Category: Science and Technology

A geomagnetic storm is expected to last through Monday, possibly disrupting radio communications but making for great aurora viewing. 

These high-frequency radio transmissions include aircrafts trying to communicate with distant traffic control towers. 

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado issued geomagnetic storm watches for Sunday and Monday as a “coronal mass ejection,” or CME, was headed for Earth. CMEs are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun that reach Earth within 15 to 18 hours. 

Still, the center said there was no reason to be alarmed. Jonathan Lash, a forecaster at the center, said most commercial aircraft can use satellite transmission as backup. 

Satellite operators might have trouble tracking their spacecraft, and power grids could also see some “induced current” in their lines, though nothing they can’t handle, he said.

FOR SOLAR ECLIPSE ON APRIL 8, SOME US SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY

“For the general public, if you have clear skies at night and you are at higher latitudes, this would be a great opportunity to see the skies light up,” Lash said.

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field flips, meaning its north and south poles switch positions. Solar activity changes during that cycle, and it’s now near its most active, called the solar maximum.

During such times, geomagnetic storms of the type that arrived Sunday can hit Earth a few times a year, Lash said. During solar minimum, a few years may pass between storms.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said her state was anticipating the impact until 2 a.m. Monday. 

“While there have been no reported disruptions to the electrical grid or radio communication, State personnel are actively monitoring and coordinating with industry stakeholders and the federal government,” Hochul said. 

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A staggering 22% of migratory animals are facing potential extinction, while some 44% are experiencing notable population decline, according to a “State of the World’s Migratory Species” report released by the U.N. last month.

“This is the first-ever comprehensive assessment of migratory species,” Executive Director Inger Andersen of the U.N. Environment Programme said of the report, which FOX Weather reported at the time. 

“And it shows how our behaviour – unsustainable human activities – are jeopardizing the future of these species, and by extension, the future of other species and humanity itself,” Andersen continued.

Here’s a closer look at a few of the hardest-hit species, how they migrate and what the future may have in store for them.

1-IN-5 MIGRATORY ANIMALS FACE EXTINCTION, FIRST UN REPORT OF ITS KIND SAYS

Leatherback turtles are known for their diverse habitats and remarkably long migration routes – aquatic treks upward of 10,000 miles aren’t uncommon for them, and depending on the season, they’re equally likely to be spotted in Caribbean waters as they are to be seen off the frigid coasts of Russia and Alaska.

However, such a broad-ranging species is also open to broad-ranging threats. Classified as vulnerable – which, while concerning, falls short of the far more dire “endangered” label – by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, leatherbacks are jeopardized by gradually warming waters, light pollution, poaching and accidental ensnarement in fishing nets.

Sand tiger sharks are known as top predators in their wide-ranging natural habitat, making appearances in the coastal waters of some 50 countries. 

While historically not known to kill humans, a recent spike in attacks – particularly off the coast of New York – means 13 of the 36 unprovoked attacks by sand tigers have occurred over the last two years.

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Despite their prolific, domineering nature – and their recent notoriety – sand tigers are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, one classification short of effective extinction. 

Aggravating factors include fishing, pollution and habitat loss, on top of the species’ unusually infrequent and low-yielding breeding patterns – sand tigers don’t breed annually, and only bear up to two pups at a time.

Monarch butterflies writ large are classified as “least concern” by the IUCN – however, the status of their migratory subspecies, known to flock to Mexico each winter from the U.S. and Canada, fluctuates between vulnerability and outright endangerment.

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES WINTERING IN MEXICO AT SECOND-LOWEST LEVEL ON RECORD

Monarchs’ short lifespan also means that no single butterfly completes the entire migratory process – so their annual southward trek is considered one of nature’s more curious phenomena.

However, Mexico has reported a decreasing monarch presence over the past few winters; last year saw a 22% drop over 2022, and this year saw a 59% drop over last – meaning monarchs are wintering there at the second-lowest rate ever recorded.

Humans are responsible for some threats to migratory monarchs, including deforestation and ensuing habitat loss, as well as usage of lethal pesticides. However, naturally occurring factors like heat, droughts and other phenomena also contribute significantly.

In the U.S., migratory monarch populations have seen a significant rebound, with some 330,000 wintering in California last year, up from 247,000 in 2021 and fewer than 2,000 in 2020 – an indication that endangerment doesn’t necessarily spell doom for a species, and a potential testament to the success of conservation efforts.

