Analysis Shows Google, Facebook and Amazon are More Prone to Password Hacking in 2024

Researchers at Kaspersky revealed that there is an increase in password-hacking on different websites such as Facebook, Amazon and Google.

Facebook, Amazon and Google’s passwords are most seeked out by hackers because they can help them in data theft, credit card fraud and malware distribution. If hackers hack your Google accounts, they can easily get through the passwords of your other accounts. Gmail is like a key for hackers to hack your other account too. Once they get to Gmail, it is not hard for them to hack your other connected accounts too.

Kaspersky analyzed 25 biggest brands to find out which ones are most accessible to cybercriminals. It was found out that there has been a 40% increase in cyber attacks on these brands in 2024 from 2023. There were 26 million attempts recorded to hack passwords on these brands in the first half of 2024 alone.

There was a 243% increase in phishing attacks seen on just Google accounts alone in the first half of 2024. 4 million attacks had been blocked by Kaspersky Security Solution but most of the passwords couldn’t be protected which gave an easy way to hackers. A security expert at Kaspersky, Olga Svistunova, said that there has been a major increase in attacks on Google this year. Hackers who can access Google accounts can easily hack other accounts too.

According to Kaspersky, Facebook recorded 3.7 million phishing attacks while Amazon had 3 million phishing attacks this year. Other brands which were quite vulnerable to hackers and got frequently hacked too were Netflix, DHL, Apple, PayPal, Mastercard and Instagram. Brands which saw an increase in targeting this year were American Express, AirBnB, HSBC, LinkedIn and eBay. Users should always be alert about these types of attacks and should take measures to safeguard their accounts.

Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Survey Reveals Google's Favoritism and AI Threats Are Major Hurdles for SEOs
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Survey Reveals Google's Favoritism and AI Threats Are Major Hurdles for SEOs

According to the survey conducted by Aleyda Solis, Google’s preferences of certain websites and some search features are giving SEOs a hard time. 52% of the SEO respondents said that Google favoring big websites and user generated content are some of the big factors that are giving them a hard time.

The second biggest threat to many SEOs (48%) is Google preferring its own features and services instead of some external sites. 41% said that AI overviews are also affecting their SEO strategies. There are also some things that are slowly becoming threats to SEO experts. Due to many users using LLMs to search for something instead of Google (37%), addition of AI in Google search results (32%) and users searching on social platforms instead of search engines (28%) are also posing some real threats.

Even though these are some major threats to SEOs, some of the SEOs are preparing to combat these threats. The survey also asked SEOs how they are preparing their strategies that can fight off these threats. Most of the SEOs responded that they are planning to improve the quality of their work, and only sharing the content that is engaging, helpful and valuable. Some also responded that they are working on E-E-A-T which refers to experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust and is a collection of signals that are needed to make a website rank.

Some respondents of the survey also reported that they are planning on traffic diversification which basically means that you should focus more on your audience than SEO and Google. Some SEO experts also stay updated on every SEO news and new Google features so they can plan accordingly whenever there is need for it.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

X Takes On Zoom And Google Meet With A New Video Conferencing Tool

A while back, we heard about Elon Musk declaring his desire to make X an all-rounder app. He hoped to include job listings like LinkedIn and payments similar to PayPal. Now, he’s taking on Zoom and Google Meet with tests for a new video conferencing tool.

Thanks to one X employee, we know that the tool is currently in the testing phase as he confirmed taking on an internal conference with this latest offering. As per his comments, the feedback received from other team members was strong and that’s why the company is going ahead with the rollout soon if things go as planned.

They are right now working on bettering the tool with enhancements like pinning speakers and alerts to make users more aware of when people are joining the app or leaving it. The owner of X responded to this post using the fire emoji which clearly indicates he’s thrilled for the launch and also a confirmation that it’s happening.

Remember, Elon Musk is not longer providing responses to long press meets and inquiries so this is the best we can expect from the X owner himself. Meanwhile, one app researcher did show more details on what X users can expect.

This includes creating new meetings through the iOS platform, either quickly or later. So as you can imagine, it’s quite like online tools used for video conferencing.

