Tech

TIME explained the Deep Web in a 2013 cover story

Ross Ulbricht’s trial for his alleged role as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” the owner of the shadowy online market place Silk Road, is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Ulbricht was indicted last year for operating the site, which allowed users to buy and sell drugs anonymously. He was charged with narcotics conspiracy, engaging in criminal enterprise, conspiracy to commit computer hacking and money laundering conspiracy. As part of the indictment, Ulbricht is accused of running the website on “The Onion Router,” concealing IP addresses and hiding the locations of Bitcoin transmissions.

If all that sounds complicated, that’s because it is.

Shortly after Ulbricht’s arrest, TIME’s Lev Grossman and Jay Newton-Small profiled Silk Road and the world in which it operated. As they explained, there’s a reason the details are difficult to nail down. After all, that’s the whole point:

On the afternoon of Oct. 1, 2013, a tall, slender, shaggy-haired man left his house on 15th Avenue in San Francisco. He paid $1,000 a month cash to share it with two housemates who knew him only as a quiet currency trader named Josh Terrey. His real name was Ross Ulbricht. He was 29 and had no police record. Dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt, Ulbricht headed to the Glen Park branch of the public library, where he made his way to the science-fiction section and logged on to his laptop–he was using the free wi-fi. Several FBI agents dressed in plainclothes converged on him, pushed him up against a window, then escorted him from the building.

The FBI believes Ulbricht is a criminal known online as the Dread Pirate Roberts, a reference to the book and movie The Princess Bride. The Dread Pirate Roberts was the owner and administrator of Silk Road, a wildly successful online bazaar where people bought and sold illegal goods–primarily drugs but also fake IDs, fireworks and hacking software. They could do this without getting caught because Silk Road was located in a little-known region of the Internet called the Deep Web.

Technically the Deep Web refers to the collection of all the websites and databases that search engines like Google don’t or can’t index, which in terms of the sheer volume of information is many times larger than the Web as we know it. But more loosely, the Deep Web is a specific branch of the Internet that’s distinguished by that increasingly rare commodity: complete anonymity. Nothing you do on the Deep Web can be associated with your real-world identity, unless you choose it to be. Most people never see it, though the software you need to access it is free and takes less than three minutes to download and install. If there’s a part of the grid that can be considered off the grid, it’s the Deep Web.

Read the rest of the story, here in the TIME Vault: The Deep Web

The EuroSCHIRM Light Trek is the best umbrella for most people

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a list of the best technology to buy. Read the full article below at TheWirecutter.com

After more than 35 hours of research, followed by testing of every noteworthy umbrella currently available, we found that the EuroSCHIRM Light Trek is the best for most people. It was among the widest and deepest umbrellas when open, and among the smallest when closed. That means it provides better rain protection without sacrificing portability. Combine that with superb build quality and strong, lightweight materials—like fiberglass and anodized aluminum—and you have one truly excellent umbrella that will survive the elements and the test of time.

How we decided

There’s definitely a tradeoff between protection and portability, but the best umbrella is the one you have with you. Big enough to keep your upper body dry and small enough to tuck away when you go indoors. We wanted something that could easily be slipped into a coat pocket, bag, or purse, but we ignored really tiny umbrellas.

Our recommendation defies the cliché of inverted umbrellas piled into trash cans on city streets. According to lifelong umbrella maker, Gilbert Center, these days fiberglass is the most durable material out there: “It doesn’t break and it doesn’t rust.” Combine that with a shaft made of tempered steel, instead of the more typical aluminum, and you’ve got a good umbrella that isn’t going to break when you need it most. Still, in the case that yours fails, it should have a decent warranty.

How we tested

First, we examined the components of each model closely and performed some quick ease-of-use tests. We compared the materials and the design, and we opened and closed each umbrella 20 times, searching for changes in performance over that sample size.

Then we simulated rain in a two-headed shower. Finally, we secured each umbrella to a strong post and blasted it with a leaf blower, using a Craftsman 215 mph electric at a distance of eight feet. We blasted each umbrella first on a low setting from directly in front and then from below. Then we repeated the same process on high. After that, we walked to within three feet of each test subject and blasted it from all angles.

