298 posts
Latest Posts by techstarz - Page 2
Don’t just accept the new Terms of Service
Tumblr’s at it again, thanks to the new European Privacy Laws. There’s probably nobody who will read this, but it pissed me off so much that I decided to make a post about it. (Ignore the weird language mish-mash, depending on your country the language might differ.)
OK, so many of us get this screen when we try to access our dash:
Realise how the ‘OK’ button is a nice, attention-grabbing blue? If you’re like me, you’re not exactly into reading a 100 pages document and tend to just click it.
My tip? DONT. Instead click on ‘Manage Options’ right next to it:
Now you’ll see this page:
Still pretty harmless, right? That ‘Accept’ button is looking really attractive right now. Instead, click on Verwalten (Probably something like ‘Manage Options’ or something in english) and you’ll get to this page:
Now that’s not too bad, right? I just switched all the buttons to ‘off’, because I’m jealously guarding my personal information and don’t want Tumblr to go off and do who knows what with it. Looks like we’re done! But wait: There’s a SHOW option.
When we click on that one, what we will get is this:
A HUGE list with OVER 300 ENTRIES of companies that can use your data by default if you’d just clicked ‘OK’ on that very first page. Coincidence that this list is hidden that much? Me thinks not. They’re all switched on by default, but I am still a petty bitch that doesn’t want to give out her data, so I switched them all off. All 300+ of them. There is no option to switch them all off at once, and even if you disable all the options above, the companies are still switched on.
(If you wonder how i got that number, I copied the list into excel and looked at the cell number. No way am I actually counting all those entries)
"WATERTRIBE" LMAO 🤣😂
"Welcome to the Gun Show"
Scammer Targeting Tumblr Artists
The title says it all really. So if nothing else, please share and reblog this post to raise awareness for those that might be caught out - both artists and followers. For a TL:DR, please look at the bottom of the post
What is happening?
Right now, there is at least one person actively impersonating multiple artists across tumblr in an effort to scam their followers into paying for fake ‘cheap commissions’. The scammer will clone a tumblr, usually using a slight change to the url/account name to look like the real deal. They will then message people directly through Tumblr with messages along the lines of “Hey, i’m doing cheap commissions right now. DM me to get one”. Naturally, this is ends up just being a way to take their money without giving anything back in return.
Who does this affect?
Everyone. Simple as that. As long as the scammer in question works unopposed, they are free to spread their influence and continue to scam more people. Even if you haven’t been targeted yet, it does not mean you are safe or immune. Several artists have already fallen victim to this scammer, and I encourage any artists that have to reblog this post with the details of their affected account(s) and the ones the scammer has set up.
How can we stop this?
Tumblr, like many other social media platforms, seems to care very little about ‘minor’ occurences like this one, and despite reaching out directly to them over a week ago through multiple avenues of contact - they have refused to comment on the situation, provide a recommended response for users, or take action on behalf of those already affected. Despite this, there are still tools at our disposal that we can use to make this scam more difficult, and to increase its visibility to those within Tumblr staff that are required by policy to take action. Tumblr has the following to say on the topic of impersonation: Confusion or Impersonation. Don’t do things that would cause confusion between you or your blog and a person or company, like registering a deliberately confusing URL. Don’t impersonate anyone. While you’re free to ridicule, parody, or marvel at the alien beauty of Benedict Cumberbatch, you can’t pretend to actually be Benedict Cumberbatch. They then provide a link to this online form that you can fill out if you suspect someone’s identity is being confused. Unfortunately, this can only be filled out if you are the victim of impersonation. In other words, only the artists can fill this out legitimately. So, what about the followers and users of tumblr whom aren’t being impersonated? Our most valuable tool in this online platform is the platform itself. It enables us to spread our word near-virally across all the many sub-communities on Tumblr with remarkable efficiency for a user-driven system. We can take advantage of that effect to increase awareness of the situation. Even if you - the one reading this right now - aren’t an artist or don’t know an artist, the act of reblogging this post or sharing it directly with friends improves it’s ‘ranking’ in popularity increasing its chances to be seen by more people. We don’t need everyone on Tumblr to see the post for it to be effective, just like we don’t need the entirety of the human population of the world to be immune to a disease for that disease to be rendered ineffective or eradicated. If enough people are aware, the likelihood of pulling off a successful scam increases dramatically reducing efficiency to a point that it no longer becomes profitable to continue.
Why should I care?
It disheartens me to say this, but of the many artists I contacted directly over the past week to warn about this issue many of them refused to listen or dodged the responsibility with lines like;
“I’m not being impersonated, so it doesn’t affect me”
“I’m just one person. I can’t make an impact”
“I need to take care of my community. Other people can look after theirs”
This is honestly disappointing that so many artists or art-rebloggers care so little as to intentionally wave the responsibility of keeping their followers and fellow artists safe from this, that they cannot spare 10 seconds of their time to share an informative post. I’m not here to bash artists, but it is time that everyone takes responsibility for their own communities, and of those around them. Artists: You have a responsibility to ensure that your followers and fans aren’t being abused by someone who may impersonate you. If they succeed, your reputation will be damaged, and your followers will resent you. Your followers are also almost guaranteed to be following other artists meaning your efforts can spread beyond your own circle of influence, so don’t be naive when you think you have little effect. Followers: You have just as much responsibility to be aware of those that might try to scam you or your fellow followers. Don’t just sit in silence when you see something wrong: Ignoring the issue only makes it more resilient to our efforts to stop it. You are the vocal majority if you just use your voices to be heard!
