Internet

More than a third of webpages have disappeared in the past 10 years according to a new study. Eight percent of pages that existed last year have already gone. The figures come from the Pew Research Center, exploring what it calls "digital decay" and ... other sources have called "link rot". (Source: pewresearch.org ) Pew's researchers looked at a random selection of URLs which were active at various points over the past 10 years. On average, a quarter have now gone. Naturally there's a downward trend, with 38 percent of pages active in 2013 now unavailable. Even with pages active as recently as ... (view more)

The FBI has taken control of a forum used for selling stolen data. The fact it's the second time BreachForums has been taken down this year shows how it may be an endless task. Such forums are arguably a key incentive for hackers to steal data in ... the first place. The forums make it easier to find buyers for the stolen data, rather than the hackers having to figure out their own tactics for exploiting the stolen information. BreachForums was also a key marketplace for selling malware used for successful hacking attacks. High-profile data offered for sale on the site in recent months included ... (view more)

Internet adoption has a positive link with wellbeing, according to an international research project. But it's a mixed picture and cause and effect could be questioned. The research comes from the Oxford Internet Institute, which examined a wide ... range of studies into psychological wellbeing and mental health. They covered a total of 2.4 million people across 168 countries at various points between 2006 and 2021. (Source: ac.uk ) The researchers then cross-referenced the results with figures on broadband and mobile Internet use in the relevant countries at the relevant times. The biggest ... (view more)

The FCC has launched "broadband labels" to help consumers compare different packages and providers. The labels are modeled on those used for nutritional information. The idea is to help consumers make more informed decisions about choosing a ... provider. The problem is that often it's a lack of choice that's the biggest barrier to getting good value Internet services. Most providers will need to start displaying the labels from this month, though those with fewer than 100,000 subscribers have until October to comply. Customers can complain to the FCC about missing or inaccurate labels. The FCC ... (view more)

YouTube may soon automatically figure out the "best parts" of a video and let users jump straight to them. It could aid viewers but might not be great news for people who make videos for in return for compensation (whether it's an embedded paid ... sponsorship or Google Ads). The company is testing out the technology in what it is calling "a very small experiment in the US". It suggests the feature will, at least at first, be exclusive to subscribers of YouTube Premium. The feature, known as Jump Ahead, appears to be in testing in both the mobile app and connected TV app versions of YouTube. With ... (view more)

YouTube says video creators must reveal when they have used artificial intelligence tools. However, the rules only apply in specific circumstances. According to YouTube, creators using AI is not a problem in itself. Instead it wants viewers to be ... better informed about "whether the content they're seeing is altered or synthetic." The new requirement only applies when people use such tools create "realistic content", which YouTube defines as "content a viewer could easily mistake for a real person, place, scene or event." (Source: blog.youtube ) Animation OK There's no need to label AI-based ... (view more)

35 years after conceiving the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee has shared his predictions for its future. The boldest is the possibility of a major tech company being broken up. Berners-Lee also believes artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual ... reality could be harnessed for positive changes to our daily lives. Although the Internet dates back in some ways to the US military in the late 1960's and in others to the adoption of a common inter-network communication standard in 1983, it had some major use limitations. That changed with Berners-Lee coming up with the idea of the World Wide Web, a ... (view more)

Claims that YouTube deliberately slowed down computers running ad blockers turned out to be bogus. The problem was actually with the ad blockers themselves. The claims were made by users of online forums who reported significant slowdowns when ... watching YouTube while running an ad blocker. Reports varied from those saying video playback was slow to start and repeatedly stuttering to those saying the entire Chrome browser was slow to respond, even on other tabs. Deterrence Measures At first glance the claims appeared plausible. That's because last year YouTube carried out multiple experiments ... (view more)

Google has begun blocking third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. However, it's letting some websites take longer than originally planned to make the change. When in force, the block means Chrome will disable cookies placed by third parties ... rather than the site itself. That means sites can continue using cookies that can be useful, for example making a note of a customer's preferred movie theater so that they automatically see relevant listings and times. Third-party cookies are more commonly associated with advertising. For example, visiting a fishing equipment website might lead to a ... (view more)