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Countries that Run Their Own National Intranets

In just a few decades, the Internet has expanded to connect most of the globe, broadening access to information and services for about 55% of the world. Not everyone thinks that’s a good idea, though. Motivated by the desire to control information and increase national security, some countries have constructed national intranets: walled garden networks usually maintained by the government as a local substitute for the global Internet. North Korea is the most famous example of this, with the intranet being the only form of Internet allowed in the country, but other countries, particularly Iran and Cuba, have rolled out related programs, and Russia is… Read more

Received a Bitcoin Blackmail Email? Here’s What to Do

Recently, there’s been a wave of spam emails that claim to have some dirt on you. They’ll threaten to release the data if you don’t pay up. To seal the deal, they’ll also post your email’s username and password to “prove” that they have access to your computer. While this attack is very scary, you shouldn’t obey anything the scammers tell you. They don’t  actually have any dirt on you, and they’re relying on the scare factor to get you to pay them what they want. Related: Why You Should Never Accept a Call from a “Microsoft Technician” The Average Scam Layout Typically, these… Read more

How to Search Ngram More Effectively with Google Ngram Viewer

Google maintains a multilingual database of published language. By scanning books en masse, Google is able to process the text and provided statistical data-based frequency of word appearance. With the Google Ngram Viewer search tool, you can search through that voluminous statistical data rapidly and effectively. By comparing the relative popularity of words, you can map how language and culture have changed over time. Ngram can do much more than simply report word frequency within Google’s vast textual corpus, however. Basic Searches (1-grams) 1. Type your keyword in the Ngram search box. 2. If you want to search for all capitalization of a word,… Read more

5 of the Best Alternatives for Google+ Users

With the official end of Google+ coming very soon, the loyal users of the platform need to locate a new social home. But what if you don’t want to default to any of the most popular sites because of their reputations for misusing and mishandling data? What else can you try besides Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? Here are a few sites worth checking out. 1. Mastodon If you are a Google+ user who doesn’t want to run the risk of losing your social media again, a decentralized program such as Mastodon may be right for you. It’s free and open source so that anyone can… Read more

Are Third-Party Social Logins Secure and Private?

Manually creating accounts is a pain: we just want to access an app’s services, not spend five minutes setting up emails, passwords, and basic information. That’s why the “Log in with Facebook” and “Log in with Google” buttons have become so common across the Internet. Users love this federated login technique because it makes creating accounts much easier, and websites/apps love it because they can get way more users to sign up for accounts. Since you can create accounts using Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Github, WeChat, VKontakte, Weibo, and more, chances are you’ve used one of these services, but also briefly wondered if… Read more