OKCupid experiments with 'bad' matches

29 July 2014 Last updated at 15:47

Dating website OKCupid has revealed that it experimented on its users, including putting the "wrong" people together to see if they would connect.

It revealed the tests after the uproar over Facebook manipulating the feeds of its users.

"If you use the internet, you're the subject of hundreds of experiments at any given time, on every site," it said. "That's how websites work."

OKCupid said one revelation was that "people just look at the picture".

As well as allowing users to upload pictures and set up dating profiles, OKCupid asks users questions and matches them with potential partners based on the answers.

In one experiment, the site took pairs of "bad" matches between two people - about 30% - and told them they were "exceptionally good" for each other, or 90% matches. "Not surprisingly, the users sent more first messages when we said they were compatible," Christian Rudder, one of the founders of OKCupid, said in a blog post on the company's research and insights blog.

Further experiments suggested that "when we tell people they are a good match, they act as if they are. Even when they should be wrong for each other." The company later revealed the correct scores to the participants.

"This shows how easy it is for a company to put at risk the trust that users place in them," Daniel Tozer, a commercial technology partner at the law firm Harbottle and Lewis, told the BBC. "There are data protection issues when you're using users' personal information, especially when it appears OKCupid are actually changing things on the page.

"If you're doing anything extremely unusual with people's data, and I would argue this is the case here, it's always best to seek the consent of your users first."

'Words worth nothing'

In another experiment, OKCupid ran profiles with pictures and no profile text for half of its test subjects, and vice versa for the rest. The results showed that people responded solely to the pictures. For potential daters, Mr Rudder said that "your actual words are worth… almost nothing".

The revelations come as a result of Facebook saying that in late June, it changed some "news feeds to control which emotional expressions the users were exposed to" as part of research in collaboration with two US universities.

The research was conducted on 689,000 Facebook users over a period of one week in 2012.

Many users and observers felt the actions were unethical. In the US, Senator Mark Warner asked the regulator, the Federal Trade Commission, to look into the issue, while a Labour MP in the UK called for an investigation.

OKCupid said that experiments like the ones that it and Facebook ran are part and parcel of creating websites. "It's not like people have been building these things for very long, or you can go look up a blueprint or something," Mr Rudder said. "Most ideas are bad. Even good ideas could be better. Experiments are how you sort all this out."

OKCupid is owned by media conglomerate IAC/InterActive Corp, which owns 50 brands across 40 countries.

These include other major dating sites, like Match.com, as well as news website the Daily Beast and web properties like Dictionary.com.

Are you an OKCupid user affected by the experiment? You can share your experience by email at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using "Dating" as the subject line

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

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Absent fans get robot to do cheering

25 July 2014 Last updated at 16:31 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

A struggling Korean baseball team have invented a novel way to improve atmosphere at their matches - by bringing in a crowd of robot fans.

Hanwha Eagles supporters not able to get to the stadium can control the robot over the internet.

The bots can cheer, chant and perform a Mexican wave - but presumably not invade the pitch.

One expert said giving more fans a chance to "attend" was important for professional clubs.

This was especially the case with top football teams, Matt Cutler, editor of SportBusiness International, told the BBC.

"If you look at all the big clubs, you can't just get a season ticket - you have to sit on a waiting list.

"There is also potential monetisation. You can charge, even if it's a small amount, to give fans a different kind of viewpoint."

Football fan John Hemmingham, who runs the famous England supporters brass band, saw the funny side.

"What happens if a robotic fan misbehaves?" he joked.

"Gets aggressive, abusive, spills a drink... I can see it being fraught with danger. What if it sits in the wrong section? A robotic hooligan!"

Chickens

It is not easy being a Hanwha Eagles fan. In the past five years, they have suffered more than 400 losses - so many that fans of the team are regarded with a degree of sympathy, and have earned the nickname Buddhist Saints.

Less friendly opposition fans describe them as the Hanwha Chickens.

But those who cannot make it to the stadium now have the option of having a robot stand in for them.

As well as being able to control some robot movements, fans can upload their own face to the machine.

Sport for all

While the robots supporting Hanwha will be dismissed as a gimmick by most diehard fans of any sport, there are other, more serious attempts to help more people experience matches.

Continue reading the main story

The days have gone where people are completely engrossed in the match"

End Quote Matt Cutler SportBusiness International

As part of Japan's unsuccessful bid for the 2022 World Cup, the country said it hoped to re-create live matches using holographic technology in other locations. It would mean, in theory, that several stadiums full of fans could be watching the same match at once.

Development on the technology was halted when Japan lost its bid, with Fifa instead choosing Qatar to host the 2022 tournament.

