Rob Pegoraro<p><strong>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</strong></p><p><a href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/black-hat" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Black Hat</a> is one of the more exhausting and intimidating events that I cover. That’s not because I stress over <a href="https://robpegoraro.com/2018/08/10/black-hat-priorities-dont-get-pwned-do-get-work-done/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">the risk of my devices getting compromised</a>, but because almost all of its <a href="https://www.blackhat.com/us-25/briefings/schedule" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">two-day schedule</a> 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.</p><p>Over at Patreon, I explained to readers <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/def-con-is-once-135433784?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">why I decided not to stick around Vegas for another couple of days to cover the DEF CON security conference</a>, somewhat to my dismay.</p><p>8/6/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/dashlane-to-delete-its-free-tier-of-service" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Dashlane to Delete Its Free Tier of Service</a>, PCMag</p><p>I wrote this Monday afternoon off an embargoed copy of Dashlane’s press release after getting further input from a publicist on two points.</p><p>8/6/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/t-mobile-tweaks-5g-home-internet-to-add-benefits-and-fine-print-fees" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">T-Mobile Tweaks 5G Home Internet to Add Benefits (and Fine-Print Fees)</a>, PCMag</p><p>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.</p><p><a href="https://robpegoraro.com/?attachment_id=26717" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a>8/7/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/skeptic-thinks-ai-bringing-human-brains-down-to-its-level-black-hat-2025" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">This AI Skeptic Thinks AI Is Bringing Human Brains Down to Its Level</a>, PCMag</p><p>After catching the tail end of a panel featuring Gary Marcus at <a href="https://robpegoraro.com/2025/05/30/american-apologies-on-canadian-soil/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Web Summit Vancouver</a>, I made sure to watch his talk at Black Hat and found that an excellent use of my time.</p><p>8/8/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/aclu-expert-dont-make-bulk-snooping-by-governments-easier-black-hat-2025" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">ACLU Expert: Please Don’t Make Bulk Snooping by Governments Easier</a>, PCMag</p><p>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.</p><p>8/9/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/inside-black-hat-2025-network-security-operation-humans-are-still-a-problem" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Inside Black Hat’s Network Security Operation: Humans Are Still a Problem</a>, PCMag</p><p>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!</p><p>8/9/2025: <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/end-of-an-e-era-aol-to-end-dial-up-internet-access" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">End of an E-Era: AOL to End Dial-Up Internet Access</a>, PCMag</p><p>I did not plan on working Saturday morning after the cognitive overload of Black Hat, but seeing tech journalist Ernie Smith’s <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/ernie.tedium.co/post/3lvwjugziec2f" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bluesky post highlighting the impending demise of AOL’s dial-up access</a> 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.</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/aclu/" target="_blank">#ACLU</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/ai/" target="_blank">#AI</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/america-online-2/" target="_blank">#AmericaOnline</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/aol/" target="_blank">#AOL</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/black-hat/" target="_blank">#BlackHat</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/black-hat-noc/" target="_blank">#BlackHatNOC</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/cybersecurity/" target="_blank">#cybersecurity</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/dial-up/" target="_blank">#dialUp</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/fourth-amendment/" target="_blank">#FourthAmendment</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/gary-marcus/" target="_blank">#GaryMarcus</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/information-security/" target="_blank">#informationSecurity</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/infosec/" target="_blank">#infosec</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/jennifer-granick/" target="_blank">#JenniferGranick</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/las-vegas/" target="_blank">#LasVegas</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/t-mobile-fixed-wireless/" target="_blank">#TMobileFixedWireless</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/t-mobile-home-5g/" target="_blank">#TMobileHome5G</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/tech-privacy/" target="_blank">#techPrivacy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://robpegoraro.com/tag/vegas/" target="_blank">#Vegas</a></p>