TL:DR
A scammer is impersonating artists and scamming money from their followers under the guise of 'cheap commissions’. If we ignore the issue, it will get worse. Every single person that reads this can afford to spend just 10 seconds to reblog and share this post. Those 10 seconds can save others from being scammed for hundreds of dollars. Reblog & Share
Day #27: Whipped Cream
http://gofundme.com/4uded-help-leeloo
Hi everyone, this is the first time I’ve ever had to do this so here it goes. I recently found a stray cat, who ended up being pregnant. I have named her Leeloo and she is just the sweetest little thing. When I found her she was only 8mo old so still a kitten herself.
Shortly after I found her she gave birth to 3 wonderful kittens and has been a wonderful mother.
Sadly last week she became extremely ill most likely from infection or food poisoning. She could barely raise her head and was breathing heavily and had become extremely dehydrated. Her litter box was a mess and there was vomit all around it. This had happened in the course of 8hrs and I found her like this at 5 in the morning.
I rushed her to the emergency vet after talking to them on the phone. She received treatment and supportive care. Due to her dehydration she had to receive fluids and anti-nausea medicine.
The bill as I thought in the end was huge and I could really use some help paying some of it off. If you can donate even a few dollars to Leeloo it would be a huge help. Leeloo and her babies thank you. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Oh no she can't see. Her lil' beanie is too big 😄
Entry #372: aaaaaaa
Sapph! You’re too small for that big ol hat. Silly pony.
Derpy: Here's your mail 😄
Pony Recipient: T...Thank you😦
Derpy: Could you help me get out of your door *pony squeak* 😆
Nobody here but us giant balls of cotton. 🐰
昔の写真風の毛玉😆 ＊ いや、雪だるまかな？ ＊ #snow #毛玉 #雪だるま #うさぎ #にこちゃん #うさぎ部 #ふわもこ部 #白ふわもこ部 #ライオンロップ #kawaii #かわいい #rabbit #bunny #bunnylove #love #zip写真部
LOL 😉😆
Great background character stories 😆😉
I have no idea what the story of this anime is, and it’s pretty obvious who the protag is, but I’m gonna add character to the girls to the left with no face
Why do I have the felling that Derpy would come fly asking Futtershy to make her a muffin to 😆 * squeak*
Homemade
Just a little Fluttershy sketch in Photoshop ^_^ Baking is messy work, but it comes with great rewards ^^ Hope you’re all having a lovely Sunday <3 All my love, ~FtK
WOW!!! That's real thoughtful of them 😆
I'm Batman 😆😄
I wasn’t prepared
Oh no. Mean Sunset Shimmer is back 😢
Day #312: Honey Hugs
Some old art I drew for @honeycrisp-tales. Not feeling great today and I don’t think I posted this anywhere, so here ya go folks!
What a great message. Especial from Kermit the Frog 😆
Poor Kitties 😿😿
attention @ everyone who cares about animals!!!!!!!!!!
tl;dr: do NOT buy this brand of flea medicine. always do research before buying any kind of medication for your animals.
my boyfriend bought this at petsmart for our cat and when we put it on her, she started licking it bc i guess i accidentally placed it too low and he got worried so we’ve been on google to find out if it’ll harm her. we found some scary stuff.
it doesn’t happen to every cat that this product is used on, but there are reports of this product seriously hurting cats. it burns their skin and can be very painful. the screenshots above are reviews from amazon for the one in the blue box. the one we used is the one in the purple box.
some cats had reactions right away while others took a few hours. we put this on our cat about an hour ago (washed it off of her soon after) and she seems fine but we’re so worried about what could happen. even if nothing happens, this is a chance we never would had taken if we’d known.
ALWAYS RESEARCH BEFOREHAND. i can’t believe petsmart has this on their shelves after everything people have said about it. please spread the word by sharing this post! protect ur pets. a simple google search could have stopped all these cats from getting hurt.
Techno Color Kitty (^-^=)~
So does that mean Luna wears moon dresses?
10 minutes later:
Rarity: WHAT HAVE I DONE?!? I YELLED AT THE PRINCESS! MY CAREER IS O-O-V-VERRRRR!!!” *sobs* *digs into second quart of ice cream*
Nice Honey necktie. I think 4K from @tjpones would approve.
Day #312: Honey Hugs
Some old art I drew for @honeycrisp-tales. Not feeling great today and I don’t think I posted this anywhere, so here ya go folks!
Interesting
Let me be clear: this was an arbitrary decision. It was different than what I’d talked talked with our senior team about yesterday. I woke up this morning in a bad mood and decided to kick them off the Internet. I called our legal team and told them what we were going to do. I called our Trust & Safety team and had them stop the service. It was a decision I could make because I’m the CEO of a major Internet infrastructure company.
Having made that decision we now need to talk about why it is so dangerous. I’ll be posting something on our blog later today. Literally, I woke up in a bad mood and decided someone shouldn’t be allowed on the Internet. No one should have that power.
Here is the subsequent public blog post.
Save the Clock Tower.
Welcome to Hill Valley.
Sunset Shimmer is a hardcore lesbian
Reblog if you agree
Dance Ponies 😆
One of the many curses of having a girlfriend~
(http://imgur.com/JgfM3IG)
Nyan Cat? Is that you?
Mistakes help you learn.
The world’s most viewed TED Talk. In GIFs!
Mistakes help you learn
The world’s most viewed TED Talk. In GIFs!
Bending Scrolls
Save the Kitties 😸😸
I always see the dog choking info on here, so here’s what to do if a kitty is choking
Save your kitties, we all know they eat everything anyway.
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-a-Choking-Cat
http://www.wikihow.com/Perform-CPR-on-a-Cat