Independent experts were sceptical the virtual reality plan could have ever worked - but praised the ambition.

In the nearer term, simple technology additions to stadiums and arenas are already changing how we enjoy sport.

"Within a short amount of time, nearly every Premier League stadium will have wi-fi," said Mr Cutler.

"Everyone's got a phone with them, checking other things. The days have gone where people are completely engrossed in the match."

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Police placing ads on piracy sites

29 July 2014 Last updated at 00:04 By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

The City of London police has started placing banner advertisements on websites believed to be offering pirated content illegally.

The messages, which will appear instead of paid-for ads, will ask users to close their web browsers.

The move comes as part of a continuing effort to stop piracy sites from earning money through advertising.

Police said the ads would make it harder for piracy site owners to make their pages look authentic.

"When adverts from well known brands appear on illegal websites, they lend them a look of legitimacy and inadvertently fool consumers into thinking the site is authentic," said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu).

"This new initiative is another step forward for the unit in tackling IP crime and disrupting criminal profits.

"Copyright infringing websites are making huge sums of money though advert placement, therefore disrupting advertising on these sites is crucial and this is why it is an integral part of Operation Creative."

Sunblock

The initiative will make use of technology provided by Project Sunblock - a firm used by major brands to stop adverts appearing alongside questionable content such as pirated material or pornography.

Continue reading the main story

Without proper oversight perfectly legal sites may end up losing good advertising opportunities if they are wrongfully included"

End Quote Ernesto Van Der Sar Torrentfreak

Many websites - including those offering pirated content - will use syndication networks to place advertisements on their pages.

Brands use the syndication networks like a wholesaler, and so may not be clear what sites their advert will eventually appear on.

Project Sunblock detects the content of websites to prevent brands' ads appearing where they do not want them.

When a website on Pipcu's Infringing Websites List (IWL) tries to display an advert, Project Sunblock will instead serve the police warning.

Neither the police or Project Sunblock are paying the website in question to display the police message.

Piracy battle

In the past, some have raised concerns about Pipcu's process in adding a website to the IWL.

Ernesto Van Der Sar is the editor of Torrentfreak, a news site that covers issues around online piracy. When Pipcu announced its intentions in March this year, Mr Van Der Sar said he worried about the implications.

"As with all blocklists there is a serious risk of overblocking," he said.

"Without proper oversight, perfectly legal sites may end up losing good advertising opportunities if they are wrongfully included."

The battle against online piracy has seen content creators attempt many different strategies in order to stem the flow of illegal downloading.

In the UK, the courts have ordered internet service providers to block almost 50 different websites offering pirated content, either by direct download or through peer-to-peer sharing.

While effective in lowering the traffic of these sites, filtering is a flawed prevention method - many internet users are adept in using different technologies to circumvent the court-imposed restrictions.

This latest attempt looks to hit the owners of these websites in a more painful way - by stopping advertising revenues from coming in.

Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC

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Russia offers $110,000 Tor bounty

28 July 2014 Last updated at 13:15

Russia has offered 3.9m roubles ($110,000; £65,000) in a contest seeking a way to crack the identities of users of the Tor network.

Tor hides internet users' locations and identities by sending data on random paths through machines on its network, adding encryption at each stage.

The Russian interior ministry made the offer, saying the aim was "to ensure the country's defence and security".

The contest is only open to Russians and proposals are due by 13 August.

Applicants must pay 195,000 roubles to enter the competition, which was posted online on 11 July and later reported by the tech news site Ars Technica.

Earlier this month, Russia's lower house of parliament passed a law requiring internet companies to store Russian citizens' personal data inside the country.

Russia has the fifth-largest number of Tor users with more than 210,000 people making use of it, according to the Guardian.

US-funded network

Tor was thrust into the spotlight in the wake of controversy resulting from leaks about the National Security Agency and other cyberspy agencies. Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed the internal memos and who now has asylum in Russia, uses a version of Tor software to communicate.

Documents released by Mr Snowden allege that the NSA and the UK's GCHQ had repeatedly tried to crack anonymity on the Tor network.

Tor was originally set up by the US Naval Research Laboratory and is used be people who want to send information over the internet without being tracked.

It is used by journalists and law enforcement officers, but has also been linked to illegal activity including drug deals and the sale of child abuse images.

In its 2013 financial statements, the Tor Project - a group of developers that maintain tools used to access Tor - confirmed that the US Department of Defense remained one its biggest backers.

The DoD sent $830,000 (£489,000) to the group through SRI International, which describes itself as an independent non-profit research centre, last year.

