Your Devices May Have Hacker Protection, but Loved Ones Are Snooping Too

When most of us think about digital privacy, we imagine attacks from scammers, hackers, and data thieves. However, what about the person sitting next to you in the living room? It turns out that the overwhelming majority of Americans admit to digital snooping, or accessing someone’s information on a digital device without their permission.

A recent Secure Data Recovery survey asked Americans about their digital snooping habits and opinions to gain a better understanding of when and why people snoop—and who is most likely to do it. Spoiler alert: it’s usually the people closest to us.

Digital Snooping Is Common

The survey found that 82% of respondents have snooped through someone else’s device. While most Americans admit to digital snooping, some do it more than others. 85% of millennials, who came of age during the rise of smartphones and social media, are more likely to snoop than Gen Z (77%). Gender also appears to play a role, as women are more likely to snoop than men.

With this many people admitting to snooping, it’s also interesting to note who regrets it after. While most people feel bad after peeking at their loved one’s devices, over 1 in 3 snoopers report not feeling guilty about it at all. Perhaps these snoopers feel their behavior is justified—or maybe they just haven’t been busted yet. In fact, a surprising 81% of Americans have never been caught snooping.

Snooper’s remorse seems to vary by age and gender. Men are more likely to regret it than women, and (perhaps surprisingly) baby boomers are the generation least likely to regret snooping.

Why do some people choose not to snoop? Only 10% said it was because they believe snooping is not appropriate. Another 10% said it was because they have had no reason to, suggesting they might do so if they felt the need.

What’s Snooped Through and Why?

When people decide to snoop, there are clear patterns in what kind of things they look at.

• Messages: Almost all snoopers (87%) look at messages when they secretly access someone’s device. This category represents a large quantity of information including text messages, emails, and social media DMs.
• Photos/videos: While snoopers may not find pictures as interesting as texts, they apparently still find them worth peeking at. Nearly half (44%) of survey respondents admit snooping around in other people’s photos or videos.
• Browser history: Snoopers also want to know what their loved ones are looking at online, as over 38% check out browser history.
• Private notes: A smaller group of snoopers (12%) look at a device’s private notes.
• Location history: 9% want to know where their loved ones have been by checking out their location history.

Perhaps so many people snoop because they are often rewarded for doing so. Over half of survey respondents have found something incriminating when looking through someone else’s device, suggesting that people may snoop to validate suspicions they already have.

When snoopers make concerning discoveries, 70% said they found evidence of cheating or inappropriate flirting, whether digital or in person. Some 17% caught someone in a lie that was unrelated to relationships, and a small percentage even discovered illegal activity.

Biggest Snooping Targets

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most digital snooping involves romantic partners, indicating that trust issues and insecurities often accompany romantic relationships. However, people also admit to snooping on the devices of other family members, friends, and even work colleagues.

Two-thirds of survey respondents admitted to snooping on their current or former significant other, using digital devices as an easy way to investigate their activities. Perhaps slightly more surprising is that almost as many people snoop on their ex-partners (28%) as their current partners (38%).

Next on the list, 9% admitted to snooping on their children’s devices, showing parents are monitoring their kids’ online activity. Finally, 8% of Americans snoop on friends’ devices. As to why, your guess is as good as ours: Curiosity? Jealousy? Concern?

While not in the majority, a few people also report snooping on their siblings (7%), parents (7%), or coworkers (3%).

What Can You Do About Snooping?

With our lives increasingly conducted online, the temptation to snoop is ever present. Now that you know how prevalent digital snooping really is, it’s up to you to decide how to handle it in your own life. It’s smart to set healthy boundaries and work on building trust with people you know. If you feel the need to snoop, you may want to ask yourself how that reflects on you or your relationship.

Psychological questions aside, you can take technological steps to prioritize your digital privacy. Many basic digital security measures can help prevent snooping, like making smart password choices, using two-factor account authentication, and enabling the Find My iPhone/Device feature. Another way to keep sensitive information from roaming eyes is to level up your lock-screen game. Enable automatic lockout with a screen saver and limit the notifications that show on your lock screen.

If important information of yours has already been compromised or deleted, you may need the help of a professional data recovery service to restore your peace of mind. If not, make sure to take steps today to reduce the chances of snooping or other digital dangers compromising your personal information.

Methodology

Secure Data Recovery asked over 1,000 people across the United States about their digital snooping habits and opinions. Respondents’ ages ranged from 18 to 76 years old.

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by Irfan Ahmad via Digital Information World

Express Freely with Bing Chat’s New Update! Bing Chat Doubles its Character Limit!

