### Issue 1314 - Monday 1st March, 2021

## In Today's Issue

- Victorian quarantine hotels to be stuffed with sentry robots
- Damn, this Tom Cruise deep fake on TikTok got me good
- LastPass contains 7 tracking scripts in its Android app
- Stand up against the creepy Online Safety Bill
- Cheap Samsung 1TB portable SSD, PS4 games, Tenda Nova AC mesh wi-fi, Dell USB mouse, Dell 32" monitor, smartphone & tablet floor stand

## The News

### Victorian quarantine hotels to be stuffed with sentry robots

Victoria is getting weird looking robots to patrol the halls of quarantine hotels. Cobalt Robotics is supplying them to the government and fitting them out with 360-degree cameras plus thermal and depth sensors. There's wheels in the base and they just zoom around looking for humans where there shouldn't be any. There will still be meatbag security guards, the robots are an extra layer that will report what they see to their human overlords. Would be fun staying in the hotel and trying to come up with ways to fuck these robots up. Not to escape, but just to pass the time.

### Damn, this Tom Cruise deep fake on TikTok got me good

I've seen celebrity deep fakes in the past but have always known or been able to tell something wasn't quite right - that was until I stumbled across this impersonation of Tom Cruise doing magic tricks on TikTok. After repeated watchings I can see the flaws, but at first watch I was legit wondering why Tom Cruise is so desperate for attention. The voice in particular really got me. Kinda scary to think of the disinformation that can spread in the near future as this technology is refined, perfected and the cost of doing so reduced.

### LastPass contains 7 tracking scripts in its Android app

LastPass users might want to re-evaluate their choice of password manager as it's been revealed that the Android version of its app contains 7 trackers in it - "four from Google for the purpose of analytics and crash reporting, as well as others from AppsFlyer, MixPanel, and Segment". According to German infosec researcher Mike Kuketz, "the integration of proprietary code could introduce security risks and unexpected behaviour, as well as being a privacy risk. These things do not belong in password managers, which are security-critical". 1Password & Keepass don't have any, but surprisingly Bitwarden does.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Stand up against the creepy Online Safety Bill

I've mentioned the Online Safety Bill a few times over the last couple of months, but shit is starting to get real with it in Parliament. For those unaware, if this law passes, the eSafety Commissioner can basically order a broad range of content removed off the internet within 24 hours. Sounds like hyperbole, but the Online Safety Bill really does give a single person/department that God-like power. To make matters worse, the government is plowing ahead with the law with no changes only a few weeks after the feedback period finished, despite with over 376 submissions from the public - probably because they know the law falls apart when put under any scrutiny. If this law you off, let the government know.

## Bargains

- Samsung 1TB T5 portable SSD - $138.72 from Shopping Square
- Fallout 4 or Dishonored 2 for PS4 - $1.95 from EB Games
- Tenda Nova MW12 AC2100 mesh wi-fi 2-pack - $195 from PC Byte
- Dell MS116 USB optical mouse - $5.586 delivered from Dell
- Maifeituo smartphone/tablet floor stand boom arm thingy - $62.99 from Amazon
- Dell S3221QS 32" 4K curved monitor - $428.22 from Dell's eBay store

## The End

📻 Goin Down - Dinosaur Jr

😎 The Sizzle is curated by Anthony "@decryption" Agius and emailed every weekday afternoon.

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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.​