tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/website-912/articlesWebsite – The Conversation2023-11-22T17:05:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165812023-11-22T17:05:13Z2023-11-22T17:05:13ZThe vast majority of us have no idea what the padlock icon on our internet browser is – and it’s putting us at risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559630/original/file-20231115-15-zfe1h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5568%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The padlock icon which appears in most internet browser address bars. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/web-browser-closeup-on-lcd-screen-1353121223">Robert Avgustin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you know what the padlock symbol in your internet browser’s address bar means? If not, you’re not alone. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10447318.2023.2266789">New research</a> by my colleagues and I shows that only 5% of UK adults understand the padlock’s significance. This is a threat to our online safety. </p>
<p>The padlock symbol on a web browser simply means that the data being sent between the web server and the user’s computer is encrypted and cannot be read by others. But when we asked people what they thought it meant, we received an array of incorrect answers.</p>
<p>In our study, we asked a cross section of 528 web users, aged between 18 and 86 years of age, a number of questions about the internet. Some 53% of them held a bachelor’s degree or above and 22% had a college certificate, while the remainder had no further education. </p>
<p>One of our questions was: “On the Google Chrome browser bar, do you know what the padlock icon represents/means?” </p>
<p>Of the 463 who responded, 63% stated they knew, or thought they knew, what the padlock symbol on their web browser meant, but only 7% gave the correct meaning. Respondents gave us a range of incorrect interpretations, believing among other things that the padlock signified a secure web page or that the website is safe and doesn’t contain any viruses or suspicious links. Others believed the symbol means a website is “trustworthy”, is not harmful, or is a “genuine” website. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A symbol of a circle next to a straight line over a straight line and a circle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559903/original/file-20231116-19-zm7pen.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Google’s new ‘tune icon’ which replaces the padlock icon in Chrome’s address bar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://blog.chromium.org/2023/05/an-update-on-lock-icon.html">Google Chromium</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Not understanding symbols like the padlock icon, can pose problems to internet users. These include increased security risks and simply hindering effective use of the technology.</p>
<p>Our findings corroborate research by <a href="https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/222182314/the-lock-icon-replaced-with-a-tune-icon-in-the-google-chrome-address-bar?hl=en">Google</a> itself, who in September, replaced the padlock icon with a <a href="https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/google-to-replace-the-padlock-icon-in-chrome-version-117/#:%7E:text=But%20that's%20about%20to%20change,to%20have%20HTTPS%20by%20default.">neutral symbol</a> described as a “tune icon”. In doing so, Google hopes to eradicate the misunderstandings that the padlock icon has afforded. </p>
<p>However, Google’s update now raises the question as to whether other web browser companies will join forces to ensure their designs are uniform and intuitive across all platforms.</p>
<h2>Web browser evolution</h2>
<p>Without a doubt, the browser, which is our point of entry to the world wide web, comes with a lot of responsibility on the part of web companies. It’s how we now visit web pages, so the browser has become an integral part of our daily lives. </p>
<p>It’s intriguing to look back and trace the evolution of the web’s design from the early 1990s to where we are today. Creating software that people wanted to use and found effective was at the heart of this <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/human-computer-interaction">evolution</a>. The creation of functioning, satisfying, and most importantly, consistently designed user interfaces was an important goal in the 1990s. In fact, there was a drive in those early days to create web interface designs that were so consistent and intuitive that users would not need to think too much about how they work. </p>
<p>Nowadays, it’s a different story because the challenge is centred on helping people to think before they interact online. In light of this, it seems bizarre that the design of the web browser in 2023 still affords uncertainty through its design. Worse still, that it is inconsistently presented across its different providers. </p>
<p>It could be argued that this stems from the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/browser-wars-netscape-internet-explorer.asp">browser wars</a> of the mid-1990s. That’s when the likes of Microsoft and former software company, Netscape, tried to outdo each other with faster, better and more unique products. The race to be distinct meant there was inconsistency between products. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LOWOLJci8d8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The rise and fall of Netscape and the browser wars of the 1990s.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Internet safety</h2>
<p>However, introducing distinct browser designs can lead to user confusion, misunderstanding and a false sense of security, especially when it is <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/principle-of-consistency-and-standards-in-user-interface-design">now widely known</a> that such inconsistency can breed confusion, and from that, frustration and lack of use. </p>
<p>As an expert in human-computer interaction, it is alarming to me that some browser companies continue to disregard <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/">established guidelines</a> for usability. In a world where web browsers open the doors to potentially greater societal risks than the offline world, it is crucial to establish a consistent approach for addressing these dangers. </p>
<p>As a minimum, we need web browser companies to join forces in a concerted effort to shield users, or at the very least, heighten their awareness regarding potential online risks. This should include formulating one unified design across the board that affords an enriched and safe user experience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Carroll does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The padlock symbol simply means that the data being sent between the web server and the user’s computer is encrypted and cannot be read by others. But many people don’t know that.Fiona Carroll, Reader in Human Computer Interaction, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990122023-02-24T17:19:45Z2023-02-24T17:19:45ZHow to avoid falling victim to an online scam – research says slow down<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510557/original/file-20230216-22-ind8te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C8194%2C5413&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's easy to fall for an online scam if you're in a hurry</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/phishing-attack-concept-computer-hacker-using-2103963407">Bits And Splits/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Keeping up with the latest digital cons is exhausting. Fraudsters always seem to be one step ahead. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756322200468X">But our study found</a> there is one simple thing you can do to drastically reduce your chances of losing money to web scams: slow down. </p>
<p>In fact, among the various techniques used by scammers, creating a sense of urgency or the need to act or respond quickly is probably the most damaging. As with many legitimate sales, acting fast reduces your ability to think carefully, evaluate information and make a careful decision. </p>
<p>The COVID lockdowns made us all more reliant on online services such as shopping and banking. Quick to take advantage of this trend, scammers have since increased the rate and spectrum of online fraud. Cybersecurity company F5 found <a href="https://www.f5.com/company/news/features/phishing-attacks-soar-220--during-covid-19-peak-as-cybercriminal">phishing attacks alone</a> increased by over 200% during the height of the global pandemic, compared to the yearly average.</p>
<p>One fraud type many people fall victim to is fake websites (spoof legitimate business or government websites). According to a nonprofit that handles consumer complaints Better Business Bureau, fake websites are <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/27843-bbb-study-update-reported-online-retail-fraud-losses-to-approach-$380m-in-2022">one of the leading reported scams</a>. They caused estimated retail losses of approximately US$380 million (£316 million) in the US in 2022. Actually, losses are probably far higher because many cases go unreported. </p>
<p>We developed a series of experiments to evaluate what factors impact people’s ability to distinguish between real and fake websites. In our studies, participants viewed screenshots of real and fake versions of six websites: Amazon, ASOS, Lloyds Bank, the World Health Organisation COVID-19 donation website, PayPal and HMRC. The number of participants varied, but we had more than 200 in each experiment. </p>
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<img alt="Website address with fishing hooks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510560/original/file-20230216-22-noozoc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fake websites cause millions in retail losses every year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/phishing-website-358076822">wk1003mike/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Each study involved asking participants whether they thought the screenshots showed authentic websites or not. Afterwards, they also took tests to evaluate their internet knowledge and analytical reasoning. <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-40690-5_54">Earlier research has shown</a> analytical reasoning impacts our ability to tell between real and fake news and phishing emails. </p>
<p>People tend to employ two types of information processing – system one and system two. <a href="http://dspace.vnbrims.org:13000/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2224/1/Daniel-Kahneman-Thinking-Fast-and-Slow-.pdf">System one is quick</a>, automatic, intuitive and related to our emotions. We know experts rely on system one to make quick decisions. <a href="http://dspace.vnbrims.org:13000/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2224/1/Daniel-Kahneman-Thinking-Fast-and-Slow-.pdf">System two is slow</a>, conscious and laborious. The ability to perform well on analytical reasoning tasks has been associated with system two but not system one thinking. So we used analytical reasoning tasks as a proxy to help us tell whether people are leaning more on system one or two thinking. </p>
<p>An example of one of the questions in our analytical reasoning test is: “A bat and ball together cost $1.10. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?”</p>
<p>Our results showed higher analytical reasoning ability was linked to a better ability to tell fake and real websites apart.</p>
<p>Other researchers have found time pressure <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404822003297">reduces people’s ability</a> to detect phishing emails. It also tends to engage system one processing rather than system two. Scammers do not want us to carefully evaluate the information but engage emotionally with it. So our next step was to give people less time (about 10 seconds compared to 20 seconds in the first experiment) to do the task. </p>
<p>This time we used a new set of participants. We found participants who had less time to judge the credibility of a webpage showed poorer ability to discriminate between real and fake websites. They were about 50% less accurate compared to the group who had 20 seconds to decide whether a website was fake or real. </p>
<p>In our final study, we provided a new set of participants with 15 tips on how to spot fake websites (for instance, check the domain name). We also asked half of them to prioritise accuracy and take as much time as they needed while the other half were instructed to work as quickly as possible. Working quickly rather than accurately was linked to worse performance, and to poor recall of the 15 tips we provided earlier. </p>
<p>With increasing internet use among all age groups, scammers are capitalising on peoples’ tendencies to use more intuitive information processing mechanisms to evaluate whether a website is legitimate. Scammers often design their solicitations in a way that encourages people to act quickly because they know that decisions made under such conditions are in their favour. For example, advertising that a discount is ending soon. </p>
<p>Muck of the advice about how to identify fake websites suggests you carefully examine the domain name, check for the padlock symbol, use website checkers such as <a href="https://www.getsafeonline.org/checkawebsite/">Get Safe Online</a>, look for spelling errors, and be wary of deals that sound too good to be true. These suggestions, obviously, require time and deliberate action. Indeed, possibly the best advice you could follow is: slow down.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hoax websites are becoming more popular with fraudsters. So it’s more important than ever to protect yourself.Yaniv Hanoch, Professor in Decision Science, University of SouthamptonNicholas J. Kelley, Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782682022-04-13T12:13:41Z2022-04-13T12:13:41ZWhy ‘bad’ ads appear on ‘good’ websites – a computer scientist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457637/original/file-20220412-23-cmehf3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1994%2C1107&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Examples of 'bad ads' found on the web: clickbait articles, potentially unwanted programs, miracle weight loss supplements, gross-out images, and investment pitches.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot by Eric Zeng</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sketchy ads, like those for miracle weight loss pills and suspicious-looking software, sometimes appear on legitimate, well-regarded websites. It turns out that most websites don’t actually decide who gets to show ads to their viewers. Instead, most sites outsource this task to a complex network of advertising tech companies that do the work of figuring out which ads are shown to each particular person. </p>
<p>The online ad ecosystem is largely built around “<a href="https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/publishers-whats-the-difference-between-direct-and-programmatic-ads/">programmatic advertising</a>,” a system for placing advertisements from millions of advertisers on millions of websites. The system uses computers to automate bidding by advertisers on available ad spaces, often with transactions occurring faster than would be possible manually.</p>
<p>Programmatic advertising is a powerful tool that allows advertisers to target and reach people on a huge range of websites. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y5yR8WIAAAAJ&hl=en">doctoral student in computer science</a>, I study how malicious online advertisers take advantage of this system and use online ads to spread scams or malware to millions of people. This means that online advertising companies have a big responsibility to prevent harmful ads from reaching users, but they sometimes fall short.</p>
<h2>Programmatic advertising, explained</h2>
<p>The modern online advertising marketplace is meant to solve one problem: match the high volume of advertisements with the large number of ad spaces. The websites want to keep their ad spaces full and at the best prices, and the advertisers want to target their ads to relevant sites and users.</p>
<p>Rather than each website and advertiser pairing up to run ads together, advertisers work with demand-side platforms, tech companies that let advertisers buy ads. Websites work with supply-side platforms, tech companies that pay sites to put ads on their page. These companies handle the details of figuring out which websites and users should be matched with specific ads. </p>
<p>Most of the time, ad tech companies decide which ads to show through a real-time bidding auction. Whenever a person loads a website, and the website has a space for an ad, the website’s supply-side platform will request bids for ads from demand-side platforms through an auction system called an ad exchange. The demand-side platform will decide which ad in their inventory best targets the particular user, based on any information they’ve collected about the user’s interests and web history from <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-privacy-online">tracking users’ browsing</a>, and then submit a bid. The winner of this auction gets to place their ad in front of the user. This all happens in an instant.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram showing the different entities involved in real time bidding, and the requests and responses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457773/original/file-20220412-23-9qtbd2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When you see an ad on a web page, behind the scenes an ad network has just automatically conducted an auction to decide which advertiser won the right to present their ad to you.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eric Zeng</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Big players in this marketplace include Google, which runs a supply-side platform, demand-side platform and an exchange. These three components make up an ad network. A variety of smaller companies such as Criteo, Pubmatic, Rubicon and AppNexus also operate in the online advertising market. </p>
<p>This system allows an advertiser to run ads to potentially millions of users, across millions of websites, without needing to know the details of how that happens. And it allows websites to solicit ads from countless potential advertisers without needing to contact or reach an agreement with any of them.</p>
<h2>Screening out bad ads: an imperfect system</h2>
<p>Malicious advertisers, like any other advertiser, can take advantage of the scale and reach of programmatic advertising to send scams and links to malware to potentially millions of users on any website.</p>
<p>There are some checks against bad ads at multiple levels. Ad networks, supply-side platforms and demand-side platforms typically have content policies restricting harmful ads. For example, Google Ads has an extensive content policy that forbids illegal and dangerous products, inappropriate and offensive content, and a long list of <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6020955">deceptive techniques</a>, such as phishing, clickbait, false advertising and doctored imagery. </p>
<p>However, other ad networks have less stringent policies. For example, MGID, a <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/native-advertising-guide-businesses">native advertising</a> network my colleagues and I examined for <a href="https://badads.cs.washington.edu/files/Zeng-ConPro2020-BadNews.pdf">a study</a> and found to run many lower-quality ads, has a much shorter <a href="https://help.mgid.com/prohibited-content-products-and-services">content policy</a> that prohibits illegal, offensive and malicious ads, and a single line about “misleading, inaccurate or deceitful information.” Native advertising is designed to imitate the look and feel of the website that it appears on, and is typically responsible for the sketchy looking ads at the bottom of news articles. Another native ad network, content.ad, has no content policy on their website at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three screenshots of misleading political ads" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457639/original/file-20220412-26-ftg3ry.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These political ads from the 2020 election are examples of potentially misleading techniques to get you to click on them. The ad on the left uses Trump’s name and a clickbait headline promising money. The ad in the center claims to be a thank you card for Dr. Fauci but in reality is intended to collect email addresses for political mailing lists. The ad on the right presents itself as an opinion poll, but links to a page selling a product.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshots by Eric Zeng</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Websites can block specific advertisers and categories of ads. For example, a site could block a particular advertiser that has been running scammy ads on their page, or specific ad networks that have been serving low-quality ads. </p>
<p>However, these policies are only as good as the enforcement. Ad networks typically use a combination of manual content moderators and automated tools to check that each ad campaign complies with their policies. How effective these are is unclear, but <a href="https://www.confiant.com/demand-quality-report">a report by ad quality firm Confiant</a> suggests that between 0.14% and 1.29% of ads served by various supply-side platforms in the third quarter of 2020 were <a href="https://www.confiant.com/demand-quality-report#def">low quality</a>. </p>
<p>Malicious advertisers adapt to countermeasures and figure out ways to evade automated or manual auditing of their ads, or exploit gray areas in content policies. For example, in <a href="https://badads.cs.washington.edu/political.html">a study</a> my colleagues and I conducted on deceptive political ads during the 2020 U.S. elections, we found many examples of fake political polls, which purported to be public opinion polls but asked for an email address to vote. Voting in the poll signed the user up for political email lists. Despite this deception, ads like these may not have violated Google’s content policies for political content, data collection or misrepresentation, or were simply missed in the review process.</p>
<h2>Bad ads by design: native advertising on news websites</h2>
<p>Lastly, some examples of “bad” ads are intentionally designed to be misleading and deceptive, by both the website and ad network. Native ads are a prime example. They apparently are effective because native advertising companies <a href="https://www.outbrain.com/blog/native-ads-vs-display-ads/">claim</a> higher clickthrough rates and revenue for sites. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022243719879711">Studies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002764216660140">have</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2015.1115380">shown</a> that this is likely because users have difficulty telling the difference between native ads and the website’s content.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A grid of three native ads that look like news articles. One ad is selling CBD gummies, another is a clickbait story, and the last is trying to sell financial advice." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457631/original/file-20220412-18-uz1ze5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These are examples of native ads found on news websites. They imitate the look and feel of links to news articles and often contain clickbait, scams and questionable products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Screenshot by Eric Zeng</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You may have seen native ads on many news and media websites, including on major sites like CNN, USA Today and Vox. If you scroll to the bottom of a news article, there may be a section called “sponsored content” or “around the web,” containing what look like news articles. However, all of these are paid content. My colleagues and I conducted a <a href="https://badads.cs.washington.edu/files/Zeng-ConPro2020-BadNews.pdf">study</a> on native advertising on news and misinformation websites and found that these native ads disproportionately contained potentially deceptive and misleading content, such as ads for unregulated health supplements, deceptively written advertorials, investment pitches and content from <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/04/21/135514220/webs-content-farms-grow-audiences-for-ads">content farms</a>. </p>
