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Georgia Community Holds Vigil For Mass Shooting Victims; Police Say Motive Behind Massacre Remains a Mystery | The Gateway Pundit

Well, this story disappeared quickly.

41-year-old Andre Longmore fatally shot four people in a small city south of Atlanta Saturday morning.

The mass shooting took place in the Dogwood Lakes area of Hampton, Georgia around 10:45 am.

Police cornered and killed Longmore on Sunday.

Two police officers were injured in the shootout.

The victims were all shot dead within 10 minutes.

“Scott Leavitt, 67, and his wife, 68-year-old Shirley Leavitt, 65-year-old Steve Blizzard, and 66-year-old Ronald Jeffers all were residents of the same Dogwood Lakes neighborhood where suspected gunman Andre Longmore lived.” Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Police still can’t figure out a motive for the mass shooting.

Neighbors in the community held a candle-lit vigil this week to mourn the victims.

“It could have been any one of us,” the victims’ neighbor Sharon Hayes said. “I’m having a hard time dealing with the fact that it’s my neighborhood my safe neighborhood that’s been disrupted like this.”

“I would say shocked. Shocked would be a major word for me,” another neighbor said.

More from Fox 5 Atlanta:

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Loro Piana Fall 2023 Campaign: Elegant Moments

Selena Forrest stars in Loro Piana fall-winter 2023 campaign. Photo: Glen Luchford

Loro Piana, the renowned Italian luxury brand, has unveiled its fall-winter 2023 campaign, inviting us into a world where elegance meets everyday life. Photographed by Glen Luchford, the campaign captures the essence of Loro Piana and the artful craft of living life with grace.

Luchford showcases the sentimental and optimistic moments that fill our lives in this intimate series of images. Models Selena Forrest, Henry Kitcher, and Raquel Zimmermann bring a relatable authenticity to the campaign as if we are peeking into their personal moments.

Loro Piana Fall/Winter 2023 Campaign[image error]Raquel Zimmermann cozies up in luxe knitwear for Loro Piana fall-winter 2023 campaign. Photo: Glen Luchford

The Loro Piana fall 2023 campaign serves as a visual invitation to create precious memories and dress for the occasion that is our own unique life. Loro Piana’s garments are designed to be cherished, with a luxury knit sweater taking the spotlight, as well as embroidered fabric for an opulent touch.

[image error]Loro Piana debuts its fall-winter 2023 ad campaign with Henry Kitcher. Photo: Glen Luchford

Styled by Aleksandra Woroniecka with art direction by Atelier Franck Durand, a neutral color palette stands out in the Loro Piana fall 2023 advertisements. Previously, the Italian brand focused on its Cocooning collection of lounge-worthy knitwear and its spring 2023 advertisements.

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Judge Cannon Smacks Down Special Counsel Jack Smith in First Major Order in Classified Documents Case | The Gateway Pundit

Judge Aileen Cannon smacked down Special Counsel Jack Smith this week and denied his request to speed up the sharing of classified documents.

Jack Smith on Monday sought a classified protective order ahead of a hearing this week in the classified documents case to ‘avoid further delay.’

Jack Smith’s prosecutors asked the court to limit Trump’s access to classified materials related to the case.

Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed without prejudice Jack Smith’s motion.

The New York Post reported:

A federal judge handed a defeat to prosecutors who indicted former President Donald Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, denying a request Tuesday to speed up the sharing of evidence with the defense.

Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed without prejudice special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to compel a response from Trump’s legal team about a protective order for disclosing classified evidence in the case, court filings show, with the jurist citing a “lack of meaningful conferral” between the two sides.

Prosecutors Jay Bratt, David Harbach and Julie Edelstein appeared in the courtroom opposite Trump attorneys Christopher Kise, Todd Blanche and Stanley Woodward, who is representing the former president’s valet Walt Nauta.

Special Counsel Jack Smith recently indicted Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami.

Trump was charged with 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and 6 other process crimes stemming from his conversations with his lawyer.

Walt Nauta, a Mar-a-Lago aide, was indicted along with President Trump as a co-conspirator.

Judge Cannon set the trial date for August 14 but Trump’s lawyers asked to indefinitely postpone the trial.

Justice Department lawyers on Thursday filed a motion pushing back on Trump’s legal team and asked the Judge to proceed with jury selection on December 11, 2023.

