Internet

For the third year in a row, Amazon's Prime Day sale managed to smash sales records for the company. Though Prime Day sales can certainly feel a little underwhelming to some folks, the idea of a mid-summer sale to rival Black Friday seems to be working out well for Amazon. According to one vendor, however, Amazon may not be entirely genuine with its customers when it comes to some of the discounts it's presenting to them.

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Adobe is dropping the axe on Flash, announcing that the little-loved - and in many cases, like that of Apple's Steve Jobs, actively loathed - plugin is on its last legs. Flash will officially be put out of its misery in 2020, Adobe confirmed today, having already been forced out of contention from mobile. However, the company is also calling on support from some of the big names in internet browsing and technology to see Flash out smoothly.

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One of the most popular television shows is also one of the most pirated television shows: Game of Thrones. The series has been marred by piracy in various ways throughout its life, not the least of which was the major leak that resulted in a handful of episodes hitting torrents networks before airing on HBO. Now that the seventh and final season is underway, HBO is in overdrive trying to protect its property, and it has its sights set on pirates.

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It's been an interesting 48 hours for Verizon customers. Two days ago, some users discovered that Verizon may have been throttling their connections to video services like Netflix and YouTube. What's particularly strange is that under normal circumstances, average users wouldn't even realize they were being throttled.

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Two huge Dark Web marketplaces, peddling illegal drugs, fake documents, firearms, and more, have been shut down in a clandestine sting. US and European investigators collaborated for months on the takedown, which saw AlphaBay and Hansa - together responsible for more than 350,000 "illicit commodities" - first infiltrated and then taken offline. Indeed, police in the Netherlands were able to secretly take control of Hansa and then track what its users were doing.

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For years now, it's been the same old story: Facebook has a massive user base but hasn't quite figured out how to make money from it yet. Facebook has tried a variety of different money making methods, but later on this year, we'll see it try something new. According to new reports, Facebook is planning to implement a subscription service that essentially allows publishers to put a paywall in front of their articles on the platform.

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Photo manipulation tricks human eyes very easily according to a new report. Three researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick have done a number of tests to conclude that "people have poor ability to identify whether a real-world image is original or has been manipulated." In other words - humans do not have any sort of innate sense for discerning reality from computer-edited photography, AKA Photoshopping.

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With security breaches seemingly popping up in the news every other week, by now most of us should (hopefully) know the basics of keeping our data safe online. Today, however, the FBI is trying to draw attention to a potential security risk that is often overlooked: internet connected toys. To hear the FBI lay out its case, it sounds like the organization has a lot of concerns about the data these internet connected toys can collect.

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Another underground dark web market was shut down, according to sources, putting an end to the illegal sale of stolen credit cards, drugs, and more. This market was called AlphaBay and it was reportedly taken down by a joint effort between official in the United States, Canada, and Thailand. A Canadian citizen was allegedly one of the people operating the website, and was found dead in his jail cell after being arrested in Thailand.

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There's a good number of reasons why a company should support Net Neutrality, and a couple why an individual like yourself should, too. Over the past several years, I've come to realize that the Internet is not an essential element in day-to-day life, and because of this, it should not be treated like the other basic utilities like electricity or water. Only those who have the most money should be able to afford the best brand webpages on the Internet - just like health care! ***

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Lines have once again been drawn. Posters and signs once again put up. Voices and arms raised once more on both sides. Yes, it's time again for the great Net Neutrality debates as tech companies call supporters to arms. What was presumed to be a done deal is in danger of being overturned with the turning of the guard. While the final word, legally speaking, will come down to a vote, the debate will carry on and on, long after the vote has been cast. And it is a debate that might not have a clear answer in sight for a long time.

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Google's Backup and Sync, the desktop tool that was introduced last month but then delayed briefly, is now available for Mac and Windows. The tool replaces the current Google Photos desktop uploader as well as Drive for Mac and PC, according to Google; it is faster, easier to use, and more reliable, all important things for an equally important task.

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