Newsletter Archives

• Beware of Google’s .ZIP domain and password-embedded URLs

  Posted on May 29, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.22 • 2023-05-29

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The security community is up in arms, because Google this month started selling domain names with deceptive endings such as .zip and .mov.

  Even worse, some browsers are allowing usernames and passwords to be embedded into URLs. This means following a link can expose users to viruses without any explicit action (such as clicking “OK”).

  Internet-standards bodies years ago prohibited usernames and passwords in URLs — but hackers still do it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Domain names, Google, Internet, Newsletters, security

• The coming battle for control of the Internet

  Posted on April 26, 2021 at 01:06 CDT by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  The Supreme Court is not required to explain itself.

  It decides cases by majority vote, and it is up to the justices to decide how much or how little information to provide to explain why they voted the way they did. Typically, there is one opinion explaining the Court’s decision (and, if the decision is not unanimous, a dissenting opinion explaining the disagreement) and an indication of which justices join in the decision. When a justice takes the additional step of writing a separate opinion, it does not change the outcome but does provide valuable information. Not only does it give us insight into nuances of that justice’s view, it also tells us that the justice considers it so important that it is worth the extra work of explaining it.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.15.0 (2021-04-26).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Legal AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Internet, Legal Brief, Supreme Court