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QR codes can hide deceptive links from identity thieves, FTC warns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

QR codes, the square bar codes that can be scanned and read by smartphones, are seemingly used everywhere: to board flights, enter concerts and look at restaurant menus.But scammers trying to steal personal information have also been using QR codes to direct people to harmful websites that can harvest their data, Alvaro Puig, a consumer education specialist at the Federal Trade Commission, wrote in a blog post Wednesday on the agency’s consumer advice page.Would-be scammers hide dangerous links in the black-and-white jumble of some QR codes, the FTC warned.The people behind those schemes direct users to the harmful QR codes in deceptive ways, using tactics that include placing their own QR codes on top of legitimate codes on parking meters or sending the patterns to be scanned by text or email in ways that make them appear legitimate, the post said.Once people have clicked those links, the scammer can steal information that is entered on the website. The QR code can also be used to ...

Prep roundup: Mountain View beats St. Francis in boys basketball. ‘This was huge,’ coach says.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

Boys basketballMountain View 56, St. Francis 50Score one for the public school.For the first time in more than a decade, Mountain View was on the winning side against the Peninsula town’s West Catholic Athletic League school, beating visiting St. Francis on Friday night in a nonleague game.The victory improved Mountain View’s record to 7-2.St. Francis, in its first season under coach Rodney Tention, lost its third game in a row to fall to 3-4.Mountain View, which was coming off a 49-34 loss to Carlmont on Saturday, led 26-22 at halftime. St. Francis evened the score 38-38 after three quarters, but Mountain View opened up enough of a cushion in the final period to hold on down the stretch.Jayden Minor (16 points), Ben Maller (14 points) and Jaden Feller (13 points) scored in double figures for Mountain View. James Jordan (15 points) and Max Haberlach (11 points) led St. Francis.The win was Mountain View’s first over St. Francis since a 48-46 triumph on December 2012...

How $750 a month helped Bay Area homeless people spend less time on the street

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

Over the course of the year, a hundred homeless people in the Bay Area and Los Angeles received $750 a month, no questions asked, to spend as they pleased.How did they manage their money?Newly released results from the “guaranteed income” program that handed out the payments found participants overwhelmingly used the cash to cover everyday necessities — food, housing and transportation. Crucially, the assistance helped some recipients get off the street once they could afford rent or the costs of moving into an apartment. “It’s what we all need as people, just a little bit of support when times are tough,” said Kevin F. Adler, founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit in charge of the program.In recent years, local governments and private organizations across the Bay Area have funded at least 20 other guaranteed income pilot programs to determine whether unconditional payments can help alleviate the region’s staggering wealth ...

49ers’ Warner, Greenlaw share center stage with Ravens’ Smith, Queen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

SANTA CLARA — As much as the 49ers’ Christmas game against the Baltimore Ravens is being looked at as a referendum on this year’s Most Valuable Player, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Lamar Jackson have other concerns Monday night.Purdy and McCaffrey will be on the lookout for Ravens’ linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen.Smith and Queen would be the consensus pick as the best duo in the NFL were it not for the 49ers’ pairing Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.Warner and Greenlaw will have all the attention of Jackson, whose skills as a runner and passer put defenses in a constant state of stress.“I think those are the two guys who jump off the tape and I think they’re the most comparable to our guys that I’ve seen this year and in a couple years,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “To me, those two guys make the defense go.”Shanahan was talking about Smith and Queen, but it could have just as easily have been Warne...

Now ‘a little wiser,’ Sharks goalie won’t be surprised by anything at trade deadline

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

SAN JOSE – Kaapo Kahkonen can easily recall when he found out he had been traded from the Minnesota Wild to the San Jose Sharks.“I was in the middle of a morning skate,” Kahkonen said of the March 21, 2022, deal. “I got pulled off the ice and told I was traded, jumped on a plane, and met these guys in Calgary that same night.“I had no idea that was coming.”Kahkonen won’t be blindsided if he’s dealt by the Sharks to a playoff-contending team between now and the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline. Not only is he a pending unrestricted free agent on the NHL’s last-place team, but he’s also having a bounce-back year, buoyed by a solid month of December in which he’s arguably been the Sharks’ top goalie.“A little wiser this time around,” said Kahkonen, 27. “Obviously, understanding that my contract’s up and in this league, anything can happen.”Going into Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Kahkonen is 3-2-1 in six games this month with a .914 save percentage, which ranks 15th ...