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NASA plans to launch three research rockets to analyze a rare space marvel that could collect crucial information. 

The Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) rockets will launch April 8 from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to study how the total solar eclipse impacts the Earth’s upper atmosphere, NASA announced Monday. After next month’s, there won’t be another total solar eclipse over the contiguous U.S. until 2044, making it a potentially pivotal moment for gathering “crucial” data, the agency said.

“We are super excited to relaunch them during the total eclipse, to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their magnitude and scale remain the same,” said Aroh Barjatya, the principal investigator of the April mission. 

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Each rocket will blast off in 45-minute intervals before, during and after the peak eclipse to gather data on how the Sun’s momentary disappearance impacts Earth’s ionosphere, a region stretching approximately 55 to 310 miles above Earth’s surface, NASA said. The short-lived phenomenon triggers atmospheric waves, creating small disturbances that interfere with communications. 

“It’s an electrified region that reflects and refracts radio signals, and also impacts satellite communications as the signals pass through,” Barjatya said. “Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict disturbances is crucial to making sure our increasingly communication-dependent world operates smoothly.”

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Each rocket is expected to reach a maximum altitude of 260 miles and will eject four instruments to study the solar eclipse, according to NASA.

“It’s similar to results from 15 rockets, while only launching three,” Barjatya said. 

Several additional investigations will be conducted during the eclipse, one of which will include deploying high-altitude balloons, according to NASA. The agency hopes to compare data from the investigations to establish a bigger picture of the eclipse. 

The three rockets previously launched in October 2023 to analyze the annular solar eclipse, NASA said. They were recovered in New Mexico and have since been restored and updated for next month’s launch.

NASA will broadcast the total solar eclipse on April 8 and feature livestream videos of the rocket launches from Wallops’ YouTube page. The public can also attend a live viewing in Virginia. 

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Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” playing in teacher Nancy Morris’ classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt.

Henry and other classmates at Cleveland’s Riverside School were on their feet, dancing during a session of activities tied to April’s total solar eclipse. Second-graders invited in for the lessons sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing as they modeled newly decorated eclipse viewing glasses. Dioramas with softball-sized model earths and moons and flashlight “suns” occupied desks and shelves around the room.

Henry said his shirt reflected his love of space, which he called “a cool mystery.” The eclipse, he said, “is a one in a million chance and I’m glad I get to be here for it.”

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024: WHERE AND HOW TO VIEW THE RARE ORBIT HITTING THE US

For schools in or near the path of totality of the April 8 eclipse, the event has inspired lessons in science, literacy and culture. Some schools also are organizing group viewings for students to experience the awe of daytime darkness and learn about the astronomy behind it together.

A hair out of the path of totality, the school system in Portville, New York, near the Pennsylvania line, plans to load its 500 seventh- through 12th-grade students onto buses and drive about 15 minutes into the path, to an old horse barn overlooking a valley. There, they will be able to trace the shadow of the eclipse as it arrives around 3:20 p.m. EST.

It required rearranging the hours of the school day to remain in session, but Superintendent Thomas Simon said staff did not want to miss out on the learning opportunity, especially at a time when when students experience so much of life through screens.

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“We want them to leave here that day feeling they’re a very small part of a pretty magnificent planet that we live on, and world that we live in, and that there’s some real amazing things that we can experience in the natural world,” Simon said.

Schools in Cleveland and some other cities in the eclipse’s path will be closed that day so that students aren’t stuck on buses or in crowds of people expected to converge. At Riverside, Morris came up with a mix of crafts, games and models to educate and engage her students ahead of time.

“They really were not realizing what a big deal this was until we really started talking about it,” Morris said.

Learning about phases of the moon and eclipses is built into every state’s science standards, said Dennis Schatz, past president of the National Science Teaching Association. Some school systems have their own planetariums — relics of the 1960s space race — where students can take in educational shows about astronomy.

But there is no better lesson than the real thing, said Schatz, who encourages educators to use the eclipse as “a teachable moment.”

Dallas science teachers Anita Orozco and Katherine Roberts plan to do just that at the Lamplighter School, arranging for the entire pre-K- through fourth-grade student body to watch it together outdoors. The teachers spent a Saturday in March at a teaching workshop at the University of Texas at Dallas where they were told it would be “almost criminal” to keep students inside.

“We want our students to love science as much as we do,” Roberts said, “and we just want them understanding and also having the awe of how crazy this event is.”

