179291554
submission
joshuark writes:
Popular Mechanics writes that the ChatGPT AI fooled 73% of people into thinking it was human, raising new questions about machine intelligence. A paper that described how an LLM had passed the Turing Test, an experiment devised by computer science pioneer Alan Turing.
The results for ChatGPT 4.5 and LLaMa are striking enough, but the really interesting question is what their success signifies. Is SkyNet on the horizon? Will we get the answer to the "Great Question" beyond 42?
179250158
submission
joshuark writes:
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting the agency to investigate Microsoft for failing to provide adequate security in its products. The Senator highlights Microsoft’s prolonged failure to take decisive action to effectively mitigate well-documented security risks in its products.
The Senator says his team spoke with Microsoft in July 2024, urging the tech giant to warn customers of the dangers of using RC4 instead of more robust options like AES 128/256, and to make the latter the default setting.
Microsoft responded with a blog post published in October, which the Senator said was highly technical and failed to clearly convey the warning to decision-makers within companies.
Wyden explicitly frames Microsoft’s practices as a serious national security risk, expressing certainty that more high-impact incidents will occur unless the FTC intervenes.
"We have it on our roadmap to ultimately disable its use. We’ve engaged with the Senator’s office on this issue and will continue to listen and answer questions from them or others in government," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
An open microphone caught a Microsoft accountant stating that PR spin, insincere apologies, and empty promises were cheaper than actually spending money for fixing a product; especially after the recent layoffs to boost profits for managers to get their performance bonuses.
178939604
submission
joshuark writes:
Intel amended the CHIPS Act funding deal with the U.S. Department of Commerce to remove earlier project milestones and received about $5.7 billion in cash sooner than planned. As part of the deal, Intel issued the U.S. government 274.6 million shares and promised the government the option to buy up to 240.5 million more shares under certain conditions. The company also said it has spent at least $7.87 billion on eligible CHIPS Act-funded projects. The government's $8.9 billion investment is in addition to the $2.2 billion in grants Intel has previously received, making for a total investment of $11.1 billion, the company has said. Corporate bailout without loan guarantees, welcome to the new American economy!
178331502
submission
joshuark writes:
A Russianbasketball player, Daniil Kasatkin, was arrested on 21 June in France at the request of the United States as he allegedly is part of a network of hackers. Daniil Kasatkin, aged 26, is accused by the United States of negotiating the payment of ransoms to this hacker network, which he denies. He has been studied in the United States, and is the subject of a US arrest warrant for “conspiracy to commit computer fraud” and “computer fraud conspiracy.” His lawyer alleges that Kasatkin is not guilty of these crimes and that they are instead linked to a second-hand computer that he purchased.
"He bought a second-hand computer. He did absolutely nothing. He's stunned ," his lawyer, Frédéric Bélot, told the media. "He's useless with computers and can't even install an application. He didn't touch anything on the computer: it was either hacked, or the hacker sold it to him to act under the cover of another person."
178271286
submission
joshuark writes:
Cloudflare will block Big Tech AI bot crawlers; the Pay Per Crawl lets creators charge AI giants for content access.
The moves address concerns about Big Tech exploiting content without consent or payment--a shift that could reshape the dynamics between content creators and AI companies. The company will automatically block AI crawlers from scraping the websites it powers, unless site owners explicitly opt in.
"Original content is what makes the internet one of the greatest inventions in the last century, and we have to come together to protect it," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said.
Cloudflare hopes to create a transparent, consent-driven marketplace that helps creators decide whether to allow all AI crawlers, permit specific ones, or set their own access fees, turning previously unmonetized content usage into new revenue streams.
178215196
submission
joshuark writes:
A recent poll by Gallup found that only a third of Gen Z employees feel prepared to use AI at work.
Four out of ten Gen-Z students between 5th and 12th grade feel ready to integrate AI into their jobs. The report highlights the importance of exposure to and training around AI to prepare individuals for AI-dominated workplace.
It is important that students have exposure to and training around AI to ready themselves for AI-dominated workplaces, according to Angie Cooper, COO and president of Heartland Forward, which aims to promote economic growth in the middle of the country.
AI preparedness among Gen Z employees also varied across industries, with 61% of STEM roles being at least somewhat prepared to use AI at work. The report suggests that Gen Z might be more vulnerable to AI due to its disproportionate impact on entry-level jobs.
"One of the things we see when we talk to employers, small businesses, manufacturers [is that] AI is kind of everywhere,” Cooper said. “It’s changing rapidly, so we want to keep on pace, and we want to make sure that we’re supporting the heartland in the right way."
177837337
submission
joshuark writes:
Astronomers announced a new dwarf planet in our solar system, designated 2015 KH162. Located far beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt, it's estimated to be about 300 kilometers (186 miles) in diameter, and orbits the sun every 25,000 years.
Discovery was made using data from the Dark Energy Survey, highlighting the potential for uncovering more similarly sized objects in the distant reaches of our solar system. The find adds to our understanding of the population of trans-Neptunian objects and the dynamics of the outer solar system.
177622145
submission
joshuark writes:
For at least half a year, the official software supplied with Procolored printers included malware in the form of a remote access trojan and a cryptocurrency stealer. Procolored is a digital printing solutions provider making Direct-to-Film (DTF), UV DTF, UV, and Direct-to-Garment (DTG) printers.
