websites

12Sep

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, SOCIAL MEDIA

What Can You Do About Instagram And Facebook Stalking You On Websites Accessed Through Their Apps

Social media platforms have had some bad press in recent times, largely prompted by the vast extent of their data collection. Now Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has upped the ante. Not content with following every move you make on its apps, Meta has reportedly devised a way to also know everything you do in external websites accessed through its apps. Why is it going to such lengths? And is there a way to avoid this surveillance? ‘Injecting’ code to follow you Meta has a custom in-app browser that operates on Facebook, Instagram and any website you might click through to from both these apps. Now ex-Google engineer and privacy researcher Felix Krause has discovered this proprietary browser has additional program code inserted into it. Krause developed a tool that f...

A Computer Scientist Explains – Why ‘Bad’ Ads Appear On ‘Good’ Websites

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, Journalism

A Computer Scientist Explains – Why ‘Bad’ Ads Appear On ‘Good’ Websites

Sketchy ads, like those for miracle weight loss pills and suspicious-looking software, sometimes appear on legitimate, well-regarded websites. It turns out that most websites don’t actually decide who gets to show ads to their viewers. Instead, most sites outsource this task to a complex network of advertising tech companies that do the work of figuring out which ads are shown to each particular person. The online ad ecosystem is largely built around “programmatic advertising,” a system for placing advertisements from millions of advertisers on millions of websites. The system uses computers to automate bidding by advertisers on available ad spaces, often with transactions occurring faster than would be possible manually. Programmatic advertising is a powerful tool that allows advertiser...

Tales From the Online Marketing Crypt 9: Why Cheap Websites Are More Expensive Than You Think

14Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

FOR BUSINESS, THE LATEST NEWS

Tales From the Online Marketing Crypt 9: Why Cheap Websites Are More Expensive Than You Think

Tales from the Online Marketing Crypt - Vol. 9 Your Website May Be Under-Performing Because It's Underpaid During one of my usual jaunts on Facebook, I came across a post where someone was making the argument to invest properly in a website, and they listed all the reasons to do so. Heck, I could have written that post myself! And as per usual, then came many responses that all pretty much said the same thing: "But what if I have no money?" Ah yes, the money objection is a big one. And a valid one too! So valid that it's something every parent has said to us when we were kids, right? I remember one summer I desperately wanted to get a pair of those beautiful black riding boots, the kind you see on equestrian shows on TV. Of course, I had no idea how much they cost, but I knew I h...

Top Celebrity Websites Hacked – Does A Public Figure’s Website Need Extra Security?

8Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Top Celebrity Websites Hacked – Does A Public Figure’s Website Need Extra Security?

Most public figures have started to tweet and blog in order to keep their fan base or followers up to date with their day to day life and with their beliefs about everyday happenings. But the most important thing that we must note is that public figures, celebrities, actors and other artistes have the least security for their website and social media presence. This means that they are the favorite tool to spread rumors and misinformation through. This article deals with the need for extra security for the website of a public figure, famous personality or celebrity. Soft Target Celebrity websites are a soft target for hackers and publicity seeking geeks. The celebrity has a ready fan base who will immediately be tapped for the attention. The ultimate aim for hackers and script kiddies ...

Don’t be so shocked at the Falwell claims – research on Christian sex websites reveals an adventurous side to evangelical sexual culture

31Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Religion

Don’t be so shocked at the Falwell claims – research on Christian sex websites reveals an adventurous side to evangelical sexual culture

Many headlines in the past week have speculated publicly on the sex lives of Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki Falwell. While both Falwells have told the press that the scandal is, more or less, all Becki’s fault an investigative report in Reuters alleges that Falwell Jr. was a complicit voyeur in his wife’s affair with a former pool attendant and business partner. Falwell has denied these allegations. Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University, the ultra-conservative evangelical college founded by his father on Aug. 25. As as a sociologist who has spent years studying the world of online Christian sex advice message boards and blogs, I have read stories from evangelical Christians who turn to the web to talk openly about their sexual activities and desires. Based on this r...

Sketchy darknet websites are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic – buyer beware

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, TECHNOLOGY

Sketchy darknet websites are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic – buyer beware

Underground markets that sell illegal commodities like drugs, counterfeit currency and fake documentation tend to flourish in times of crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. The online underground economy has responded to the current crisis by exploiting demand for COVID-19-related commodities. Today, some of the most vibrant underground economies exist in darknet markets. These are internet websites that look like ordinary e-commerce websites but are accessible only using special browsers or authorization codes. Vendors of illegal commodities have also formed dedicated group-chats and channels on encrypted instant messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram and ICQ. The Darknet Analysis project at the Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group here at Georgia State Universit...

Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar

Over the past few years, articles and blog posts have started to ask some version of the same question: “Why are all websites starting to look the same?” These posts usually point out some common design elements, from large images with superimposed text, to hamburger menus, which are those three horizontal lines that, when clicked, reveal a list of page options to choose from. My colleagues Bardia Doosti, David Crandall, Norman Su and I were studying the history of the web when we started to notice these posts cropping up. None of the authors had done any sort of empirical study, though. It was more of a hunch they had. We decided to investigate the claim to see if there were any truth to the notion that websites are starting to look the same and, if so, explore why this has been happen...