Breaking news - Google found spammers - will change its algorithm

As per inside breaking news, Google is set to make changes to its search ranking algorithm to combat the spate of links leading to malicious web pages appearing at the top of Google's search results, according to an inside source. 

While Google's search business faces threats from malicious blackhat spammers, Google News receives the brunt of not-so-veiled threats from the Associated Press, regardless of a licensing deal. 

Over the past few months, cybercriminals have been using blackhat SEO techniques to manipulate search rankings. When it first began, they were marginally successful at following Google Trends to find buzzy search queries and elevating a newly created targeted webpage. 

But after a short period of time, these same gangs appear to have become disturbingly effective. Last week, when researching a news story, I found the top five results all led to fake scareware pages. 

Obviously if Google fails to do something about this manipulation, users will lose trust and the good ole days of Google will be over fast. A Googler speaking on condition of anonymity told WebProNews a ranking change is pending that tackles spam of this kind. Once the change goes live, users shouldn't see it "nearly as often." 

A report from security company PandaLabs identified over a million links targeting malicious webpages ranking for auto part searches. Google noted that many of the phrases mentioned in the report were rare. A phrase like [1989 Nissan Pickup Truck Engine Check Light Troubleshooting], for example, only appears on attack sites set up by spammers, which explains why Google brought back so many attack sites in response to it and similar queries. 

Is this a good enough explanation in your opinion? Comment. 

Google's response seems also an admission of how difficult it is to provide fresh, timely search results while simultaneously combating spammers. Part of the appeal of Twitter to many people is the platform's ability to provide real-time information; the live Web works remarkably well there so far because Twitter's set up isn't very conducive to spam (yet). At least Twitter has to some extent control over accounts. 

Google, on the other hand, cannot control for content appearing on the Web at large, and historically its famous algorithm performed better than any other at weeding out spammy webpages and malicious results. Unfortunately, that was a version of the Web that was more static. The live Web presents entirely new challenges manifesting as the first major weakness the search engine has faced. 

The company naturally didn't have a comment on the recently pondered "link velocity" ranking factor. Search engine optimization experts have identified the speed at which organic links appear as a possible important influence. 

Link velocity therefore aids in explaining how blackhatters were able to manipulate search results by dropping enormous amounts of link spam into comment and discussion areas of social sites. The freshness or buzzy nature of a query also aided in this pursuit, and cybercriminals merely have to follow Google Trends and Google News to know which keywords and phrases to target. 

Breaking News - Pakistan sees friends’ $5 billion pledge as political boon

LAHORE: According to breaking news, Pakistanis see the $5 billion aid pledges made by donor countries in a conference in Tokyo as “a development [that] has as much political as economic significance in bolstering a beleaguered civilian government”, the Washington Times reported.

Ashfaq Hassan Khan, a former chief economic adviser in Pakistan, told the newspaper that the funds were a “significant achievement”.

“Firstly, Pakistan got $5.28 billion instead of $4.25 billion, which it asked for from the friends of Pakistan... Secondly, the pledges have come as a big message from the world that it is genuinely interested in Pakistan’s stability and progress and it is willing to cooperate,” he told the Washington Times. “I think the announcement of assistance to Pakistan is more of a political importance than it is of economic significance.”

The newspaper said the pledges “reflect international concern about expanding Taliban influence in Pakistan. Militants exploiting economic discontent and unemployment have moved in recent months far beyond Tribal Areas on the border with Afghanistan to Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous state”.

In approving new aid at the Tokyo conference, “the participants... noted concern about the security situation in Pakistan and the impact on development, the investment climate and growth”, co-chairs Japan and the World Bank said in a statement.

“Aid is to be targeted at health, education, governance and building democracy,” the Washington Times said. “Pakistan is also seeking to build hydroelectric dams, roads and other projects aimed at improving security along the Afghan border.”

Zafar Moeen Nasir, chief economic researcher at the state-run Pakistan Institute of Developmental Economics in Islamabad, told the Washington Times the new aid would “help compensate Pakistan for $35 billion he said had been lost due to the country’s participation in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda”.

“I think the pledges at Tokyo are indications that US and other friends of Pakistan want Pakistan to be a stable country,” he told the newspaper.

However, Abdul Mateen, a former Pakistani diplomat at the United Nations, said he was “not optimistic that the money would solve Pakistan’s fundamental economic problems”.

“Aid and assistance is only good if it is spent productively, as it generates resources, skills, learning and so on,” he said. “Unless it leads to development, the aid or loan is dysfunctional. The pledges made at Tokyo for Pakistan would give the country relief and even growth but would not insure development, which is badly required.”

