Hacker News
1Claude Cowork exfiltrates files
- Researchers demonstrated a vulnerability in Anthropic's Claude Cowork that allows attackers to steal user files through prompt injection. The attack exploits Claude's trusted access to Anthropic's API to exfiltrate confidential documents without user approval, raising concerns about security risks for non-technical users.
File type perception and security
Discussion about how different file types (.docx, .md, .pdf) are perceived as safe or suspicious by various user groups. Programmers find .md files less suspicious while average office workers trust .docx files more, creating different attack vectors for malicious actors.API key revocation via GitHub scanning
Users discuss a technique to automatically revoke malicious API keys by posting them to GitHub repos, leveraging Anthropic's partnership with GitHub's secret scanning service to instantly disable compromised keys used by attackers.AI agent security architecture
Debate over moving from implicit "skills" system to explicit, statically registered tools with proper sandboxing and user approval. Discussion covers the fundamental challenge of LLMs treating all input equally without distinguishing context from commands.
2The URL shortener that makes your links look as suspicious as possible
- A URL shortener service that intentionally creates suspicious-looking shortened links instead of trustworthy ones, designed to make normal links appear creepy or untrustworthy, with functionality to copy the generated suspicious URLs to clipboard.
LLM and AI bot blocking utility
Users discovered that suspicious-looking URLs from this service can block LLM agents and AI bots from traversing links, with some models refusing to follow them while others eagerly visit. This sparked discussion about protecting personal sites from AI scraping.Browser security warnings and filtering
The service triggers security warnings in Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers/services, with some URLs being blocked by Google Safe Browsing and DNS filters due to their suspicious appearance, making them actually dangerous to share.Repetitive nature of similar projects
Discussion about why the same "suspicious URL" concept keeps being reimplemented when the original ShadyURL and similar services existed before, questioning the value of redoing identical jokes versus creating original variations.
3The Palantir app helping ICE raids in Minneapolis
- Palantir has developed a tool for ICE that creates maps of potential deportation targets, provides personal dossiers, and assigns confidence scores for current addresses. The system uses data from HHS and other sources to help ICE locate areas with high concentrations of people they might detain.
Palantir employee responsibility
Intense debate over whether Palantir workers bear moral responsibility for ICE operations. Some argue employees have "blood on their hands" and should quit, while defenders cite job security concerns and challenge comparisons to generic software tools like Microsoft Office.American public response to authoritarianism
International observers question why Americans aren't rioting against ICE violence. Responses cite political division (50% support ICE), armed agents creating lethal risks, geographic distance making events feel remote, and fear that riots would justify military intervention.ICE operational conduct in Minneapolis
Reports detail ICE agents attacking civilians, including shooting at vehicles, detaining real estate agents, running teachers off roads, and firing projectiles at pedestrians. Multiple instances cited of violence against citizens and non-violent observers.
4Apple is fighting for TSMC capacity as Nvidia takes center stage
- TSMC CEO CC Wei informed Apple of significant price increases during an August visit, as the iPhone maker now competes for production capacity amid the AI boom. Nvidia likely overtook Apple as TSMC's largest client in 2024, driven by massive AI chip demand while smartphone growth plateaued. TSMC's revenue jumped 36% to $122 billion with gross margins reaching 62.3%. While Apple offers manufacturing stability across multiple product lines, Nvidia's concentrated high-end chip orders currently dominate. TSMC is cautiously expanding capacity, investing $52-56 billion in 2025, as it balances serving both tech giants while managing the risks of potential AI demand fluctuations.
Apple vs Nvidia foundry dynamics
Discussion centers on Apple being TSMC's stable, long-term "anchor tenant" with predictable smartphone demand versus Nvidia's current AI boom requiring cutting-edge nodes. Debate covers whether Apple will regain pricing power when AI capex flattens around 2027.Apple's supplier relationship strategy
Users debate Apple's reputation for being tough on suppliers despite their loyalty, comparing them unfavorably to companies like Costco. Discussion includes Apple's history of financially backing suppliers for priority access and dropping underperformers.TSMC capacity allocation and market dynamics
Commentary on how foundries manage competing demands from major customers, with Nvidia currently willing to pay premium prices while data center operators resist long-term commitments despite demanding faster expansion.
525 Years of Wikipedia
- Wikipedia launched on January 15, 2001 as a free encyclopedia written by volunteers. It has grown to 65+ million articles in over 300 languages, viewed nearly 15 billion times monthly. Built on five core pillars including neutrality and open editing, Wikipedia relies on volunteer editors who fact-check content and cite reliable sources. Despite facing challenges like misinformation and government censorship, it remains one of the world's most-visited websites, continuously evolving its technology and expanding knowledge coverage through collaborative community efforts.
