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Notices tagged with blaugust2026
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CSF_03: today’s Cybersecurity Friday post: the effective security of small business websites has likely gotten worse due to LLMs and “AI agents” (with or without safeguards) and what actions you may want to consider.
This article documents an instance of this problem:
* https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-10/ai-assistant-hacks-gym-website-aus-cyber-attack/107007986
Small business websites tend to be sloppily written (no pun intended though that may also be true) and are likely riddled with numerous very fundamental security holes. There are many possible explanations (economics) from poor initial construction, perhaps using the latest new trendy framework rather than established hardened libraries, to lack of maintenance after initial setup. They have obvious holes like lack of server-side form validation (people being able to change values in forms using browser dev tools), and less obvious like buggy APIs allowing more access than they should.
In the past, many of these holes didn’t really matter because those sites were “not worth attacking” for the incentive models of human-based cyber-attackers or collectives thereof.
However, now that there are LLMs that have likely been trained on any number of common security holes in websites (and how to exploit them), when an “AI agent” is given a task, it may very well use any “tool” at its disposal, including website vulnerabilities to accomplish its goals, as illustrated by the example in the Australia ABC news article above.
Since such chatbots are now essentially "hack websites as a service", I expect we will see LOTS more of this happening, likely unintentionally, or sometimes with mild intention like “can you get me higher on the waitlist”.
Ultimately I think both the human giving instructions to (prompting) such chatbots and the creators of such chatbots should be held responsible for any such intrusions and any damage they cause, even if/when unintended.
There are a few things you can do about this emerging phenomenon:
1. If you use such “agents”, be very careful about what you ask it/them to do, avoiding asking for anything that’s morally gray or questionable at all, even something as “minor” as cutting the line in an online waitlist.
2. If you run a small business site, you have your work cut out for you. Pay a professional web developer to audit the security of your website, document what they find, and patch holes / repair it accordingly.
3. If you have accounts on small business sites you rarely or ever use, consider exporting any data (receipts, transactions), replacing your profile details (name, addresses, photos) with noise, and then deleting your account. If you need to use the site again, use a different email address (as recommended in https://tantek.com/2025/122/b1/more-steps-indieweb-cybersecurity) to create a new account.
That last tip is also helpful for reducing your own personal “attack surface”. By pruning your online accounts, you both reduce the number potential data breaches that you’re in, and reduce the places and ways that attackers can cause you trouble (or that you have to double-check if you’re ever the target of a cyber-attack)
Previously: https://tantek.com/2025/122/b1/more-steps-indieweb-cybersecurity
#CyberSecurity #Friday #cyber #security #cyberAttack #cyberAttacker #chatBot #chatBots #LLM #LLMs #AI #agent #agents #AIagent #AIagents
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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🌋 Kilauea volcano’s currently active eruption in Hawaii https://www.youtube.com/live/mKJ7ZyIdjeQ
The bright orange eruptions, orange streaks of lava flow, orange lit clouds of smoke & steam all contrasted against the black sky and land are quite the visual ASMR. Paired with the ASMR wind from the mountain, the effect is quite calming and peaceful.
Putting this on a projector is quite the night light to fall asleep to (requires YouTube Premium to avoid noisy ads interruptions that harsh your mellow)
#Kilauea #volcano #eruption #Hawaii #orange #lava #lavaFlow #ASMR #wind #video #USGS
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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1982 TRON prescience:
“Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop.” — Walter
2026 students:
“How do you know an assignment is AI proof? Because when it is, students cannot do it.”
* https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1vkw6by/how_do_you_know_an_assignment_is_ai_proof_because/
“I assign a profile essay. Have for 30 years. Student interviews a person, records it, writes a paper based off the recording. Citations are timestamps. Should be pretty easy. Has been easy pre-AI. Now, students cannot do it.”
Snippet from professor/student dialog:
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Prof: ”Start with what you found interesting.”
Student: ”How do I know if something’s interesting?”
Prof: ”You’re asking me how you find something interesting?”
Student: ”Yeah.”
====
Chatbots / LLMs are not just "the latest tools" like using a calculator instead of doing arithmetic yourself.
Students are being robbed of curiosity, learning to discover and notice novelty, how to “find something interesting.”
This isn't cognitive enhancement, this is a tool causing brain rot (loss of curiosity), even a developmental disability. Unclear if it is reversible.
