Discussions, summarized

Sumcast distills Slack conversations, Whimsical posts, Reddit discussions and more into a concise daily newsletter that only takes a few minutes to read. Or, listen to it in your favorite podcast app.

• Hacker News1Want to piss off your IT department? Are the links not malicious looking enough?This is a tool that transforms any URL into a suspicious-looking link through redirects, similar to how URL shorteners work but in reverse - making legitimate links appear malicious for comedic effect. The generated "fishy" links are harmless and simply redirect to the original URL provided.Corporate IT security measures undermining user security awareness:Users criticize how corporate IT tools like Microsoft SafeLinks and other security products make legitimate URLs look suspicious, train users to ignore red flags, and create confusing experiences that actually reduce security awareness rather than improve it.Phishing training creating contradictory behaviors:Companies teach employees to inspect URLs carefully, then implement URL rewriting services that make all links look suspicious, followed by sending legitimate surveys and communications that appear like phishing attempts, creating user confusion.Legitimate services appearing malicious:Discussion of how modern legitimate services often use suspicious-looking domains, complex tracking URLs, and external redirects that make it increasingly difficult for users to distinguish between real and malicious communications.
• Reddit science1Using scented products indoors changes the chemistry of the air, producing as much air pollution as car exhaust does outside, according to a new study. Researchers say that breathing in these nanosized particles could have serious health implications.Using scented products indoors, such as flame-free candles and wax melts, can create significant indoor air pollution comparable to car exhaust. Research by Purdue University found these products release nanosized particles that can penetrate deep into lungs and potentially enter the bloodstream, posing serious respiratory health risks.Misleading title scope:Discussion about how study only focused on wax melts but title suggests all scented products, with debate about whether findings could logically extend to other scented itemsHealth concerns from chemist:A chemist's perspective against using scented products leads to sharing of personal health impact stories, from COPD to cancer cases, and debate about necessity of artificial scentsAir purification solutions:Discussion of HEPA filters and other air purification methods as solutions, with debate about effectiveness against different types of pollutants like VOCs and nanoparticles
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