| Mr. T pities any fools who were taken in by bad jokes today. (Image courtesy countdown.onlineclock.net.) |
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Seven Silly Swindles: April Fool's Day 2016
Screen Cuisine: New MMMojis Make Eatery Choices Easy
Are you lazy, or just hungover? Hey, we don't discriminate, are you both? If you find your state of lushness and/or lackadaisicality is impeding your most base efforts at communication - not even speech, we're talking an inability to text properly - well, now technology has an answer for you.
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| This is also ideal for when your SO claims they don't care what they want to eat. Scroll and randomly hit an icon, problem solved! (Image courtesy dailymail.co.uk.) |
The Witness Of Fitness: Health Apps Want Your Hot Body (Of Data)
Do you have a smartphone, smartwatch, or otherwise e-enabled device that you use to keep track of your health and fitness habits? That's good, in the sense that you care enough about yourself to hopefully not totally devolve into a donut-demolishing dumpster. It's bad, however, that all of your fitness data might not just be kept solely between you and your get-buff gadgetry.
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| "Sweet, I just beat my best 5K time! But what's with all these ads to join the army?" (Image courtesy lifefitness.com.) |
X Marks The Spotted: Windows 10 Is Watching You
As citizens of the cyber-community, we've unfortunately become conditioned to seeing ads that are eerily targeted to things we say, emails that appear from long-forgotten websites, and other evidence of deep data gathering made manifest for use of moneymaking. Now, with the launch of Windows 10 becoming a necessity for some users, Microsoft seems to have pulled out even more stops to speed up their spying...
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| Seriously, what ISN'T spying on us these days? (Image courtesy hackread.com.) |
A Kick In The Astroturf: Amazon Trounces Fake Online Reviews With AI
You might love the internet, but you probably don't trust the internet. With all manner of scams from impostors faking cute pictures on dating sites, to robots faking comments on popular blogs, the skullduggery is ceaseless. Now, Amazon aims to use artificial intelligence to take down one of the worst offenders against our online honor...fake product reviews.
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| The truth will set you free. Everything else will set you up for something crazy. (Image courtesy i.huffpost.com.) |
'Tis The Season To Be REALLY Jolly: Cyber Monday Deals From Darknet Drug Dens
Buying drugs is often a gamble; buying drugs online seems like you're asking for trouble. However, for those with a need to fix and a healthy appreciation for the underworld-like dealings of the dark net, today is a particularly special day.
As reported by the International Business Times, even purveyors of illicit substances enjoy spreading their wares to the masses on the cheap for "Cyber Monday." Care for an ounce of marijuana for only $200? How about 50% off on LSD? Perhaps a rewarding dose of suboxone for all orders over $50? These deals and many more exist on the dark net's dealing pages, similar to the recently-raided Silk Road. Despite crackdowns on these types of websites, the spirit of the season shines through.
Drugs aren't the only thing you can find as stocking stuffers on the dark net. Deals on mobile phones, hacked website accounts, and even stolen credit cards also abounded as vendors tried to maximize their Xmas-season attention.
Benjamin Ali, a senior spokesman for Centient (a company which specializes in monitoring the dark net) explained, "Despite law enforcement efforts to take these sites down, we are starting to see an influx of adverts towards Black Friday with two of the remaining major markets currently boasting over 20000 adverts...These two marketplaces have seen a growth in both the number of vendors and adverts on these sites, mainly due to not wanting to miss out on trade."
So maybe this year, Rudolph's nose will be even redder, due to some discount cocaine. Maybe "Silver Bells" are a new brand of Ecstasy. Maybe you intend to bring a whole new meaning to "lighting the Christmas tree." However you choose to celebrate, happy holiday season.
As reported by the International Business Times, even purveyors of illicit substances enjoy spreading their wares to the masses on the cheap for "Cyber Monday." Care for an ounce of marijuana for only $200? How about 50% off on LSD? Perhaps a rewarding dose of suboxone for all orders over $50? These deals and many more exist on the dark net's dealing pages, similar to the recently-raided Silk Road. Despite crackdowns on these types of websites, the spirit of the season shines through.