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Attackers find new ways to deliver DDoSes with “alarming” sophistication

Aurich Lawson / Getty

The protracted arms race between criminals who wage distributed denial-of-service attacks and the defenders who attempt to stop them continues, as the former embraces “alarming” new methods to make their online offensives more powerful and destructive, researchers from content-delivery network Cloudflare reported Wednesday.

With a global network spanning more than 300 cities in more than 100 countries around the world, Cloudflare has visibility into these types of attacks that’s shared by only a handful of other companies. The company said it delivers more than 63 million network requests per second and more than 2 trillion domain lookups per day during peak times. Among the services that Cloudflare provides is mitigation for the attacks, which are typically referred to by the abbreviation DDoS.

Alarming escalation

“In recent months, there’s been an alarming escalation in the sophistication of DDoS attacks,” Cloudflare researchers Omer Yoachimik and Jorge Pacheco wrote Wednesday in a threat report that recaps highlights during the second quarter of this year. “And even the largest and most sophisticated attacks that we’ve seen may only last a few minutes or even seconds—which doesn’t give a human sufficient time to respond.”

DDoSes work by pummeling a web server or other online property with more traffic than their infrastructure can handle. The goal is to cause the service to buckle and, as a result, deny service to legitimate users attempting to access the property. DDoSing is akin to a large group of teenagers who call a pizza shop phone number all at once. The flood of junk calls uses up all available phone lines and exhausts the personnel available to answer. People trying to place legitimate orders are then unable to get through.

Traditionally, DDoSes haven’t been particularly sophisticated. In many respects, they’re not much different from a Neanderthal wielding a giant club against enemies. The caveman with the biggest club will generally win. More recently, that has begun to change. As Cloudflare, Microsoft, and other large companies devise new measures to curb the effects of DDoS attacks, threat actors, some aligned with the Russian government, are pioneering new ways to counter those defenses.

The newer methods attempt to do two things: (1) conceal the maliciousness of the traffic so defenders don’t block it and (2) deliver ever-larger traffic floods that can overwhelm targets even when they have DDoS mitigations in place.

These methods include:

HTTP DDoS attacks. These attacks use the plain-vanilla hypertext transfer protocol to flood websites and HTTP-based API gateways with enough requests to exhaust their computing resources. DDoS mitigation services traditionally block such attacks by singling out the attacker requests from the legitimate ones. Now, the attackers are fighting back using methods that make it harder to distinguish between malicious and benign traffic. As the researchers explained:

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We’ve observed an alarming uptick in highly-randomized and sophisticated HTTP DDoS attacks over the past few months. It appears as though the threat actors behind these attacks have deliberately engineered the attacks to try and overcome mitigation systems by adeptly imitating browser behavior very accurately, in some cases, by introducing a high degree of randomization on various properties such as user agents and JA3 fingerprints to name a few. An example of such an attack is provided below. Each different color represents a different randomization feature.

Randomized HTTP DDoSes

Cloudflare

Furthermore, in many of these attacks, it seems that the threat actors try to keep their attack rates-per-second relatively low to try and avoid detection and hide amongst the legitimate traffic.

This level of sophistication has previously been associated with state-level and state-sponsored threat actors, and it seems these capabilities are now at the disposal of cyber criminals. Their operations have already targeted prominent businesses such as a large VoIP provider, a leading semiconductor company, and a major payment & credit card provider to name a few.

Exploitation of servers running unpatched software: Another method on the rise is the exploitation of servers running unpatched software for the Mitel MiCollab and MiVoice Business Express collaboration systems, which act as a gateway for transferring PBX phone communications to the Internet and vice versa. A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-26143 stems from an unauthenticated UDP port the unpatched software exposes to the public Internet. By flooding a vulnerable system with requests that appear to come from the victim, the system in turn pummels the victim with a payload that can be 4 billion times bigger. This amplification method works by issuing what’s called a “startblast” debugging command, which simulates a flurry of calls to test systems.

“As a result, for each test call, two UDP packets are sent to the issuer, enabling an attacker to direct this traffic to any IP and port number to amplify a DDoS attack,” the Cloudflare researchers wrote. “Despite the vulnerability, only a few thousand of these devices are exposed, limiting the potential scale of attack, and attacks must run serially, meaning each device can only launch one attack at a time.”

