Plus: Hosting a blog on a Wii ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

April 22, 2025 | Read online
# Most internet traffic is bots, AI screenshot tool v2 and gamifying the energy transition Plus: Hosting a blog on a Wii
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Issue 2361 - Tuesday 22 April 2025
Flickr: sonic2000gr
Welcome to our mid-year gooch week everyone! I hope you’re not reading this. But if you aren’t relaxing somewhere and ignoring your inbox, I’ll be writing every day that isn’t a public holiday!
Also, I’m going to test including a random technology photo in these editions just for the sake of some Sizzle visuals. Enjoy!
# The News
### Most of the internet traffic is bots — but that’s OK?
The majority of internet traffic is from bots, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Imperva (and shared in the Slack by MMC). Bot traffic isn’t necessarily a bad thing — bots do many useful things for people! — but apparently 37% of all traffic is “bad bots” to commit fraud, scrape data without permission and bypass security. Popular AI services and other tools disguised as crawlers including TikTok parent company ByteDance’s BytespiderBot or Apple’s AppleBot have all been seen doing mischief. The idea that most of the internet is bots is a good headline — and provides evidence for the ‘dead internet theory’ (The Guardian) — but I don’t think it really matters that much to users who aren’t affected by it. But, as I’ve covered a lot in the Sizzle recently, it’s a big deal to people who are paying for bandwidth being used for non-humans. BONUS: I really recommend Max Read’s 2018 New York Magazine essay ‘How Much of the Internet Is Fake? Turns Out, a Lot of It, Actually’ (Intelligencer) which showed how bad some of this stuff was even before generative AI was a thing.
### Microsoft’s revamped AI screenshot feature shows that complaining works
Microsoft is just about to release its AI “screenshot everything you do every few seconds” feature after delaying it for nearly a year (The Verge). When Microsoft announced Recall in June last year, people pretty quickly figured out that it was essentially a self-installed key-logger with terrible security (WIRED, $) which caused the company to pull the feature. Now, Microsoft is set to roll it out with improved security and respected cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont has had a look (Double Pulsar). HIs verdict is that Microsoft has “significantly enhanced security and privacy”. Even still, it still presents a risk for most users, he said, but it might be a very useful accessibility feature for people with disabilities like Mild Cognitive Impairment. My takeaway? 1. Complaining about this stuff works. 2. AI’s benefits are most profound in specific use-cases, not when just rolled out to everyone.
### Gamifying Australia’s energy transition
Here’s something to play around with on online record board for tracking Australia’s energy transition has been released by the Superpower Institute (Open Electricity). It captures things like highest renewables generation over a day, highest battery discharge and lowest ever coal generation, and can be broken down by region and period. It’s an offshoot of Open Electricity’s other tools which allow you to watch Australia’s energy market in real time (Tracker) or play around with various scenarios for the future of the market (Scenario Explorer). This stuff is cool as hell because it makes complicated discussions about energy so much easier to understand, and it drives home just how quickly the transition is happening: it feels like all the records are super recent!
#### Leftovers
TikTok, Meta, Snapchat demand answers on YouTube ‘sweetheart deal’ (AFR, $) Smart devices banned from exams in elite uni’s crackdown on ‘chatbot cheats’ (The Australian, $) Reddit’s AI-Powered ‘Answers’ is now available in Australia (TechAU) Defence inks first contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (InnovationAus, $) Tesla Ships First 3,000+ New Model Y Vehicles from Giga Shanghai to Australia (GearMusk) Queensland council races to reverse mayor’s EV charger halt, with funding on the line (The Driven) A New Form of Verification on Bluesky (Bsky) Views of TikTok posts with electronic music outgrow those using indie (The Guardian) Google Messages now censors inappropriate texts on Android - here's how (The Shortcut) WordPress ad-fraud plugins generated 1.4 billion ad requests per day (Bleeping Computer) EU insists Trump won't make it back off Apple (Apple Insider) Invasion of the ‘journal snatchers’: the firms that buy science publications and turn them rogue (Nature) Palantir exec defends company’s immigration surveillance work (TechCrunch) Teen coder shuts down open source Mac app Whisky, citing harm to paid apps (Ars Technica) Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat (NYT, $) Crypto casino takings top $80bn as gamblers bypass blocks (FT, $)
# Oh, Also
### Hosting a blog on a Wii
I came across this blog entry because of the author’s delightful Mastodon post (infosec.exchange): some maniac is hosting a website on an old, soft-modded Nintendo Wii (infected.systems). In case you needed any reason to do this other than “it’s dumb and cool”, it’s apparently pretty energy efficient too. Plus, I got a real sick thrill seeing NetBSD on a Wii UI, too.
