for online search. Google is also well-known for its data-harvesting practices, for constantly killing off products, and for facilitating the rise of brain-cell-destroying YouTubers who make me Fear for Today's Youth. (Maybe that last one is just me?) > >Google's rapid rise from "scrappy search engine with doodles" to "dystopic mega-corporation" has been remarkable in many ways, especially when you consider just how much goodwill the company squandered so quickly. Along the way, though, Google has achieved one unexpected result: In a divided America, it offers just about everyone something to hate. > >[Here](https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/08/in-a-divided-america-one-thing-now-unites-hating-google/) are just a few of the players hating Google today.
www.techdirt.com
- The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) examined 21 different mainstream tech devices subject to New York's recently passed electronics Right to Repair law, and found mixed results: - 9 devices earned A's or B's (including all smartphones) - 3 products received D's - 6 popular mainstream devices earned F's - The devices that fared poorly, like the HP Spectre Fold laptop, Canon EOS r100 camera, and Apple Vision Pro/Meta Quest 3 VR headsets, usually lacked spare parts or useful repair manuals. - While New York's law requires manufacturers to provide tools, manuals, and parts for affordable, easy repair, PIRG says the law has been watered down with loopholes, and there has been no enforcement action taken despite numerous companies failing to comply. - The cellphone sector has made significant strides in repairability, but other sectors like VR headsets and cameras still have major issues. - 30 states are considering "right to repair" legislation in 2024, but these bills are at risk of being weakened by industry lobbyists.
www.techdirt.com
- The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) examined 21 different mainstream tech devices subject to New York's recently passed electronics Right to Repair law, and found mixed results: - 9 devices earned A's or B's (including all smartphones) - 3 products received D's - 6 popular mainstream devices earned F's - The devices that fared poorly, like the HP Spectre Fold laptop, Canon EOS r100 camera, and Apple Vision Pro/Meta Quest 3 VR headsets, usually lacked spare parts or useful repair manuals. - While New York's law requires manufacturers to provide tools, manuals, and parts for affordable, easy repair, PIRG says the law has been watered down with loopholes, and there has been no enforcement action taken despite numerous companies failing to comply. - The cellphone sector has made significant strides in repairability, but other sectors like VR headsets and cameras still have major issues. - 30 states are considering "right to repair" legislation in 2024, but these bills are at risk of being weakened by industry lobbyists.
finance.yahoo.com
* Tech CEOs have been trying to force workers back into the office for the past two years, often threatening layoffs. * However, a new study shows that tech bosses are now backing down from their demands. * Only 3% of tech companies now require workers to be in the office full-time, down from 8% last year. * The study, conducted by Flex Index, analyzed the flexible work policies of 2,670 tech companies employing over 11 million people. * The number of fully flexible tech firms has increased from 75% in 2023 to 79% this year. * The most popular policy among tech firms is now the "employee's choice" model, where employees can choose when and where they work. * This model is now used by 56% of tech firms, up from 38% in 2023. * Only 18% of firms now dictate which days their workers need to work from the office. * Despite tech companies being well-positioned to work from home, many CEOs have flip-flopped on their remote work policies. * In 2020, companies like Meta, Twitter, and Shopify announced they would leverage remote work, but many have since backtracked on those promises. * A survey of US CEOs by KPMG found that only one-third expect a full return to the office in the next three years, down from 62% last year. * Resistance from workers has been cited as a reason for the change in CEO attitudes towards remote work. * Amazon is an example of how contentious the RTO battle can be, with around 30,000 employees signing a petition against the company's in-office mandate. * Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston summed up the situation, saying that CEOs keep hitting the "go-back-to-2019" button, but it's not working.
