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Cyber security researchers have found a <keyword id="9994130" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-trojan-malware">new Trojan malware</keyword> named Alien that can steal credentials from 226 Android apps in several countries including in India. Alien targeted other apps as well like Gmail, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Most targets are banking apps, but Alien can also show phishing pages for social, instant messaging, and cryptocurrency apps, reports ZDNet. The <keyword id="9994132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="alien-malware">Alien malware</keyword> is a rented banking Trojan which offers more than the average capabilities of Android banking Trojans. According to security researchers from ThreatFabric, it has common capabilities such as overlay attacks, control and steal SMS messages and harvest the contact list. The malware can leverage its keylogger for any use and, therefore, broaden the attack scope further than its target list. "It also offers the possibility to install, start and remove applications from the infected device". Most importantly, it offers a notifications sniffer, allowing it to get the content of all notifications on the infected device, and a RAT (Remote Access Trojan) feature (by abusing the TeamViewer application), meaning that the threat actors can perform the fraud from the victim's device. According to cyber security researchers, Alien is not a new piece of code but based on the source code of a rival malware named Cerberus which was an active malware-as-a-service (MaaS) last year. "We also notice an interest from actors in recording and stealing more information surrounding the victim. How that information will be used or monetized can vary, it is just a matter of time before actors find out about the value of such information," the researchers noted in a blog post. The last quarter of 2020 will probably come with some additional changes to the threat landscape, especially since the source code of the Cerberus Trojan has been made publicly available. In the coming months, we can definitively expect some new malware families, based on Cerberus, to emerge, the researchers added. "We strongly recommend all financial institutions to understand their current and future threat exposure and consequently implement the relevant detection and control mechanisms". SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/hdfc-bank-and-sbi-customers-are-facing-upi-payment-glitches/articleshow/78293815.cms">HDFC Bank and SBI customers are facing UPI payment glitches</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/drdo-waives-performance-security-for-development-contracts-as-an-incentive-for-the-private-sector/articleshow/78295788.cms">DRDO waives ‘performance security’ for development contracts as an incentive for the private sector</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/the-first-ever-supermassive-black-hole-to-be-captured-on-camera-has-a-wobbly-shadow/articleshow/78290040.cms">The first-ever supermassive black hole to be captured on camera has a wobbly shadow</a>

Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and 222 other Android apps were targeted by a new Trojan malware found stealing user credentials

<ul><li>A total of 12 apps with Android banking trojans were discovered in the Google Play Store.</li><li>These apps are capable of stealing banking information and wiping out the victim’s bank account.</li><li>The apps were distributed in a span of four months and downloaded 300,000 times.</li></ul>Google has been improving Play Store’s security but there are still some malware infused apps that manage to sneak inside. Researchers have now discovered a total of 12 apps in the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/here-are-the-winners-of-google-plays-best-of-2021-in-india/articleshow/87997438.cms">Play Store</a> that were used to steal people’s bank account details, and these apps were downloaded 300,000 times. These apps were<a href="https://www.threatfabric.com/blogs/deceive-the-heavens-to-cross-the-sea.html"> posing</a> as QR code scanners, PDF scanners, and even cryptocurrency wallets, according to researchers at ThreatFabric. The apps belonged to four different <keyword id="1019130" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="android-malware" source="Orion">Android malware</keyword> versions, and were designed to steal people’s online banking passwords as well as two-factor authentication codes. The malware even captured keystrokes and could take screenshots of users’ phones. So how did the apps bypass Google’s security check? These apps were first distributed as a legitimate app with no malware and worked as they were advertised which made users think there’s nothing wrong here. The apps also had positive reviews in the Google Play Store which would make them look more legitimate. Users were then asked to install software updates from third-party sources for additional features. Through these updates, a very advanced <keyword id="8632255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="android-banking-trojan" source="Orion">Android banking trojan</keyword> ‘Anatsa’ would be installed in the victims’ phones. This Android trojan is capable of giving hackers remote access to a victim’s phone and wiping out one’s bank account by transferring all the money to their account. In addition to Anatsa, these apps also had other Android malware including Alien, Hydra and Ermac. Among the kind of apps that these malware were injected into, the most popular were scanning apps, a crypto tracking app and workout apps. These apps with four large Android malware families were spread in a span of only four months, and were downloaded 300,000 times. ThreatFabric also highlighted how this is actually a small malicious footprint, and this is due to the new Google Play restrictions that puts limitations on app permissions such as Accessibility Service. This was one of the commonly used methods of installing malware on phones but hackers are now resorting to download updates after the app is installed. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/here-are-the-winners-of-google-plays-best-of-2021-in-india/articleshow/87997438.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Google Play’s Best of 2021 India Awards: BGMI, Garena Free Fire MAX, Bitclass and Clubhouse top the ranks this year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/valorant-mobile-gameplay-release-date-and-what-to-expect/articleshow/87974099.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Valorant Mobile: Gameplay, release date and what to expect</a>

