Category: technology

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This Artist Uses Illustrations to Try to Tackle Some of Society’s Problems

And though there are a hundred different ways to discuss the impact of what’s wrong with the world, art is one of the most poignant and, for many people, the most relatable without being preachy.

If you’re an art lover, or someone who enjoys pretty, scathing commentary, these 18 images are going to take your breath away.

18. Well, that’s an awful image to consider.

17. Why have we let governments do this to people forever?

16. There won’t be anything else for penguins to live on, soon.

15. My heart is breaking.

14. I’d like to be able to break this addiction, myself.

13. How often do we stop and wonder what the other person is thinking?

12. And everyone loves turtles, you know?

11. Heartbreaking to think of what’s happening in the Arctic.

10. I wonder how many people would notice?

9. A few companies have recently vowed to stop these practices – about time.

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Companies get away with using cheap labor and inhumane working conditions by manufacturing their products in countries with little regulation. It‘s our job to take responsibility and be conscious buyers. If we learn that a product is made under unethical conditions then choose not to buy from that company. Although it may take more time, doing research into the sources of your food, clothing and products is a crucial step in raising awareness and promoting better labor regulations. Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com/sophia-armenkas-/wake-up-teen-consumers_b_8363126.html #iconeo #consumelocal #fairtrade #inhumane #responsibility #awareness #conscious #ecofashion #ethicalbrand #ethical #sustainableliving #sustainablefashion #fashionblogger #ecology #consuming #creativeart #creativehappylife #creativeminds #helpinghands #manufacturing #ecofriendly #humanity #savetheplanet #bekind #kindness #kindnessmatters #empathy #loveoneanother #slowfashion #ethicallymade

A post shared by Steffen Kraft aka ICONEO (@iconeo) on

8. It’s not subtle but it does make its point.

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80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources. For example: ?Litter dropped on the street doesn‘t stay there. Rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams and rivers. ? Plastic you put in the bin ends up in landfill. When rubbish is being transported to landfill, plastic is often blown away because it‘s so lightweight. From there, it can eventually clutter around drains and enter rivers and the sea this way. ? Many of the products we use daily are flushed down toilets, including wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products. Microfibres are even released into waterways when we wash our clothes in the washing machine. They are too small to be filtered out by waste water plants. (source: www.wwf.org.uk) #iconeo #plasticpollution #endplasticpollution #plasticfree #plasticocean #noplastic #zerowaste #seabird #cleanoceans #oceancleanup #recycling #sustainable #sustainability #ecofriendly #ecodesign #ecofashion #singleuseplastic #stopsucking #illustrationart #oceanart #adobeillustrator #illustrationartist #illustration #contemporaryart #creativeart #wwf

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7. You wouldn’t do that, would you?

6. How much stuff do we need, really?

5. Another one that’s straight to the point.

4. They need us as much as we need them.

3. There’s more than one way to do almost everything.

2. Talk to your neighbors.

1. A literal representation of the Earth in a few short years.

 

These illustrations definitely did their job because they made me think (and also feel sad and guilty and like it’s time to do something – past time).

If you loved them, make sure and follow the artist – Steffan Kraft, who also goes by the name Iconeo – on Instagram and Facebook.

How did they make you feel? We’d love to hear about it!

The post This Artist Uses Illustrations to Try to Tackle Some of Society’s Problems appeared first on UberFacts.

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Period Trackers Used by Millions of Women Are Sharing Your Sensitive Data with Facebook

A new research study showed that period tracking apps, including MIA Fem and Maya, have sent your personal information to Facebook. This not only includes when you’re on your period, but the type of contraception you use, how often you are having sex, and any PMS symptoms like mood swings.

When does the invasion of privacy stop?

Photo Credit: Pedro Sandrini, Pexels

Buzzfeed news explains:

“The data sharing with Facebook happens via Facebook’s Software Development Kit (SDK), which helps app developers incorporate particular features and collect user data so Facebook can show them targeted ads, among other functions. When a user puts personal information into an app, that information may also be sent by the SDK to Facebook.”

Great. So they know about your period because – you guessed it –advertising.

“Advertisers are often interested in people’s moods because it helps them strategically target ads to them at times they might be more likely to buy. And women who are pregnant or seeking to become pregnant are likely to change their shopping habits.”

When BuzzFeed News broke the story, the owner of the Maya app emailed a warning to BF, fighting back:

“As BuzzFeed has not been the intended recipient of the email, it should have never been shared with BuzzFeed and you as its representative,” the email said. “Considering that the unauthorized disclosure has already happened, we hereby urge you to erase all the material erroneously obtained without prevarication and delays. We shall be waiting on your confirmation of the erasure.”