www.tomshardware.com
>Intel's stock dropped around 30% overnight, shaving some $39 billion from the company's market capitalization since rumors of a pending layoff first emerged. The devastating results come after the chip giant reported a loss for the second quarter, complained about yield issues with the Meteor Lake CPU, provided a modest business outlook for the next few quarters, and announced plans to lay off 15,000 people worldwide. >When the NYSE closed on July 31, Intel's market capitalization was $130.86 billion. Then, a report about Intel's massive layoffs was published, and the company's market capitalization dropped sharply to $123.96 billion on August 1. Following Intel's financial report yesterday, the company's capitalization dropped to $91.86 billion. Essentially, Intel has lost half of its capitalization since January. As of now, Intel's market value is a fraction of Nvidia's worth and less than half of AMD's. >As Intel's actions look rather desperate, analysts believe that Intel's challenges are existential. "Intel's issues are now approaching the existential," Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with Bernstein, told Reuters.
lifehacker.com
>The death of Twitter, the brand name and not the website, was apparently not quite as final as we all once thought. It might have seemed like the final nail in the coffin was the permanent redirect from Twitter.com to X.com, but one forgotten legacy Twitter product was carrying on the fight—the old Twitter app for Mac, which was still available in the Mac App Store. Well, that is, until now. Musk's X developers have finally pulled the plug. The old Twitter Mac app has been discontinued, and now prompts users to "upgrade" to the X Mac for iPad instead. >This is definitely not an upgrade. Sure, it comes with all the modern X features, including AI features and other Premium options, but it also loses what made Twitter fun in the "good old days". The Mac app was so old that it was exempt from all the ads, promotions, and community notes stuffing X today. This provided a safe haven from scams and outright weird/political ads. >But even if you prefer modern X to old-school Twitter, the iPad X app also only works on Apple laptops with Apple Silicon chips, meaning M1 chips or higher. This leaves a huge population of older Intel laptops out in the dust. If you're using an older Mac, you'll need to use the website. And if you want to reduce the number of ads, you'll have to pay for Twitter Premium. >But the trouble doesn't stop there. At least for now, it's not a good idea to use the iPad X app on Mac. Users on Reddit have reported that upgrading to the new X app and logging in instantly suspended their accounts. This will hopefully be resolved soon, as X software engineer Zach Warunek said that the team was looking into the issue. >If you're a Twitter diehard who's not willing to swap to X, it might be finally time to ditch X for Mastodon or Threads. On your way out, don't forget to delete your X account.
www.techspot.com
>It's a sad case of another day, another round of mass layoffs at a game studio. On this occasion, Destiny developer Bungie has announced it is letting go of 220 employees, or 17% of its workforce. CEO Pete Parsons said the eliminations were due to "financial challenges," which isn't going down well, especially after it was discovered he may have spent over $2.4 million on classic cars after Sony acquired the company, and continued buying them even after the previous layoffs. >Bungie blames the job eliminations on "rising costs of development and industry shifts as well as enduring economic conditions." The Sony subsidiary says it needs to make substantial changes to its cost structure and focus development efforts entirely on Destiny and Marathon. >The cuts will impact every level of the company, including executives and senior leader roles – but not Parsons, obviously. >It was only in October 2023 that Bungie made its last round of layoffs, and the news comes just under two months since the launch of Destiny 2: The Final Shape, which has been well-received. >In December, Bungie devs told IGN that the atmosphere at the company was "soul-crushing" due to fears of more layoffs, extra cost-cutting measures, and a loss of all independence from Sony if Bungie's financials did not improve. Staff said earlier this year that they feared more job cuts were coming. >The latest layoffs have led to many angry posts on social media from current and former Bungie employees. Destiny 2's global community lead Dylan Gafner (AKA dmg04) called the move "inexcusable," and noted that it's a case of "Accountability falling upon the workers who have pushed the needle to deliver for our community time and time again." >What's angering people even further is the discovery of what seems to be Parsons' account on a car bidding site called Bring a Trailer. It shows he has spent $2.4 million on classic cars since September 2022, which includes $500,000 since the October layoffs.