<p>This highlights an unfortunate situation. Even reputable news and media websites are struggling to earn revenue, and turn to running deceptive and misleading ads on their sites to earn more income, despite the risks it poses to their users and the cost to their reputations.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Zeng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A combination of volume, technology and financial need has opened the door to sleazy and dangerous advertisements on reputable websites.Eric Zeng, PhD Candidate in Computer Science & Engineering, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772172022-04-07T12:26:30Z2022-04-07T12:26:30ZHow QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456420/original/file-20220405-20-kbmv1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C5158%2C3405&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">QR codes are visual patterns that store data smartphones can read.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakHongKong/dd01c7a3521b4ab59ba48ee2bc24d09c/photo">AP Photo/Vincent Yu</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the many changes brought about by the pandemic is the widespread use of QR codes, graphical representations of digital data that can be printed and later scanned by a smartphone or other device, but there are some security risks. The <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/qr-code-warning-scams-identity-theft/">Federal Trade Commission warned again in December 2023</a> about the danger of scanning a code from an unknown source.</p>
<p>QR codes have a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/03/25/how-the-pandemic-saved-the-qr-code-from-extinction/">wide range of uses</a> that help people avoid contact with objects and close interactions with other people, including for sharing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/21/qr-codes-have-replaced-restaurant-menus-industry-experts-say-it-isnt-a-fad.html">restaurant menus</a>, email list sign-ups, car and home sales information, and checking in and out of medical and professional appointments. </p>
<p>QR codes are a close cousin of the bar codes on product packaging that cashiers scan with infrared scanners to let the checkout computer know what products are being purchased.</p>
<p>Bar codes store information along one axis, horizontally. QR codes store information in both vertical and horizontal axes, which allows them to hold significantly more data. That extra amount of data is what makes QR codes so versatile.</p>
<h2>Anatomy of a QR code</h2>
<p>While it is easy for people to read Arabic numerals, it is hard for a computer. Bar codes encode alphanumeric data as a series of black and white lines of various widths. At the store, bar codes record the set of numbers that specify a product’s ID. Critically, data stored in bar codes is redundant. Even if part of the bar code is destroyed or obscured, it is still possible for a device to read the product ID.</p>
<p>QR codes are designed to be scanned using a camera, such as those found on your smartphone. QR code scanning is built into many camera apps for Android and iOS. QR codes are most often used to store web links; however, they can store arbitrary data, such as text or images.</p>
<p>When you scan a QR code, the QR reader in your phone’s camera deciphers the code, and the resulting information triggers an action on your phone. If the QR code holds a URL, your phone will present you with the URL. Tap it, and your phone’s default browser will open the webpage. </p>
<p>QR codes are composed of several parts: data, position markers, quiet zone and optional logos. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a black-and-white pattern with four numerical markers attached to arrows pointing to portions of the pattern" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451140/original/file-20220309-17-1jkfl5t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The QR code anatomy: data (1), position markers (2), quiet zone (3) and optional logos (4).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Ruoti</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The data in a QR code is a series of dots in a square grid. Each dot represents a one and each blank a zero in binary code, and the patterns encode sets of numbers, letters or both, including URLs. At its smallest this grid is 21 rows by 21 columns, and at its largest it is 177 rows by 177 columns. In most cases, QR codes use black squares on a white background, making the dots easy to distinguish. However, this is not a strict requirement, and QR codes can use any color or shape for the dots and background.</p>
<p>Position markers are squares placed in a QR code’s top-left, top-right, and bottom-left corners. These markers let a smartphone camera or other device orient the QR code when scanning it. QR codes are surrounded by blank space, the quiet zone, to help the computer determine where the QR code begins and ends. QR codes can include an optional logo in the middle.</p>
<p>Like barcodes, QR codes are designed with data redundancy. Even if as much as 30% of the QR code is destroyed or difficult to read, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-qr-code?op=1">the data can still be recovered</a>. In fact, logos are not actually part of the QR code; they cover up some of the QR code’s data. However, due to the QR code’s redundancy, the data represented by these missing dots can be recovered by looking at the remaining visible dots.</p>
<h2>Are QR codes dangerous?</h2>
<p>QR codes are not inherently dangerous. They are simply a way to store data. However, just as it can be hazardous to click links in emails, visiting URLs stored in QR codes can also be risky in several ways. </p>
<p>The QR code’s URL can take you to a phishing website that tries to <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2022/PSA220118">trick you</a> into entering your username or password for another website. The URL could take you to a legitimate website and trick that website into doing something harmful, such as giving an attacker access to your account. While such an attack requires a flaw in the website you are visiting, such vulnerabilities are <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Cross-site_scripting">common on the internet</a>. The URL can take you to a malicious website that tricks another website you are logged into on the same device to take an unauthorized action. </p>
<p>A malicious URL could open an application on your device and cause it to take some action. Maybe you’ve seen this behavior when you clicked a Zoom link, and the Zoom application opened and automatically joined a meeting. While such behavior is ordinarily benign, an attacker could use this to trick some apps into revealing your data.</p>
<p>It is critical that when you open a link in a QR code, you ensure that the URL is safe and comes from a trusted source. Just because the QR code has a logo you recognize doesn’t mean you should click on the URL it contains.</p>
<p>There is also a slight chance that the app used to scan the QR code could contain a vulnerability that allows <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-malicious-qr-codes-2487772">malicious QR codes to take over your device</a>. This attack would succeed by just scanning the QR code, even if you don’t click the link stored in it. To avoid this threat, you should use trusted apps provided by the device manufacturer to scan QR codes and avoid downloading custom QR code apps.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Ruoti does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Here’s what happens when you scan one of those ubiquitous two-dimensional black-and-white patterns, and why the FTC urges you to use caution.Scott Ruoti, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1623712021-06-08T12:33:25Z2021-06-08T12:33:25ZFastly global internet outage: why did so many sites go down — and what is a CDN, anyway?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405062/original/file-20210608-23-zjvohu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C696%2C5000%2C3046&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you were having difficulty accessing your favourite website on Tuesday evening Australian time, you’re not alone. A jaw-dropping number of major websites around the globe <a href="https://californianewstimes.com/twitch-pinterest-reddit-and-more-go-down-in-fastly-cdn-outage-techcrunch/384198/">suddenly became unavailable</a> with no immediately obvious explanation — before <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/reddit-down-is-amazon-twich-guardian-websites-internet-503-error-fastly-outage-explained-1040594">reappearing an hour later</a>.</p>
<p>It’s disconcerting when the sites we rely on suddenly become inaccessible, and even more so when it happens on <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/numerous-popular-websites-are-facing-an-outage/">such a vast scale</a>. This outage saw seemingly unrelated sites go dark, including the BBC, Pinterest, the Financial Times, Reddit and even The Conversation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402211722715447305"}"></div></p>
<p>How can so many sites, from so many different organisations, all be affected by the same incident? To understand the answer, you need to know what a CDN (<a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/cdn/what-is-a-cdn/">content delivery network</a>) is and how crucial they are to the smooth running of the internet.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remember-apple-airtags-and-find-my-app-only-work-because-of-a-vast-largely-covert-tracking-network-160781">Remember, Apple AirTags and 'Find My' app only work because of a vast, largely covert tracking network</a>
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<hr>
<h2>What happened and what’s a CDN?</h2>
<p>While it’s too early to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of the incident, the internet (once it was accessible again) quickly pointed to the culprit: Fastly.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402205996387389441"}"></div></p>
<p>Fastly is a cloud computing company that provides CDN services to a <a href="https://www.fastly.com/customers/">range of websites</a> including Amazon and Deliveroo. But how can a single company bring down a noticeable proportion of the internet?</p>
<p>When we access a website, we might assume our browser goes off to the internet, talks to the remote site, and then presents the page on our screen. While this is in essence what happens, it masks a much more complicated process, which can include CDN services.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bsq5cKkS33I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is a CDN?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A CDN is a service that allows popular websites to keep copies of their pages closer to their customers. </p>
<p>For example, if we want to browse the BBC website, we could talk directly to a server in the United Kingdom. While the internet is perfectly capable of transferring the web page from the UK to Australia, there is an inevitable delay (perhaps a few hundred milliseconds). And nobody likes delays.</p>
<p>The experience for the user can be up to ten times quicker if a copy of the page (or elements of its content) can be held in Australia and delivered on demand.</p>
<p>Of course, accessing a version of the page held in Australia would work great if you’re in Australia but not so much if you’re in, say, Los Angeles. So, to ensure fast content delivery for everyone around the world, CDNs usually work on a global scale. </p>
<p>A CDN service provider will typically operate data centres around the world, holding copies of popular content in major population centres to deliver content in each region.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402216123102343170"}"></div></p>
<p>The speed of delivery of a single image or page element may not be noticeably faster coming from a CDN — the difference between 200 milliseconds and 20 milliseconds isn’t discernible to most users. </p>
<p>However, modern websites often contain many elements, including images, videos and so on. When combined, the speed improvement through CDNs can be significant.</p>
<h2>So, why did so many sites fail?</h2>
<p>CDN services provide a valuable service to improve our web browsing experience — but at a cost. </p>
<p>When a major CDN provider such as Fastly experiences a failure, it doesn’t affect just one website; it’s likely to impact every website they support.</p>
<p>In Tuesday’s example, sites across the world suddenly went offline as requests for the CDN-hosted content were not serviced.</p>
<p>This incident demonstrates how reliant we are on technology — and on the specific implementations of technology in our modern lives. </p>
<p>If each website we visit hosted its own content exclusively, we would not be facing these issues. However, our web browsing experience would be much slower, reminiscent of the days of dial-up modems (well, perhaps not quite that bad).</p>
<p>Despite the global outage, it was resolved within about an hour. That would <a href="https://status.fastly.com/">seem to indicate</a> it’s unlikely to have been a security- or hacking-related issue. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1402215984354803719"}"></div></p>
<p>It was more likely due to a short-term failure in Fastly’s infrastructure, or a misconfiguration that spread through its systems.</p>
<h2>Could it happen again?</h2>
<p>Fastly is not the only CDN provider. Other high-profile services include Akamai and Cloudflare. Outages are <a href="https://www.catchpoint.com/blog/cloudflare-outage-2019">not uncommon</a>, but they are usually short-lived.</p>
<p>Readers can be assured (assuming you haven’t lost internet again) that service providers are closely watching this incident to ensure lessons are learned for next time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-boost-your-internet-speed-when-everyone-is-working-from-home-135313">How to boost your internet speed when everyone is working from home</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haskell-Dowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To understand what happened, you need to know what a CDN (content delivery network) is, and how crucial they are to the smooth running of the internet.Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1389112020-05-26T12:19:21Z2020-05-26T12:19:21ZThe coronavirus pandemic moved life online – a surge in website defacing followed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337085/original/file-20200522-124860-1ui5x3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5991%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Website defacing can shut down businesses that have moved online during the coronavirus pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/upset-asian-business-woman-with-computer-screen-royalty-free-image/1222373309?adppopup=true">Siriporn Kaenseeya/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One consequence of the public’s compliance with social distancing and quarantines during the COVID-19 pandemic is <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/covidmay12">a sharp decline in most types of crime</a>. It looks like people staying home made communities less conducive to crime.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the news isn’t as good as those numbers alone suggest. Other settings are seeing an increase in crime following the stay-at-home orders. One is the household, where domestic violence is <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-we-know-about-crises-and-domestic-violence-and-what-that-could-mean-for-covid-19/">likely to have increased</a> in the past two months. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://ebcs.gsu.edu/">researchers who study cybercrime</a>, we’re finding that criminal activity seems to be <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-says-cybercrime-reports-quadrupled-during-covid-19-pandemic/">on the rise in the online world</a>, as well. At the same time, many people are relying more heavily than before on online services for work, entertainment and shopping. This makes them <a href="http://www.unicri.it/news/article/covid19_cyber_crime">more likely to become the targets</a> of different types of online crimes. And the websites and online platforms that these internet users access become more attractive targets to motivated hackers who aim to take them over and deface them. </p>
<h2>Wave of website defacing</h2>
<p>Website defacement is the online equivalent of graffiti vandalism. It occurs when a hacker infiltrates a server on which a website is hosted and changes the content of the website with images and text of their own choosing.</p>
<p>Unlike more sophisticated forms of hacking, the act of website defacement does not require hackers to have highly sophisticated skills. In fact, several hacker typologies suggest that this form of online crime can be a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.diin.2015.07.002">stepping stone to involvement in more sophisticated hacking</a>, as well as a way to gain a reputation in the hacking community. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336428/original/file-20200520-152311-bz5xbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A website of a U.K.-based canoe and kayak club was recently defaced.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">sreen grab by David Maimon</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The harm suffered by victims of this online crime varies from loss of trust in the owner of the website to loss of revenue. When business websites are taken down by hackers, they can’t process transactions. During the coronavirus pandemic, many merchants have been forced to shift from face-to-face trade to e-commerce, which means it’s likely that <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/the-covid-19-crisis-is-resulting-in-a-growing-wave-of-small-business-cybercrime">more businesses will become victims</a> of cybercrime. </p>
<p>Findings from a recent analysis we conducted based on information about website defacement activities reported on the hacker information site <a href="http://www.zone-h.org">Zone-h</a>, suggest that the average daily number of website defacement attacks reported in April 2020 is 50% higher than the average daily number of attacks reported in April 2019. Moreover, the volume of website defacement attacks reported by mid May 2020, has already surpassed the volume of attacks reported in May 2019 for the entire month. </p>
<p>This steady increase in the number of daily website defacement attacks started in late March 2020, while January and February stayed steady. This leads us to believe that the pervasive isolation imposed by governments around the globe has given hackers more time to spend online, which became the driving force behind this trend. </p>
<p><iframe id="V5GSj" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/V5GSj/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Smaller sites in the crosshairs</h2>
<p>Our investigation of the types of websites that are being targeted by hackers reveals that large corporations and government entities are less likely to be the victims. The average daily number of sophisticated defacements against government agency and large private business websites have increased from 17.75 attacks per day in February to 21.6 attacks per day in April.</p>
<p>However, the frequency of those attacks is substantially lower than the overall average daily number of website defacements reported by hackers during that period. It appears that websites of small businesses, social clubs and private individuals are being disproportionately targeted by hackers. </p>
<p>Website defacers prefer to attack extremely vulnerable websites because many of them are inexperienced hackers, often referred to as script kiddies. They lack the skills required to attack high-profile targets, but are motivated to gain status among their online peers.</p>
<p>Findings from our analysis suggest that the number of newbie hackers who experiment with website defacement has grown rapidly during the COVID-19 crisis. The average number of reports of defacements by first-time hackers in February was 3.41 per day. In April the number was 6.31 per day, a 77% increase in the number of first-time hackers. </p>
<p>With more new hackers attempting to establish a reputation by attacking vulnerable websites, it is imperative that small business owners and individuals <a href="https://www.techprevue.com/protect-your-website-from-hackers/">protect their websites from attacks</a>. Protection strategies should include keeping the software used to maintain websites up to date, using strong passwords to access the servers that host the websites, preventing website users from uploading files, allowing users to connect to websites via the secure internet protocol (HTTPS) and using website security tools. Fortunately, visitors to defaced websites are generally not at risk.</p>
<p>[<em>Get our best science, health and technology stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/??utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-best">Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138911/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Maimon receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Jordan Howell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vulnerable websites are popping up as organizations move online during the coronavirus pandemic – and hackers have more time at home alone. The result is more websites falling victim to defacement.David Maimon, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State UniversityChristian Jordan Howell, Doctoral candidate in Criminology, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1364842020-05-06T12:18:55Z2020-05-06T12:18:55ZYes, websites really are starting to look more similar<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332845/original/file-20200505-83730-x6srkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5114%2C3409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's a creeping conformity taking place on the web.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rooftops-in-suburban-development-colorado-springs-royalty-free-image/1143351671?adppopup=true">Mint Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few years, <a href="https://medium.com/s/story/on-the-visual-weariness-of-the-web-8af1c969ce73">articles</a> and <a href="https://www.friday.ie/blog/why-do-all-websites-look-the-same/">blog posts</a> have started to ask some version of the same question: “<a href="https://bigtuna.com/why-do-all-websites-look-the-same/">Why are all websites starting to look the same?</a>”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.novolume.co.uk/blog/all-websites-look-the-same/">These posts</a> usually point out some common design elements, from large images with superimposed text, to <a href="https://uxplanet.org/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-hamburger-menu-and-its-alternatives-e2da8dc7f1db">hamburger menus</a>, which are those three horizontal lines that, when clicked, reveal a list of page options to choose from.</p>
<p>My colleagues Bardia Doosti, David Crandall, Norman Su and I were studying the <a href="http://vision.soic.indiana.edu/papers/webevolution2017chi.pdf">history of the web</a> when we started to notice these posts cropping up. None of the authors had done any sort of empirical study, though. It was more of a hunch they had.</p>