Meanwhile, another app expert did share how the feature could even allow hosts to set up unique codes for all of their meetings. Participants only need to enter this when they are joining.

BREAKING: Each X Conference will have a unique code that you can share with people to let them join! pic.twitter.com/ZSOYb40QjH

— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) August 23, 2024

For now, there is no confirmed release date or plans for a rollout just yet. But we do hope to see something arriving soon.

X does give users the chance to make the most of video streaming through Spaces already. But at the same time, Zoom and Google Meet give users the chance to switch from one style of conferencing to another. Hence, seeing both the offerings of these apps merged into one will no longer be a surprise to us.

For now, we’re going to keep a close eye on the feature. During the year’s start, X did roll out a calling feature that was switched on for all by default. However, it came with privacy issues like no IP address which masked the protection.

We hope this time around, it’s safer and more secure in terms of privacy.

Read next: Instagram Allows Users To Add Text To Photos Straight From The Editor
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Instagram Allows Users To Add Text To Photos Straight From The Editor

Instagram is giving users the chance to incorporate text into their images, straight from the post editor.

This means users will not be required to use separate platforms to edit images, especially when they only need to incorporate text. Remember, text is always a useful addition to make a certain post stand out from all others in the feed. Similarly, it assists people in seeing information that might become lost inside the caption.

The usual post editor also gives users the chance to add another image on top of the first one as a sticker. After you press the layered photo, you can play around with the shape as per the app’s latest post.

It’s a fun and exciting feature whereby you can find the most clever ways to use the images.

Both Reels and Stories on Instagram are also getting some enhancements regarding text. While some fonts are new, there are also effects and animations added to make them stand out.

The news about the latest feature from Instagram comes at a time when the app is trying to experiment with another offering that’s quite similar to Snap-Map.

Read next: Creators Express Concern After Meta Announces Spark Platform Shut Down
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Creators Express Concern After Meta Announces Spark Platform Shut Down

Creators are not happy with Meta’s sudden decision to pull the plug on its Spark platform. The app gave many third parties the chance to create AR effects but that’s no longer going to be the case.

The news was published on the company’s Facebook community account for Meta Spark. This is where creators spoke about how disappointed they were with the news. Remember, the app was also a means of livelihood for many creators, and shutting doors means putting hundreds out of work.

The news did not come with any warming but as a sudden decision that led to confusion and chaos on the creators’ part. Many are now issuing demands as to why this decision was made as others ask for accountability on Meta’s part.

The effective deadline has been outlined as January of next year after which the AR tools will no longer be in use. However, those already created and under the ownership of Meta will still be available for use across its different apps.

Meta tried to cover up the anger by speaking about how grateful they were to the community and stakeholders who helped make the project a success. It was first rolled out seven years back when AR was first introduced. Since then, it has required a lot of creativity and innovation, also giving rise to extended reach to millions.

All the effects created using Sparks tools were utilized billions of times, Meta confirmed. It would not be wrong to call it one of the company’s biggest AR apps during that era. Moreover, it was not only restricted to Instagram and Facebook but also Messenger. When it launched, it was already in use by 600k creators from more than 190 different nations. Clearly, the app was making head waves.

Meta says the choice to scrap the app was not linked to its popularity or adoption. Instead, it was designed after a proper assessment. According to Facebook’s parent firm, it was a necessary call, and like all of its other offerings, it is prioritizing what it feels can best serve the general public.

There are some reports about Meta making creators and developers happy with better initiatives at this year’s Meta Connect event that will take place next month. This includes the company’s plans to roll out AR smart glasses. Now the question is whether or not that’s going to be a good enough replacement for Spark.

From what we can see right now, it does not seem like it. A lot of creators have invested time, money, and knowledge to transform Spark into an app by which they can make a living. It was doing good for the company and for many creators. Hence, shutting it down is still a mystery that creators may never be able to solve.

