Since 2003 Vox Media has been covering California’s sports on its SB Nation blogs largely with independent contractors. But they’re making big changes to comply with a new California law targetting companies in the gig economy, according to the Los Angeles Times: Vox Media will end contracts with about 200 people, including non-California freelancers who cover teams based in the state, and…
Tag: Websites
Vivaldi To Change User-Agent String To Chrome Due To Unfair Blocking
Because some internet websites unfairly block browsers from accessing their services, starting with Vivaldi 2.10, released today, the Vivaldi browser plans to disguise itself as Chrome to allow users to access websites that unfairly block them. From a report: Vivaldi will do this by modifying its default user-agent (UA) string to the UA string used by Chrome. A UA string is…
Over 100 PBS Local Stations Start Streaming Today On YouTube TV
Starting today, you can now stream more than 100 local PBS stations on YouTube TV by way of dedicated live channels for both PBS and PBS Kids, as well though on-demand programming. More stations are expected to be added in 2020, PBS notes. TechCrunch reports: PBS service is available to 75% of U.S. households via YouTube TV, significantly broadening PBS’ reach…
FBI Busts Massive Pirate Streaming Service With More Content Than Netflix
An anonymous reader quotes USA Today: Two programmers in Las Vegas recently admitted to running two of the largest illegal television and movie streaming services in the country, according to federal officials… An FBI investigation led officials to Darryl Polo, 36, and Luis Villarino, 40, who have pleaded guilty to copyright infringement charges for operating iStreamItAll, a subscription-based streaming site, and…
Reputation Management Firms Bury Google Results By Placing Flattering Content
Prominent figures from Jacob Gottlieb to Betsy DeVos got help from a reputation management firm that can bury image-sensitive Google results by placing flattering content on websites that masquerade as news outlets. The Wall Street Journal reports: Jacob Gottlieb was considering raising money for a hedge fund. One problem: His last one had collapsed in a scandal. While Mr. Gottlieb wasn’t…
DNA site GEDmatch sold to firm helping US police solve crime
One of the world’s biggest genealogy websites has been bought by a company that provides law enforcement agencies with genomic sequencing technology for forensic DNA work Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2226791-dna-site-gedmatch-sold-to-firm-helping-us-police-solve-crime/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
20 Low-End VPS Providers Suddenly Shutting Down In a ‘Deadpooling’ Scam
“At least 20 web hosting providers have hastily notified customers today, Saturday, December 7, that they plan to shut down on Monday, giving their clients two days to download data from their accounts before servers are shut down and wiped clean,” reports ZDNet. And no refunds are being provided:
All the services offer cheap low-end virtual private servers [and] all the websites…
A Bug In Microsoft’s Login System Put Users At Risk of Account Hijacks
Microsoft has fixed a vulnerability in its login system that could have been used to trick unsuspecting victims into giving over complete access to their online accounts. TechCrunch reports: The bug allowed attackers to quietly steal account tokens, which websites and apps use to grant users access to their accounts without requiring them to constantly re-enter their passwords. These tokens are…
Revealed: Mental health websites are selling your data to advertisers
Websites that provide resources about mental health conditions such as depression track individual users and share their data with advertisers. Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2225670-revealed-mental-health-websites-are-selling-your-data-to-advertisers/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
iOS Apps Could Really Benefit From the Newly Proposed Security.plist Standard
Security researcher Ivan Rodriguez has proposed a new security standard for iOS apps, which he named Security.plist. From a report: The idea is simple. App makers would create a property list file (plist) named security.plist that they would embed inside the root of their iOS apps. The file would contain all the basic contact details for reporting a security flaw to…