Wikipedia's bias and neutrality concerns
Users debate Wikipedia's political bias, particularly "atlanticist" perspectives in geopolitical content. Examples include different treatment of circumcision across language versions and concerns about partisan content in politics-related articles.Jimmy Wales vs Larry Sanger co-founder dispute
Discussion centers on Wales allegedly airbrushing co-founder Larry Sanger from Wikipedia's founding story, with users citing evidence of Sanger's key contributions and Wales' uncomfortable reactions when questioned about it.Wikipedia's impact and value
Users celebrate Wikipedia as one of the internet's greatest achievements, comparing it to open source successes like Linux and Apache, while acknowledging it as an incredible example of global knowledge cooperation.
6So, you’ve hit an age gate. What now?
- EFF opposes age verification mandates but provides guidance for users who must comply with existing requirements. The guide recommends submitting minimal data and evaluates verification methods across platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok based on data requirements, access, retention, audits, and visibility. Face scans and ID uploads carry different privacy risks, with facial estimation being less accurate for marginalized groups and document verification exposing sensitive personal information to potential breaches.
Facial verification concerns and privacy risks
Parents report kids quitting Roblox due to sketchy facial age checks, with children uploading stock photos to bypass verification. Concerns raised about normalizing photo uploads for children and creating security vulnerabilities for phishing attacks.Age verification legislation and implementation problems
Discussion of laws forcing companies to verify user ages, with skepticism about whether platforms actually need facial data or just want more user information. Debate over government surveillance vs. child protection motivations.Technical workarounds and privacy-preserving alternatives
Users suggest VPNs, blocking verification prompts, and privacy-preserving identity services. Discussion of potential business models for third-party age verification that doesn't expose personal data to platforms.
7Find a pub that needs you
- A website called "Find A Pub That Needs You" helps people locate struggling local pubs that need customer support due to government rate changes. The site features a "Fucked Pub Index" that uses pub rateable value data to identify which pubs most urgently need patronage, encouraging people to visit and buy drinks to help keep these establishments afloat while waiting for potential government relief.
UK postcode structure and privacy concerns
Discussion of how UK postcodes work (outward vs inward codes), privacy implications of full postcodes identifying specific buildings, and appreciation for sites accepting partial postcodes. Includes anecdotes about unique postcodes and comparisons to US ZIP codes.Business rates tax increases affecting pubs
Focus on dramatic business rate increases (up to 821% for some pubs) following removal of pandemic discounts and property revaluations. Discussion includes low profit margins on beer sales, government tax collection vs pub profits, and debate over taxation vs subsidies.Pub closures and cultural significance
Examination of suspicious pub fires, planning constraints preventing redevelopment, and pubs as important social institutions. Discussion covers the cultural value of historic pubs and the broader decline of traditional British pub culture.
8Ask HN: How are you doing RAG locally?
- Someone is asking about local RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) implementations with minimal dependencies for internal code and complex documents, wondering what approaches others use such as vector databases, semantic search, knowledge graphs, or hypergraphs.
Vector embeddings vs traditional search
Discussion on whether to use vector embeddings or traditional methods like BM25+trigrams for code search. Many contributors argue that embeddings are slow and less effective for code, while BM25 provides better results with faster response times.Simple database solutions for RAG
Contributors share experiences using SQLite, PostgreSQL with pgvector, and other lightweight database solutions for RAG implementations. Many found that simple approaches like SQLite FTS5 or basic tagging systems work surprisingly well for their use cases.Hybrid search approaches and tooling
Discussion of combining different search methods (semantic, BM25, hybrid) and various tools/libraries for implementing RAG systems. Contributors share specific implementations, embedding models, and performance comparisons across different approaches.
9ASCII Clouds
- This appears to be a configuration interface for generating animated visual effects using cellular patterns and noise. The settings control wave motion, timing, visual appearance through color adjustments and vignette effects, and character-based glyph displays at various threshold levels.
Technical implementation details
Discussion centers on the underlying algorithms used - Simplex noise and domain warping techniques. Users share technical resources, alternative implementations using shaders, and debate whether colors defeat the purpose of ASCII art.Author engagement and feedback
The project author actively responds throughout the thread, sharing implementation details, acknowledging feedback about the tool's naming, and promoting social media accounts for future work updates.Related projects and comparisons
Users share similar ASCII art projects they've created or discovered, including vintage implementations, alternative tools, and thematically related visual effects from different time periods.