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John C. Morley (0:08)
Hi, everyone, I'm John C. Morley, the host of the JMOR Tech Talk Show and inspirations for your life.
John C. Morley (01:01)
Hey guys, it's John C. Morley here serial entrepreneur. Welcome to the JMOR Tech Talk Show, another fine Friday evening here. And I can't believe ladies and gentlemen, we are on the last Friday of March. That just like blows my mind. All right, if you're new here, simply just launch your camera app, point over the QR code like so touch the yellow lips, you'll get my link to lots of great information, JMOR tech talk shows and so many other great things. My articles are so much stuff. Let's just get right into this episode, because I've got so much to share. First one is Amazon. All right. So Amazon, I guess is tired of people that are selling product that is getting returned. So they're actually adding a label, if you will, to products that are frequently getting returned. So Amazon adds this new frequent return label. And it's designed to help people that are buying a product, they think it's good, but now, the manufacturer may not be managing, you know, their quality control, or could be logistics, whatever. But here's what it is, it's a yellow, like a border and yellow, and one side has a little bit more yellow. And then it's like the thin yellow line around and then it's in bold, black Fruitland returned item. Check the product details and customer reviews to learn more about this item. And that's in black, but it's italicized. And it's kind of like in this, I don't know, it's kind of like, like a light color. So it's not a white. If it was gonna it's not really a peach, but it's lighter than a peach. But it's meant to just give you you know, like a contrast. So, Amazon introduced this new warning label on its platform, it flags frequently returned items to consumers. The move is aimed at reducing the number of returns and helping buyers avoid low quality or like we said misleading products, the label has appeared on a few third party listings Fulfilled by Amazon already with more expected to be added and the online retailer has not unfortunately disclosed when the label will be widely available, whether it will be rolled out globally. So The move follows a public display of the number of units of product that has been sold, which was released by the Amazon earlier. So again, as you know, when you return too much they penalize you. But now the start to realize that it wasn't the consumer, that's the problem. It really is the vendor. So I do gonna have to give Amazon kudos I rarely do that. My big frustration with Amazon is every time I call them and I need to speak to a US person. It's like, really hard. And I had to do this the other day. And usually they'll transfer like, I'm sorry, I can't transfer. I think they're just doing this to be spiteful, because they can transfer. It's like, they just want to screw with us. I really believe this. I don't think that they're not able to transfer but they're like, Oh, we don't want to get your US person. They just want to make your life harder. So again, I'm not happy with that. But let's face it, Amazon hires cheap labor. All right. We've been talking about this coming for a long time Tik Tok. They may get banned. Use Tik Tok a little bit but I have to tell you, I am a little disappointed with Tik Tok. There was a gentleman as you know, the CEO, and he was really getting grilled by Mr. Xiao Chu. He was getting grilled All, from lawmakers on Capitol Hill recently. And although he said that the firewall is in place to, you know, keep out the Chinese government and separate it from the USDA data, there's 150 million US users. On Tik Tok. Now we know a while back that our President Joe Biden has signed in order to forbid it to be used on any government devices, etc. But they're not banning it in the United States, for consumers yet counts more than 150 million US users each month. And it's owned by a China based company, we're afraid that they might be pushing a China pro agenda. The government in the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation to innocent US people. Now, there's no evidence that Tiktok has shared US data with the Chinese government, or that the Chinese government has asked the app to do so. Many cybersecurity experts are concerned that by the time we know about it, it may be too late. So there's reasonably that the Chinese government could compel the company to share data on US users, or manipulate content on the app to forward as we said, a pro China agenda, considering the nation's authority over domestic companies and previous things that they've done. Now. It's interesting what they're doing. But this is kind of uncharted territory. I would have Tik Tok banned in the US work. Tik Tok basically, an initiative that the company says keeps all user data on servers within the country. I don't believe a lot of what