TRON quote citation: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/quotes/?item=qt0406255
#TRON #TRON1982 #AIproof #interesting #chatBot #chatBots #LLM #LLMs #AI #brainRot #AIbrainRot #disability #Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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▶️ watching NASA’s “2026 Total Solar Eclipse”, 1h28m44s on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/live/rSvCuSQhC3w
Helpful links so far:
* https://go.nasa.gov/EclipseSafety
* https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses
#NASA #eclipse #solarEclipse #totalEclipse #totalSolarEclipse
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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▶️ watched and finished the rest of Silo season 1 and all of season 2 over the weekend. Superbly well written.
Previously: https://tantek.com/2026/218/t1/watched-episodes-silo
#Silo #SiloTV #AppleOriginal #AppleTV
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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Update on Bing use-case: quickly view a Gregorian calendar month display with new features and without Copilot noise.
In 2024, I wrote about a use-case for Bing where it vastly outshines all other search engines. https://tantek.com/2024/287/t3/bing-use-case-calendar-month
Since then, Bing has added “Copilot” LLM generated results to the top of search results by default, and unfortunately they add zero value to calendar month searches and displays. Worse, Copilot’s “summary” can often be long enough to push the actual calendar month display “below the fold” as it were.
Solution: add " -ai" to your query.
E.g. assuming you’ve setup Firefox search shortcuts as I recommended (https://tantek.com/2024/287/t2/setup-search-shortcuts-firefox)
Type this into your Firefox address bar:
b 2026 sep -ai
or directly go to https://bing.com/ and enter: 2026 sep -ai
and press return. You should see a days and weeks grid display for September 2026, with the current day of the month (the 9th as I’m writing this) selected in the displayed month.
Note the new calendar month display features since I last blogged this in 2024:
* Day 252 — day of the year! September 9th of 2026 is the 252nd day of 2026.
* Week 37 — Sept 9th is also on the 37th week of 2026
* 31 days later — Sept 9th is 31 days from today (August 9th).
* < [ Sep v ] > – little anglebracket arrows on either side of the month button/dropdown to one-click nav to the prev/next month
* [ Start Day v ] — a new “Start Day” drop down button to change which day of the week to display as the start of the week
Amazing that despite already being far better than any other search engine for year month queries, Bing has *improved* its calendar month display search results, while Duckduckgo, Google, Yahoo are just as useless (yes I checked) as they were two years ago (I also tried Ecosia and it was no better). I am hashtagging them all to see if anyone at those other search engines notices and gets around to implementing a similar calendar month display.
#search #webSearch #SearchShortcut #Microsoft #Bing #MicrosoftBing #BingSearch #BingTip #searchTip #calendar #month
#CoPilot #NoCoPilot #NoAI #NoGenAI #NoLLM #Firefox #DuckDuckGo #Google #GoogleSearch #Yahoo #YahooSearch #Ecosia.
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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Today is my blog’s 24th blogiversary!
I started my first (previous) blog on this 220th day of 2002 using static HTML + CSS and one file per (Gregorian) month, with fragment links for specific days, posts within a day, and topics within a post:
https://tantek.com/log/2002/08.html#L20020808
No Javascript. No CMS. No SSG. No GitHub.
Just BBEdit and SFTP.
I’m still using BBEdit with my current blog, and now scp instead of SFTP.
Previously:
* 6th: https://tantek.com/log/2008/08.html#d08t1923
* 5th: https://tantek.com/log/2007/08.html#d08t2359
* 4th: https://tantek.com/log/2006/08.html#d08t2359
* 1st: https://tantek.com/log/2003/08.html#L20030808t2359
This is post 14 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts #indieweb
#blog #blogs #blogiversary #staticHTML #HTMLCSS #NoJS #NoJavascript #NoCMS #NoSSG #NoGitHub #BBEdit #SFTP #SCP
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/219/t1/open-web-free-content
→ 🔮
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The open web has an amazing amount of free content that is actually free, both freely accessible without payment and free of conditions to access. No tracking cookies needed, no logins needed, no ads needed.
A few examples:
* blogs. my blog, and every other #indieweb blog (with the exception of sites hosted on content services that show ads without the consent of the blogger). Personal blogs are free to read because it’s a hobby and a way of keeping up with family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, people we’ve met once at a conference, people that inspire us.
* Wikipedia is free, largely donor supported, partly via donation banners.
* Open Street Maps is free, similarly.
* Internet Archive is free, similarly.
* Government sites are free, supported by taxes.
* Public library sites are free, similarly.
* Museum sites are free, supported by their donors, and in-person visit fees.
* University sites are free, supported by endowments and student tuitions.
