Internet

YouTube is trying to stop people who use ad blockers from watching its videos. It could spark a game of whack-a-mole, but it's still created a passionate debate. Although YouTube appears to have been testing the tighter policy since June, it seems ... to have significantly increased the number of users affected in recent weeks. Users report seeing a message that reads: Ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service. It looks like you may be using an ad blocker. Video playback is blocked unless YouTube is allowlisted or the adblocker is disabled. Ads allow YouTube to be used by billions worldwide ... (view more)

More than four in ten people are addicted to Internet use, according to a university study. The researchers put respondents into five categories on what they are calling an "Internet addition spectrum." Researchers at the University of Surrey in the ... United Kingdom asked 796 participants a range of questions about the way they use the Internet, including their emotions and motivations. They then looked for similarities between respondents to come up with the categories. (Source: tandfonline.com ) Growing Unease The first category, Casual Users, covered 14.86 percent of respondents. They mainly ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jim H. writes: " Dear Dennis, My Thunderbird just updated to version 115.3.2 (dubbed 'Supernova') and the menu layout has changed. Specifically, the Menu Bar (which I previously enabled) is now no longer at the very top - it's ... below another menu. I prefer to have the Menu Bar at the very top of Thunderbird. Any idea how to fix this? " My response: I have also noticed this unwelcomed change and found a few articles describing the process that were overly complicated or missing information. I've decided to simplify it with my own instructions. How to Fix: Move Thunderbird ... (view more)

Did you get caught up in a romance scam? Are blackmailers threatening to expose your pictures and videos through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or LinkedIn? If so, you've come to the right place. Got questions? I've got answers! Contact me here to ... receive a complimentary phone consultation. Ask up to 3 questions, up to 15 minutes FREE . I've been studying this scam extensively since 2019, have completed over 1,000+ cases, and I'm happy to share my knowledge and experience with you. Too shy for a call? Keep reading - there's LOTS of good advice below, including insight into this crime you'll ... (view more)

X, formerly known as Twitter, appears to have scaled back a tool for reporting election misinformation. The tool appears to now only be available in Europe. The BBC notes the tool launched in Australia, South Korea and the United States in 2021 and ... expanded to other countries last year. However, a non-profit group says it's now only available in European Union countries. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Users on the former Twitter can report posts which they believe breach the site's guidelines, but must choose a specific category. That includes breaches such as spam or hate speech, but no longer ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says 25Mbps is no longer fast enough to count as "broadband." It's proposed increasing the standard to 100Mbps for downloads. The figures matter because the "broadband speed standard" is the measure the ... FCC uses to assess whether broadband is becoming available "on a reasonable and timely basis" to the entire US population. If it isn't, the FCC has the authority - and legal responsibility - to take action to correct the shortfall. This could include changing rules to promote competition or make it easier for companies to invest in new infrastructure ... (view more)

Users of Windows versions dating right back to Windows 95 can now get updates for their system. It's thanks to an enthusiast project and is absolutely not meant to be a sensible alternative to using modern version of Windows. The Windows Update ... Restored site aims to recreate the official Microsoft web pages for getting feature and security updates for older versions of Windows. Those pages were used by people who chose to manually download and install updates rather than use automatic updates. Understandably, Microsoft has long since taken down the pages for updating many Windows versions ... (view more)

Facebook's parent company Meta has been fined more than a billion dollars for failing to protect user data. The case involves the way Facebook transfers customer data between Europe and the United States. Under the European Union's privacy rules, ... businesses are restricted in the way they transfer personal data to non-EU countries. In principle this can only happen when the non-EU country has laws that offer a similar level of privacy data protection. Some counties have a "data adequacy" agreement with the EU, meaning the country's privacy rules are officially classed as strong enough. In ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may put a temporary ban on any new products from Facebook's parent company, Meta. It could also ban Facebook from making any money from data involving children. The FTC says "Facebook has repeatedly violated its ... privacy promises." Those promises came in a 2020 agreement when Facebook promised to change its behavior. That agreement, which included a $5 billion civil penalty, came after Facebook allegedly breached the terms of a previous agreement from way back in 2012. (Source: ftc.gov ) Kids Could Chat to Strangers According to the FTC, an independent ... (view more)

Google is testing a Chrome feature that could heavily reduce the time users spend completing CAPTCHA tests. The tests are designed to reduce spam and other automated mischief but can irritate genuine human users. CAPTCHA stands for "Completely ... Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart". It's designed to use a test that's relatively simple for a human to do, but difficult for a computer. Often such tests take advantage of the fact that humans are better at recognizing images and patterns, for example spotting pictures with varying backgrounds that contain a bicycle. Other ... (view more)