they're saying plus the CEO when he got up to talk. He mentioned about the firewall, but he was just trying too hard to convince all of us that the data is safe. And he goes, you know, we're trying Well, trying is great, but we want our data safe. So he didn't say where he says he says we're trying to do everything we can. So that's a concern of mine, anyway, is really putting too much effort in what he was doing and his actions to want to convince us if you're innocent, then it should be easy and natural. Today, all new protected US user data is stored exclusively in infrastructures and United States. And today, or access to that environment is managed exclusively by Tik Tok US data security team led by Americans in America, the company had mentioned but I don't know. It's very interesting. There are fears among lawmakers and other government officials that Tik Tok could share sweeping data on US users with the Chinese government, or the Chinese government could force the platform to manipulate content displayed to US based users at any time. We don't have any evidence that China is regularly or systematically collecting Tik Tok data, but they could be. Tik Tok currently faces bans in other places. And it's very possible that it could be banned in the United States. The Tik Tok CEO Shou Ze Chew pointed to the lack of evidence during the five hour testimony before the House committee not too long ago. And I quote, I think a lot of risks that are pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks. She responded, quote, I have not seen any evidence. So yeah, he's speaking like a lawyer. And so the Republicans and the Democratic lawmakers were not convinced. In fact, they're Republican, Dan Crenshaw, and Republican from Texas closed the proceeding with a line of questions, focusing on potential data sharing between Tik Tok and the Chinese government. And they said and I quote, maybe you haven't done it yet. Addressing Chew from Crenshaw quote, but my point is that you might have to close quote. If you want to know why Democrats or Republicans have come together on this credential added, that's why. close quote. So, it just when I saw his eyes, the first thing that I could notice is they were very wide open. And when that happens, that indicates concern. And the only thing he's concerned about is losing a lot of money. Let's face it, when they lose money, they get really resourceful. They lie, they cheat, they steal many people. So the track record of China and Tik Tok is a possible reason for distrust. And despite a lack of evidence for national security, the threat posed by Tik Tok remains a legitimate theoretical concern, since China has shown a previous willingness to exploit users data. We know China is very aggressive when it comes to spying. But the question is, what do we have now?
John C. Morley (10:55)
Not too long ago, the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, ending days of travel that took the balloon across the continental United States. Was that a mistake? An accident? I don't think so. under Chinese law, and I quote. The government could force TikTok parent company bytedance to turn over US user data and manipulate content displayed on the app, cybersecurity experts have said, noting that a lack of transparency makes it difficult to determine whether such a request has already taken place. Now there would be a paper trail on this saralee? or would there not be one, and I'd have to say there probably would not be one. And that's the real scary part. There would not be a paper trail. TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing us user data with the Chinese government or receiving a request along these lines. The company in the past has provided misleading information on relating experts. So we already know that they lie. Quote. TikTok has documented history of saying one thing, and not always being accurate about that information, per burly advancement. And I think we need to be vigilant as US citizens. And Chu said something and I quote, trust must be earned through action, not words. I agree, Mr. Chu. But right now the actions of China really are going against what you're trying to convince us, which is that they're innocent. In my humble opinion, even though I use it very minimally, I think TikTok should be banned. I think there are just too many variables. And we know that China could go south at any given moment. So why are we even debating this. A social platform not a trade platform. Doesn't make a difference whether it's gone or not? Well, it would, because some people would lose money. But hey, it's a security risk. And I've said this before. Technology can be used for good or bad, it is not good or bad. It's how we choose to deploy it. All right, we'll keep our eyes on the TikTok people and we'll keep you informed. All right, well, if you guys didn't know, the Olympics are coming up in Paris and lawmakers back Paris Olympic law