Android apps that steal banking details were downloaded 300,000 times in just 4 months

<ul><li><keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> has warned users about <keyword id="54931" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="predator" source="Orion">Predator</keyword>, new spyware being used by <keyword id="14023843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-backed-attackers" source="Orion">state-backed attackers</keyword>.</li><li>The spyware has been developed by <keyword id="12752757" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cytrox" source="Orion">Cytrox</keyword>, a company based in North Macedonia.</li><li>Here’s everything you need to know about the <keyword id="14021256" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="predator-spyware" source="Orion">Predator spyware</keyword>.</li></ul>Google has a Threat Analysis Group (TAG) that is on the lookout for threats and vulnerabilities across devices and software that can be exploited by cybercriminals. The TAG in its latest <a href="https://blog.google/threat-analysis-group/protecting-android-users-from-0-day-attacks/">blog post</a> has highlighted a spyware dubbed as Predator, which was installed by state-backed attackers in three separate campaigns by exploiting five zero-day vulnerabilities. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is a zero-day vulnerability?" comment="subhead" text="What is a zero-day vulnerability?">What is a <keyword id="13182919" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zero-day-vulnerability" source="Orion">zero-day vulnerability</keyword>?</cmsannotation> Before we understand how the Predator spyware works, it is important to understand what a zero-day vulnerability is. A zero-day vulnerability is a vulnerability that has been disclosed but it is not yet patched. An attack that exploits zero-day vulnerability is known as a zero-day exploit. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is the Predator spyware?" comment="subhead" text="What is the Predator spyware?">What is the Predator spyware?</cmsannotation> Google has claimed that Predator is relatively new spyware and has been created by surveillance company Cytrox, which is based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Google has revealed that Predator spyware has been purchased by countries like Egypt, Armenia, Greece, Madagascar, Spain, and Indonesia among others. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How was Predator spyware used?" comment="subhead" text="How was Predator spyware used?">How was Predator spyware used?</cmsannotation> According to Google, the attackers delivered one-time links similar to URLs created by URL shortener services via email. Once the user clicks on the link, they are directed to an attacker-owned website that delivers the exploit and then redirects the user to a legitimate website. When the user is directed to the attacker’s website, an Android malware dubbed ALIEN is installed on their device. The malware then loads Predator on the device. The spyware is capable of recording audio, hiding apps and adding CA certificates. Google has pointed out that similar techniques have been used in the past against journalists and other victims. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/apples-wwdc-2022-to-begin-on-june-6-events-expected-announcements-and-more/articleshow/91780624.cms">Apple’s WWDC 2022 to begin on June 6 – events, expected announcements and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-to-keep-your-data-safe-from-new-fake-chatbot-trick-of-hackers/articleshow/91769680.cms">Hackers are using a new fake chatbot trick to steal your data — here’s how to keep yourself safe</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/googles-imagen-can-use-text-to-make-images-paintings-cgi-renders-using-ai-here-are-some-pictures/articleshow/91769317.cms">Google's Imagen can use text to make images, paintings, CGI renders using AI — here are some pictures</a>

Government-backed attackers are using Predator spyware to record audio, hide apps and more — here's everything you need to know about it

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty</div></div></div><ul><li>A new variant of a long-running piece of Android malware now imitates parts of Uber's app to trick users into giving away their login credentials.</li><li>Android Fakeapp malware poses as a legitimate app, then sniffs out your data and shows you ads for profit.</li><li>Security firm Symantec described the Uber mimicry as a "novel monetisation technique."</li><li>But as long as you stick to Android apps from Google's Play Store, you're pretty safe.</li></ul> Long-running Android malware "Fakeapp" has a new tack to trick people into giving away confidential login information, by imitating Uber's user interface.<a href="https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/03/android-malware-mimics-uber/">We first saw the news via Engadget</a>.Fakeapp is a trojan horse for Android which pretends to be a legitimate application and, when downloaded, also downloads additional files that sniff out your data and display you ads for profit.<a href="https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/android-malware-uber-credentials-deep-links">According to Symantec</a>, a new variant saw Fakeapp spoofing the layout of Uber's app. This would pop up on the user's screen periodically in an effort to get them to enter their confidential login details, such as their phone number and password.Here's what it looks like:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/android-malware-uber-credentials-deep-links">Symantec</a></div></div></div>The malware creators then got "creative" according to Symantec. Once you've entered your details, the malware deep links to a page from the legitimate Uber app - specifically the screen that shows your location and asks you where you want to go. Deep linking on mobile means linking to a specific bit of an app, rather than simply just launching the app.As Symantec put it: "To show the said screen, the malware uses the deep link URI of the legitimate app that starts the app's Ride Request activity, with the current location of the victim preloaded as the pickup point."Deep links are URLs that take users directly to specific content in an app. Deep linking in Android is a way to identify a specific piece of content or functionality inside an app. It is much like a web URL, but for applications."The risk of any of this affecting you is pretty low, especially if you stick to downloading apps from Google's Play Store, rather than a third-party app store. Both Symantec and McAfee classify Android FakeApp as low risk too.An Uber spokesman told Engadget said the firm would probably spot unauthorised logins: "Because this phishing technique requires consumers to first download a malicious app from outside the official Play store, we recommend only downloading apps from trusted sources. However, we want to protect our users even if they make an honest mistake and that's why we put a collection of security controls and systems in place to help detect and block unauthorized logins even if you accidentally give away your password." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/area-51-american-conspiracy-theories-aliens-history-animation-video-2017-7">How Area 51 became the center of alien conspiracy theories</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Malicious Android software imitates Uber's layout to trick you into giving up your login details

