search engine – Newswire Report

LinkedIn now requires phone number verification for all users in China

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019 NewsEditorapple, China, Facebook, firewall, Google, great firewall, LinkedIn, search engine, Social Media, Social Network, twitter, virtual private networks, vpn, WeChat, Weibo

LinkedIn’s China site looks and functions just like LinkedIn everywhere else, except now it asks users in the country to verify their identities through phone numbers. The American company is requiring both new and existing users with a Chinese IP address to link mobile phone numbers to their accounts, TechCrunch noticed this week. LinkedIn had for months told its China-based users to provide mobile number details before sending them to the main page, but it had mercifully kept a little “Skip” button that let users avoid the fuss — until at least…

Odds and Ends

A leaky database of SMS text messages exposed password resets and two-factor codes

December 1, 2018December 1, 2018 NewsEditorBerlin, California, Florida, search engine, SMS, telcentris

A security lapse has exposed a massive database containing tens of millions of text messages, including password reset links, two-factor codes, shipping notifications and more. The exposed server belongs to Voxox (formerly Telcentris), a San Diego, Calif.-based communications company. The server wasn’t protected with a password, allowing anyone who knew where to look to peek in and snoop on a near-real-time stream of text messages. For Sébastien Kaul, a Berlin-based security researcher, it didn’t take long to find. Although Kaul found the exposed server on Shodan, a search engine for…

Odds and Ends

Audioburst launches a web and mobile search engine for audio news

August 9, 2017August 9, 2017 NewsEditoraudio, audio search, nlp, Search, search engine, Speech Recognition, voice, voice technology

Audio is beginning to play an increasingly important role in how consumers connect with information, thanks to the popularity of podcasts and other short-form audio programming, improvements in voice technologies, and the growing consumer adoption of smart home devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Today, a company called Audioburst is unveiling a new search engine designed to connect you to the information found in audio content from podcasts and programs aired on the radio. Tel Aviv-based Audioburst, which also has staff in New York and Palo Alto, has…