DNS Laundering attacks. These were the third DDoS technique in vogue last quarter. As the resource that translates domain names into IP addresses, the domain name system is crucial for data to get from one place to another. By flooding a target’s DNS infrastructure with more lookup requests than it has the resources to handle, attackers have long been able to make targeted services unavailable.

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This type of attack can have devastating consequences for the entire Internet, as the world learned in 2016, when a relatively small network of infected routers and other devices exhausted the resources of DNS provider Dyn. As a result, Twitter, GitHub, the PlayStation network, and hundreds of other properties that relied on Dyn came to a standstill.

Now that defenders are better at filtering out malicious DNS requests, attackers have begun leveraging DNS Laundering attacks. The Cloudflare researchers explained:

In a DNS Laundering attack, the threat actor will query subdomains of a domain that is managed by the victim’s DNS server. The prefix that defines the subdomain is randomized and is never used more than once or twice in such an attack. Due to the randomization element, recursive DNS servers will never have a cached response and will need to forward the query to the victim’s authoritative DNS server. The authoritative DNS server is then bombarded by so many queries until it cannot serve legitimate queries or even crashes all together.

Illustration of a DNS Laundering DDoS attack

Cloudflare

From the protection point of view, the DNS administrators can’t block the attack source because the source includes reputable recursive DNS servers like Google’s 8.8.8.8 and Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1. The administrators also cannot block all queries to the attacked domain because it is a valid domain that they want to preserve access to legitimate queries.

The above factors make it very challenging to distinguish legitimate queries from malicious ones. A large Asian financial institution and a North American DNS provider are amongst recent victims of such attacks. An example of such an attack is provided below.

Example of a DNS Laundering DDoS attack

Cloudflare

Virtual-machine botnets. The last technique the researchers identified as on the rise was the use of virtual-machine botnets. Rather than relying on infected routers and other Internet-connected devices, attackers use VMs or virtual private servers. The computational and bandwidth resources of these botnets dwarf the capacity of more traditional botnets to deliver “hyper-volumetric” DDoSes.

Wednesday’s report said that such a botnet was responsible for delivering an attack of 71 million requests earlier this year, making it one of the biggest DDoSes ever.

Illustration of an IoT botnet compared with a VM botnet.

The reality

Last quarter, cryptocurrency websites were the biggest DDoS target, followed by gaming and gambling sites, and marketing and advertising sites. The US was the biggest source of DDoSes, followed by China and Germany. Given the larger market sizes of these countries, it follows that they would account for more DDoSes as well. When removing such bias, the researchers said, the biggest sources were Mozambique, Egypt, and Finland. Close to a fifth of all HTTP traffic originating from Mozambique IP addresses were part of DDoS attacks.

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House Republicans to Investigate UC-Berkeley’s Ties to China | The Gateway Pundit

House Republicans on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are planning to investigate ties between the University of California at Berkeley and China.

This is long overdue and should probably happen at a number of American universities.

When Republicans still controlled the Senate, Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio were just beginning to get into this topic, looking at various Confucius Institutes on American college campuses.

American Greatness reports:

House of Representatives to Investigate UC Berkeley’s Ties to China

A committee in the United States House of Representatives has expressed concerns over the ties between Communist China and the University of California Berkeley.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to Berkeley’s president Michael Drake last week; the letter focused on the school’s Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, a collaboration between Berkeley and the Tsinghua University in Shenzhen, located in southeast China.

In the letter, House Republicans voiced their opposition to the institute’s development of “dual-use technologies” which could benefit Chinese military technology. The letter also demanded information from the school regarding the institute’s funding and research.

“Berkeley’s P.R.C.-backed collaboration with Tsinghua University raises many red flags,” said the letter, signed by committee chairman Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.).

Here’s more from the Washington Free Beacon:

Berkeley told the New York Times that it takes national security “very seriously.”

“The campus is reviewing past agreements and actions involving or connected to Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute” and would “fully and transparently cooperate with any federal inquiries,” the university said…

The letter comes after the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee in May called out Berkeley’s failure to properly report more than $200 million in funding it received from China.

While they’re at it, Republicans should look at the ties between China and Joe Biden’s think tank at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Study claims ChatGPT is losing capability, but some experts aren’t convinced

Benj Edwards / Getty Images

On Tuesday, researchers from Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley published a research paper that purports to show changes in GPT-4‘s outputs over time. The paper fuels a common-but-unproven belief that the AI language model has grown worse at coding and compositional tasks over the past few months. Some experts aren’t convinced by the results, but they say that the lack of certainty points to a larger problem with how OpenAI handles its model releases.