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Damir SagoljThe hackers reportedly posed as activists from organizations like Amnesty International, and sent Tibetan leaders text messages containing links to malicious code throughout 2018 and 2019.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Hackers targeted Tibetan leaders in an attempt to monitor their devices with spyware throughout the past two years, according to a new report.</li><li>The spyware targeted <a href="https://businessinsider.com/category/ios">iOS</a> and <a href="https://businessinsider.com/category/android">Android</a> devices and was designed to infiltrate the phones of users who clicked on a malicious link once.</li><li>Researchers say the hacking attempts appear to be carried out by the same group that previously targeted Uyghur Muslims in China. Previous reports have linked that hacker group to the Chinese government.</li><li><a href="https://businessinsider.com">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Several Tibetan leaders, including people working for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government, were targeted by hackers who sent them malicious links on WhatsApp, a new report has found.The hackers reportedly posed as activists from organizations like Amnesty International and sent Tibetan leaders text messages containing links to malicious code throughout 2018 and 2019. If clicked once, the links had the capacity to install spyware on iPhones and Android devices, the digital rights group Citizen Lab <a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2019/09/poison-carp-tibetan-groups-targeted-with-1-click-mobile-exploits/">reported on Tuesday</a>.The hacking attempts were carried out by the same group that previously targeted Uyghur Muslims in China, according to the Citizen Lab's report. Those hacks were <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-may-have-used-hacked-websites-to-target-uighur-muslims-2019-9">publicized by Google researchers last month</a>, and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/31/china-google-iphone-uyghur/">TechCrunch reported</a> that the attack was carried out by a group linked to the Chinese government.At the time, Google researchers said the one-click hacks targeted iOS devices and that any iPhone user could be vulnerable. Apple <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-blasts-google-stoking-fear-among-iphone-users-ios-exploit-2019-9">downplayed that characterization</a>, stating that they were already in the process of fixing exploits when Google uncovered the attacks and that only a narrow set of users were targeted.Since then, both companies have rolled out updates to iOS and Android that patched vulnerabilities to the attacks. None of the Tibetans who clicked on malicious links were compromised because they had already downloaded the software updates protecting their devices, according to The Citizen Lab's <a href="https://citizenlab.ca/2019/09/poison-carp-tibetan-groups-targeted-with-1-click-mobile-exploits/">report</a>.The hackers messaged targets pretending to be affiliated with nonprofit organizations like Amnesty International. Hackers claimed to be drafting human rights reports about China, and asked targets to follow links to view supposed photo and video evidence.In another instance, a hacker pretended to be a New York Times reporter by the name of "Lucy Leung" asked their target to click on a link, claiming it led to a news article.Researchers observed 17 intrusion attempts against Tibetan targets, and 12 of those included one-click exploit links. In total, more than 140 people clicked on the link that led to iOS spyware, according to the report.An Apple spokesperson highlighted the fact that no Tibetan targets were affected by malware given that they had already downloaded the patched version of iOS."Our customers' data security is one of Apple's highest priorities and we greatly value our collaboration with security researchers like Citizen Lab. The iOS issue detailed in the report had already been discovered and patched by the security team at Apple. We always encourage customers to download the latest version of iOS for the best and most current security enhancements," the Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider.A Google spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/top-3-biggest-smartphone-trends?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=iphone&amp;itm_campaign=top-3-biggest-smartphone-trends"></a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/area-51-american-conspiracy-theories-aliens-history-animation-video-2017-7">How Area 51 became the center of alien conspiracy theories</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

The iPhones and Android phones of Tibetan activists were targeted by hackers pretending to work for Amnesty International