tuta.com
>repeated media reports of Google’s disregard for the privacy of the general public led to a push for open source, community driven alternatives to Google Maps. The biggest contender, now used by Google’s direct competitors and open source projects alike is OpenStreetMap. 1. OsmAnd > >OsmAnd is a fantastic choice when searching for an alternative to Google Maps. It is available on both Android and iOS devices with both free and paid subscription options. Free accounts have full access to maps and navigation features, but choosing a paid subscription will allow you unlimited map downloads and increases the frequency of updates. > >All subscriptions can take advantage of turn-by-turn navigation, route planning, map markers, and all the favorite features you expect from a map and navigation app in 2024. By making the jump to a paid subscription you get some extra features like topo maps, nautical depths, and even point-of-interest data imported from Wikipedia. 2. Organic Maps > >Organic Maps is a great choice primarily because they offer support for all features of their iOS and Android apps completely offline. This means if you have an old phone laying around, you can install the app, download the maps you need and presto! You now have an indepth digital map in the palm of your hand without needing to worry about losing or damaging your primary mobile device when exploring the outdoors. > >Organic Maps tugs our heartstrings by their commitment to privacy. The app can run entirely without a network connection and comes with no ads, tracking, data collection, and best of all no registration. 3. Locus Maps > >Our third, and last recommendation today is Locus Maps. Locus Maps is built by outdoor enthusiasts for the same community. Hiking, biking, and geocaching are all mainstays of the Locus App, alongside standard street map navigation as well. > >Locus is available in its complete version for Android, and an early version is available for iOS which is continuing to be worked on. Locus Maps offers navigation, tracking and routes, and also information on points-of-interest you might visit or stumble upon during your adventures.
tuta.com
>repeated media reports of Google’s disregard for the privacy of the general public led to a push for open source, community driven alternatives to Google Maps. The biggest contender, now used by Google’s direct competitors and open source projects alike is OpenStreetMap. 1. OsmAnd > >OsmAnd is a fantastic choice when searching for an alternative to Google Maps. It is available on both Android and iOS devices with both free and paid subscription options. Free accounts have full access to maps and navigation features, but choosing a paid subscription will allow you unlimited map downloads and increases the frequency of updates. > >All subscriptions can take advantage of turn-by-turn navigation, route planning, map markers, and all the favorite features you expect from a map and navigation app in 2024. By making the jump to a paid subscription you get some extra features like topo maps, nautical depths, and even point-of-interest data imported from Wikipedia. 2. Organic Maps > >Organic Maps is a great choice primarily because they offer support for all features of their iOS and Android apps completely offline. This means if you have an old phone laying around, you can install the app, download the maps you need and presto! You now have an indepth digital map in the palm of your hand without needing to worry about losing or damaging your primary mobile device when exploring the outdoors. > >Organic Maps tugs our heartstrings by their commitment to privacy. The app can run entirely without a network connection and comes with no ads, tracking, data collection, and best of all no registration. 3. Locus Maps > >Our third, and last recommendation today is Locus Maps. Locus Maps is built by outdoor enthusiasts for the same community. Hiking, biking, and geocaching are all mainstays of the Locus App, alongside standard street map navigation as well. > >Locus is available in its complete version for Android, and an early version is available for iOS which is continuing to be worked on. Locus Maps offers navigation, tracking and routes, and also information on points-of-interest you might visit or stumble upon during your adventures.
tuta.com
>repeated media reports of Google’s disregard for the privacy of the general public led to a push for open source, community driven alternatives to Google Maps. The biggest contender, now used by Google’s direct competitors and open source projects alike is OpenStreetMap. 1. OsmAnd > >OsmAnd is a fantastic choice when searching for an alternative to Google Maps. It is available on both Android and iOS devices with both free and paid subscription options. Free accounts have full access to maps and navigation features, but choosing a paid subscription will allow you unlimited map downloads and increases the frequency of updates. > >All subscriptions can take advantage of turn-by-turn navigation, route planning, map markers, and all the favorite features you expect from a map and navigation app in 2024. By making the jump to a paid subscription you get some extra features like topo maps, nautical depths, and even point-of-interest data imported from Wikipedia. 2. Organic Maps > >Organic Maps is a great choice primarily because they offer support for all features of their iOS and Android apps completely offline. This means if you have an old phone laying around, you can install the app, download the maps you need and presto! You now have an indepth digital map in the palm of your hand without needing to worry about losing or damaging your primary mobile device when exploring the outdoors. > >Organic Maps tugs our heartstrings by their commitment to privacy. The app can run entirely without a network connection and comes with no ads, tracking, data collection, and best of all no registration. 3. Locus Maps > >Our third, and last recommendation today is Locus Maps. Locus Maps is built by outdoor enthusiasts for the same community. Hiking, biking, and geocaching are all mainstays of the Locus App, alongside standard street map navigation as well. > >Locus is available in its complete version for Android, and an early version is available for iOS which is continuing to be worked on. Locus Maps offers navigation, tracking and routes, and also information on points-of-interest you might visit or stumble upon during your adventures.
