Skip to main content

Firefox and Chrome tools block Murdoch-owned websites

news-of-the-world-rupert-murdoch
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s safe to say Rupert Murdoch is having a bad month. A couple developers have created free tools to help consumers stay away from websites owned by the Murdoch media empire. A Firefox add-on called MurdochAlert creates a warning when users are loading one of  100+ sites.  For instance, if a user lands on Fox News, an alert bar appears to warn the user of the “potential computer security risks of accessing Murdoch-controlled sites”. The add-on comes with a Greasemonkey script for any user that wants to alter the design.

murdoch-blockA Chrome extension takes a more stringent approach and completely halts the user from loading a Murdoch property. Called Murdoch Block, the extension displays a warning before allowing the user to choose to load the site. Popular blocked properties include Hulu (31 percent owned by Fox), Fox News, MySpace, Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. However, News Corp-owned IGN and American Idol sites didn’t get the same treatment from the developer.

Collectively, the add-on and extension have nearly 5,000 users since being added to the corresponding databases earlier this week. These tools have been developed in response to the current phone hacking scandal that caused Murdoch-owned News of the World to shut down last week. The developer of the Firefox add-on is concerned that hacking and abuse of user data may also extend into the sites controlled by Murdoch, either from internal employees or groups like LulzSec. Earlier this week, LulzSec hacked the UK’s The Sun to by adding a page that claimed Rupert Murdoch had been found dead

Rupert Murdoch and son James Murdoch have been under fire by British politicians this week regarding questioning about the phone hacking scandal as well as the questionable relationships between News Corp. newspapers and the police department. They also face the possibility that a hacker affiliated with Anonymous has access to 4GB of potentially incriminating email communication as claimed on his Twitter account.

Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more