josephcox

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

Attendees of Bored Ape conference said they “couldn’t see anymore,” woke up with searing eye pain, vision loss. Looks like they were burned with UV light from the stage
https://www.404media.co/bored-ape-yacht-club-conference-eye-pain-vision-loss-yuga-labs/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: AI cameras took over one small American town. Now they're everywhere.

Hundreds of docs we obtained show how a company called Fusus brings usually separate camera feeds (doorbells, CCTV, drones) into one central hub for cops and adds AI to them. Object recognition, "people" more.

Fusus has quietly expanded around the entire U.S., and is now going international too. Qualitatively changes what a security camera is and means in 2023 https://www.404media.co/fusus-ai-cameras-took-over-town-america/

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josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New on 404 Media: verified Twitter 'OSINT' accounts are destroying the Israel-Palestine information ecosystem. What used to be a network of reliable experts has been taken over by profit and click driven verified accounts. Everyone loses out. "Unprecedented" levels.

I spoke to multiple respected OSINT experts who have been tracking conflict on Twitter for years. Now after Musk's changes on verification, profit:

• "all hell broke loose"
• “this entire space is 90% grifters”
• “It just creates more noise and less signal

https://www.404media.co/twitter-verified-osint-accounts-are-destroying-the-israel-palestine-information-ecosystem/

josephcox, 4 months ago to random

New: We Need Your Email Address

You may notice we're asking for your email to read much of 404 Media. This is an existential issue explained in this 3000 word article

• AI stealing our work
• social media collapse
• media industry tailspin

Please read it
https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New: YouTube's renewed 'war' on adblockers highlights something much deeper: how Google has its hands on every part of the ecosystem, meaning it can leverage power like no one else on this. https://www.404media.co/youtubes-war-on-adblockers-shows-how-google-controls-the-internet/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: Instagram has been auto-translating phrases that included "Palestinian" into phrases that say "terrorist". Instagram now ‘sincerely apologizes’ in a statement to us https://www.404media.co/instagram-palestinian-arabic-bio-translation/

josephcox, 8 months ago to random

New: we spoke to attendees of the Grace Hopper Celebration, a conference meant to provide a space for women and non-binary technologists. This year it was overrun by men, taking tickets away.

“I had hundreds of girls come running to me basically in tears.”

https://www.404media.co/grace-hopper-celebration-conference-anita-b-2023/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New: multiple sources, including executives, explain why sites like Jezebel are being shut down despite being very popular. The "brand safety" industry has created a paranoid environment where companies are not prepared to run ads next to important issues.

In the world of brand safety, black box algorithms are deciding what is safe, what is not. On top of that, some companies explicitly saying exclude important social issues.

It is not the journalism. It is the ad industry that is failing it.

https://www.404media.co/advertisers-dont-want-sites-like-jezebel-to-exist/

josephcox, 4 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: inside the underground site where "neural networks" churn out fake IDs

• I tested the service, called OnlyFake, made two IDs in minutes
• I then used one to successfully bypass the identity verification check on a cryptocurrency exchange
• Massive implications for crime, cybersecurity. What does it mean for us when fake IDs are a mouse click away?

https://www.404media.co/inside-the-underground-site-where-ai-neural-networks-churns-out-fake-ids-onlyfake/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: I got a cache of videos from inside the hacker group ACG. This gang has stolen Bitcoin from people time and time again. You can see them here living it up in a club in Paris.

But their story is much bigger: the complete convergence of cyber and physical crime. Criminal hackers are no longer just people behind a keyboard. They have guns now, and innocent people are getting hurt. In this bold new area of crime, anything can happen.

Read here: https://www.404media.co/high-life-hackers-national-menace-acg-the-comm-braiden-williams/

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josephcox, 6 months ago to random

Wild: Google confirms it is throttling YouTube load times for some viewers. Firefox users reported the issue today. Google says, instead, it’s supposed to tackle ad-blockers regardless of the browser used https://404media.co/youtube-says-new-5-second-video-load-delay-is-supposed-to-punish-ad-blockers-not-firefox-users/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

This is wild: law enforcement officers put on camouflage, sneak onto family's property, and take a surveillance camera from their backyard without a warrant. Due to a particular law not many may know about. Lawyers are now fighting to change it. https://www.404media.co/cops-sneak-onto-mans-property-confiscate-surveillance-camera-without-a-warrant/

josephcox, 8 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: bombshell government report finds ICE, CBP, and the Secret Service all illegally used smartphone location data harvested from ordinary apps. They've been using for years with no official oversight. One CBP official spied on coworkers https://www.404media.co/ice-cbp-secret-service-all-broke-law-with-smartphone-location-data/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

