Internet

Mozilla is to block "fingerprinting" tracking in the Firefox browser. It's an alternative tracking technique to cookies and doesn't require any consent from users. Most people know about cookies, which involves sites putting a small file on a ... computer to either identify a user for future visits or track their online activity. In most cases cookies both legally and practically need consent from the user before they can be issued. Fingerprinting is a more creative technique that doesn't require consent and has proven harder to block. It's all based around the fact that a website is able to ... (view more)

Google is experimenting with ways to inform Chrome users when a web site likely to be slow to load. In doing so, it wants to penalize poorly coded sites - though critics say that's not always the main reason for a delay. The idea is a form of ... "badging" that will appear in the browser. It's a sign of how potentially controversial the subject is that Google is thinking of informing users in this way rather than simply downgrading such sites so they appear lower in search rankings. The initial tests will be based around the general point of whether a site is slow to load. Later on, Google may ... (view more)

Microsoft's revamped version of the Edge browser will launch on January 15, 2020. It's based on the same code as Google's Chrome and will be able to run Chrome extensions. Designed as a replacement for the much maligned Internet Explorer, Edge ... debuted with the release of Windows 10 back in July, 2015. The original version was built from scratch using Microsoft's own browser engine, which is the component that turns a web page's code into what users actually see on the screen. The new edition isn't simply an update but rather a complete rebuild. It will now use code and ... (view more)

Mozilla is reducing the likelihood Firefox users will be bothered by website notification requests. It will make browsing a lot less frustrating, but will upset some website owners. What are Website Notifications? Notifications in web browsers work ... in a similar way to notifications from apps on a mobile phone or tablet. As an example, a user of a streaming video site might agree to accept browser notifications. They could then get notifications whenever the site adds a new episode of a TV series they've previously watched on the site. On Windows 10, this notification might appear in the ... (view more)

Google has taken yet another step to try to kill off Adobe Flash. The move will dramatically reduce the visibility of Flash content in its search results. Adobe Flash was once innovative and the primary way for delivering animated and interactive ... content online, including online-based browser games and even advertisements. Even so, many web designers seemed more interested in showing off their creativity with Flash rather than making a usable and useful site. Adobe Flash Security Bugs Severe As far back as 2010, Apple made the decision to ditch Flash entirely from its devices - a move that ... (view more)

Google is introducing more options to deal with the Chrome browser using too much computer memory. It's implementing less severe options for users with multiple tabs open. The way Chrome was originally designed means every open tab uses up computer ... memory (RAM). That can mount up substantially if you are accustomed to having many tabs opened when Chrome is launched, or even with Chrome is idle. In turn this will significantly slow the computer down on older systems that don't have enough RAM to begin with. Since 2015 Chrome has had a feature called "Tab Discarding" that kicks in ... (view more)

Twitter has apologized for using customer security contact details for advertising purposes. Its underwhelming announcing has gone down badly with privacy groups and could have legal consequences. The blunder involved Twitter's advertising services, ... specifically tools called "Tailored Audiences" and "Partner Audiences." It works like this: advertisers upload their own marketing lists of email addresses and phone numbers to Twitter, along with an ad. Twitter then compares the marketing list to its own database of customers. It then shows the ad only to people who appear on ... (view more)

Microsoft has changed its mind about phasing out support for Adobe Flash, which is used to help web browsers view multimedia. Both Internet Explorer and the current edition of Edge browsers will continue to support the technology by default until ... the end of 2020, in contrast to other browsers. Adobe says it's ditching Flash at the end of next year, largely because it's become redundant with website designers now preferring to create multimedia and interactive elements in HTML 5, rather than with Flash. HTML 5 works in modern browsers without the need for plug-ins like Flash. Chrome and ... (view more)

Facebook is taking new steps to prevent misleading political ads following the Cambridge Analytica scandal , which had millions of Facebook profiles harvested and used without consent for political advertising purposes. It says it's tightening the ... rules on buyers, which must now not only prove their identity, but also the organization they are associated with. Since 2018, anyone paying for an advertisement on Facebook relating to elections, politics or social issues has had to prove their identity to Facebook. They also have to include a disclaimer in the ad marked "Paid for by...", which is ... (view more)

Facebook is to show users what data it collects about their activity on other sites. It won't stop tracking, but will make the data anonymous if users ask. The changes will come in a new settings option called "Off-Facebook Activity." This will list ... all websites and apps that share data about user activity with Facebook. This most commonly happens through two methods. One is that the user has opted to log in to the third-party site through Facebook. In other words, as long as they haven't logged out of their Facebook account, they don't need to create or input user names and passwords for the ... (view more)