NEWS ABOUT: web surfing
web surfing stories: 12 news briefs
For middle-aged, regular Internet surfing is better than reading
a book: study
BBC Oct 14, 08 3:56 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Sudoku not your thing? Web surfing may help boost brain power and prevent brain shrinkage in middle-aged and older people in a way that reading books cannot, the BBC reports. By studying the brain scans of volunteers aged 55 to 76, researchers found that experienced internet users show enhanced activity in the decision-making and complex reasoning regions of their brains when searching online.
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Experts debate whether kids' online time is
as educational as hitting the books
New York Times Jul 27, 08 2:34 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
As kids spend more time on the internet and less time reading books, a debate is raging over whether online reading is as educational as the traditional kind, the New York Times reports. While the Web allows readers to quickly gobble up multiple perspectives and information, some experts worry that the internet-obsessed are hurting their intellectual development—which they believe is demonstrated by falling test scores.
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Those domains most likely to house ill intent, security study finds
Associated Press Jun 4, 08 3:57 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
A study by antivirus software firm McAfee warns Web surfers to be cautious of sites on certain domains, the AP reports, with corner-cutting registration companies often skipping security precautions. The domains .hk, .cn and .info were found to be riskiest.
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Most popular sites visited by mobile users don't track with hits from home, office PCs
BusinessWeek Jun 1, 08 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Mobile web surfers are turning conventional wisdom on its head by traveling to a different constellation of sites than those visited from workday PCs, BusinessWeek reports. The “Weekend Web” relies not on Google, Yahoo, and MySpace, but rather on Craigslist, eBay, the Weather Channel and MapQuest—and don't think tech-industry and marketing giants aren't noticing.
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CollegeHumor.com editor dishes on the unlikely science of wasting your time
New York Times Apr 20, 08 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Wasting people’s time is an odd job—but it’s also a big business, writes CollegeHumor.com editor Streeter Seidell in the New York Times . Seidell spends his days wading through an “ocean” of submitted videos and other items, choosing which funny or bizarre selections deserve publication. Yet there’s no method to the madness: every day is a guessing game as to what will draw in time-wasters.
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Online fraudsters turn to shorter URLs to make sites look legit
CNET Dec 3, 07 5:52 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Internet phishers are using shorter Web addresses to make their sites seem more legitimate, says IBM's online-security division. The group observed fraudulent URLs dropping from 30-37 characters to an average of 17, reports CNET. "The fact that they felt the need to make this move suggests that they were seeing diminishing returns," said an IBM specialist.
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Packed with new features and stepped-up security
PC World Nov 20, 07 10:12 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Mozilla has rolled out a beta version of its Firefox 3.0 browser, PC World reports. The new version boasts added security and a host of new features - all of which it wants user feedback on while it's in beta, before the final release. The way Firefox manages browsing history has also been revamped, and memory leakage issues are said to have been fixed.
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Women's web usage beats men's, UK study says
Guardian (UK) Aug 23, 07 5:54 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
British women aged 25 to 49 are spending more time online than men for the first time ever, a significant shift that may reverberate across the Web, the Guardian reports. The stereotype of youth ruling cyberspace also takes a hit in a new study—people over 65 average 42 hours a month online, compared to 35 for teens.
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Web minutes seen
as more accurate measure of use
Los Angeles Times Jul 11, 07 5:16 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Nielsen will move to ranking web sites based on how long sites are viewed rather than how many hits a page receives. The shift will boost ratings for AOL and Yahoo, where millions have email accounts, over Google and MySpace. Advertisers will likely still pay rates based on hits, but the change could spur a restructuring of sites, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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"Don't be evil" motto questioned after search giant rated worst on web for user protection
Wired Jun 11, 07 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Google ranks dead last among Internet sites for protecting user privacy, a new study by watchdog group Privacy International concludes. In its 6-month analysis of top e-commerce, social networking, e-mail, and search sites, PI singled out Google for what it called a "entrenched hostility to privacy," citing fuzzy corporate practice around key issues such as how it handles its users' data.
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Meet Kevin Ham, the Donald
Trump of virtual real estate
CNN May 23, 07 6:05 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Kevin Ham rules the shadowy Internet domain name market, having amassed an online real estate empire worth over $300 million, Business 2.0 reports. The doctor-turned-tech tycoon began buying and selling URLs in the nascent days of the web; today he trades hundreds of addresses a day, sometimes for as much as $350,000.
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Lawyers no match for websurfers armed
with anti-priacy code
New York Times May 3, 07 10:50 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The flash riot of Internet crusaders who disseminated the code to decrypt HD DVDs over the last few days should teach entertainment companies to think long and hard about their anti-piracy strategy, the New York Times notes. The standard cease-and-desist letters sent to websites to keep the code out of circulation had the opposite effect.
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