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As cities begin to reopen after COVID-19 lockdowns, people are questioning if <keyword id="47357" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="offices">offices</keyword> and large business buildings can safely resume operations and go "back to normal."</li><li>The skyscrapers in <keyword id="6354968" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="london">London</keyword>'s <keyword id="954169" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Canary-Wharf">Canary Wharf</keyword> are home to major <keyword id="6368751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="banks">banks</keyword>, from HSBC to Barclays, that will be challenged to keep their employees safe and socially distanced upon their return.</li><li>Architects and building designers say that new technology, such as cleaning robots and self-sterilizing elevators, could be a huge help in maintaining a safe environment for workers.</li><li>Banks and major companies on Canary Wharf are also considering rotating schedules for workers to come into the office and focusing more on staffs' mental health and wellbeing.</li></ul>As COVID-19 lockdown restrictions ease and people return to work, it's hard to say what the future of the office will look like. For bankers used to working in open-plan offices in London's high-end buildings and skyscrapers such as Canary Wharf, "normal" won't return for a long while yet. Individuals forced to work from home under lockdown could well prove to be a catalyst for industry-wide changes in office space and culture. The architects of Barclays' Canary Wharf headquarters believe getting back in the office will be more difficult to piece together than pre-lockdown exit plans. "Most companies will look at dropping the number of office work days or workers, but the issue of tall buildings is vertical circulation; that surge of people rising up a skyscraper at 8:30 a.m. and leaving at similar times," David Weatherhead, a designer at the London studio of HOK, an international architecture engineering and interior design firm, told Business Insider.<h2>Solving for social distancing and contamination</h2>A major concern is how to repurpose spaces in banking headquarters and trading floors for social distancing while maintaining the "flow of information" between workers. HOK's Director of Workplace Kay Sargent uses design to transform how and where people work. She said that they must avoid "knee-jerk reactions," such as installing plastic screens that act like "sponges" for bacteria. "Some companies have panicked and are going backwards," Sargent said. The key is to get "the bad stuff" out of buildings and circulate fresh air into buildings, she added. Tautvydas Karitonas, head of research at decontamination company Inivos, said that technology should aid the risk of manually cleaning office spaces. Cleaning robots and self-sterilizing elevators could be part of that solution."We need to make sure that any claims lifts and robots are making are validating," Karitonas said. "Robots in healthcare settings are there, but we need the right level of efficacy."Banks may have big cleaning budgets, but they must cast their eye to the small details. "Are the chemicals sprayed even safe? That's what they need to ask," Karitonas said. <h2>Rotating schedules and the push for continued remote work</h2>Bustling trading floors have been silenced since March's lockdown. But even with mass remote working in place, the coronavirus won't spell the end of the shiny high-rise office block. "After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, people said we'd never go back to tall buildings. Well, we did. And we will again," Sargent said. Lee Elliot, Knight Frank's global head of occupier research, agrees. "We're still investing in offices predominantly and that won't change in the post-COVID-19 landscape," he said.Elliot estimated that there will typically be about a 1.4 meter to 1.6 meter gap between staff at Canary Wharf. This means that as companies start to unlock their offices, they'll only be able to occupy up to 60% of office space.Banks could opt for rotating teams of workers going into the office. One group works in the office for a short period while the rest work at home. In between rotation changes, office spaces are deep cleaned before paving way for a new group of coworkers. Splitting into teams limits the amount of space that needs to be cleaned, and can also limit disruption on the organization. Should one person contract coronavirus symptoms, the immediate small group can quarantine at home rather than the whole company. Who big banks decide to leave out of the office and who they bring back is a highly politicized topic. It could "alienate" some staff, said Elliot. It's a situation that's posed a headache for Robin Hobbs, who's job as head of risk at investment bank BSC Global is to ensure who and how people come back in.Like many others in the industry, Hobbs said remote working has been a surprising success. But he points out that not having staff on the trading floors poses cybersecurity risks. "In the working-from-home environment, there is increased risk from malware [phishing] attacks. People having devices that can be listened to