Wrangling young children may be a challenge, Orozco said, but “we want it to be an event.”

In training future science teachers, University at Buffalo professor Noemi Waight has encouraged her student teachers to incorporate how culture shapes the way people experience an eclipse. Native Americans, for example, may view the total eclipse as something sacred, she said.

“This is important for our teachers to understand,” she said, “so when they’re teaching, they can address all of these elements.”

The STEM Friends Club from the State University of New York Brockport planned eclipse-related activities with fourth-grade students at teacher Christopher Albrecht’s class, hoping to pass along their passion for science, technology, engineering and math to younger students.

“I want to show students what is possible,” said Allison Blum, 20, a physics major focused on astrophysics. “You know those big mainstream jobs, like astronaut, but you don’t really know what’s possible with the different fields.”

Albrecht sees his fourth-grade students’ interest in the eclipse as a chance to incorporate literacy into lessons, too — maybe even spark a love of reading.

“This is is a great opportunity to read a lot with them,” Albrecht said. He has picked “What Is a Solar Eclipse?” by Dana Meachen Rau and “A Few Beautiful Minutes” by Kate Allen Fox for his class at Hill Elementary School in Brockport, New York.

“It’s capturing their interest,” he said, “and at the same time, their imagination, too.”

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Earth’s changing spin is threatening to toy with our sense of time, clocks and computerized society in an unprecedented way — but only for a second.

For the first time in history, world timekeepers may have to consider subtracting a second from our clocks in a few years because the planet is rotating a tad faster than it used to. Clocks may have to skip a second — called a “negative leap second” — around 2029, a study in the journal Nature said Wednesday.

“This is an unprecedented situation and a big deal,” said study lead author Duncan Agnew, a geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable. It’s yet another indication that we’re in a very unusual time.”

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Ice melting at both of Earth’s poles has been counteracting the planet’s burst of speed and is likely to have delayed this global second of reckoning by about three years, Agnew said.

“We are headed toward a negative leap second,” said Dennis McCarthy, retired director of time for the U.S. Naval Observatory who wasn’t part of the study. “It’s a matter of when.”

It’s a complicated situation that involves, physics, global power politics, climate change, technology and two types of time.

Earth takes about 24 hours to rotate, but the key word is about.

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2024: WHERE AND HOW TO VIEW THE RARE ORBIT HITTING THE US

For thousands of years, the Earth has been generally slowing down, with the rate varying from time to time, said Agnew and Judah Levine, a physicist for the time and frequency division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The slowing is mostly caused by the effect of tides, which are caused by the pull of the moon, McCarthy said.

This didn’t matter until atomic clocks were adopted as the official time standard more than 55 years ago. Those didn’t slow.

That established two versions of time — astronomical and atomic — and they didn’t match. Astronomical time fell behind atomic time by 2.5 milliseconds every day. That meant the atomic clock would say it’s midnight and to Earth it was midnight a fraction of a second later, Agnew said.

Those daily fractions of seconds added up to whole seconds every few years. Starting in 1972, international timekeepers decided to add a “leap second” in June or December for astronomical time to catch up to the atomic time, called Coordinated Universal Time or UTC. Instead of 11:59 and 59 seconds turning to midnight, there would be another second at 11:59 and 60 seconds. A negative leap second would go from 11:59 and 58 seconds directly to midnight, skipping 11:59:59.

Between 1972 and 2016, 27 separate leap seconds were added as Earth slowed. But the rate of slowing was tapering off.

“In 2016 or 2017 or maybe 2018, the slowdown rate had slowed down to the point that the Earth was actually speeding up,” Levine said.

Earth’s speeding up because its hot liquid core — “a large ball of molten fluid” — acts in unpredictable ways, with eddies and flows that vary, Agnew said.

Agnew said the core has been triggering a speedup for about 50 years, but rapid melting of ice at the poles since 1990 masked that effect. Melting ice shifts Earth’s mass from the poles to the bulging center, which slows the rotation much like a spinning ice skater slows when extending their arms out to their sides, he said.

Without the effect of melting ice, Earth would need that negative leap second in 2026 instead of 2029, Agnew calculated.

For decades, astronomers had been keeping universal and astronomical time together with those handy little leap seconds. But computer system operators said those additions aren’t easy for all the precise technology the world now relies on. In 2012, some computer systems mishandled the leap second, causing problems for Reddit, Linux, Qantas Airlines and others, experts said.