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| Definitely leave cookies under this tree for Santa. He's going to be jonesing for them. (Image courtesy ukcia.org.) |
Drugs aren't the only thing you can find as stocking stuffers on the dark net. Deals on mobile phones, hacked website accounts, and even stolen credit cards also abounded as vendors tried to maximize their Xmas-season attention.
Benjamin Ali, a senior spokesman for Centient (a company which specializes in monitoring the dark net) explained, "Despite law enforcement efforts to take these sites down, we are starting to see an influx of adverts towards Black Friday with two of the remaining major markets currently boasting over 20000 adverts...These two marketplaces have seen a growth in both the number of vendors and adverts on these sites, mainly due to not wanting to miss out on trade."
So maybe this year, Rudolph's nose will be even redder, due to some discount cocaine. Maybe "Silver Bells" are a new brand of Ecstasy. Maybe you intend to bring a whole new meaning to "lighting the Christmas tree." However you choose to celebrate, happy holiday season.
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| Maybe the Three Wise Men want to take the other Silk Road this holiday. (Image courtesy subjectify.com.) |
Pew Report: 90% Of Americans Feel They've "Lost Control" Over Data Privacy
It's no secret that most civilian information in the United States is not secret. But just how bad has the encroachment on our privacy gotten? In a new Pew Research Center report, it seems that the cognitive dissonance of the American Dream is frustrating, but still not something people feel ready to fix...even though it is more critical now than ever to stop the erosion from the invasion.
The Washington Post reports that a recent study indicated Americans were very aware of the "privacy dystopia" they were living in, with 61% stating that they "would like to do more" to protect their online information. Over 90% were aware that they had "lost control" over how private organizations were able to obtain and utilize their personal information.
Unfortunately, 55% were admittedly willing to trade personal information for free services online, which doesn't seem to be in line with most peoples' stated desires for privacy (yes, it DOES require sacrifice of some things, unfortunately, but perhaps someday with effort, that could be changed. Cognizance of this is the first step to correcting it.)
Other data from the report included some interesting findings:
-60% reported that revealing data to companies over the internet did not significantly improve their online experience
-88% did not trust advertisers the majority of the time
-82% did not trust the government all or most of the time
-Only 24% felt they could be easily anonymous online
-Perhaps most importantly, over 60% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "it is a good thing for society if people believe that someone is keeping an eye on the things that they do online."
Cell phones, land lines, and social media site security were also assessed, but the overall results were clear: the snooping needs to stop. And until we cease squandering our own operational security or surrendering our data for the benefit of fleeting internet fun, this is going to be difficult to change. It is no longer enough to disagree with privacy-violating practices - consumers and citizens must make the powers that be stop shamelessly snooping and selling our security. Big Brother has become a bully, and it's time to fight back.
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| It's not just a feeling. It's their first move. (Image courtesy mb.com.ph.) |
The Washington Post reports that a recent study indicated Americans were very aware of the "privacy dystopia" they were living in, with 61% stating that they "would like to do more" to protect their online information. Over 90% were aware that they had "lost control" over how private organizations were able to obtain and utilize their personal information.
Unfortunately, 55% were admittedly willing to trade personal information for free services online, which doesn't seem to be in line with most peoples' stated desires for privacy (yes, it DOES require sacrifice of some things, unfortunately, but perhaps someday with effort, that could be changed. Cognizance of this is the first step to correcting it.)
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| Whatever this is, it isn't worth your security. (Image courtesy news.softpedia.com.) |
Other data from the report included some interesting findings:
-60% reported that revealing data to companies over the internet did not significantly improve their online experience
-88% did not trust advertisers the majority of the time
-82% did not trust the government all or most of the time
-Only 24% felt they could be easily anonymous online
-Perhaps most importantly, over 60% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "it is a good thing for society if people believe that someone is keeping an eye on the things that they do online."
Cell phones, land lines, and social media site security were also assessed, but the overall results were clear: the snooping needs to stop. And until we cease squandering our own operational security or surrendering our data for the benefit of fleeting internet fun, this is going to be difficult to change. It is no longer enough to disagree with privacy-violating practices - consumers and citizens must make the powers that be stop shamelessly snooping and selling our security. Big Brother has become a bully, and it's time to fight back.
