When it came to interference with the 2016 election, tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google “did not take this threat seriously enough,” Democratic Sen. Mark Warner told reporters at a press conference at the US Capitol on Wednesday. Warner and Republican Sen. Richard Burr addressed reporters to give an update on the Senate Intelligence …
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About 10 million Facebook users saw Russian-linked ads placed on its service during the 2016 US election campaign, the social media giant said Monday. About 44 percent of the ads were seen before election, while 56 percent were seen afterward, Elliot Schrage, the company’s vice president of policy and communications, wrote in a blog post. The figures were among the …
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Attempts by Russia-linked social media accounts to influence events in the US apparently weren’t limited to last year’s US election. A network of Twitter accounts suspected of links to Russia were used this weekend to stoke the controversy over whether NFL players should stand for pregame performances of the national anthem, The New York Times reported late Wednesday. The accounts …
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Paul Horner, a leading peddler of fake news and internet hoaxes during the 2016 election, has died at the age of 38. Horner was discovered dead in his bed on Sept. 18, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mark Casey said in a statement Wednesday. Casey said evidence found at the scene southwest of Phoenix suggested Horner died of an accidental …
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The speed boost and new features coming to the next version of Firefox are dramatic enough that Mozilla has given it a brand-new name: Firefox Quantum. The idea, of course, is that the upcoming version 57 is a quantum leap over predecessors — or, in the words of Mozilla CEO Chris Beard, a “big bang.” Company executives acknowledged they let Firefox …
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In 2019, you may check your email with the help of a balloon 12 miles up in the sky. Project Loon, from Google parent company Alphabet, uses high-altitude solar-powered balloons instead of the usual land-based cell towers to provide your phone’s wireless connection to the network. It began as a somewhat bizarre project from the company’s X “moonshot” group, but …
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Verizon is offering up to $300 off an iPhone 8 when you trade in your old phone. Even better, the company is also giving away iPhones 8s. That is, if you can find them. Enlarge Image The AR number 8 could be hiding in your city. Time to go find it! Verizon Verizon is hosting an iPhone giveaway through Friday, Sept. …
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Amazon said Wednesday it’s reviewing its website after a British TV station found the company may have been helping people buy bomb-making ingredients through its “frequently bought together” feature. The report from Channel 4 News said Amazon’s site would recommend customers buy together combinations of elements required for making crude bombs. In one instance, Amazon cued up a recommendation for …
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When Safari 11 arrives on iPhones and Macs later this month, Apple‘s browser will come with a feature called Intelligent Tracking Prevention that makes it harder for advertisers and publishers to track what you do online. Surprise! Advertisers hate it. Six advertising groups published a letter Thursday asking Apple to “rethink” the technology, warning that it will “sabotage the economic model for …
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If you regularly plug headphones into your computer when browsing the internet, you likely know the evils of autoplay videos. One second you’re browsing in peace, the next your eardrums are obliterated by an insanely loud advertisement. Google is being the ultimate pal: In an upcoming update to its Chrome web browser, it will block any autoplay video that has …
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