Feature Channels: Internet Trends

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NC State researchers find countermeasures for designers of security systems and other smart home devices.

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While the influence of Facebook and Google on the news landscape has been well examined, Wikipedia’s role as a source of breaking news has not received enough attention, says a University of Sydney expert.

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Debates over gun regulations make headlines across the world, but there’s an underground operation for weapons that has drawn very little attention – until now. Researchers from Michigan State University crept into the dark web to investigate how firearms are anonymously bought and sold around the world.

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A "big dating" analysis reveals geographic distance within the U.S. as the strongest driver of mutual romantic messaging.

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New research from the University of Notre Dame has found a way to improve the accuracy of crowd-sourcing sites.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute computer scientists Stacy Patterson and Carlos Varela have teamed up to develop a prototype framework, the “Virtual Sky” platform, to fuse and analyze flight sensor data correctly, reliably, and quickly. Virtual Sky would serve as a model extension of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, a sweeping modernization of the National Airspace System that includes greater use of computer and satellite systems in air traffic elements like communication, navigation, weather, information management, and tracking.

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Hunter Hines has turned to Instagram to engage audiences in scientific exchange across the world and has come up with the right formula for success. He is encouraging other scientists to follow suit. His Instagram account @microbialecology currently has 55,000 followers and at the end of 2018, his account received more than 1.4 million views in a single week. The authors share their experience and knowledge about using social media in microbiology outreach at a global scale.

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Ping! Swoosh! Chirp! In an “always on” world — where we’re constantly bombarded with emails, social media notifications, and other distractions — do you sometimes want to go where nobody knows your name? There may not be an app for that but thousands of people around the country have found something close: Sundown on March 1 kicks off the National Day of Unplugging, a 24-hour global respite from technology.

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A first-of-its-kind study on Twitter use during 5 of the costliest U.S. natural disasters offers potentially life-saving insights. The research, in PLOS ONE, finds that Twitter users with small networks (100-200 followers) increase activity more than those with larger networks in these situations. It also finds that each disaster type (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods) has a unique pattern of social media use.

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Hyperlinks slow down reading speed only when the linked word is unfamiliar, an effect that is independent of link color, according to new research published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Gemma Fitzsimmons, Mark Weal, and Dennis Drieghe of the University of Southampton in the UK. The effect is likely due to the reader’s perception that the unfamiliar word may carry special importance in the sentence when formatted as a hyperlink.

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In the era of Google and Facebook, people may believe that exchanging ever-more information will foster better-informed opinions and perspectives when the reality is people are making snap judgments without even begin aware of it.

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An estimated 40 to 54 million Google searches for sexual harassment and assault were recorded in the United States in the eight months after public accusations against film producer Harvey Weinstein and the ensuing #MeToo movement. Searches related to reporting and preventing such actions also were up based on the results of a study that monitored and analyzed search activity.

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Impulse online shopping, downloading music and compulsive email use are all signs of a certain personality trait that make you a target for malware attacks. New research from Michigan State University examines the behaviors – both obvious and subtle – that lead someone to fall victim to cybercrime involving Trojans, viruses, and malware

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Farmers can already use drones to soar over huge fields and monitor temperature, humidity or crop health. But these machines need so much power to fly that they can't get very far without needing a charge. Now, engineers at the University of Washington have created a sensing system that is small enough to ride aboard a bumblebee.

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A new study to be published online in the journal Sleep Health reveals that late-night social media use by NBA players is linked to poorer next-day performance on the court. The study examines more than 37,000 tweets and builds on preliminary research from 2017 about late-night tweets.

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A team of four computer science students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) once again took home top honors at the 15th anniversary edition of Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW), the world’s largest student-run cyber security event.

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Researchers from the Green IC research group at the National University of Singapore have invented a low-cost ‘battery-less’ wake-up timer – in the form of an on-chip circuit – that significantly reduces power consumption of silicon chips for Internet of Things sensor nodes.

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Through the coming weeks, video gamers will be blasting away mutated monsters, exploring nuked country roads and rebuilding America, a noble duty that begins in virtual West Virginia.