despite surveillance fears. Ooh, this is a little bit sticky. So the proposed law for the 2024 Paris Olympics had critics attended with the opening the door for privacy busting video surveillance technology in Europe, and it has passed an important hurdle right now. Paris has proposed a French law for the 2024 Paris Olympics. That could be a problem with privacy. And the bill will legalize the temporary use of so called intelligent surveillance systems to safeguard the Paris Games, which run as you guys know, next year from July 26 to August 11 and the Paralympics that follow up the systems will combine cameras with artificial intelligence software to flag potential security concerns, such as abandoned bags, packages or crowd searches. And human operators will decide whether additional action is needed. Now, French authorities insisted surveillance would not involve any facial recognition. supporters of the bill argue that the technology could help avert disasters like the deadly crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people during the Halloween festivities in South Korea in October. And as I quote from the interior minister, Gerard Dominion, it's not about recognizing Mr. X in a crowd. Okay. It's about recognizing situations. And you know, that makes a lot of sense. So the Senate overwhelmingly approved the draft by 245 to 28. And the National Assembly followed suit, with 400 to 93 in favour. The French government's Sports Minister, Millay OD Costiera hailed as an essential step. Now, the draft is slated for further. A fine tuning by the Assembly members and senators before its final adoption. That's expected in April. Now, digital rights watchdog groups argue that France will violate international human rights law by becoming the first of the European Union's 27 countries to legalize a AI powered surveillance, even if just temporarily. The bill says that the technology can be used on experimental basis to the end of 2024 for the purposes only to safeguard sporting and cultural events in France, that are particularly at risk of being targeted by terror attacks. So the technology use risks permanently transforming France into a place of a surveillance state, and will lead to an all -out assault on the rights to privacy protests, and freedom of assembly and expression. This is a problem. According to Hakobyan, it has also been well documented that the hostile surveillance technologies are disproportionately used to target marginalized groups, including migrants, and black and brown people, close quote. So this is an issue. It's a big issue. And my question is after the Olympics, and are they going to just make up some other law that says it's okay to keep this in place? I don't know. I have a problem with how it's being put together. And although the AI data is supposedly going to go away, we know AI data doesn't go away. They're going to be using the cloud and the data is going to stay in the cloud. years after the Olympics. We know they can't run a system like that all in house. They've got to have a data center. It's got to go through cloud. And they got to use Google or somebody. And I'm sure someone's going to have their hand in the cookie jar for some money. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week or next month. But it could happen in the future. Alright ladies and gentlemen. Let's talk a little more. So we've got this really cool thing happening. Feel the force Hamill carries the Star Wars voice to Ukraine. This is really cool. A downloadable app that has been voiced by Star Wars actor Mark Emile, and it's triggered when air raid alarms sound in the Ukraine. That's pretty neat. It's a surreal moment in an already surreal war. The grave but a common baritone of actor Mark Camille Luke Skywalker, I'm sure you all know of Star Wars, urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on the Ukraine. The intrusion of Hollywood science fiction fantasy into the grim daily realities of war and Ukraine is a consequence of Hamels decision to lend his famous voice to air alert, again a downloadable app linked to Ukraine's air defense system. And when the air raid sirens start howling, yap also warns Ukrainians that Russian missiles bombs and deadly exploding drones may be incoming. Don't be careless. Hamels voice advises your overconfidence is your weakness. So I think it's nice that he's doing that I don't know. He's just doing it out of the kindness of his heart where he's getting paid for it. I'm not really sure. But I think it's hopefully going to give people a different perspective. Right, sometimes. So, people love Star Wars. And hopefully this is going to get them to pay attention to the alerts to hopefully save and protect their life, and those they care so much about. Alright guys, when we think about what's happening in life. And so one of the big things happening in life right now, is, you guessed it, ladies and gentlemen, Tesla. Yes Tesla.
