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Inside the Massive 711 Million Record Onliner Spambot Dump 1
Posted Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017 by Jeff Safire

Last week I was contacted by someone alerting me to the presence of a spam list. A big one. That’s a bit of a relative term though because whilst I’ve loaded “big” spam lists into Have I been pwned (HIBP) before, the largest to date has been a mere 393m records and belonged to…


How Machine Learning Is Reinventing the Way We Discover Music 2
Posted Tuesday, Aug 22, 2017 by Jeff Safire

If you’re a folk rock fan like me, you might be surprised when a music-streaming service suggests songs for you in other genres, such as country or reggae—and you actually enjoy them. Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and similar services are taking subtle cues from your listening habits, not only to recommend new artists but…


A Man in a Hurry: Claude Shannon’s New York Years 3
Posted Monday, Jul 17, 2017 by Jeff Safire

Looking back on the last months of 1940, Claude Shannon was quite open about his desire to avoid the World War II draft: “Things were moving fast there, and I could smell the war coming along. And it seemed to me I would be safer working full-time for the war effort, safer against the…


What China's VPN Ban Means for Internet Users: Quicktake Q&A 4
Posted Tuesday, Jul 11, 2017 by Jeff Safire

China is cracking down on virtual private networks, targeting the most popular way to access websites based outside the country and avoid restrictions. The government ordered the nation’s three state-run phone carriers to enforce a ban on VPNs for individuals and require companies operating on the mainland to register


Mats Järlström: I Am an Engineer 5
Posted Tuesday, Jun 27, 2017 by Jeff Safire

Until two weeks ago, the simple act of calling myself an engineer could have earned me a US $1,000 fine as a repeat offender of Oregon’s unconstitutional professional-engineer licensing law. All that changed on 30 May, when the board consented to a preliminary injunction I filed as part of my First Amendment lawsuit…


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