Plus: Hacker used malware to open port, but not the one you'd assume ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 14, 2026 | Read online
# I got slopped, Iran protestors finding ways to break web blackout and Apple takes on Adobe Plus: Hacker used malware to open port, but not the one you'd assume
Edition 2480
Babu Computer Lab, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hello! Just a note to follow yesterday's Canva employee call-out. Thanks to everyone who responded despite me not actually linking my Signal. I'm still hoping to hear from a few more, so if that's you — now you know where to find me.
Mentioned in today’s newsletter: Starlink, Moxie Marlinspike, Canva, Pixelmator Pro, Bandcamp, Sendle, Eric Adams and Grok. Plus, deals on MicroSDs, iPads and Insta360’s 360 Action cameras.
# The News
### My co-author and I got slopped
This morning, I received a WhatsApp from my CONSPIRACY NATION co-author Ariel Bogle with the note: "Something you're not telling me?" The message included an Amazon link for this book.
our cover is better
"Conspiracy Nation Exercises: Redefine Living through Cam Wilson Teachings" is a 89- or 90-page book by Leni McAllister, who appears to be a first time author (or at least has no other books for sale or any digital footprint). For just $25.29, the book offers a deep dive into the "psychology of belief and deception, guided by Cam Wilson’s fearless analysis and Leni McAllister’s reflective voice."
The Sizzle: I don't usually start the Sizzle off with a personal story but this is prime Sizzle material. Sites like Amazon have long been filled with dodgy imitation book titles, and generative AI boom has supercharged this problem. I'm pretty sure it's AI-generated — the listing even uses the tell-tale LLM language tic "This is not a call to paranoia — it’s a call to clarity" — and the crazy thing is that I can't really see any other details about it other than that it's actually being sold directly by Amazon, suggesting it's first-party stock? It's so crazy that one of the richest companies in the world just stocks this slop.
Naturally, I've ordered a copy and I will report back (maybe even do a public reading).
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Iran protestors are finding ways to get around the state's blackout
Iran has blown past 100 hours without internet nationwide as the state violently cracks down on civilian protests. Cloudflare has a cool blog showing how "traffic anomalies" first started showing up on January 8 and appeared to progress from strict filtering to a complete internet blackout. There's a cat-and-mouse game between the government and people trying to get around the shutdown: people started using the 50,000-100,000 Starlink terminals estimated to be in the country. Then the government started using "military-grade" GPS jammers to thwart them (Rest of). Now, the regime is trying to hunt down Starlink users (WSJ, $) as Musk makes the service free in the country while the repression continues (CNN).
Related reading: some interesting reporting from the Guardian about messaging and other online tools that are supposed to get around censorship being used in Iran.
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
### Apple wants to reclaim its creative design roots by taking on Adobe and Canva
Apple is challenging Adobe's dominance of the creative suite with a new bundle of alternative apps to Photoshop, Premiere Pro and other popular design software for much cheaper (Verge). Apple Creator Suite bundles together apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro, a graphic design app it acquired in 2024, in a package that you can either buy outright or take up as a subscription. It's priced at $20 a month or $200 annually, which is cheaper than Canva's pro subscription and significantly less than Adobe's creative suite (Gadget Guy).
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
#### Leftovers
Australia:
Elon Musk’s X AI Grok deepfake Australia eSafety Commission (Crikey, $) Elon Musk’s Grok AI may escape Labor’s proposed ‘nudifying’ app ban (The Australian, $) Sendle closure: Parent company Fast Group shutdown vote (SmartCompany) Aussie teenager charged with swatting US retailers and educational institutions (iTnews) Subscription shift forces Defence into $178m VMware mega-deal (InnovationAus, $) EVs and hybrids are grabbing a bigger share of the second-hand market (The Driven) The Australian Cyber Security Centre has teamed up with their NZ siblings to make a guide for AI cyber security risks for small business (Cyber.gov.au)
Rest of the world:
Google is moving a lot of its Pixel production from China to Vietnam (Reuters, $) Roblox’s AI-Powered Age Verification Is a Complete Mess (Wired, $) Microsoft's responding to AI data centre backlash by promising to not seek government hand outs and cover its full power costs (GeekWire) US Senate passes a bill that would let nonconsensual deepfake victims sue (The Verge) Signal creator Moxie Marlinspike has launched an e2ee AI chatbot (Ars Technica) Warhammer Maker Games Workshop Bans Its Staff From Using AI in Its Content or Designs (IGN) Personal Details of Thousands of Border Patrol and ICE Goons Allegedly Leaked in Huge Data Breach (The Daily Beast, $) Bandcamp bans AI music (Reddit) Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams accused of $2.5 million crypto rug pull as his NYC token crashes (The Verge) lol Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals (404 Media, $) Who is this lady and why is she here (Reddit)
Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.
# Oh, Also
### Hacker used malware to open port, but not the one you'd assume
In 2021, a Dutch man was arrested for hacking into a port's IT systems by convincing an employee to infect it with malware via a USB stick. He used this access to facilitate a 210kg cocaine shipment hidden in wine. Nice. After being convicted, he recently appealed his sentence. Sadly for him, he was unsuccessful. But on the upside, it gave the good people at the Register to write about this story with a truly magnificent pun headline: "Court tosses appeal by hacker who opened port to coke smugglers with malware".
Discuss in Slack or Forum.
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
Insta360 X5 8K 360 Action Camera - $677 at Medinah Traders eBay Store (Down from $727) KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine (Stainless Steel) - $580 at Amazon AU (Down from $899)
Computing
1 month free trial for Apple Creator Studio 256GB Kioxia MicroSD Card - $29.80 at Amazon Japan via Amazon AU Crucial P3 Plus 3D Nand NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD Drive, 2000 GB, Multicolor - $238 at Amazon US HP Prodesk 400 G4 Mini, i5-8500t, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Win11 Pro - $260 at Computer & Laptop Sales (Refurbished) Samsung 34-Inch Odyssey G55T Curved WQHD Gaming Monitor - $364 at amazon.com.au Apple iPad 11" A16 Wi-Fi 128GB - $478 at Amazon AU Apple iPad 11" A16 Wi-Fi 128GB (All Colours) - $478 at Officeworks Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition 14" OLED 2.8K at Amazon / Officeworks Core Ultra 5, 16GB RAM for $1,697 Core Ultra 7, 32GB for $1,999
Mobile
iPhone Air 256GB - $1,397 at Officeworks
# The End
😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.
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