Bot Traffic on the Internet Reaches Record Breaking 47.4%

The amount of bots that can be seen online has been a cause for concern for quite some time now. A recent study conducted by Imperva revealed that bot traffic has seen a startling increase of 5.2% year over year, with just under half of all internet traffic now being comprised of bots or 47.4% to be precise. Meanwhile, human traffic has reached record breaking proportions of just 52.6% with all things having been considered and taken into account.

2023 marks the tenth year since Imperva began tracking bots, which the company first started doing back in 2013. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that the firm has noted a continuous increase in bot traffic online, and it turns out that this growth rate is exponential.

In 2022, just 30.2% of internet traffic came from bots. This was a 2.5% increase from last year, and while it might seem better than this year’s numbers, it was still the highest proportion that Imperva had ever seen up until that point.

This will now be the fourth straight year of bot traffic growth, with things first starting to come apart right before the pandemic. Advanced methods for detecting these bots have started coming to light, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, the bots are also becoming ever more innovative.

Last year, 25.9% of all bots that were detected online could be deemed advanced or sophisticated. In 2023, this proportion has nearly doubled to reach 51.2%. This suggests that there is a greater number of bad bots that are harder to detect, which makes it all the more challenging to prevent their malicious actions than might have been the case otherwise.

It bears mentioning that not all bots are bad. Some bots fulfil basic functions that make them necessary, but they are vastly outnumbered by harmful bots. These so called bad bots can help malicious actors conduct DDoS attacks, along with facilitating illegal data scraping and mining, brute forcing as well as intercepting transactions which can lead to considerable financial losses.

A major issue with the advancement of these bad bots is that they can mimic human behavior more effectively. This enables them to circumvent any security protocols that a business may have put in place, which places further strain on the already worn out cybersecurity infrastructure that so many companies are relying on.

As the year progresses and the battle against these bots continues, all eyes will be on the numbers to see if things get worse. If they do, we might be looking at the end of a safe internet.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Data shows Microsoft Bing is struggling amid tough search engine competition

Search engines have proven to be immensely useful resources for finding information in today's technologically advanced society. One of its many advantages, and maybe the most important, is their capacity to deliver pertinent information in a matter of seconds. There would be no doubt in saying that internet has got us thinking that why would we even have to go outside when every single thing could be available with a touch of the button? All thanks to search engines.

For those who are living under a rock, one of the popular search engines is the well known Google. However, when Microsoft Bing first appeared, many thought it would really challenge Google. Unfortunately, Bing's market shares have significantly decreased, that the company did not see coming.

According to data from StatCounter, their desktop market share in April 2022 was 8.05%, but it dropped to 7.14% within a year. Despite this decline, Microsoft saw a slight increase in market share in October 2022, reaching 9.92%. However, it is surprising to see that Google maintained a commanding market share of 86.71% while Microsoft struggled with their way thorough search engine.

You might be wondering, though, that why Microsoft has been unsuccessful with its search engine. Microsoft initially had considerable success with Bing, but everything changed when Google introduced its ground-breaking "Search Generative Experience." The competition became considerably tougher for Microsoft as a result of this new function.

In addition, the pattern is still visible when viewed in the graphic that shows search engine market shares across all platforms, including PCs, tablets, and mobile phones. A lot of people think that having a search engine in addition to Google may be advantageous because market share peaked in October 2022 when they reached 3.59%. However, the market share fell to 2.79% as of April 2023.

Summing up, search engines have fundamentally changed how we obtain information, with Google unquestionably dominating the market. Nonetheless, Microsoft's Bing has had difficulty maintaining its market position and producing sizable profits. Bing had some early success, but his fortunes have since declined. Google continues to rule the search engine industry with a huge market share world-wide as of now. The reason behind this dominance might be the fact that Google serves its users with content while ensuring their privacy and safety and is continuously looking for ways to enhance the experience for people.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Most Parents Are Concerned About The Negative Impact Of Social Media On Mental Health, New Survey Proves

There are so many concerns linked to the growth of social media as time goes by. And a recent survey is shedding light on just that.

Parents are worried that social media takes a negative toll on both kids and adolescents. As per the national survey that had been carried out online by The Harris Poll, results proved how 50% of parents of kids below the age of 18 had a fear that their kids’ mental health was in decline since the past year, thanks to excess usage of social media.

And to best evaluate such conditions regarding how social media affects kids’ mental health, the survey’s authors are now sending out recommendations to both parents and guardians about how they need to settle down and have a regular chats with kids. This was pertaining to the use of such apps and how that can make them feel at the end of it all.