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DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded a total of $1,272,320 across two universities to develop new solutions to improve the capability of organizations to understand and improve their cybersecurity control investment decisions.

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STOP! This is illegal. You may be monitored and fined. Did that get your attention? Good. Because according to a new UNLV study, this phrasing coupled with a graphic of a computer and download symbol with a prohibitive slash is the most effective way to stop music piracy.

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Northern Arizona University professor Fatemeh Afghah is leading the study, which is funded by the NSF's Partnerships for Innovation Program.

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E-cigarette brand JUUL’s Twitter handle is attracting adolescents to the point that at least a quarter of its followers appear to be under age 18. Many of these minors – to whom it is illegal to sell nicotine-delivery products – are retweeting JUUL’s messages, amplifying its advertisements.

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Research from the Penn Medicine Center for Digital Health and the World Well-Being Project marries social media data with medical-outcomes data for the first time.

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An Indiana University study finds stringent password rules that encourage longer and more complicated passwords significantly lower the risk of personal data breaches, especially among employees at large organizations that handle sensitive data, like universities.

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Sextortion, the threatened distribution of explicit, intimate and embarrassing sexual images without consent, is the fastest-growing cyberthreat to children. This study is the first to examine the prevalence and effects of sextortion among teens, using data from 5,568 middle and high school students in the U.S. Findings show that more males than females participated in sextortion both as a victim and as an offender. Overall, sextortion occurred within the context of an existing friendship (romantic or otherwise).

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Ann Manser's article on a new book by UD's Scott Caplan, associate professor of communication, on how some people use the internet to compensate for interpersonal communication issues.

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There’s a surprising upside to the fact that many people edit their selfies on Instagram and other social media sites to enhance their appearance. A new study found that when women believed that selfies of thin and sexualized women had been edited, viewing these images had less negative impact on one aspect of their mental health.

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Fifty six percent of parents of teens who have sleep troubles believe this use of electronics is hurting their child’s shut-eye.

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A University of Delaware professor explores the effect the Internet and social media has on our well-being in a new book. One finding: The use of smartphones and other mobile devices that allow people to be online wherever they are has created new and different problems with interpersonal communication.

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Do you frequently forget passwords to a baffling array of accounts and websites? Much depends on a password’s importance and how often you use it, according to a Rutgers University–New Brunswick-led study that could spur improved password technology and use.

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Three Clarkson Professors received a grant from Facebook to research how to keep you safe even after you've entered your password.

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In this issue, find research on school shootings and long gun age restrictions, Russian anti-vaccine trolls, smoke-free colleges and more.

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The research presents an in-depth examination of the information networks using social network analysis and cyber forensic based methodology to identify prominent information actors and leading coordinators of the disinformation campaigns.

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The internet has made government more efficient and public records more accessible — but as digital technology evolves it could also bring challenges to long-held constitutional safeguards, says Hans Jochen Scholl, a professor in the University of Washington Information School.

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Thinking developed in childhood makes people vulnerable, researchers say

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Not only can your smartphone serve as your wallet, watch and map, it can also be your digital security blanket. In a new study led by the University of California, Irvine, researchers found that when people are in awkward social situations, having their phones with them offers comfort and helps relieve feelings of isolation.

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The internet offers the potential for constructive dialogue and cooperation, but online conversations too often degenerate into personal attacks. In hopes that those attacks can be averted, Cornell University researchers have created a model to predict which civil conversations might take a turn and derail.

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Quick! Snap a selfie and share the sensations! Or not. If you want to preserve the memories, process before you post, says a Baylor University psychologist.

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Go here for the latest political experts, features and research in U.S. Politics

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IT experts at Monash University have devised the world’s leading post-quantum secure privacy-preserving algorithm – so powerful it can thwart attacks from supercomputers of the future.

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University of Delaware management professor Kyle Emich, whose research explores the effects of emotions on teams and performance, discusses the influence emojis can have on productivity and innovation in the workplace.