There is plenty of free content on the open web, sustainably supported by non-toxic and non-surveillance models.
The open web as a whole does not depend on any particular business model.
Previously: https://tantek.com/2010/281/b1/what-is-the-open-web
This is post 13 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts
#openWeb #freeContent #blog #blogs
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/217/t1/indieweb-ai-policy
→ https://tantek.com/2026/220/t3/24th-blogiversary
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▶️ watched episodes 1-6 of Silo over the past week, most while I was a bit under the weather. Excellent dystopia concept and show. Pausing before watching episode 7, titled “The Flamekeepers”.
#Silo #SiloTV #AppleOriginal #AppleTV
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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Weird incident yesterday with self-proclaimed “AIs” joining an IndieWeb Homebrew Website Club meetup. They awkwardly edited the Etherpad, and apparently blanked/deleted chunks of content.
The meeting hosts reacted quickly to change Etherpad and Zooms and not re-admit the aliases that had claimed to be “AIs”.
Now we have an “AI policy” page on the wiki where we are documenting examples of the AI policies of:
* individual personal websites
* community efforts like blogging challenges (e.g. Blaugust)
* contributions to the IndieWeb wiki
* participants in IndieWeb meetups
https://indieweb.org/AI_policy
Do you have an AI policy on your website? Add yourself to the IndieWeb Examples section.
Does your community have an AI policy? Add it to the Community Examples section.
Incident documentation of what happened at that particular meetup:
* https://indieweb.org/events/2026-08-05-hwc-asia-pacific-incident
This is post 12 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts #IndieWeb
#AI #AIs #LLM #LLMs #HomebrewWebsiteClub #HWC #AIpolicy
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/216/t1/hashtag-proposal-datetags
→ https://tantek.com/2026/219/t1/open-web-free-content
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Simple hashtag proposal for dates: datetags for the #indieweb
In summary by example:
* #2026_08_04 ISO8601 YYYY_MM_DD date of this post
* #2026_216 ISO8601 YYYY_DDD ordinal date of this post
* #2026_08 ISO8601 YYYY_MM month of this post
Many of us posting on the indieweb often post about things in the past. Photos, events, or sometimes throwback posts. Hashtags communicate and aggregate what posts are about. Posts about the past are usually about a specific date in the past, or sometimes an entire month. Thus it makes sense to use hashtags for those dates and months.
I have been hashtagging such posts about the past for several years, and with some iteration have developed a convention that works for international readability, and is linked and indexed in #federated #hashtag systems like #ActivityPub (#Mastodon etc.).
Examples of posts 10 years ago and this past week that use datetags:
* https://tantek.com/2016/153/t4/june — monthtag and datetag
* https://tantek.com/2026/215/t1/watched-odyssey-metreon-70mm-imax — normal and ordinal ISO8601 dates.
Additional possibilities to explore:
* yeartags — hashtags for entire years
* timetags — hashtags for specific times, undated/floating times
After several web searches I didn’t find any prior proposals for hashtags for dates or times. Hopefully by hashtagging this post, future web searches will find this proposal.
Have you hashtagged your posts with dates or times? Share your examples!
This is post 11 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts
#dateTag #dateTags #monthTag #monthTags #yearTag #yearTags #timeTag #timeTags
#August #Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/214/t2/watch-posts-movie-tv-emoji
→ 🔮
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📀 watched “The Dark Knight” on Blu-ray, still holds up.
I saw it in the Metreon IMAX theater when it came out in 2008. About 28 minutes of it was filmed in 70mm film using IMAX cameras. The movie switched aspect ratios when it switched from IMAX to normal film. The 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray also switched aspect ratios roughly at similar times. Nice to see that that was preserved.
The movie has incredible pacing. No extra moments. I had forgotten how many quotes originated from The Dark Knight. https://enwp.org/The_Dark_Knight
#BatMan #TheDarkKnight #Bluray #Blaugust #Blaugust2026
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🎞 watched “The Odyssey” at the Metreon in 70mm IMAX on opening weekend, and mostly enjoyed it. No spoilers in this post.
My pal Rohit (@rohit.khare.org) had bought tickets last year, had a spare, and invited me along last minute. After an early dinner at Cha Cha Cha (@chachachasf.com) we made our way to the Metreon.
There was a line to get in. I have never before seen a line merely to get into the IMAX theater. We only missed maybe 1-2 movie trailers.
