Internet & Websites - Page 26

Google is migrating away from the old annoyance of reCAPTHCA to a new system they are calling noCAPTCHA. reCAPTCHA relied upon distorted text to filter out robots and abusive scripts, and is widely used as a catch-all for websites to filter out spammers. As the use of robots and abusive scripts increased, they eventually began to decipher the reCAPTCHA distorted text with more accuracy. This led to more intense text distortions in an attempt to thwart these advances. These programs are now able to decipher over 99.8% of all distorted text images, even with the most difficult reCAPTCHA implementations.

Users are simply asked if they are a robot with the noCAPTCHA API, and with one click they can pass the new test. Several sites, such as Snapchat, WordPress, and Humble Bundle, have successfully tested the new noCAPTCHA system. noCAPTCHA relies upon an Advanced Risk Analysis backend that studies a user's activity before, during, and after, the noCAPTCHA challenge. If the system flags the user as a possible script or robot it will issue increasingly difficult challenges and eventually weed out the potential spammer.

Google isn't providing specific information on how the new API ascertains whether or not the user is a robot, but the time between clicks and other activity is likely to be an important factor. Bots surf the web with amazing speed, while humans will naturally not be able to accomplish tasks as quickly. WordPress has sent more than 60% of their traffic through the new system, and Humble Bundle has upped their percentage to 80%. The end result is a simplified user experience that can actually weed out the offending robots. The new API is ready for all to use, and a trip over to Google's website will get users up and running.

Americans are embracing online video, enjoying more freedom in choosing the content they watch, which has hurt TV viewership, according to a new report from Nielsen. The shift to online video is going to pressure cable and satellite TV providers - despite many consumers not necessarily cutting the cord, less viewership will hurt advertising and pressure providers to find ways to evolve.

More consumers have broadband Internet access and can choose from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube and other services - as more broadcasters and content providers test online video services - with 45 percent of Americans streaming television shows at least once per month, eMarketer said.

"Content is still king, but consumers are shaping their own content-discovery experience, and the evolving media landscape has not lessened consumer demand for quality, professionally produced content," said Dounia Turrill, Nielsen SVP of insights, in a statement. "What has changed is the number and reliability of new media available to viewers."

Cox Communications are being dragged in front of a court by BMG and Round Hill Music who are alleging that Cox haven't put enough effort into forwarding notices of which demand settlements for copyright violations.

The cable company has apparently gone out of its way to treat these messages as junk mail (spam), with reports claiming that they let 200,000 offenders walk free without warning or prosecution due to their filtering services. The 'Digital Millennium Act' states that networks have a policy for cutting off pirating customers, the aforementioned big labels are claiming that Cox has failed to uphold these terms - which puts them in some rather hot water.

There's been no secured proof that Cox is down the drain just yet, it's up to the judge to decide due to the 'gray area' nature of many computer political debates. It's claimed that a person isn't necessarily violating these copyright laws just because they're supposed to get a notice - so we will need to stay tuned on this topic.

Just yesterday, Google has published their brand new 'Best Apps of 2014' list which features some old favorites alongside new big hits.

If you're looking for old favorites; Shazam, Swiftkey Keyboard and TED made the list. These are displayed proudly next to newer offerings such as Over or Strive. It's interesting to see a distinct lack of music service providers missing out of this list, with no Pandora or Spotify listed - however if you're on the path for love, OkCupid has made an appearance quite near to the top of the page.

There is a rather large range of applications on offer in this list as expected, with applications being spread over utilities, music, gaming and social culture.

A California company has a novel approach to solve problems with delivering fast internet to remote and rural locations. The system can even deliver speeds faster than fiber in locations where laying fiber isn't a financially viable option. Lasers can beam signals up to 10km per jump by utilizing a technology called COR (Composite Optical RF). Each 10km span will merely end up with another repeater, and series of these can deliver up to 2 gigabits per second over amazing distances.