Alex Haydock (@alexhaydock@infosec.exchange)
Attached: 1 image Did you leave your Wii at the #EMF2024 Swap Shop? If so, it's now hosting my blog: https://blog.infected.systems/posts/2025-04-21-this-blog-is-hosted-on-a-nintendo-wii/ Huge credit to @jmcwhatever@mastodon.sdf.org for the effort porting NetBSD to the Wii!
infosec.exchange/@alexhaydock/114377262481451962
# Bargains
Electrical & Electronics
20% off Audioengine Home Music Systems Sony Australia - $40 off Eligible Orders over $300 SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO microSDXC Card - $25 at Amazon AU VEEKTOMX 30W 10000mAh Power Bank with Cable - $26.99 at VEEKTOMX via Amazon AU TOZO New Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds (NC9) (with Coupon) - $44.99 at TOZO AU via Amazon AU Philips Hue White & Colour Ambience A60 1100lm B22 Smart Bulb 2pk - $99 at Powermove Distribution via Amazon AU Samsung 1TB MicroSD at Good Guys Evo Plus for $109 Pro Plus for $125 Beats Studio Buds - $129 at Mobilexpress AU AudioTechnica ATH-CKS50TW Truly Wireless In-Ear Headphones - $149 at Mobilexpress AU Samsung AX32 Air Purifier (Membership Required) - $199.97 at Costco ASUS ZenWiFi XD4S AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router (3-Pack) - $219 at Amazon AU Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 over-Ear Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - $227 at Amazon AU (via Amazon US) Vox Amp Superbeetle - $349 at BelfieldMusic Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool Purifying Fan Heater HP07 - $679.99 at Costco Apple Watch Series 10 46mm GPS+Cellular Jet Black - $689 at Tristar Online Nintendo Switch 2 Console with Mario Kart World (pre-order) - $753.95 at The Gamesmen eBay Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD (Full Frame) for Sony E-Mount - $906.34 at digiDirect eBay DJI Flip Fly More Combo (DJI RC 2) - $1058 at DJI Store eBay Hisense U7NAU 75 Inch TV - $1276 at Appliances Online Pioneer VSX-LX505 9.2 Channel AV Receiver - $1899 at Westcoast Hifi Samsung 55 Inch S90d 4K OLED Smart TV - $2295 at Samsung Samsung 85" Neo QLED 4K QN85D Smart TV (2024) - $2749 at Samsung EPP
Computing
Gorilla Gaming GM121 RGB Ultralight Gaming Mouse - $9.99 at Kogan ORICO 4 Port USB 3.0 Clamp Hub w/ Power Input - $19.79 at ORICO G.O.A.T via Amazon AU UGREEN M.2 NVMe Enclosure 10gbps USB-C 3.2 Gen2 - $26.55 at UGREEN via Amazon AU Logitech G203 Lightsync Wired Mouse (Black) - $34 at Amazon AU SanDisk 256GB Max Endurance MicroSDHC Memory Card - $67.57 at SwiftOrder via Amazon AU Thermalright Aqua Elite 240 V3 Liquid CPU Cooler - $67.90 at suomole via Amazon AU Edifier R1380DB Professional Bookshelf Bluetooth Speakers - $89 at Centrecom TP-Link AX3000 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Range Extender (RE705X) - $109 at Amazon AU Samsung 1TB MicroSD at The Good Guys Evo Plus for $109 Pro Plus for $125 Samsung S36GD Curved Monitor, 27 Inch - $157 at Amazon MSI B650 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi AM5 ATX Motherboard - $223.20 at Smarthomestore via eBay MSI B650 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi AM5 ATX Motherboard - $223.20 at eBay ASUS RT-BE58U Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Router - $259 at JB Hi-Fi AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU - A$266 at Computer Hardware Global Store AliExpress Surface Pro 7 at Australian Computer Traders (Refurbished) i5 1035G4 8GB 128GB SSD 12.3" Win 11 Inc. Keyboard for $340 i5 1035G4 8GB 256GB Win 11 Inc. Keyboard for $360 LG UltraGear 27" QHD IPS 165Hz (OC 180Hz) 27GP850 Gaming Monitor - $349 at Amazon AU Apple iPad 10.9" 10th Gen 64GB Wi-Fi - $429 at BIG W Google Pixel Tab 128GB - $499 at Mobilexpress AU Palit GeForce RTX 5070 Infinity 3 12GB - $1061.65 at Smarthomestoreau eBay Dell AW3425DW 34" WQHD 3440x1440 240Hz QD-OLED Curved Monitor - $1348 at Dell
Mobile
Free 7-Day eSIM Trial: New Number, 30GB, Unlimited Talk, 1000 Texts for Customers Without Active Service - Free at Optus via App Google Pixel 9 Pro 128GB - $0 on $99/Month 24-Month SIM Plan at JB Hi-Fi Google Pixel 8a 128gb w - $7.50/M with $69/month at Optus Lyca Mobile 80GB 28-Day SIM with $8 Cashback - $10 at TopCashback AU Catch Connect 20GB 90-Day Prepaid Mobile SIM Plan - $20 at Catch TCL 505 4GB 128GB Space Grey - $117 at The Good Guys TCL 50 SE 4G 256GB - $198 at Harvey Norman Samsung Galaxy S24+ 256GB (after Trade-in Bonus) - $849 at Samsung
# The End
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