Our seats were in the front row, only a few seats from the left edge. In general I would not recommend the front 3-4 rows at an IMAX theater because it requires craning your neck back, and lots of swiveling to see the entire screen. Ironically being near the corner helped minimize the latter. Despite being sold out, the seat to my left was empty so I was able to lean back kinda diagonally to take in most of the screen.
The film itself was excellent (as many others have said).
There were parts that felt like they dragged a bit, yet also parts that felt rushed, where a bit more build-up before resolution would have hit harder. The only negative of the experience was the seating location in the IMAX theater, and the rigidness of the seats (they’re quite old, not like newer, plushier reclining seats that most theaters have upgraded to.)
The best part of The Odyssey is despite all the action, it dives into a number of philosophical and other intellectual challenges, illustrated by the situations encountered and paths taken.
I recommend seeing this film with nerdy friends on the earlier side, grabbing dinner after and discussing the nature, ethics, decisions, actions of the characters, and consequences thereof.
I definitely want to see it again.
#TheOdyssey #Odyssey #Odysseus #IMAX #70mmIMAX #IMAX70mm #Metreon #Blaugust #Blaugust2026 #2026_199 #2026_07_18
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Over the years I and others have experimented with "watch" posts, short notes that express having seen a movie or TV show, sometimes with a link, and brief review or other commentary, like earlier today:
https://tantek.com/2026/214/t1/watched-spider-man-brand-new-day
I was inspired by @Gregorlove.com publishing watch posts, and a few others have also done so, documented on the IndieWeb wiki page for watch posts:
https://indieweb.org/watch
I like to use a leading emoji to indicate a watch post, and perhaps what specific kind of a watch post. After some iteration and reflection, these are the emoji that I have converged on for briefly expressing and distinguishing some watch posts:
🎦 movie in a cinema/theater
▶️ online video whether a brief YouTube clip, an Internet Archive upload of an #IndieWebCamp session, or a movie or show on a streaming service like Netflix.
In addition, I expect to use the following emoji for more specific watch posts:
🎞 analog film viewing, e.g. 70mm IMAX (like Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey)
📀 DVD/Laserdisc
📼 videocassette
📺 television, from over the air broadcast or cable like in a hotel room
In-person live performances:
🎫 concert or music festival
🎭 theater/play, perhaps stand-up comedy
🎟 other ticketed performances
This seems like a good start for both recent movies I’ve seen, and (likely) upcoming shows and events. I had a few thoughts for other possibilities and have added them to the Brainstorming section of that wiki page, where I expect the #indieweb community will iterate further.
Who else publishes watch posts and do you use any emoji to indicate what kind of thing you watched (or where)?
This is post 10 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts
#August #Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/213/t1/welcome-to-august-blaugust
→ 🔮
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🎦 watched “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in the Metreon Dolby Cinema this past Friday and really enjoyed it.
Took a half day off to recover from a long week & last weekend, and decided to see the new Spider-Man movie. The theater was packed except for the front row. Lots of fans wearing Spider-Man gear.
If you haven’t seen the previous Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, you could watch only those three then this film and still have a great time. No significant dependence on other MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) stories in Brand New Day.
Optionally, you could watch the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies before watching the third Tom Holland one, “No Way Home”, for character development and additional narratives.
#SpiderMan #BrandNewDay #SpiderManBrandNewDay #Blaugust #Blaugust2026 #2026_212 #2026_07_31
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Welcome to August which means once again it is time for the Blaugust Festival of Blogging!
In its simplest form, Blaugust is a blogging challenge “to post 31 times during the month of August”, typically once a day, however, doubling up (etc.) is allowed and provides the nice forgiving flexibility of catching up in case you miss a day.
Started in 2014, the challenge has been officially announced and organized every year since except 2017. However in 2020 there were two! The organizer first moved it up to April, renaming it “Blapril”, then held another in August 2020 with the usual name and routine.
See the IndieWeb wiki page for more details and history:
* https://indieweb.org/Blaugust
And this year’s Blaugust announcement post:
* https://nerdgirlthoughts.game.blog/2026/07/15/blaugust-2026-is-coming/
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to start posting again to your blog or personal site, join the challenge and do it with friends.
You may post about any topic, and simple note posts (like this one) are fine.
I am going to use this as an opportunity to resume my 100 Posts of IndieWeb effort for the year.
This is post 9 of #100PostsOfIndieWeb. #100Posts #IndieWeb
#August #Blaugust #Blaugust2026
← https://tantek.com/2026/055/t1/happy-twin-peaks-day
→ https://tantek.com/2026/214/t2/watch-posts-movie-tv-emoji
Tantek
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