“All data accessed by Maya are also essential to the proper functioning of the product. Predicting information pertaining to menstrual cycles is complex and dependent on thousands of variables,” the email added. “Location information, the significance of which is highlighted in the report, helps us triangulate regional variations in cycle lengths and thus help improve accuracy of our prediction over time.”

Right…as if a news agency that received info on a story ‘erroneously’ is required to delete the info because of its ‘erroneous’ origins. NOT.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

I mean, maybe they don’t share all your info, as they suggest, but there is residual proof that what their app collects can trigger certain ads even without specific information. Per Buzzfeed:

“MIA Fem asks users about all kinds of habits ranging from smoking to coffee consumption and tampon use. This data isn’t immediately shared with Facebook, Privacy International’s analysis found, but it enables MIA Fem to suggest articles to app users. Those articles — which are tailored to a user’s selected interests — are shared with Facebook. It also shared “reminders” within the app to take birth control medication with Facebook.”

Really what this is telling us is to read the terms of service before downloading an app. As consumers, we need to understand what information these companies are collecting. Sure, it might seem like a waste of time to read pages of legalese, but it just might save you the headache of your privacy being invaded.

Or maybe our government could step up and regulate an industry that is clearly flouting the reasonable standards of privacy that we’ve lived with in the law for generations? Or not. Whatever.

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Some Police Departments Can Now Monitor Neighborhoods Through Amazon’s Ring Doorbells

Ring, Amazon’s home security company, makes video doorbells that allow homeowners to answer the door from anywhere using their smartphone. In what some are calling an invasion of privacy, Amazon is now collaborating with law enforcement agencies to give them access to the video streams from Ring doorbells — though only in certain regions.

Amazon named 405 different law enforcement agencies currently working with Ring. Police can submit a request for a video recording of an incident from a Ring doorbell through Amazon’s neighborhood watch app, Neighbors Portal. Authorities can also view and comment on public posts on the app, where users are encouraged to share “tips” about criminal activity in their neighborhoods.

Giving access to these video streams will help police “make decisions about how to deploy emergency personnel,” Lifehacker reports.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Ring says it doesn’t provide personal information about its customers to the police without consent. When police request access to video footage, they don’t know where the request goes until the user chooses to share the video.

The company’s collaboration with the police doesn’t end there. Amazon has also pursued access to real-time emergency dispatch data to help push out alerts about crime activity. This data includes personally identifiable information, such as names and even precise GPS information.

So, how do you find out if this is happening in your city? Amazon posted an interactive map of all the law enforcement agencies they’re currently involved with. They include police departments in Miami, Phoenix, Houston, Denver and Detroit.

Photo Credit: Amazon

If you’re curious how ring works, check out this video:

I can see the appeal of giving law enforcement access to this data, I really can – but with all the data breaches and secret government surveillance programs we’ve dealt with, can we honestly say it’s a good idea for a private company to be helping law enforcement get video of what happens on our own doorsteps?

It seems like a short hop to panopticon.

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This Hack Reveals That Private Instagram Accounts Are Not so Private

It’s a battle keeping your photos and posts private on social media – no matter how many times you update your privacy settings, Facebook and Instagram always change them (Facebook owns Instagram).

And now there’s a creepy work around where your followers can easily get your photos and videos and share them. It doesn’t matter if your account is public or private – your followers can distribute your pics and vids either way.

And that’s not supposed to be the case.

Photo Credit: Pexels, energepic

Here’s how the simple hack works

  1. Open up Google Chrome
  2. Go to the Instagram photo you would like to ‘rip’ the URL from
  3. Right click anywhere in the browser
  4. Click “INSPECT”
  5. A side bar will open. Click on “NETWORK” at the top tool bar of the sidebar.
  6. Click IMG

Photo Credit: Google Chrome, Nicole Flasco

Below this tool bar a list of several small thumbnails with apear. You can right click the IMG and copy the web address. I tried it and this is a valid fact.

According to BuzzFeed News, this is possible for public feeds, “private feeds and stories” and “can be viewed, downloaded, and shared publicly…”

Is this the same as taking screen shots of photos?

A Facebook spokesperson says yes.

“The behavior described here is the same as taking a screenshot of a friend’s photo on Facebook and Instagram and sharing it with other people. It doesn’t give people access to a person’s private account.”

The report says no.