“What is the need for this adjustment in time when it causes so many problems?” McCarthy said.

But Russia’s satellite system relies on astronomical time, so eliminating leap seconds would cause them problems, Agnew and McCarthy said. Astronomers and others wanted to keep the system that would add a leap second whenever the difference between atomic and astronomical time neared a second.

In 2022, the world’s timekeepers decided that starting in the 2030s they’d change the standards for inserting or deleting a leap second, making it much less likely.

Tech companies such as Google and Amazon unilaterally instituted their own solutions to the leap second issue by gradually adding fractions of a second over a full day, Levine said.

“The fights are so serious because the stakes are so small,” Levine said.

Then add in the “weird” effect of subtracting, not adding a leap second, Agnew said. It’s likely to be tougher to skip a second because software programs are designed to add, not subtract time, McCarthy said.

McCarthy said the trend toward needing a negative leap second is clear, but he thinks it’s more to do with the Earth becoming more round from geologic shifts from the end of the last ice age.

Three other outside scientists said Agnew’s study makes sense, calling his evidence compelling.

But Levine doesn’t think a negative leap second will really be needed. He said the overall slowing trend from tides has been around for centuries and continues, but the shorter trends in Earth’s core come and go.

“This is not a process where the past is a good prediction of the future,” Levine said. “Anyone who makes a long-term prediction on the future is on very, very shaky ground.”

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A quarter-mile white steel tube running alongside a railway line in the windswept northern Netherlands could usher in a new era in the transportation of people and freight.

The tube is the heart of the new European Hyperloop Center that opens Tuesday and will be a proving ground in coming years for developers of the evolving technology.

Hyperloop, once trumpeted by Elon Musk, involves capsules floating on magnetic fields zipping at speeds of around 435 mph through low-pressure tubes. Its advocates tout it as far more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail and freight trucks.

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But since Musk unveiled the concept that he said could shuttle passengers the nearly 400 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes, it has progressed at a much slower pace from the drawing board toward the real world.

“I expect by 2030 you will have the first hyperloop route, maybe three miles in which people will actually be transporting passengers,” said the center’s director, Sascha Lamme. “Actually there’s already preparations being done for such routes in for example Italy or India.”

Not everybody is as optimistic about Hyperloop’s future.

“This is just another example of policymakers chasing a shiny object when basic investment in infrastructure is needed,” Robert Noland, distinguished professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said in comments emailed to The Associated Press.

“It costs too much to build,” he added.

Lamme said skeptics should come and take a look for themselves.

“We built the European Hyperloop Center and from what we have built, we know that we can be competitive with high-speed rail,” he said. “And then we have not even included all the cost optimizations that we can do in the coming decade to reduce that even further.”

The test center’s tube is made up of 34 separate sections mostly 2½ meters (more than eight feet) in diameter. A vacuum pump in a steel container next to the tube sucks out the air to reduce the internal pressure. That reduces drag and allows capsules to travel at such high speeds.

A test capsule built by Dutch hyperloop pioneer Hardt Hyperloop will take part next month in the first tests at the center that is funded by private investment as well as contributions from the provincial government, the Dutch national government and European Commission.

A unique feature of the Veendam tube is that it has a switch — where it splits into two separate tubes, a piece of infrastructure that will be critical to real-life applications.

“Lane switching is very important for hyperloop, because it allows vehicles to travel from any origin to any destination,” said Marinus van der Meijs, Hardt’s technology and engineering director. “So it really creates a network effect where you sort of have a highway of tubes and vehicles can take an on and offramp or they can take a lane switch to go to a different part of Europe or to a different destination.”

While testing continues in Veendam, hyperloop developers hope that destinations for their technology are forthcoming.

“Really the main challenge is finding government commitments to build routes and, on the other hand, finding new funding to realize the necessary test facility and technology demonstration that you need to do to make this happen,” Lamme said.

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Imagine, just for a second, stepping into a world where space travel isn’t just for astronauts, but for everyone, including you. 

Now, picture the Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane and its Shooting Star cargo module, all lit up in soft blue lights at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

This isn’t just some cool tech on display; it’s a peek into a future where space could be part of your everyday life and allow you to travel beyond earth’s atmosphere. 

This towering 55-foot-tall spacecraft, named Tenacity, is the beginning of a journey that might one day take us and cargo out of this world. 