<p>We decided to investigate the claim to see if there were any truth to the notion that websites are starting to look the same and, if so, explore why this has been happening. So we ran <a href="http://vision.soic.indiana.edu/web-project/">a series of data mining studies</a> that scrutinized nearly 200,000 images across 10,000 websites.</p>
<h2>How do you even measure similarity?</h2>
<p>It’s virtually impossible to study the entire internet; <a href="https://news.netcraft.com/archives/2020/01/21/january-2020-web-server-survey.html">there are over a billion websites</a>, with many times as many webpages. Since there’s no list of them all to choose from, performing a random sample of the internet is off the table. Even if it were possible, most people only see a tiny fraction of those websites regularly, so a random sample may not even capture the internet that most people experience.</p>
<p>We ended up using the websites of <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/russell_1000index.asp">the Russell 1000</a>, the top U.S. businesses by market capitalization, which we hoped would be representative of trends in mainstream, corporate web design. We also studied two other sets of sites, one with Alexa’s 500 most trafficked sites, and another with sites nominated for <a href="https://www.webbyawards.com/">Webby Awards</a>.</p>
<p>Because we were interested in the visual elements of these websites, as data, we used images of their web pages from <a href="https://archive.org/">the Internet Archive</a>, which regularly preserves websites. And since we wanted to gather quantitative data comparing millions of website pairs, we needed to automate the analysis process.</p>
<p>To do that, we had to settle on a definition of “similarity” that we could measure automatically. We investigated both specific attributes like color and layout, as well as attributes learned automatically from data using artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>For the color and layout attributes, we measured how many pixel-by-pixel edits we would have to make to transform the color scheme or page structure of one website into another. For the AI-generated attributes, we trained a machine learning model to classify images based on which website they came from and measure the attributes the model learned. <a href="http://homes.sice.indiana.edu/bdoosti/Papers/webdesign/p329-doosti.pdf">Our previous work</a> indicates that this does a reasonably good job at measuring stylistic similarity, but it’s very difficult for humans to understand what attributes the model focused on.</p>
<h2>How has the internet changed?</h2>
<p>We found that across all three metrics – color, layout and AI-generated attributes – the average differences between websites peaked between 2008 and 2010 and then decreased between 2010 and 2016. Layout differences decreased the most, declining over 30% in that time frame.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=263&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329454/original/file-20200421-82714-2vu9rd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The graph shows website similarity of companies in the Russell 1000. Lower values mean that the sites studied were more similar, on average.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Goree</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These findings confirm the suspicions of web design bloggers that websites are becoming more similar. After showing this trend, we wanted to study our data to see what kinds of specific changes were causing it.</p>
<p>You might think that these sites are simply copying each other’s code, but code similarity has actually significantly decreased over time. However, the use of software libraries has increased a lot.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=238&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329455/original/file-20200421-82645-ey0sgs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=299&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The graph on the left shows a decline in code similarity among Russell 1000 websites, while the graph on the right indicates an increase in library overlap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Goree</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Libraries feature collections of generic code for common tasks, like resizing a page for mobile devices or making a hamburger menu slide in and out. We looked at which sites had lots of libraries in common and how similar they looked. Sites built with certain libraries – Bootstrap, FontAwesome and JQuery UI – tended to look much more similar to each other. This could be because these libraries control page layout and have commonly used default options. Sites that used other libraries, like SWFObject and JQuery Tools, tended look much different, and that might be due to that fact that those libraries allow for more complex, customized pages.</p>
<p>The changes of websites from 2005 to 2016 illustrate what’s happening.</p>
<p>Sites with average similarity scores in 2005 tended to look less similar than those with average similarity scores in 2016.</p>
<p>For example, in 2005, Webshots.com and Yum.com were considered relatively similar, but had somewhat different color schemes and very different layouts. While they both mostly use white, blue and black, the site on the right has a blue background.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332794/original/file-20200505-83740-rkjqe6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshots from 2006 of Webshots.com and Yum.com.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Goree</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two 2016 sites, Xfinity.com and Gilt.com, on the other hand, are even more similar: They both have a menu bar on the top and are primarily white and black with images. These pages have much less text and make better use of the higher resolution monitors that exist now.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332836/original/file-20200505-83745-nl06nz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screenshots from 2016 of Xfinity.com and Gilt.com.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Goree</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is conformity healthy?</h2>
<p>What should be made of this creeping conformity?</p>
<p>On the one hand, adhering to trends is totally normal in other realms of design, like fashion or architecture. And if designs are becoming more similar because they’re using the same libraries, that means they’re likely becoming more accessible to the visually impaired, since popular libraries are <a href="https://darekkay.com/blog/accessible-ui-frameworks/">generally better at conforming to accessibility standards</a> than individual developers. They’re also more user-friendly, since new visitors won’t have to spend as much time learning how to navigate the site’s pages.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the internet is a shared cultural artifact, and its distributed, decentralized nature is what makes it unique. As home pages and fully customizable platforms like NeoPets and MySpace fade into memory, web design may lose much of its power as a form of creative expression. The Mozilla Foundation <a href="https://internethealthreport.org/2018/">has argued</a> that consolidation is bad for the “health” of the internet, and the aesthetics of the web could be seen as one element of its well-being.</p>
<p>And if sites are looking more similar because many people are using the same libraries, the large tech companies who maintain those libraries may be gaining a disproportionate power over the visual aesthetics of the internet. While publishing libraries that anyone can use is likely a net benefit for the web over keeping code secret, big tech companies’ design principles are not necessarily right for every site.</p>
<p>This outsize power is part a larger story of consolidation in the tech industry – one that certainly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/opinion/tech-companies-coronavirus.html">could be a cause for concern</a>. We believe aesthetic consolidation should be critically examined as well.</p>
<p><em>Bardia Doosti, David Crandall and Norman Su contributed to this article.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136484/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Goree does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Design bloggers have long had creeping suspicion of a more monolithic web, so a team of researchers decided to analyze the aesthetics of nearly 10,000 websites.Sam Goree, PhD Student in Informatics, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1246312019-10-31T12:55:30Z2019-10-31T12:55:30ZWebsite privacy options aren’t much of a choice since they’re hard to find and use<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299532/original/file-20191030-17868-w33qup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=463%2C337%2C2250%2C1606&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If only it were as easy as pushing a button.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/privacy-button-147123530">REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’ve probably encountered a pair of shoes that won’t stop following you around the internet, appearing in advertisements on different sites for weeks. </p>
<p>Today, the vast majority of advertising is targeted – that is, you see an ad because an advertiser thinks that you, specifically, might be interested in what they have to offer. You may have visited a store page for a pair of shoes, or maybe there’s something in your internet browsing history that places you in their target demographic. </p>
<p>While many websites offer a way to opt out of targeted advertisements or unwanted emails, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ROhRS9gAAAAJ">we</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=kIUqgbcAAAAJ">discovered</a> in <a href="https://www.usenix.org/conference/soups2019/presentation/habib">our recent research</a> that exercising privacy choices isn’t always easy. But that helped us formulate some simple solutions that could make things easier for users around the web.</p>
<h2>Anything but standardized</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3sEYZIEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Our</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2XCryp4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">team</a> of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zg29qGEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">research</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X57uzqcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">collaborators</a> examined the privacy choices available on 150 English language websites. On each site, we searched for three common types of privacy choices: requests to be removed from – that is, opt out of – email marketing, opt-outs for targeted advertising and data deletion choices. For each privacy choice, we noted where on the website it was located and the steps required to exercise the choice.</p>
<p>The good news is that most websites do offer relevant opt-outs or data deletion options. Eighty-nine percent of sites with email marketing or targeted advertising offered opt-outs for those practices, and 74% had a way for users to request their data be deleted.</p>
<p>More good news: Nearly all websites had a privacy policy link on their homepage, and many of these policies included privacy choices. </p>
<p>The bad news is that the privacy policies we surveyed were long – on average 3,951 words. They were difficult to read, with only one-third including a table of contents. These policies were written well above the eighth grade reading level <a href="https://privacyrights.org/resources/lost-fine-print-readability-financial-privacy-notices-hochhauser">considered appropriate for the general public</a>. Worse, the sections containing privacy choices were even harder to read and understand than the rest of the policy, requiring university-level reading ability.</p>
<p>Key terms aren’t standardized across privacy policies on different sites. When we examined privacy policy section headings, we looked for phrases that appeared in multiple policies, such as “your choices” and “opt out.” Unfortunately, we did not find much consistency.</p>
<p><iframe id="2Q7Xa" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/2Q7Xa/8/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>That makes it difficult for users to scan or search for key words or phrases that might help them understand their options. Users would benefit from standardized language across all websites that describes their privacy choices.</p>
<p>Even when a user manages to find a site’s privacy choices, it may not be clear how to use them.</p>
<p>We learned that some opt-out links, instead of leading to an opt-out tool, went to the homepage of an advertising industry association that hosts an opt-out tool, but elsewhere on the site. Other links were broken. Some policies contained multiple links to various advertising opt-outs, but the sites didn’t explain the differences between the links or whether a user would need to visit one or all of them. </p>
<p>One particular website we encountered, Salesforce, linked to six different advertising opt-out tools. In our view, users should not have to parse a website’s complicated third-party relationships; the websites themselves should make it easy for users to opt out of targeted advertising, no matter who is serving it.</p>
<h2>Uncertain effects</h2>
<p>Once someone does manage to opt-out, it’s not always clear what will happen.</p>
<p>Most websites we visited did not tell users exactly what they could opt out of. Some websites let users request to not be tracked for advertising, while others allow users to opt out of targeted advertising but not the tracking. In this case, a hypothetical shoe ad wouldn’t appear on the site, but the company advertising the shoes may learn that you visited the site.</p>
<p>Only about half of the websites that offered opt-outs for targeted advertising explained whether opting out of seeing targeted ads also meant that users would not be tracked. Users might believe they are protecting themselves from tracking when in fact they are not.</p>
<p>Even when the choices are clear, the pages are not always easy to use. </p>
<p>For example, to opt out of all of Amazon’s email communications, we had to scroll past a list of 79 options before seeing the option to “opt out of all marketing.”</p>
<p>At The New York Times, deleting the data they’d gathered on us required completing 38 different actions, including finding and reading the privacy policy, following the link to the data deletion request form, selecting a request type, selecting up to 22 check boxes, filling in eight form fields, selecting four additional confirmation boxes and completing an “I am not a robot” test.</p>
<p>Even if these design decisions are unintentional, companies are effectively deterring their users from exercising privacy choices.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298564/original/file-20191024-170493-1jvilnc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sites use their own language to signal to users where they might delete their data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usenix.org/sites/default/files/conference/protected-files/soups19_slides_habib.pdf">Habib et al</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Consistency is key</h2>
<p>When it comes to digital privacy, we think consistency is key.</p>
<p>Websites need to provide choices that are easy to find, understand and use. They should simplify things by offering one-click opt-out options that consolidate multiple links and dozens of options.</p>
<p>It should go without saying that the opt-out links need to actually work.</p>
<p>If websites offer users the ability to make fine-grained choices, it would be helpful to put them all in one place and adopt consistent terminology.</p>
<p>Furthermore, websites need to clarify what opt-out options do.</p>
<p>And perhaps most important, regulators should hold companies accountable not only for offering choices, but for choices that are specific and that consumers can actually use.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hana Habib receives funding from Carnegie Mellon CyLab. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorrie Cranor receives funding from Bosch, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Carnegie Mellon CyLab, DARPA, DuckDuckGo, Facebook, an endowed professorship established by the founders of FORE Systems, Google, Innovators Network Foundation, NSA, and NSF. She is affiliated with the ACM Technology Policy Council, the Computing Research Association, the Future of Privacy Forum, the Aspen Institute Cybersecurity Group, and the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law. </span></em></p>Many sites offer the ability to ‘opt out’ of targeted advertisements, but doing so isn’t easy. Simplifying and standardizing opt-outs would help improve privacy on the web.Hana Habib, Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Software Research, Carnegie Mellon UniversityLorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1225592019-09-09T13:55:01Z2019-09-09T13:55:01ZHere’s why the internet will always have enough space for all our devices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291528/original/file-20190909-109952-winjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wires-connected-network-server-249558610?src=RSTyNrEohyWGk3Muo65mxQ-1-22">Stock image/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It seems that every five years, news emerges that the digital sky is falling in. Back in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/the-internet-is-running-out-of-addresses-but-dont-worry/60242/">2010</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/internet-now-officially-too-big-ip-addresses-run-out-n386081">2015</a>, rumours spread that the internet would soon run out of IP addresses. Now, the regulator of Europe’s internet domains has <a href="https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/getting-ready-for-ipv4-run-out">predicted</a> that the region’s 1.91m remaining addressees will most likely run out before 2020. </p>
<p>Every computer and smartphone must have an IP address to access the internet. IP is short for Internet Protocol, and like your postcode, it has to be sufficiently unique, as this ensures all connected devices can accurately send and receive data between themselves. This is how the device you’re using is able to view this article. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291523/original/file-20190909-109952-jdpzmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An IP address is the unique identifying code for each device accessing the internet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/ip-icon-3-types-color-black-1024076437?src=mzy_Iwzry9IUccMV3nJFKA-1-2">ASAG Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But when IP address were designed in the 1980s – (yes, that long ago) – they thought that making digital addresses <a href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/bit-binary-digit">32 numbers long</a> would ensure enough variety for there to be a different address for every electronic device on Earth. A sequence of numbers 32 digits long gives two to the power of 32 combinations, allowing a different internet address for 4.2 billion devices.</p>
<p>Back then, this was more than enough as so few people even knew about the internet. But in 2019, some homes may have as many as 20 IP addresses – one for each electronic device. That includes games consoles, smartphones, smart light bulbs, smart speakers, laptops, smart televisions and so on. These IP addresses are being used up across Europe at a rate of 11 every minute. </p>
<h2>How the internet keeps expanding</h2>
<p>So why am I fairly relaxed about all this? The internet addresses that are running out are “version 4” addresses. Their use increased significantly when the internet was becoming popular for ordinary users from the mid-1990s onwards. But experts recognised over 15 years ago that a better addressing system was needed. The newest one we have is version 6. As you will recall, version 4 addresses are 32 digits long. Version 6 has 128. That gives two to the power of 128 combinations, or 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses. This equals 340 <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undecillion">undecillion</a> potential addresses – a magnificently large number. </p>
<p>Electronic devices are more and more often using the new version 6 addresses, but there are still plenty of devices, web servers and internet communication technologies such as your home router which use the old version 4. It will take a long time to replace, especially considering the number of devices already using the internet.</p>
<p>So will longer and longer IP addresses be needed to keep up as the internet expands into new devices? Not quite. New technology can redirect the internet traffic of 16m devices through a single IP address. Chances are, your home router and mobile phone provider are already doing this. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291525/original/file-20190909-109931-13kaois.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The future could allow all kinds of home devices access to the internet – including cat flaps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fat-scottish-cat-lying-bed-next-585926387?src=UI5_SlabHuPm50B3epm36w-1-3">Osobystist/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s the main reason why there’s no particular need to panic when internet authorities announce that addresses are running out. Thanks to technological ingenuity, one single address could now support another 16m, while each of the 16m could be split into another 16m, and so on.</p>
<p>This reminds us of how many devices are probably using the internet at any given <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/17518/internet-use-one-minute/">moment</a>. Every IP address, every home router could, if it had sufficient processing power, support millions of devices – allowing everything from the cat flap to your fish tank to be connected to the internet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How can the internet accommodate more and more users every day?Andrew Smith, Senior Lecturer in Networking, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189982019-06-20T20:02:33Z2019-06-20T20:02:33Z30 years since Australia first connected to the internet, we’ve come a long way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280347/original/file-20190620-171183-16vpzce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=520%2C305%2C4446%2C2919&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Out of the science labs, our internet connectivity is now part of our everyday lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/AngieYeoh </span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of our occasional long read series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/zoom-out-51632">Zoom Out</a>, where authors explore key ideas in science and technology in the broader context of society and humanity.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When Australia joined the global internet on June 23, 1989 – via a connection made by the University of Melbourne – it was mostly used by computer scientists.</p>
<p>Three decades later, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0">more than 86% of Australian households</a> are connected to the internet.</p>
<p>But it was a slow start. At first, network capacity was limited to very small volumes of information.</p>
<p>This all changed thanks to the development of vastly more powerful computers, and other technologies that have transformed our online experience.</p>
<p>One of those technologies is probably in front of you now: the screen.</p>
<p>Look at how you view the web, email and apps today: not just on large desktop screens but also handheld devices, and perhaps even an internet-connected wristwatch. </p>
