Technology
Cheap Black Friday deals cost to your privacy
It’s the perfect time to pick up holiday gifts for your family and treat yourself to that pricey watch you wouldn’t splurge on otherwise.
Black Friday is a worldwide cultural and economic phenomenon today. It comes with much anticipation, great discounts and a shopping frenzy. Its success is such that it now lasts the whole month. But don’t let the excitement cloud your judgment.
The deals are enticing, but there are dangers lurking beneath the surface.
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A woman shopping online on her laptop. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
The devil’s in the privacy policy
Particularly when it comes to online shopping, we give up personal data with every purchase. Information such as your email address, name and address is necessary to create an account or receive a delivery. And that’s fine as long as it’s used for these purposes only.
However, the fine print linked under “Privacy Policy” that you agree to at checkout often comes with a long list or, worse still, an unspecified number of third parties with which your data will be shared. Retailers often sell personal information and purchase histories to third parties, such as marketing companies and data brokers, who use it to build detailed consumer profiles. Once it’s out there, it’s very hard to remove your information from these third-party databases.
Arguably, this happens all the time, Black Friday or not. But with all the marketing strategies pushing us to buy quickly and buy more, we’re just less likely to pay attention.
A woman shopping online on her laptop. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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The spam and scam aftershock, a post-Black Friday hiccup
The term “Black Friday” was originally coined in the 1950s by Philadelphia police officers to describe the chaos that ensued the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of shoppers and tourists flooded the city.
After the shopping extravaganza of Black Friday, your inbox and phone may experience their own dark moments. A surge in spam is widely reported during the month of November. This unwanted communication can come from several sources.
First, from the online shops where you’ve left your email and phone number. Second, from all the companies that received your consumer profile, the ones listed (or not) in the fine print of the privacy policy. Third, from all the retailers you bought from in the past, including that one-time purchase of a kettlebell set three years ago (that you’d rather forget).
But that’s not all; Black Friday is a fiesta for hackers, too, and the perfect time for social engineering attacks! The urgency and excitement of Black Friday deals encourage you to let your guard down. You’re likelier to click on links or open attachments without checking the source. And less likely to notice that a phishing email pretending to be sent by a big retailer has sneaked into your inbox. Your data is being collected, shared and sold as you read this article.
A woman shopping online on her laptop. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How to buy without being sold at the same time
Reading privacy policies every time you buy something isn’t realistic. If you’re ambitious, use the search function (Ctrl+F or Command+F) to find terms like “opt out,” “unsubscribe” or “do not sell” to quickly locate sections where you can limit data sharing. Depending on where you live, these options may simply not be available to you.
An easier solution is to use a disposable email address whenever you open an account for the sole purpose of making a purchase. Once you receive your order confirmation, you can disable it so that no further communication is sent your way. You can also use privacy-focused tools or browsers that block tracking cookies and prevent companies from collecting your data.
A woman shopping online on her laptop. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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8 tips to safeguard your email after Black Friday
As the dust settles from the shopping rush, it’s crucial to be proactive; here are eight essential tips to help you protect your email and personal information from the surge of spam and scams that often follow.
1. Create alias email addresses. An alias email address is an additional email address that can be used to receive emails in the same mailbox as the primary email address. It acts as a forwarding address, directing emails to the primary email address. An email alias address is a great way for you to stop receiving constant spam mail by simply deleting the email alias address. See my review of best secure and private email services here.
2. Use a password manager to consistently use complex passwords that you can change frequently.
3. Avoid opening attachments or clicking on links from emails unless you are sure they are from a trusted source. Scammers or hackers can easily change the name of the sender to make it look like it came from a legitimate organization such as Amazon or an individual. But if you click the email header, you will see the sender’s actual email address. By pretending to be a reputable organization, the crooks send urgent messages to make you click on links, reply or provide personal information in an attempt to fix a problem or claim a reward. If you click on a malicious link, then a scammer may be able to access your email and other personal data.
4. Have strong antivirus software on all your devices: The best way to protect yourself from having your data breached is to have antivirus protection installed on all your devices. Having good antivirus software actively running on your devices will alert you of any malware in your system, warn you against clicking on any malicious links in phishing emails, and ultimately protect you from being hacked.
