Mozilla Labs

Mozilla sets out its vision of the web of the future

The future of the web, or the web of the future? Whichever way you look at it, the web as we know it is in a state of constant and necessary evolution. There are many companies contributing to this, but browser developers have major roles to play -- Mozilla included.

The Firefox maker has set out, in broad strokes, its vision of the changes wants to see. In all, there are nine key areas that Mozilla wants to focus its efforts on, including encryption, accessibility, privacy, and breaking down language barriers.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
DuckDuckGo

Is Microsoft to blame for DuckDuckGo 'censoring' Russian search results?

We recently reported that privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo had taken the decision to downrate sites that publish Russian propaganda and disinformation. At the time, CEO Gabriel Weinberg said that the move came because the company was "sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create"... but this may not be the whole story

The announcement by DuckDuckGo caused upset on the left and right of the political spectrum, but it seems that the ire and claims of censorship might have been misplaced. It is actually Microsoft that is to blame. Or maybe the EU.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Surfshark fake news

Surfshark launches free plug-in to help spot fake news

Fake news and disinformation has long been a problem on the internet and no more so than at present as both sides in the Ukraine conflict engage in an information war.

It's timely then for Surfshark to launch a free extension for Chrome and Firefox that detects and highlights website links from various media and other websites that are known to spread fake news and misinformation.

By Ian Barker -
Russia - Flag on Button

Why we shouldn't try to kick Russia off the internet

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked condemnation around the world and led to the imposition of a range of sanctions from the economic to the sporting and the cultural.

There have been calls to censor media linked to the Russian state too, with the European Union taking the step of banning the distribution of content from outlets like Russia Today.

By Ian Barker -
anonymous-internet

Ukraine conflict: Anonymous (and the internet) vs. Russia [Continuously updated]

A few days ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Likely most of you have seen at least some of the endless coverage that currently blankets the airwaves. But TV is only giving you part of the story; you can learn a lot more by nosing around online. For the past several days I have kept a running update of what hacktivist collective Anonymous has been up to. The group has been busy and they have made the Russian government even busier, hacking their various state-run 'news' services, such as RT (Russia Today). You can look back at the original post and the multiple updates that were added to it on a daily basis. 

Now it’s time to start again and unlike the original story, this time we are letting you know there will be updates that you’ll want to check back in on. We will post them as they happen, which could be once or more in a day. We will begin with what is happening today, March 2. 

By Alan Buckingham -
Vaduz Castle, Lichtenstein

Want fast internet? Move to Liechtenstein

The tiny 62 square mile principality of Liechtenstein has the world's fastest average broadband speed at 75.7 Mb/s. If you want cheap mobile web though you're better off in Israel, with an average cost of $0.3 for 1Gb of data.

These are some of the findings from the annual Internet Accessibility Index produced by comparison site broadbandchoices.co.uk which looks at fixed-line broadband speeds, the price and affordability of home internet packages, and the cost of mobile internet data to rank the world's most connected countries.

By Ian Barker -
data breach

Internet Society members' data exposed in breach

The Internet Society (ISOC) is one of the oldest and most important international non-profit organizations related to the internet, but that doesn't make it immune to problems and it's revealed today that ISOC members' details have been exposed in a data security breach

Independent cybersecurity researcher Bob Diachenko, in collaboration with cybersecurity company Clario, discovered an open and unprotected Microsoft Azure blob repository containing millions of files with personal and login details of ISOC members.

By Ian Barker -
Town Hall Sign, England

Surge in demand for digital council services as pandemic drives people online

Local councils in the UK report a 27 percent increase in the use of digital services over the 12 months from summer 2020, compared to the previous year.

Digital experience company Acquia used freedom of information requests to compile the report, which also suggests the UK government’s drive to encourage usage of digital services is bearing fruit with local councils making considerable strides to improve accessibility.

By Ian Barker -
DuckDuckGo for desktop

DuckDuckGo is bringing its privacy-focused web browser to the desktop in 2022

DuckDuckGo is a name associated with privacy, and it is best known for its tracking-free search engine. But the company has other strings to its bow, including a privacy-focused web browser for mobile devices.

Now there are plans to bring things to the desktop. With DuckDuckGo for desktop, the company is looking to give users a fast, simple and private alternative to the likes of Chrome. Interestingly, DuckDuckGo says that the desktop browser will not be based on Chromium, but that it will be built "around the OS-provided rendering engines".

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Secure encrypted internet - https

The internet is getting safer but legacy encryption techniques still linger

A new report from Venafi, based on in-depth security analysis of the world's top million websites over the last 18 months, shows the internet is becoming more secure.

Use of encryption is increasing and the adoption of newer TLS protocols is rising. However, many companies continue to use legacy RSA encryption algorithms to generate keys, despite stronger protocols being available.

By Ian Barker -
Network security

New report identifies malicious activity 'hotspots'

Threats like phishing and spam are often linked to specific domains, understanding how to spot these can help to strengthen threat intelligence.

Domain name and DNS-based predictive threat intelligence company DomainTools has used its database of more than 380 million currently-registered domains to identify which are likely to constitute threats.

By Ian Barker -
Web Development

Demand for web developers jumps during pandemic

A new survey from open source web development platform Elementor reveals that 67 percent of web professionals say they have experienced growth in their businesses since the pandemic began.

This trend is expected to continue, with 77 percent saying they expect the field of web design and development to continue to grow over the next five years.

By Ian Barker -
clock timer

A minute is a long time on the internet

Former British prime minister Harold Wilson famously once said, "A week is a long time in politics." Of course in the age of the internet things move faster still.

Research from advertising company N.Rich shows that in the online world an awful lot happens in just one minute.

By Ian Barker -
Dissolving clock

UK businesses are attacked every 47 seconds

UK businesses faced a new cyberattack every 47 seconds over the summer as the volume of attempts to breach their systems online increased following an earlier slowdown.

Analysis of commercial internet traffic from business ISP Beaming shows that the attack rate increased by four percent between July and September, having fallen in the second quarter.

By Ian Barker -
Malware magnifier

Over 90 percent of malware arrives over encrypted connections

Security experts have spent years driving home the message that HTTPS connections are safer, but a new report released today reveals that 91.5 percent of malware arrived over encrypted connections in the second quarter of this year.

The quarterly internet security report from WatchGuard Technologies also shows alarming surges across fileless malware threats, dramatic growth in ransomware and a big increase in network attacks.

By Ian Barker -
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