This isn't the first time lasers have been envisioned for backhaul internet applications, but the differentiator is the hybrid nature of the system. Inclement weather, such as rain, dust storms, and other factors, can disrupt laser transmissions. Fog can disrupt millimeter radio as well. The AOptix system also employs millimeter-wave radio in tandem with laser optics. Complex algorithms merge the laser and millimeter wave radio into one cohesive system that essentially provides fault-tolerance in inclement weather.

AOptix also envisions use in the financial sector because the system is actually faster than point-to-point fiber. Anove Technologies has also gotten involved in the project to help tailor it for use in the High Frequency Trading market. Other uses include easy-to-deploy emergency kits, which would come in very handy during disaster relief operations. Militaries will also likely find the technology very attractive. AOptix solutions include mobile backhaul, last mile access, fiber diversity, fiber extension, financial markets, and ad hoc networks.

BitTorrent has successfully appealed to musicians willing to share their music using the company's "Bundles" feature, and has stepped up with the announcement of its first original programming. Children of the Machine features human survivors in the year 2031, trying to survive in an android machine-controlled world.

Children of the Machine will launch in late 2015, and will feature an eight-episode mini-series that will be free with advertising. The series will cost $4.95 without advertisements and $9.95 for a special edition version that includes extra features.

"This is a science fiction show catered to the typical tech-savvy, male-dominated audience," said Marco Weber, the show's producer. "We're not trying to launch a romantic comedy, so the concept of this show moved us toward BitTorrent."

Two men were arrested for their role in pirating the Expendables 3 movie, with officials from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). The US release date for the movie was August 15, but copies of Expendables 3 were found online as early as July 25.

The two suspects, 36 and 33 years of age, reportedly uploaded the high-quality film after stealing it from a cloud-based storage system. Lionsgate Films said there was severe financial impact by the movie being related so early online, saying it cost millions of dollars in potential lost revenue.

"Today's operation shows you the significant impact intellectual property crime has on our creative industries, with millions of pounds being lost as a result of criminal actions," said Detective Chief Inspector Danny Medlycott, Head of PIPCU. "The public need to be aware that piracy is not a victimless crime. By downloading illegal music, film, TV and books, not only are you exposing your own computer to the risk of viruses and malware, but you are also putting hardworking people's livelihoods at risk as piracy threatens the security of thousands of jobs in the UK's creative industries."

A whopping 83 percent of Internet users believe affordable and stable Internet access should be a basic human right, according to the CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey on Internet Security and Trust. More than two-thirds of the world's population don't have Internet access just yet, but there are more campaigns to help people across the world begin to access the Web - largely on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and tablets.

"Overwhelming global public support for the idea that access to the Internet should be a human right also shows just how important the Internet has come to freedom of expression, freedom of association, social communication, the generation of new knowledge, and economic opportunity and growth," said Fen Hampson, director of the CIGI Global Security and Politics Program.

"Unless they are brought online, a world of Internet 'have and have-nots' will not only contribute to income inequality, but also stifle the world's full potential for prosperity and innovation."

What's one of people's favorite things to do these days? Complain about Facebook. For those who wish to do more than simply 'like for world peace', Tsu has offered up their own social networking alternative for those gutsy enough to make the plunge.

The first question you've got to ask is, what does Tsu do differently to the other copious amounts of Facebook alternatives out there? A quick look at their information page points something out straight away - "Social media should be paying you".

According to Tsu, you can sign up today - all you need is an invite from another member, or you can use the generic invite that they will provide to you anyway. They believe that they will be leading the 'social revolution', providing 90% of their total revenue from advertising and sales towards their customer base.

Just this week, iiNet's chief executive David Buckingham accused Telstra of failing to maintain its copper line networks, resulting in many customers experiencing connectivity and speed issues across Australia.

I know what you're thinking straight away - "copper, what the hell?". Unfortunately for Australians, Telstra owns almost all of the phone and internet infrastructure - so when another company like iiNet wants to provide these services to consumers, they must do so through Telstra's existing lines. The claim here is that iiNet is not to fault for their poor performance as of late, but it's Telstra's issue - basically 'passing the blame' onto the older brother.

