Internet

Google's Chrome browser will soon block all ads on sites that have "abusive experiences" for users. It's designed as a way to put financial pressure on scammers. It's a new step following on from an existing attempt to protect users against ... misleading websites. 'Misleading' has a couple of meanings in this context. One is sites that carry pop-up or other ads that falsely claim to be system warnings, such as those which state the user's computer has malware. In this case, the user either downloads (and pays for) fake security software to "fix" the "problem", or is directed ... (view more)

Facebook has unveiled a 'war room' to combat misinformation during election season. But it was short on detail and provoked cynicism among many reporters. The company invited reporters to a briefing to show off the war room at it headquarters in ... Menlo Park, near San Francisco. The room reportedly has a capacity for 20 to 40 people drawn from 20 departments within the company. The use of the term 'war room' isn't related to military options but instead appears to be a reference to the way political campaigns use the same term for their headquarters during a campaign. Of course, that's somewhat ... (view more)

A consumer group says Amazon sellers are bribing people to post bogus reviews on Amazon's websites. But it also suggests some reviewers may also be getting ripped off. The claims come from "Which?", a British organization similar to Consumer ... Reports. It tested five sellers who had posted in Facebook groups designed to recruit people to buy and review Amazon products. The groups involve sellers suggesting products which people can then buy and review, after which the seller will refund their purchase cost. Which? staff did so for five products and then posted what it called a fair ... (view more)

Have you heard of the Deep Web, Dark Net, Dark Web, or Dark Market while surfing the Internet? What is the difference? Is there a difference? In each case, these are technical terms used to describe various parts of the Internet that are not ... normally accessible to users using a standard web browser. Below we'll describe the differences using easy to understand key examples. Deep Web In the most simplest terms, the Deep Web is any web page that is not indexed by a search engine. Let's look an example. A Deep Web can be your bank account details, after you've logged in securely to your online ... (view more)

Firefox is getting a series of updates to boost performance, privacy and usability. Unwanted tracking tools and browser hijackers are among the targets of security updates. Two of the biggest measures deal with websites that track user activity ... online, potentially to make site content more relevant, but more commonly to deliver targeted advertising. Version 63 of Firefox, due in September, will by default block ad trackers if they take a particularly long time to load, in turn making pages slow to appear. This setting is purely to do with the load time of the tracker rather than what it ... (view more)

Facebook is testing a feature that identifies when users have something in common. The theory is that it will boost connections and even lead to more polite conversations. The feature is not related to the "People You Might Know" section, which ... suggests other Facebook users to add as friends. That's proven controversial in the past as it often appears to be driven by data users haven't provided directly, such as when two users both appear in the phone contacts list of a mutual friend. Instead the new feature will take effect in comments, whether that be underneath a post, a photo, a link or ... (view more)

Researchers say key physical infrastructure that keeps the Internet working could be underwater within 15 years. They say the effects of climate change over the next century will have an impact on the equipment sooner than later. The researchers, ... from the Universities of Oregon and Wisconsin, explored the risks to US-based infrastructure including both the cables that carry Internet data and the key 'nodes' in the network such as colocation centers. These facilities not only route Internet data, but also house the computers where many websites are physically stored. Major website often rent ... (view more)

A German court has ruled that Facebook accounts can be inherited. It's the latest attempt to solve the problem of what happens to online data after somebody dies. The ruling came from the Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest court, and ended ... a six-year legal process. It began with the death of a 15-year-old who died when she was hit by a train. Her parents asked Facebook to give them access to her account, meaning they could see the contents of private message exchanges. They said they wanted to find any clues as to whether the death was suicide or an accident. As well as giving the ... (view more)

Facebook is testing new tools to stop people being fooled by bogus messages. Meanwhile it's subsidiary "Whatsapp" is working on ways to stop hoaxes and other false information. The Facebook trial is for a series of tools relating to the direct ... messaging elements of the service, which includes messages through the website itself and via the dedicated "Messenger" app for mobile devices. The tools are aimed at messages which come from people or organizations the user hasn't previously communicated with, which carry a higher risk of being bogus than from genuine contacts. The ... (view more)

A series of Google Chrome browser 'tools' that claims to offer free movies is the first part of a convoluted credit card scam. The people behind it seem to be playing the numbers game. The tools are distributed via the Chrome Web Store. They aren't ... the usual apps (which run independently) or extensions (which add extra functionality to the Chrome Browser), but rather themes. The idea is they change the appearance of the browser in a similar way to the early 2000s craze for installing custom-made desktop wallpaper. While a browser theme shouldn't be anything but purely decorative, the ones in ... (view more)