Skip to main content

Subscribers Sue AOL Over Privacy Breach

From what we can tell, this is the first lawsuit to become publicly known since AOL released more than 19 million search requests by more than 650,000 subscribers over a three-month time span.   The suit was filed last Friday in the District Court of Oakland and does not mention how much the three people are seeking in damages. As for just how much data had been taken by AOL, the company admits that they substituted customer names with ID numbers instead, although the search queries themselves could have obtained information such as credit card numbers, medical conditions and other information.   Search engines often keep subscriber information to help refine their searches and service.   AOL has been playing a risky game lately in an effort to increase profits and stay alive. In April of this year the company officially changed their name from America Online to AOL and then decided to drop their subscriber fees in exchange for an advertising driven model.

Editors' Recommendations

Ian Bell
I work with the best people in the world and get paid to play with gadgets. What's not to like?
What is ChatGPT Plus? Here’s what to know before you subscribe
Close up of ChatGPT and OpenAI logo.

ChatGPT is completely free to use, but that doesn't mean OpenAI isn't also interested in making some money.

ChatGPT Plus is a subscription model that gives you access to a completely different service based on the GPT-4 model, along with faster speeds, more reliability, and first access to new features. Beyond that, it also opens up the ability to use ChatGPT plug-ins, create custom chatbots, use DALL-E 3 image generation, and much more.
What is ChatGPT Plus?
Like the standard version of ChatGPT, ChatGPT Plus is an AI chatbot, and it offers a highly accurate machine learning assistant that's able to carry out natural language "chats." This is the latest version of the chatbot that's currently available.

Read more
7 beloved Windows apps that Microsoft has killed over the years
A screenshot of Internet Explorer 9.

Microsoft's history is littered with the discontinuation of once-beloved applications. Most recently, WordPad, the renowned text editor app, was conspicuously absent from the latest beta build of Windows 11, indicating an end to its 28-year-long journey. I have fond memories of using the app back in my college days when Microsoft Office was too pricey for me.

WordPad is far from the only app to get canceled by Microsoft over the years. From pioneering productivity tools to nostalgic multimedia players, let's reminisce about some of the most famous applications that Microsoft has consigned to the annals of tech history.
Internet Explorer

Read more
The best subreddits you should subscribe to in 2024
A person using Reddit on a Macbook.

Chances are, if you're interested in it, Reddit likely has a dedicated community for discussing it. These communities are known as "subreddits" and they can be a great place to talk about your interests with other like-minded people, find support, or get answers to your questions, whether they're about your favorite shows or a new recipe you're trying out.

And we're not kidding. Reddit's vast collection of subreddits covers pretty much everything from the usual communities centered around sports and television shows to some pretty obscure ones like a subreddit created to share animal rescue videos played in reverse. So don't worry: You'll find a subreddit you'll enjoy following. But it can take some time to find your favorite communities. Most of the time, you can just find subreddits by searching your favorite topics on Reddit's website or app. But if you feel like you need more help finding subreddits to join, you can use our guide to give yourself a head start. Below, you'll find our picks for the best subreddits Reddit currently has to offer.
r/Futurology
Artist's rendition of the Ga­ia ob­ser­va­to­ry in space ESA/ATG medialab Background: ESO/S. Brunier

Read more