<p>This was barely imaginable 30 years ago. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280351/original/file-20190620-171208-7wnul9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today you can get share price updates on your internet connected Apple Watch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyasuzuki/17281936100/">Flickr/Shinya Suzuki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Connected to the world</h2>
<p>By the time Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australia-connected-to-the-internet-25-years-ago-28106">first connected</a>, the internet had been developing for 20 years. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ARPANET">very first network</a> had been turned on in the United States in 1969.</p>
<p>Australia too had networks during the 1980s, but distance and a lack of interest from commercial providers meant these were isolated from the rest of the world.</p>
<p>This first international link provided just 56 kilobits of national connectivity. A 20th of a megabit for the whole country! That is not even enough to play a single piece of music from a streaming service (encoded at 128kbs), and it would take a week for a movie to be transferred to Australia.</p>
<p>But at that time digital music, video and images were not distributed online. Nor was the internet servicing a large community. Most of the users were academics or researchers in computer science or physics.</p>
<p>With continuous connection came live access. The most immediate impact was that email could now be delivered immediately. </p>
<p>At first, email and internet news groups (discussion forums) were the main traffic, but the connection also gave access to information sharing services such as Archie (an old example <a href="http://archie.icm.edu.pl/archie_eng.html">here</a>) and <a href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/WAIS-Wide-Area-Information-Servers">WAIS</a>, which were mostly used to share software.</p>
<p>There was connection too, in principle at least, to the <a href="https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web">newly created world wide web</a>, which in June 1989 was just three months old and largely unknown. It wouldn’t become significant for another four years or so.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280361/original/file-20190620-171271-5cqj6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=642&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An early version of the first web page.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html">CERN/Screengrab</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This turning-on of a connection was not a “light in a darkened room” moment, in which we suddenly had access to the resources that are now so familiar to us.</p>
<p>But it was a crucial step, one of several developments maturing in parallel that created the technology that has so drastically transformed our society, commerce and daily lives. Within just a few years we were surfing the web and sending email from home.</p>
<h2>The technology develops</h2>
<p>The first of these developments was the internet itself, which was and is a cobbling-together of disparate networks around the globe. </p>
<p>Australia had several networks, ranging from the relatively open ACSNET (now called <a href="https://www.aarnet.edu.au/">AARNET</a>) created by computer science departments to connect universities to, at the other extreme, proprietary, secure networks operated by defence and industry.</p>
<p>When Melbourne opened that first link, it provided a bridge from ACSNET to the networks in the United States and from there to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>Just as important were developments in the underlying technology. At the time, the capacity of the networks was adequate - just. As the community of users rapidly grew, it sometimes seemed as though the internet might utterly break down.</p>
<p>By the mid-1990s <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/38401/bandwidth">bandwidth</a> (the volume of digital traffic that a network can carry) increased to an extent that earlier had seemed unimaginable. This provided the data transmission infrastructure the web would come to demand.</p>
<p>Another development was computing hardware. Computers were doubling in speed every 18 months, as <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/moores-law-to-roll-on-for-another-decade/">had been predicted</a>. They also became much cheaper. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280363/original/file-20190620-171183-11e7k1f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Macintosh desktop computer from 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/befuddledsenses/4453362124/">Flickr/Luke Jones</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Computer disks were also growing in capacity, doubling in size every year or so. The yet-to-appear web would require disk space for storage of web pages, and compute capacity for running <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">servers</a>, which are applications that provide a door into a computer, giving users remote access to data and software.</p>
<p>In the 1980s these had been scarce, expensive resources that would have been overwhelmed by even small volumes of web traffic. By the early 1990s growth in capacity could – just – accommodate the demand that suddenly appeared and homes were being connected, via dial-up at first.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="36" data-image="" data-title="Dial-up internet connection" data-size="347600" data-source="SoundBible/ezwa" data-source-url="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html" data-license="" data-license-url="">
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<div class="audio-player-caption">
Dial-up internet connection.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="http://soundbible.com/136-Dial-Up-Modem.html">SoundBible/ezwa</a><span class="download"><span>339 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1618/dial-up-modem-soundbible-com-909377495.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
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<h2>A new operating system</h2>
<p>But it is a third concurrent development that is, to me, the most remarkable. </p>
<p>This is the emergence of the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53459/unix">UNIX</a> operating system and of a community of people who collaboratively wrote UNIX-based code for free (yes, for no charge). Their work provided what is arguably the core of the systems that underpin the modern world.</p>
<p>UNIX was created by <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/dennis-ritchie/">Dennis Ritchie</a>, <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/ken-thompson/">Ken Thompson</a> and a small number of colleagues at AT&T Bell Labs, in the US, from 1970.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280368/original/file-20190620-171208-1vpo7z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ken Thompson and Dennis Richie with DEC PDP-11 system running UNIX.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ken_Thompson_(sitting)_and_Dennis_Ritchie_at_PDP-11_(2876612463).jpg">Wikimedia/Peter Hamer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At that time, operating systems (like iOS on today’s Apple phones) were limited to a single type of computer. Code and programs could not be used across machines from different manufacturers.</p>
<p>UNIX, in contrast, could be used on any suitable machine. This is the reason UNIX variants continue to provide the core of Apple Mac computers, Android phones, systems such as inflight entertainment and smart TVs, and many billions of other devices.</p>
<h2>The open source movement</h2>
<p>Along with UNIX came a culture of collaborative code development by programmers. This was initially via sharing of programs sent on tape between institutions as parcels in the mail. Anyone with time to spare could create programs and share them with a community of like-minded users.</p>
<p>This became known as the open source movement. Many thousands of people helped develop software of a diversity and richness that was beyond the resources of any single organisation. And it was not driven by commercial or corporate needs.</p>
<p>Programs could embody speculative innovations, and any developer who was frustrated by errors or shortcomings in the tools they used could update or correct them.</p>
<p>A key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/51154/server">server</a>, a computer system in a network shared by multiple users. Providing anonymous users with remote access was far from desirable for commercial computers of the era, on which use of costly computing time was tightly controlled.</p>
<p>But in an academic, sharing, open environment such servers were a valuable tool, at least for computer scientists, who were the main users of university computers in that era.</p>
<p>Another key piece of open source software was the <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/50637/router">router</a>, which allowed computers on a network to collaborate in directing network requests and responses between connected machines anywhere on the planet.</p>
<p>Servers had been used for email since the beginnings of the internet and initially it was email, delivered with the help of routers, that brought networked desktop computing into homes and businesses.</p>
<p>When the web was proposed, extending these servers to allow the information from web page servers to be sent to a user’s computer was a small step.</p>
<h2>What you looking at?</h2>
<p>The last component is so ubiquitous that we forget what is literally before our eyes: the screen. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280381/original/file-20190620-171258-v5h79j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Macintosh Plus had a screen resolution of 512x342 pixels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/raneko/13507827355/">Flickr/raneko</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Affordable computer displays in the 1980s were much too limited to pleasingly render a web page, with resolutions of 640x480 pixels or lower, with crude colours or just black and white. Better screens, starting at 1024x768, first became widely available in the early 1990s.</p>
<p>Only with the appearance of the <a href="http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/enabling/mosaic">Mosaic browser</a> in 1993 did the web become appealing, with a pool of about 100 web sites showing how to deliver information in a way that for most users was new and remarkably compelling.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BLcBZ2_k1OI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How things have changed.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The online world continues to grow and develop with access today via cable, wireless and mobile handsets. We have internet-connected services in our homes, cars, health services, government, and much more. We live-stream our music and video, and share our lives online.</p>
<p>But the origin of that trend of increasing digitisation of our society lies in those simple beginnings - and the end is not yet in sight.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was amended at the request of the author to correct the amount of data accessible from the initial link.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Zobel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In just three decades we’ve gone from a very limited internet connection in Australia to now sharing our lives online.Justin Zobel, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Graduate & International Research, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1183332019-06-11T23:02:46Z2019-06-11T23:02:46ZAustralians are less interested in news and consume less of it compared to other countries, survey finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278826/original/file-20190611-32356-136pdk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More Australians rely on just one source to get their news.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/milan-italy-august-10-2017-abc-701792245?src=SJkvYUhBLFpSbuRyu4OZsw-1-5">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian news consumers access news less often and have lower interest in it compared to citizens in many other countries. At the same time, Australians are more likely to think the news media are doing a good job keeping them up to date and explaining what’s happening.</p>
<p>These findings are contained in the <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/240786">Digital News Report: Australia 2019</a>. In its fifth year, the Digital News Report Australia is part of a 38-country survey coordinated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. </p>
<p>In comparison to the other countries, the survey of 2,010 online adults shows that Australian news consumers:</p>
<ul>
<li>are the “lightest” news consumers out of 38 countries</li>
<li>use fewer sources to access news</li>
<li>are less interested in news and politics</li>
<li>are more likely to subscribe to Netflix than news</li>
<li>are less likely to check the accuracy of a story.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-political-journalists-might-be-part-of-a-canberra-bubble-but-they-engage-the-public-too-114084">Australian political journalists might be part of a ‘Canberra bubble’, but they engage the public too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘Light’ consumers of news</h2>
<p>The survey finds almost half (48%) of Australian news consumers are “light” users, who access news once a day or less, whereas the global average across the 38-countries was one-third (34%). </p>
<p>Correspondingly, Australia also has the lowest number of “heavy” news consumers, who access news more than once a day, at 52%. This is compared to an average of 66% across the other countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278852/original/file-20190611-32351-pq8ot0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked how often they typically access <em>news</em>, meaning national, international, regional/local news and other topical events accessed via any platform (radio, TV, newspaper or online).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reliance on a single news source</h2>
<p>Australians also use fewer sources or platforms to access news. Just one third say they get their news from four or more sources, such as online, social media, TV, newspapers, social media and so on. This is well below the 38-country average of 44%. </p>
<p>More Australians rely on just one source to get their news (21%), which is higher than the 38-country average (17%). Only three other countries in the survey (Japan, South Korea and the US) have more people relying on just one source to access news than Australia. </p>
<p>The data tell us that Australians who rely on just one source of news also tend to consume less of it. Those who use four or more sources to get their news, also seek news more often. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278787/original/file-20190611-52758-7yjgq9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=833&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked which, if any, of the following they have used in the <em>last week</em> as a <em>source of news</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Preference for Netflix over news</h2>
<p>Globally, news consumers are more likely to pay for video streaming services such as Netflix than news, but Australians have a stronger preference for entertainment over news than consumers in other countries. </p>
<p>More than a third (34%) of Australians say they would prioritise a subscription for a video streaming service, compared to an average of 28% across 16 countries where the question was asked. Only 9% of Australians say they would choose online news first. </p>
<p>This year, survey participants were asked whether they thought the news media in their country was doing a good job across five areas: </p>
<ul>
<li>scrutiny</li>
<li>relevance</li>
<li>negativity</li>
<li>keeping them up to date </li>
<li>explaining. </li>
</ul>
<p>Australians delivered a mixed report card on these questions and the results vary compared to the global average. On a positive note, two-thirds of Australian news consumers (66%) agree the news keeps them up to date, which compares favourably to the global average of 62%. </p>
<p>But Australian news consumers are also more likely to think the news is too negative (44%) compared to the country average (39%). Australians are also slightly more likely to agree that the news is not relevant to them (28%) compared to the international average of 25%.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278788/original/file-20190611-52780-1qtfe1b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked to indicate whether they thought the news media in their country was doing a good job or not according to five criteria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to the data, perceptions of news performance are strongly influenced by age and gender. Younger news consumers are the least likely to feel the news is relevant to them, particularly Gen Z women. This points to opportunities for more content that speaks to this age group. </p>
<p>Significantly, Australian news consumers who rely on legacy media for their main source of news, such as TV and newspapers, are more likely to think journalism is performing well. This highlights the ongoing importance of well-resourced traditional news brands as part of the hybrid mix of online and offline news sources.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-matter-of-mis-trust-why-this-election-is-posing-problems-for-the-media-116142">A matter of (mis)trust: why this election is posing problems for the media</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Australians are less interested in politics</h2>
<p>The lower rates of news consumption in Australia can perhaps be explained by the fact that Australian news consumers are less interested in both news and politics. </p>
<p>58% of Australians say they have a high interest in news, which is below the 38-country average (60%). When compared to other English-speaking democratic countries (UK, US, Canada and Ireland), Australians and Canadians are the least interested in news, and Americans and UK news consumers are the most interested (67%).</p>
<p>Australians are also slightly less interested in politics. Two thirds of Australians (65%) said they have little or no interest in politics, compared to 63% across the other countries. In contrast, Turkish news consumers have the highest interest in politics (67%) and Malaysians the lowest (19%). </p>
<p>When compared to other English-speaking democratic countries Australians are the least interested in politics, and news consumers in the US are the most interested (59%).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278791/original/file-20190611-52741-10ar8q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked how interested, if at all, they would say they are in politics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Analysis of the data clearly shows that interest in politics is one of the strongest indicators of engagement with news. Those who are interested in politics are more likely to have a high interest in news, access it often, use more sources, have higher trust in it and are more likely to pay for it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=204&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278800/original/file-20190611-52739-1jv6ltf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=256&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked their MAIN source of news, how interested they would say they are in news, and how interested they would say they are in politics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The connection between political interest and news interest is supported by a range of academic studies examining citizen participation in politics and the role of the news media. Generally speaking, the research finds a reciprocal relationship, but some types of news consumption inspire greater interest in politics than others. </p>
<p>A 2018 <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1077699018793998#articleCitationDownloadContainer">study</a> found those who rely on commercial TV for news, rather than a public broadcaster, have lower interest in politics. Given the high rates of commercial TV news consumption in Australia this might help partly explain the lower interest in both news and politics – but this requires further research. </p>
<h2>Interest in news by age and gender</h2>
<p>It’s possible that people’s interest in news and politics has been displaced. Rather than adverse events causing people to disconnect, their interest and attention has been drawn to other things. This is the primary thesis of the “attention economy”, and we see evidence of this in the levels of interest in news between genders and generations, and the platforms they tend to get news from.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278801/original/file-20190611-52767-n7p4pm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=268&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants were asked how interested, if at all, they would say they are in news.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women and Gen Z have lower interest in news, but they are also more likely to get their news from social media than men, and older generations. Whereas, men and older generations are better conditioned to engage with politics and news via traditional channels.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-evidence-the-tide-is-turning-on-news-corp-and-its-owner-116892">Mounting evidence the tide is turning on News Corp, and its owner</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Trust in news and politics is low overall</h2>
<p>A further contributor to Australians’ low interest in news could well be the general malaise among the Australian population toward the news media and politics. <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-trust-in-politicians-and-democracy-hits-an-all-time-low-new-research-108161">Research</a> shows <a href="https://www.thepolicyspace.com.au/2018/04/272-trust-and-democracy-in-australia-democratic-decline-and-renewal">trust in politics</a>, politicians and the news media to be at an all-time low. </p>
<p>This year’s Digital News Report also finds general trust in news is low, at 44%. Trust in news found on social media (18%) and search engines (32%) is even lower. Given that more Australians (57%) use online sources as the main source for news, this isn’t surprising. </p>
<p>Over the past year, there has been a lot of turbulence in the news media, with takeovers, closures, job losses and a leadership crisis at the national public broadcaster. This general turmoil in the news media was echoed in the corridors of power, with a third prime minister installed in as many years. </p>
<p>This overall climate of instability reflects a degraded political and news environment, which can be seen in some of the findings this year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than a third of Australians say they would prioritise a subscription for a video streaming service, such as Netflix, over a subscription for online news.Caroline Fisher, Assistant Professor in Journalism, University of CanberraGlen Fuller, Associate Professor Communications and Media, University of CanberraJee Young Lee, Lecturer, News & Media Research Centre, University of CanberraSora Park, Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Arts & Design, University of CanberraYoonmo Sang, Assistant Professor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/931642018-03-12T20:19:11Z2018-03-12T20:19:11ZPasswords: security, vulnerability, constraints<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210008/original/file-20180312-30954-d7fmov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=410%2C5%2C2971%2C1901&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How secure is your password?