Taking care of children’s mental health in the online world has really become a new chat out of home and also an issue that needs attention on the national level. It was between April 2022 and 2023 that apps like TikTok ended up putting out new measures for safety. Today, so many lawmakers are setting out bills that would restrict access of users to social media.

It’s a positive step in the right direction but it won’t be wrong to mention how parents feel this is not enough. The trend is proving to enhance both anxiety and depression in kids when made use of appropriately. There is so much hurtful language getting used and then you’ve got the likes of bullies to deal with too.

But some experts claim it’s not too bad and the positive light of things much be appreciated too. This includes a sense of belonging to the community as well as great relationships with a great self-understanding.

In the past year, such surveys have depicted how the figure of American respondents that feel social media is positive and has no damaging effect on mental health continues to be in decline. It’s a massive drop from the 43% that we saw last year.

Today’s world has become so digital and it’s become highly integral for both parents as well as caregivers to understand what the pros and cons of this endeavor are and how they can work to conduct open means for communication regarding what kids are going through online.

It’s related to getting curious about what things kids are doing in the online world as well as parents playing some sort of active role in engagement for social media. This is instead of the usual limit for exposure. The end goal is to make more and more people feel comfortable when asking queries and then seeking assistance when they require it.

Today, there are so much fewer parents that would claim that they’re comfortable with chats and children regarding mental health. There’s a 5% drop from 91% to 86% in the year 2023. And to better assist such chats, there need to be more open chats that are routine to really make a difference.

The survey gives both parents as well as guardians a more simple and easy-to-follow guide with the right tools to begin a chat. This is related to what is happening in the social media world and what strategies are getting used in terms of setting boundaries and keeping the world safe.

While experts agree that it might be hard to strike a balance between enabling kids to explore social media and avoiding the hazards that this endeavor brings forward, one thing is for sure. This needs to be done to build a strong relationship of trust to reap the advantages of social media and minimize the risks of negative happenings.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Microsoft Adds New Features To Bing Chat Including Pictures With Answers And Optimized Knowledge Responses

Tech giant, Microsoft has announced a new array of features for its Bing Chat. This includes optimized knowledge responses and images with answers among others.

Some of the features might pop up temporarily in the Bing Chat as the company says it’s only in the trial phase at this moment in time. Therefore, we thought it would be interesting to see what else was on offer by going into the details.

It’s quite clear that Bing Chat has been getting so much visual with each passing day. But now, some of those visuals may end up triggering plenty of knowledge cards including those that mention, ‘click on the image to release a knowledge card that enables you to find more data about diet, lifestyle, habitat, and some more facts’.

Other than that, we’re getting to hear more about Optimized Answers. These are a part of the Bing Chat and have ended up getting more optimized answers which show answers linked to shopping, jobs, cars, recipes, weather, and finance among others. As can be seen in the example, there are comparisons brought forward that are very visual.

Meanwhile, some more features worth a glance include Bing Chat allowing users to export responses toward PDF, text files, or even the likes of Microsoft Word. Moreover, there is even an enhanced copy-and-paste format for codes and other types of formatted blocks for the text that Bing Chat would generate.

And last but not least, users can also include prompts for the likes of formatting such as adding numbers, bullets, and paragraphs.

So, why do most of us care? Well, most people would continue to witness some large and some small enhancements for the long list of generative AI tools up for grabs such as the Bing Chat. This new interface is turning into something that’s more search-friendly and user-friendly as responses continually improve with time.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Steps Up Its Location Data Functionality By Deleting History Of Visits To Sensitive Areas

The modern world of technology brings with it countless benefits but with that does come the drawback of a few unwanted features.

The average smartphone can do a lot of things and that includes making the most of a location tracker that could even put the AirTag to shame. Therefore, this happens to be one of the main reasons why the company made it clear recently how it was planning to switch off location history through a default means.

Moreover, it was set forward in 2022 how the Android maker would also include some greater level of protection so that users that do make use of it can benefit further. This entails forgetting about visits to some very sensitive destinations that are medically themed. And now, we’re seeing the tech giant go back to that same discussion and provide more input on this system and its usual operations.

Last year in July, the search engine giant mentioned how it was going to share this Location History and how it would start to detect all the places that some users deemed to be controversial and sensitive. Others looked at it as something private and wished to delete all traces of such sensitive material from their devices so no one else would know.

The list was not too exhaustive and it did include the likes of medical buildings including counseling centers, abortion centers, fertility clinics, shelters to house victims of domestic abuse, and clinics for weight loss. Other places included rehabilitation centers and clinics for cosmetic surgery procedures as well.

The tech giant failed to include any more new examples for that list but it now is making it very clear how such a functionality does not go about extending to every single medical destination out there.