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Under the rigorous scrutiny of space simulation, the Dream Chaser and its cargo module underwent a series of tests designed to face the harsh realities of launch and space flight, ensuring its readiness for the challenges ahead.

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The intense tests included exposure to extreme vibrations using the world’s most powerful spacecraft shaker system and will include a stint in a thermal vacuum chamber to simulate space’s unique and harsh conditions.

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These steps are crucial as the spaceplane gears up for its inaugural uncrewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year to deliver over 7,800 pounds of cargo. It’s the first of seven missions to resupply the International Space Station for NASA under the CRS-2 (Commercial Resupply Services-2) program. 

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The successful completion of the initial phase of environmental testing represents a significant leap forward for Sierra Space and the Dream Chaser program. The journey to get to this place took years of development. The rigorous testing regimen has proven the spaceplane’s resilience and its readiness for the next phase of its journey.

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The Dream Chaser spaceplane has been on quite the adventure. From its very inception to rigorous testing, it embodies a shared dream — a vision of exploring space not as an unreachable frontier, but as a fresh domain for improving life right here on Earth. As Sierra Space and NASA push the boundaries of what’s possible, we find ourselves on the edge of an exhilarating new chapter in human history. Space isn’t just a place to visit anymore; it might become a place to call home and work. The Dream Chaser, with its innovative design and bold mission, is leading us into this uncharted future.

If you had the opportunity to visit space onboard the Dream Chaser, would you feel comfortable taking that leap? What factors would influence your decision? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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Artificial intelligence benchmarking group MLCommons on Wednesday released a fresh set of tests and results that rate the speed at which top-of-the-line hardware can run AI applications and respond to users.

The two new benchmarks added by MLCommons measure the speed at which the AI chips and systems can generate responses from the powerful AI models packed with data. The results roughly demonstrate to how quickly an AI application such as ChatGPT can deliver a response to a user query.

One of the new benchmarks added the capability to measure the speediness of a question-and-answer scenario for large language models. Called Llama 2, it includes 70 billion parameters and was developed by Meta Platforms.

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MLCommons officials also added a second text-to-image generator to the suite of benchmarking tools, called MLPerf, based on Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion XL model.

Servers powered by Nvidia’s H100 chips built by the likes of Alphabet’s Google, Supermicro and Nvidia itself handily won both new benchmarks on raw performance. Several server builders submitted designs based on the company’s less powerful L40S chip.

Server builder Krai submitted a design for the image generation benchmark with a Qualcomm AI chip that draws significant less power than Nvidia’s cutting edge processors.

Intel also submitted a design based on its Gaudi2 accelerator chips. The company described the results as “solid.”

Raw performance is not the only measure that is critical when deploying AI applications. Advanced AI chips suck up enormous amounts of energy and one of the most significant challenges for AI companies is deploying chip that deliver an optimal amount of performance for a minimal amount of energy.

MLCommons has a separate benchmark category for measuring power consumption.

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Have you ever wondered whether or not the government is watching what you do online? It’s not an unreasonable question to ask. 

After all, whistleblowers like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden revealed that the government might be taking a closer look at us than we’d like to think about it.

However, we may not know to what extent the government has the capability to monitor us to some degree. The reasons why, who they’re looking at and what they’re looking at are another question.

Let’s break down whether or not the government is watching you and what to do about protecting your privacy online.

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Maybe, maybe not. While the U.S. government theoretically can watch most people’s activities online, they’re likely only paying attention to certain individuals. This comes after the U.S. Patriot Act, which was passed post-9/11. The act significantly expanded the powers of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take a closer look into individuals suspected of terrorist activities or anything that would be considered a concern for national security.

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Generally, the consensus is that if you’re not doing anything suspicious online, then there’d be no reason for the NSA — the National Security Agency — to eavesdrop or snoop on your online activities. But, what if they could watch you even if you’re not doing anything sketchy? Wouldn’t you still want some sense of privacy?

No matter what, it’s important to be careful of what you post and do online, as nothing is ever 100% private. However, we don’t blame you for not wanting the government to know intimate details you may share with friends and family online via posts or messaging apps.

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There are several ways that the government can see what you’re doing online. Some of these would perhaps take court orders or warrants, depending on the circumstances. But, other methods may be ways in which you’re essentially giving away your information without you even realizing it!

Wiretaps and listening devices: Authorized by court orders, these can be used to intercept phone calls and text messages.

