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Inaudible sounds used to fingerprint browsers catch AliExpress red-handed

24 August 2026 at 20:19

Chinese retailer AliExpress has been caught fingerprinting visitors after one of the metrics—an outdated technique that measures inaudible sounds it sends to browsers—impeded a researcher's ability to use his bluetooth headphones.

Researcher Matthew Callaghan said he stumbled on the stealthy tracking by mistake. After loading the AliExpress homepage, audio from his phone stopped playing over his multipoint headphones, which accept connections from more than one device at a time. He set the headphones to play sounds from his phone except when his PC was producing audio. Each time he loaded AliExpress, the phone audio stopped. Each time he closed the tab the site was loaded into, the phone was once again audible.

Users can't hear it, but browsers can

While investigating the odd behavior, Callaghan said he found two highly obfuscated scripts. Together, they rendered a graph that analyzed the WebAudio readings of each visiting browser. This graph acted as an oscillator that measured Sawtooth waves, which are common in output from digital audio.

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MacVoices #26191: Live! – Fox Buys Roku, Spotify Removed 57,000 Podcasts, and College AI Majors

By: Chuck
24 June 2026 at 13:40
Several tech stories kick off this session, including RAID software compatibility warnings, Bending Spoons’ IPO, foreign influence campaigns around data centers, and Fox’s reported Roku purchase. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Jim Rea, Marty Jencius, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden focus heavily on streaming control, smart TV data collection, Apple TV’s future, Spotify’s removal of fake drug-related podcasts, and the rapid growth of AI majors in higher education. 

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Como desativar os atalhos personalizados do Firefox [iPhone, iPad e Mac]

1 August 2026 at 20:30

Se você usa o Mozilla Firefox como o seu navegador padrão em iPhones, iPads ou Macs, já deve ter notado que há algumas áreas do browser que podem trazer certos tipos de anúncios.

Uma dessas áreas é justamente a página inicial do Firefox, que pode sugerir atalhos patrocinados. Felizmente, um truque permite desabilitar facilmente isso. Veja, a seguir, como fazer isso! 🙂

Como desativar os atalhos personalizados do Firefox no iPhone/iPad

  1. Com o Firefox aberto, toque nos três pontinhos (na parte inferior) e vá até “Configurações”.
  1. Escolha “Tela inicial” e “Atalhos”.
  2. Desmarque a opção “Atalhos patrocinados”.

Como desativar os atalhos personalizados do Firefox no Mac

  1. Clique em “Firefox”, na barra de menus, e escolha “Configurações…”, use o atalho ⌘ command , ou vá até os três risquinhos (no canto superior direito) para escolher a mesma opção.
  1. Selecione “Página inicial e início”.
  2. Desmarque a opção “Atalhos patrocinados” abaixo de “Apoie o Firefox”.

via iDownloadBlog

Como gerar um código QR para uma página no Mozilla Firefox pelo Mac

1 August 2026 at 19:00

Além de compartilhar uma página da web usando um link normal, o navegador Mozilla Firefox também permite enviar um endereço da web de outra forma.

Mais precisamente, trata-se da geração de um código QR (QR code) — que pode, posteriormente, ser lido a partir de qualquer câmera ou compartilhado em uma postagem, por exemplo.

Veja como fazer isso no seu Mac! 👨‍💻

  1. Com o Firefox aberto no seu computador, siga um dos seguintes procedimentos:
    • Clique com o botão direito em cima da aba;
    • Vá até “Arquivo”, na barra de menus;
  1. Selecione “Compartilhar” e “Gerar código QR…”.
  1. Clique em “Salvar” para fazer o download do código ou em “Copiar” para que ele seja copiado para a área de transferência.

Como desativar as recomendações do Mozilla Firefox durante a navegação no Mac

1 August 2026 at 17:30

Um dos navegadores mais usados mundo afora é o Mozilla Firefox. Com ele, é possível desfrutar de diversos recursos, como uma proteção avançada contra cookies e um agrupamento por abas, por exemplo.

Para evitar que as recomendações de popup sigam aparecendo na tela e acabem atrapalhando a sua experiência, é possível desabilitá-las facilmente no seu Mac.

Veja como fazer! 🙂

  1. Com o Firefox aberto no seu computador, clique no botão com três risquinhos (no canto superior direito) e escolha “Configurações”. Se preferir, você pode abrir a mesma tela indo até Firefox » Configurações…, na barra de menus, ou utilizando o atalho de teclado ⌘ command ,.
  1. Escolha “Abas e navegação”, na barra lateral esquerda.
  2. Na seção “Recomendações”, desmarque os dois ajustes: “Recomendar extensões enquanto você navega” e “Recomendar recursos enquanto você navega”.