Microsoft's Bing Chat, a platform powered by advanced chatbot AI, has recently undergone a significant update that is set to enhance the messaging experience for its users. By increasing the character limits from 2,000 to 4,000, Bing Chat aims to provide users with the ability to ask more complex questions and engage in more in-depth conversations with the chatbot. This improvement comes as part of Microsoft's ongoing efforts to refine its AI technologies and cater to the evolving needs of its users. Alongside other recent features and advancements, the expanded character limits in Bing Chat signify Microsoft's commitment to delivering a comprehensive and user-friendly chatbot experience.

It has made a significant update to its messaging capabilities, increasing the character limits from 2,000 to 4,000. The Bing Chat team at Microsoft has been actively working on enhancing the chatbot AI by introducing new features and improvements. While these updates are usually announced through press releases or blog posts, the latest improvement was revealed in a simple Twitter message.

The Advertising and Web Services leader at Microsoft, Mikhail Parakhin took to Twitter to reveal an exciting development in Bing Chat. Through a shared image, Parakhin showcased a blank Bing Chat question that presented a notable change. Rather than the standard 0/2000 character count, the updated image showcased 0/4000, indicating that Microsoft has expanded each message's character limit in Bing Chat to 4,000 characters.

Prior to this update, Bing Chat users were restricted to a character limit of 2,000 for their questions. However, critics have voiced their concerns online, stating that this limit was insufficient for asking more complex inquiries to the chatbot. Microsoft previously expressed its apprehension about exceeding the 2K character limit, as it had the potential to confuse the chatbot AI.

Microsoft's confidence in expanding the character limit of Bing Chat to 4,000 stems from the valuable development and experience gained since the chatbot's initial launch earlier this year. The company believes that the enhancements made to the chatbot's capabilities have resolved any potential confusion that could arise from longer questions or messages. This step reflects Microsoft's commitment to improving the functionality and user experience of Bing Chat.

Microsoft has been actively adding features to Bing Chat, demonstrating its commitment to its advancement. Just last week, the long-awaited feature, chat history was made available to all users, addressing a frequent user request. Additionally, new export options were introduced, allowing users to save their chats in Word, text, or PDF files.

More updates on Microsoft's Bing Chat and AI innovations are expected to be announced at the upcoming Build Developers conference, scheduled to commence on May 23. The conference will serve as a platform for Microsoft to share further insights and advancements in their AI technologies.

With the expanded character limits and the continuous efforts to improve Bing Chat's functionalities, Microsoft aims to provide a more comprehensive and user-friendly experience for its chatbot users. These updates reflect the company's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of its AI-driven services.

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by Ayesha Hasnain via Digital Information World

The Reliability of AI Detecting Software in Question: ChatGPT Content Goes Undetected

Following the release of ChatGPT and the subsequent emergence of detecting software, various developers and companies have introduced their own Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms aimed at identifying content produced by other AI systems. These detecting software have been positioned as invaluable tools for educators, journalists, and individuals seeking to uncover instances of misinformation, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty. However, a recent study conducted by scholars at Stanford University has cast doubt on the reliability of these detecting software, particularly when evaluating content generated by non-speaker of the English language.

The study's findings reveal a concerning reality. While the detecting software demonstrated impressive accuracy in assessing written essays by American 8th-grade students, their performance noticeably declined when analyzing essays written by non-speaker of the English language taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Surprisingly, the detecting software incorrectly identified a significant portion of the TOEFL essays, falsely categorizing them as AI-generated.

Moreover, the study unveiled a striking revelation: all 7 detecting software randomly labeled a substantial number of the written essays of the students of TOEFL as AI-generated. Astonishingly, at least one detector flagged an overwhelming majority of these essays. James Zou, a senior author of the study and a professor specializing in biomedical data science, explains that this issue arises from the detecting software' heavy reliance on a specific metric associated with writing sophistication.

This metric, intricately linked to language complexity, encompasses various linguistic factors such as lexical richness, diversity, and syntactic and grammatical intricacies. Unfortunately, non-speaker of the English language typically exhibit lower scores on this metric, posing a significant challenge for the detecting software.

The authors of the study, including Zou and his colleagues, emphasize the profound implications of their findings. They draw attention to the potential for unjust accusations and penalties faced by individuals who are foreign-born students or workers due to the inherent unreliability of detecting software. Ethical concerns arise, cautioning against relying solely on existing detecting software as a comprehensive solution to combat AI cheating.