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Z3ownETsdNQ"> Avi Richards/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><h2>What is a password?</h2>
<p>A password is a secret linked to an identity. It associates two elements, something we own (a bank card, badge, telephone, fingerprint) and what we know (password or code).</p>
<p>Passwords are widely used for computers, telephones and banking. The simplest form is the numerical code (personal identification number, or PIN), with four to six numbers. Our smartphones use two PIN codes, one to unlock the device, and another associated with the SIM card, to access the network. Passwords are most commonly associated with Internet services (e-mail, social networks, e-commerce, etc.).</p>
<p>Today, in practical terms, <strong>identity is linked to an e-mail address</strong>. A website uses it to identify a person. The password is a secret, known by both the server and the user, making it possible to “prove” to the server that the identity provided is authentic. Since an e-mail address is often public, knowing this address is not enough for recognizing a user. The password is used as a lock on this identity. Therefore, passwords are stored on the websites into which we log.</p>
<h2>What is the risk associated with passwords?</h2>
<p>The main risk is <strong>password theft</strong>, in which the associated identity is stolen. A password must be kept hidden, so that it remains secret, preventing identity theft when incidents arise, such as the theft of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/14/yahoo-hack-security-of-one-billion-accounts-breached">Yahoo usernames</a>.</p>
<p>Therefore, a website doesn’t (or shouldn’t) save a password directly. It uses a hash function to calculate its electronic fingerprint (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptographic_hash_function">digest</a>), such as the <a href="https://thehackernews.com/2014/04/securing-passwords-with-bcrypt-hashing.html">bcrypt function</a> that Facebook uses. With the password, it is easy to calculate the footprint and verify that it is correct. At the same time, it is extremely difficult mathematically to find the code if only the footprint is known.</p>
<h2>Searching for a password by following its fingerprint</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, technological progress has made brute-force password-search tools, like <a href="http://www.openwall.com/john/">“John the Ripper”</a> extremely effective. As a result, attackers can find passwords fairly easily by following their electronic fingerprints.</p>
<p>Attackers can also <strong>capture</strong> passwords, for example by tricking users. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/03/google-docs-phishing-attack-malware">“Phishing”</a> encourages users to connect to a website that imitates one they were looking for, thus allowing attackers to steal login information (e-mail and password).</p>
<p>Many social networks, shops, banks and other online services require user identification and authentication. It is important be sure we are connecting to the genuine website, and that the connection is encrypted (lock, green color in the browser address bar), to prevent passwords from being compromised.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209881/original/file-20180312-30983-1ufn924.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How secure is your password?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldsdirection/33611388604/in/photolist-Td89Q5-gbe1L-4EuzfW-7q2DMe-4VunmL-addz66-8a3QUS-5T2nd2-7M6YWk-2vVa5m-bXofom-bXofoS-75TRJc-58Nice-fAoyrr-fACQS9-9yd6MX-fACQSW-rQVJfc-86UL6F-6zD8b5-6FLSnf-agdCKd-9hYB4s-3aaSME-4Er3ac-9hYCbd-bcUBrz-4Ev3tb-zpR8xS-wg4TYd-9hYByb-aHDBzc-5FNKK2-tP7Ka-anurX8-9vRoj7-aR22uz-4qqh1n-9oTsrr-xBBwxf-4FBfzq-zaw8PE-7hf3eE-52iBBY-Fyyww-fAoysa-bpCz7N-4yag7T-2XY9cv">World's Direction/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can we protect ourselves, and how?</h2>
<p>For a long time, the main risk involved sharing computers. Writing your password on a Post-it note on the desk was therefore prohibited. In a lot of environments today, this is in fact a pragmatic and effective way of keeping the secret.</p>
<p>The main risk today involves to the fact that an e-mail address is associated with the passwords. This universal username is therefore extremely sensitive, and naturally it is a target for hackers. It is therefore important to identify all the possible means an e-mail service provider offers to protect this address and connection. These mechanisms can include a code being sent by SMS to a mobile phone, a recovery e-mail address, pre-printed one-time use codes, etc. These methods control access to your e-mail address by alerting you of attempts to compromise your account, and help you regain access if you lose your password.</p>
<h2>For personal use</h2>
<p>Another danger involves passwords being reused for several websites. Attacks on websites are very common, and levels of protection vary greatly. Reusing one password on several websites therefore very significantly increases the risk of it being compromised. Currently, the best practice is to therefore to use a password manager, or digital safe (like <a href="https://keepass.info/">KeePass</a> or <a href="https://pwsafe.org/">Password Safe</a>, both are free and open software), to save a different password for each website.</p>
<p>The automatic password-generation function offered by these managers provides passwords that are more difficult to guess. This greatly simplifies what users need to remember and significantly improves security.</p>
<p>It is also good to keep the database on a flash drive, and to save it frequently. There are also cloud password-management solutions. Personally, <em>I do not use them</em>, because I want to be able to maintain control of the technology. That could prevent me, for example, from using a smart phone in certain environments.</p>
<h2>For professionals</h2>
<p>Changing passwords frequently is often mandatory in the professional world. It is often seen as a constraint, which is amplified by the required length, variety of characters, the impossibility of using old passwords, etc. Experience has shown that too many constraints lead users to choose passwords that are less secure.</p>
<p>It is recommended to use an authentication token (chip card, USB token, OTP, etc.). At a limited cost, this offers a significant level of security and additional services such as remote access, e-mail and document signature, and protection for the intranet service.</p>
<h2>Important reminders to avoid password theft or limit its impact</h2>
<p>Passwords, associated with e-mail addresses, are a critical element in the use of Internet services. Currently, the two key precautions recommended for safe use is to have one password per service (if possible generated randomly and kept in a digital safe) and to be careful to secure sensitive services, such as e-mail addresses and login information (by using the protective measures provided by these services, including double authentication via SMS or recovery codes, and remaining vigilant if anything abnormality is detected). </p>
<p>For more recommendations, check with the official computer-security agency in your country. Options include France’s <a href="http://www.ssi.gouv.fr/particulier/">Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information</a>, the <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/">National Cyber Security Centre</a> in the United Kingdom, the <a href="https://www.us-cert.gov/">United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team</a> and the <a href="https://www.acsc.gov.au/">Australian Cyber Security Center</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93164/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hervé Debar has received funding from the European Commission (H2020 programme), the DGE (FUI, PIA) and the ANR. He is a member of Systématic (academic VP of the digital trust and security copil) and ECSO (member elected to the partnership board).</span></em></p>Passwords are an integral part of our daily IT life – and a major source of vulnerabilities. What are the problems and risks, and how can we reduce them?Hervé Debar, Directeur de la Recherche et des Formations Doctorales à Télécom SudParis, Télécom SudParis – Institut Mines-TélécomLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/845842017-09-28T19:05:22Z2017-09-28T19:05:22ZGoogling for a new dentist or therapist? Here’s how to look past the glowing testimonials<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187498/original/file-20170926-32444-njv05f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We use reviews and online testimonials when downloading an app or shopping on eBay. So, why not when choosing a new dentist?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=JdF7vJ43nvBdY4y81UK5hA-1-68">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever <a href="http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/182198">searched online</a> for a new dentist or other health professional, you’re certain to find websites with positive testimonials. Then there are the impressive “before and after” photos.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/adj.12571/full">our recently published research</a> shows not all health professionals are playing by the rules when they market themselves to the public.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dr-google-probably-isnt-the-worst-place-to-get-your-health-advice-73835">Dr Google probably isn't the worst place to get your health advice</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our study of dentists shows almost three-quarters were illegally using testimonials on social media to market their practice and almost one in five were using pictures or text likely to create unrealistic expectations of the treatment.</p>
<p>So what are health professionals allowed to claim about the service they provide? And what advice should you rely on?</p>
<h2>What type of health professional are you looking for?</h2>
<p>How health professionals are allowed to market themselves depends mainly on what type of service they provide. The key is whether the practitioner is providing what’s known as a <a href="https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Publications/Advertising-resources/Legislation-guidelines.aspx">regulated health service</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ahpra.gov.au/National-Boards.aspx">These include</a>: doctors, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, nurses and midwives, chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, optometrists, podiatrists, practitioners of Chinese medicine, radiographers and sonographers, and people who provide specialist health services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.</p>
<p>So, if you’re looking for one of these, the following advertising <a href="http://www.ahpra.gov.au/About-AHPRA/What-We-Do/Legislation.aspx">is illegal</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>false, misleading or deceptive advertising or advertising that’s likely to be misleading or deceptive</li>
<li>advertising that offers a gift, discount or other inducements, unless the advertisement also states the terms and conditions of the offer</li>
<li>using testimonials or reported testimonials</li>
<li>advertising that creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment, and</li>
<li>advertising that directly or indirectly encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of regulated health services.</li>
</ul>
<p>These rules apply to all forms of advertising across different media, including social media.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187499/original/file-20170926-12134-1cpmh4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Speech pathologists are allowed to include testimonials and reviews to promote themselves, but doctors and pharmacists aren’t.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=JdF7vJ43nvBdY4y81UK5hA-1-68">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But there are a whole range of health professionals who aren’t counted as providing a regulated health service. These include optical dispensers, speech and language pathologists, and massage therapists.</p>
<p>So, if you read great testimonials about these, while persuasive, they’re unlikely to be illegal under health-care law. However, they would still be bound by <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/misleading-claims-advertising/false-or-misleading-claims">Australian Consumer Law</a>, which prevents misleading or deceptive advertising.</p>
<h2>How about if I leave an online review?</h2>
<p>While the law prohibits providers of a regulated health service from providing testimonials, there’s nothing stopping you from leaving a review on Google or on your own social media page.</p>
<p>But if you leave a review on a doctor or dentist’s practice page or social media account, it’s the health professional who will be breaching the rules; the <a href="https://www.ahpra.gov.au/">regulator</a> expects health professionals to manage the content of their pages.</p>
<p>You would think that most testimonial sections on social media would be disabled, however, this isn’t what our <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/adj.12571/full">research showed</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-your-doctor-might-google-you-74746">Yes, your doctor might Google you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For bad reviews, you could potentially be sued for <a href="http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/11_02_01_what_is_defamation/">defamation</a> if your post harms the health professional’s reputation. This is an entirely separate section of law, with many caveats, so please take care. A recent case involved a surgeon who <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-surgeon-munjed-al-muderis-awarded-480k-over-online-defamation-by-patient-20170608-gwn17a.html">successfully sued a patient for A$480,000</a> after he made defamatory claims online.</p>
<h2>So, what’s the big deal?</h2>
<p>Testimonials and reviews are very common in other aspects of our daily lives. Just think about the last time you downloaded an app, used eBay or booked a holiday online. But what makes health-care so special?</p>
<p>Testimonials and reviews can potentially mislead. For instance, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27279455">one study</a> that looked at YouTube testimonials about dental implants found many testimonials overplayed the positives (better looking and improved function) and downplayed the negatives of treatment (pain relief needed, a temporary solution).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-split-the-good-from-the-bad-in-online-reviews-and-ratings-74986">How to split the good from the bad in online reviews and ratings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Testimonials and reviews might not even be true. Google requires no proof you have visited a health professional before you leave a non-verified review. And a quick search on Google itself reveals many businesses offering to sell positive Google reviews.</p>
<p>Then there are the potentially serious health consequences of choosing the wrong health professional (or the wrong therapy) after reading testimonials and reviews. For instance, there’s nothing to prevent medical graduates with little or no postgraduate training <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/cosmetic-surgery-rogue-operators-health-minister-calls-for-investigation/news-story/a5297252f77fd4936cfe358b7140c663">using the title “cosmetic surgeon”</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/call-yourself-a-cosmetic-surgeon-new-guidelines-fix-only-half-the-problem-59078">Call yourself a cosmetic surgeon? New guidelines fix only half the problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Misleading claims or titles might also affect your ability to consent to treatment; if you don’t have the right information, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/adj.12428/full">how can you make an informed decision</a>?</p>
<h2>Where does this leave me?</h2>
<p>There is no one-stop resource for patients to access health advertising that is completely free from bias. So, take claims relating to health professionals with a pinch of salt, including testimonials.</p>
<p>While some people think advertising restrictions stifle public discussion, they’re in place to protect you.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Update: this article originally stated acupuncturists aren’t counted as providing a regulated health service.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84584/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Holden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many of the online testimonials you might read for dentists and other health professional can not only mislead, they can be illegal.Alexander Holden, Lecturer in Dental Ethics, Law and Professionalism, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661272016-10-05T04:55:09Z2016-10-05T04:55:09ZHappy 30th anniversary to .au domains – what comes next?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140425/original/image-20161005-15886-xajvld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Web addresses from Shutterstock.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year marks the 30th anniversary of Australian domain names – websites ending in .au. As of June this year, <a href="https://www.ausregistry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BTD_Issue_8.pdf">more than three million such domains have been registered</a>. This is a lot for a country of only 24 million people, but especially notable when you think there were only a few hundred thousand domain names as recently as 2002. </p>
<p>This explosion in registrations is the result of the constant evolution of our system – changes that have not only opened domains up to more and more people, but will set us up for the fourth decade of Australian websites. </p>
<h2>It began with one man</h2>
<p>The story of .au, Australia’s Top Level Domain (TLD), really began in March 1986. It was then that University of Melbourne network administrator, Kevin Robert Elz – known to most as Robert Elz – was given authority to administer Australian domain name registration. Elz set the rules for the system and held this authority from 1986 through the 1990s.</p>
<p>There were a couple of different phases during Elz’s tenure. The first ten years were marked by slow growth and informal management. But from 1996 there was a boom in demand as the internet rapidly became a central part of our lives and businesses jumped on board. </p>
<p>1996 was the beginning of the commercial domain name industry in Australia. The boom in demand for Australian domain names led Elz to delegate responsibility for Australian second-level domains (2LDs). In her <a href="http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415668132/">book on the domain name registration system</a>, academic and lawyer Jenny Ng writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In October 1996 Elz granted a five-year licence to administer com.au to his employer, the University of Melbourne through Melbourne IT Ltd.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After this, registering a domain was no longer free.</p>
<h2>A formal system</h2>
<p>As commercial players moved in, more formal management of the Australian domain name system (DNS) was established. In 1997 the Australian Domain Name Administration (ADNA) was created, and in April 1999 its role was transferred to the .au Domain Administration (<a href="https://www.auda.org.au/">auDA</a>). </p>
<p>In December 2000 the Australian Government <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda">formally endorsed</a> auDA as the appropriate body to hold the delegation of authority for .au. In 2002, new policies and a new registry, operated by AusRegistry, came into operation. With this, the contemporary Australian domain name system (DNS) came into being.</p>
<p>Reliable data are not available for the early years, but when the first registry was launched in 2002, there were <a href="https://www.ausregistry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BTD_Issue_8.pdf">282,632 domains</a>, which grew to 500,000 domain names in 2005, and 710,428 on 30 June 2006. We surpassed a million domains registered by 2007 and three million in 2016; about 87% of these are .com.au. </p>
<p>This growth was facilitated by relaxation of the previous rules as a result of successive policy review panels.</p>
<h2>Evolution of Australian policy</h2>
<p>Domain name policies during the first 10-15 years reflected the beliefs and assumptions of the Internet’s pioneers. One guiding principle was that no one should be able to gain an undeserved advantage over other participants. So it was only possible for a registrant to register one domain name, and it was not possible to register a generic term (such as a common noun) or a place name. The principle of “first come, first served” was enshrined; there was no hierarchy of entitlement to a particular name.</p>
<p>Since the first formal policy was developed and implemented in 2002, most of these restrictions have been abolished, and the Australian DNS has followed the path of evolution in other countries, albeit more slowly.</p>
<p>Some fundamental principles remain: first come, first served; the requirement that the registrant for an Australian domain name must be Australian; provisions to reduce abusive practices; and a requirement for a link between the registrant and the name registered. As a result, the Australian DNS is <a href="https://www.ausregistry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BTD_Issue_8.pdf">regarded</a> as relatively well-administered, trusted and stable. But we aren’t done yet.</p>
<h2>Direct registration: the next step</h2>
<p>In August 2015 I <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-change-in-australias-web-rules-would-open-up-the-au-space-46203">wrote</a> about the work of the 2015 Name Panel established by auDA to review domain name policy and propose changes to the board of .auDA. Policy change proposals are adopted by a consensus of each panel, and the panels must be broadly representative of the industry and domain name users.</p>
<p>The panel made one major recommendation: in addition to registering second-level domains (like .com.au, .edu.au, and .net.au), Australians should also be able to register directly (such as example.au). Both the UK and New Zealand have already made this change.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/assets/pdf/2015npp-final-report.pdf">final report</a> of the Panel was presented to the auDA Board in December 2015. The <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/policies/panels-and-committees/2015-names-policy-panel/">Names Policy 2015 website</a> includes the text of all non-confidential submissions, panel minutes, and other panel documents; there was also a minority report by four of the 23 panel members.</p>