Simples, não?! 😉

via iDownloadBlog

Como usar as abas verticais no Mozilla Firefox

1 August 2026 at 16:00

Tradicionalmente, as abas dos navegadores da web são dispostas na horizontal.

Para facilitar a navegação para alguns usuários (e dar mais uma opção de personalização), o Mozilla Firefox permite habilitar um ajuste que deixa as suas abas abertas na vertical.

Veja como fazer isso no seu Mac! 👨‍💻

Abra as configurações do Firefox, seguindo um dos procedimentos:

  • Na barra de menus, vá até Firefox » Configurações…;
  • Clique nos três risquinhos (no canto superior direito) e em “Configurações”;
  • Use o atalho de teclado ⌘ command ,.

Selecione “Abas e navegação” (na barra lateral esquerda) e, na seção “Disposição do navegador”, habilite “Abas na vertical”.

Alternativamente, também é possível clicar com o botão direito na área vazia na extremidade direita das abas e selecionar “Ativar abas na vertical”.

A New Firefox Look

7 July 2026 at 20:53

Rizki Kelimutu:

Firefox is evolving with a refreshed design that makes the browser feel more modern, approachable, and consistent across desktop and mobile. The refresh also extends to Firefox’s voice and writing style, making product experience feel more human, direct, and unmistakably Firefox.

Via Jeff Johnson:

Nothing says “consistent” like making your large-screen keyboard & mouse UI exactly like your tiny touchscreen UI.

And nothing says “more human” like a manufactured voice and writing style.

rjacob:

Internally, we’ve been calling this work Project Nova, and today we’re excited to share a deeper look at what we’ve been building and where we’re heading next.

The goal of this work is to create a more cohesive foundation for Firefox: making the browser feel cleaner, warmer, faster, and more adaptable.

Some of the areas we’re working on include:

  • Simpler navigation and a redesigned Settings experience
  • Easier access to features like tab groups, split view, and vertical tabs
  • The return of Compact Mode
  • Refreshed visual updates across tabs, icons, spacing, and browser surfaces
  • More customization options, including new themes and wallpapers

Previously:

Update (2026-07-28): athomas (via Thomas Clement):

Starting today, you can try out the next design evolution of Firefox in Nightly.

It’s still Firefox, now with a more cohesive look and feel across tabs, menus, panels, and other browser surfaces. You’ll notice softer tab shapes, a warmer color palette, updated icons, and – after hearing from many of you – the return of Compact Mode and new theme options to make Firefox your own.

Still no AppleScript support.

Update (2026-08-04): Marcin Wichary:

Contra the previous post, just spotted this “Same settings, new look!” callout in Firefox, on a page I have never visited before, talking about a feature I have never used[…]

Firefox 153 transforma contêineres em recurso nativo do navegador

21 July 2026 at 20:44

O Mozilla Firefox foi atualizado hoje para a versão 153, tanto no macOS quanto no iOS/iPadOS. Entre as várias novidades introduzidas pelo update, estão os Contêineres (Containers), que permitem separar as diferentes partes da sua vida online na mesma janela do navegador.

Assim como a extensão Multi-Account Containers, o novo recurso torna possível logar em diferentes contas sem precisar abrir uma outra instância do Firefox. Ao recorrer aos Contêineres (que ainda estão em preview, diga-se), você também mantém os seus cookies e dados de anúncios direcionados isolados em ambientes distintos.

Segundo a Mozilla, ao tornar um recurso desse tipo em uma ferramenta nativa do navegador, a versão 153 livra usuários de ter que procurar por um add-on, além de facilitar a abertura, a criação e o gerenciamento de contêineres de páginas que você já costuma acessar. Usuários de longa data do Multi-Account Containers, no entanto, não serão deixados de lado, uma vez que a nova solução mantém “a funcionalidade, a flexibilidade e a identidade visual” da extensão.

Nesse preview, já é possível abrir páginas em contêineres específicos, customizá-los com nomes, cores e ícones da sua escolha e gerenciá-los diretamente do menu “Configurações”. Para abrir uma aba contêiner, basta clicar com o botão direito do mouse ou tocar e segurar no botão de nova aba (+) e selecionar a opção correspondente.

Outras novidades

Agora, é possível compartilhar qualquer página com um código QR ao clicar com o botão direito do mouse em uma aba e ir em Compartilhar » Gerar código QR.

Código QR do Firefox para o compartilhamento de uma página composto por pontos pretos com o logo do navegador (um globo envolto por uma raposa avermelhada). Logo abaixo, há botões para salvar ou copiar o código.
Divulgação/Mozilla

Também passou a ser possível juntar múltiplos PDFs em um único documento ao arrastar um arquivo do tipo para a barra lateral de PDF, bem como adicionar imagens como novas páginas de um documento usando o editor de PDF nativo do Firefox.

