by I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day. February is already going strong, so have you made a list of projects (or things to focus on) this year? I have and “knock on wood“ if all goes well, you’ll see some of them soon.
This week, I have frauds, privacy, and nice music to spark your creativity.
Enjoy!
3 Articles
The 3 articles that I liked this week.
A surprising scam email that evaded Gmail’s spam filter
This story is crazy and told from the perspective of the author. They received a scam email that surprisingly evaded Gmail’s spam filter. The email appeared to be from PayPal but had suspicious elements that gave it away as a scam. If the person in question had not been a bit suspicious, they would have been fooled. Be careful!
Quick take-home messages:
- Scammers are finding creative ways to evade email filters and make their messages appear legitimate.
- It is essential to scrutinize emails, even if they appear from trusted sources like PayPal.
- Gmail’s spam filter may not catch all scam emails, so users should be vigilant in identifying potential scams.
We Don’t Want Your Password
In case you don’t know, 404 Media is an independent media company founded by technology journalists. The company has been facing issues with some of its content being removed due to nudity. It has been involved in controversies regarding location data and AI-generated violent videos, but I can get behind this stance, even if it does not apply to all websites.
Quick take-home messages:
- Protecting passwords by not asking for them can be an effective way to enhance security.
- Controversies over content removal due to nudity highlight the challenges media companies face in balancing freedom of expression and community guidelines.
- The use of AI technology for generating violent videos raises concerns about potential misuse and the need for ethical guidelines and regulations.
Stop using Brave Browser
The article discusses the controversy surrounding the Brave Browser, including accusations of hatred and bigotry due to a donation made by the founder. It also mentions the ad experiments conducted by Brave and the decline in value of the BAT token. Additionally, it highlights questionable partnerships and sponsorships involving Brave.
Quick take-home messages:
- Accusations of hatred and bigotry against the founder of Brave Browser are based on a donation and lack evidence of actual misconduct.
- Brave’s ad experiments involve targeted ads based on browser-side intent signals without persistent user identification.
- The value of the BAT token has significantly decreased from its peak in 2021. Also, Brave has engaged in controversial partnerships and sponsorships with companies like FTX and Gemini.
2 Videos
1 playlist to take a look (or listen).
The Morricone duel: The Danish National Symphony Orchestra
This is a playlist, so I will only publish one video this week. If you prefer, here’s also Spotify’s link, which contains the full concert.
Many things can spark productivity, so if you need something to listen to while working, here’s a fantastic Danish National Symphony Orchestra concert. It’s based on the work of Ennio Morricone, whose filmography includes more than 70 award-winning films, some of them quite impressive, like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.
Many of the articles you see on the website were written with this music playing, so I hope you enjoy it as well as I do.
1 Curiosity
Something I found interesting.
Check Out These Extraordinary New Images of Mercury
New extraordinary images of Mercury taken during the joint European and Japanese BepiColombo mission reveal fascinating details of the small rocky planet. The images show Mercury’s north pole between light and shadow, the portion of Mercury’s north polar region illuminated by the sun, and lava remnants and debris making Mercury’s surface appear brighter.
Quick take-home message:
- The BepiColombo mission provides new insights into the geological features of Mercury, including its terminator zone and crater-filled surface.
- Younger formations on Mercury’s surface appear lighter, indicating volcanic activity in the planet’s past.
- The mission aims to study the composition of Mercury’s surface formations to better understand the planet’s characteristics.
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See you next week
Photo by Ulrike R. Donohue on Unsplash
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