>Google has fallen victim to its own ad platform, allowing threat actors to create fake Google Authenticator ads that push the DeerStealer information-stealing malware. >In a new malvertising campaign found by Malwarebytes, threat actors created ads that display an advertisement for Google Authenticator when users search for the software in Google search. >What makes the ad more convincing is that it shows 'google.com' and "https://www.google.com" as the click URL, which clearly should not be allowed when a third party creates the advertisement. >We have seen this very effective URL cloaking strategy in past malvertising campaigns, including for KeePass, Arc browser, YouTube, and Amazon. Still, Google continues to fail to detect when these imposter ads are created. >Malwarebytes noted that the advertiser's identity is verified by Google, showing another weakness in the ad platform that threat actors abuse. >When the download is executed, it will launch the DeerStealer information-stealing malware, which steals credentials, cookies, and other information stored in your web browser. >Users looking to download software are recommended to avoid clicking on promoted results on Google Search, use an ad blocker, or bookmark the URLs of software projects they typically use. >Before downloading a file, ensure that the URL you're on corresponds to the project's official domain. Also, always scan downloaded files with an up-to-date AV tool before executing.
>Google has fallen victim to its own ad platform, allowing threat actors to create fake Google Authenticator ads that push the DeerStealer information-stealing malware. >In a new malvertising campaign found by Malwarebytes, threat actors created ads that display an advertisement for Google Authenticator when users search for the software in Google search. >What makes the ad more convincing is that it shows 'google.com' and "https://www.google.com" as the click URL, which clearly should not be allowed when a third party creates the advertisement. >We have seen this very effective URL cloaking strategy in past malvertising campaigns, including for KeePass, Arc browser, YouTube, and Amazon. Still, Google continues to fail to detect when these imposter ads are created. >Malwarebytes noted that the advertiser's identity is verified by Google, showing another weakness in the ad platform that threat actors abuse. >When the download is executed, it will launch the DeerStealer information-stealing malware, which steals credentials, cookies, and other information stored in your web browser. >Users looking to download software are recommended to avoid clicking on promoted results on Google Search, use an ad blocker, or bookmark the URLs of software projects they typically use. >Before downloading a file, ensure that the URL you're on corresponds to the project's official domain. Also, always scan downloaded files with an up-to-date AV tool before executing.
apnews.com
>Filed in 2022, the Texas lawsuit said that Meta was in violation of a state law that prohibits capturing or selling a resident’s biometric information, such as their face or fingerprint, without their consent. >The company announced in 2021 that it was shutting down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others. >Texas filed a similar lawsuit against Google in 2022. Paxton’s lawsuit says the search giant collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, through its products and services like Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max. That lawsuit is still pending. >The $1.4 billion is unlikely to make a dent in Meta’s business. The Menlo Park, California-based tech made a profit of $12.37 billion in the first three months of this year, Its revenue was $36.46 billion, an increase of 27% from a year earlier.
apnews.com
>Filed in 2022, the Texas lawsuit said that Meta was in violation of a state law that prohibits capturing or selling a resident’s biometric information, such as their face or fingerprint, without their consent. >The company announced in 2021 that it was shutting down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people amid growing concerns about the technology and its misuse by governments, police and others. >Texas filed a similar lawsuit against Google in 2022. Paxton’s lawsuit says the search giant collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, through its products and services like Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max. That lawsuit is still pending. >The $1.4 billion is unlikely to make a dent in Meta’s business. The Menlo Park, California-based tech made a profit of $12.37 billion in the first three months of this year, Its revenue was $36.46 billion, an increase of 27% from a year earlier.