“There is a difference between being able to screenshot a private image from a webpage and being able to easily publicly share the URL of that private image with un-authenticated users. These public URLs contain some basic info about the photo or video they link to, including details about how it was uploaded and photo dimensions. They also prove authenticity; you can’t fake one. Beyond this, deleted photos and videos are being stored and accessed on Facebook’s content delivery network after a person took an action to remove them from their profile.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The other issue with ripping the URL is traceability. All of your IG and Facebook data is hosted by the social media company’s content delivery network. Currently, Instagram tracks who sees your content. However, if someone grabs the URL, traceability is lost. Now your photos can be used without your permission, and you’d never even know they were floating around the internet.

We’ve all heard the news about Zuckerburg and the privacy issues Facebook has gone through in the past. He promised users that Facebook would shift to being a privacy focused network. So far, I’m not sure things have gotten better.

It this a flaw in Facebook’s security? Or is it unavoidable given internet browser permissions to view HTML? Let us know what you think!

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10 Fascinating Facts to Get Your Juices Flowing

If you’ve been in a rut lately, let’s put an end to that RIGHT THIS INSTANT!

You know why? And you know how? Because of this stellar fact set!

It covers all kinds of topics and it will give you a big BOOST.

Let’s dig into these facts.

1. Get busy, over 50 folks!

Photo Credit: did you know?

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2. Beware of the Zone of Death

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3. That’s one way to go out

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4. Folks, I really hope this is true

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5. “He was…an American Gravedigger”

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6. Smoke ’em if you got ’em!

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7. I’ll do it if you do it

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8. I did not know that!

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9. Do you see the world differently?

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10. I think women were happy about that

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Now that’s better, wouldn’t you agree!

Work your brain out folks, it’s good for you!

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A New Planned Parenthood App Will Let Users Order Birth Control in Every State in the U.S.

This is important news, so pay attention.

Planned Parenthood (and women’s reproductive rights in general) has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny and argument over the past several years from some politicians and people, but I, for one, think that this is a great development. Why you wouldn’t want affordable birth control to be available to all women in every corner of the United States is beyond me, but that’s just where we are right now.

Luckily, a lot of people and women are still fighting the good fight. It was recently announced that the Planned Parenthood Direct app is now available in 27 states across the U.S., and it will be available in all 50 states in 2020.

In 2019, pretty much everything is on-demand. Why not #birthcontrol, too? Check out Planned Parenthood Direct, the…

Posted by Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson Action on Monday, May 13, 2019

The app allows users to order birth control, make appointments at Planned Parenthood clinics, and get prescriptions for antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections.

Alexis McGill Johnson, the acting President and CEO of the organization, said, “As politicians across the country try to restrict or block access to critical reproductive and sexual health care, the Planned Parenthood Direct app is just one part of the work we do to ensure that more people can get the care they need, no matter where they are.”

Planned Parenthood pulled out of the U.S. government’s Title X funding program in August because the Trump administration passed new rules wherein the organization would no longer be allowed to refer patients to abortion services. Planned Parenthood would have received $60 million in federal funding if they had stayed in the Title X program, but its leaders decided to withdraw.

We're committed to helping all patients get the care they deserve. Through the Planned Parenthood Direct app, you can…

Posted by Planned Parenthood of Southern New England on Saturday, September 7, 2019

The Planned Parenthood Direct app doesn’t take insurance, but birth control can cost as little as $20 for a three-month supply, and users can get birth control just by answering standard questions.

You can check to see if the app is available in your state HERE. This is definitely a small step in the right direction, despite all the negative news surrounding reproductive rights in America right now.

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This Is Why Some Power Lines Have Brightly-Colored Balls on Them

If you’ve paid attention, you’ve probably seen those reddish-orange balls that hang like Christmas lights on power lines here and there, but have you ever stopped to wonder why they adorn some and not others? Is there a reason, or do the electrical companies in some towns just feel more festive than in others?

The verdict is out on whether electricians look at the balls and feel a holiday spirit, but there is a reason for the balls: they’re to keep aircrafts safe.

The helpful little orbs are called visibility marker balls (or just marker balls), and they help make power lines more obvious to low-flying planes and helicopters. The reason you don’t see them everywhere is because they’re typically used near mountain passes, deep valleys, major freeway crossings, and airports – all locations where airplanes are more common and run a greater risk of getting tangled in cables they couldn’t see in time.

Marker balls are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including specifications as far as size and shake. Their diameter must be at least 36 inches on wires that cross canyons, lakes, and rivers but can be as small as 20 inches across on power lines below 50 feet above ground and within 1500 feet of the end of an airport runway.

They’re also required to be spaced evenly – 200-foot intervals on regular wires and 30-50 feet intervals near the ends of runways.