In a study titled “How Is ChatGPT’s Behavior Changing over Time?” published on arXiv, Lingjiao Chen, Matei Zaharia, and James Zou, cast doubt on the consistent performance of OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs), specifically GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. Using API access, they tested the March and June 2023 versions of these models on tasks like math problem-solving, answering sensitive questions, code generation, and visual reasoning. Most notably, GPT-4’s ability to identify prime numbers reportedly plunged dramatically from an accuracy of 97.6 percent in March to just 2.4 percent in June. Strangely, GPT-3.5 showed improved performance in the same period.

Enlarge / Performance of the March 2023 and June 2023 versions of GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 on four tasks, taken from “How Is ChatGPT’s Behavior Changing over Time?”

Chen/Zaharia/Zou

This study comes on the heels of people frequently complaining that GPT-4 has subjectively declined in performance over the past few months. Popular theories about why include OpenAI “distilling” models to reduce their computational overhead in a quest to speed up the output and save GPU resources, fine-tuning (additional training) to reduce harmful outputs that may have unintended effects, and a smattering of unsupported conspiracy theories such as OpenAI reducing GPT-4’s coding capabilities so more people will pay for GitHub Copilot.

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Meanwhile, OpenAI has consistently denied any claims that GPT-4 has decreased in capability. As recently as last Thursday, OpenAI VP of Product Peter Welinder tweeted, “No, we haven’t made GPT-4 dumber. Quite the opposite: we make each new version smarter than the previous one. Current hypothesis: When you use it more heavily, you start noticing issues you didn’t see before.”

While this new study may appear like a smoking gun to prove the hunches of the GPT-4 critics, others say not so fast. Princeton computer science professor Arvind Narayanan thinks that its findings don’t conclusively prove a decline in GPT-4’s performance and are potentially consistent with fine-tuning adjustments made by OpenAI. For example, in terms of measuring code generation capabilities, he criticized the study for evaluating the immediacy of the code’s ability to be executed rather than its correctness.

“The change they report is that the newer GPT-4 adds non-code text to its output. They don’t evaluate the correctness of the code (strange),” he tweeted. “They merely check if the code is directly executable. So the newer model’s attempt to be more helpful counted against it.”

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Department of Defense Memo Says Trans Soldiers on Hormone Therapy Can Skip Deployments | The Gateway Pundit

Transgender soldiers in the U.S. Military who are on hormone therapy can skip deployments, according to a Department of Defense memo.

This raises obvious questions about the very idea of trans people joining the armed services, which is already a hot-button issue.

Why should trans people get special treatment in this way?

Breitbart News reports:

DOD Memo Says Transgender Soldiers on Hormone Therapy Can Skip Deployments

Transgender soldiers receiving hormone therapy may avoid deployment for as many as 300 days, according to a February 2023 Department of Defense memo outlining treatment at the Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) at Fort Liberty.

The memo, first obtained and published by The Dossier, states that most service members “will require up to 300 days to be stabilized on cross-sex hormone therapy, and they will remain in a non-deployable status during that time.”

However, that timeline depends on when the service member is “clinically stabilized.”

The memo also states what other treatments and surgeries transgender troops may receive at WAMC at taxpayers’ expense.

The memo said after 12 months of hormone therapy, transgender service members can request “surgical care,” such as “upper” and “bottom” surgery.

It said transgender service members could also request surgery without first receiving hormone therapy.

How is this not a recipe for disaster?

Leaked memo shows Biden DoD allows trans soldiers to skip deployments and receive unlimited physical-fitness waivers https://t.co/cnctO1s6zL

— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) July 19, 2023

Department of Defense says trans soldiers on hormone therapy can now skip deployments

In other words, join the military for free hormone therapy and then bail for “up to 300 days”

Then get discharged after you start having mental issueshttps://t.co/jb2Fst2F24 pic.twitter.com/3ID3Qw1x1b

— RPK Report (@RPKReport) July 19, 2023

Pentagon memo reveals host of mutilations ‘transgender’ soldiers can undergo at taxpayers’ expense; notes they can dodge deployments, receive indefinite physical fitness waivers https://t.co/hOpAvswU99

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 19, 2023

What is the point of enlisting people who are unable to serve?