We also attempted to invert each umbrella by hand to determine how easy it would be to do and if doing so would cause damage to the ribs and joints.

Our pick

The EuroSCHIRM Light Trek has the deepest canopy (8.75″) while maintaining one of the smallest sizes when folded up (11″). It also has a reliable fiberglass build with few moving parts. It quite simply provided the best coverage in a smaller, better-constructed package than any other umbrella we looked at. It cruised through all our tests and has few flaws. Shower testing revealed that the depth of the canopy is really important for protecting against angled rain, and the EuroSCHIRM had the deepest canopy of any of the umbrellas we tested. It’s also Teflon-coated, tightly-woven polyester which beads well and makes it easy to shake out.

Its simple design (fewer parts and locations subject to breaking) and use of burly materials like fiberglass mean it probably won’t break on you. But just in case it does, EuroSCHIRM offers a fairly comprehensive two-year warranty that will cover any and all issues with the frame of the umbrella.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The mesh bag is, obviously, not waterproof, and it also lacks a wrist strap. Warranties are time-consuming and a hassle, but not out of the ordinary. But we don’t think you’re going to need to send it in.

The runner up

The $99 Davek Solo is a solid-albeit-expensive competitor. The frame is constructed with nine ribs compared to the usual six or eight, which makes it a bit stronger than most. It has a deep, wide canopy. The one place where it really stands out is its unconditional lifetime warranty; it even offers some protection against loss. The Davek Solo is the most attractive umbrella that we tested. The handle in particular was nice to hold and looks great, and overall the umbrella fits in well in a dressy situation.

The step down

The Lewis N. Clark is a great backup when you’re strapped for cash. It will keep you dry, but probably not for very long. It performs decently well for an under-$20 umbrella. We had low expectations given its low price, but it actually performed surprisingly well, beating or matching the performance of some umbrellas costing twice as much. Our testing results are backed up by the fact that it’s Amazon’s best-selling umbrella, with loads of positive reviews. Those who live in an environment that only exposes them to occasional squalls (or those who just don’t do much in the rain and rarely feel the need for an umbrella) might find it worth it to risk being left wet once in a while.

Wrapping it up

Without knowing what you’re looking for, it’s easy to assume all umbrellas are about the same. To do so relegates you to an endless cycle of disposable umbrellas and soggy frustration. The EuroSCHIRM Light Trek distinguished itself as a solid performer in every category we tested, balancing size, compactness and durability. It is the best umbrella out there.

This guide may have been updated. To see the current recommendation please go to The Wirecutter.com

"Our sincere apologies to our Facebook community for the inappropriate and offensive posts you may have seen here today"

Crayola apologized to fans on Sunday after hackers infiltrated the company’s Facebook page and flooded it with racy, lewd and bizarre posts.

“Our sincere apologies to our Facebook community for the inappropriate and offensive posts you may have seen here today,” the crayon-maker wrote on its recently scrubbed Facebook page.

Adweek grabbed images of the posts before they were taken down on Sunday (Warning: these are not for the coloring book crowd). The images ranged from sexual innuendos to pornographic cartoons, including one image that imagined what Disney cartoons might look like “If Disney Was for Adults.”

Read more at AdWeek.

Embarrassing, sure. But classified info apparently secure

Live by the tweet, die by the tweet.

The latest cyberwar skirmish involves an embarrassing—but apparently nothing more—breach of U.S. Central Command’s social-media accounts by alleged Islamist hackers. Nonetheless, it’s a black eye for the Pentagon, with its multi-billion-dollar preoccupation with cybersecurity.

Centcom is the regional Pentagon command that oversees U.S. military action in 20 nations stretching from Egypt to Pakistan, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Centcom, which is based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., began displaying messages allegedly from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria starting about 12:30 p.m. EST on its Twitter account. At least two ISIS YouTube posts also showed up in Centcom’s account on the video site.

“AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK. ISIS.” the first apparently non-official Twitter message said (ISIS doesn’t refer to itself as “ISIS,” which immediately led to speculation in the Pentagon and elsewhere that the hackers might not be who they claim to be).

