Via LLRX – Scam Baiting: An Innovative Approach to Combating Online Fraud – The thesis of Kyra Strick‘s instructive paper promotes a proactive approach to a rapidly increasing online security crisis. Strick states that in the dynamic landscape of cybersecurity, scam baiting has emerged as a captivating and unconventional approach to combating online fraud. Scam baiting is the practice of engaging with scammers to expose their tactics and disrupt their operations. It serves as an offensive and a defensive measure, safeguarding individuals from falling prey to scams, promoting data protection education, and empowering individuals to protect their digital security.
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Monthly Archives: February 2024
Toward a durable, dictator-proof Washington Post
Via LLRX – Toward a durable, dictator-proof Washington Post – David H. Rothman’s timely, outside the box commentary addresses the growing wave of news outlets abruptly closing down their websites, laying off staff, and in some cases, eliminating access to their respective archives. Rothman proposes an alternative to “how do I charge them enough” to… Continue Reading
These Video Doorbells Have Terrible Security. Amazon Sells Them Anyway
Consumer Reports – “The devices are also sold by Walmart, Sears, and other retailers—and big platforms have faced few consequences for shipping flawed products. On a recent Thursday afternoon, a Consumer Reports journalist received an email containing a grainy image of herself waving at a doorbell camera she’d set up at her back door. If… Continue Reading
Axel Springer vs. Google
Fortune: “Axel Springer is at Google’s throat again. The German news-publishing giant (for which I worked in my days at Politico) has a long history of battling Google over the issue of so-called ancillary copyright fees—payments for carrying snippets of text and thumbnail images in search results. But now it’s waging war on another front:… Continue Reading
Corporate Tax Avoidance in the First Five Years of the Trump Tax Law
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy: ” Download report data here – Executive Summary: “The tax overhaul signed into law by former President Donald Trump in 2017 cut the federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, but during the first five years it has been in effect, most profitable corporations paid considerably… Continue Reading
ChatGPT Tutorial – How to use OpenAI’s AI Tool (with Images)
ChatGPT is an excellent tool with hundreds of uses, for work and play. We show you how to get started with the AI chatbot. [h/t Pete Weiss] In this guide: How to Sign Up for ChatGPT for Free How to Use ChatGPT Prompts How to Create Images in ChatGPT How to Manage How ChatGPT Uses… Continue Reading
CDC recommends spring COVID booster for people 65 and up
Ars Technica: “People ages 65 and up should get another dose of a COVID-19 vaccine this spring, given the age group’s higher risk of severe disease and death from the pandemic virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. Earlier today, an advisory committee for the CDC voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending… Continue Reading
We Must Rescue Forgotten Geniuses If We are to Read Them
The Neglected Books Page: “Apoorva Tadepalli published an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times recently, titled “We Need to Read the Forgotten Geniuses, Not Rescue Them” [unpaywalled]. As anyone who’s familiar with this site can imagine, this was an article I read with interest. For over forty years, I’ve been fascinated with looking for forgotten… Continue Reading
Your Bike Just Got Stolen. These Vigilantes Will Get It Back.
WSJ [unpaywalled] ‘I hate thieves.’ Bike theft is booming, but so is the army of citizen sleuths fighting it. “Mike Pavlik sees a lot while recovering stolen bikes around Minneapolis. Once, pretending to be a potential buyer, he dressed up in khakis, a sports coat and met a seller. Pavlik took note of the make,… Continue Reading
Black Families Can Now Recover More of Their Lost Histories
The New York Times [Dr. Fields-Black is the author of “Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War]: “…African Americans searching for their family histories often have only small irregular pieces of an enormous puzzle. Most of those pieces are missing because enslaved African Americans were not recorded by… Continue Reading
The Best VPNs to Protect Yourself Online
Wired – “It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can make you a less tempting target for hackers. A virtual private network (VPN) is like a protective tunnel you can use to pass through a public network, protecting your data from outside eyes. Whether you’re worried about hiding your… Continue Reading
The Best and Weirdest Work From Home Gear
Gizmodo – “If your WFH setup needs a facelift, you should check out this tech that let’s you take your gear into every room of the house. Do you never want to go back into the office again? We created a list that would make anybody’s work-from-home setup so ergonomic, comfortable, and so convenient it… Continue Reading
