Author: Robin Edgar

Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft

‘We Asked GPT-3 To Write an Academic Paper About Itself – Then We Tried To Get It Published’

Posted on by Robin Edgar

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American, written by Almira Osmanovic Thunstrom: On a rainy afternoon earlier this year, I logged in to my OpenAI account and typed a simple instruction for the company’s artificial intelligence algorithm, GPT-3: Write an academic thesis in 500 words about GPT-3 and add scientific references and citations Read more about ‘We Asked GPT-3 To Write an Academic Paper About Itself – Then We Tried To Get It Published’[…]

New Firefox privacy feature strips URLs of tracking parameters

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Numerous companies, including Facebook, Marketo, Olytics, and HubSpot, utilize custom URL query parameters to track clicks on links. For example, Facebook appends a fbclid query parameter to outbound links to track clicks, with an example of one of these URLs shown below. https://www.example.com/?fbclid=IwAR4HesRZLT-fxhhh3nZ7WKsOpaiFzsg4nH0K4WLRHw1h467GdRjaLilWbLs With the release of Firefox 102, Mozilla has added the new ‘Query Read more about New Firefox privacy feature strips URLs of tracking parameters[…]

A wide range of routers are under attack by new, unusually sophisticated malware

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]researchers from Lumen Technologies’ Black Lotus Labs say they’ve identified at least 80 targets infected by the stealthy malware, infecting routers made by Cisco, Netgear, Asus, and DrayTek. Dubbed ZuoRAT, the remote access Trojan is part of a broader hacking campaign that has existed since at least the fourth quarter of 2020 and continues to Read more about A wide range of routers are under attack by new, unusually sophisticated malware[…]

‘Toxic’ open source GitHub discussions analyzed in study

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Toxic discussions on open-source GitHub projects tend to involve entitlement, subtle insults, and arrogance, according to an academic study. That contrasts with the toxic behavior – typically bad language, hate speech, and harassment – found on other corners of the web. Whether that seems obvious or not, it’s an interesting point to consider because, for Read more about ‘Toxic’ open source GitHub discussions analyzed in study[…]

Too Little, Too Late, WTO Finally Eases Patent Rights On COVID Vaccines

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In what definitely feels like a case of way too little, way too late, the WTO last week finally decided to grant the TRIPS waiver on COVID vaccines, allowing others to make more of the vaccine without violating patent rights. The WTO has long had this ability to issue a patent waiver as part of Read more about Too Little, Too Late, WTO Finally Eases Patent Rights On COVID Vaccines[…]

Historic borders, Mapping the boundaries of history

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Historical country borders through time     While geographic boundaries can often seem like a semi-static thing, they’ve changed a lot when you look at them on the scale of centuries. Point in History, by Hans Hack, presents a map of what boundaries used to be. Click anywhere to see the history. The map is Read more about Historic borders, Mapping the boundaries of history[…]

Cloudflare explains hour long outage which broke a lot of internets

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The incident began at 0627 UTC (2327 Pacific Time) and it took until 0742 UTC (0042 Pacific) before the company managed to bring all its datacenters back online and verify they were working correctly. During this time a variety of sites and services relying on Cloudflare went dark while engineers frantically worked to undo the Read more about Cloudflare explains hour long outage which broke a lot of internets[…]

South Korea Launches First Satellite With Homegrown Rocket

Posted on by Robin Edgar

South Korea conducted its first successful satellite launch using a domestically developed rocket on Tuesday, officials said, boosting its growing aerospace ambitions and demonstrating it has key technologies needed to launch spy satellites and build larger missiles amid tensions with rival North Korea. The three-stage Nuri rocket placed a functioning “performance verification” satellite at a Read more about South Korea Launches First Satellite With Homegrown Rocket[…]

Transparent Display Hacked to Look Like Shower Door

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The most practical use for transparent LCDs has been in hospitals, where rooms with large windows can be made private at the push of a button that causes the panels to instantly become opaque. µProto「Wipe Fake」 That’s presumably what inspired this team of designers from IMG SRC, who in just two months created the Read more about Transparent Display Hacked to Look Like Shower Door[…]

Popular blockchains can be centralised fairly easily | Trail of Bits study funded by DARPA

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]Over the past year, Trail of Bits was engaged by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to examine the fundamental properties of blockchains and the cybersecurity risks associated with them. DARPA wanted to understand those security assumptions and determine to what degree blockchains are actually decentralized. […] The report also contains links to the Read more about Popular blockchains can be centralised fairly easily | Trail of Bits study funded by DARPA[…]

How to Search Reddit and Actually Find What You Want using keywords

Posted on by Robin Edgar

These keywords allow you to tell Reddit to search for only specific things, rather than the entirety of Reddit. These aren’t menu-based, meaning you’ll need to know which terms to enter into the search bar to get the results you want. There are eight in total, and you can use them in the following ways: Read more about How to Search Reddit and Actually Find What You Want using keywords[…]