Theories have emerged that Telstra are refusing to maintain their copper network because it is set to be sold to the government as plans ramp up for the 'National Broadband Network' (NBN) to be implemented - this is developed into either 'Fiber To The Node' (FTTN) or 'Fiber To The Home' (FTTH) depending on where you are located.

Just how much data does Netflix stream every month? A damn lot, that's how much. The US-based streaming company in the first quarter of 2014, streamed some 6.5 billion hours of videos, equating to over over 19.5 million terabytes of video streamed. With Netflix streaming 6.5 million terabytes per month, the company will have streamed 78 million terabytes before the end of the year.

Last year, Netflix streamed just 4 billion hours of video, with over 12 million terabytes of data in Q1 2013, so we're seeing quite the uptick in the amount of people using Netflix. But how will the company deal with things going into the future, as we move toward more 1080p streaming, and then 4K? HD uses around 3GB per hour, but if 4K is used, that goes right up to 7GB per hour. This would increase the total data streamed every three months to around 45.5 million terabytes.

Many consumers filed complaints about companies who gave false promises of cleaning up PCs and taking take of other PC-related problems in ads from websites and through other means. Such scams sugar-coat their lies in the name of PC cleanup service, removal of unwanted and/or malicious files and even PC 'speed boost' services.

According to consumers, they said that the 'service' offered to help them remove malicious software and system errors in an over exaggerated manner for either free, trial or minimal cost... at first. But as the 'support' progresses, the consumer falls down the rabbit hole where the tech support and sales agents use scare tactics to extort more money under the name of 'service plans'.

The FTC and the State of Florida said that many of these PC clean up service scammers were able to earn more than $120 million. The FTC was able to get a court order which will enable them to temporarily shut down tech support scams. Some of these companies were named, such as PC Cleaner Inc, Netcom Global Inc, Netcom3 Software Inc, PC Vitalware LLC and few others.

The expansion of 4K content and high frame rate movies present graphically appealing content, but digital animation studios are struggling, a recent industry expert noted. Production schedules could be impacted due to high-resolution images, forcing studios to reconsider how they create films.

"They are both going to present a huge challenge," said Bruno Mahe, Illumination Mac Guff technical head recently told the BBC. Traditional animated films are viewed at 2K resolution with 24 frames per resolution, but 4K boosts the videos up to 4K resolution and 48fps - and it isn't an easy transition.

In addition to slowing down production, studios also need increasingly powerful render farms to produce images and send them to other animation facilities.

The Islamic State cleverly uses the Internet to spread propaganda and recruit new militants, and the group currently might be looking to evolve its cyber abilities. Each time a social media company, or video site boots the group, it only finds new methods to share its gruesome and reprehensible messages, according to security experts.

"They are posing a threat on multiple fronts," said Army Brig. Gen. Peter Gallagher, US Central Command director of communications, in a recent statement. "I don't want to get into what they may or may not be able to do in the world of cyber, I will tell you they are obviously a threat and we are doing everything in our power to mitigate the threat."

Even though Islamic State has been banned by several social networking websites, the group is still actively able to recruit new members in the Western world. Ideally, the group's members make contact with young women - to convince them to head to Syria - where they are often brainwashed and married to Islamic State rebels. The group also finds new fighters willing to pick up arms in Syria and Iraq, with social media used as a first point of contact.

Facebook has spun off its Groups feature, and while mobile users will still be able to access their Groups through mobile apps, will also benefit from using a standalone Groups app. The app is now available in the Google Android and Apple iOS app stores today.

The No. 1 social networking website continues to unbundle core features, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously telling investors and journalists that individual apps could be the future of mobile Facebook. He previously said that "each app can only focus on doing one thing well, we think."

"Facebook is another outlet for students to share stories, swap lyrics and collaborate outside of the program," said Donnie Smith, Donda's House Executive, in a statement. "Phone numbers change, email addresses stop working, but we can always find our participants whenever we need to on Facebook."