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10+ Best VPN Services for Enhanced Privacy & Security 2023

A secure connection (also referred to as a “tunnel”) is established after you turn on a VPN between the gadget and an external server run by the virtual private network (VPN) provider. The web server receives all your web traffic via this tunnel before sending it as standard to the public internet. Data traveling from the World Wide Web via a VPN server, which is then via a secure connection, and finally returned to your laptop, takes the same route.

If you use a VPN, certain people won’t be able to see what is in your web traffic, which can help prevent online tracking of you.

However, a VPN can only offer minimal security from the dangers you’ll probably encounter online, such as malware, social engineering fraud, and phishing websites.

In addition to ever, maintaining your privacy is crucial, and the most effective VPN for 2023 is the ideal tool for safeguarding your online persona.

Virtual private networks can conceal what you do online and give the impression that you are physically in another place. You can get a lot out of a VPN, including streaming foreign TV, unblocking apps, and evading authorities eavesdropping. You can locate the best VPNs here.

Although VPNs may appear complicated, they are now straightforward to use.

They virtually all offer straightforward, enticing apps for various devices, and you may connect with just one click. Therefore, don’t be afraid to set up a VPN on the phone if you can install FB — you got it.

In 2022, the global virtual private network (VPN) market amounted to 44.6 billion U.S. dollars. Virtual private networks are designed to extend a network securely from a private location, such as a business or home, across a public network as if the network were directly linked. VPNs are popular among consumers for obfuscating their real location, whether to access geo-blocked services or bypass censorship or other restrictions. Among enterprises, VPNs are often set up to allow employees to access corporate intranets while traveling or working from home.

Outstanding Performance of VPN

With outstanding performance, unrivaled protection, and a plethora of its characteristics to keep users safe, ExpressVPN continues to be raising the bar in the VPN business for many years now.

With the integrated password manager, you can further protect your confidentiality when you’re out and about and avoid the stress of remembering many different passwords every time you go from your mobile device to your desktop. Have a look at the top VPN providers that are listed below.

want a VPN for business or personal use.

VPN Service Ratings Top Feature Fastest VPN 5/5 4K fast streaming SurfShark 4.7/5 Cookie pop-up blocker Private Internet Access 4.7/5 Strict No-logs policy Cyber Ghost 4.6/5 All your data encrypted Privado VPN 4.5/5 Free Remote Help Proton VPN 4.5/5 Ad blocker Windscribe 4.5/5 Data encryption Nord VPN 4.3/5 1 account, 6 devices IP Vanish 4.3/5 Advanced Encryption Mullvad 4.2/5 Cookie pop-up blocker

 

FastestVPN is the best VPN services that ensures data protection by encrypting your connection. This way, you’re allowed to browse the internet however you want, and whenever you want, without any limitations. With a strict no-logs policy and a ton of customizable privacy features, trust that your data is protected by the most transparent and privacy-focused VPN ever created.

Key featuresUnrestricted devices4K fast streaming24/7 supportWireGuard protocolAd blockerEmail Protection 2. SurfShark

Surfshark offers an entire safety suite that significantly outperforms rivals, not simply a cheap VPN. has integrated antivirus software, tracker-free web browsing, ad filtering, as well as an attack alert feature.

Key features Unlimited DevicesAd & malware blockerCookie pop-up blockerTwo-Factor Authentication24/7 support 3. Private Internet Access

Because it delivers precisely what it states on the tin, Private Internet Access has over 10 years of expertise in the market and has stood up to most of its rivals.

PIA goes above and beyond by making its applications freely available so that anybody in the globe may access, inspect, and validate its security claims. While the majority of top providers will commission routine third-party audits.

Key features Strict No-logs policy100% open sourceEasy configurationBuilt-In Ad Blocking24/7 customer supportAdvanced Features 4. Cyber Ghost

Around 9,260 servers (mainly torrent-friendly) in 91 countries make up the enormous network of CyberGhost VPN. Applications are available for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS Linux, Amazon’s Fire television, and various other smart TVs, and gaming consoles with smart-DNS compatibility can also be configured.

Key featuresChange your locationPublic WIFI protectionComprehensive online protectionAll your data encrypted24/7 customer support 5. Privado VPN

A top-tier corporate VPN with an unrivalled free version is PrivadoVPN. You may access 10 connections at once, a SOCKS5 proxy to let you view restricted material, zero-log regulations, ad-blocking software, parental control, as well as threat prevention as part of a premium membership.