John C. Morley (20:50)
So Tesla, the US is opening an investigation to Tesla's seatbelts coming loose. The US Highway Safety Raiders have opened another investigation into the problem with Tesla's and this time, it's tied to complaints that seatbelts may not hold people in a crash. That's pretty bad for a $100,000 to $150,000 car to not be able to at least keep you in your seat. And we've heard about the challenges a while ago, where your attainment system basically just smokes or goes on fire because a cooling fan doesn't start that already clinched me from not wanting to buy that car, I already made a decision to go to another car. I think, you know, what they're talking about, is the fact that, you know, the belt linkage and the pretensioners, which tighten the belt before a crash are anchored to the seat frames. And the complaints allege that the linkage and the pretension are separated from the frames when the vehicles were driving and force was exerted. That's pretty bad. Now the agency says and I quote, it's opening the probe to look into Tesla's manufacturing process, and how often the problem happens, and how widespread it is. Close quote. So, this is really serious. I mean, this is like, not the first problem that we have noticed with Tesla. So my question is, are things going to get better? Or are they going to get worse? I don't know ladies and gentlemen. I'm really concerned about safety in a lot of different ways from the Paris Olympics to cybersecurity, in the sense that our data, everyday data is getting exploited. See, that's a problem. But you know, people that are not in the tech field, don't think it's a problem. They don't think it's a problem. And if they don't think it's a problem, guess what that means? They're not going to do anything about it.
John C. Morley (23:29)
I don't know. I think we're going to have to wait and see. You know what's going on, but I can tell you this, ladies and gentlemen, everything is done for money. Okay.
It's a problem. And so if we were to be able to, let's say pinpoint where data is being exploited, shared, leaked, right? It's at that moment that I believe people would take it seriously. Well, you might say, John, well, why aren't they taking it seriously? It doesn't affect them. It doesn't affect them. Why? I think the reason it doesn't affect them is because they just don't understand what it's about. Now it leaves you with that. Not necessarily a bad thing that just people don't know what's going on. And if somebody doesn't know what's going on, I can't blame somebody and say, hey, you know, that's their fault, because maybe they're interested. So it is the manufacturers responsibility to disclose this type of information. And that that's what I want to say is the main thing. But nobody really cares about that main thing until there's a problem. Think about that for a moment.
All right, so the FTC wants to make it easier for you to cancel subscriptions. That's pretty cool. The click to cancel requirement would make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up. So the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission wants to make it simple. With no pain, no hassle to cancel free trials, subscriptions and other recurring payments. The FTC proposed a so called click to cancel provision, and other rules that aim to rescue consumers from seemingly never ending struggles to cancel unwanted subscription payment plans. I had a client the other day, and she got a bill mentioned in the company for some software that she cancelled years ago. And they claim they forgot to take it out of their system. The FTC chair Lena Khan said the proposed rule would require that companies make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one. That ladies and gentlemen, would be amazing. And you see companies know you can get an easy, but you can't get out easy. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten an email, even though I don't get very many spam because of our technology. And they sent me an email and they avoided the can spam act where they didn't have their address, they didn't have an easy one click unsubscribe. And a lot of these companies don't have the one click unsubscribe, they make you go back to a website login and have to know a password. That's not right. Now under this rule, companies would be required to let customers cancel a subscription in no more steps than it took to sign up a simple click. They'd also be required to get permission before showing additional offers when customers try to cancel a subscription and send annual reminders before automatic renewals occur. That's great. Now their post changes would have wide ranging applications from newspapers, gym memberships, to all subscription features in all media. And according to the FTC factsheet, subscriptions purchased over the phone on the internet in print or in person would be regulated. Now companies would have to allow for cancellation by the same method in the same number of steps or fewer. The FTC will be accepting public comments on this. And it'd be very interesting to see you know what's going to go on. So they'll have a 60 day comment window that will open so definitely, you know, stay tuned on that. But I think the big issue ladies and gentlemen, is that companies exploit people could be seniors could be anybody of any age. And they know that once you sign up Oh, it's a hassle to cancel. We have cable companies right now. Right? This should be illegal. Your bill is one price. Next year your bill is double. Well, what happened? Oh, well, your price went up the promotion dropped. What kind of nonsense is that about? Like really? Oh, yeah, we automatically revert you back to the non-promotional price. That's terrible.