Zou further highlights the vulnerability of detecting software to a phenomenon known as "prompt engineering." This practice involves manipulating generative AI systems by instructing them to revise content using more advanced language, enabling students to easily circumvent the detecting software. Zou provides a straightforward example of how a student could exploit ChatGPT for cheating purposes by inputting the AI-generated text with a prompt to enhance it using sophisticated literary expressions.

To address these challenges, Zou proposes several potential actions. In the short term, he recommends minimizing dependence on detecting software in educational settings with a substantial population of non-speaker of the English language or individuals with limited English proficiency. Developers should explore alternative metrics beyond the one currently used and consider implementing techniques such as embedding subtle clues or watermarks in AI-generated content. Additionally, efforts should be made to enhance the robustness of models against manipulation to improve their overall effectiveness.

As the study raises questions about the reliability and objectivity of detecting software, the search for more robust and equitable solutions to combat AI cheating continues.

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by Ayesha Hasnain via Digital Information World

U.S. Paid Search Spend to Reach $110 Billion in 2023

According to a recent eMarketer/Insiderintelligence projection, US ad search spending would reach a record-breaking $110 billion by the end of 2023.

A recent eMarketer report predicts that this year will mark the first time the U.S. branded search industry surpasses $110 billion. The US is actually experiencing an increase in online marketing spending of 8.2%, which is a little quicker than planned.

Retail media networks (RMNs) are an area of the search industry that is expanding quickly. By 2023, it is predicted that spending on retail media search will have increased by 18.7% from its present levels to close to $30 billion.

If spending keeps up, RMN's digital ad income may reach $106 billion by 2027, from $31 billion in 2021 to $45 billion this year. This number includes more than just searches.

It is clear why digital advertising is so costly, given that sponsored search represents 41.8% of total spending. Businesses spend more on search advertising as customers use the internet for product research and purchasing.

To stay competitive and boost sales, brands have discovered the need for a solid online presence on paid search platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads. The tendency is expected to remain throughout the years that follow.

Marketers now have more alternatives thanks to the rising popularity of RMNs when optimizing their campaigns for more excellent performance and ROI, enabling them to make even more of their budgets while still getting the intended outcomes.

Be prepared for a tough year in search as innovations connected to generative A.I. and conversation on Google and Microsoft's Bing are anticipated to shake things up. Despite the uncertainties, the good news is that overall paid search spending is increasing, especially in retail.

Despite a drop in digital advertising consuming this year, the United States nevertheless made a record-breaking $84.4 billion from search advertising. The projected rise in media spending from print to digital will reach 11.2% yearly by 2024.

Connected TV advertising is expected to generate over $25 billion in revenue in 2021, or 9.5% of the entire revenue from online advertisements. Online advertising spending has risen significantly thanks to the lucrative promoted search industry.

To remain competitive and maximize ROI, paid search marketers should monitor RMNs and other market changes. Brands can plan for the future and put themselves on a successful path by making the appropriate investment now.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

New Anti-Malware Testing Report Names Microsoft’s Defender, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, And Total Defense As The Best Against Web Threats

The evolving world of technology means saying hello to new kinds of threats on the web and that’s why researchers are always on the lookout for the best ways to keep users safe.

This past week, we witnessed AV-TEST unveiling an assessment report for this year’s start. And that is where it was found that the company did fairly well at detecting malicious files. And that too, with a low false positivity rate. But when it came down to performance impact, the score was far from impressive.

The leading firm is setting out its own report for the period of Feb to March of this year. It took into consideration the great threats from the web and also happens to be quite dissimilar to the test designed for malware protection.

The results were certainly in Microsoft’s favor as the computational giant’s Defender ended up barring 100% of the samples tested and that only had false positives that came out to be just two in number. As a whole, 260 live tests were observed, and that in turn reveals how the percentage of false positives is close to nil.

In terms of which firm had the most flawless results in this particular test, it was Kaspersky. The famous anti-virus manufacturer that hails from Russia ended up blocking 100% of all such threats and each of those had just one fake positive result.

Moreover, others including Total Defense had really done a great job in terms of performance and it was able to restrict 100% of the growing threats. Each of those only had one false positive.

Moving on to those that performed the worst and had the highest number of false positives were names such as Trend Micro. It produced a staggering 27 figures for false positives while in second place, Panda stood with around 19. The latter also ended up poorly blocking some of the test cases.

Such reports are designed to help businesses get ahead of the game by blocking out all threats and any targeted attacks. This is one of the main reasons why experts feel great endpoint protection should turn out to be the basis of users’ online protection.

For now, the companies listed above are doing a great job but who knows, there might be others that withstand the test of time in the future.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

TikTok's US Downloads Take a Hit: What's Behind the Drop?