Key features Simultaneous ConnectionsUnlimited Bandwidth & SpeedFree Remote Help + InstallationAnonymous Torrenting / P2P Friendly 6. Proton VPN

A couple of decades ago, there were only a few hundred servers in 14 countries; currently, there are over 2,900 servers spread throughout 67 nations. Numerous programmes for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Android TV, and Chromebooks allow you to access these servers.

 Key features Unlimited devices4K fast streaming24/7 supportAd blockerEmail Protection 7. Windscribe

A powerful Canadian VPN, Windscribe includes a tonne of unique features and is appealing to a wide range of users. Plenty of equipment to safeguard? Along with functional extensions for browsers for Firefox, Chrome, and Opera, there are attractive open-source applications for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Linux. Additionally, the package includes an infinite number of gadgets, so you’ll probably join your whole house with a Windscribe plan.

Key featuresStrict No-logs policy100% open sourceEasy configurationBuilt-In Ad Blocking24/7 customer supportAdvanced Features 8. Nord VPN

Nord VPN is extraordinarily quick and fast vpn services (up to 820 Mbps), excellent at unblocking streaming websites, and stuffed to the gills with safeguards to safeguard your gadgets and data.

With every VPN subscription, NordVPN includes blocking ads and malware prevention as standard features.

Key features Simple VPN set upNext-generation encryptionMalware protectionStrict no-log policyOne account, six devicesUninterrupted streaming 9. IP Vanish

The competent VPN IPVanish outperforms expectations in a number of key areas while falling short in a few others. In order to have full authority over whether they are administered, the corporation owns its servers rather than merely renting them. You may have multiple concurrent links as you need because there aren’t any equipment restrictions. Additionally, it recently achieved a no-logs audit, indicating that the business does a good job preserving your personal information.

Key features Easy-to-use apps for all your devicesHassle-free money-back guarantee24/7 customer supportAdvanced Encryption 10. Mullvad

Although every VPN makes the promise to care about privacy, Mullvad goes above and beyond. You may create account sans providing any identifying about yourself, pay with cryptocurrency, or even mail a cash-filled envelope (no, honestly) to make sure the business learns zero about you.

Certain customers only require a basic VPN that has an effective, user-friendly client. Another plus is when a virtual private network (VPN) has reasonable prices. If a VPN can provide you with that, UltraVPN is the right choice.

With its reasonable pricing and user-friendly interfaces, UltraVPN is a fantastic daily VPN for average customers. Although UltraVPN lacks a variety of functions as some other alternatives, it is dependable and quick.

Key features Unlimited DevicesAd & malware blockerCookie pop-up blockerTwo-Factor Authentication24/7 support Tips to pick the best VPN

Concentrating on your main security requirements can help you find the best VPN. Are you going to broadcast anything? How can you be secure online? Playing a game? Have a look at the top tips below:

Connections: Many VPNs also limit you to connecting a specific number of devices at the same time. If you have multiple mobile devices, laptops, smart TVs or other hardware to protect, you will absolutely want to go for a provider that supports more simultaneous connections—or maybe has no limits at all.

Location: Picking a firm with multiple offices and applications for all devices is a nice place to start, but ultimately, the only thing that matters is whether it supports the places and devices you’ll truly use.

Features: If you place a high importance on watching films or TV online, check for a VPN that unblocks your preferred services, like Netflix or iPlayer. Users of torrents will naturally desire P2P support across as many locations as they can, as well as a reliable kill switch to protect their personal information and an enforced no-log practise to ensure that all of their online actions remain private.

Support: Looking at a VPN’s help page constitutes a single of the best methods to determine whether it is good (or terrible). Look for a lot of in-depth, well-written stuff which you think would be useful to you in any challenging scenarios you might encounter. Although it is not required, live chat help is also appreciated. Support through email can be unexpectedly quick, with some companies returning within minutes.

Price: Of course, there are financial considerations as well, but it is advised to prioritize utility. If cost is a major consideration, check out the following list of the best inexpensive VPNs and keep in mind that quality service does not always have to be sacrificed.

Simply said, find a VPN that can perform all you need it to. As you have gone through the above-mentioned list, so it’s better to choose the one from You can certainly employ pricing afterwards to narrow down the choices to an ultimate option.