CCTV and facial recognition technology: AI tools used by governments can take the pictures you’ve shared on social media and enter them into a facial recognition database. Once they have that, they can pair it with CCTV cameras that can pinpoint your location and monitor your comings and goings.

Metadata analysis: Even if the content of communications is not intercepted, agencies can collect metadata — data about data — such as the time and duration of phone calls, email addresses of senders and recipients, and the locations of the communicating parties.

Data collection programs: These programs can collect vast amounts of data from internet service providers and tech companies, including emails, chat messages, web searches, and more, especially when you sign into accounts that identify and track you.

Backdoor access to devices and software: Governments can pressure or collaborate with technology companies to gain backdoor access to devices and software, allowing them to bypass encryption and directly access data and communications.

Social media monitoring: Government agencies monitor social media platforms to gather intelligence.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ONLINE PRIVACY AND SECURITY ON YOUR NEXT CRUISE VACATION

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There are many ways to keep yourself safer online, but it all depends on who you’re trying to keep yourself safe from. Governments and hackers obviously have much different intentions when it comes to spying on your online activity, and therefore, the measures you’d take to protect your privacy may vary. However, none of these methods are foolproof or guaranteed to work against government surveillance, and some of them may have drawbacks or limitations.

1. Know your rights, but respect the law: The first step in maintaining some level of privacy is to know what your rights are, as well as what you can and cannot do online. Again, as long as you are not doing anything illegal or harmful to anyone online (surely, we don’t need to list these out), there should be no reason to worry about the government watching you. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to stay up to date with recent trends in privacy and security, government laws, and knowing where your rights protect you.

2. Secure your browser: Next, you can adjust your browser’s privacy settings to minimize data sharing. Consider using a privacy-focused browser.  

While some people might also choose to surf the web in private or incognito mode, it’s important to note that this does not shield you from external monitoring, including potential government surveillance.

3. Use encrypted messaging apps: If you want your messages and calls to be private, consider ditching certain mainstream messaging apps and sticking to encrypted ones. There are some apps that offer end-to-end encryption such as Signal, WhatsApp or Telegram.

4. Turn off your microphone and camera (and permissions): While it’s debatable whether the government can see or listen to you, it doesn’t hurt to turn off your mic and webcam when you’re not using them. You may also want to double-check whether you’re permitting apps to access them without you realizing it.

5. Be careful what you post on social media: Not only should you regularly review and adjust your privacy settings on social media platforms, but you should also be careful about what you post on your page. If you don’t want a stranger or a boss knowing about it, then don’t post anything you wouldn’t want the government to necessarily see, either.

6. Use a VPN: Consider using a VPN to protect against hackers snooping on your device as well. VPNs will largely protect you from those who want to track and identify your potential location and the websites that you visit. See my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices.

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We may never know for sure how much our government can watch or listen to what we do online. Even if you’re not up to anything suspicious, it’s perfectly normal not to want your government snooping on you. By using some of the strategies we mentioned — including a VPN — you can keep your online activity more private.

Do you have concerns about the government watching your online activity? What do you do about it? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

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Books about the dizzying impact of the internet and artificial intelligence are among finalists for a new book prize that aims to help fix the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing.

The shortlisted six books for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, announced on Wednesday, include Canadian author-activist Naomi Klein’s “Doppleganger,” a plunge into online misinformation, and British journalist Madhumita Murgia’s “Code-Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.”

The $38,000 award is a sister to the 29-year-old Women’s Prize for Fiction and is open to female English-language writers from any country in any nonfiction genre.

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The finalists also include autobiographical works — poet Safiya Sinclair’s “How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir” and British art critic Laura Cumming’s “Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death.”

Rounding out the list are British author Noreen Masud’s travelogue-memoir “A Flat Place,” and Harvard history professor Tiya Miles’ “All That She Carried,” a history of American enslavement told through one Black family’s keepsake.

British historian Suzannah Lipscomb, who is chairing the judging panel, said that “the readers of these books will never see the world — be it through art, history, landscape, politics, religion or technology — the same again.”

The winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 13.

The prize was set up in response to a gender imbalance in the book world, where men buy more nonfiction than women — and write more prize-wining nonfiction books

The company Nielsen Book Research found in 2019 that while women bought 59% of all the books sold in the United Kingdom, men accounted for just over half of adult nonfiction purchases.

Prize organizers say that in 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.

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