Ademais, digitar “pick color”, “color picker” ou “eyedropper” na barra de endereço agora faz com que o seletor de cores nativo do Firefox, o Pick a color, seja ativado. Na mesma toada, o Firefox passou a permitir que usuários digitem “labs” ou “experiment” na barra de endereço para acessar a ação rápida “Open Firefox Labs” facilmente.

Usuários de Mac, por sua vez, notarão que o atalho de teclado fn (tecla representada por um globo) F agora é suportado pelo Firefox, permitindo entrar rapidamente no modo de tela cheia do macOS.

O ícone de acesso à localização do usuário agora fica destacado em vermelho sempre que um site obtém acesso às suas coordenadas, além de ficar visível em páginas de resultados de busca (antes ele era ocultado).

Ícone de acesso à localização do Firefox 153, destacado em vermelho no canto esquerdo da barra de endereço.
Divulgação/Mozilla

Por fim, o assistente Smart Window (ainda em beta) agora permite selecionar diferentes modelos de inteligência artificial (IA) diretamente da sua interface, e a Nova aba (New Tab) do recurso ganhou uma barra de endereço mais familiar para acessar sites ou pesquisar na web.

Seletor de modelos de IA (em formato de lista) do assistente Smart Window no Firefox 153, posicionado no canto inferior direito da barra de endereço.
Divulgação/Mozilla

O Firefox 153 já está disponível para download tanto no desktop quanto em dispositivos móveis. Em ambos os casos, o update também introduz uma série de correções de bugs e melhorias de desempenho, as quais podem ser conferidas aqui e na página do browser na App Store.

Goooool v goal: English speakers flock to Telemundo for lively World Cup coverage

The Spanish-language broadcaster has won over millions of US viewers with its energetic commentary during games

Soccer fans looking to watch the 2026 World Cup on US television have been presented with two very different options this tournament.

The first is Fox Sports, a cousin of Fox News owned by the same parent company and the sole network airing matches in English in the US. Audiences tuning in to Fox, which acquired the exclusive English broadcast rights in 2015, are met with coverage that reflects the network’s “America first” aesthetic, with promos for pro-Donald Trump talkshows, advertising breaks during games and the frequent, grating presence of host Alexi Lalas.

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© Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA

© Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA

© Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA

Firefox 152 Adds JPEG XL Support, Redesigned Settings

By: BeauHD
16 June 2026 at 16:00
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Linuxiac: Mozilla has released Firefox 152, the latest update to its popular open-source web browser, with updated settings, improved media controls, experimental JPEG XL support, and various platform-specific fixes for desktop and Android. A key update is the redesigned Firefox Settings page, which now features clearer groupings, improved navigation, and a more streamlined structure for easier customization. The release also expands built-in spellchecker support, adding dictionaries for Croatian, English (UK), Georgian, Persian, Slovenian, Tajik, Tamil, Tibetan, Turkish, Welsh, and Xhosa. [...] Importantly, Firefox now offers experimental support for JPEG XL, an image format with improved compression over WebP, JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Users can enable JPEG XL in the Firefox Labs panel within Settings.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Fox’s $22B Roku acquisition aims to expand its reach into smart TVs, advertising

15 June 2026 at 19:29

Fox Corporation has agreed to buy Roku Inc. for $160 per share, an approximate enterprise value of $22 billion, the firms announced today.

The acquisition would unite Fox’s broadcast channels, including Fox, Fox News, Fox Business, and FS1, as well as its streaming businesses, including Tubi, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform that Fox bought in 2020, with Roku’s own FAST service, The Roku Channel, and Roku’s streaming hardware business, including its streaming sticks and smart TVs. Roku says it has 100 million households using its platform.

The most valuable part of Roku’s business isn't its hardware, which lost $19.1 million in the quarter ending March 31, 2026, but its the operating system (Roku OS) and advertising business. In that same quarter, Roku’s advertising and subscriptions business posted a gross profit of $584.1 million, with the advertising business pulling in $371 million in revenue. The COVID-19 pandemic helped Roku become profitable in 2021, but the company didn’t see annual profitability again until 2025.

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Scientists Capture First-Ever Images of Cozumel Dwarf Fox

11 June 2026 at 18:33
This image of a dwarf gray fox (Urocyon sp.) was captured on the island of Cozumel, Mexico: an adult male is shown partially concealed behind foliage before capture by the Fundación de Parques y Museos de Cozumel on September 14, 2023; this represents the first photograph ever taken of the species on the island and the first reported sighting since 2001. Image credit: Rafael Chacón.

Researchers have obtained the first-ever photographs of the Cozumel dwarf fox (Urocyon sp.), an elusive dwarf fox living on the Caribbean island of Cozumel, off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Captured in September 2023, the images provide the first confirmed evidence since 2001 that the elusive animal still survives on the island.