Cameron Coward, a YouTuber known as Serial Hobbyism, discovered the malware when his security solution warned of the presence of the Floxif USB worm on his computer when installing the companion software and drivers. After getting the threat alerts on his machine, Coward contacted Procolored, who denied shipping malware in their software, pointing to the security solution generating false positives.
Despite Procolored’s initial denial, the software packages were taken down on May 8 and an internal investigation was launched. BleepingComputer has contacted Procolored for a comment on the situation and whether they informed their customers of the risk but we have yet to receive a response. Not even an "oops..."
177405837
submission
joshuark writes:
Bill Gates, once the richest man in the world, vowed to give away "virtually all" of his wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next two decades. Then, the foundation will close its doors on Dec. 31, 2045. Gates wrote in a Thursday Gates Notes essay that the original plan was to sunset the foundation several decades after he and his then-wife died. Now, Gates believes that a "shorter timeline" is feasible after his divorce. It's unclear whether the world's richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people," Gates wrote.
177067445
submission
joshuark writes:
The outbreak is linked to romaine lettuce killed one person and sickened at least 88 more, including a 9-year-old boy who nearly died of kidney failure.
“There were no public communications related to this outbreak,” the FDA said in its report, which noted that there had been a death but provided no details about it.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported in February that it had closed the investigation without publicly detailing what had happened, or which companies were responsible for growing and processing the contaminated lettuce.
The FDA said its staff members “continue to provide critical communications to consumers associated with foodborne outbreaks,” including information about recalls and investigations.
175285803
submission
joshuark writes:
Users updating to the latest version of the operating system, Windows 11 users who tried to delete the 8.63 GB of upgrade data using the Windows Disk Cleanup application found themselves confused as the "inaccurate" amount.
Microsoft said: "After using the Windows Disk Cleanup application, it may display an incorrect amount of disk space that can be freed up in the 'Windows Update Cleanup' category...some or all files in that category (for example, 15 GB) are cleaned up correctly and the related disk space is freed as expected.
Microsoft is aware of the issue and is "working on a resolution and will provide more information when it is available."
175112391
submission
joshuark writes:
No More Patch Taco Tuesday? Bleeping Computer reports Microsoft announces the deprecation of Windows Service Updates. Microsoft has officially announced that Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is now deprecated,
While new features and development for WSUS will cease, Microsoft said today that it plans to continue supporting the service's existing functionality and updates, which will still be distributed, even after deprecation. "Specifically, this means that we are no longer investing in new capabilities, nor are we accepting new feature requests for WSUS," Microsoft's Nir Froimovici said.
The change affects enterprise environments that rely on WSUS to manage updates delivered to many devices but does not impact home users or those using Microsoft Configuration Manager. "Remember: WSUS remains operational but is no longer investing in new features," he added.
So much for creeping featuritis.
174863362
submission
joshuark writes:
“Just uninstalled VS Code,” said a developer on X. Why? Probably because of the release of Cursor AI, which is touted as the ChatGPT moment in coding, is like the final nail in the coffin of VS Code. But is it really the end of VS Code? No, Microsoft is a giant cockroach, you squash, then it comes back.
There are several problems with VS Code, which is undeniable. Mohamed Yamani, a front end software engineer, said that VS Code for Python development sucks, explaining that it was not highlighting the problems with his code. Developers in the thread agree that they often end up using other IDE’s.
Also, it is very easy to install malicious extensions through VS Code, reflecting Microsoft's ungoing commitment to security.
But when it comes to VS Code, given the massive footprint it has, plans in the pipeline, it is hard to just uninstall it and move on.
174863292
submission
joshuark writes:
Microsoft security tools questioned for treating employees as threats reports The Register. Cracked Labs examines how workplace surveillance turns workers into suspects. Software designed to address legitimate business concerns about cyber security and compliance treats employees as threats, normalizing intrusive surveillance in the workplace, according to a report by Cracked Labs.
The report, titled "Employees as Risks" — released today by the Vienna-based non-profit — explores software from Microsoft and formerly from Forcepoint – specifically SIEM (security information and event management) and UEBA (user and entity behavior analytics) applications.
In short, as C int's are long, Microsoft is "Big Brother Chairman Bill Gates" watching you...
"The boundaries between information security, the protection of corporate information, fraud and theft prevention and the enforcement of compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies are becoming blurred," the report observes.
The purpose of the report, Christl told The Register, is to raise questions about the appropriate extent of workplace surveillance in light of the increasing amount of data collected through online activity logs and the communications data available to organizations.
Microsoft acknowledges that its cyber security and risk profiling systems may create 'false positives,' i.e., inaccurate alerts about employees and their behavior...but not their problem when they report it to the police.
The Register asked Microsoft to comment on the Cracked Labs report and were told that the Windows giant does not comment on third-party reports. Microsoft just reports them and sues anyone that dares challenge.
174827390
submission
joshuark writes:
Weapons dealers in Yemen are openly using X to peddle a huge range of arms. The firearms include Kalashnikovs, pistols, grenades, and grenade-launchers, with dealers operate in areas controlled by the Houthis – a rebel group backed by Iran and classified as a terrorist organisation by the US and Australian governments.
Just remember guns don't kill people, bullets do.