Political cartoons: Who’s naughty and who’s nice this Christmas?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

As we reach Christmas 2023, cartoonists across the country have drawn clear conclusions about who has been naughty and nice at a time when Americans face angst about issues such as the upcoming presidential election, high interest rates, war in the Middle East and Ukraine, an ethically challenged Supreme Court and large influxes of undocumented immigrants.David Horsey/The Seattle TimesRivers/CagleCartoons.comLisa Benson/Counterpoint MediaChris Britt/Creators.comClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressFrank Hansen/PoliticalCartoons.comDave Whamond/PoliticalCartoons.comMike Luckovich/Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressClay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free PressDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyDana Summers/Tribune Content AgencyGary Markstein/Creators SyndicateJoel Pett/Tribune Content AgencyLiam Simonelli/Counterpoint MediaLisa Benson/Counterpoint MediaMichael Ramirez/Las Veg...

Pass-happy Salesian boys carve up Ygnacio Valley zone as Pride stay perfect

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

ALBANY – There are two ways to nullify a zone defense in basketball. The first, more popular method, is to shoot the lights out of the gym and force the defenders to creep out to the perimeter. The second option, which is far more difficult and requires all five offensive players to be in-sync, is to pass the ball into the middle of the court, and then hit another quick pass or two to cutters. Salesian went with the latter of the two methods – and made it look easy – in the Pride’s 65-45 victory over Ygnacio Valley at Albany High. Salesian led 32-19 at halftime and although Ygnacio Valley kept things interesting well into the second half, it was never in jeopardy of losing the lead. “Tonight, we weren’t shooting the ball great, but we did a really good job of attacking the middle of their zone and going high-low with interior passing,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. ALBANY – Salesian wing Alvin Loving IV goes through pregame introductions. Salesian and Ygnacio Valley played ...

Maryland tenant advocates push state leaders for $15M in 2024 housing aid

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

The state capital dome in Annapolis, Maryland. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/pabradyphoto) The state capital dome in Annapolis, Maryland. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/pabradyphoto) Two dozen tenant activists were stamping their feet in the cold at People’s Park in downtown Annapolis on Wednesday. The weather was an annoyance, but it also illustrated a point: That apartment dwellers are being put out on the street every day in Maryland, and that struggling tenants need help — especially in winter.Magdalena Escobar, a Greenbelt resident, said she had to quit her job as a restaurant cook a few years ago to care for her ailing son. Without renters’ assistance, which was arranged by the immigrants’ rights or...

Una breve historia del fin del mundo: cada extinción masiva, incluida la próxima que se avecina, explicada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

(CNN) — Ninguna especie dura para siempre: la extinción es parte de la evolución de la vida.Pero al menos cinco veces, una catástrofe biológica ha envuelto al planeta, acabando con la gran mayoría de las especies del agua y la tierra en un intervalo geológico relativamente corto.El más famoso de estos eventos de extinción masiva (cuando un asteroide chocó contra la Tierra hace 66 millones de años, condenando a los dinosaurios y muchas otras especies) es también el más reciente. Pero los científicos dicen que no será el último.Muchos investigadores sostienen que estamos en medio de una sexta extinción masiva, causada no por una roca espacial del tamaño de una ciudad sino por el crecimiento excesivo y el comportamiento transformador de una sola especie: el Homo sapiens. Los humanos han destruido hábitats y desatado una crisis climática.Cómo es el plan de “des-extinción” para reintroducir el ave dodo en MauricioLos cálculos de un estudio publicado en septiembre en la ...

Tesla llama a revisión 120,000 vehículos porque sus puertas podrían abrirse durante un accidente

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:46 GMT

Tesla está llamando a revisión a más de 120,000 vehículos por unas puertas que no cumplen la normativa del gobierno estadounidense.En una carta publicada en el sitio web de la Administración Nacional de Seguridad del Transporte por Carretera el jueves, Tesla reconoció que las puertas afectadas pueden desbloquearse durante un accidente, lo que podría hacer que la puerta se desenganche y se abra, aumentando el riesgo de lesiones.Los vehículos afectados incluyen los modelos S y X de Tesla fabricados entre los años 2021 y 2023. Tesla dijo que no tenía conocimiento de ninguna lesión como resultado de la cuestión a partir del 14 de diciembre.Como medida correctiva, Tesla está lanzando una actualización de software over-the-air (OTA) de forma gratuita. Se espera que las cartas de notificación a los propietarios se envíen el 17 de febrero. Conductores de Tesla tienen la mayor tasa de accidentes; los de BMW, la de DUI, según un estudio Tesla llama a t...