Lines that sport fewer than four balls will be “aviation orange,” but otherwise, the markers should alternate between orange, white, and yellow.

Marker balls came about in the 1970s, when then-Arkansas governor Winthrop Rockefeller noticed how close he came to power lines while landing his aircraft, and they have also come to assist boats in the same manner.

They’re installed by the power companies (sometimes by helicopter), and they allow pilots and boat captains everywhere tpo sleep a little easier.

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Sony Has a New Walkman to Commemorate Its 40th Anniversary

It must’ve been about 1984 when my older brother Rich got a Walkman for Christmas. I was mesmerized by it. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to touch it, but I did admire it from afar until I got my own a few years later and started amassing a killer tape collection featuring hand-me-downs from Rich like AC/DC, The Ramones, and other bands that warped my young mind.

But I digress. We should all be excited that Sony announced it is releasing a Walkman to celebrate the original Walkman’s 40th anniversary. The original Sony TPS-L2 debuted in 1979 and quickly changed the electronics game. It was the first truly portable personal tape player, and it quickly became a staple of music lovers everywhere.

At the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin last week, Sony announced it is releasing a new version of the groundbreaking Walkman. The new Sony NW-A100TPS Walkman looks pretty amazing and is powered by Android.

Sony releases a Walkman for its 40th anniversary.The Sony Walkman is back.The electronics maker will release a new…

Posted by HOT 102 on Tuesday, September 10, 2019

It features a cassette tape interface, and the case has a 40th-anniversary logo on the back. It also has an S-Master HX digital amplifier to give listeners high-res audio, a processor to give compressed audio tracks a higher quality, and a vinyl processor that gives digital tracks a vinyl-like quality.

It also has 26 hours of battery life.

Here’s a video of the new Sony Walkman in action.

I don’t know about you, but my nostalgia just kicked into high gear, and I’m gonna need to get my hands on one of these!

Exciting!

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These Are the Android Apps Infected with New ‘Joker’ Malware That You Should Probably Delete

If you’ve used or are currently using any of the following Android apps, you’ll probably want to get busy erasing them AND you’ll want to check your credit card statement.

Here’s why.

A new malware called “Joker” has made its way into Android apps that ended up in the Google Play store. The malware silently signs users up for subscriptions that might go undetected by people unless they closely look at their monthly credit card statements.

Aleksejs Kuprins, writing at the cybersecurity company CSIS, described how the scam works:

“For example, in Denmark, Joker can silently sign the victim up for a 50 DKK/week service (roughly ~6,71 EUR). This strategy works by automating the necessary interaction with the premium offer’s webpage, entering the operator’s offer code, then waiting for a SMS message with a confirmation code and extracting it using regular expressions. Finally, the Joker submits the extracted code to the offer’s webpage, in order to authorize the premium subscription.”

Google has already removed the bad apps from the Google Play Store, but you should still do a double-check to see if you’ve downloaded or used any of them because they racked up more than 472,000 downloads before they were taken down.

Here’s a list of the infected Android apps (with links).

After you’ve done the deletions (if you needed to), be sure to check your credit card statements back to June of this year to make sure that you don’t have any suspicious charges for subscriptions you didn’t buy.

If you are one of the unlucky ones, the next step is to alert the people in your contact list: the “Joker” malware steals your entire contact list and uploads it to a command and control server, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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This Is Why You Should Never Buy Batteries from Dollar Stores

There are some things that you should simply never buy at dollar stores — like batteries. Batteries from the dollar store are much lower-quality, according to experts.

Walk into any dollar store, and you’ll likely find a rack of batteries sold in bulk packages for just $1 per package. At such a low price, those batteries are definitely tempting (just like everything else at the dollar store).

But before you throw these $1 packages into your cart, you should know that they may not be worth the savings.

Photo Credit: iStock

Dollar stores typically sell carbon-zinc batteries, whereas most name brand batteries (like Duracell or Energizer) are alkaline batteries. Carbon-zinc batteries carry way less energy and therefore last for less time than alkaline batteries.

For example, a AA battery from Energizer carries 10,798 joules, while a battery from Duracell from 9398 joules. A battery from Dollar General? Only 2983 joules. That’s a huge downgrade.

Dollar store batteries are also more likely to leak. Reader’s Digest reports that battery packages from brands like Sunbeam and Panasonic were stamped with warnings that they should be used only in “low-drain” devices, like clock radios.

Photo Credit: iStock

Frankly, it’s a huge pain when batteries run out over and over. It’s also impractical for emergency scenarios, when you need your battery-operated devices to work.

For those reasons, it’s best to just pay the full price for batteries that will provide more power and last longer.

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