Randy Balbuena
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randyb.net
Randy Balbuena
@randyb.net
I design and build things.
Yep! It’s freezing cold!
As people in the U.S. prepared to ring in the new year, temperatures plunged as much as 20 degrees below normal across much of the country. nyti.ms/4jgj9uI
December 31, 2025 at 4:20 PM
MongoBleed (CVE-2025-14847) is under active exploit in the wild. This major security vulnerability affects MongoDB, used by 70%+ of Fortune 500 companies. (image: xkcd). #explainedinonepicture #techexplained
December 29, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
Received a notification from Apple, Google or WhatsApp that you've been targeted or hacked with government spyware?

Take it seriously!

Here's a very useful guide from @lorenzofb.bsky.social @techcrunch.com about what steps you should take next 👇
NEW: Apple, Google, and WhatsApp now regularly notify their users if they suspect they have been targeted or hacked with government spyware, such as that made by NSO Group or Paragon.

We spoke to experts and wrote a guide on what to do, and where to go, if you receive one of those notifications.
You've been targeted by government spyware. Now what? | TechCrunch
Tech companies are increasingly warning their customers that they have been targeted by governments with advanced government spyware, such as NSO's Pegasus or Paragon's Graphite. What happens after re...
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
My heart... 🥹

Inclusion matters
❤️❤️❤️

(For those wondering, Santa is signing in BSL - British Sign Language - and asks the
sweet angel girl about her list, and different things she might like.
Then he tells her that if she's a good girl, Santa will bring her a
present✨)

🔊
christmas love
December 24, 2025 at 11:12 PM
How did Spotify not notice this 300TB data breach?!
Backing up Spotify
We backed up Spotify (metadata and music files). It’s distributed in bulk torrents (~300TB). It’s the world’s first “preservation archive” for music which is fully open (meaning it can easily be mirro...
annas-archive.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
Though age verification mandates claim to protect children, in practice they create harmful censorship and surveillance regimes that put everyone—adults and young people alike—at risk. Learn how to fight back at our new Age Verification Resource Center: EFF.org/Age.
Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub
Age verification (or age-gating) laws generally require online services to check, estimate, or verify all users’ ages—often through invasive tools like ID checks, biometric scans, or other dubious
www.eff.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
At long last! What took you so long, YouTube?!

“YouTube Shuts Down Channels Using AI To Create Fake Movie Trailers Watched By Millions”
YouTube Shuts Down Channels Using AI To Create Fake Movie Trailers Watched By Millions
YouTube has terminated two prominent channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, using artificial intelligence to create fake movie trailers.
deadline.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
The US TikTok sale has been signed. The company will be controlled by a joint venture including Oracle, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, Abu Dhabi-based MGX. Adding a UAE company really makes it clear that this was never about national security concerns.

www.axios.com/2025/12/18/t...
Scoop: TikTok signs deal for sale of U.S. unit after yearslong saga
The deal would end a yearslong saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operation.
www.axios.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Meanwhile on X…
December 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
This looks like a particularly spicy shituation affecting Cisco customers:

• 10/10 severity zero-day bug in popular Cisco products
• Cisco says China is exploiting bug to hack customers
• Cyberattacks discovered on Dec. 10; disclosed today
• No patches yet. Compromised devices must be wiped
Cisco says Chinese hackers are exploiting its customers with a new zero-day | TechCrunch
Cisco said it discovered a Chinese hacking campaign targeting its customers by exploiting a zero-day in some of the company's most popular products.
techcrunch.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
In a historic change, the Oscars will no longer be broadcast on television. Starting in 2029, the ceremony will move to YouTube.
The Oscars Are Ditching TV for YouTube
The Academy revealed Wednesday that the 100th Oscars will be the final ceremony aired on ABC—and as of 2029, the ceremony will be livestreamed online instead.
www.vanityfair.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:03 PM
😬
“Microsoft Scales Back AI Goals Because Almost Nobody Is Using Copilot”
Microsoft Scales Back AI Goals Because Almost Nobody Is Using Copilot
Google's Gemini is on pace to push Copilot into third place.
www.extremetech.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
An activist was charged with destruction of evidence after resetting his phone to factory settings

www.techspot.com/news/110560-...
Man arrested for allegedly wiping his Google Pixel before a CBP search
Tunick was indicted by a grand jury on November 13, and an arrest warrant was issued the same day. It says that on January 24, he knowingly...
www.techspot.com
December 13, 2025 at 8:50 PM
What’s this about now?!
December 13, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Update your Apple devices! Many new features and tons of security fixes in these new OS versions:

iOS 26.2
iPadOS 26.2
macOS 26.2
tvOS 26.2
watchOS 26.2
visionOS 26.2
December 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Stay safe y’all! #tsunami
BREAKING: A tsunami as high as 10 feet could hit Japan's northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore, the Japan Meteorological Agency said reut.rs/44iNwL0
December 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Today, 70 years ago, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for keeping her seat on a bus. #OTD 1955
December 1, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
November 25, 2025 at 9:46 PM
November 26, 2025 at 11:43 AM
November 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
A 91-year-old woman refused to sell her home of 60 years to make room for a $100 billion Micron superfab. She finally gave up when authorities threatened to take it through eminent domain. from @peard33.bsky.social
A $100 Billion Chip Project Forced a 91-Year-Old Woman From Her Home
Azalia King was the last holdout preventing the construction of a Micron "megafab." Onondaga County authorities threatened to use eminent domain to take her home away by force.
www.wired.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:25 PM
X created this problem by selling verified blue badges to any account. Now they’re mitigating by letting the user do the vetting.

“Dozens of major accounts masquerading as “America First” or “MAGA” proponents have been identified as originating in places such as Russia, India, and Nigeria.”
Top MAGA Influencers Accidentally Unmasked as Foreign Actors
A new feature on Elon Musk’s X has given deeper insight into the online “America First” movement.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:50 AM
“Nano Banana Pro”
November 21, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Randy Balbuena
Never doing the dishes again
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM