Google is the one that pays Reddit $60M/year for AI training. Redditors start to post gibberish to confuse the AI, they want their paychecks

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Google is the one that pays Reddit $60M/year for AI training. Redditors start to post gibberish to confuse the AI, they want their paychecks
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Days ago, it became apparent that Reddit signed a multi-million dollar deal with an undisclosed company to train AI models on the popular forum’s interminable posts and threads.

And, surprise, surprise: this company is Google.

An exclusive Reuters report reads that “Reddit has struck a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search engine giant’s AI models, three people familiar with the matter said”.

The Reddit/Google contract is worth about $60 million per year, according to one of the sources in the report.

This is in addition to Reddit’s high-profile stock market launch that’s expected soon and shows how the popular discussion forum is seeking to generate new revenue “amid fierce competition for advertising dollars from the likes of TikTok and Meta’s Facebook”.

So far, Reddit and Google have declined Reuters a comment.

As we’ve noted before, the Reddit team was eyeing such a contract. In a previous interview, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman (/u/spez) made the site’s motivation clear by stating that “The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable, but we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free”.

I wonder what Redditors will have to say about that – Reddit getting $60 million per year because their – the Redditors’, that is – posts and messages are being used by the world’s best-known $1.779 trillion corporation to train its AI on.

Actually, I don’t have to wonder.

Here’s the people’s answer.

“The living room falls at the same rate as the kitchen which means it can absorb nano-shoes from The British Isles”


“If I don’t get my check, I’m gonna just post complete h*******t. Even more so”, calmly says a Reddit user with the “BrainLate4108” nickname.

And, it’s on.

There are multiple glorious gibberish posts, such as:

  • Sausage bamboo quadrapedia! For ensign? Tomatoes.
  • Comatose quesadillas with a touch of Michelangelo. And to think I was even more impressed with the taste with which the sauce came from this.
  • Wikipedia the sauce with homemade fire. The living room falls at the same rate as the kitchen which means it can absorb nano-shoes from The British Isles. If we gag on history we will confront rocks but punish horses.
  • Birds found a chalice or two in that coin-operated fusebox.
  • The Narwhal Bacons at Midnight?
  • I did accidentally the whole just as mother wanted the cat to.

This is an attempt to confuse the AI and feed in with useless information as a sign of protest. “’The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy”, as Sun Tzu said. No, that was a Mickey Mouse quote he gave in 1278 in Constantinople, Florida to a bunch of skateboarding brachiosauruses. A separate comment (by user “dk_lets_try_this”) reads: “This is why they killed the API. Can’t sell something if you are handing it out for free.”

What the user means is that last year, the forum’s management announced that they were moving to a paid API model, causing more than 6,000 subreddits to go dark in protest and many of the third-party apps to shut down.


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Huawei Pocket 2 is the company’s new flagship flip phone

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Huawei Pocket 2 is the company’s new flagship flip phone
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Huawei has just announced a new flagship flip phone, the Pocket 2. The Huawei P50 Pocket was made official way back in December 2021. That was not only the company’s first flagship flip phone foldable, but the company’s first flip phone foldable in general.

Having said that, fast forward to February 2024, Huawei offered only two clamshell foldables altogether. The Huawei Pocket S was a more budget-oriented device that joined the Huawei P50 Pocket.

The Huawei Pocket 2 is here, a direct successor to the Huawei P50 Pocket

The company has decided to refresh its lineup of clamshell foldables, though. In China, the Huawei Pocket 2 was announced. We were not sure what to expect based on its name, but this is definitely a higher-end phone. So… it can be considered a successor to the Huawei P50 Pocket.

The Huawei Pocket 2 has two circles on the back (when unfolded, and on the front when folded). This design is reminiscent of its predecessors. The top circle is reserved for the phone’s cameras, while the bottom one is where the cover display sits.

The Huawei Pocket 2 is made out of metal and glass/leather. It comes in four color options, Elegant Black, Rococo White, Tahitian Gray, and Taro Purple. The black and purple models come with vegan leather on them. The other two models include glass, but they look almost like they have pieces of marble on them.

Huawei Pocket 2 colors

The Kirin 9000S chip fuels this smartphone, Huawei’s very own 7nm processor. That is the same chip that fuels the company’s current-gen flagships. Huawei also included 12GB of RAM here and is offering a choice between 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage.

It has two LTPO OLED displays, and supports both wired & wireless charging

The phone’s main display measures 6.94 inches, and it’s an OLED LTPO panel. Its refresh rate is adaptive and goes from 1 to 120Hz. This display also offers a 1,440Hz high-frequency PWM dimming and a 300Hz touch sampling rate.

The cover display measures 1.15 inches, offers a 2690 x 1136 resolution, and it’s an OLED panel. It also has an LTPO panel, though this one goes from 1 to 60Hz only, there’s no need for more than that. This display has a 120Hz touch sampling rate and a resolution of 340 x 340 pixels.

HarmonyOS 4.0 comes pre-installed on the phone, while a 4,520mAh battery is included on the inside. The phone supports 66W wired, 40W wireless, and 7.5W reverse wireless charging. It is also IPX8 water and dust-resistant.

Huawei Pocket 2 image 4

There are 5 cameras included here, overall

There are four cameras on the phone, inside that circle, and one on the main display. The four rear cameras are led by a 50-megapixel ‘super-sensing’ camera (f/1.6 aperture, OIS). A 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (f/2.2 aperture) is also included, as is an 8-megapixel telephoto camera (f/2.4 aperture, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 30x digital zoom). You’ll also find a 2-megapixel hyperspectral camera (f/2.0 aperture) back there. On the main display, a 10.7-megapixel ultrawide camera (f/2.2 aperture) is included.

The phone measures 170 x 75.5 x 7.25mm when unfolded. It measures 87.8 x 75.5 x 15.3mm when folded. The vegan leather model weighs 199 grams, while the glass model weighs 202 grams.

The Huawei Pocket 2 pricing starts at CNY7,499 ($1,043) in China and goes all the way up to CNY8,999 ($1,252). There’s still no word on its global launch, but it could happen.


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Kung Fu Panda joins Waze’s driving experience library

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Kung Fu Panda joins Waze’s driving experience library
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Waze continues to add new driving experience to its already impressive portfolio. This time around the navigation app is bringing iconic animation character Kung Fu Panda to its users.

The beloved panda bear, also known as Po, will start offering Waze users wisdom and help to keep their zen when the traffic gets crazy. Po’s prompts will make many of us smile or at least prevent the almost unavoidable stress from ruining our mornings.

Today we shall love our fellow road users as family. Even if they cut us off. Or don’t let us merge. Or never signal! Aaaaaaaargh that drives me so crazy, but we shall love them anyway. Or at least try to.

In addition to receiving words of wisdom from the famous panda, Waze users will also be able to cruise in Po’s custom vehicle, the so-called Panda Van, as well as choose the Spiritual Mood for a more relaxing driving experience while commuting.

In related news, a new Kung Fu Panda 4 movie is coming to theaters on March 8, 2024, so maybe use this driving experience to have Po narrate directions on your way to see the movie?

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Earth Preta Hackers Abuses Google Drive to Deploy Malware

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Earth Preta Hackers Abuses Google Drive to Deploy Malware
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Threat actors abuse Google Drive for several malicious activities due to its widespread use, easy file sharing, and collaboration features.

These things provide a convenient platform to host and distribute malware. Integration with legitimate services makes detecting and blocking malicious content challenging.

Cybersecurity researchers at Check Point recently found SMUGX in July 2023, linked to Earth Preta, hitting Europe. They also found a phishing email with PlugX in Taiwan tied to SMUGX.

Researchers found a new variant, DOPLUGS, which differs from typical PlugX and is mainly used for downloading. 

It employs the KillSomeOne module and was first reported by Sophos in 2020. Earth Preta campaign researchers analyze DOPLUGS, noting its backdoor commands, integration with KillSomeOne, and changes over time.

Document
Live Account Takeover Attack Simulation

Live attack simulation Webinar demonstrates various ways in which account takeover can happen and practices to protect your websites and APIs against ATO attacks.

Technical analysis

DOPLUGS files found since July 2023 indicate victims from Taiwan and Mongolia. File names suggest social engineering tied to recent events, like the January 2024 Taiwanese presidential election.

The “水源路二至五期整建住宅都市更新推動說明.pdf” decoy file relates to a Taiwanese urban renewal project in traditional Chinese.

The Үер усны сэрэмжлүүлэг.pdf decoy warns of floods in Mongolia, in Mongolian. From 2022-2023 VirusTotal data (Asia-focused), Taiwan and Vietnam were prime targets, with fewer attacks in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Malaysia, and Mongolia.

The decoy document 'Үер усны сэрэмжлүүлэг.pdf' (Source - Trend Micro)
The decoy document ‘Үер усны сэрэмжлүүлэг.pdf’ (Source – Trend Micro)

The spear-phishing emails carry a Google Drive link, which leads to a password-protected archive with DOPLUGS malware. 

Disguised as documents, LNK files in the RAR archive download MSI files from https://getfiledown[.]com/vgbskgyu, which helps trigger subsequent file drops.

  • %localappdata%\MPTfGRunFbCn\OneNotem.exe (legitimate executable)
  • %localappdata%\MPTfGRunFbCn\msi.dll (malicious DLL file)
  • %localappdata%\MPTfGRunFbCn\NoteLogger.dat (encrypted payload)
Timeline of the malware evolution (Source - Trend Micro)
Timeline of the malware evolution (Source – Trend Micro)

DOPLUGS includes four backdoor commands, as it is a downloader. Among them, one downloads the PlugX malware.

Infection flow of DOPLUGS (Source - Trend Micro)
Infection flow of DOPLUGS (Source – Trend Micro)

Researchers discovered a new DOPLUGS variant with a KillSomeOne module for malware distribution, information collection, and USB-based document theft.

Unlike the previous version, it employs diverse infection methods. There are similarities with the prior DOPLUGS variant, but it has a distinctive infection approach.

Besides this, it has four components, including a malicious DLL and encrypted payload.

Earth Preta targets global government entities, especially in Asia-Pacific and Europe, using spear-phishing emails and Google Drive links. 

DOPLUGS malware is a vital tool for downloading PlugX. Besides this, a 2018 DOPLUGS variant was also discovered with KillSomeOne module integration, indicating ongoing tool improvement.

Since the Earth Preta remains active, the security teams should stay vigilant about Earth Preta’s tactics.

You can block malware, including Trojans, ransomware, spyware, rootkits, worms, and zero-day exploits, with Perimeter81 malware protection. All are extremely harmful, can wreak havoc, and damage your network.

Stay updated on Cybersecurity news, Whitepapers, and Infographics. Follow us on LinkedIn & Twitter.


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Facebook faces $3.8 billion lawsuit over mass data collection

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Facebook faces $3.8 billion lawsuit over mass data collection
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Facebook is again facing a major legal battle in the UK. It is being sued for 3 billion pounds ($3.77 billion) over allegations of mass data collection. The lawsuit, which legal academic Liza Lovdahl Gormsen filed, accuses the social media giant of unlawfully collecting and monetizing the personal data of 45 million users.

The lawsuit alleges that Facebook has significant access to the user’s data on non-Facebook platforms like Instagram. The plaintiff is now requesting the company compensate for the data collected from 45 million users in the United Kingdom. Lawyers claim Facebook is using its dominance in the market to get away with compensation.