 

FAQ’S – Best VPN Services

 

Q: What is the best VPN provider for privacy?

A: When it comes to ensuring top-notch privacy, FastestVPN stands out as a reliable choice. With its advanced encryption protocols, strict no-logs policy, and robust security features, FastestVPN offers a secure and anonymous browsing experience, safeguarding your online activities and personal data effectively. Trust FastestVPN to prioritize your privacy needs.

Q: What is the safest privacy VPN?

A: When it comes to prioritizing your privacy and security, FastestVPN stands as one of the safest options available. With its strong encryption protocols, strict no-logs policy, and advanced security features, FastestVPN ensures that your online activities remain confidential and protected. Trust FastestVPN as your go-to solution for a safe and private VPN experience.

Q: What is the most trusted no-log VPN?

A: FastestVPN is widely recognized as one of the most trusted no-log VPN providers. With their strict no-logs policy, FastestVPN ensures that your online activities remain completely private and confidential. You can trust FastestVPN to prioritize your anonymity and provide a reliable and secure VPN service without compromising your privacy.

Q: What features should I look for in a VPN Service for enhanced privacy and security?

A: When selecting a VPN service for enhanced privacy and security, look for features such as solid encryption protocols (e.g., AES-256), a strict no-logs policy, a wide range of server locations, DNS and IP leak protection, a kill switch, and support for multiple devices. Additionally, consider factors like connection speed, customer support, and reputation within the privacy community. Evaluating these features will help you choose a VPN service that best suits your privacy and security needs.

Featured Image Credit: Provided by the Author; Thank you!

Ali HasnainDigital Marketer/SEO Consultant

Ali Hasnain is a trend researcher by passion, senior digital marketing expert, and SEO Consultant at eWorldTrade and RetroCube. He contributes to trustworthy publications like Due, Hackernoon, eLearning industry, Dumblittleman, and many more. He leverages his experience to help SaaS products, influencers, local businesses, and eCommerce brands grow their traffic, leads, sales, and authority.

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An ENT Explains Pineapple Tongue Irritation

One bite of pineapple and my fate is usually sealed: For the next several hours, my tongue will feel like the texture of sandpaper and has a (rather uncomfortable) tingly sensation. Despite the discomfort, what’s comforting to know is that I’m definitely not alone—tons of folks have taken to social media to express their concerns over a similar experience.

I’ll be frank: In the past, I’ve chalked up my pineapple-induced mouth woes to nothing more than a very mild allergy of some sort (since my symptoms clear up on their own after a while). However, Inna A. Husain, MD, the medical director of laryngology at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, says an allergy is likely not the case.

While pineapple allergies are possible, they’re  extremely rare. So, why do so many people experience discomfort when noshing on this tropical fruit? Dr. Husain explains it’s simple: Enzymes. Ahead we uncover the root cause of ‘pineapple tongue’ discomfort and the best way to avoid it.

Why pineapple can cause mouth and tongue irritation

According to Dr. Husain, pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain, which is likely the main culprit behind most pineapple-related mouth and tongue irritation. “Bromelain is a combination of two proteases. For context, a protease is a special type of enzyme that breaks down protein. This is why pineapple can be a great meat tenderizer,” Dr. Husain says. Unfortunately, pineapple can cause a similar reaction in the mouth. “Bromelain also breaks down protein found in the lining of your mouth, known as mucosa,” she adds, which results in the irritation so many of us often experience.

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But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. In addition to the bromelain, Dr. Husain points out that pineapples are also naturally acidic, which can further exacerbate irritation. “Pineapple is acidic, so the thought is that the bromelain breaks down the mucosal barrier, which causes the acid in pineapple to be more irritating,” she says. Dr. Husain says the combination of the two is what sets pineapple apart from other fruits. (For example, although papayas also contain bromelain, they’re not as acidic, which is why most won’t experience the same tingling sensation as they do with pineapple.)

That said, there’s no denying that all this talk about bromelain-induced burning or itchiness in the mouth and throat can sound exceptionally alarming. However, Dr. Husain reassures us that it isn’t too much cause for concern (at least not in most cases). “Don’t worry. The amount of damage that is happening is mild, and the tissue will already start healing itself after the consumption of the pineapple. This is why most of the time, the sensation is brief,” she says.

“Don’t worry. The amount of damage that is happening is mild, and the tissue will already start healing itself after the consumption of the pineapple. This is why most of the time, the sensation is brief.”