<p>The auDA Board considered and <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda/our-org/board-meetings/2016/15-february-2016-board-meeting-minutes/">accepted</a> the final report in February 2016 and in <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda/our-org/board-meetings/2016/18-april-2016-board-meeting-minutes/">April</a> agreed to <a href="https://www.auda.org.au/news/auda-to-introduce-direct-registrations-in-au/">implement</a> the recommendation. Australians will soon be able to register domains directly.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop, auDA will soon consider the best way to manage one of its largest policy changes. This is the move from the strict hierarchy of names which has prevailed for thirty years using a TLD and 2LDs, to a dual system which permits both direct and second-level registrations. The changes will set a direction for the fourth decade of .au.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek Whitehead is a member of auDA and has previously chaired auDA policy panels. </span></em></p>This year marks the 30th birthday of .au domains. We’ve come a long way but there’s big change ahead.Derek Whitehead, Adjunct professor, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/611612016-06-24T04:39:34Z2016-06-24T04:39:34ZWhat’s wrong with the web and do we need to fix it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127880/original/image-20160623-30242-1man9he.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do we need a decentralised web?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/cybrain</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 20 years after the first web server started bringing the internet into our lives, a <a href="http://www.decentralizedweb.net/">recent conference</a> in San Francisco brought together some of its creators to discuss its future.</p>
<p>The general tone of the conference is probably best summed up by the <a href="http://eff.org/">Electronic Frontiers Foundation’s</a> <a href="https://www.eff.org/about/staff/cory-doctorow">Cory Doctorow</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the last twenty years, we’ve managed to nearly ruin one of the most functional distributed systems ever created: today’s Web.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This might seem like a surprising statement. To many of us, the web has become an indispensable part of modern life. It’s the portal through which we get news and entertainment, stay in touch with family and friends, and gain ready access to more information than any human being has ever had. The web today is probably more useful and accessible to more people than it has ever been.</p>
<p>Yet for people such as <a href="https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/">Sir Tim Berners-Lee</a>, the inventor of the world wide web, and <a href="http://www.internethalloffame.org/inductees/vint-cerf">Vinton Cerf</a> who is often referred to as one of the “<a href="http://theinstitute.ieee.org/people/achievements/the-fathers-of-the-internet">fathers of the internet</a>”, Doctorow’s comment cuts right to the heart of the problem. The internet has not evolved in the way they had envisioned.</p>
<h2>The centralised web</h2>
<p>Their main concern is that the internet – and the information on it – has become increasingly centralised and controlled. </p>
<p>In the early days of the web, people who wanted to publish online would run their own web servers on their own computers. This required a reasonably good understanding of the technology, but meant that information was distributed across the internet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127985/original/image-20160624-30272-ezkenn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The photo-sharing website flickr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/">Screenshot</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the web grew, companies that took the technical hurdles out of web publishing were established. With <a href="https://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a>, for example, a photographer can easily upload his or her photos to the internet and share them with other people.</p>
<p><a href="http://youtube.com/">YouTube</a> did the same thing for video, while tools such as <a href="https://wordpress.com/">Wordpress</a> made it easy for anyone to write blogs.</p>
<p>Social media in particular has made it easy for everyone to get online. The period in which these services really took off is generally referred to as <a href="http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html">web 2.0</a>.</p>
<p>But along with this development of easy-to-use publishing technologies came a centralisation of the internet, and with that, the loss of some of the internet’s potential.</p>
<h2>The decentralised web</h2>
<p>Proponents of the decentralised web argue that there are three main problems with the web today: openness and accessibility; censorship and privacy; and archiving of information.</p>
<p>Openness and accessibility refers to the tendency of centralisation to lock people into a particular service. So, for example, if you use Apple’s iCloud to store your photos, it’s difficult to give someone access to those photos if they have a Microsoft OneDrive account, because the accounts don’t talk to each other.</p>
<p>The second issue – censorship and privacy – is a deep concern for people like Doctorow and Berners-Lee. Centralised web services make it relatively easy for internet use to be monitored by governments or companies. For example, social media companies make money by <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/10/24/personal-data-monetization/#KX.ADubJ_mqq">trading on the value of personal information</a>. </p>
<p>As we use social media, fitness trackers and health apps to document our lives, we generate a lot of personal data. We freely give this personal data to social media companies by agreeing to their terms of service when we create our accounts. </p>
<p>The third issue with today’s web is that it is ephemeral; information changes and websites go offline all the time, and very little is retained or archived. Vinton Cerf has referred to this as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_dark_age">digital dark age</a>” because when historians look back at this point in history, much of the material on the internet won’t exist anymore – there will be no historical record.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://deletedcity.net/">good example</a> of this loss of history occurred when GeoCities, which hosted millions of web pages created by individuals, was first bought out by Yahoo and then discontinued.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/41777233" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The technologies to support a more decentralised web are <a href="http://www.decentralizedweb.net/learn-more/">already being developed</a>, and are based upon some you are probably already familiar with.</p>
<p>One of the key technologies to support a decentralised web is peer-to-peer networking (or more simply, P2P). You might be familiar with this concept already, as it’s the technology behind BitTorrent – the software used by <a href="http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/06/pirate-kings-almost-3-million-australians-visited-the-top-two-illegal-download-sites-in-may/">millions of Australians</a> to illegally download new episodes of Game of Thrones.</p>
<p>On P2P networks, information is distributed across thousands or millions of computers rather than residing on a single server. Because the contents of the files or website are distributed and decentralised, it’s much more difficult to take the site offline unless you own of the files.</p>
<p>It also means that information uploaded to these networks can be retained, creating archives of old information. There are already organisations such as <a href="http://maidsafe.net/">MaidSafe</a> and <a href="http://freenetproject.org/">FreeNet</a> who are creating these P2P networks. </p>
<p>Other technologies, such as encryption and something called <a href="https://theconversation.com/blockchain-is-useful-for-a-lot-more-than-just-bitcoin-58921">blockchain</a>, provide levels of security that make transactions on these networks extremely difficult to track, and very robust. </p>
<p>Together these technologies could protect the privacy of internet users and would make censorship very difficult to enforce. It could also allow people to securely pay creators for online content without the need to an intermediary. </p>
<p>For example, a musician could make a song available online and people could pay the artist directly to listen to it, without the need for a recording company or online music service.</p>
<h2>But do we need it?</h2>
<p>Perhaps the biggest question with decentralising the web is whether it is actually something most people want or value. While archiving some parts of the internet is clearly valuable, there is probably a lot on the internet that can safely be forgotten, and <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/solace-oblivion">some things that should be</a>.</p>
<p>The technology itself is a hurdle to adoption. Peer-to-peer and blockchain technology are clever, but they are also complex. If decentralised web technologies are going to be widely used, they need to be easy to install and operate.</p>
<p>This isn’t an insurmountable problem, though. In the early 1990s, installing the software to get the internet working on your computer required substantial technical knowledge. Today it’s simple, and that’s one of the main reasons the internet took off.</p>
<p>Beyond the technical challenges, there are other social concerns that are potentially more substantial. Recently Facebook’s live streaming facility has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/17/chicago-man-shot-dead-facebook-live-stream-video">raised questions</a> about the level of control that should be exercised over internet media.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, it may be that the decentralised web is ready for us, but we’re not yet ready for it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61161/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Hinton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The world wide web today is more useful and accessible to more people than it ever has been. So why do some early pioneers of the web think it has been ruined?Sam Hinton, Assistant Professor in Web Design, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/462032015-08-18T20:26:16Z2015-08-18T20:26:16ZA change in Australia’s web rules would open up the .au space<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/92194/original/image-20150818-5083-1jbvfpa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What comes next in an Australian domain name could be up to you.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Maram</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you want to register an Australian web address, your options may be about to change due to a review of domain name policy that is currently underway.</p>
<p>The Australian domain name system (DNS) has been managed by .au Domain Administration (<a href="http://www.auda.org.au/">auDA</a>) since 2001, and it now oversees more than three million names <a href="https://www.ausregistry.com.au/australias-au-domain-celebrates-3-million-registrations">registered</a>.</p>
<p>The Australian DNS is already distinctive for a number of reasons. The registrant must be Australian. Names are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis – there is no hierarchy of rights. Registration for the sole purpose of resale is also not permitted, unlike most other top level domains (TLDs). </p>
<p>The domain name system (DNS) is also considered a public good, with its stability and effectiveness fundamental to the proper functioning of the internet. In Australia, a relatively high level of regulation exists and is accepted, and there are no plans to change this.</p>
<h2>Time for change?</h2>
<p>However, auDA is currently engaged in a <a href="http://www.auda.org.au/policies/panels-and-committees/">consultative process</a> to consider changes to the DNS system itself. Anyone can provide a submission or comments along the way. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.auda.org.au/policies/panels-and-committees/2015-names-policy-panel/">2015 Names Panel</a> is today issuing its draft recommendations. The main recommendation is that, in principle, Australians should be able to register domain names directly under .au (such as myname.au, or abc.au, or westpac.au).</p>
<p>This has not been possible before. Currently, the .au country code is considered the top level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. As a part of the current scheme, all sites must also be registered under second level domain name (2LDs). Some 2LDs are “open”, thus available to members of the public, such as .com.au, .net.au and org.au. And some are “closed”, meaning they’re restricted to certain sectors, such as .edu.au and .gov.au.</p>
<p>The proposed change would leave the existing 2LDs in place, and add a new option of registering directly under .au for any Australian entity.</p>
<p>Australia has strong <a href="http://www.auda.org.au/policies/">rules</a> on what name can be registered, and would continue these under the proposed new scheme. To register directly, you would need to be eligible to register a domain under the existing 2LD rules, and if necessary provide evidence of eligibility. The existing rules would also apply to the kind of name that could be registered – you can’t have any name you want.</p>
<h2>Why the need to change?</h2>
<p>The main reason the panel has recommended this change is that direct registrations would create more options. They include names that are shorter, more appealing and more memorable. They would make the domain name system simpler and easier to use.</p>
<p>Moreover, the proposed change would open a wide range of new choices for registrants. For some they would be better options. For example, the panel thinks it would be simpler for people to obtain an acceptable Australian domain name.</p>
<p>Those against this change, such as the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (<a href="http://accan.org.au/">ACCAN</a>), <a href="http://www.auda.org.au/assets/pdf/sub-accan4.pdf">argue</a>) that we now have an orderly, logical hierarchy of names, and many new registrations would just be new versions of the same name, registered for defensive reasons.</p>
<p>The main value added, some say, would be revenue for the domain name industry in selling more domain names. It is also argued that the change would be confusing for users, and less clear than what we have in the exist hierarchy of domain names.</p>
<h2>It’s all about you</h2>
<p>One of the issues that has been widely discussed is that of the use of the DNS by individuals who are not commercial enterprises (.com.au and .net.au) or non-profit organisations (.org.au and .asn.au). </p>
<p>Individuals can have a <a href="https://www.ausregistry.com.au/domains/what-is-a-idau">.id.au</a> domain name, but although this 2LD has been simplified and heavily promoted, only 16,000 people currently use it. </p>
<p>There has been an increase in the number of people registering different types of domain names for individual use, but there has been a decrease in the number of id.au domain names being registered. The proposed changes will hopefully encourage individuals to readily obtain a desirable Australian domain name.</p>
<p>Many other Australian entities might find the new names attractive, too.</p>
<p>The timing of this proposal has been influenced by events outside Australia. Most comparable jurisdictions have already made this change. Most recently, <a href="https://dnc.org.nz/story/more-options-nz">New Zealand</a> and the <a href="http://www.dotuklaunch.uk/">United Kingdom</a> adopted direct registration through consultative processes.</p>
<p>The context is a dramatic increase in the number of <a href="http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db">global top level domains</a>, and hundreds of new TLDs have come into being since 2014, and continue to do so. The panel’s terms of reference specifically mention direct registration and were framed with these developments in mind.</p>
<p>As Australian internet users gain a better understanding of the DNS and become used to seeing many different types of domain name, they may be more receptive to, and demanding of, changes in the .au domain.</p>
<p>You won’t be able to register anythingyouwant.au; there will still be rules on what you can and can’t register, and we will continue to have a regulated .au, which is relatively safe. But if the panel recommendations are accepted, there will be a lot more choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek Whitehead Chairs the current 2015 Names Panel on behalf of auDA. He is a member of auDA.</span></em></p>The rules that govern what Australian web address people can register could be changed to allow more personalised .au domain names.Derek Whitehead, Adjunct professor, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/404572015-04-21T04:36:35Z2015-04-21T04:36:35ZGoogle wants more mobile-friendly websites in its mobile searches<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78661/original/image-20150421-25679-18ww0la.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The growing trend: searching the web from your smartphone.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rafeblandford/4701058519">Flicrr/Rafe Blandford</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you search Google on a mobile device, any website that is not mobile-friendly will be harder to find from today. </p>
<p>Depending on the website, this may translate to fewer visitors, an apocalyptic scenario that has been dubbed “<a href="http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/mobility/67722-google-changes-mobile-search-%E2%80%93-mobile-geddon">mobile-geddon</a>”.</p>
<p>Being ranked highly on Google search results is important for most organisations with websites, especially small businesses. A high Google rank means your website is easier for people to find, as many people don’t read beyond one or two pages of search results. </p>
<p>In other words, if your site is not in the top 20 search results returned by Google, chances are people won’t be finding your website quickly, if at all. </p>
<h2>How Google works</h2>
<p>When you type some words into Google and click the search button, Google checks an index it has created of the web, and finds all the pages that contain the words you searched for. Once Google has the list of webpages that match your search, it organises them in order of relevance. </p>
<p>The precise method that Google uses to order its search results is a closely guarded secret, and with good reason. If Google’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank">page ranking</a> method (or algorithm, in computer science terms) was well known, then people would engineer their web pages to improve their search rank.</p>
<p>Very soon unscrupulous individuals would use this knowledge to promote their web pages, even if they were unrelated to the search term you had entered. Relevant search results would be buried under a mountain of spam.</p>
<p>Despite the secrecy, web developers have deduced <a href="http://google.about.com/od/searchengineoptimization/qt/improverank.htm">a number of well known things</a> that can be done to improve the search rank of a web page. The art and science of this is called search engine optimisation, or SEO for short.</p>
<p>Google’s decision to improve the search ranking of mobile friendly sites reflects the rapid growth in mobile browsing. Around 30% of all web traffic now <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/#all-comparison-ww-monthly-201404-201503">originates on a mobile device</a> rather than a desktop machine, with many sources predicting that mobile internet use will eventually overtake desktop use. </p>
<p>As mobile browsing becomes more common, Google is trying to ensure that its search engine continues to find sites that are relevant to its users. So this change is essentially about maintaining the quality of Google’s search results.</p>
<p>But because the mobile test is design related rather than content related, it also means that one site can potentially be ranked more highly than another even if its content is less relevant.</p>
<h2>Designing for the mobile</h2>
<p>A mobile-friendly website is one that is designed to be used on mobile devices. Generally speaking, this means larger text, simpler layouts (single column, like a book, rather than multi-column, like a newspaper), and larger buttons and links which are easier for fingers to click. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78658/original/image-20150421-25694-cygo7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making your website work across several platforms from desktop to mobile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/MPFphotography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From a web design perspective, creating websites that work equally well on desktop and mobile devices presents an interesting design challenge. A site that works well on a desktop often does not work well on a mobile device, and vice-versa. This means that designers often have to come up with more than one design for a web site.</p>
<p>In general, designers attack this problem in one of two ways: either, they create two separate web sites (a mobile one, and a desktop one), or they come up with a single “responsive” design that automatically modifies itself based upon the device that is looking at it. </p>
<p>Most web designers are already adopting a <a href="http://abookapart.com/products/mobile-first">mobile-first approach</a> to design, where web sites are designed around mobile use, and then adapted to desktop, rather than the other way around.</p>
<h2>Problems</h2>
<p>Google’s decision to change its page ranking algorithm raises some important issues, not the least of which is how reliant some organisations have become on a single company to direct traffic to their websites. </p>
<p>Although Google is not the only search engine (Microsoft’s <a href="http://www.bing.com/">Bing</a> is its main competitor), it <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Market-Rankings/comScore-Releases-April-2014-US-Search-Engine-Rankings">dominates its competitors</a>, getting around two in every three searches in the US. By comparison, Bing gets only one in six searches.</p>
<p>Organisations with older websites, or those which have not been designed to be mobile friendly, may find that making their web sites mobile friendly is not a trivial undertaking. For many, this will mean making a decision between spending money on upgrading the web site, or suffering a lower page rank on Google.</p>