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Malicious links are often disguised as legitimate ones, but they can download malware onto your device without your knowledge. Malware is a type of software that can damage your device, steal your personal information, or give hackers access to your data. Hackers can then use your data for various purposes, such as identity theft, fraud or blackmail. This is why it is important to have antivirus software that can detect and remove malware before it causes any harm. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
5. Go directly to the official site where you have any accounts, such as your financial institution, to check if any changes or charges were made instead of clicking links in the email you received or responding to the email. This way, you can avoid falling for phishing scams and keep your account secure.
6. Limit the number of accounts or profiles you create with your personal email account.
7. Regularly scrub your personal information on the internet. You don’t want spammers to take your email and add it to their lists, do you? That would result in annoying and potentially dangerous messages flooding your inbox. To prevent that, you need to make sure your personal information is not exposed on the internet. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.
8. Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service can enhance your privacy by encrypting your internet traffic, making it harder for hackers and third parties to intercept your data, especially on public Wi-Fi. A VPN masks your IP address, helping to obscure your location and online activity. While VPNs don’t directly prevent phishing emails, they reduce the exposure of your browsing habits to trackers that may use this data maliciously. With a VPN, you can securely access your email accounts from anywhere, even in areas with restrictive internet policies. See my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
I’ve been scammed! What to do next?
If a scammer gets hold of your email address, they can use it to access your other accounts, send phishing emails to trick you into revealing your passwords or personal details, or even impersonate you to commit fraud or other crimes. This is why it is important to protect your email address from falling into the wrong hands and to act quickly if you suspect that it has been compromised. Below are some next steps if you find you or your loved one is a victim of identity theft.
1. If you can regain control of your accounts, change your passwords and inform the account provider.
2. Look through bank statements and checking account transactions to see where outlier activity started.
3. Use identity theft protection services to manage your personal information on and offline. Identity Theft protection companies can monitor personal information like your home title, Social Security Number (SSN), phone number, and email address and alert you if it is being used to open an account. They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals.
One of the best parts of using identity theft protections services is that it can include identity theft insurance of up to $1 million to cover losses and legal fees and a white-glove fraud resolution team where a U.S.-based case manager helps you recover any losses. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft.
4. Report any breaches to official government agencies like the Federal Communications Commission.
5. You may wish to get the professional advice of a lawyer before speaking to law enforcement, especially when you are dealing with criminal identity theft, and if being a victim of criminal identity theft leaves you unable to secure employment or housing.
6. Alert all three major credit bureaus and possibly place a fraud alert on your credit report.
7. Run your own background check or request a copy of one if that is how you discovered your information has been used by a criminal.
If you are a victim of identity theft, the most important thing to do is to take immediate action to mitigate the damage and prevent further harm.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Navigating the world of online shopping during Black Friday can be a thrilling yet daunting experience. While the discounts are enticing, they often come with hidden costs — namely, your personal data. As you prepare your shopping list, consider utilizing tools to safeguard your information. These resources can help you maintain your privacy while enjoying the benefits of online shopping. Also, remember that post-Black Friday, you may find yourself inundated with spam and unwanted communications from retailers and third parties. Taking proactive steps now can save you from future headaches.
Have you ever experienced a data breach or privacy issue while shopping online? How did you handle it? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
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Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Xbox just allcapsmaxxed: Meet XBOX. This isn’t a joke; Microsoft appears to be actually rebranding Xbox to XBOX. Asha Sharma, Xbox CEO, ran a poll on X earlier this week, asking fans whether Microsoft should use Xbox or XBOX. The results were in favor of XBOX, and the company has now renamed its X account.
Curiously, the Threads and Bluesky accounts for Xbox haven’t been renamed yet, but if Microsoft is going ahead with a rebranding then I expect those will change soon. I asked Microsoft to comment on this potential Xbox rebranding and the company simply referred me to Sharma’s post.
The use of all caps for Xbox is a return to original form, though. Microsoft’s first Xbox logo for its console was all caps, and the company has favored using similar capped versions for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X / S console logos.
