Skip to main content

Developers Unveil Anti-Phorm Tool

Developers Unveil Anti-Phorm Tool

Phorm had raised eyebrows and voices in the UK. The technology, which send users tailored ads after anonymously observing their web-surfing habits, has come in for plenty of criticism and even questions about its legality, even as it’s trailed by two UK services.

But the force is now with those who are against Phorm. The AntiPhormLite tool has been developed by the AntiPhorm group, to fool Phorm by feeding it with false data or “noise.”

It would automatically visit groups of sites within criteria set by users, according to ZDNet, and in “silent mode” would not open any content or execute any scripts.

"It appears we can’t stop your ISP tracking and selling your surfing behaviour but one solution could be to make the data they do collect absolutely worthless to their clients," the AntiPhorm site states. "We have developed AntiPhormLite to address these issues. AntiPhormLite is an application for the Windows platform designed to protect the interest of internet users and reduce the usefulness of data gathered by Phorm and others before this trend becomes irreversible."

The group has warned, however, that some firewalls will need a little tweaking to run the tool effectively.

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
This new Photoshop tool could bring AI magic to your images
A mountainous landscape at night with the Northern Lights in the sky, a lake in the foreground, and a person standing under a rock archway on the right. This image was made with Adobe Photoshop's Generative Fill tool.

These days, it seems like everyone and their dog is working artificial intelligence (AI) into their tech products, from ChatGPT in your web browser to click-and-drag image editing. The latest example is Adobe Photoshop, but this isn’t just another cookie-cutter quick fix -- no, it could have a profound effect on imagery and image creators.

Photoshop’s newest feature is called Generative Fill, and it lets you use text prompts to automatically adjust areas of an image you are working on. This might let you add new features, adjust existing elements, or remove unwanted sections of the picture by typing your request into the app.

Read more
Google’s AI image-detection tool feels like it could work
An AI image of the Pope in a puffy coat.

Google announced during its I/O developers conference on Wednesday its plans to launch a tool that will distinguish whether images that show up in its search results are AI-generated images.

With the increasing popularity of AI-generated content, there is a need to confirm whether the content is authentic -- as in created by humans -- or if it has been developed by AI.

Read more
Google just made this vital Gmail security tool completely free
google makes gmail dark web monitoring free laptop stephen phillips

Hackers are constantly trying to break into large websites to steal user databases, and it’s not entirely unlikely that your own login details have been leaked at some point in the past. In cases like that, upgrading your password is vital, but how can you do that if you don’t even know your data has been hacked?

Well, Google thinks it has the answer because it has just announced that it will roll out dark web monitoring reports to every Gmail user in the U.S. This handy feature was previously limited to paid Google One subscribers, but the company revealed at its Google I/O event that it will now be available to everyone, free of charge.

Read more