Mini-Robots Working Like Insects can Climb Stairs

Providing further evidence the robots are coming to get us, Reuters has a video of insect-like mini-robots. These devices combine and work together to overcome obstacles. This included stairs and rough terrain. A team of academics in the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne created them.

Google and Facebook Track Users on Porn Sites

A new report from Mircosoft researchers found that Google and Facebook secretly track users’ activity on porn sites. And they weren’t the only ones. Forbes reported that the researchers found that overall 93% of the porn sites they investigated leak user data to third parties.

While FaceApp was only ever accused (wrongly) of accessing photo galleries and user names, the nature of this latest social media exposure goes further, into the darkest recesses of the internet, because “analysis of 22,484 pornography websites,” the researchers say in their report, “indicated that 93% leak user data to a third party.” Despite privacy policies that “were written such that one might need a two-year college education to understand them,” and the false sense of security that private browsing might bring—”this only ensures browsing history is not stored on the computer”—the researchers found that Google and its ecosystem was tracking almost 75% of the porn sites, Oracle almost 25% and Facebook a still eye-watering 10%.

Equifax to pay $700 Million to Halt Data Breach Probes

Equifax is set to pay up to $700 million to halt probes into its massive data breach, CNN reported. 150 million people had data held by the company exposed in a breach revealed in September 2017. It is the biggest ever payout for a data breach.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday that Equifax will pay at least $300 million and as much as $425 million to compensate affected people with credit monitoring services. That money will go into a fund that will also reimburse people who purchased credit- or identity-monitoring services because of the 2017 data breach. The amount of the settlement could change depending on the number of claims still to be filed by consumers. Equifax will also pay $275 million in civil penalties and other compensation to 48 states, Washington, Puerto Rico and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

You Don’t Get to Change Your Mind about The Past in the Future – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 771

So how do these “silent updates” work, anyway? Why can’t I click links in Safari? And will your future self be happy with your past self’s backup-related decisions? These are the hard questions, folks, and your two favorite geeks tackle them just for you. Plus, listen as John and Dave share your tips, Cool Stuff Found, and more. Mac Geek Gab 771 is here just for you. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!