Cyber Security

At a dinner party the other night, a very accomplished business person told a story about how he and his wife were certain that their devices were listening to their conversations. “I was talking to my wife about a pair of designer shoes that she wanted to purchase, and not 10 minutes later while she was doing some online research for work, she saw an ad for that exact pair of shoes. She hadn’t searched for the shoes; the ad just appeared. Clearly, our computers or our phones are listening.” Some people nodded in agreement, and others began to chime in. Continue Reading →

Amazon Alexa may someday be able to speak to you in any voice that it has ever listened to for more than a minute. Any voice. Any person. Alive or dead. Any voice. Continue Reading →

I’m thrilled to announce the public beta launch of Metacademy: a free-to-use, risk-free, hands-on website that will teach you about blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, smart contracts, Web3, and other associated technologies. You’ll learn about the world of Web3, decentralized finance (DeFi), the correct way to set up a crypto wallet, how to mint your own NFTs, and how to buy and sell them. Continue Reading →

In a rare show of alliance, Apple, Google, and Microsoft have joined forces to expand support for passwordless logins across mobile, desktop, and browsers. Continue Reading →

There is a new phishing scheme targeting MetaMask users on Apple devices. You’ll get a phone call with a legit-looking Apple caller ID. The caller will ask you to call them back so that you “know” the call is real (which it isn’t), at which point the scammer will ask you for a code that is being sent to your phone. That’s it; your MetaMask wallet is now drained because a hot (online-only) MetaMask wallet stores your seed phrase in your iCloud account. Continue Reading →

On the morning of January 23, 2022, I saw a tweet about purchasing a Bored Ape NFT for 135 ETH that I assumed was completely fake. It turned out to be fake. But the transaction was absolutely real. How do I know? The Ethereum blockchain is a public ledger. Transactions are viewable by anyone (including you and me), so let's do a little exploring and see who spent $337,500 (1 ETH = $2,500 at the time) to get their Bored Ape. Continue Reading →

Axie Infinity is the most popular play-to-earn game. It is one of the best current examples of how you might combine Web2 and Web3 concepts to push the envelope. NFT|LA, a massive event about – you guessed it – NFTs opened yesterday, and I had the pleasure of moderating the opening fireside keynote with The Continue Reading →

iPhone owners in Arizona are now able to load their driver’s license or state ID into their iPhone’s Wallet app. The digital ID will allow holders to pass through TSA checkpoints in Arizona's Sky Harbor International Airport, but Arizona police will not recognize it for traffic stops. Continue Reading →

Part of the power and promise of Web 3.0 is the concept of decentralization, the ability to transact without the need for a central authority or an intermediary such as a bank or centralized exchange. While the idea of decentralization is quite easy to understand, the devil is in the details. Continue Reading →

As Russian troops surround Kyiv, millions of Ukrainians have relied on Telegram to receive government information. Why Telegram? There was an official Ukrainian COVID information Telegram channel @COVID19_Ukraine, and when war broke out, its members voted to have the channel refocus on real-time war news. The channel is now called @UkraineNOW. Continue Reading →