It was followed in quick succession by others. “ISIS is already here, were are in your PCs, in each military base,” a second tweet said. “We know everything about you, your wives and children.”

But a quick review of documents posted suggested they are unclassified. At most, they appear to fall into the category of documents the Pentagon often labels “for official use only,” which are routinely posted on the Internet by the Pentagon itself. Reporters located posted documents involving U.S. military acquisition and strategy on public Pentagon websites.

Twitter suspended Central Command’s account shortly after 1 p.m., with all the prior posts—both legitimate and otherwise—inaccessible.

About 5 p.m. Monday, Centcom issued a statement saying the breaches didn’t affect “operational military networks” and that apparently no classified data was jeopardized. “We are viewing this purely as a case of cybervandalism,” Centcom said. The social-media accounts, it added, “reside on commercial, non-Defense Department servers.”

In an interview broadcast Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that while the Pentagon has an edge when it comes to firepower, it’s merely tied with prospective foes when it comes to cyber warfare. “We don’t have an advantage,” Army General Martin Dempsey told Fox News. “It’s a level playing field, and that makes this chairman very uncomfortable.”

Shortly before the hack began, President Obama was speaking at the Federal Trade Commission on computer security. “This extraordinary interconnection creates enormous opportunities but also creates enormous vulnerabilities for us as a nation and for our economy and for individual families,” he said. “If we are going to be connected, then we need to be protected.”

The White House said that a Twitter hack isn’t the same thing as a major data breach, like Sony recently experienced. “This is something that we’re obviously looking into and something that we take seriously,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

As the Centcom attack unfolded, the Government Accountability Office was issuing a report warning of the soft underbelly of the U.S. government’s dependence on networked computer systems. “To further highlight the importance of the threat, on October 11, 2012, the Secretary of Defense stated that the collective result of attacks on our nation’s critical infrastructure could be ‘a cyber Pearl Harbor, an attack that would cause physical destruction and the loss of life,’” the GAO said.

Thankfully, except for a few outfits, social media doesn’t yet constitute “critical infrastructure.”

– With reporting by Zeke Miller

To special screenings of Kingsman: The Secret Service

Now there could be a new way to get an early look at hotly anticipated movies: hail an Uber. The taxi app is launching a new partnership with 20th Century Fox to carry Uber riders to special screenings of the upcoming spy movie Kingsman: The Secret Service on Thursday. In 50 cities, Uber users will be able to enter a special promo code between now and Thursday for a chance to win tickets to the early screenings. In 9 cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, some winners will also receive complimentary Uber rides to the movie theater and film merchandise. Three grand-prize winners will get a paid vacation to New York to attend a special event for the film on Feb. 9.

Kingsman: The Secret Service doesn’t premiere nationally for another month, so Uber users are getting a pretty advanced look at the latest Colin Firth vehicle.

The Internet continues to be the most disruptive innovation of our time

Robotics, self-driving cars, drones, sensors, wearables and so on are just a handful of the technologies that could change our world over the next five years. But Ben Bajarin, partner at Creative Strategies and Tech.pinions co-founder, believes it will be an older innovation that will be the most disruptive over the next half-decade: The Internet.

Speaking on a panel at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada last week, Bajarin said that more people will come online for the first time over the next five to 10 years than ever before will have disruptive global implications.

Bajarin pointed out, for example, that while the Arab Spring was clearly an important event, it could just be a precursor to more technology-enabled social change if people in repressed countries get more access to information via the Internet. And Internet-connected smartphones could help people conduct commerce and run their businesses, potentially increasing their earning ability.

His comments are based on research we’ve been doing at Creative Strategies as we forecast the longer-range demand for smartphones. More than 2 billion cellphones will be sold in 2015, with about 1.5 billion of them smartphones. However, thanks to lowering prices, nearly all cellphones sold will be smartphones by 2018. At the same time, new wireless infrastructure being built in developing countries is opening the door for an increasing number of people to get online via the mobile Internet. If those people get access to low-cost smartphones, it could have major political, economic and educational ramifications few of us realize is possible.