arstechnica.com
>Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is standing by Reddit’s decision to block companies from scraping the site without an AI agreement. >Last week, 404 Media noticed that search engines that weren't Google were no longer listing recent Reddit posts in results. This was because Reddit updated its Robots Exclusion Protocol (txt file) to block bots from scraping the site. The file reads: "Reddit believes in an open Internet, but not the misuse of public content." Since the news broke, OpenAI announced SearchGPT, which can show recent Reddit results. >The change came a year after Reddit began its efforts to stop free scraping, which Huffman initially framed as an attempt to stop AI companies from making money off of Reddit content for free. This endeavor also led Reddit to begin charging for API access (the high pricing led to many third-party Reddit apps closing). >In an interview with The Verge today, Huffman stood by the changes that led to Google temporarily being the only search engine able to show recent discussions from Reddit. Reddit and Google signed an AI training deal in February said to be worth $60 million a year. It's unclear how much Reddit's OpenAI deal is worth. >Huffman said: > >Without these agreements, we don’t have any say or knowledge of how our data is displayed and what it’s used for, which has put us in a position now of blocking folks who haven’t been willing to come to terms with how we’d like our data to be used or not used. >“[It’s been] a real pain in the ass to block these companies,” Huffman told The Verge.
arstechnica.com
>The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) easily passed the Senate today despite critics' concerns that the bill may risk creating more harm than good for kids and perhaps censor speech for online users of all ages if it's signed into law. >KOSA received broad bipartisan support in the Senate, passing with a 91–3 vote alongside the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Action (COPPA) 2.0. Both laws seek to control how much data can be collected from minors, as well as regulate the platform features that could harm children's mental health. >However, while child safety advocates have heavily pressured lawmakers to pass KOSA, critics, including hundreds of kids, have continued to argue that it should be blocked. >Among them is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argues that "the House of Representatives must vote no on this dangerous legislation." >If not, potential risks to kids include threats to privacy (by restricting access to encryption, for example), reduced access to vital resources, and reduced access to speech that impacts everyone online, the ACLU has alleged. >The ACLU recently staged a protest of more than 300 students on Capitol Hill to oppose KOSA's passage. Attending the protest was 17-year-old Anjali Verma, who criticized lawmakers for ignoring kids who are genuinely concerned that the law would greatly limit their access to resources online. >"We live on the Internet, and we are afraid that important information we’ve accessed all our lives will no longer be available," Verma said. "We need lawmakers to listen to young people when making decisions that affect us."
arstechnica.com
>The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) easily passed the Senate today despite critics' concerns that the bill may risk creating more harm than good for kids and perhaps censor speech for online users of all ages if it's signed into law. >KOSA received broad bipartisan support in the Senate, passing with a 91–3 vote alongside the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Action (COPPA) 2.0. Both laws seek to control how much data can be collected from minors, as well as regulate the platform features that could harm children's mental health. >However, while child safety advocates have heavily pressured lawmakers to pass KOSA, critics, including hundreds of kids, have continued to argue that it should be blocked. >Among them is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argues that "the House of Representatives must vote no on this dangerous legislation." >If not, potential risks to kids include threats to privacy (by restricting access to encryption, for example), reduced access to vital resources, and reduced access to speech that impacts everyone online, the ACLU has alleged. >The ACLU recently staged a protest of more than 300 students on Capitol Hill to oppose KOSA's passage. Attending the protest was 17-year-old Anjali Verma, who criticized lawmakers for ignoring kids who are genuinely concerned that the law would greatly limit their access to resources online. >"We live on the Internet, and we are afraid that important information we’ve accessed all our lives will no longer be available," Verma said. "We need lawmakers to listen to young people when making decisions that affect us."
arstechnica.com
>The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) easily passed the Senate today despite critics' concerns that the bill may risk creating more harm than good for kids and perhaps censor speech for online users of all ages if it's signed into law. >KOSA received broad bipartisan support in the Senate, passing with a 91–3 vote alongside the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Action (COPPA) 2.0. Both laws seek to control how much data can be collected from minors, as well as regulate the platform features that could harm children's mental health. >However, while child safety advocates have heavily pressured lawmakers to pass KOSA, critics, including hundreds of kids, have continued to argue that it should be blocked. >Among them is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argues that "the House of Representatives must vote no on this dangerous legislation." >If not, potential risks to kids include threats to privacy (by restricting access to encryption, for example), reduced access to vital resources, and reduced access to speech that impacts everyone online, the ACLU has alleged. >The ACLU recently staged a protest of more than 300 students on Capitol Hill to oppose KOSA's passage. Attending the protest was 17-year-old Anjali Verma, who criticized lawmakers for ignoring kids who are genuinely concerned that the law would greatly limit their access to resources online. >"We live on the Internet, and we are afraid that important information we’ve accessed all our lives will no longer be available," Verma said. "We need lawmakers to listen to young people when making decisions that affect us."
arstechnica.com
>Amazon failed to adequately alert more than 300,000 customers to serious risks—including death and electrocution—that US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) testing found with more than 400,000 products that third parties sold on its platform. >The CPSC unanimously voted to hold Amazon legally responsible for third-party sellers' defective products. Now, Amazon must make a CPSC-approved plan to properly recall the dangerous products—including highly flammable children's pajamas, faulty carbon monoxide detectors, and unsafe hair dryers that could cause electrocution—which the CPSC fears may still be widely used in homes across America. >While Amazon scrambles to devise a plan, the CPSC summarized the ongoing risks to consumers: > >If the [products] remain in consumers’ possession, children will continue to wear sleepwear garments that could ignite and result in injury or death; consumers will unwittingly rely on defective [carbon monoxide] detectors that will never alert them to the presence of deadly carbon monoxide in their homes; and consumers will use the hair dryers they purchased, which lack immersion protection, in the bathroom near water, leaving them vulnerable to electrocution. >Instead of recalling the products, which were sold between 2018 and 2021, Amazon sent messages to customers that the CPSC said "downplayed the severity" of hazards. >In these messages—"despite conclusive testing that the products were hazardous" by the CPSC—Amazon only warned customers that the products "may fail" to meet federal safety standards and only "potentially" posed risks of "burn injuries to children," "electric shock," or "exposure to potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide." >Typically, a distributor would be required to specifically use the word "recall" in the subject line of these kinds of messages, but Amazon dodged using that language entirely. Instead, Amazon opted to use much less alarming subject lines that said, "Attention: Important safety notice about your past Amazon order" or "Important safety notice about your past Amazon order." >Amazon then left it up to customers to destroy products and explicitly discouraged them from making returns. The e-commerce giant also gave every affected customer a gift card without requiring proof of destruction or adequately providing public notice or informing customers of actual hazards, as can be required by law to ensure public safety. >Further, Amazon's messages did not include photos of the defective products, as required by law, and provided no way for customers to respond. The commission found that Amazon "made no effort" to track how many items were destroyed or even do the minimum of monitoring the "number of messages that were opened."
techcrunch.com
>In a new academic paper, researchers from the Belgian university KU Leuven detailed their findings when they analyzed 15 popular dating apps. Of those, Badoo, Bumble, Grindr, happn, Hinge and Hily all had the same vulnerability that could have helped a malicious user to identify the near-exact location of another user, according to the researchers. >While neither of those apps share exact locations when displaying the distance between users on their profiles, they did use exact locations for the “filters” feature of the apps. Generally speaking, by using filters, users can tailor their search for a partner based on criteria like age, height, what type of relationship they are looking for and, crucially, distance. >To pinpoint the exact location of a target user, the researchers used a novel technique they call “oracle trilateration.” >The good news is that all the apps that had these issues, and that the researchers reached out to, have now changed how distance filters work and are not vulnerable to the oracle trilateration technique. >Neither Badoo, which is owned by Bumble, nor Hinge responded to a request for comment.
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