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| More technological shutters must be closed to block a variety of prying eyes. (Image courtesy nypost.com.) |
Shrug Off "Atlas", Facebook's New Ad-Stalking Network
You are a target. Your likes, dislikes, and desires, as manifested via the internet, make you prime material for directed advertising, and social media giant Facebook knows it. That's why they're stepping in to make their ads follow you around the internet, like a lost dog of consumerism, or perhaps an over-egregious door-to-door salesman inside your screen.
According to mashable.com, the targeted ads will start following you immediately. You selections and mentions on facebook help them to direct material that they think you will be prone to clicking on, and thus your creepily-pertinent ad distractions will appear if you visit other facebook-affiliated sites (such as Amazon or various news outlets.)
Facebook's new ad network, Atlas, is responsible for this collection and dispersal. A former Microsoft company which Facebook purchased for $100 million last year, Atlas tracks your verbiage and serves up what it feels is appropriate topical consumer choices. Atlas CEO Erik Johnson stated this is superior to the logging of your info by your computer's "cookies", stating in a blog post that, "Cookies don’t work on mobile, are becoming less accurate in demographic targeting and can’t easily or accurately measure the customer purchase funnel across browsers and devices or into the offline world."
Now that they've stepped up their game, so can you. Services like Adblock, Ghostery, NoScript and Disconnect.me can help to combat the ever-encroaching e-eyeballs and protect your privacy. So if you've ever had the sneaking suspicion that your paper trail needs to be burned, now you know how to fire it up.
According to mashable.com, the targeted ads will start following you immediately. You selections and mentions on facebook help them to direct material that they think you will be prone to clicking on, and thus your creepily-pertinent ad distractions will appear if you visit other facebook-affiliated sites (such as Amazon or various news outlets.)
Facebook's new ad network, Atlas, is responsible for this collection and dispersal. A former Microsoft company which Facebook purchased for $100 million last year, Atlas tracks your verbiage and serves up what it feels is appropriate topical consumer choices. Atlas CEO Erik Johnson stated this is superior to the logging of your info by your computer's "cookies", stating in a blog post that, "Cookies don’t work on mobile, are becoming less accurate in demographic targeting and can’t easily or accurately measure the customer purchase funnel across browsers and devices or into the offline world."
Now that they've stepped up their game, so can you. Services like Adblock, Ghostery, NoScript and Disconnect.me can help to combat the ever-encroaching e-eyeballs and protect your privacy. So if you've ever had the sneaking suspicion that your paper trail needs to be burned, now you know how to fire it up.
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| You don't want to be on the shoulders of the Atlas that hefts the world wide web. |
Google Eye Tracker: Watching You Watch Them
And you thought tracking your browser and search history was intrusive! From The Verge:
Advertisers spend heaps of cash on branding, bannering, and product-placing. But does anyone really look at those ads? Google could be betting that advertisers will pay to know whether consumers are actually looking at their billboards, magazine spreads, and online ads. The company was just granted a patent for "pay-per-gaze" advertising, which would employ a Google Glass-like eye sensor in order to identify when consumers are looking at advertisements in the real world and online.
Advertisers Object to Firefox Privacy Controls
The more public your private information is, the better it is for advertisers, so it is no surprise to find that advertising associations are upset that newer versions of Firefox will, by default, block them from tracking you wherever you go online. From Consumer Affairs:
the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the trade association for Internet advertisers and publishers . . . are irate at Mozilla's plan to make future versions of its Firefox web browser block third-party cookies by default . . .
IAB insists that the move by Firefox, which has about a 20% market share, far behind Google Chrome and Microsoft Explorer, will imperil small publishers.
“Thousands of small businesses that make up the diversity of content and services online will be forced to close their doors,” said Randall Rothenberg, IAB's president. “This move will not put the interest of users first. Nor does it promote transparency or ‘move the web forward’ as Mozilla claims in its announcement." . . .
"I think the IAB's rhetoric is overblown," said David Jacobs, consumer protection counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). . . . EPIC's Jacobs says the ad industry's failure to develop a workable solution on its own has left Firefox to guard the henhouse.
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