devops Fresh CSS constructs move web design beyond ticky-tacky little boxes Let us bury the web's 30-year layout reliance on rectangles
offbeat Just say no to NO FAKES Act, EFF argues The problem is focusing on property rights rather than privacy
software The AIpocalypse is here for websites as search referrals plunge Turn out the lights, the internet is over
software Bots are overwhelming websites with their hunger for AI data GLAM-E Labs report warns of risk to online cultural resources
software Cloudflare builds an AI to lead AI scraper bots into a horrible maze of junk content Slop-making machine will feed unauthorized scrapers what they so richly deserve, hopefully without poisoning the internet
on_prem Trump scrubs all mention of DEI, gender, climate change from federal websites Meanwhile, the Internet Archive races to save what it can – again
offbeat Hulk smash Musk and Zuck! Actor Mark Ruffalo and non-billionaire pals back network tech underpinning Bluesky Free Our Feeds solicits funds to foster AT Protocol that powers decentralized social media
on_prem Bluesky capitalizes on X woes with funding and user growth The decentralized social network hints at sustainability with talk of subscriptions
software SuperHTML is here to rescue you from syntax errors, and it's FOSS Author would like to see a switch back to plain old static HTML. Us too
software Digital River runs dry, hasn't paid developers for sales since July Vendor told El Reg the biz's law firm claims merchant debts aren’t valid obligations
off_prem The .io domain isn't going anywhere anytime soon amid treaty UK-Mauritius handshake holds but Chagos Islands shift could eventually phase out the ccTLD
software Deno 2.0 looks to backward compatibility to move forward Modern runtime for JavaScript and TypeScript plays nicer with Node.js
on_prem World Wide Web Foundation closes so Tim Berners-Lee can spend more time with his protocol Who wants to join his so Solid crew?
security Russia takes aim at Sitting Ducks domains, bags 30,000+ Eight-year-old domain hijacking technique still claiming victims
on_prem Amazon, you will do a total recall of bad stuff sold through your site, watchdog barks E-super-souk isn't having any of it
software Automation needed to fight army of AI content harvesters stalking the web Just when you think you've ban-hammered them all, more pop up
on_prem Internet Archive blames 'environmental factors' for overnight outages Power failure rather than lawyers to blame for Wayback Machine wandering off
offbeat Netherlands arm of KPMG fined $25M for cheating in exams Staff followed US lead and shared answers after move to online testing
offbeat 404 Day celebrates the internet's most infamous no-show Nothing is forever, not even a web page
software IBM's Weather Company leaked my personal info to analytics, thunders netizen Video watching habits and other data just handed over, lawsuit claims
on_prem USENET, the OG social network, rises again like a text-only phoenix Alive and still quite vigorous considering its age
software How to spot OpenAI's crawler bot and stop it slurping sites for training data Aww, c'mon, let us scrape your pages, we've got billions at stake
on_prem Yahoo! comeback! continues! as! fresh! listing! planned! Boss says it has traffic galore and a beautiful balance sheet
on_prem Google accused of ripping off advertisers with video ads no one saw. Now, the expert view Web giant also hits back ... right as YouTube steps up war on advert blockers
software CERN celebrates 30 years since releasing the web to the public domain Software vendors and the EU weren’t interested, so giving it away became the best option
on_prem Requiem for Google Reader, dead for a decade but not forgotten RSS pioneer Dave Winer sees Mastodon as a positive sign
on_prem Biden attacks Big Tech's data addiction, wants more protection for kids Old man yells at cloud, literally
on_prem W3C's planned transition to HTTPS stymied by legacy laggards Timing for plan to redirect HTTP requests now indeterminate to allow for further feedback
software W3C overrules objections by Google, Mozilla to decentralized identifier spec Oh no, he DIDn't
on_prem The Return of Gopher: Pre-web hypertext service is still around The world was not ready for this gift. It is still not ready for this gift. Coming soon to a Gopherspace near you
offbeat Microsoft says the internet is the nicest it's been since 2016. Obviously they didn't look at The Reg comments Women, on the other hand, haven't seen much difference
offbeat Lawmakers propose TLDR Act because no one reads Terms of Service agreements The bill calls for concise, machine readable summaries of how websites and apps use client data
security Thousands of Firefox users accidentally commit login cookies on GitHub GitHub: 'Credentials exposed by our users are not in scope'
software Microsoft engineer fixes enterprise-level Chromium bug students could exploit to cheat in online tests Ability to block 'view source' for specific URLs hasn't actually worked for years
security FYI: Code compiled to WebAssembly may lack standard security defenses Mechanisms taken for granted on x86 vanish in WASM land, says trio