Political and security analyst Hassan Askari Rizvi welcomed the emphasis on building the capacity of Pakistani institutions in the new US administration’s reviewed policy for the region. “The American administration is trying to complement the use of force with socioeconomic diplomacy,” he told the Washington Times.

The Obama strategy “is also better than past policies because it is the product of more consultation with Pakistanis at both official and non-official levels”, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Shafqat Mahmood, a former senator, said the motive remains “securing the American homeland as well as US forces in South Asia and the Middle East from Muslim extremist attacks. Pakistan will get assistance only if it implements US aims”, he said. “It is not radically different strategy as may be perceived,” he told the Washington Times. “Rather, its focus is quite narrow. It means Americans think foreign elements are there and Pakistan must ensure that they should not be a threat to US interests in the region.”

Tahir Amin, chairman of the International Relations Department of Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, agreed. The new policy “is still focused on military force and drone attacks,” he told the newspaper. “The most sad aspect of the Obama strategy is that it is focused on American interests without taking into consideration that of Pakistan. It seems the strategy calls for imposing an American mission on Pakistan while it has put the Kashmir issue on the back burner.”

Amin said the fallout of the new strategy would be “negative for both the US and Pakistan”.

“Intending or otherwise, the implementation of Obama strategy would push Pakistan towards chaos as acts of terrorism would proliferate in the length and breadth of the country, and this has very much started happening. For Americans, it would cultivate far deeper antagonistic feelings in Pakistan,” he told the Washington Times.

Retired Lt Gen Talat Masood, a security analyst, said the most important aspect of the shift is that “Pakistan has been looked at as part of a much greater zone of conflict, not as an individual issue”. He said the strategy “also shows more sensitivity to Pakistani concerns over US infringement on its sovereignty”, according to the breaking news.

Breaking News - Indian star SRK banks on foreign stars to boost KKR's chances

CAPE TOWN, : According to breaking news, the Kolkata Knight Riders owner, Shah Rukh Khan (in AFP photo), today described the taking away of captaincy from Sourav Ganguly as a “cricketing decision taken for the betterment of the team." He claimed the former India captain had been involved in the decision-making process.
“It was a cricketing decision. People with cricketing heads and minds -- Dada, (Mr John) Buchanan and the team management -- took the decision. I hope it is for the betterment of the team,” the film star said. New Zealander Brendon McCullum was yesterday appointed captain, replacing Ganguly, setting at rest weeks of speculation after the KKR director of cricket, Mr Buchanan, had kicked up a controversy with his multiple captaincy doctrine. Ganguly said he “did not mind” the decision and now the focus should be on every team member performing well.
“It was a team decision. I don't mind that. Now everybody will have to perform if the team want to do well in the tournament,” he said. Ganguly said his only personal objective was to play an important role in the outfit's overall enterprise. The former India captain, told that he had been described as "the best skipper in the world" by Shah Rukh Khan, said, if it was so, he was "thankful for the compliment."
McCullum, he said, would be a good captain. "McCullum is a dashing and dynamic player. He will be a good captain. I wish him all the luck. My sole aim is to score runs and play an important role in the team's win. I will try and do well for the team," he said. Asked why he was seemingly perennially associated with controversies, Ganguly, smiling, said he had no clue as to why it was so. "I don't know why it always happens to me. But I've got to live with it. God has given me many things in life. I have captained India and played for the national team for so long. I have a great life back home. God has been really kind to me," he said.

Mallya’s point of view
The Bangalore Royal Challengers owner, Mr Vijay Mallya, today said Shah Rukh Khan had every right to experiment with his team but he would himself stick to a single skipper for the entire tournament. “Shah Rukh is entitled to his plans. But as for me, I am not a cricketer like Brijesh Patel and Ray Jennings so I went by their suggestions before building the team. That was what I did last year as well,” said Mr Mallya, currently in China for the Shanghai Grand Prix. “I think Shah Rukh has every right to say he will run the team the way he wants. But for my team, Kevin Pietersen will be the captain,” he added. Mr Mallya said Rahul Dravid had not been sacked from the Royal Challengers' captaincy.
“Rahul's wife is expecting and he may return home from South Africa any moment and that would have put us into trouble,” said Mr Mallya. Alluding to Pietersen and his shenanigans on and off the field, Mr Mallya said he had been bought for his batting exploits and not for his airs.
“If a player is glamorous, what's wrong with it? We bought him for his batting. As far as his getting sacked from the England captaincy goes, we also have it here. So that's not an issue,” Mr Mallya said. Although not satisfied with his team's performance last year, Mr Mallya said he was happy they had managed to break even on the financial front. “We are perhaps the only team that managed to break even in last season's IPL. We managed to make money from ticket sales,” said Mr Mallya.