The apparent rebranding comes just a few weeks after Sharma scrapped Microsoft Gaming and renamed Microsoft’s gaming division back to Xbox. It’s part of Sharma’s continued promise of a “return of Xbox,” which has involved fan-focused console updates, a new Xbox logo, Game Pass pricing changes, and lots more in recent weeks.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) already shows up in your phone, your searches and plenty of apps you use every day. Now, some Silicon Valley investors are betting the machines behind those AI answers could one day run at sea.
A company called Panthalassa has raised $140 million in new funding to develop and deploy autonomous, floating AI computing nodes powered by ocean waves. The Series B round brings Panthalassa’s total funding to $210 million, a sign that investors are taking this ocean-based AI idea seriously. The round was led by Peter Thiel, the Palantir co-founder, and the company says the money will help complete a pilot manufacturing facility near Portland, Oregon. Panthalassa also plans to deploy its Ocean-3 pilot node series in the northern Pacific Ocean later in 2026.
Instead of building another giant AI data center on land, Panthalassa wants to place computing power out at sea. Ocean waves would generate electricity. Seawater would help with cooling. Onboard computing systems would process AI prompts and send the results back to land through low-Earth-orbit satellites.
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LOWERING YOUR ELECTRIC BILL COULD BE FLOATING IN THE OCEAN
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Panthalassa’s Ocean-2 prototype rides in open water during testing, giving a real-world look at the kind of floating wave-energy system behind the company’s ocean AI plan. (Panthalassa)
How AI data centers at sea could work
Panthalassa’s floating nodes are designed to capture wave motion and turn it into electricity. The company says it has spent a decade developing the technology behind its power generation, onboard computing and autonomous ocean operations. Its earlier Ocean-1, Ocean-2 and Wavehopper prototypes were tested in 2021 and 2024. Think of each node like a floating power station with AI hardware inside. Waves move the system. That motion helps drive a generator. The power then feeds the onboard chips.
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The company’s plan is to use those chips for AI inference. That is the part of AI where a model responds to your prompt after it has already been trained. In simple terms, it is what happens when you ask a chatbot a question and get an answer back. That makes the ocean plan a little easier to understand. Training massive AI models requires huge data movement and tight coordination. Answering prompts may be more realistic for a floating node, at least in some situations.
Why AI data centers are moving offshore
AI data centers need huge amounts of electricity. They also need space, cooling systems and local support from communities that may not want a massive facility nearby. Those problems have pushed companies to look for unusual answers. Ocean-based computing is one of them.
Panthalassa says its nodes would operate far from shore in wave-rich parts of the ocean. The goal is to use that wave energy directly onboard instead of sending the power back to land. “We’ve built a technology platform that operates in the planet’s most energy-dense wave regions, far from shore, and turns that resource into reliable clean power,” said Garth Sheldon-Coulson, Panthalassa’s co-founder and CEO.
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The ocean also offers cold surrounding water. That could help cool the chips onboard. Cooling is a major issue because data centers produce a lot of heat. Panthalassa is taking a different path from traditional land-based data centers. Instead of pulling more power from the grid, it wants floating nodes that generate their own electricity from waves.
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The Ocean-2 prototype sits inside a coastal facility, showing the size and shape of Panthalassa’s floating node before deployment at sea. (Panthalassa)
The satellite problem for ocean AI data centers
The ocean may help with power and cooling, but it creates another problem: connection. Traditional data centers rely on high-capacity fiber-optic connections because they need to move huge amounts of data fast. A floating node far out at sea may depend on low-Earth-orbit satellite links. That can work for some AI responses, but it may be slower and more limited than fiber.
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The challenge grows when multiple nodes need to work together. AI systems often depend on fast communication between chips, servers and storage. If those parts are floating in the ocean and talking by satellite, coordination gets harder. That means AI data centers at sea may not replace land-based data centers anytime soon. They may be better suited for certain AI tasks where the model can live onboard, and the response does not require constant back-and-forth with other machines.
Repairing floating AI nodes could be difficult
There is another practical question: What happens when something breaks? A land-based data center can send in technicians. A floating AI node in rough seas may need a ship, special equipment and the right weather window. That adds cost and delay.