For now, if you do have some published effects stored on Meta’s apps, we suggest you save all of your project files before it’s too late.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: This Little-Known US State is a Hidden Gem for Tech Careers – See If Yours Made the List!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

This Little-Known US State is a Hidden Gem for Tech Careers – See If Yours Made the List!

TorGuard conducted a research to find out which states in the USA are best for tech-careers. When we think about high-tech jobs and digital careers, California’s Silicon Valley always comes to mind. But it isn’t the only place where techs are in high demand. The researchers conducted the study by keeping some key factors in mind like hourly salaries, local tech forces, local cost of living, and career opportunities in each state.

The research found that California remains the best state in the USA for tech opportunities. It has an average of $64 hourly salary for techs techs with an average $142,270 annual salary. You may think that second best state for tech careers would be bigger states like New York or Florida, but it’s actually Virginia. Researchers found that Virginia has the second highest job opportunities for tech experts, with Washington coming in third place. Washington offers the highest number of tech jobs for every 1,000 jobs in the state.

The fourth and fifth place was for Maryland and Colorado. Connecticut, which was the 10th best state for tech opportunities, has the most free tech events. Other states in the top ten included Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas and Utah. New York was the 11th best state for tech jobs while Florida was 12th.

On the other hand, the states which had the least amount of tech opportunities were Louisiana (46th), Kentucky (47th), Wyoming (48th) and Mississippi (49th). The state which would be the hardest to find a tech career in is West Virginia. According to researchers, Virginia had a very low cost of living, with low salaries and almost no tech and business events.

Rank	State	Mean annual wage for tech jobs	Median hourly wage per tech jobs	No. of jobs per 1000 jobs	Total tech employees	No. of business establishments	No. of job postings per 1,000 people	Free tech events per 1,000 people	Cost of living as per tech salary	Total score
1	California	1	1	4	1	1	4	5	34	75.83
2	Virginia	6	6	2	3	17	1	26	45	66.19
3	Washington	2	2	1	2	11	14	7	46	65.74
4	Maryland	4	4	3	4	22	2	10	33	63.89
5	Colorado	7	7	5	6	16	3	9	44	58.21
6	Massachusetts	3	3	6	9	9	6	16	4	57.38
7	New Jersey	8	8	8	8	19	5	15	32	51.40
8	Texas	16	17	11	7	4	7	8	39	49.27
9	Utah	19	21	7	5	23	8	6	28	47.84
10	Connecticut	11	11	22	21	25	15	1	20	47.53
11	New York	5	5	19	15	3	34	20	22	47.37
12	Florida	21	23	21	10	2	16	3	19	45.36
13	North Carolina	12	12	9	12	6	11	19	42	44.46
14	Arizona	19	20	13	11	20	12	17	17	41.99
15	Georgia	18	19	15	14	13	13	13	41	40.51
16	Delaware	9	9	12	27	43	17	22	40	40.09
17	Oregon	13	13	18	18	14	22	23	14	39.83
18	Rhode Island	10	10	10	29	39	19	32	26	38.51
19	New Hampshire	14	14	14	22	36	23	38	13	37.81
20	Minnesota	15	15	16	13	15	24	36	38	37.68
21	Illinois	17	18	32	16	7	9	21	43	37.07
22	New Mexico	20	22	27	34	35	36	2	35	36.81
23	Michigan	29	31	24	26	5	20	14	27	34.70
24	Idaho	15	16	34	33	31	10	33	23	33.81
25	Pennsylvania	23	25	25	24	10	40	31	21	32.72
26	Kansas	27	29	20	20	32	13	42	36	32.40
27	Nebraska	33	35	17	17	37	18	27	29	32.31
28	Ohio	25	27	26	25	12	33	40	29	31.60
29	Hawaii	24	26	39	37	39	27	35	2	30.82
30	Alabama	25	27	28	30	24	21	24	37	30.75
31	Wisconsin	34	36	23	19	27	35	18	15	30.73
32	Missouri	38	41	21	23	18	26	29	25	30.42
33	Tennessee	36	39	33	29	8	41	11	24	29.74
34	Nevada	28	30	44	38	29	29	4	11	29.50
35	Vermont	22	24	29	42	42	31	42	5	28.87
36	South Carolina	31	33	31	28	21	41	25	17	28.73
37	Iowa	30	32	30	29	33	25	44	31	27.51
38	Oklahoma	40	43	36	32	32	30	12	29	26.65
39	Indiana	39	42	38	31	28	38	34	16	25.06
40	Alaska	32	34	45	46	46	32	30	3	24.58
41	South Dakota	42	46	37	35	44	28	39	9	23.64
42	Maine	45	37	35	36	38	37	37	1	23.30
43	Arkansas	43	47	40	39	34	39	46	12	21.04
44	North Dakota	41	45	41	40	45	42	41	10	20.90
45	Montana	37	40	42	43	41	47	43	6	20.42
46	Louisiana	26	28	48	45	30	44	45	30	20.20
47	Kentucky	43	48	43	41	26	45	48	8	19.12
48	Wyoming	35	38	47	48	45	46	28	18	18.26
49	Mississippi	44	49	46	44	39	43	47	7	15.20
50	West Virginia	45	44	41	47	40	48	49	1	14.75