The post Scientists Capture First-Ever Images of Cozumel Dwarf Fox appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

This Species Was Long Thought Extinct—Scientists Just Spotted One Alive and Well on a Caribbean Island

11 June 2026 at 14:35


The Cozumel dwarf fox, a rare species previously known only from secondhand reports and fossil records, has been discovered alive on Cozumel, a small Caribbean island off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Researchers published the announcement in Neotropical Biology and Conservation, describing the rescue and identification of the rare dwarf fox before it was released back into the wild. They caution that this rare species, previously believed extinct, faces extreme danger from a host of threats.

The Cozumel Dwarf Fox

As one of the rarest canids on the planet, the species had never before been documented alive by scientists. The Cozumel dwarf fox (Urocyon sp.) is a close relative of the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), which is found on the Mexican mainland. After several millennia of isolation on the island—possibly predating Maya settlement—the Cozumel fox underwent insular dwarfism, evolving to only 60–80% the size of its mainland relatives.

Evidence for the animal has been remarkably scarce, and while subfossil remains provided conclusive proof that the species once existed, there had not even been a secondhand report since 2001, leading many researchers to assume it was extinct.

That changed on September 14, 2023, when members of the public reported a disoriented fox along a coastal highway near kilometer marker 29.

Responders from the Fundación de Parques y Museos de Cozumel recovered the animal and cared for it for three days while monitoring its health. On September 17, 2023, the fox was released into the Laguna Columbia State Reserve, where it would be protected from traffic and other hazards.

The sighting marks the first time the Cozumel fox has been formally documented by scientists and recognized as taxonomically distinct.

Cozumel fox
The Cozumel dwarf fox, believed long extinct, was finally recorded by scientists. Credit: Rafael Chacón

Cozumel Fox Habitat

Although the sparse evidence of these creatures may not be enough to conclusively map their habitat, the researchers have some idea where the Cozumel fox typically resides.

“Historical sightings have been concentrated around the community of El Cedral and near the entrance of Punta Sur Ecological Park, which is where this photographic record also took place,” lead author Travis Bayer of Pathos Wildlife told The Debrief. “No sightings have ever been observed further north than El Cedral, which leads us to believe that may be the extent of their range on the island, which would also be very concerning due to the already limited space on an island.”

“If their home ranges are restricted to the Southern end of the island, they may have home ranges around 100 km2,” Bayer continued. “If they associate with only wetland/mangrove habitats, the size gets considerably smaller and more concerning for their conservation, as those habitats mainly only occur along the coastline and are at high risk for development for restaurants and resorts.”

Staying Hidden

Given that Cozumel is a popular tourist destination known for its beaches and resorts, it may seem surprising that an animal the size of a fox could remain undetected for so long. Bayer says part of the explanation lies in the island’s difficult terrain and the species’ elusive behavior.

“Cozumel is home to many different terrestrial ecosystems, many of which are not easily accessible either,” Bayer explained. “Habitats like the mangrove forests and wetlands are almost impenetrable to us, but to a fox, easily traversable.”

dwarf gray fox
Image Credit: Rafael Chacón

“Also, not that many people are out there looking for this animal, as the public awareness of it was extremely low, and the scientific investment was limited to one primary publication and a few brief mentions in others,” he added.

Additionally, the combination of grey foxes’ typical elusiveness, their nocturnal habits, and the highway cutting through their habitat being closed at night all combine to make the species easy to miss.

Preserving the Cozumel Fox

“In collaboration with a team of local biologists, led by Rafael Chacón, we have begun developing an emergency conservation action plan for the Cozumel fox aimed at locating remaining individuals, estimating population size, identifying critical habitat, and determining immediate threats,” Bayer said.

Ensuring that the species does not disappear again is now a top priority. Researchers consider the fox critically endangered, with its limited habitat threatened by development, invasive species, and natural disasters.

Several introduced animals also pose significant risks. These include invasive boas released during a 1971 film production that have since spread across the island. Domestic dogs and cats may also threaten the fox through competition, predation, or disease transmission. In addition, predators such as ocelots and margays were introduced as exotic pets before eventually being released into the wild.

“Using thermal drone surveys, large-scale camera trap networks, and other advanced monitoring technologies, we aim to rapidly generate the data needed to guide immediate conservation intervention,” Bayer said. “Simultaneously, we are collecting the evidence necessary to formally describe the animal as a new and distinct species deserving of critically endangered recognition and legal protections.”

“One of the most important takeaways from this research is that species can quietly disappear without the world even realizing they are gone,” Bayer concluded.

“We often think extinction is something dramatic and obvious, but in reality, it can happen gradually and silently, especially for rare species living in remote or understudied habitats.”

The paper, “First Photographic Evidence of an Insular Dwarf Fox (Urocyon sp.) on the Island of Cozumel, Mexico,” appeared in Neotropical Biology and Conservation on May 4, 2026.

Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.

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