John C. Morley (29:27)
And you know, the companies are making big, big, big money. Honestly, Sherman, I mean, big money, not just like a few dollars. And because there had been no provision in place because of that. They've been getting off scot free. Yeah. scot free. And I think that a lot of people believe that because there was no provision they can do whatever the heck they want to do. Because you know what, it’s not regulated. All right, so I think that's going to be a great thing. In other news, VR Virtual Reality is revolutionising therapy. Why though? aren't more people using this technology? That's a great question.
It's not because the people are anxious. But there's one thing that is causing issue. And it's scaring people. And that is needles. So people have aversions severe enough to hold them back from getting a routine test. And lots of issues. So people had to get comfortable with the COVID 19 situation. And so VR is revolutionising therapy. It's revolutionising therapy. It can lower stress, anxiety, burnout. And we're still not that close to a world in which strapping on a VR headset, to conquer your fears of crowds is going to be like snapping your fingers. We're not there yet. But the evolution of VR is changing, ladies and gentlemen, it is changing. So is the reason that people don't do it because of cost. Is that the reason? Ladies and gentlemen? Is it? Is it because of cost? Or is it another reason? And I have to say that people are a little bit gun shy from putting on this virtual reality headset. It's not gonna hurt them. But they're not sure what it's going to do, how it's going to work. And so this is new for people, right? It's definitely new. And as we explore this technology and other technologies, more people are going to become comfortable with it. Okay. So the reason people don't use it is because of phobias. That's why we know that the metaverse of AI, Facebook, meta, whatever you want to call them these days is a virtual world that is designed to replicate and stimulate the experience of the physical world through digital means. Now, we've learned many years ago, that when we had the three basketball players. Do you guys remember the three basketball players or the three basketball groups for three basketball groups and practicing? You remember that? One was virtual, one was actual, do you remember that? And the thing is this, the team that actually practiced on the court, and the team to practice in the study hall, by using their minds and closing their eyes actually got very similar results, because the same neurons and dendrites were firing. The team that did not practice at all had no results or they got worse, because their muscles atrophied in that area. And that was a problem for people because they thought that what was going to go on was going to change things. And it did, but when you do nothing, things stay the same or they get worse. That's pretty cool. But if we understand that making a change in our life, like virtual reality, I mean a few years ago, they had something called the oxygen balls. I think that was such a fad. And they were charging quite a bit for just a 15 Minute. Pure the oxygen I think that was the most wasted scam I've ever seen. And I'll tell you ladies and gentlemen that more technology is going to pop. Okay, more technology is going to pop. And I have another one that I think is very, very interesting. I definitely want to share with you guys because, you know, we talk about safety, we talk about security, right every single show. But I think the thing that we don't tend to talk about is how we can always protect ourselves in certain ways. So I definitely want to share one more story with you ladies and gentlemen. And this is a really cool one. The UK sets of fake DDOS for hire sites to trap hackers distributed denial of service attacks. And let's talk about what is a DDOS. So it's a distributed denial of service attack. And it's a cybercrime in which the attacker floods a server with internet traffic in the hopes to shut it down. All right, so let's talk a little bit about what they're doing. So the United Kingdom is setting up fake a distributed denial of service for hire sites to trap hackers. They're not revealing how many sites they have or for how long they've been running. But this is under the UK National Crime Agency. And it's a real hacking site or a police sting operation. And the UK law enforcement has resorted to creating fake distributed denial of service for higher websites, in an effort to nab criminals. That's pretty clever. So they're putting sites out there to try to hire people to do this, and then bam, they nail them. That's a genius. So the attacks can send a flood of internet traffic to a destination, which ladies and gentleman, can cripple access to a website, or knock an entire user offline or worse, take down a whole farm or data center of servers. Now the agency created several fake DDOS for hire websites. And all the NCSA run sites have so far been accessed by around relevant lettering listed ready ladies and gentlemen, several 1000 people they had been created to look like they offer the tools and services that enable cybercriminals to execute these attacks. The agency said that this is something they're going to keep working on. But in reality, the websites are designed to collect data on anyone who uses them. And the information is then passed to the NCSA or to the international law enforcement agencies if the user is based outside the country. Now, the NCSA is resorting to this honeypot approach to essentially discourage low level cyber criminals from engaging in distributed denial of service attacks, which mostly involve harnessing the power of a botnet or server farm to generate the flood of internet traffic. That is just crazy.
