Internet

Almost one in six Chrome extensions could stop working this summer thanks to a major Google update. They include one of the most prominent ad-blocking tools. An extension is a third party tool that integrates with Chrome to improve the user's ... experience when accessing websites. They can include tools as diverse as password managers, page translators and video downloaders, though ad blockers are perhaps the best known. Extensions are able to integrate with Chrome and access its data thanks for a platform called Manifest. Google has developed a Version 3 of Manifest and is phasing out support ... (view more)

Apple has launched a privacy-focused ad campaign for the iPhone. It's billed as a promotion of its Safari browser but is clearly an attack on Google's Chrome. The ad is loosely based on The Birds but with the creatures replaced by flying ... surveillance cameras that follow and attack phone users with an onscreen graphic reading "Your browsing is being watched." It then ends with users opening the Safari browser, at which point the flying cameras explode, with a new graphic reading "Safari. A browser that's actually private." Incognito Mode Dubiously Named Apple has previously highlighted ... (view more)

Google has ditched plans to block third-party cookies in the Chrome browser. It says it will instead let users "make an informed choice" - a change that's upset privacy campaigners. A cookie is a text file placed by a website on a user's computer. ... The site can then retrieve information from the file the next time the user visits, for example to log them into an account or to provide a personalized website experience such as a localized weather forecast. Many cookies are "first party," meaning they only collect and store data about a user's activity on the site which issued the cookies. ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Drew W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was randomly added by a female on Snapchat and she asked me what I looked like. We hit it off, and then she asked for some inappropriate photos of myself. A few minutes later, she showed me ... pictures of my Instagram follower and said if I didn't pay, they would be sent to my followers. I have already sent $400 and was provided video proof of my photos being deleted. However, she is now demanding another $100 to 'delete for good', whatever that means. I already received SMS text messages from 4 other phone numbers demanding higher amounts. ... (view more)

Some users are reporting finding it almost impossible to watch videos on YouTube while using an ad blocker. It's likely the latest attempt by YouTube to crack down, but seems to only work on specific ad blockers. Over recent months, YouTube had ... displayed a warning message to people who used an ad blocker, telling them the video would not play until they switched it off. YouTube maintains that using an ad blocker actually violates its terms of service. The company also argues that ad blocking hurts both creators and users, the logic being that without ad revenue, creators have less incentive ... (view more)

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)