Well we’re fast approaching the end of the year and this will be our last monthly round-up of 2016 since we will be doing our annual 2016 round-up in December (certainly worth tuning in for if you’re interested in what was fooling most people during 2016!)
So, let’s get straight to it – what was popular and trending in the world of Internet nonsense during November…
No, there is no free hack to get free SKY via your remote control….
This bizarre rumour claimed there was an Ethernet port on the back of your SKY remote that you could plug into your router to get a relic firmware update previously used by SKY engineers to get all SKY TV channels.
While the wording may have appeared just pseudo-techie-jargon enough to fool many different readers, the whole thing was demonstrably false since the port on the back of the remote wasn’t even an Ethernet port (oh, and the entire thing didn’t actually make any sense, anyway.)
It still went viral regardless, and was the most popularly read webpage on our site during November. Read about it here.
Muslims attacking a Christmas tree?
A video purportedly shows Muslims attacking a Christmas tree was misattributed in several different ways. Firstly, it was taken in Cairo, and secondly they were not attacking the tree, rather engaging in a tradition called “Christmas tree looting” where ornaments and presents are stripped from the tree once the Christmas period has finished.
15 days of darkness in November?
The yearly return of this absurd hoax made an unwelcome yet inevitable comeback for November 2016, despite spreading just as prolifically in the 3 or 4 years prior. To confirm, no, NASA has not – and have never – confirmed consecutive days of darkness – it’s pure hoax – originating from a fake news website a number of years back now.
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Stay safe Christmas shopping
With the busiest time of the online retail season well and truly here, we’ve published a couple of articles designed to help keep you safe with lots of tips on avoiding online scams that are targeted as online shoppers.
First we have 10 simple tips on avoiding scams during Black Friday (that can be equally applied to any time during the festive season) as well as our ultimate guide on getting scammed this year outlining everything you need to do if you want to get scammed.
A classic like-farming “type Amen” Facebook page
We took a closer look at a popular like-farming page that posted a continuous string of “type Amen” themed like-farming posts and show how exactly these spammers exploit people just so they can acquire new followers for their Facebook pages.
Google and Facebook tackling fake news, again. Apparently.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg may be stepping up the companies stance on tackling fake news after addressing the issue a few times in only a few days on his own newsfeed. He outlined several ways that Facebook are looking into sorting the problem.
Also we wrote a little piece on why we think social media users need to change the way they approach getting their online news. Should be blacklist instead of whitelist? Read here.
Why are Facebook login approvals so important?
We discuss the importance of 2-Step authentication when it comes to using Facebook, as well as other accounts.