Image by stefanocar75 Copyright holders have long insisted that search results play a substantial role in driving users toward pirate sites. Google and piracy advocates have generally countered that search does not drive much traffic to illegal sites because the people who consistently use infringing sites know what they’re doing and will go directly to the content they’re seeking. This is a ...
This month, computers around the world fell victim to what experts have called the largest cyberattack on record. Known by its name “WannaCry,” the ransomware* assault went global sending cyber-defense teams into hyperdrive trying to protect systems as vital as hospitals, banks, and telecommunications in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. One notable consequence of the attack, as reported in The ...
Andrew Orlowski reports at The Register that last week Google quietly suspended its legal action to “muzzle” an investigation by Mississippi Attorney General Hood into whether or not the search giant was abiding by the terms of its 2012, non-prosecutorial settlement with the government over illegal online sales of prescription drugs. Any explanation of Google’s change in strategy or the ...
Once again the MPAA has announced a profitable year for American motion pictures, and once again some of the usual suspects have seized upon this announcement to declare the studios hypocrites for ever saying that piracy causes real harm to the industry. Certainly, it’s easy enough to keep writing this same, careless article all the time. Cory Doctorow cobbled together ...
In yesterday’s post, I referred to the Android-based service called Google Now, which is about as close as your mobile device comes (so far) to reading your mind and anticipating your wants and needs. By gathering data from contacts, emails, destinations visited, searches made, etc. the algorithms applied by the Now service essentially learn a user’s interests and then prompts ...