from their homes. It's better to go back into the office."Whether staff in Britain's banking industry will want to go into the office is uncertain. Hobbs misses "water-cooler chats where you get information that's important," but worries about taking public transport. Others also worry about jumping back on London Underground and traveling to work packed like sardines. Alex Prager won't be taking his one hour and 15 minute commute from north London into the East End at least until next year. His fintech firm Broadridge Financial Solutions, based side by side with Canary Wharf's big banks, has already announced plans to allow remote work until January 2021. "It's quite brave to do," said Prager. "Now I know I can invest in a coffee machine at home and a desk chair instead of using a dining room chair." His firm's bold approach has "given people room to plan," he said, including giving him breathing room to make a decision on whether to take his four-year-old child back to kindergarten. The traditional, larger banks have not been so quick off the mark. HSBC, Barclays, and JP Morgan were unable to provide comment on any short- or long-term office plans.Deutsche Bank told Business Insider in an email statement that employees working from home "have been asked to continue to do so for the time being," with "seating arrangements and building access points are being very carefully planned as we phase people carefully and gradually back into the office over time."With approximately 70,000 people working in the Canary Wharf area and the added hassle of private residential estates next to offices, banks face major planning challenges. The streets and roads around Canary Wharf pose additional headaches."Canary Wharf was designed at a time when people drove to work with underground car parks. What do we do with that space? Nothing is static. Canary Wharf put an area on the world map, but now we'll see how it evolves," said architect Weatherhead.<h2>The banking world opens up to new ways of approaching mental health</h2>As spaces reopen, better mental health awareness will be "another frontier" of focus due to greater office space available, according to Elliot. Spaces could include using conference rooms as breakout areas and sanctuary spots. "It sounds new age, but if you look at the history of banking, you see high suicide rates and pressure. So you need space to help people go through challenges," he said.But that's not to say banking lags behind on the topic. In 2018, Morgan Stanley <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-hires-david-stark-mount-sinai-first-chief-medical-officer-2018-10">recruited a top doctor as its chief medical officer</a> to improve staff wellbeing.David Mitchell, HSBC's development manager, spearheads a mindfulness network at the bank. He said that the bank is "super mental health aware," but "if anything people could be more anxious now. You can't notice that remotely." Stanley fears for younger people who rely on their workplace for social interaction, more so than older colleagues with families.As just <a href="http://www.iojt-dc2013.org/~/media/Microsites/Files/IOJT/11042013-Albert-Mehrabian-Communication-Studies.ashx">7% of communication comes through words</a>, and the rest via body language, tone, and emphasis, permanent virtual communication could damage staff development.Companies in other industries closely linked to <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> are looking for swift action. An employee at one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms said his work depends on how banks respond in the next year. Just like staff at big banks, he fears that staff working remotely "could easily be lost in big organizations."Wishing to remain anonymous, he fears the global firm could look at staff unkindly should they become infected."For myself and my teams, if we carried COVID-19 and it could be traced back to us, it could be detrimental to our brand. We'd do everything we can to avoid that scenario," he said. <h2>The future of office space is still uncertain</h2>Empty office spaces will most certainly be around for a while longer yet. In the world of banking, vacant desks could lead to robots taking charge."We have big banking clients with millions of square feet of space with analysts. That could be replaced by artificial intelligence and automation," Weatherhead said.For Weatherhead, any revolution post lockdown will involve using spaces "smarter." Automation could help reduce footfall and carbon emissions with fewer people commuting into the office.And what of the spaces left empty for so long by banks and other businesses across London's shiny buildings? Fewer in-office workers should allow ample space for breakout areas to freely communicate and think, resembling the way children use floor spaces in kindergarten to play and interact with their peers."Kindergarten is a space where we learned and where we have had a community. We need to go back to that in a way, to our childhoods. That's the future," said Sargent. The future of office spaces, for banks and indeed for many others, will never go back to how it was."People are talking about 'the new normal,'" Sargent said. "We prefer to talk about the new now. There is no normal anymore."