<p>Google has provided an <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/">on-line tool</a> that can be used by web site owners to check whether web pages are mobile-friendly. It has also provided <a href="https://developers.google.com/webmasters/mobile-sites/get-started/">information for web developers</a> on updating their websites.</p>
<p>But organisations should consider the impact of the changes on their web site before rushing to update, as not all websites will be equally affected. The biggest impact will be on organisations who rely on people discovering their site through Google search and whose customers are more likely to use mobile devices to find their websites. </p>
<p>Although predictions range from the benign to the calamitous, it’s not clear how much of an impact Google’s new algorithm will have. Organisations that are concerned about these changes should monitor their web traffic closely over the next week to ensure that they are not seeing a significant reduction in web traffic.</p>
<p>If the number of visits on a site start to fall, it may signal that the site is succumbing to the mobile-geddon, and it’s probably time to think seriously about an upgrade.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Hinton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With more people using the web from hand-held devices the search giant Google wants you to see more mobile-friendly websites.Sam Hinton, Assistant Professor in Web Design, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/345312014-12-02T19:21:28Z2014-12-02T19:21:28ZA new way to fix those frustrating websites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65648/original/image-20141127-18564-nghucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some websites can drive you crazy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonbro/301098365">Flickr/Jonathan Brodsky </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How many times have you been looking for information online, only to find yourself going round and round in circles? Or you’ve spent too long poking around a website trying to find what you need, only to realise you’ve been looking in the wrong place all along?</p>
<p>Whether it is doing your banking, looking up details of a flight or checking out some government services – if a website doesn’t work the way we want it to, it can be a very frustrating experience.</p>
<p>It might seem like a first-world problem but the reality is our expectations around service delivery are changing. <a href="http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/interacting-with-government-2011/docs/interacting-with-government-2011.pdf">More than three quarters</a> of Australians prefer to access services electronically and we expect those services to be faster, adaptable and available whenever and wherever we desire.</p>
<p>This is why, more than ever before, service providers need to understand how people use their digital channels and make sure that their design is efficient, user-friendly and fit for the purpose.</p>
<h2>Creating digital communities</h2>
<p>It’s not only businesses that need to have a savvy online presence. Digital service delivery is increasingly relevant for the public sector. The <a href="http://www.finance.gov.au/files/2013/01/APS_ICT_Strategy.pdf">Australian Public Service ICT strategy 2012 – 2015</a>, states that digital technologies will be used to enable the delivery of better government services for the Australian people, communities and business. </p>
<p>Take the Australian Government’s <a href="http://www.humanservices.gov.au/">Department of Human Services</a>, which interacts with millions of Australians through services such as Medicare and Centrelink. </p>
<p>Managing payments worth more than a third of the federal government’s overall budget, small improvements to individual transactions can have a huge benefit. Customers being able to use self-service and online tools for some of their needs frees up valuable resources for cases where human interaction can make the most difference.</p>
<p>For the past five years CSIRO worked with the Department – under the <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/ICT-and-Services/People-and-businesses/HSDRA.aspx">Human Services Delivery Research Alliance</a> which concluded in September – to develop a number of tools that are helping to transform service delivery for the digital era.</p>
<h2>Connecting on social media</h2>
<p>The Department is using our social media monitoring system, called <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/ICT-and-Services/Social-media-monitoring.aspx">Vizie</a>, to support their social media management.</p>
<p>Vizie tracks, integrates and visualises information from a range of social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, into a single, theme-based dashboard.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65588/original/image-20141126-4248-1xh0ghj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=650&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vizie can generate streamgraph visualisations, like this one collected during CeBit. Using language processing and text analysis algorithms, it identifies what topics are being discussed in real time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vizie can then help the department identify, from social media and in real time, when customers are experiencing problems using online and mobile services. This knowledge provides valuable feedback and supports quicker system responses.</p>
<p>As well as providing immediate insight into the major topics of the day, Vizie can also save organisations a lot of time that would otherwise be spent sifting through huge volumes of social media chatter.</p>
<h2>More intuitive website experiences</h2>
<p>The department is also using <a href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/ICT-and-Services/latte.aspx">LATTE</a>, a software platform that analyses the patterns in how people interact with websites.</p>
<p>It compares the sequence and duration of page visits to patterns that denote happy customers or user frustration through an inability to find the information they are looking for. </p>
<p>These patterns detect not only when, but where and why people encounter trouble with finding information, as well as the context of the session. It reveals insights into the organisation of pages and links, and the impact of word choice in search terms.</p>
<p>For example, LATTE might identify a pattern where users load four or five pages in succession before “abandoning ship” and jumping to a Google search instead. This indicates that they were not able to find what they were looking for within the website itself, either because it is hidden away or simply doesn’t exist. </p>
<p>The software can also identify problems with language usage, which can play a huge part in a website’s usability. This can often be the case when an organisation’s internal terminology or jargon doesn’t match up with everyday usage. </p>
<p>Internal search engines can also be a source of frustration if they don’t work effectively. LATTE can be used to identify patterns of user behaviour that show where searches are failing.</p>
<p>For example, users might conduct several searches, one after the other, still unable to find what they need. Or it might show that users have followed a link to a search result, only to then go round and round in circles. </p>
<p>LATTE identifies these mismatches between a user’s expectations of a website and the website itself – whether it be language, structure, the location of content or expected search terms.</p>
<p>By arming organisations with this information, they can make adjustments to the content, metadata and layout of their sites, in order to create a more user friendly and satisfying experience. </p>
<h2>Protecting privacy and boosting productivity</h2>
<p>While all this is happening behind the scenes, a user’s privacy is being protected. The software distills this data from standard log files captured on any web server, meaning there is no intrusive monitoring. </p>
<p>It’s the volume of data, not the identity of the user that’s important. LATTE reports data from aggregates of hundreds or thousands of visitors and identifies trends and patterns in behaviour that can inform decision making.</p>
<p>As the public sector seeks further efficiency dividends and people expect more from their digital services, government agencies are becoming more agile and responsive to change than ever before.</p>
<p><a href="http://ict-industry-reports.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2013/10/2009-Economic-Case-for-Digital-Inclusion-PWC-UK-Oct-2009.pdf">UK research shows</a> that an online transaction costs a mere 1/100th of a face-to-face one so there’s clear savings to be made by agencies improving the online experience.</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the greatest impacts of the digital economy is that today almost anything can be measured – in fact we are drowning in data. So the old management adage “what gets measured gets managed” is turning inside out, to become “how do you measure to manage better?”</p>
<p>The challenge is identifying what data will be useful, and how it can be presented and managed itself to help improve a service to better meet customers’ needs without compromising their rights to privacy and informational security, and without overwhelming decision-makers. </p>
<p>Emerging technologies, such as LATTE and Vizie, are providing this evidence. The potential for these tools to be adopted by other organisations - both public and private - are almost limitless and we believe they are key to enabling services to be delivered faster and better in the digital age.</p>
<p>This will not only improve our productivity as a nation, but hopefully it will also eliminate those frustrating online experiences that leave you pounding the keyboard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Kearney works for CSIRO. CSIRO received funding from the Australian Government Department of Human Services under the Human Services Delivery Research Alliance. The software tools mentioned in this article were developed with support from the Alliance.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>CSIRO received funding from the Department of Human Services under the Human Services Delivery Research Alliance. The Digital Economy Program receives funding from a range of government and industry partners. Sarah is also affiliated with the Australian Communication Consumer Action Network.</span></em></p>How many times have you been looking for information online, only to find yourself going round and round in circles? Or you’ve spent too long poking around a website trying to find what you need, only…Michael Kearney, Director, Human Services Delivery Research Alliance, CSIROSarah Dods, Research Director, Digital Economy Program, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/333062014-10-23T19:17:13Z2014-10-23T19:17:13ZYour coastal town’s climate score? There’s a website for that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62606/original/kxdwpyjc-1414036894.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apollo Bay in Victoria. Australia's coastal towns are vulnerable to changes in the surrounding seas. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccdoh1/2192125250">ccdoh1/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s coastal towns, many built around fisheries and tourism, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. South east and south west Australia are marine hotspots — they are warming <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11160-013-9326-6">much faster than the rest of the world</a>. Fish populations are changing as the seas warm. </p>
<p>But a town’s vulnerability also depends on other factors — such as infrastructure, education, housing and employment. </p>
<p>In a new website launched this week, <a href="http://coastalclimateblueprint.org.au/">Coastal Climate Blueprint</a>, I and others have brought together all these factors to score coastal towns on their vulnerability to climate change. The website also comes with a function to “<a href="http://coastalclimateblueprint.org.au/create-a-blueprint/">Create a blueprint</a>” for your own coastal town, by comparing data from your own region with state and national averages. </p>
<p>While most of this information is available, it has until now been locked away in vulnerability reports of fished species, in population census reports and in scientific papers. </p>
<p>For the first time we have brought this information to the fore, and to be readily accessible to communities wanting more control of their future.</p>
<h2>Gone fishing</h2>
<p>There have been many Australian studies examining the vulnerability of key fish species by considering the projected change in climate change impacts (current systems, extreme events, increased rainfall, ocean acidification). </p>
<p>The most common impact has been the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00575.x/abstract">southern shift</a> in the distribution of species, as well as declines in young surviving to breed in species such as the <a href="http://www.climatechange.gov.au/climate-change/adapting-climate-change/australias-coasts-and-climate-change/understanding-risks-0-2">southern rock lobster</a>. This has resulted in substantial declines in allocated catch.</p>
<p>What happens to the fish influences how vulnerable communities are that depend on ocean resources for a living. </p>
<p>For example, the average number of people engaged in fishing and aquaculture is substantially higher for Tasmania than the Australian average. If fishing or aquaculture is a key activity in a coastal town, it will be more vulnerable to changes in fish populations.</p>
<p>To understand the full ramifications of these changes on coastal towns, we need to know combined marine activities (commercial and recreational fishing, aquaculture, marine tourism including charter boat and diving operations) in the region and how important these are to each town and community. </p>
<p>The linkages extend to the accommodation sector, education, retail and underpinning of property values.</p>
<h2>Human assets</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62598/original/2z8r6nqt-1414035815.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tasmania’s seas are forecast to warm over the next 50 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://coastalclimateblueprint.org.au/">Coastal Climate Blueprint</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62599/original/rwgvw2p3-1414035816.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=628&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Currents are also expected to shift.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://quiz.coastalclimateblueprint.org.au/">Coastal Climate Blueprint</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ability for a community to cope and adapt to changes such as climate change or other stressors is linked to its natural, social, financial, human and physical assets or what is commonly referred to as capitals. </p>
<p>For example, a community could be relatively low in physical capital through a lack of coastal infrastructure for recreational and commercial fishing or aquaculture. </p>
<p>The community could also have relatively low financial capital with a high unemployment rate and low average wages, but have high social connectivity (social capital), healthy ecosystems and fish stocks (high natural capital) and a large population of working age people (high human capital).</p>
<p>On our website, each capital receives a score out of 10, and then averaged across all capitals to get a total vulnerability score, with 10 being the most vulnerable to climate change. </p>
<h2>Scoring vulnerability</h2>
<p>The project was developed around three case studies in St Helens, Tasmania; Geraldton in Western Australia and Bowen in Queensland. </p>
<p>Although these towns are in different regions and of different sizes, they were all experiencing the impacts of change and their fishing fleets had <a href="http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/587425/Final-Report-2010-542-DLD.PDF">declined substantially (between 30 and 60%) over recent decades</a>. </p>
<p>St Helens is located in one of the fastest warming regions globally (estimated at four times the global average) and is experiencing a transition from cool temperate to warmer temperate species. </p>
<p>Several of these species are providing opportunities such as the billfish, tunas and kingfish for game fishers, and snapper and King George Whiting for coastal recreational fishers. </p>
<p>In Bowen, both the fishing and tourism industries have been affected by the damage from cyclones which are predicted to become more intense as the world warms. </p>
<p>In Geraldton, increases in ocean temperatures have resulted in higher deaths of existing cooler water aquaculture and fished species although, like St Helens, warmer water species are benefiting.</p>
<p>So what does this all mean for a coastal community? </p>
<p>This project, and the resulting web site, will raise within communities awareness of what is happening to one of their most valuable assets — their coastal waters. It also raises awareness of predicted changes and which resources are likely to be most vulnerable. </p>
<p><em>This project was funded by the <a href="http://frdc.com.au/Pages/home.aspx">Fisheries Research and Development Corporation</a> and carried out with the assistance of Professor Malcolm Tull and Dr Sarah Metcalf of Murdoch University, Dr Nadine Marshall of CSIRO Townsville, and Dr Ingrid Van Putten of CSIRO and the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Hobart.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stewart Frusher receives funding from FRDC and other National Government funding bodies</span></em></p>Australia’s coastal towns, many built around fisheries and tourism, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. South east and south west Australia are marine hotspots — they are warming much faster…Stewart Frusher, Cross-cutting Theme Leader: Climate Change, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/296882014-07-27T20:20:31Z2014-07-27T20:20:31ZTracking your digital fingerprint online raises privacy issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54871/original/f48sgxnd-1406264980.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Your computer has a special fingerprint that can give away details of your online browsing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/concentratedpassion/1941655530">Flickr/Sandra Nahdi</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just how much information we give away about ourselves as we browse the web has been raised again by a tracking device used in thousands of websites.</p>
<p>Researchers at Belgium’s University of Leuven <a href="https://securehomes.esat.kuleuven.be/%7Egacar/persistent/the_web_never_forgets.pdf">have revealed</a> the widespread use of a technique called “canvas fingerprinting” that tracks the activities of people on a website without their knowledge.</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://securehomes.esat.kuleuven.be/%7Egacar/sticky/index.html">5,600 websites</a> were identified using the fingerprinting technique including Australian websites such as <a href="http://auspost.com.au">Australia Post</a>, the <a href="http://fairwork.gov.au">Fairwork Ombudsman</a> and the <a href="http://seashepherd.org.au">Sea Shepherd</a> conservation group.</p>
<p>While this technique is relatively new, it represents another front in a very long battle to find out what users do online, and raises concerns about our ability to control our online privacy.</p>
<h2>Here, have a cookie</h2>
<p>Technical mechanisms for uniquely identifying web users date back to the introduction of the <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Cookies">cookie</a> in the Netscape browser in 1994.</p>
<p>When the user loads a webpage they get all the information necessary to display the page, such as the text, layout and images. But they also a small amount of “cookie” data sent along too, which is stored by the browser on the user’s computer.</p>
<p>When the user requests another page from the same website, the browser appends the cookie to the request to the server. In this way, the server hosting the website knows that the request came from the same computer.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54880/original/gghxsmy3-1406266830.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If only you could eat your browser cookies too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/4nitsirk/6945860265">Flickr/Kristina D C Hoeppner </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cookies are extremely useful and without them there would be no support for website logins.</p>
<p>But they can also be used to provide a complete record of a user’s use of a website. The use of “tracking cookies” allows this recording to extend across many, many websites, providing a comprehensive picture of a user’s browsing history to whoever controls the tracking cookie.</p>
<p>This becomes particularly intrusive if this browsing history can then be tied to any identifying data.</p>
<h2>Privacy management</h2>
<p>Understandably, many internet users aren’t terribly enthusiastic about their browsing history being so readily available to third parties. Tools to manage cookies have been incorporated into internet browsers and third-party privacy tools.</p>
<p>Deleting cookies, or controlling whether particular cookies are sent back to particular websites, gives the user more control over the extent of monitoring. </p>
<p>The technical response of browser developers has been combined with legal measures, such as the European Union’s <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/basics/legal/cookies/index_en.htm">privacy directive</a>.</p>
<p>Under these rules, cookies used in a potentially privacy-invading manner must be disclosed to website visitors and explicit consent obtained.</p>
<h2>Browser fingerprinting</h2>
<p>Some internet companies have now turned to another ingenious technique for uniquely identifying and tracking users.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54876/original/44vp3z78-1406266251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just like you, your computer can have its own fingerprint.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blvesboy/2327808306">Flickr/Jose Lui s Agapito</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rather than relying on browsers to send back a previously sent cookie, they collect enough information about the user’s browser environment to uniquely identify the user.</p>