software As Google sets burial date for legacy Chrome Extensions, fears for ad-blockers grow From January 2023, add-ons built with Manifest V2 API will fail
software Google experiments with user-choice-defying Android search box Apple-flavored approach running as test 'for a small percentage of users'
security Microsoft warns of widespread open redirection phishing attack – which Defender can block, coincidentally Some tactics never change much
on_prem WEB@30: The Register pokes around historical hardware of the WWW ASCII selfies and hands-on action in the heart of Cambridge
software Google Groups kills RSS support without notice Chocolate Factory mum as remaining feed fans search for alternatives
offbeat The web was done right the first time. An ancient 3D banana shows Microsoft does a lot right, too It's wonderful that code written for Windows 3.1 still works well today
software Mozilla slams post-cookie ad tech proposals SWAN and UID2 - needs much more work Replacements for cookie-based tracking still pose privacy problems
software Google hits undo on Chrome browser alert change that broke websites, web apps 'This is peak Chrome; a reasonably good idea hampered because it was pushed out thoughtlessly'
Ad tech ruined the web – and PDF files are here to save it, allegedly One publisher's attempt to roll the internet back to a more innocent time
Sir Tim Berners-Lee's World Wide Web NFT fetches $5.4m at auction while rest of us gaze upon source code for $0 Proceeds to go towards charitable causes, Father of the Web confirms
on_prem Google: About that whole getting rid of third-party cookies thing – we're gonna need another year or so Plan to reinvent advertising turns out to be more difficult than expected
on_prem From I'm feeling lucky to I'm feeling Brave: Browser maker erects web search engine beta Even just to remind the world there's life beyond Google and DuckDuckGo
software Spyware, trade-secret theft, and $30m in damages: How two online support partners spectacularly fell out Chat-bot maker LivePerson wins lawsuit against call-center outfit [24]7.ai
software Bad Apple Safari update breaks IndexedDB JavaScript API, upsets web apps Developers fed up with iGiant neglecting non-native software
software Funny how Sir Tim Berners-Lee, famous for hyperlinks, is into NFTs, glorified hyperlinks Source code auction 'similar to selling an autograph copy of a book'
security ALPACA gnaws through TLS protection to snarf cookies and steal data Boffins find flaw in web security that enables certificate confusion
Global Fastly outage takes down many on the wibbly web – but El Reg remains standing 'Potential impact to performance' drops some of the world's biggest websites offline
software Firefox to adopt Chrome's new approach to extensions – sans the part that threatens ad blockers Mozilla says Google's content-filter API doesn't meet developer needs, others agree
software What happens when a security hole is fixed in WebKit's source but not released as a patch by Apple? Let's find out Three weeks and counting for Cupertino to update Safari's engine
on_prem Cloudflare stops offering to block LGBTQ webpages Like, you wouldn't filter out pages by Black people, right?
software Google to revive RSS support in Chrome for Android Who's Reader? I don't know any Reader. Do you know any Reader?
security Tor users, beware: 'Scheme flooding' technique may be used to deanonymize you By probing for installed apps with custom URL schemes, it's possible to build a 32-bit unique fingerprint
software Googler demolishes one of Apple's monopoly defenses – that web apps are just as good as native iOS software Safari savaged for falling behind in web APIs
on_prem Google's FLoC flies into headwinds as internet ad industry braces for instability Reinventing web advertising tech at a time of heightened privacy concern proves difficult
security Is it still possible to run malware in a browser using JavaScript and Rowhammer? Yes, yes it is (slowly) Firefox 'fully compromised' in 15 minutes via SMASH attack
security Google Sites blight: Over 100,000 web pages for business form searches overrun with backdoor RATs eSentire warns of remote-access trojans masquerading as PDFs
software Wormhole encrypted file transfer app reboots Firefox Send after Mozilla fled App's developers believe they can manage potential abuse
security Browser tracking protections won't stop tracking, warns DuckDuckGo Privacy don't like it, block the tracker, block the tracker
security Intel accused of wiretapping because it uses analytics to track keystrokes, mouse movements on its website Session monitoring scripts prompt dozens of privacy lawsuits against Big Biz, mainly in California and Florida
security Chrome 90 goes HTTPS by default while Firefox injects substitute scripts to foil tracking tech Privacy. Are we there yet? No, but there's some progress at least
security Google's 'privacy-first' ad tech FLoC squawks when Chrome goes Incognito, says expert. Web giant disagrees Chocolate Factory still stomping bugs out of its bird-themed post-third-party-cookie features