But it’s worth noting that although (we reiterate) pineapple allergies are rare, they still are possible. A pineapple allergy can result in more severe symptoms like excessive irritation in the mouth, rashes, swelling, or—in severe cases—anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition that needs urgent medical attention. If you believe you’re experiencing a pineapple allergy, it’s best to consult with a medical professional on how to treat it.

@charlotte_chew Pineapple lover will loves these tips. Who can resist that juicy sweet refreshing pineapple! #charlottechew #charlottechewnutritionist #welcome2023 #learnontiktok #TikTokGuru #CNYBazaar2023 ♬ original sound – tuckerbudzyn

How to prevent pineapple tongue irritation

Although there’s no avoiding bromelain in pineapples, Dr. Husain points out that the highest concentration of the enzyme is found in the stem of the pineapple. As such, steering clear of consuming the stems might help mitigate the reaction. But it isn’t foolproof, nor the most productive or effective way to avoid pineapple-induced irritation.

Dr. Husain recommends rubbing salt on pineapple or soaking it in salt water (and rinsing before consumption). Cooking pineapple can also reduce the irritation caused by enzymes. Lastly, she says pairing the acidic fruit with dairy-based products, like cream or yogurt, can help neutralize the acid. Pineapples are officially back on the menu!

Anyone up for a dairy-free pineapple ginger Dole Whip dessert:



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LSU Professor Allegedly Leaves Unhinged Voicemail and Wishes Death on State Senator Who Voted to Ban Sex Changes for Minors (AUDIO) | The Gateway Pundit

On Tuesday, the Louisiana legislature voted to override a veto on a bill that would ban hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors. 

Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards previously vetoed the bill that was passed by the legislature in June.

The Republicans gained a supermajority in March when State Rep. Francis Thompson switched parties in the State House.  They did, however, fail to override two other bills that would have kept sexuality from being discussed in schools and the other from requiring teachers to use the pronouns assigned to a child at birth, according to Breitbart News.

This veto override really seemed to upset Louisiana State University’s Professor Marcus Venable, who allegedly left a very angry voicemail for an elected official that threatens death.  He calls Senator Mike Fesi a “big fat-headed mother f***er” and says he “can’t wait to read your name in the f***ing obituary.”

From the recording:

I just wanted to say ‘Congratulations, to our State Senator, Big Mike Fesi.   And that f***ing moron voted to make things worse for people who are already suffering.  You fat f***ing piece of sh*t.  You did not produce any goddamn evidence to support the claims you made about people being harmed by transgender care yet we’ve had tons of empirical evidence telling us there’s an increased suicide risk for people who don’t get this care.  So you, you big fat headed mother f***er, I can’t wait to read your name in the f***ing obituary.  I will make a goddamn martini made from the tears of your butthurt conservatives when we put your f***ing ass in the ground you fat f***ing useless piece of sh*t.  F*** you.  I hope you have a terrible day.  Go f*** yourselfffffff.

Below is the alleged voicemail left by Venable:

UNHINGED: This is a voicemail that was sent to Louisiana State Senator @Sen_BigMikeFesi after he voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto on the bill to ban child sex changes in which @LSU Professor Marcus Venable calls him a “fat fucking piece of shit” and says “I can’t… pic.twitter.com/IEKisCF6mg

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 20, 2023

While there is no “Marcus Venable” in the LSU faculty directory, there is a “Marcus Venable” listed as a 2017-2018 “cohort” in the Department of Sociology at LSU.  He’s also listed as a “Professor in the Sociology Department” of LSU.  Screenshots of comments left by students for “Marcus Venable” on ratemyprofessors.com show that he seems to be quite political and vulgar.  One student said “he always tries to force his opinions on people” while another says “he uses sexual assault as an example for literally everything”.  Another claim is that he can “make you go insane” if you internally disagree with his politics.  That same student goes on to say “he curses the whole class as he forces his leftists political opinions on you.”  That same student says his class is the class to take because “attending class will get you an A.”

LSU’s 2017-2018 Cohorts listing of Venables show that his interests are “criminology, sexual assault, sex-offender recidivism, sex-offender registries”.

According to Price, Senator Fesi reported it to the Sheriff who was able to track the number down.  We have reached out to both Senator Fesi and Professor Venable for comment.  They had not responded at the time of publishing but we will update if they do.

 

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