When the cure is worse than the problem

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You think the internet is a scary place for kids? It’s about to get worse. Big Tech’s latest “solution” to protect children could be even more dangerous than the problem.

Tags: Big Tech, children, dangerous, download, internet, kids, open, protect, scary, solution, tech


🍹 Hola, beaches!Quiet vacationing” is all over the internet. Millennials and Gen Zers are sneaking in time off work without taking PTO. The ruse takes a few fake meetings on the calendar and strategically timed emails to make your boss think you’re working. Yeah, this is also called stealing.

Dog sets the house on fire

An indoor cam caught a dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery power bank, which then set the house on fire. The flames spread through the living room in minutes. The family (and all their pets) got out safely. Note to self: Keep power banks up high away from Abby.

$600,000 lost

After a homebuyer’s law firm was hacked. Now he’s suing them. Richard Bates hired the firm to help him buy a house. Hackers broke into their email and stole enough to trick Bates into wiring them his home payment. Bates says it wouldn’t have happened if his lawyers had basic cybersecurity like 2FA. Well, he’s not wrong.

🛰️ Lookin’ fresh: A satellite designed to remove space junk captured a 360-degree view of a discarded rocket floating around. The 36-foot-long rocket, about the size of a city bus, has been orbiting Earth for 15 years and has barely aged. The orange foam insulation is intact and the engine nozzle looks polished.

Hacked Ring camera

Ausharee Mcleod says her 5 year old son’s Ring camera was hacked after he heard a voice whisper “hey” in the middle of the night.

MILF (Man, I Love Football!) alert: The NFL is rolling out facial authentication at stadiums starting with Thursday’s season openers. The new system will verify the identity of thousands of staff, players and media. No scanning for fans (yet). Get your ticket scanned as usual on game day.

🖥️ Pricey pixels: Get your hands on a rare piece of digital art by Andy Warhol … for a cool $26 million. The portrait of Blondie’s Debbie Harry was made on a 1985 Commodore Amiga 1000 computer. Only two copies are believed to exist. NFTs from restored Amiga images sold for $3.38 million back in 2021.

Wildfire drones: Startup Rain is equipping helicopters with software that lets them fly and drop water autonomously. The shorter response time could help catch fires early — before they get out of control. Firefighters can then step in to finish the job (paywall link). Talk about lifesaving.

It’s a scam: On Facebook, posts are popping up asking you to share photos of missing kids or folks in need. The goal is to get a ton of shares, and then the posts are edited to include malicious links. Spot the fakes: If it’s a real story, local news or law enforcement accounts will post about it, too.

50% decline

In brain volume loss for folks trialing a drug similar to Ozempic. Liraglutide simulates the hormone GLP-1, which regulates appetite and blood sugar. It might be a tool to fight Alzheimer’s, too. Participants saw an 18% slower decline in cognitive function. Promising, right?