Other parts of the US government contributed a further $1m.

Those amounts are roughly the same as in 2012.

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Hacker McKinnon turns search expert

Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker who was the subject of a 10-year legal battle over US extradition, has reinvented himself as a search expert.

Mr McKinnon launched Small SEO, a site where he charges £40 an hour to help businesses get mentioned in search results.

On his site, he says he has more than 20 years' experience in IT services.

He had hacked US government computers but his extradition to face charges there was blocked.

The story was first reported in the Sunday Times. Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is a strategy to make sure a website or web page appears prominently in Google and other search engine results.

Home Secretary Theresa May said in October 2012 that the Briton should be permitted to stay in the UK on human rights grounds after medical reports said he was very likely to try to kill himself if extradited. Mr McKinnon, who had been fighting extradition since 2002, has Asperger's syndrome.

The following month, Mr McKinnon was told he would not face any charges in the UK and that he could start to work with computers again.

'High-quality SEO'

The Free Gary website is still up and running and the site now links to Mr McKinnon's new services. On his website, he says: "My aim is to provide high-quality SEO to small businesses and individuals. All of my clients have so far reached the first page of Google search results for their primary keywords."

Some of the clients in his portfolio include law firm Kaim Todner, tutoring service GMAT Tutor London, and Jamm, "home of the egg roller and the child-safety door stop".

Mr McKinnon was contacted by the BBC, but declined to speak because of a prior agreement with the Daily Mail. He confirmed there were no restrictions on his ability to use computers.

Mr McKinnon was arrested in 2002 and again in 2005 before an order for his extradition was made in July 2006 under the 2003 Extradition Act.

The US authorities tried to extradite Mr McKinnon to face charges of causing $800,000 (£471,000) worth of damage to military computer systems and he would have faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted. Mr McKinnon said he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

US authorities at the time described Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon's actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" that was "calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion".

An extradition warrant for Mr McKinnon is still outstanding, preventing his travel outside the UK.

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Android ID flaw exposes smartphones

29 July 2014 Last updated at 14:00 By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

An Android flaw has been uncovered that lets malware insert malicious code into other apps, gain access to the user's credit card data and take control of the device's settings.

BlueBox Labs said it was particularly concerning as phone and tablet owners did not need to grant the malware special permissions for it to act.

The company added it had alerted Google to the problem in advance to allow it to mend its operating system.

Google confirmed it had created a fix.

"We appreciate BlueBox responsibly reporting this vulnerability to us. Third-party research is one of the ways Android is made stronger for users," said a spokeswoman.

"After receiving word of this vulnerability, we quickly issued a patch that was distributed to Android partners, as well as to the Android Open Source Project."

However, the many thousands of devices still running versions of the operating system ranging from Android 2.1 to Android 4.3 and have not been sent the fix by relevant network operators and manufacturers remain vulnerable if they download apps from outside the Google Play store.

Forged signatures

BlueBox has dubbed the vulnerability Fake ID, because it exploits a problem with the way Android handles the digital IDs - known as certification signatures - used to verify that certain apps are what they appear to be.

The issue is that while Android checks an app has the right ID before granting it special privileges, it fails to double-check that the certification signature involved was properly issued and not forged.

Jeff Forristal, chief technology officer of BlueBox, likened the issue to a tradesman arriving at a building, presenting his ID to a security guard and being given special access to its infrastructure without a phone call being made to the tradesman's employer to check he is really on its books.

"That missing link of confirmation is really where this problem stems," he told the BBC.

"The fundamental problem is simply that Android doesn't verify any claims regarding if one identity is related to another identity."

To make matters worse, he added, a single app can carry several fake identities at once, allowing it to carry out multiple attacks.

Mr Forristal gave three examples of how a faked certification signature might be used to cause harm:

• The app pretends to be created by Adobe Systems - Adobe is granted the privilege of being able to add code to other apps in order to support their use of its Flash media-player plug-in. The malware can take advantage of this to install Trojan horse malware into otherwise authentic programs
• The app uses the same ID used by Google Wallet - the search firm's mobile payment software is usually the only app allowed to communicate with the secure hardware used to make credit card transactions via a phone's tap-to-pay NFC (near field communication) chip. By exploiting this, the malware can obtain financial and payment data that would otherwise be protected
• The app impersonates 3LM software - many manufacturers add their own skins to Android to customise their devices' user interfaces and functions. In the past, HTC, Sony, Sharp, Motorola and others did this by using extensions created by a now defunct business called 3LM. By masquerading as 3LM's software, malware could take full control of the relevant devices and both uninstall their existing software as well as adding spyware, viruses and other damaging content of its own

BlueBox made headlines last July when it revealed the Master Key bug - a coding loophole that could allow hackers to take control of Android devices. Cybercriminals were later spotted using the technique to target users in China.