What's next for the banks and office spaces along London's Canary Wharf as the city reopens after lockdown

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Robert GalbraithOne of Reddit's most popular communities is considering whether to ban links to sites that ask you to turn off your ad blocker.</div></div></div>One of the most popular sections on Reddit, /r/technology, is considering banning links from websites that force users to turn off their ad blockers.The idea has been put to the vote amongst subscribers - and it appears they're overwhelmingly supportive of the idea.At the time of writing, the thread - which is also debating a ban on posting links to content that sits behind paywalls - has been <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/4if65h/mod_announcement_were_considering_banning_all/d2xm55u">upvoted by 90% of those clicking on the discussion</a>.Some of those upvoting may simply be cheering the debate itself, rather than voting either way, but a quick scroll through the comments shows many users want to only be linked to content that doesn't force them to turn off their ad blocker or pay./r/technology moderator "creq" <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/4if65h/mod_announcement_were_considering_banning_all/">writes</a>:It has come to our attention that many websites such as Forbes and Wired are now requiring users to disable ad blockers to view content. <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/08/you-say-advertising-i-say-block-that-malware/">Because Forbes requires users to do this and has then served malware to them</a> we see this as a security risk to you our community. There are also sites such as Wall Street Journal that have implemented pay-walls which we were are also considering banning.We would like all of your thoughts on whether or not we should allow domains such as Forbes here on /r/technology while they continue to resort to such practices.Thank you for the input./r/technology has more than 5 million subscribers, making it the 51st most-popular subreddit, <a href="http://redditmetrics.com/top">according to RedditMetrics.</a>A growing number of publishers including Forbes, GQ, City AM, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, and Bild have begun experimenting with preventing ad blocker users from viewing their content.<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ad-blocking-walls-not-working-2016-2">Research from PageFair released in February this year</a> found that while publishers had some degree of success in initially getting users to disable their ad blockers on their sites (<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/lewisdvorkin/2016/02/10/inside-forbes-more-numbers-on-our-ad-blocking-plan-and-whats-coming-next/#533a6fd759dd">Forbes said</a> its appeal led to 42.3% of those asked either disabling their ad blocker or whitelisting its site, for example,) early success stories might not signal a long-term attitude. Some users simply switch their ad blocker back on when they get past the first ad blocker wall, for example, while others simply opt to read their news elsewhere.Then there's also the issue of publishers asking users to turn off their ad blockers but going on to serve them with intrusive ads and tracking scripts - which kind of defeats the point. Meanwhile, Reddit users commenting on the discussion about whether domains like Forbes' should be banned are also debating whether, rather than an outright ban, people posting links should <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/4if65h/mod_announcement_were_considering_banning_all/d2xm55u">tag those sites with words such as "NoAdblock," "Paywall," or "Not Safe For Browser"</a> instead, so people know what to expect when they click through.What /r/technology decides to do will be interesting to follow. Ad blocker usage tends to be most popular among young males who visit technology and gaming websites, according to a report from PageFair and Adobe, which estimated there are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ad-blocking-software-has-200-million-users-2016-4-24">200 million monthly users of ad blockers globally</a>. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/astronaut-chris-hadfield-alien-life-2016-5">We asked an astronaut if aliens exist - and his answer was spot on</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="R2aTQxeDrB2DabjySO0-qw3TI1KeI5Tr" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

