WASHINGTON, D.C. - The operations of infamous ransomware group LockBit have been shut down, their domains seized, and several high-ranking members placed under arrest as the result of a recent digital takedown carried out by an international law enforcement operation. Operation Cronos, the code name of a joint effort made up by agencies representing 11 countries – Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United … [Read more...]
FEDs Seize 17 Domains Suspected of Being Used for Fraud in U.S. by North Korea
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Wednesday, the United States Justice Department announced it has seized 17 website domains utilized by North Korean information technology (IT) workers to purportedly evade government sanctions, conduct cyberattacks and defraud U.S. businesses, with the millions of dollars in illicit proceeds generated from such activities being used to fund North Korea's weapon development program. The Justice Department confirmed in a statement that the … [Read more...]
Interest Continues In Alternative Domain Name, “.io” By Internet, Tech Firms
PALM BEACH, FL - When it comes to building a successful company, two of the most vital components to first establishing your digital presence – the main way that your customers are most likely to discover you – is to create a website and to choose an appropriate domain name. While the.com extension is by far the most commonly used by companies – and the one most consumers seek – there are a plethora of other extensions available out there to choose from. For the … [Read more...]
Website Company Squarespace Enters Agreement to Purchase Google Domains
NEW YORK, NY - New York City-based website building and hosting company Squarespace announced this week that they will be entering into an agreement to purchase Google Domains – a domain name registrar operated by Google that offers domain registration, DNS hosting, dynamic DNS, domain forwarding, and email forwarding – in a deal that includes all of the company's assets, which includes approximately 10 million domains that are owned by millions of … [Read more...]
Twitter Competitor Bluesky to Start Selling Custom Domains to Remain Ad-Free
SEATTLE, WA - In the shadow of the impending launch of Meta’s new Twitter competitor, Threads, another rival of the microblogging social media platform – Bluesky – announced on Wednesday that it has acquired $8 million in new funding in addition to implementing a new change to their business model- selling custom domains in a bid to keep the service ad-free for its user base. In a blog post, Bluesky noted that they had raised additional seed funding following its … [Read more...]
Popular Domain Name Software BIND Patched to Correct Severe Vulnerabilities
NEWMARKET, NH - In an effort to address what has been referred to as “severe security vulnerabilities,” the nonprofit Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has released a series of patches for multiple versions of BIND 9, a popular suite of software utilized for interacting with the Domain Name System (DNS). The issues with BIND – which stands for Berkeley Internet Name Domain – were uncovered by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and … [Read more...]
Mega Domain “NewYork.com” Has New Property Manager After Reported Sale
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In 2019, I put a spotlight on mega domain and website NewYork.com, virtually disappearing into thin air after its owners fell into a complex legal dispute which pushed the business to its breaking point after years of litigation. At that time, I remember being shocked that a dispute could not be resolved to the point where the entire business would collapse, and virtually vanish, but for whatever reason that’s what happened. Now, approximately … [Read more...]
Massive Data Breach of Twitch Live Streaming Service Confirmed
PALM BEACH, FL - According to The Verge the Twitch streaming service has confirmed a data breach, which reportedly includes their source code, creator payouts, and possible leak of users’ passwords. The leak includes the following: 3 years worth of details regarding creator payouts on Twitch.The entirety of twitch.tv, “with commit history going back to its early beginnings.”Source code for the mobile, desktop, and video game console Twitch clients.Code related to … [Read more...]
What Do People Expect from Ads?
PALM BEACH, FL - A 2021 survey of more than 2,000 US internet users ages 16-74 showed that what consumers most want from ads is information. Half (49.7%) said they want ads to give them product info, while one-third (39.9%) want ads to offer discounts. About the Data: Findings are based on a February 2021 survey of 2,013 US internet users ages 16-74. … [Read more...]
NewsGuard: The Censoring of the Internet – Deplatforming & Demonetizing Publishers
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - NewsGuard Technologies, Inc., which claims it is in the business of policing the Internet and protecting users from misinformation, is more than a web tool for its users. The service rates websites either positively or negatively and assigns “Nutrition Labels” to publications. Its negative ratings mostly score conservative websites poorly such as what has been assigned to Breitbart, Newsmax, One America News Network … [Read more...]
Domain Name Investing, Alt Extensions Gets Highlight on Southeast News Stations
TENNESSEE - Jamey Tucker is a local television news technology journalist who created a segment called “What the Tech?” over 20 years ago. Tuckers’ segments include tech tips, tricks, gadgets, and news with one this month focused on digital real estate on the internet with websites. The recent segment included a spotlight on the $3.1 Million Sale of Whisky.com by the Castello Brothers as an example of how much money changes hands for those who snap up catchy names in the … [Read more...]
Lawyer Says, “Shadow Group” Setup Website Proposing Assassinations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A website that was online only a few days published the identities, including email and home addresses of various Republican and Democratic leaders as well as related employees of people the site claimed are responsible for “aiding and abetting the fraudulent election” against President Trump. The site, which has now disappeared, listed the personal details, including maps to the homes as well as headshots of the individuals inside crosshairs with an … [Read more...]
Transparency In The $2B Deal That Died Between Ad Networks Outbrain & Taboola
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - In an act of impressive transparency to its publishers, ad network Outbrain has sent what seems to be a heartfelt message to its users explaining why a planned merger between them and Taboola, will not be going through as expected. The merger was expected to value the bulked-up company at $2 Billion. Yesterday, September 10, 2020, the following message was sent out to publishers. As an important partner of Outbrain, we want to get in touch … [Read more...]
GOOG To Follow FB With Restrictions On Housing, Employment, and Credit Ads
WEST PALM BEACH, FL - Usually Google is a leader in all things advertising, however, a recent update to policy by GOOG (NASDAQ) will have it following Facebook (FB) where the ad giant will implement new targeting restrictions which could lead to 'societal biases' which have been in place by Facebook for some time now. In a message to advertisers, Google laid out the changes in an email notification letting advertisers know that the changes will be implemented effective … [Read more...]
Vulnerability In Official Facebook Chat Plugin Allowed Attackers to Chat With Site Visitors
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – At 3:47 PM today, the Threat Intelligence Team from WordFence, posted research detailing a vulnerability in The Official Facebook Chat Plugin, currently installed on over 80,000 WordPress websites. This vulnerability allowed authenticated attackers to connect their own Facebook Messenger account to any site running the vulnerable plugin and engage in chats with site visitors on affected sites. We initially reached out to Facebook on June 26, 2020 … [Read more...]