web surfing news stories on Newser

Confirmed: Most People Have No Good Reason to Go Online

Dustin Lushing — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:08:05 CST

A new study reveals that the Internet is a gigantic, sophisticated, inter-connected network utilized by many exclusively to ... waste time. On any given day, 53% of 18-to-29-year-olds log on to the web for the sole purpose of either having fun or passing the time, according to a report by the...

Netflix Streaming Traffic Overtakes Web Browsing

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:55:05 CDT

Streaming Netflix movies and TV shows: more popular than browsing the Web? Not exactly, but it does account for more Internet traffic. A new study shows that Netflix accounts for nearly 30% of traffic into North American homes during peak nighttime hours; Web browsing accounts for less than 17%. Even...

As Economy Crumbled, SEC Staffers Surfed for Porn

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:14:00 CDT

As the economy teetered on the brink of collapse, Securities and Exchange Commission watchdogs wasted thousands of hours surfing the Internet for pornography on government computers. One accountant tried to access raunchy sites 16,000 times in a single month, and a senior SEC attorney in Washington spent up to...

2 Much Kittehs on teh Interwebs; 1-Day Ban Planned

Harry Kimball — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:42:40 CDT

Let’s face it: Cats own the Internet. But it’s getting a little much, and that’s why the Urlesque blog is organizing “9.9.09 — A Day Without Cats on the Internet.” The master plan calls for cats not to be mentioned, emailed, viewed, nor blogged about. Urlesque is even polling...

Let Employees Roam the Web

Harry Kimball — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:37:01 CDT

Protecting against viruses and encouraging productivity is all well and good, Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate, but “locking down” company computers isn’t the way to go about it. Companies that “block the Web and various other online distractions on the theory that a cowed workforce is an efficient one” are...

Web Use Gives Brain a Boost

Ambreen Ali — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:56:01 CDT

Sudoku not your thing? Web surfing may help boost brain power and prevent brain shrinkage in middle-aged and older people in a way that reading books cannot, the BBC reports. By studying the brain scans of volunteers aged 55 to 76, researchers found that experienced internet users show enhanced activity...

Does Surfing Equal Reading?

Matt Cantor — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:34:20 CDT

As kids spend more time on the internet and less time reading books, a debate is raging over whether online reading is as educational as the traditional kind, the New York Times reports. While the Web allows readers to quickly gobble up multiple perspectives and information, some experts worry that...

Surfers Beware: Danger Could Lurk at .hk, .cn

Nick McMaster — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:57:38 CDT

A study by antivirus software firm McAfee warns Web surfers to be cautious of sites on certain domains, the AP reports, with corner-cutting registration companies often skipping security precautions. The domains .hk, .cn and .info were found to be riskiest.

Web Looks Different When You're Not Chained to Desk

Jonas Oransky — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:44:06 CDT

Mobile web surfers are turning conventional wisdom on its head by traveling to a different constellation of sites than those visited from workday PCs, BusinessWeek reports. The “Weekend Web” relies not on Google, Yahoo, and MySpace, but rather on Craigslist, eBay, the Weather Channel and MapQuest—and don't think tech-industry...