One of Reddit's biggest communities wants to ban links from publishers that force you to turn off your ad blocker

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>I very much doubt the supreme irony that Virginia Heffernan's excellent chronicle of the internet's self-contained artistic logic comes in book form is lost on its&#xa0;author.Heffernan tells us in the opening pages of "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Loss-Internet-as-Art/dp/1439191700">Magic and Loss</a>" that "the art of the Internet and its rules came into view all at once and fully formed."The internet is very different from the physical world we are used to. The web's logic and conventions, very much like the size of the thing itself, are impossible to lay out in terms that would be familiar to a traditionally educated consumer of any age.We cannot see the internet in anything like the 3-D form that defines our cities and landscapes. And we cannot understand the internet using the texts, images, and sounds with which we linearly catalog history and thought, numbers and science, and all of the world's accumulated successes and failures.The internet, in its inherent chaos, blows&#xa0;our conventional ways of understanding&#xa0;up.In Heffernan's book we are introduced to the profound ways that internet culture, or rather the simple presence of high-speed, cheap internet access, has altered our understanding of text, music, video, and photography.We hear about the comically tragic reality that in YouTube's earliest days the fastest growing part of the music business was the sale of ringtones sponsored in old cartel-like fashion by the quickly&#xa0;dying music labels. While reading this passage,&#xa0;readers of a certain age - call it anything between 22 and 32 - are likely to get a pang of nostalgia for that&#xa0;seemingly Wild West period a decade ago when the purchase of ringtones was something people not only did but did a lot.This also, however, makes obvious how forcefully the internet has come into our lives, not because some technologists in Silicon Valley made it so but because the whole of the internet's structure is a self-fulfilling reality.Heffernan, who often references her childhood dabbling with computer code nerdery while growing up near Dartmouth College in the 1980s, gives us a layperson's breakdown of the difference between code that is "read" or "write." In many ways this is the crux of the book's argument.&#xa0;"Write" code happens as we experience our lives - forward forever, never to be re-worked. "Read" code can be re-worked, re-written, re-structured. All of the internet (except, as Heffernan notes, in, "its most secure, theoretical, and self-destroying corners, and mostly even there") can be read and remade. The internet, then, gives us a thing we can necessarily never get in the real world of linear time: a true second chance.And it is this "read" logic of the internet that makes the net a reality - an art - all its own.&#xa0;<h2>The YouTube reality</h2>The reader leaves "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Loss-Internet-as-Art/dp/1439191700">Magic and Loss</a>" with a sense that Heffernan views YouTube as the platform most capable of delivering&#xa0;us the apotheosis of internet art.The medium satiates our need to be passive viewers of other experiences, or to use the language of internet message boards, to lurk. But the vibrant, grotesque, illuminating, and overwhelming comment sections that accompany many YouTube videos also provide the social interaction that is the stuff of human existence. YouTube allows us to come and go as we please, a fantasy existence real life simply does not afford: In the physical world, we must sleep, we must wake, and so on.YouTube also provides the ability to mediate a reality which the internet makes obvious has already been mediated to us.The world wide web, Heffernan notes, is a crudely-designed commercial space more closely resembling the world's most heavily-billboarded highway than an elegant platform for the next generation's great minds."The Web is haphazardly planned," Heffernan writes. "Its public spaces are mobbed, and urban decay abounds in broken links, ghost town sites, and abandoned projects. Malware and spam have turned living conditions in many quarters unsafe and unsanitary. Bullies, hucksters, and trolls roam the streets. An entrenched population of rowdy, polyglot rabble dominates major sites."And while YouTube is certainly no exception to any of these pitfalls - and is in many ways the most vivid example of some of them - the platform has created among its viewers and&#xa0;creators, those who supply the platform with the content we consume so passively, a logic all its own.Heffernan argues that YouTube is a place, above all else, for art. A place where weird, short videos of the Manhattan Bridge or people unpacking new video game consoles to see what's in the box can thrive for reasons traditional media companies like Viacom would never be able to understand.<div></div>YouTube gives creators a freedom beyond what's possible in other media. Beyoncé's music videos made in the YouTube era have been inspired by Bettie Page movies, and explicitly so, left to be decoded by ever-scavenging viewers who crave the deconstruction of what a prior era's television or film might have left as passive product placement.The decision to pay homage to Bettie Page in her video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QczgvUDskk0">"Why Don't You Love Me?"</a> was made by Beyoncé and director Melina Matsouaks, not the label or sponsors. This sort of creative freedom is embedded in YouTube but a radical shift from what long held (and still holds) in mass-produced content.Heffernan notes that YouTube, as a business, might not be as profitable as some at Google (or perhaps some investing in Google) might hope.YouTube has launched an ad-free subscription service and every time the supposedly imminent death of the cable bundle is discussed, the streaming video platform is referenced as a future home for live sports among other things. But YouTube and other platforms are unique forms and not just replacements for existing services: Some might call YouTube "TV for the future," as if this moniker didn't already misunderstand that TV is TV and the internet is the internet. Netflix, for those of you wondering, is also not TV: it's Netflix. (HBO, of course, figured this out first.)<h2>The internet and our selves</h2>To read "Magic and Loss" is to read an ambitious vision for where the internet fits into modern life, a condition that increasingly makes distinctions like "digital selves" seem outmoded: We are simply ourselves everywhere,&#xa0;whether offline or, increasingly, online."For however alien in appearance," Heffernan writes, "the Internet is a cultural object visibly on a continuum with all the cultural artifacts that preceded it. It is not a break with history; neither is it 'progress.' It's just what happened to be next. It is not outside human civilization; it is a new a formidable iteration of that civilization."It is not until the end of "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Loss-Internet-as-Art/dp/1439191700">Magic and Loss</a>" that Heffernan, in a perhaps too-long closing chapter, gives us the outline of her philosophical framework, influenced heavily by Richard Rorty's coolly comforting pragmatism inside of which we're able to define for ourselves what matters and what does not. The important types&#xa0;of knowledge are not what the dusty books tell us but what feels right when we read, or see, or hear, or smell something that changes us.In 2013, however, Heffernan indulged this internet-enabled ability to define reality perhaps too literally, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-im-a-creationist-141907217.html?ref=gs">writing for Yahoo</a> that she was a creationist, with a catch: it isn't that Heffernan literally believed "God created the earth" but that The Bible tells a better story than "The Origin of Species." This was received <a href="http://gawker.com/yes-virginia-there-is-a-darwin-756331777">about as well as you'd think</a>.And the internet is the ultimate vehicle for this kind of self-discovery. The internet is able to be everything and nothing to each of its users all at the same time.Each person chooses their own way to experience the internet. I don't read Reddit, which for many internet users is the only place worth visiting on the web. Many millions&#xa0;of internet users, in contrast, don't read Business Insider, a site I write for to make a living.Neither of these truths, however, makes either Reddit or Business Insider more legitimate than the other. Unlike the finite space and linear time of television, or radio, or books and printed newspapers, the internet exists and expands as each user sees fit. Every experience is fully-realized on its own terms.And that there are infinite combinations of internet identities and realities, each of which are irrefutably true in their own ways, is why the medium works, why it thrives, why the internet is really not of this world but a world all its own. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sharpest-view-of-pluto-in-history-2016-6">NASA released the sharpest photos of Pluto in history - and they're spectacular </a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="U2MWg0NDE6ykRnxrXlkJYct3YEPlQyBk" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A new book will convince you the internet is a transformative work of art

