An independent privacy audit of Microsoft, Meta, and Google web traffic in California found that the companies may be violating state regulations and racking up billions in fines. According to the audit from privacy search engine webXray, 55 percent of the sites it checked set ad cookies in a user’s browser even if they opted…
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss companies’ responses to being monitored by an ICE contractor, caring about the little things, weight loss drug ads, and how our SXSW shindig went. JOSEPH: This week…
Within moments of opening OpenAI’s new AI slop app Sora, I am watching Pikachu steal Poké Balls from a CVS. Then I am watching SpongeBob-as-Hitler give a speech about the “scourge of fish ruining Bikini Bottom.” Then I am watching a title screen for a Nintendo 64 game called “Mario’s Schizophrenia.” I swipe and I…
A top result on Google for people searching for Claude plugins sent users to a site that recently contained malicious code in an apparent attempt to steal their credentials. The news shows how the explosion of interest in generative AI tools is giving hackers new ways to attack users. The malicious site was flagged to…
Doom: The Dark Ages, Bethesda’s recently released prequel to the demon slaughtering first-person shooter, is using anti-piracy software that’s locking out Linux users who paid for the game. According to multiple posts on Reddit, Doom: The Dark Ages uses the infamous anti-piracy software Denuvo. One Reddit user on the Linux gaming subreddit said that they…
Energy contractor ENGlobal reported that sensitive personal data was stolen by threat actors, with the incident disrupting operations for six weeks
This week, we discuss choosing what to cover, fishing expeditions, and the library.
DeepSeek, a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model, grabbed global attention last month when it stated in a paper that training its DeepSeek-V3 model required less than $6 million in computing power using the lower-capability Nvidia H800 chips. “DeepSeek’s r1 is an impressive model, particularly around what they’re able to deliver for the price,” Altman said…
🌘 Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week. Scientists have directly confirmed the location of the universe’s “missing” matter for the first time, reports a study published on Monday in Nature Astronomy. The idea that the universe must contain…
Shares of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) jumped 8.5% in the afternoon session as the debate around the future of AI continues following the unveiling of DeepSeek. The market is recalibrating and rotating to stocks that are not only more insulated if DeepSeek prevails in the AI arms race but to stocks that may actually benefit…