Mr Forristal said he believed that the Fake ID flaw had the potential to be a bigger problem.

"Master Key did allow a whole device to be taken over... but the user had to be duped into a couple of decisions before the malware would be able to achieve its goal," he explained.

"Fake ID unfortunately occurs in a manner that is hidden to the user - there's no prompts, no notifications, no need for special permissions.

"The user can actually be told the app doesn't want any special permissions at all, which most people would think makes it relatively safe. But once Fake ID is installed it's 'game over' instantly."

Google Play scan

Dr Steven Murdoch, a security expert at the University of Cambridge's computer laboratory agreed this was a serious flaw. But he added that most device owners should still be able to avoid being affected.

"Google will be looking for people who are exploiting this vulnerability in applications being distributed through its own Google Play store," he said.

"So, if that's the only place that you get apps from, you are in a relatively good position.

"But if you download applications from other sources you will be putting yourself at risk."

A spokeswoman from Google confirmed that the company had scanned all the applications in its own store as well as some of those elsewhere.

"We have seen no evidence of attempted exploitation of this vulnerability," she added.

BlueBox is releasing an Android app of its own that will check whether the host device has been patched.

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Wikipedia blocks US Congress edits

25 July 2014 Last updated at 13:12 By Joe Miller Technology Reporter

Wikipedia administrators have imposed a ban on page edits from computers at the US House of Representatives, following "persistent disruptive editing".

The 10-day block comes after anonymous changes were made to entries on politicians and businesses, as well as events like the Kennedy assassination.

The biography of former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was edited to say that he was an "alien lizard".

One staffer said they were being banned for the "actions of two or three".

Edits from computers using the IP address belonging to the House of Representatives have been banned before, following similar acts of vandalism.

Continue reading the main story

Maybe someone at the House of Representatives better think about their IT staff"

End Quote Jimmy Wales Founder of Wikipedia

The latest block comes after rogue edits were brought to light by a Twitter feed, @congressedits, which posts every change made from the government-owned address.

'Russian puppet'

One of the acts highlighted was an alteration to the page on the assassination of John F Kennedy, which was changed to say that Lee Harvey Oswald was acting "on behalf of the regime of Fidel Castro".

An entry on the moon landing conspiracy theories was changed to say they were "promoted by the Cuban government".

Another entry, on the Ukrainian politician Nataliya Vitrenko, was edited to claim that she was a "Russian puppet".

The biography of former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was revised, describing him as an "alien lizard who eats Mexican babies".

However the edit that finally brought administrators to ban anonymous edits from the House IP address was made on the entry for media news site Mediaite, describing the blog as "sexist transphobic" and saying that it "automatically assumes that someone is male without any evidence".

Mediaite had previously run a story on the rogue edits from congressional computers.

Counter productive?

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, told the BBC that the incident did not surprise him, and vandalism has "always gone on and it always will".

But he said that the @congressedits Twitter feed may have been counter-productive.

"There is a belief from some of the [Wikipedia] community that it only provoked someone - some prankster there in the office - to have an audience now for the pranks, and actually encouraged them rather than discouraged them."

He added: "Maybe someone at the House of Representatives better think about their IT staff - they might be hunting them down this very moment."

UK government edits

Earlier this year, the BBC discovered that the phrase "all Muslims are terrorists" was added to a page about veils by users of UK government computers.

That followed a report by the Liverpool Echo which found that insults had been added to the entry for the Hillsborough disaster.

Wikipedia allows any user to make changes to a page, even anonymously.

However, the changes are policed by volunteers, known as Wikipedians, who can reverse false edits, and even impose bans on users who continually flout the site's editing rules.

Collective punishment

Wikipedians have been warning editors from the House of Representatives since March 2012, and moved to block the address for one day earlier this month.

On Thursday, the IP address was blocked for 10 days, but one staffer protested that they were being punished for the actions of a few.

"Out of over 9,000 staffers in the House, should we really be banning this whole IP range based on the actions of two or three?

"Some of us here are just making grammatical edits, adding information about birds in Omsk, or showing how one can patch KDE2 under FreeBSD."

Another user from the Hill was quick to dismiss suggestions that the rogue edits were made by elected officials.

"I think the probability is near zero that these disruptive edits are being done by a member of Congress."

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Beats sued for noise-cancelling tech

28 July 2014 Last updated at 13:10

Headphones-maker Beats Electronics is being sued by rival Bose over its range of noise-cancelling audio gear.