Miners flood market with GPUs they no longer need as cryptocurrencies crash

Posted on by Robin Edgar

As the cryptocurrency market currently goes through one of its worst nosedives in recent years, miners are trying to get rid of their mining hardware. Due to the crashing prices of popular crypto coins, numerous Chinese miners and e-cafes are flooding the market with graphics cards they no longer need. Miners, e-cafes, and scalpers are Read more about Miners flood market with GPUs they no longer need as cryptocurrencies crash[…]

Spain, Austria not convinced location data is personal

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] EU privacy group NOYB (None of your business), set up by privacy warrior Max “Angry Austrian” Schrems, said on Tuesday it appealed a decision of the Spanish Data Protection Authority (AEPD) to support Virgin Telco’s refusal to provide the location data it has stored about a customer. In Spain, according to NOYB, the government Read more about Spain, Austria not convinced location data is personal[…]

The 10 Best Illusions of the Year 2021

Posted on by Robin Edgar

the finalists of this year’s Best Illusion of the Year Contest aren’t going to leave your brain feeling any less raddled, confused, or exhausted as we quickly approach the new year. As they do every year, a group of talented neurologists, visual scientists, ophthalmologists, and artists have come together to create and celebrate the best Read more about The 10 Best Illusions of the Year 2021[…]

Scientists develop antimicrobial, plant-based food wrap designed to replace plastic

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Aiming to produce environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic food wrap and containers, a Rutgers scientist has developed a biodegradable, plant-based coating that can be sprayed on foods, guarding against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and transportation damage. The scalable process could potentially reduce the adverse environmental impact of plastic food packaging as well as protect human Read more about Scientists develop antimicrobial, plant-based food wrap designed to replace plastic[…]

Virpil VPC Desk Mount linear rail adapter for MongoosT / WarBRD / Stream Deck by SciMonster – Thingiverse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWXf6EsfZ4c&t=62s Mount your Virpil Throttle and Stick to linear rails so you can slide them along your desk. This allows you to move your HOTAS aside when you use the computer for other work. When flying your aircraft or spaceship, a spring-loaded locking meachanism holds your HOTAS securely in place. The files are designed for Read more about Virpil VPC Desk Mount linear rail adapter for MongoosT / WarBRD / Stream Deck by SciMonster – Thingiverse[…]

Attacking ML systems by changing  the order of the training data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Machine learning is vulnerable to a wide variety of attacks. It is now well understood that by changing the underlying data distribution, an adversary can poison the model trained with it or introduce backdoors. In this paper we present a novel class of training-time attacks that require no changes to the underlying dataset or model Read more about Attacking ML systems by changing  the order of the training data[…]

Chinese Officials Are Weaponizing COVID Health Tracker to Block Protests

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Chinese bank depositors planning a protest about their frozen funds saw their health code mysteriously turn red and were stopped from traveling to the site of a rally, confirming fears that China’s vast COVID-tracking system could be weaponized as a powerful tool to stifle dissent. A red health code designated the would-be protesters as suspected Read more about Chinese Officials Are Weaponizing COVID Health Tracker to Block Protests[…]

Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook is collecting ultra-sensitive personal data about abortion seekers and enabling anti-abortion organizations to use that data as a tool to target and influence people online, in violation of its own policies and promises. In the wake of a leaked Supreme Court opinion signaling the likely end of nationwide abortion protections, privacy experts are sounding Read more about Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients[…]

Telegram criticizes Apple for subpar web app features on iOS, crippling app

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A week after confirming plans for Telegram Premium, the messaging platform’s CEO, Pavel Durov, is again criticizing Apple’s approach to its Safari browser for stifling the efforts of web developers. Durov would very much like his web-based messaging platform, Telegram Web, to be delivered as a web app rather than native, but is prevented from Read more about Telegram criticizes Apple for subpar web app features on iOS, crippling app[…]

Samsung accused of cheating on hardware benchmarks – again

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…] The South Korean titan was said to have unfairly goosed Galaxy Note 3 phone benchmarks in 2013, and faced with similar allegations about the Galaxy S4 in 2018 settled that matter for $13.4 million. This time Samsung has allegedly fudged the results for its televisions, specifically the S95B QD-OLED and QN95B Neo OLED LCD Read more about Samsung accused of cheating on hardware benchmarks – again[…]

Time to throw out those older, vulnerable Cisco SMB routers – they’re not gonna fix critical bugs for you

Posted on by Robin Edgar

[…]Cisco has just released fixes for seven flaws, two of which are not great. First on the priority list should be a critical vulnerability in its enterprise security appliances, and the second concerns another critical bug in some of its outdated small business routers that it’s not going to fix. In other words, junk your Read more about Time to throw out those older, vulnerable Cisco SMB routers – they’re not gonna fix critical bugs for you[…]

Julian Assange Extradition to US Approved by UK Government

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Julian Assange—founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks—can now be extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States, where he will face charges of espionage. In April, a London court filed a formal extradition order for Assange, and the UK Home Secretary approved the order today, meaning that Assange can be extradited back to the Read more about Julian Assange Extradition to US Approved by UK Government[…]