A legal academic in the UK files a lawsuit against Facebook over collecting user’s data and not paying for it

In response, Meta refused the allegations and referred them as “entirely without merit.” The company also said it would vigorously defend against the claims. Additionally, Meta noted the lawyers have forgotten the economic value Facebook provides users.

“We are committed to giving people meaningful control of what information they share on our platforms and who with, and already invest heavily to create tools that allow them to do so,” Meta said.

As the lawsuit claims, Facebook “has caused its UK users to suffer loss and damage, in particular because they have not been adequately compensated for the commercial value of their data collected and monetized by Facebook concerning their activities off Facebook’s social media site.”

Last year, The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) dismissed the allegations against Meta. However, on Thursday, the CAT ruled that Gormsen’s lawyers have proposed a revised claim. And it proceeds to a new trial against the social media giant. Judge Marcus Smith said the case could be heard in “the first half of 2026 at the latest”.

A huge compensation is demanded

The plaintiffs demand compensation between $2.6 – 3.9 (£2.07 – 3.1) billion. If the court rules against Facebook, anyone in the UK with a Facebook account between February 2016 and October 2023 will get a portion of the money.

This could be one of the biggest lawsuits against Meta, and the tech firm could lose a pile of money in a data collection case. Similarly, in 2022, Facebook agreed to pay $725 million to settle the Cambridge Analytica scandal case.


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WhatsApp rolling out new text formatting features to everyone

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WhatsApp rolling out new text formatting features to everyone
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WhatsApp has been testing additional text formatting features for quite some time now. The last report involving this set of new features dates from January and included details about what new options WhatsApp users will eventually get if the app decided to give these the green light.

Thankfully, it looks like WhatsApp is done texting these new text formatting features, at least according to The Verge. No less than four new text formatting options are now rolling out to WhatsApp users on Android, iOS, Web, and Mac.

Starting today, WhatsApp users will be able to use block quotes, inline code, as well as bulleted and numbered lists. These new options are self-explanatory, but it’s worth noting that the inline code option allows users to highlight specific information in a wall of text. To actually enable inline code, you’ll have to wrap the text with the “’” symbol.

In addition to these four new options, WhatsApp offers four text formatting features: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, and Monospace. Also, each of the new text formatting option has a shortcut to make use of it on the fly.


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Google hit with lawsuit over Pixel 6 Pro overheating problem

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Google hit with lawsuit over Pixel 6 Pro overheating problem
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Lawsuits and complaints against Pixel series devices have no end. In the most recent case, a Pixel 6 Pro owner has filed a lawsuit due to overheating issues. The plaintiff, Jennifer Hyatt, alleged that the phone becomes too hot during everyday use.

As Law360 reports, the lawsuit filed with a California court by Hyatt states that the Pixel 6 Pro overheats to the point that it becomes too hot to hold. It also adds the plaintiff bought the $900 phone from a Verizon Wireless store in December 2021.

The customer reportedly selected the Pixel 6 Pro “because the Products were advertised as being normal, usable phones” and labeled as the “smartest, fastest, and most secure Pixel phones.”

Google Pixel 6 Pro reportedly has considerable overheating issues

However, right after buying the phone, Hyatt was supposedly “shocked to discover” that it had become too hot to hold. The lawsuit notes that the Pixel 6 Pro shut down features or stopped working due to overheating. The plaintiff complains the device was advertised as “a functional working phone.” But the overheating defect made it “functionally useless and unreliable.”

The customer has also requested numerous replacement phones from Verizon. But all the phones had the same issue. The case now alleges that Hyatt is financially damaged as she didn’t receive the product she was expecting and paid for.

Google’s false advertisements for Pixel 6 Pro could be a violation of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.

Moreover, the lawsuit accuses Google of sweeping the issue under the rug before selling the phone and proceeding with selling defective devices without notifying customers. It would be interesting to learn if Sundar Pichai has ever encountered the issue while using his 20 phones.

The plaintiff now demands Google to recall all defective Pixel 6 Pro devices. She also wants the company to compensate for damages it caused to buyers.