When smartphones get the next two billion people online, it will be like what the Gutenberg Press and the Bible were to the masses in the Middle Ages. Before the printing press, all knowledge was in the hands of a select few who controlled the flow of information — and so was the power.

Today, it’s hard to believe that kind of information control still exists, but all one has to do to find it is look to North Korea. North Korea’s rulers keep knowledge from the masses, lording their authority over the people. Imagine what might happen if North Koreans got access to a smartphone and, with it, broad access to information.

The breakup of the Soviet Union proves that access to technology can accelerate social change. Back in 1973, I went to Moscow with a group of protesters to demonstrate against the country’s lack of religious freedom. We were arrested and kept completely away from Russians so we couldn’t give them any outside information. More than a decade later, I was in Hanover, Germany, meeting with a clandestine group smuggling fax machines into Russia. Five years after the Soviet Union broke apart, I met former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who said those fax machines and other technologies helped bring about the end of the USSR.

Of course, repressive leaders could block Internet access and bar technology from crossing their countries’ borders, as we’ve seen them do time and time again. But even in these regions, technology is often smuggled in. Over time, I expect these borders will become even more data-porous, thanks to tools like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that can help users evade government firewalls. As more people in repressive countries get access to data from the outside, their knowledge base will expand. The impact on their lives could be dramatic.

Bajarin is the president of Creative Strategies Inc., a technology industry analysis and market-intelligence firm in Silicon Valley. He contributes to Big Picture, an opinion column that appears every week on TIME Tech.

After Microsoft's Skype made a big push into real-time translation

There’s a big update in the works for Google’s translation app that will make it possible for people speaking different languages to converse in real time.

Google Translate will soon start immediately converting words spoken in one language into text in another language during online conversations. The update is coming “soon,” according to The New York Times.

Google is also planning another instant-translation feature that will let users point their phones at foreign street signs and have the text of the signs converted into another language.

Google has about half a billion monthly users for its Translate service across platforms, a company executive told the Times. The product features translations of 90 languages via text, along with a few via voice as well.

The new feature will follow a December update to Skype that offers instant translations in conversations between English and Spanish speakers.

Read next: These GIFs Show the Freakishly High Definition Future of Body Scanning

It's thinner than the iPhone 6

Samsung unveiled Monday its thinnest smartphone to date: The Galaxy A7.

The Galaxy A7 clocks in at a 6.3mm thickness with a full aluminum unibody. It also expands on social capabilities with a new ‘Auto Selfie’ mode, noise reduction for voice control and LTE Category 4 4G for faster data speeds, Samsung said in a statement.

Additional features on the A7, which runs on Android 4.4 KitKat, include an extra security layer for important files and documents and multi-screen capability for convenient multitasking. Samsung will also offer a dual SIM model in some countries to let users have two phone numbers, which is common in South and Southeast Asia where it’s cheaper to make calls between customers of the same wireless company.

With a 5.5 inch screen, the A7 is also the biggest screen phone in the Samsung’s Alpha series, which include the Galaxy A5 and the Galaxy A3. The A7’s size puts it in competition with Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, whose screen is also 5.5 inches across. But the A7 wins on thinness — the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are 6.9 mm and 7.1 mm, respectively.

The A7’s exact prices and release date have not yet been announced.

Including 15 million paying subscribers.

Spotify is ringing in the new year with a new userbase milestone. The music streaming service announced Monday that it has reached 60 million active users and 15 million paying subscribers who shell out about $10 a month for an ad-free experience.

The new figures imply that Spotify’s growth rate is accelerating. The company announced in May that it had reached 40 million users and 10 million paying subscribers. In November, amidst controversy over Taylor Swift pulling her entire music catalogue from the service, Spotify revealed that it had 50 million subscribers, 12.5 million of whom were paying customers. Now the company has increased its user base by another 10 million over the course of just a few weeks.

Spotify leads the market of on-demand music streaming services by a large margin. Deezer, the second-place service, has 16 million active users and 6 million paying subscribers.

Read next: 8 Spotify tricks that will change the way you listen to music