<p>Modern computers have specialised hardware that greatly speeds up the computations needed to draw pictures on the screen. These graphics chips, made by companies such as <a href="http://www.nvidia.com/content/global/global.php">NVidia</a>, have made possible the amazing graphics of modern games, and speeded up your browsing and spreadsheets on today’s high-resolution monitors.</p>
<p>But the wide variety of such hardware, and the software used as “drivers” to control them, means that different computers will render such pictures in subtly different ways.</p>
<p>Images rendered by the graphics hardware (and thus subtly different on different computers) can be created from within a browser, analysed and sent back to a web server.</p>
<p>On its own, this is not enough to uniquely identify a user. But when combined with information such as the browser name and version number, and the list of fonts available on the system, it can provide a unique “fingerprint” of a user’s computer.</p>
<p>This provides a tracking mechanism that can be operated across many websites; a “super-cookie” that can’t be deleted as it is inherent to the computer it’s running on.</p>
<p>Again, this is most intrusive if it can be combined with personally identifying information. But even without this, it is very much against the spirit of the cultural norm (and the EU law) that requires internet sites to explicitly gain the consent of their users to enable tracking.</p>
<p>The University of Leuven research indicates that around 5% of the world’s top 1,000 websites make some use of this fingerprinting method, which was originally identified by <a href="http://w2spconf.com/2012/papers/w2sp12-final4.pdf">University of California researchers</a> in 2012. </p>
<p>Interestingly, however, the vast majority of websites using browser fingerprinting had done so by incorporating a third-party element into their website.</p>
<h2>Free tools come with a hidden price</h2>
<p>The primary product of <a href="http://www.addthis.com">AddThis</a> is sharing tools – an easy-to-add component that website developers can incorporate on their sites that allow visitors to easily share the page they are viewing on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54881/original/pdgc9y76-1406267123.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.addthis.com/logos">AddThis</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While AddThis charges for some use of some these components, others are available for free. Free and good-looking website components are to website developers what honeypots are to bears, so it’s not surprising that they have been widely adopted.</p>
<p>But AddThis extracts an additional quid pro quo – collecting browser data about those who visit sites usings their tools, much more than either the visitors, or the website owners, would have realised.</p>
<p>AddThis’s Rich LaBarca <a href="http://www.addthis.com/blog/2014/07/23/the-facts-about-our-use-of-a-canvas-element-in-our-recent-rd-test/#more-9066">said</a> it carried out a six month test using the fingerprinting and that any data collected was used for “internal research”. The code has since been disabled.</p>
<p>But the <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/">White House</a> blog on the website of the US President didn’t realise that <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/07/white-house-website-includes-unique-non-cookie-tracker-despite-privacy-policy">incorporating AddThis tools</a> to its website violated its own privacy policy.</p>
<h2>Taking what most of us give away anyway</h2>
<p>As a computer geek from way back, I can’t help but grudgingly respect the ingenuity of those who perfect these privacy-invading tools, even as I deplore their ethics.</p>
<p>But my outrage is also tempered by the knowledge that these companies are taking by stealth what most of us choose to give away freely to other companies.</p>
<p>As media theorist Douglas Rushkoff <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-09/21/doug-rushkoff-hello-etsy">observed</a>, we – or, more precisely, our personal information – are “products” to many online companies such as Facebook, Google and AddThis.</p>
<p>The greatest fortunes of the 21st century have been founded on collecting and exploiting the personal information of billions of people, with a level of detail that companies such as AddThis can only dream of accessing.</p>
<p>And they’ve found that providing an easy way for us to share webpages of amazing cat videos and pictures is compelling enough that most of us will freely give them that information.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54891/original/n9hnjp2g-1406270446.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How some websites use sharing tools such as AddThis to make it easy for us to share things with friends on social media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.funnycoco.com/c/11859/incredible+cat+saves+little+boy+from+vicious+dog+attack">funnycoco.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So what of ethics?</h2>
<p>Do those who actually build these technologies – the programmers, analysts, testers and other IT professionals – have any obligation to consider the ethics of the tools they build? In theory, they do.</p>
<p>The two largest global professional bodies of the IT profession – the Association for Computing Machinery (<a href="http://www.acm.org/">ACM</a>) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (<a href="http://www.computer.org/">IEEE-CS</a>) – have jointly developed a <a href="http://www.computer.org/cms/Computer.org/Publications/code-of-ethics.pdf">Software Engineering Code of Ethics</a>. The Australian Computer Society also has its <a href="https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/7835/Code-of-Ethics.pdf">own code of ethics</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately – and unlike law, medicine or other fields of engineering – professional societies and their codes of ethics have virtually no influence within the information technology community.</p>
<p>Despite occasional efforts to set themselves up as gatekeepers through licensing, they have had little success. As such, however virtuous these codes of ethics may appear, they have no teeth.</p>
<p>Much as I would personally like it to be otherwise, it’s unlikely that attempts to violate the privacy of individuals will reduce through the self-regulation of IT professionals.</p>
<p>The financial incentives for companies to do so are likely to continue. Privacy protection will have to come through some combination of public pressure, legal means, and individual adoption of technical and behavioural countermeasures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Merkel receives has previously received Australian Research Council grants to investigate aspects of software testing and reliability.</span></em></p>Just how much information we give away about ourselves as we browse the web has been raised again by a tracking device used in thousands of websites. Researchers at Belgium’s University of Leuven have…Robert Merkel, Lecturer in Software Engineering, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220492014-01-21T04:04:17Z2014-01-21T04:04:17ZPoor design means terrible websites still haunt the web<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39515/original/ctb2dxwg-1390275945.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C147%2C990%2C613&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Website design shouldn't elicit this reaction.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Mylla</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is probably not one of us reading this who has not lost themselves in time and space as they surf the web. So much engaging content, so many interesting lines of enquiry – and so much rubbish too. </p>
<p>As the (revised) saying goes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even though the World Wide Web has come a <a href="http://www.evolutionoftheweb.com/?hl=en">long way</a> since it was <a href="http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html">first developed</a> more than 20 years ago, we often come across the “try-too-hard website” where designers mistakenly think that people visit the site for the “experience”. They do not. They come for information. Anything that slows them down in getting that information is just annoying. </p>
<p>Annoying your visitors can hardly be good for business, yet websites that do this are not uncommon – as shown in the latest annual list of <a href="http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/worst-websites-of-2013.html">25 worst websites</a>. </p>
<p>Even worse is the website for a <a href="http://www.007museum.com/">James Bond museum</a> in Sweden, picked up by another <a href="http://blog.marginmedia.com.au/Our-Blog/bid/92291/5-Examples-of-Poor-Website-Design">web critic</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39460/original/2wvk8r6t-1390259484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ‘jarring’ design on the James Bond Museum website.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.007museum.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite a growing number of people accessing the <a href="http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/what-users-want-most-from-mobile-sites-today.html">web through their smartphones</a>, there are still many websites that have so much busy content, Flash animations and slow-loading graphics that even a desktop computer would have trouble showing them.</p>
<h2>No standards of design</h2>
<p>Of course there are no enforceable standards for how websites should look, only <a href="http://www.w3.org/">technical standards</a> for how they operate under the skin.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39517/original/4z6r96my-1390276236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1138&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Accessing the web on a smartphone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Mads Madsfoto Johansen </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Website designers do what they think will work best in the interests of whoever is paying them.</p>
<p>This might include some downright awful <a href="https://www.google.com.au/search?q=bad+website+design&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=nDHWUs3UJ8WnlAWP74CYBw&ved=0CEgQsAQ&biw=1491&bih=728">razzle-dazzle</a> websites. It might even include the covert installation of malware (<a href="http://au.norton.com/security_response/malware.jsp">malicious software</a>). </p>
<p>The internet can indeed be a dangerous and dirty place, as the late author Kurt Vonnegut laconically observed back in 2005 during an <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/late-night-live-summer---kurt-vonnegut/3678034">interview</a> with the ABC’s Phillip Adams. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“(it has) allowed white-collar criminals to do what the mob would have loved to do – put a porn shop and a loan shark in every home.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When it comes to web design, people do what they think they can get away with.</p>
<h2>Bad design</h2>
<p>Opinions vary about what good and bad web design looks like, but there are a few points that many seem to agree on. These include:</p>
<ol>
<li>not being mobile-friendly</li>
<li>overuse of Flash animations</li>
<li>pop-up windows</li>
<li>music or video that plays automatically</li>
<li>too much content, particularly when poorly organised</li>
<li>inappropriate typography</li>
<li>slow to load</li>
<li>installation of <a href="http://www.symantec.com/security_response/glossary/define.jsp?letter=a&word=adware">adware</a> or <a href="http://www.symantec.com/security_response/glossary/define.jsp?letter=m&word=malware">malware</a></li>
<li>too many ads</li>
<li>poor visual contrast</li>
<li>poor navigation aids</li>
<li>irrelevant or self-indulgent content and overuse of stock photos.</li>
</ol>
<p>The list is not exhaustive, but covers the majority of people’s gripes with websites.</p>
<h2>Good design</h2>
<p>Describing bad design begs the question, what is good design? Much orthodox opinion parading as fact has been written on the subject, but let us cut straight to the essence.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39412/original/7qvzdmzq-1390198592.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Look to the basics for good design.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/ Mariano Real Pérez</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the great designers of the modern era, German industrial designer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Rams">Dieter Rams</a>, distilled a lifetime of first-class work into ten basic principles of good design. </p>
<p>It is true that Rams designed <a href="http://gizmodo.com/10-iconic-dieter-rams-designs-from-a-store-that-sells-h-1045228746">physical objects</a> rather than websites, but his human-centred design principles capture the essence so well that a good argument can be made for applying them to web design, along with any other artifacts. </p>
<p>Here are Rams’ ten principles as I would see them applied to web design. </p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Innovative</strong> – it avoids cliches and tired methods and makes use of current technologies to achieve innovative user interfaces and functionality.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Usefulness/usability</strong> – the user has no difficulty finding what they are looking for, the content is concise, high quality and accurate, and the website is usable by the various browsers and search engines etc that interact with it. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Aesthetic</strong> – there is a harmonious balance between form and function. The arrangement of colours, spacings and typefaces all work in harmony with each other to make the user feel good when using it. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Easy to understand</strong> – the site is self-explanatory and intuitive. The design is fully aligned to the goals of the website. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Unobtrusive</strong> – the “less is more” principle. Simple and minimalist to the point where <em>only</em> that which is essential is present, nothing more. The user reaches the information they want quickly. They do not get lost or diverted along the way. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Honest</strong> – the website is open and upfront about what is happening. It gives users all of the options they need when they need it so they understand. The design does not get in the way of giving the user what they want. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Longevity</strong> – the website remains good and usable over time, not by staying the same but by evolving and staying current. This applies to both content and site layout.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Thorough</strong> – nothing has been left out, everything is there that needs to be there. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Environmentally friendly</strong> – the website is as efficient as it can be by reducing the amount of data that needs to be downloaded, images that have been optimised for the web and so on. It is true that this will have a negligible effect on the environment, but the principle of lean efficiency is nonetheless important.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>As little design as possible</strong> – “less but better”. he website has only what is essential and is not burdened with non-essentials. It has the virtue of simplicity. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some would argue that these principles might have been relevant in the Cold War era but has little to do with good web design today.</p>
<p>That would be to miss the point that the principles of good design will always be true and can be adapted across all disciplines. Enough from me: let Rams and Apple’s senior vice president of design <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jonathan-ive.html">Jonathan Ive</a> explain their ideas in their own words. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zaLMOSWAwdw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Tuffley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is probably not one of us reading this who has not lost themselves in time and space as they surf the web. So much engaging content, so many interesting lines of enquiry – and so much rubbish too…David Tuffley, Lecturer in Applied Ethics & Socio-Technical Studies, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/23372011-08-18T03:42:12Z2011-08-18T03:42:12ZTrust me, web users … I’m beautiful<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2999/original/Screen_shot_2011-08-18_at_12.32.47_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C1%2C817%2C612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Website designers want to woo you, and will use every trick in the book.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EF Photography</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Beautiful women make great con people, as do handsome men.</p>
<p>Why? Because, for better or worse, we are predisposed to trust beautiful people more than normal-looking folks.</p>
<p>But what if we take it one step further: if we trust attractive people, do we also trust attractive websites? </p>
<p>Sure, it might seem like a big leap, but for web designers and marketers such questions are more than mere speculation.</p>
<p>To understand this question, and to ultimately arrive at an answer, we need to dip quickly into the world of evolutionary biology. </p>
<p>We know that attractive people of the opposite gender <a href="http://theconversation.com/all-about-the-girl-the-mating-game-and-how-not-to-win-it-527">make preferred mates</a>. Attractiveness suggests healthiness, an important consideration when looking for a mate.</p>
<p>We also know that we’re naturally suspicious of strangers – they could potentially steal our food, our land or threaten our survival. </p>
<p>So, as a result of our instinctive desire to mate with healthy partners we develop trusting relationships with attractive people easier than we do with normal-looking people.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2992/original/Puma_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Puma website is vibrant and attractive. (Click for larger image)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.puma.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what about objects? Can we trust beautiful objects more than objects that are not?</p>
<p>Instinctively, you’d think not – objects don’t normally communicate like humans, and the link between object design and designer is most often unknown. </p>
<p>In other words, the human element of most objects is muted and not at all salient in the viewer’s mind. </p>
<p>But what if an object <em>did</em> communicate, and <em>did</em> have a strong human element whereby the visual aspect could be viewed as an extension of someone’s personality? </p>
<p>I’m talking, of course, about websites.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2995/original/US_Census_Gov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">“Government websites tend to be cluttered and ugly” (Click for larger image).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.census.gov</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In my research for <a href="http://blog.webreep.com/">the Webreep project</a> I found a direct relationship between the attractiveness of websites and how much people trust those sites. </p>
<p>When we think about why this might be the case, we see many similarities with the mechanisms shaping trust towards other humans.</p>
<p>Websites may be viewed as an extension of a person, with a personality and other associations that go beyond objective evaluations. </p>
<p>Websites communicate, are adorned with decorative features, and may have <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080818-body-symmetry.html">“balance”</a> – a key characteristic of beauty in human beings.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2993/original/Apple_Safari_site_good.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Apple website is one of the best examples of attractive web design (Click for larger image).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.apple.com/safari</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, not all websites are created the same. As the internet developed, some truly hideous creations came to light that probably never should have.</p>
<p>Thankfully, conventions in web design have finally taken hold. The <a href="http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds">Rule of Thirds</a> and the naturally-occurring <a href="http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GoldenTriangle.html">golden triangle</a> are also regularly found in website design now. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/css-layouts/two-fixed/">column system popular now</a> essentially comprises a main column two-thirds the width of a page, with a right sidebar accounting for the final third.</p>
<p>Website logos in conventional web design are located top-left, search boxes belong on the right, and the “face” – the main image on a homepage, sometimes called the “hero” – is at the top of the page, just below the “crown” (top content).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/2994/original/Microsoft_poor.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microsoft pays little attention to balanced web design (Click for larger image).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.microsoft.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So why does any of this matter? </p>
<p>Consumers have always been very cautious about providing their contact and financial details online. Consequently, trust has been one of the most challenging obstacles facing website vendors since the birth of the web.</p>
<p>In the early years of internet adoption, websites that faired best were those of companies that also had a physical presence on the high street and had already formed some type of relationship with consumers. </p>
<p>Trust is still an enormous component of website design – without it consumers simply won’t spend their money, and for most businesses, that’s what it comes down to.</p>
<p>Attracting thousands of visitors to your website or Facebook page is meaningless if they don’t pull out their wallets at some point.</p>
<p>Beauty may well be in the eye of the beholder, but websites want your attention as much as any real-life suitor.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/2337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent Coker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Beautiful women make great con people, as do handsome men. Why? Because, for better or worse, we are predisposed to trust beautiful people more than normal-looking folks. But what if we take it one step…Brent Coker, PhD; Lecturer in Marketing, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.