Google has not yet commented on the matter. Meanwhile, this is not the first time a Pixel series phones has encountered overheating issues. The owners of the Google Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, and Pixel 7 series have all reported similar problems.


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HONOR’s eye-tracking tech moves a car with help from AI

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HONOR’s eye-tracking tech moves a car with help from AI
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The global variant of the HONOR Magic6 Pro will launch in a couple of days at MWC 2024, it already launched in China. As we are getting ready for that event, HONOR decided to demonstrate something interesting. HONOR’s eye-tracking tech moves a car in a new video by Autocar.

HONOR’s eye-tracking tech actually moves a car back and forth in this test

The HONOR Magic6 Pro’s eye-tracking tech is used for this, actually. The test has been conducted in a controlled facility not available to the public, and the video is embedded below the article.

HONOR wanted to demonstrate how its eye-tracking tech, with some help from AI, can do some interesting things, like control a car. James Brighton, a UK-based automotive engineering expert, was asked to be in this video and show you all how this works.

By using this eye-tracking tech, it’s possible to turn this car’s engine off and on. It can also move the car back and forth. Just by gazing at a control button on the screen for a couple of seconds, you can achieve this.

All of this is made possible via a custom app, and the eye-tracking tech on the HONOR Magic6 Pro

This is all done via an app created for this purpose. There are four functions in there, engine on, engine off, move forward, and move back. Now, you can simply press the button, or you can use your eyes to do a specific command.

All you need to do is stare at a specific command for a couple of seconds, and the phone realizes what you want to do. The sensor on the front realizes what the person is looking at, and the AI simply improves that feature.

This test was done to show off the potential of eye-tracking, really. This is only the beginning, but HONOR wanted to emphasize that there are various possibilities for it. The technology is quite capable already, and various integrations could take place moving forward.


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Google paused Android 15 DP1 downloads due to a bug

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Google paused Android 15 DP1 downloads due to a bug
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Google has paused downloads of Android 15 Developer Preview 1 (DP1) due to a bug. The company says an issue with sideloading OTA images is leading to a “Device is corrupted” message on the screen for some users. It has temporarily halted downloads for OTA images until the issue is fixed. The firm recommends that developers flash a factory image to test devices.

Android 15 DP1 downloads halted due to a bug

Last week, Google released Android 15 DP1 for eligible Pixel devices—Pixel 6 series through Pixel 8 series, Pixel Fold, and Pixel Tablet. It gave developers and enthusiasts an early taste of the next Android version. The company has introduced a few new features, including app continuity for the foldable. It lets users continue using an app on the cover screen after folding the device.

However, less than a week after the initial rollout, Google has temporarily suspended downloads for Android 15 DP1 OTA images due to a bug. According to the company, it is a known issue with sideloading the DP1 build. It can “sometimes cause the device to show a ‘Device is corrupted’ message after sideloading is completed.” Owing to the potential disruption the issue can cause, it has disabled downloads for OTA images.

Google says downloads will be resumed after it addresses the problem. In the meantime, developers can flash a factory image to test devices. Note that “flashing to a Developer Preview build from a production build—or going back to a production build from a Developer Preview build—requires a full device reset that removes all user data on the device.” So, make sure to back up the data from your Pixel before you proceed.

As far as the resumption of downloads is concerned, there is no word on that yet. Google doesn’t tell how long it will take to fix the issue with sideloading OTA images. Since Developer Preview builds are primarily meant for developers, this doesn’t affect normal users. However, if the problem persists for a long, it could delay the arrival of Android 15 beta and stable builds down the line.

There are many more known issues

This is the first build of Android 15 available to the public. Unsurprisingly, it is far from stable with a lot of known issues. Google has detailed them all in the official release notes for Android 15 DP1. The company will fix those issues with subsequent releases. There will be one more DP build before we enter the beta stage. Google plans four beta builds, one each in April, May, June, and July. The stable Android 15 update will arrive between August and October.


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