It’s more like saying hello to general-purpose facilities including hospitals or GP’s clinics that would continue to pop up in the Location History.

In the future, the tech giant does plan on making some more leading changes to this system. And the company also vowed to crack down against any loopholes that might seem like huge risks of sensitive material lasting much longer than it could.

No users would be able to provide a confirmation of visits to such places on the list, it is added through a manual means. But for now, we’re yet to hear more news on this front and what the expected timeframe for such restrictions could be.

As one can imagine, location history is a very private thing and while the debate is never ending regarding how much data should be exposed and how much should be censored, one thing is for sure. Google is really nice enough to take out the time necessary to consider such private matters as a concern.

The goal seems to be striking a balance between both reducing harm and the actual functionality taking place.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google CEO Expresses Great Optimism For AI’s Role In Enhancing The Law Profession

Sundar Pichai is expressing great optimism and positivity about the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the law profession.

The Google CEO says he is willing to put his money where his mouth is in terms of claiming how there would be so many more lawyers, just a decade from today. And that’s all thanks to the improvements that AI technology will bring forward.

Pichai added during his latest interview at The Verge how this might come with the price tag of some consequences that weren’t intended in the first place. But that does not mean we can cancel out the pros linked to it.

The reason why such professions can’t vanish has to do with the fact that there are plenty of law systems that deal with human behavior and their issues. So we’re always going to be needing lawyers.

In the past, many people felt that the advent of modern technology would make complete job categories disappear. But it’s yet to play out completely. For now, it’s not quite clear how the world of AI can affect jobs and various sectors in the future but it’s not as bad as some people may believe.

A while back, people started to predict how the tech world would be affected by huge disruptions in the labor market. And that is definitely one of Pichai’s concerns as well. Today, the Google CEO feels more and more governments need to play an active role in terms of making adaptations. There are plenty of skills that need to be discussed and the fact of the matter is that people cannot underestimate the great benefits that some of these things bring forward.

There are plenty of legal jobs including legal assistants and even paralegals that might be replaced thanks to the world of AI. But as explained by experts, the law industry is not too vast. So many jobs had already been taken up thanks to AI automation before the great popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT arose.

This sort of information is very structured and oriented based on AI language models. It’s going to be very amenable thanks to the generative AI world.

AI will not be able to make legal jobs completely automated because it still requires judgments from humans so that it could meet the demands of both the client as well as the employer. So instead of taking it negatively, people need to look at it with a positive outlook as it would boost productivity.

The Google CEO says he strongly believes both the legal systems and the governments would be required to grapple with the same aura of problems, thanks to the world of emerging technology. Moreover, people are trying hard to think about the huge downsides of AI and that’s also important to be more prepared at an early period of time.

In Pichai’s words, this is the most profound kind of technology that humankind is busy working upon.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

FCC Begins Crack Down Against Those Supporting Robocalls That Engage In Impersonation

The FCC is having zero-tolerance against firms that support impersonation and is now opting to crack down against one such leading company.

One Eye is the name highlighted by the FCC as the firm that was recently blocked by voice service providers after shocking evidence revealed that it was trying to convince people through fake robocalls that impersonated a leading financial institution.

The call mentioned how consumers had placed preauthorized orders and when they were denied, they were told it was in their name now and not a lot could be done about the matter.

As you can imagine, some people were not happy but also did not know who to get out of this leading scam that affected thousands. Moreover, as explained by the FCC, some top gateway providers such as One Eye function as on-ramps in American phone companies for all calls arising outside the nation.

These are necessary to block illegal calls from reaching citizens and since One Eye failed to do just that, despite being given so many chances to end its support for illegal campaigns, it continued to engage in illegal behavior.

Whatever is left of the firm would now be making its way to robocall history, as mentioned by the FCC chair recently. They hope to shut off such providers assisting all types of scammers in the industry as plenty of junk calls aren’t only annoying but they’re illegal and helping such fraudsters really deserves some major consequences.

This is one of its first kinds of robo-blocking orders where voice service providers will be working until June 10 to prevent taking on more traffic by the likes of One Eye.

Moreover, the Enforcement Burea team is designed to create a much more transparent and fair but tough entity through which users can shut access to American communication networks by firms like these. These are designed to target customers making illegal robocalls.

The FCC cited how it was starting its crackdown against such firms as early as February of this year and now it seems to have picked up the pace and is blocking any type of unlawful traffic.

Moreover, the commission also issued another similar kind of order against a tech firm that goes by the name of Global UC from Texas. It similarly started to invite more private firms and people to send out reports that suspect illegal actions.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World