The Indian government has decided to go on a blanket ban spree by making all the Internet service providers in the country block access to 39 websites. Most of these websites are not only porn sites, but also free image and file hosting websites.

While viewing porn in India isn't illegal, the distribution and watching child pornography is banned. What should be noted is that these websites and the content providers/owners are hosting it outside of India where are governed under their respected country's laws, such as 18 USC 2257 where producers are required to point out that all models are at least over 18 years of age. The Department of Telecom isn't very clear about the imposed blanket ban, but it does display the message "this website has been blocked until further notice either pursuant to court orders or on the directions issued by the Department of Telecommunications".

Some deem that this is an abuse of power as there are no actual laws in the IT act where the Indian government can force Indian-based internet service providers to block porn sites along with the image and file storing websites. Sunil Abraham of Centre for Internet and Society said, "There is a possibility that government is interpreting some sections of the IT Act to suit its purpose but I feel that is wrong and should be challenged in the court by ISPs if they care about the rights of their users."

Yishan Wong was the CEO of Reddit, until just recently when he resigned over a disagreement with the board of Reddit over a new office.

Lead investor in Reddit's most recently funding round, Sam Altman, said: "The reason was a disagreement with the board about a new office (location and amount of money to spend on a lease). To be clear, though, we didn't ask or suggest that he resign-he decided to when we didn't approve the new office plan". Altman added that the explanation "sounds non-credible (and it's certainly one of the craziest professional things I've ever been a part of), but it's actually what happened".

Altman said that Wong wanted to move the location of the office from San Francisco to Daly City, where he said: "Yishan wanted to move the office from SF to Daly City. The board pushed back but said we'd agree to it with certain data (we wanted Yishan to figure out how many employees would stay with the company through the move, get a comparison to other market rents, etc.-all questions I think a board should ask when thinking through a major commitment). This is certainly not what I was expecting to be dealing with so quickly after investing in reddit, but we'll make the best of it".

Rising electronics powerhouse Xiaomi plans to invest $1 billion in providing more online TV content to subscribers, which will complement Xiaomi TV and the company's set-top box.

China has more than 600 million Internet users, with a growing number watching online video via smartphones - and Xiaomi wants to compete against Alibaba, Tencent, and others in the growing market. The country was the second largest movie market in 2012, trailing the United States, with continued growth expected over the next several years, analysts predict.

Here is what Chen Tong, a recent Xiaomi hire and former Chinese Sina Internet company executive said: "We want to repeat the success of Xiaomi's hardware integration model in the television industry."

Amazon, Inc. is facing issues when doing business in China and India, but assured that they won't shut down its operations. According to reports, Amazon India is having a tough time dealing with Indian laws that result in an impact on its business.

Earlier, many reports pointed out that operations in these countries may shut down. But Amazon India assured that though they are facing issues, they aren't shutting down their operations. The company has also said that it will be investing $2 billion in India (12,000 crore INR in local currency) for its business, with around $1 billion invested in the country so far.

Amazon India said that they are already facing unique risks. Currently, the retail giant is facing tax issues with the Karnataka government. According to sources, the government wants the company to pay value-added tax since they're storing goods at the company's warehouse. There's also a problem for Amazon where the Indian government restricts the ownership of Indian companies by foreign companies when it comes to multi-brand retailing online and via retail stores.

Google is making its two-factor authentication even safer, with the announcement of support being added for Security Key. With this, Google allows its users to purchase a physical USB stick from a third-party company that can be used as your personal identification when logging into Gmail, Chrome, or any other Google account.

Once you've acquired your security key, you can plug it into your computer, press the built-in button on the dongle when asked, and voila - you're secure, and you now have a security key. This key only works after verifying the site you're logging in to, verifying that it is indeed a Google site and not some phishing attack. The device uses the FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) protocol, which means it can be used to log into other websites that support the U2F protocol, as long as you're within Chrome.

The service itself is free, but you'll need to secure yourself a not-so-free USB security key. Amazon currently sells FIDO U2F keys starting at around $5.99, all the way up to around $50.