The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to: why MS switching to Chromium is a bad idea

Posted on by Robin Edgar

With Microsoft’s decision to end development of its own Web rendering engine and switch to Chromium, control over the Web has functionally been ceded to Google. That’s a worrying turn of events, given the company’s past behavior. […] Google is already a company that exercises considerable influence over the direction of the Web’s development. By Read more about Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to: why MS switching to Chromium is a bad idea[…]

‘Farout,’ the most-distant solar system object discovered yet

Posted on by Robin Edgar

For the first time, an object in our solar system has been found more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the sun. The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday, calling the object 2018 VG18. But the researchers who found it are calling it “Farout.” They believe the spherical object Read more about ‘Farout,’ the most-distant solar system object discovered yet[…]

Researchers demonstrate teleportation using on-demand photons from quantum dots

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A team of researchers from Austria, Italy and Sweden has successfully demonstrated teleportation using on-demand photons from quantum dots. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group explains how they accomplished this feat and how it applies to future quantum communications networks. Scientists and many others are very interested in developing truly Read more about Researchers demonstrate teleportation using on-demand photons from quantum dots[…]

An AI system has just created the most realistic looking photos ever

Posted on by Robin Edgar

AI systems can now create images of humans that are so lifelike they look like photographs, except the people in them don’t really exist. See for yourself. Each picture below is an output produced by a generative adversarial network (GAN), a system made up of two different networks including a generator and a discriminator. Developers Read more about An AI system has just created the most realistic looking photos ever[…]

Report: Johnson & Johnson Knew About Asbestos in Its Baby Powder Products for Decades

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An explosive new report by Reuters released Friday may upturn the narrative surrounding the potential cancer risks of talcum powder. According to the report, Johnson & Johnson—the makers of the most popular consumer talc product, Baby Powder—knew for decades that its products at times contained carcinogenic asbestos, but did everything possible to keep its findings Read more about Report: Johnson & Johnson Knew About Asbestos in Its Baby Powder Products for Decades[…]

Pornhub 2018 in review

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Follow along to see the most interesting data points amassed by our team of statisticians, all presented with colorful charts and insightful commentary. Enjoy! The Year in Numbers Top Searches & Pornstars Traffic & Time on Site Gender Demographics Age Demographics Devices & Technology Celebrity Searches Movie & Game Searches Events, Holidays & Sports Top Read more about Pornhub 2018 in review[…]

Team that invented way to enlarge objects now invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale, decreasing their volume 100x

Posted on by Robin Edgar

MIT researchers have invented a way to fabricate nanoscale 3-D objects of nearly any shape. They can also pattern the objects with a variety of useful materials, including metals, quantum dots, and DNA. “It’s a way of putting nearly any kind of material into a 3-D pattern with nanoscale precision,” says Edward Boyden, an associate Read more about Team that invented way to enlarge objects now invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale, decreasing their volume 100x[…]

How to Stop Windows 10 From Collecting Activity Data on You – after disabling activity tracking option

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Another day, another tech company being disingenuous about its privacy practices. This time it’s Microsoft, after it was discovered that Windows 10 continues to track users’ activity even after they’ve disabled the activity-tracking option in their Windows 10 settings. You can try it yourself. Pull up Windows 10’s Settings, go to the Privacy section, and Read more about How to Stop Windows 10 From Collecting Activity Data on You – after disabling activity tracking option[…]

Virgin Galactic flight sends first astronauts to edge of space – successfully. Are you looking, Elon?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Virgin Galactic completed its longest rocket-powered flight ever on Thursday, taking a step ahead in the nascent business of space tourism. The two pilots on board Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft Unity became the company’s first astronauts. Virgin Group founder Richard Branson was on hand to watch the historic moment. “Many of you will know how important Read more about Virgin Galactic flight sends first astronauts to edge of space – successfully. Are you looking, Elon?[…]

Taylor Swift Show Used to Stalk Visitors with Hidden Face Recognition in Kiosk Displays

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At a Taylor Swift concert earlier this year, fans were reportedly treated to something they might not expect: a kiosk displaying clips of the pop star that served as a covert surveillance system. It’s a tale of creeping 21st-century surveillance as unnerving as it is predictable. But the whole ordeal has left us wondering what Read more about Taylor Swift Show Used to Stalk Visitors with Hidden Face Recognition in Kiosk Displays[…]

Scientists identify vast underground ecosystem containing billions of micro-organisms

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Earth is far more alive than previously thought, according to “deep life” studies that reveal a rich ecosystem beneath our feet that is almost twice the size of all the world’s oceans. Despite extreme heat, no light, minuscule nutrition and intense pressure, scientists estimate this subterranean biosphere is teeming with between 15bn and 23bn Read more about Scientists identify vast underground ecosystem containing billions of micro-organisms[…]

It’s Time to Check Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Guess what? A bunch of apps like knowing where you are, so that their developers can then take that data, package it up for various advertising companies, and make a quick buck off of your precise whereabouts—including where you go and how long you spend there. Source: It’s Time to Check Which Apps Are Tracking Read more about It’s Time to Check Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location[…]

Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The millions of dots on the map trace highways, side streets and bike trails — each one following the path of an anonymous cellphone user. One path tracks someone from a home outside Newark to a nearby Planned Parenthood, remaining there for more than an hour. Another represents a person who travels with the mayor Read more about Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret[…]

Outdoor Ad Impact Forecaster (Dutch)

Posted on by Robin Edgar

De impact van een buitenreclame campagne wordt voor 40% bepaald door de creatie van de uiting, voor 30% door het merk en voor 30% door de mediadruk. De Outdoor Ad Impact Forecaster analyseert vooraf een campagne op basis van deze drie kenmerken en geeft een rapport dat binnen 24 tot 48 uur de impact van een Out-of-Home campagne Read more about Outdoor Ad Impact Forecaster (Dutch)[…]

Lenovo tells Asia-Pacific staff: Work lappy with your unencrypted data on it has been nicked

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A corporate-issued laptop lifted from a Lenovo employee in Singapore contained a cornucopia of unencrypted payroll data on staff based in the Asia Pacific region, The Register can exclusively reveal. Details of the massive screw-up reached us from Lenovo staffers, who are simply bewildered at the monumental mistake. Lenovo has sent letters of shame to Read more about Lenovo tells Asia-Pacific staff: Work lappy with your unencrypted data on it has been nicked[…]

Equifax how-it-was-mega-hacked damning dossier lands, in all of its infuriating glory

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A US Congressional report outlining the breakdowns that led to the 2017 theft of 148 million personal records from Equifax has revealed a stunning catalog of failure. The 96-page report (PDF) from the Committee of Oversight and Government Reform found that the 2017 network breach could have easily been prevented had the company taken basic Read more about Equifax how-it-was-mega-hacked damning dossier lands, in all of its infuriating glory[…]

US Border Agents Keep Personal Data of 29000 Travelers on USBs, fail to delete them.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searched through the electronic devices of more than 29,000 travelers coming into the country. CBP officers sometimes upload personal data from those devices to Homeland Security servers by first transferring that data onto USB drives—drives that are supposed to be deleted after every use. But a new Read more about US Border Agents Keep Personal Data of 29000 Travelers on USBs, fail to delete them.[…]

Russian Mapping Service Accidentally Locates Secret Military Bases

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Russian online mapping company was trying to obscure foreign military bases. But in doing so, it accidentally confirmed their locations—many of which were secret. Yandex Maps, Russia’s leading online map service, blurred the precise locations of Turkish and Israeli military bases, pinpointing their location. The bases host sensitive surface-to-air missile sites and facilities housing Read more about Russian Mapping Service Accidentally Locates Secret Military Bases[…]

UK Intelligence Agencies Are Planning a Major Increase in ‘Large-Scale Data Hacking’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Intelligence agencies in the UK are preparing to “significantly increase their use of large-scale data hacking,” the Guardian reported on Saturday, in a move that is already alarming privacy advocates. According to the Guardian, UK intelligence officials plan to increase their use of the “bulk equipment interference (EI) regime”—the process by which the Government Communications Read more about UK Intelligence Agencies Are Planning a Major Increase in ‘Large-Scale Data Hacking’[…]

Millions of smartphones were taken offline by an expired certificate

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ericsson has confirmed that a fault with its software was the source of yesterday’s massive network outage, which took millions of smartphones offline across the UK and Japan and created issues in almost a dozen countries. In a statement, Ericsson said that the root cause was an expired certificate, and that “the faulty software that Read more about Millions of smartphones were taken offline by an expired certificate[…]

Windows 10 security question: How do miscreants use these for post-hack persistence?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Crafty infosec researchers have figured out how to remotely set answers to Windows 10’s password reset questions “without even executing code on the targeted machine”. Thanks to some alarmingly straightforward registry tweaks allied with a simple Python script, Illusive Networks’ Magal Baz and Tom Sela were not only able to remotely define their own choice Read more about Windows 10 security question: How do miscreants use these for post-hack persistence?[…]

I Tried Predictim AI That Scans for ‘Risky’ Babysitters. Turns out founders don’t have kids

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The founders of Predictim want to be clear with me: Their product—an algorithm that scans the online footprint of a prospective babysitter to determine their “risk” levels for parents—is not racist. It is not biased. “We take ethics and bias extremely seriously,” Sal Parsa, Predictim’s CEO, tells me warily over the phone. “In fact, in Read more about I Tried Predictim AI That Scans for ‘Risky’ Babysitters. Turns out founders don’t have kids[…]

Uber’s Arbitration Policy Comes Back to Bite It in the Ass

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Over 12,000 Uber drivers found a way to weaponize the ridesharing platform’s restrictive contract in what’s possibly the funniest labor strategy of the year. But first: a bit of background. One of the more onerous aspects of the gig economy is its propensity to include arbitration agreements in the terms of service—you know, the very Read more about Uber’s Arbitration Policy Comes Back to Bite It in the Ass[…]

Australia now has encryption-busting laws as Labor capitulates

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Labor has backed down completely on its opposition to the Assistance and Access Bill, and in the process has been totally outfoxed by a government that can barely control the floor of Parliament. After proposing a number of amendments to the Bill, which Labor party members widely called out as inappropriate in the House of Read more about Australia now has encryption-busting laws as Labor capitulates[…]