Massachusetts-based Bose claims that Beats has infringed five of its patents.

Bose alleges it has lost sales to its competitor as a consequence. Beats declined to comment.

The legal action comes two months after Apple announced it was buying Beats for $3bn (£1.8bn) - its largest acquisition to date.

One expert said it was not unusual for takeovers to prompt such litigation.

"It's not uncommon, because when companies are in the process of being taken over they don't want the uncertainty of litigation," said Ilya Kazi from the UK's Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys.

"So, they are more likely to be inclined to settle. It's a good time to apply leverage."

The European Union's competition watchdog approved the deal this Monday.

Active noise reduction

The disputed patents have been listed on the Prior Smart patent news site.

Bose was granted the rights to the inventions over a nine-year period ranging from 2004 to 2013.

They all centre on the privately-owned company's development of a technique called active noise reduction (ANR).

"ANR is a technique to reduce unwanted noise by introducing a second sound source that destructively interferes with the unwanted noise," explained Bose's lawyers, Shaw Keller, in documents filed with Delaware District Court.

"ANR headphones typically use at least one microphone to detect unwanted ambient noise, and the headphone speaker produces soundwaves of reverse phase to destructively interfere with the unwanted sound."

They go on to explain that the company originally developed the tech for the US Air Force and US Army, before launching its first noise-cancelling headphones for consumers in 2000.

The lawyers added that Beats had failed to license Bose's tech despite being informed that it was infringing its intellectual property.

"Bose's continued success depends in substantial part on its ability to establish, maintain, and protect its proprietary technology through enforcement of its patent rights," they state.

Beats' site markets its adaptive noise-cancelling feature as the ability to "put the world on mute" on the web pages of its Studio range of headphones.

The feature is fairly common among premium earbuds and headphones with JVC, Sennheiser, Sony and Harman Kardon among other companies to offer the facility.

"Our patents cover our unique approach to active noise cancellation," Carolyn Cinotti, director of public relations at Bose.

"Other companies may have their own unique approach. We don't license our technology to other headphone manufacturers."

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Microsoft in China anti-trust probe

29 July 2014 Last updated at 11:55

An anti-monopoly investigation into US technology giant Microsoft has been launched by Chinese authorities.

China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce - the body responsible for enforcing business laws - said it was looking into "alleged monopoly actions" by the company.

The announcement came after officials from the regulator visited some of Microsoft's local offices.

The company said it "will address any concerns the government may have".

It has not yet been accused of any specific wrongdoing.

Any potential investigation in China would be a fresh setback for Microsoft in the country, a key growth market for global technology firms.

Earlier this year, China said it would ban government use of Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system.

Increased scrutiny?

The visits to Microsoft offices come just days after the China's anti-trust regulator said that Qualcomm, one of the world's biggest mobile chipmakers, had used monopoly power in setting its licensing fees.

The anti-trust case has already seen some local handset makers hold back on signing licences for Qualcomm products, hitting its revenues.

Another technology firm, Interdigital - which specialises in wireless technology - has also faced a similar investigation.

Chinese regulators suspended that investigation earlier this year after Interdigital agreed to change its pricing structure.

However, some have alleged that China is using anti-trust probes to protect domestic firms.

"It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese government has seized on using the [anti-monopoly] law to promote Chinese producer welfare, and to advance industrial policies that nurture domestic enterprises," the US Chamber of Commerce said earlier this year.

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Car firms sued over CD 'rip' system

29 July 2014 Last updated at 16:29

A group representing musicians in the US is suing Ford and General Motors over in-car CD players that allow tracks to be stored on a hard drive.

The entertainment systems can "rip" music from a disc, to save passengers from constantly re-inserting CDs.

The Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies claims the devices are made "for the express purpose" of copying CDs.

It says its members, including MGMT and REO Speedwagon, are due royalties.

In a class action lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia, the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC) claims it repeatedly asked Ford and General Motors "to live up to their statutory obligations" but the firms refused.

The association says its artists are due royalty payments under the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) of 1992, which states musicians are entitled to compensation for the copying of their works.

The defendants, it says, "refused to pay the royalties that [US] congress has determined they owe for the recording devices they manufacture, import, and/or distribute".

The AARC says the devices concerned have been offered in GM brand models including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC, since at least 2011.

A similar device has been available on numerous Ford and Lincoln models.

The AARC is also suing automotive technology company Denso and Clarion, which develops the in-car entertainment systems.

It says other manufacturers of similar devices have complied and are paying royalties.

The AARC represents more than 60% of the recipients of AHRA royalties.

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