software Huge if true: If you show people articles saying that Firefox is faster than Chrome, they'll believe it Mozillians formulate 'prime' directive for browser's comeback following psychological study
software Sign of the primes: Linux Foundation serves up free code-signing service Cryptographic software assurance backed by Google, Red Hat, Purdue U
security Google engineer urges web devs to step up and secure their code in this data-spilling Spectre-haunted world 'This is going to be a lot of work ... a reasonable set of mitigation primitives exists today, ready and waiting for use'
software Brave buys a search engine, promises no tracking, no profiling – and may even offer a paid-for, no-ad version Pitches pro-privacy platform with customizable results filter dubbed Goggles
security Mozilla Firefox keeps cookies kosher with quarantine scheme, 86s third-party cookies in new browser build Hey man, are your cookies trackin' me? Take 'em out. You gotta keep 'em separated
security Spanish banished: Google Chrome to snub Camerfirma for lax cert management Mozilla meanwhile wants to continue compliance discussions with security certificate vendor
software If my calculations are correct, when Google Chrome hits version 88, you're gonna see some serious... security Manifest v3 plus JavaScript timer throttling, vuln fixes, FTP killed off, etc
on_prem Brave bets on the decentralized web with IPFS browser support for a more peer-to-peer approach Peer-to-peer protocol promises availability and resilience, but awaits proof of speed and resource thrift
on_prem Facebook tells Portuguese court that a biz called Oink And Stuff makes profile-harvesting browser extensions Not a machine-generated headline, we swear
off_prem Parler games: Social network for internet rejects sues Amazon Web Services for pulling plug on hosting And no, Parler wasn't hacked either. Its public posts were simply scraped
software Google AMP gets a shock to its system as advisor quits, lawsuit claims foul play No one's AMPing up the love
security Google Chrome's crackdown on ad blockers and browser extensions, Manifest v3, is now available in beta Web advertising giant says it has been working with filter makers, others to 'evolve the platform'
software Happy silver jubilee to JavaScript, king of the web at 25 and still hanging on to its crown, for now Two and a half decades on, JavaScript is everywhere
software Google tells Chrome extension devs to declare their code's usage of personal data Ad biz is serious about making others disclose information collection
software Boffins devise early-warning system for fake news: AI fingers domains that look sus Detecting deceptive websites as soon as they get registered may help reduce the contagion of misinformation
security Let's Encrypt warns about a third of Android devices will from next year stumble over sites that use its certs Expiration of cross-signed root certificates spells trouble for pre-7.1.1 kit... unless they're using Firefox
security Deloitte's 'Test your Hacker IQ' site fails itself after exposing database user name, password in config file Security quiz site created by advisors includes inadvertent bonus round
on_prem Brave browser first to nix CNAME deception, the sneaky DNS trick used by marketers to duck privacy controls Next release will block third-party trackers posing as first-party resources
off_prem Your web browser running remotely in Cloudflare's cloud. That's it. That's the story Social distancing isn't just for surviving the pandemic – now this internet giant can add it to your browser
security Global Privacy Control emerges as latest attempt to let netizens choose whether they want to be tracked online It's Do Not Track II: The Wrath of Ashkan and Sebastian... Caaaaaaaan't you stop stalking us around the internet
security It's 2020 so not only is your mouse config tool a Node.JS Electron app, it's also pwnable by an evil webpage Malicious JavaScript can inject commands to execute
software In a world where up is down, it's heartwarming to know Internet Explorer still tops list of web dev pain points Incompatibilities and inconsistent standards support among browsers ensure an ongoing source of headaches
offbeat Open access journals are vanishing from the web, Internet Archive stands ready to fill in the gaps Diamonds are forever, scholarly articles not so much, it seems
software Brave takes brave stand against Google's plan to turn websites into ad-blocker-thwarting Web Bundles
software Chromium devs want the browser to talk to devices, computers directly via TCP, UDP. Obviously, nothing can go wrong
software Mozilla warns more Firefox website breakage to come because devs just aren't checking for SameSite snafus
on_prem Mozilla doubles down on anti-tracking tech: It'll be tougher for wily ad-biz cookie monsters to track Firefox
software We give up, Progressive Web Apps can track you, says W3C: After 5 years, it decides privacy is too much bother
software The W3C steers the way the World Wide Web works. Yet it is reluctant to record crucial meetings – and its minutes are incomplete