John C. Morley (38:28)
Knew even fathom that they would do something like that? To the NCSA, the National Cyber Security Alliance. You know, traditional site takedowns. And arrests are a big component of law enforcement, and the threat However, with this new type of capability, they're now able to take a sit, wait. And then when the damage happens, go after someone because when they start seeing them interact with the site, now they monitor them and they pretty much apprehend them. to backup the warning, the NCSA says it recently decided to publicly reveal that one of the disguise distributed denial of service for higher websites is indeed a police operation. The agency did so by replacing the site with a splash page warning users that their data has been collected and they will be contacted by law enforcement. Oh, ouch. So here you are trying to go to a website. And you put everything in there and you just put all your information in and suddenly you get this big screen on there. This site was created and controlled by the National Crime Agency. And the National Crime Agency collaborate under the operation called power off to target users have criminal distributed denial of service services. The DDOS attacks are illegal in the majority of countries, and the National Crime Agency has collected a substantial data from those who have accessed this particular domain. And they will share this data with international law enforcement for action. individuals in the United Kingdom who engage with this site will be contacted by law enforcement, the National Crime Agency has been and will run more services like this site. Operation power off has already resulted in the arrest of numerous individuals, and continues to ensure that users are being held accountable for their criminal activity. Kudos, kudos, kudos. I think that is amazing. I think maybe we need to do stuff like this for ransomware. And just keep stepping up the game. Right. But did you ever think they would set up a site like that, I think that is amazing.
John C. Morley (41:14)
But I gotta tell you, it's pretty hot. And this is not to be confused with they call the big power off, that's different. The big power off is how you can join the at home protest and trying to turn off your light. So the big power of aims to send the message just by asking people to switch off their electrical devices for 10 minutes at the same time, and hoping that you'll do that the first one is scheduled to happen on Sunday, April 10, at 10pm, depending on when you're watching this, and the second one is planned for April 16 at 7pm before Parliament returns from recess, and those behind the campaign have warned they will continue having protests until action is taken. And you might be saying why are people taking part? The rise in energy bills could leave as many as 8.5 million households in fuel poverty, meaning they cannot heat or power their homes, according to the www.endfuelpoverty.org.uk . That is terrible. But I am so glad to hear that the United Kingdom is doing something like this. Why doesn't the United States do something like a honey pot? That is amazing. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know who I am by now? Sure you do. I'm John C. Morley, a serial entrepreneur, it has been an amazing privilege, a pleasure and an honor to be with you. I hope you guys have a fantastic weekend. And the next time you see me, it's gonna be April 7, the first Friday of April. And you know, I'll have some more great tech stories, updates and information that you're going to want to see. Incidentally, if you want to be a guest on the JMOR tech talk show, just go to www.jmor.com . Click on reach out today, apply to be a guest and review your application. Incidentally, if you're asking yourself the question of should I be a guest or not real simple? Are you looking to provide value to myself and to the viewers and listeners of the show? Are you coming on here with the intention to mislead or sell people a product or service? Or you coming on the show Because you just want to give false information. So if the answer to the first question is yes, you'd be a great candidate. If the answer to two and three is Yes, yoy would not be a good candidate. Ladies and gentlemen, I am John C. Morley serial entrepreneur. Have yourself a great weekend. We'll see you again another JMOR Tech Talk Show. Check out www.believemeachieve.com for more of my amazing content to inspire you to become a better version of yourself. Have a great weekend everyone.