Panthalassa says it is developing autonomous systems meant for harsh ocean conditions. Its press release says Ocean-3 testing is meant to demonstrate AI inference and refine manufacturing before commercial deployments in 2027. Still, the ocean is brutal. Saltwater eats away at equipment. Storms can turn a routine repair into a major operation. Constant motion also puts stress on the hardware. For this plan to work, Panthalassa will have to show that each node can keep running for years in harsh ocean conditions without frequent human repairs.
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Panthalassa’s Ocean-2 prototype is transported by barge, a reminder that building AI infrastructure at sea also means solving major deployment and maintenance challenges. (Panthalassa)
Ocean data centers have been tested before
Ocean data centers are not new. Microsoft experimented with underwater data center servers through Project Natick, including tests in 2015 and 2018. Those tests showed that sealed underwater servers could run reliably while using seawater for cooling, with Microsoft reporting a lower failure rate than comparable land-based systems. Microsoft later ended the project.
Chinese companies have also reportedly pushed ahead with underwater data center projects near Hainan and Shanghai. Keppel has explored floating data center designs in Singapore, where land constraints make the concept especially attractive. Panthalassa’s plan goes in a different direction. It combines wave power with onboard AI chips and satellite-based results. It also depends on floating nodes that would need to operate far from the kind of support a normal data center gets. That is why the idea is getting attention. It is also why skepticism is fair.
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What AI data centers at sea mean for you
For now, this will not change how your phone or computer works. You will not suddenly see a “powered by ocean waves” label on your favorite AI app. But the bigger picture affects everyone. AI needs an incredible amount of electricity. As more companies add AI tools to their products, they need more places to run those systems. That pressure can affect energy grids, water use, local battles over new data centers and even your utility bills over time.
Panthalassa argues its approach could reduce the need for new data centers and power plants on land. That could ease pressure on local communities and the grid, but the company still has to prove the system can work reliably at sea. If ocean-based AI moves beyond testing, it could also raise fresh questions about marine maintenance, environmental oversight and who controls computing infrastructure in international waters.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Everyone is using AI on their phones and computers these days, but the heavy lifting often happens in huge data centers behind the scenes. That is why Panthalassa’s ocean plan is getting attention. The company wants to use waves for power and seawater for cooling. The hard part is proving that floating AI nodes can survive rough seas, limited satellite links and complicated maintenance. If Panthalassa can pull it off, ocean-based AI could become part of the tech we use every day. If it cannot, it may show just how difficult it is to keep feeding AI’s growing demand for power.
If this kind of ocean-powered AI takes off, would you worry about what these floating nodes could mean for our oceans? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
OpenAI announced yet another reorganization Friday, consolidating certain areas and making company president Greg Brockman the official lead of all things product.
In a memo viewed by The Verge, Brockman wrote that since OpenAI’s product strategy for this year is to go all-in on AI agents, the company is combining its products to “invest in a single agentic platform and to merge ChatGPT and Codex into one unified agentic experience for all.”
To do this, the company is making a suite of org chart changes, although it’s still operating under some of the same ones from last month. That’s when AGI boss Fidji Simo went on medical leave and OpenAI announced that Brockman would be in charge of product strategy and CSO Jason Kwon, CFO Sarah Friar, and CRO Denise Dresser would take control of business operations.
It’s all part of OpenAI’s recent strategic shift to focus on key revenue drivers like coding and enterprise and stop pouring resources into “side quests” ahead of its potential IPO later this year and amid investor pressure to turn a profit.
In Simo’s continued absence, Brockman’s role leading product strategy is now official, as well as the company’s “scaling” arm. Under Brockman will be four different pillars. The first is core product and platform, led by Thibault Sottiaux, who has been OpenAI’s engineering lead for Codex, and the second is critical enterprise industries, led by ChatGPT head Nick Turley. Third is the consumer pillar, such as health, commerce, and personal finance, which will be led by Ashley Alexander, who has been its healthcare products VP. The fourth pillar — core infrastructure, ads, data science, and growth — will be led by Vijaye Raji, who has been OpenAI’s CTO of applications.
Brockman wrote in the memo that OpenAI’s goal is now to “bring agents to ChatGPT scale, in order to give individuals and organizations significantly more value and utility from our products.”
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