Day: September 6, 2020

‘Linusgate’: Namby pamby doesn’t like Linus calling FSF names at debconf, feels cancel cultury about it.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

253 emails have been leaked from private (high-level) mailing lists of Debian, in which its representatives vocally complain about the talk Linus Torvalds gave at the most recent DebConf conference. Some people insist that he should be permanently banned from future conferences because the language he uses is inappropriate and infringes on the project’s Code Read more about ‘Linusgate’: Namby pamby doesn’t like Linus calling FSF names at debconf, feels cancel cultury about it.[…]

TCL Announces E Ink Color Display That Can Handle Video

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Known for its tablets, TVs, and phones, TCL has this week announced a new technology, NXTPAPER, that could totally change how you think about e ink. E ink displays are known for being great to stare at for hours and perfect for reading books (and sometimes even comics), but the latest color displays from E Read more about TCL Announces E Ink Color Display That Can Handle Video[…]

7 years later, US court deems NSA bulk phone-call snooping illegal, possibly unconstitutional, and probably pointless anyway

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled [PDF] that the National Security Agency’s phone-call slurping was indeed naughty, seven years after former contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the tawdry affair. It’s been a long time coming, and while some might view the decision as a slap for officials Read more about 7 years later, US court deems NSA bulk phone-call snooping illegal, possibly unconstitutional, and probably pointless anyway[…]

European ISPs report mysterious wave of DDoS attacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than a dozen internet service providers (ISPs) across Europe have reported DDoS attacks that targeted their DNS infrastructure. The list of ISPs that suffered attacks over the past week includes Belgium’s EDP, France’s Bouygues Télécom, FDN, K-net, SFR, and the Netherlands’ Caiway, Delta, FreedomNet, Online.nl, Signet, and Tweak.nl. Attacks lasted no longer than a day and were all eventually mitigated, but ISP services were Read more about European ISPs report mysterious wave of DDoS attacks[…]

These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat – The Verge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Simmons, who is a history professor herself. Then, Lazare clarified that he’d received his grade less than a second after submitting his answers. A teacher couldn’t have read his response in that time, Simmons knew — her son was being graded by an algorithm. Simmons watched Lazare complete more assignments. She looked at the correct Read more about These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat – The Verge[…]

Bill Barr to destroy antitrust case vs Google by forcing DoJ complaint filed before case is ready but before Trump re-election voting

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Several interested parties in the U.S. government have been looking to put Google’s head on a spike, and while undoubtedly there’s been some degree of jockeying between them for which will ultimately get the credit, they’ve been proceeding with care and caution in the interest of building an ironclad case against a particularly canny opponent. Read more about Bill Barr to destroy antitrust case vs Google by forcing DoJ complaint filed before case is ready but before Trump re-election voting[…]

After Facebook Balks, Apple Delays “Privacy” (ie only Apple spies on you) Feature

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In June, Apple unveiled plans for an iOS 14 privacy update that forces developers to gather users’ consent before tracking their activities across third-party apps and websites. Needless to say, giving users more control over how their information is gathered and trafficked is expected to bruise advertisers—especially Facebook, which uses that information to narrow its Read more about After Facebook Balks, Apple Delays “Privacy” (ie only Apple spies on you) Feature[…]

Facebook finally joins responsible disclosure for bugs they find

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has published its first Vulnerability Disclosure Policy and given itself grounds to blab the existence of bugs to the world if it thinks that’s the right thing to do. “Facebook may occasionally find critical security bugs or vulnerabilities in third-party code and systems, including open source software,” the company writes. “When that happens, our Read more about Facebook finally joins responsible disclosure for bugs they find[…]

The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In July 2017, Tesla CEO Elon Musk got on stage at the National Governors Association in Rhode Island and confirmed that a “fleet-wide hack” is one of Tesla’s biggest concerns as the automaker moves to autonomous vehicles. He even presented a strange scenario that could happen in an autonomous future: “In principle, if someone was able Read more about The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy[…]