software No more installing Microsoft's Chromium-centered Edge by hand: Windows 10 will do it for you automatically
security Tor soups up onion sites with bountiful browser bump: No more tears trying to find the secure sites you want
security Had a bad weekend? Probably, if you're a Sectigo customer, after root cert expires and online chaos ensues
security Remember when Republicans said Dems hacked voting systems to rig Georgia's election? There were no hacks
software FYI: There are thousands of Chrome extensions with so, so many fake installations to trick you into using them
software Meet ScrAPIr, MIT's Swiss army-knife for non-coders to shake data out of APIs (It's useful for pro devs, too)
software Google rolls out pro-privacy DNS-over-HTTPS support in Chrome 83... with a handy kill switch for corporate IT
on_prem Better late than never... Google Chrome to kill off 'tiny' number of mobile web ads that gobble battery, CPU power
security FYI: Your browser can pick up ultrasonic signals you can't hear, and that sounds like a privacy nightmare to some
security Quibi, JetBlue, Wish, others accused of leaking millions of email addresses to ad orgs via HTTP referer headers
software Forget tabs – the new war is commas versus spaces: Web heads urged by browser devs to embrace modern CSS
security Stripe is absolutely logging your mouse movements on websites' payment pages – for your own good, says CEO
software Google calls a halt on Chrome 82, but the version 83 beta has arrived early – so it's coding and bug finding time ahead
on_prem As Amazon's stock price soars and Bezos adds to his billions, affiliates face massive cuts in their commissions
software You can wipe those smiley faces off: Unicode technical website is going to be out for 'a couple of weeks'
software Watching you, with a Vue to a Kill: Wikimedia developers dismiss React for JavaScript makeover despite complaints
security Google: You know we said that Chrome tracker contained no personally identifiable info? Yeah, about that...
on_prem World Wide Web's Sir Tim swells his let's-remake-the-internet startup with Bruce Schneier, fellow tech experts
security Google burns down more than 500 private-data-stealing, ad-defrauding Chrome extensions installed by 1.7m netizens
security Google Chrome to block file downloads – from .exe to .txt – over HTTP by default this year. And we're OK with this
software Brave, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla gather together to talk web privacy... and why we all shouldn't get too much of it
software Microsoft's on Edge and you could be, too: Chromium-based browser exits beta – with teething problems
software Stack Overflow makes peace with ousted moderator, wants to start New Year with 2020 vision on codes of conduct
security You had one job, Cupertino: Apple's Intelligent Tracking Protection actually gets tracking protection
software If you want an example of how user concerns do not drive software development, check out this Google-backed API
security Bad news: 'Unblockable' web trackers emerge. Good news: Firefox with uBlock Origin can stop it. Chrome, not so much
software GraphQL a cut above the REST, say query lang's fans: Airbnb, Knotel, others embrace the tech
security Google slings websites into Chrome's solitary confinement on Android to thwart Spectre-style data snooping
software We, Wall, we, Wall, Raku: Perl creator blesses new name for version 6 of text-wrangling lingo
security Anatomy of an attack: How Coinbase was targeted with emails booby-trapped with Firefox zero-days
offbeat Don't give it away, give it away, give it away now, bot busting biz tells reCAPTCHA data serfs
software Google: We're not killing ad blockers. Translation: We made them too powerful, we'll cram this genie back in its bottle
software This Free software ain't free to make, pal, it's expensive: Mozilla to bankroll Firefox with paid-for premium extras
software You're not still writing Android apps in Oracle's Java, are you? Google tut-tuts at dev conf
software Google puts Chrome on a cookie diet (which just so happens to starve its rivals, cough, cough...)
software Hands off Brock! EFF pleads with Google not to kill its Privacy Badger with its Manifest destiny
security Just a little FYI: Filtering doodad in Adblock Plus opens door to third-party malware injection
software Mozilla tries to do Java as it should have been – with a WASI spec for all devices, computers, operating systems
on_prem You'll never guess who's giving Google a right shoeing lately. Talking about barring Chrome, Search as defaults... any other nations watching?
software Brave claims its mobe browser batt use bests whatever you're using. Why? Hint: It begins with A then D then V...
software WWW = Woeful, er, winternet wendering? CERN browser rebuilt after 30 years barely recognizes modern web
software Just a little heads up: Google is still trying to convince everyone that web apps don't suck
on_prem Ad blocking. All fun and games – until it gets political: Union websites banned by uBlock Origin
security 'World's favorite airline' favorite among hackers: British Airways site, app hacked for two weeks