This study ranked U.S. states for tech careers using eight weighted metrics. Each metric was scored, scaled, and totaled to determine the rankings. Factors included wages, job numbers, postings, tech businesses, free events, and cost of living, with assigned weights reflecting their impact.

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French President Confirms No Political Motives Behind Arrest Of Telegram’s CEO

The world was stunned to see the CEO of the famous texting platform Telegram arrested after landing in France recently.

A lot of questions were raised including whether or not the decision had a political intention. Now, French President Macron has released a statement on this matter. He confirmed that it was part of an independent investigation and therefore had nothing to do with the country’s politics.

A judicial inquiry was launched last month where Paul Durov was questioned for being involved in a series of criminal acts that went against the law. This is why he was detained after his private jet landed in the country.

In another statement rolled out regarding the matter, a series of violations were so serious and involved child abuse material, fraud, criminal transactions, and even drug trafficking. Also, the fact that his company was unwilling to cooperate with the investigation and share documents with the authorities was concerning.

Macro’s statement on the matter is actually the first ever public comment made regarding this arrest. He posted more on the matter through his social media account on X, adding how France stands by its freedom of expression. But that has its limits and when things go out of the framework and citizens are at risk, no one is above the law.

Macron also called reports terming the CEO’s arrest policy as false information. He says it has nothing to do with politics and the judges will now determine the final verdict on the issue. Durov is currently under detention and it could extend to the evening hours of Wednesday. He would either be released or charged for the allegations put up against him.

Durov holds citizenship in several countries including the UAE, France, the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts, and Russia. Therefore, Russian officials were not happy about the news. They expressed anger at the detention decision.

Russia has gone as far as to call it politics and is a clear proof of hypocrisy linked to freedom of speech concepts in the Western world. Similarly, the decision to put Durov in detention upset Kremlin officials as well. Many Russian critics opposed the Kremlin's decision of blocking Telegram but could not do so and that’s why the ban was withdrawn.

The UAE has also spoken out on the matter and says it’s keeping tabs on the case. They similarly requested France to provide more details on the Durov case on an urgent basis.

The French and UAE military forces have a strong military bond with France in full control of a naval base in the city of Abu Dhabi.

Telegram has close to one billion users around the globe and was first founded by Durov to combat intensifying pressure from Russia over freedom of speech.

Since then, it’s been targeted by many and threatened to be taken down as it didn’t participate in censorship despite being pressured to do so. Countries like Russia did not appreciate it showing the truth about the war with Ukraine and Durove was pressurized to take the site down. He refused and opted to leave the nation.

Russians were able to share news freely and they were very happy to use the app to communicate. Let’s not forget how the platform also served as a famous choice for Ukrainians to get the latest news and updates including those about the war. Interestingly, they were also informed about any air raids and alerts for missile strikes.

After his arrest in France, the app released a statement about how it is following all EU laws. It similarly highlighted its moderation of content to be improving and as per standards.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: TikTok’s New AI Feature Will Change How You Create Content Forever!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World