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">AP/Googlen this undated file photo made available by Google, hundreds of fans funnel hot air from the computer servers into a cooling unit to be recirculated at a Google data center in Mayes County, Okla.</div></div></div>Technology powerhouses try to protect financial interests as they fight US government spying
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Even as Silicon Valley speaks out against the U.S. government's surveillance methods, technology companies are turning a handsome profit by mining personal data and peering into people's online habits.
The industry's profit machine has become tarnished by revelations that the National Security Agency trolls deep into the everyday lives of Web surfers. As a result, companies including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are becoming more aggressive in their attempts to counter any perception that they voluntarily give the government access to users' email and other sensitive information.
Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, warned in a blog post last week that the U.S. government's online surveillance efforts "threaten to seriously undermine confidence in the security and privacy of online communications."
"Indeed, government snooping potentially now constitutes an 'advanced persistent threat,' alongside sophisticated malware and cyber-attacks," Smith wrote.
The industry's latest salvo came Monday with the release of an open letter to President Barack Obama and the introduction of a new website calling for more stringent controls on electronic espionage.
The public relations maneuver escalates a battle that Silicon Valley has waged since early June, when media reports based on internal documents revealed the NSA had fashioned an elaborate system to vacuum up some of the user data that U.S. technology companies collect.
"The entire tech industry has been implicated and is now facing a global backlash," says Daniel Castro, a senior analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington D.C. think tank.
As part of the tech industry's crusade, companies are also going to court and to Congress in an effort to force the government to de-classify details of its online investigations. They believe data will show that, in the past five years, information turned over to the government under court order has only affected a small fraction of the more than 1 billion people who use their products.
At stake is the trust of massive online audiences that attract digital advertising. As companies collect personal data and learn more about each user's interests and habits, advertising becomes easier to sell. The marketing campaigns are particularly important to Google, Yahoo and Facebook, all of which make most of their money from ads. And although Microsoft and Apple make billions from the sale of software and devices, the two companies are also hitching their fortunes to Internet services.
"We are now entering a new phase of the Internet that I call 'data wars,'" says Ethan Oberman, CEO of Internet privacy specialist SpiderOak. "It's all about who can amass the most personal data because that data has become so valuable that whoever accumulates the most is going to win. If these companies are going to engage in these data wars, the security and privacy of this data becomes of critical significance."
The battle pits U.S. national security agencies against an industry that has been a bright spot in the country's dreary economy. More than $1.3 trillion in shareholder wealth is tied up in Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo alone, and the companies collectively employ more than 243,000 people while running services that create thousands of other jobs.
In a study for his think tank, Castro predicted that the U.S. government's online surveillance will divert $21.5 billion to $35 billion in revenue from U.S. technology companies that host services over the Internet and sell remote data storage - a concept broadly known as "cloud computing." The estimate, which covers the next three years, is based on the assumption that many companies outside the U.S. will buy services in other countries rather than risk copies of their data being turned over to the U.S. government. The prediction doesn't include possible losses in online ad revenue.
Without quantifying the company's potential losses, a Google lawyer recently warned a Senate subcommittee that the government's online espionage could have "severe unintended consequences," including increased business costs, less data security and alienated Web surfers.
"The impact on U.S. companies, and the broader U.S. economy, could be significant," said Richard Salgado, Google's director of law enforcement and information security, during a Nov. 13 appearance before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.
In a worst case scenario, Forrester's James Staten initially theorized that global cloud computing services could lose as much as $180 billion over the next three years if corporate customers become worried about their crucial data falling into the hands of any government.
That dire figure has been widely circulated by media outlets, but Staten told The <keyword id="176712" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Associated-Press">Associated Press</keyword> he now believes chances are remote that losses will surpass $20 billion. That's because he is convinced most companies around the world are already encrypting the vital information they store on the computers of outside vendors.
"The reality is no enterprise is going to be naive," Staten says. "They are going to take the security into their own hands because they realize we live in a regulated world where every government is watching."
Wary of the U.S. government's electronic espionage, Brazil's president ordered a series of measures aimed at greater online independence and security for a country that boasts Latin America's largest economy. Other countries and international regulators are considering strict rules for data-handling by U.S. tech companies. If that were to happen, it could cripple the companies' crucial drive to grow in overseas markets, and could fracture the Internet's seamless inner-workings.
"Try and compete in Europe when the Europeans think that their data is not secure with you," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who is a key standard bearer for Silicon Valley in Congress.
The NSA says it only retrieves online data tied to people outside the U.S., a limitation that is of little solace to companies such as Google and Facebook that generate most of their revenue overseas and see the ripest opportunities for growth in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
"Wonderful. That's really helpful to companies that are trying to serve people around the world and really inspire confidence in American Internet companies," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a San Francisco technology conference in September.
While Zuckerberg and other executives protest government's intrusions on privacy, industry critics point out that technology companies continue to store and analyze troves of personal information in pursuit of more profit. That is raising questions about the motives of their crusade to curb the government's Internet surveillance.
Google and its rivals "just want to be the exclusive spying source for their customers' data," said American Civil Liberties Union senior analyst Christopher Soghoian in a tweet last week.
Crisis communications expert Gene Grabowski believes the companies clearly regret their initial decision to cooperate with the government's personal data demands, rather than picking a legal fight. "It appears to more than a few people that they betrayed their customers," said Grabowski, an executive vice president for the public relations firm Levick.
__
Associated Press Writer Marcy Gordon reported from Washington.
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
</div>

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