As per a recent AppFigures analysis, the popular short-form video platform TikTok has encountered a noticeable decline in installations, with a substantial thirty-eight percent decrease recorded in the United States alone. This development has raised questions about the factors contributing to this decline and the potential implications for the platform's future growth and user engagement.

According to the latest data, the platform has witnessed a significant drop in downloads within the US market which accounts for approx. thirteen percent of this app's installs globally. The figures indicate a substantial decline in app installations compared to the previous year. This fall has caught the attention of industry experts and analysts, sparking discussions on the reasons behind this downward trend.

Several factors could be contributing to this platform's decline in downloads. One key aspect that may have impacted it is the growing competition in the social media landscape. With the rise of new and innovative platforms, users have a wider range of options to choose from, diverting their attention and potentially leading to a decrease in TikTok's customer acquisition.

Additionally, recent controversies surrounding data privacy and security concerns might have affected consumer confidence in the platform. Heightened scrutiny from regulatory bodies and public debates surrounding TikTok's handling of consumer data has raised skepticism among some potential users, influencing their decision to download and engage with the app.

Furthermore, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overlooked. As restrictions ease and people's daily routines normalize, the surge in this app's popularity witnessed during the height of the pandemic may have waned. With individuals returning to work, school, and other activities, their time and attention may be distributed across various platforms, leading to a decline in TikTok's downloads.

• Also read: Generative AI is Disrupting the Digital Marketing Sector, Here’s What You Need to Know

To address these issues, the platform's management team is likely to employ various strategies to regain momentum and attract new users. This may involve launching targeted marketing campaigns, collaborating with influential content creators, and introducing new features to enhance user experience and retention.

Moreover, its global presence and a strong foothold in other regions could offset the decline in the US market. The platform continues to thrive in many countries worldwide, demonstrating its resilience and potential for growth beyond any short-term setbacks.

While the platform's installations have experienced a significant decline in the US, the full implications of this decline remain to be seen. The platform's response, coupled with evolving user preferences and market dynamics, will shape its future trajectory. Despite the challenges, it remains a prominent player in the social media landscape, constantly adapting and striving to deliver captivating and engaging content to its vast user base.

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Generative AI is Disrupting the Digital Marketing Sector, Here’s What You Need to Know

The stunning rise of ChatGPT 3 disrupted numerous markets around the world, and with the recent release of ChatGPT 4, these disruptions are likely to get even more pronounced. One of the many industries that are facing seismic changes due to the presence of generative AI is that of marketing, and there are multiple ways in which it can make your ad campaigns more effective than might have been the case otherwise. A report released by Goodfirms highlights some of the more prevalent trends in this arena.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that around 45.3% of businesses are planning to start utilizing generative AI like ChatGPT in the future. This is going to lead to rapid growth in the market, with an astonishing CAGR of 34.6% predicted for the rest of the decade.

A lot of this growth is coming from the media and entertainment industry. Approximately 41.7% of the revenue generated by this AI came from this niche, and the growth rate for this specific revenue stream is expected to be around 33.9% CAGR within the next eight to ten years.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, 55.7% of businesses still say that they are unsure of what benefits Generative AI can bring. Also, while 17.4% have already begun using generative AI, 29.8% consider it to be a form of spam. The question of guideline adherence comes into play, as does the potential for generative AI being used for misinformation campaigns and other malicious activities that can do a tremendous amount of harm.

Regardless of these concerns, there are several benefits to generative AI that are nonetheless turning it into an enticing prospect for various marketing professionals. 81.8% of people in the advertising and marketing industry stated that it helps reduce the amount of time they need to get a campaign up and running, with 74.1% mentioning that it makes it easier for them to scale up their campaigns.

For one thing, generative AI can create usable content in an instant. This saves time that would have otherwise gone towards a lengthy creation process. Even if you don’t really entirely on AI for all of your content, you can still use it to come up with cues and ideas that can then be expanded upon.

The fast paced nature of generative AI boosts scalability by offering abundant content volume, and recent advancements have made this content a lot more personalized.

A majority of marketers, or 58.2% to be precise, agreed that using generative AI allows them to make better campaigns for less money. This uptick in cost effectiveness could greatly expand a marketing firm’s ability to meet the needs of its clients with all things having been considered and taken into account.

This is closely interlinked to the aforementioned benefits of content creation. Hiring creators can be a cost intensive endeavor, but generative AI gives markets the chance to take things into their own hands. The content might not be of the same quality, but it won’t be long before generative AI is able to make artwork that is on par with the best human artists.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World