Weekly output: Dashlane, T-Mobile home 5G, AI skepticism at Black Hat, the Fourth Amendment at Black Hat, Black Hat’s network, AOL dial-up

Black Hat is one of the more exhausting and intimidating events that I cover. That’s not because I stress over the risk of my devices getting compromised, but because almost all of its two-day schedule is blocked out by timeslots featuring from nine to 11 briefings each. That increases the odds of my missing something good and reduces the time in which I can write up what I do see.

Over at Patreon, I explained to readers why I decided not to stick around Vegas for another couple of days to cover the DEF CON security conference, somewhat to my dismay.

8/6/2025: Dashlane to Delete Its Free Tier of Service, PCMag

I wrote this Monday afternoon off an embargoed copy of Dashlane’s press release after getting further input from a publicist on two points.

8/6/2025: T-Mobile Tweaks 5G Home Internet to Add Benefits (and Fine-Print Fees), PCMag

An editor suggested I take a look at the T-Mobile announcement heralding some added perks to its fixed-wireless service, then I noticed a change in the fine print around its prices. That made this much more interesting to write about.

8/7/2025: This AI Skeptic Thinks AI Is Bringing Human Brains Down to Its Level, PCMag

After catching the tail end of a panel featuring Gary Marcus at Web Summit Vancouver, I made sure to watch his talk at Black Hat and found that an excellent use of my time.

8/8/2025: ACLU Expert: Please Don’t Make Bulk Snooping by Governments Easier, PCMag

Jennifer Granick’s talk was another one I’d put on my to-watch list after first looking over Black Hat’s schedule. I wish I shared her optimism that more companies would be inspired to adopt data-minimization practices to avoid aiding government surveillance.

8/9/2025: Inside Black Hat’s Network Security Operation: Humans Are Still a Problem, PCMag

After several years of writing about the penultimate panel in which Black Hat network admins relate how the event’s network worked and how badly some attendees behaved on it, I had the chance to quiz two of these experts beforehand. I should have done that sooner!

8/9/2025: End of an E-Era: AOL to End Dial-Up Internet Access, PCMag

I did not plan on working Saturday morning after the cognitive overload of Black Hat, but seeing tech journalist Ernie Smith’s Bluesky post highlighting the impending demise of AOL’s dial-up access left me feeling compelled as a Gen Xer to write about it. Unfortunately, my sleep debt may have caught up with me when I left two cringe-inducing typos in the same snakebit paragraph: spelling “America Online” as “American Online” and writing that the company’s 15th birthday happened in 2020, not 2000.

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