This guy found a way to hide his cryptocurrency in a tape of the Wizard of Oz you have to play. Used S-VHS recorder to insert QR code. Play the tape, reach the part where the QR code will appear on screen, scan it with your phone https://www.404media.co/no-one-will-find-my-bitcoin-in-this-copy-of-perfect-dark-for-the-n64/

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josephcox, 3 months ago to random

New: the Taliban took control of the domain "queer.af" (af being the TLD of Afghanistan). With the Taliban now controlling the country, it is taking back domains. This had the effect of killing the queer.af Mastodon instance https://www.404media.co/taliban-shuts-down-queer-af-domain-breaking-mastodon-instance/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

New: an incredible court record pulls back the curtain on a $30 million dollar underground Bitcoin exchange running for years in the heart of New York. Massive bags of cash, drive-by pickups. This is what real criminals use, not services like Coinbase.

The records provide rare insight into an often unseen part of the underworld: how hackers and drug traffickers convert their Bitcoin into cash outside of mainstream exchanges. While Coinbase etc will work with the police, these gangs typically won't.

https://www.404media.co/inside-a-30-million-cash-for-bitcoin-laundering-ring-in-the-heart-of-new-york/

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josephcox, 9 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: hackers can grab your IP address through Skype by just sending a link. Target doesn't even need to click it.

I know because researcher did it to me. Sent me a link, then pasted my IP in the chat.

“Damn, RIP 💀,” I wrote in response.

And Microsoft is in no rush to fix. Company only said it would fix eventually after 404 Media contacted for comment. To fund more impact journalism, subscribe to 404 Media in the buttons in the article.

https://www.404media.co/hackers-find-your-skype-ip-address-microsoft-wont-fix/

josephcox, 6 months ago to random

Scoop: a16z is the money behind CivitAI, an AI platform that we've repeatedly shown is the engine for nonconsensual AI porn. We also revealed the site is offering "bounties" for AI models of specific people, including ordinary citizens https://www.404media.co/andreessen-horowitz-invests-in-civitai-key-platform-for-deepfake-porn/

josephcox, 6 months ago to random

Sometimes you just have to post the headline—

New OpenAI CEO Was a Character in a Harry Potter Fanfic That's Wildly Popular With Effective Altruists

https://www.404media.co/new-openai-ceo-emmett-shear-was-minor-character-in-hpmor-harry-potter-ai-fanfic/

josephcox, 9 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: I tracked the precise movements of an NYC subway rider. Saw what specific time they got on and at what station. It became obvious which station was nearest to their home.

This was all because of a 'feature' on the MTA website. You just need their credit card info, something easily accessible to abusive partners or potentially on underground marketplaces

This feature is wide open to abuse

https://www.404media.co/i-tracked-nyc-subway-rider-home-omny-mta/

josephcox, 4 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: a woman is bringing a class action lawsuit against massive sex toy company Adam and Eve for sharing information about her sex toy searches with Google, including what she added to her cart (“Pink Jelly Slim Dildo”) https://www.404media.co/woman-sues-sex-toy-retailer-adam-and-eve-claiming-it-shared-data-about-her-dildos/

josephcox, 7 months ago to random

This piece from 404 Media's @jasonkoebler on why he now believes Mastodon is the best option out of the social networks is funny, nuanced, poignant. Touches on moderation, audiences, interoperability, more.

"Mastodon is the Good One."

https://www.404media.co/mastodon-is-the-good-one/

josephcox, 8 months ago to random

On the 404 Media podcast we play a game of “Is That Audio Snippet an AI Generated Version of Harry Styles or Is It a Real Section of a Leaked Harry Styles Song?”

These are from leaked music Discords Jason reported on this week. AI music is tearing them apart. Usually people sell actually leaked music, sometimes allegedly hacked from producers or others' email/cloud accounts. AI means no one knows what to trust now.

Pod: https://www.404media.co/the-404-media-podcast/

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josephcox, 4 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: This Guy Has Built an Open Source Search Engine as an Alternative to Google in His Spare Time

"I found it very weird that there essentially is no way to browse the web in an open manner. So that's what I am trying to build." https://www.404media.co/this-guy-is-building-an-open-source-search-engine-in-real-time/

josephcox, 3 months ago to random

New from 404 Media: applying to a host of jobs—including FedEx, McDonald's, CVS—now requires a bizarre personality quiz with blue aliens run by a company called Paradox.ai. We tested it out by applying for job at Olive Garden.

https://www.404media.co/low-paying-jobs-require-bizarre-personality-evaluation-from-ai-company/