Today in Tech News Digest, the #YesAllWomen hashtag, the LulzSec FBI informant, the release of Watch Dogs, VirusTotal Uploader on OS X, Oculus Rift gets a Second Life, Any.do on the Web, and kids react to old computers.

#YesAllWomen Shows Power Of Hashtags

#YesAllWomen because, as a man, I have never been harassed on the street, but my female friends are harassed on a daily basis.

— Justin Dennis (@JustinDennis4) May 26, 2014

The #YesAllWomen hashtag has been all over social media sites (particularly Twitter) for the last couple of days. It's a rather controversial hashtag which has been misunderstood by some, but it shows the power that hashtags have to bring certain issues to mainstream attention.

Misogyny, sexism, and the objectification of women are, unfortunately, everyday occurrences. It is by no means all men that are responsible, but enough are involved that all women are affected in some way by the issue. Which is what the #YesAllWomen hashtag is all about.

It grew in popularity as a result of the mass killing in California by Elliot Rodger, who had been expressing overtly misogynistic views in YouTube videos and forums for several months ahead of the attack.

The strange wording of the #YesAllWomen hashtag is due to it being a response to #NotAllMen, which was used to make it clear that not all men regard women in a negative way. While that is clearly true, it makes little difference to women who have to face misogyny, sexism, and/or sexual objectification on a daily basis.

There have been plenty of hashtags that haven't gone to plan, but #YesAllWomen is one that most certainly has done.

LulzSec Hacker Helped The FBI

The ultimate get out of jail free card: become a star snitch for the government. Reminds me of Justin Petersen. http://t.co/x8H4E1SRig

— Kevin Mitnick (@kevinmitnick) May 26, 2014

The former leader of LulzSec, Hector Xavier Monsegur AKA Sabu, is due to be sentenced in New York today for his alleged hacking of companies including Sony, Nintendo, and Fox Television. However, it's thought Sabu will be let off lightly as a result of helping the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following his arrest in June 2011.

The level of assistance Sabu gave to the FBI has emerged from court documents filed ahead of his sentencing. It's alleged that his "co-operation against significant cybercriminals" saw hackers affiliated with Anonymous, LulzSec and Internet Feds arrested and imprisoned. He also helped "disrupt or prevent at least 300 separate computer hacks" on major U.S. targets.

As a result, prosecutors are pushing for Sabu's sentence to be limited to "time served," which would see him walk free having already spent seven months in jail. Sentencing guidelines suggest Sabu could have faced between 21 years and 26 years in prison.

Watch Dogs Released Worldwide

http://youtu.be/e_q-s3QdmU8

Watch Dogs has been released worldwide for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360, with a Wii U version due later in the year. This game is regarded as one of the most-anticipated titles of 2014, but early reviews have been somewhat mixed, though mostly positive.

With a Grand Theft Auto-baiting open-world environment and the ability to hack into all manner of electronic equipment, Watch Dogs should appeal to geeks everywhere.

Google Brings VirusTotal Uploader To OS X

I guess it’s starting to become necessary to have anti virus software on OS X, too.

— C418 (@C418) February 28, 2014

Google has brought its VirusTotal Uploader to OS X, giving Mac owners the opportunity to scan suspicious files. VirusTotal Uploader is already popular on Windows, but Mac users are now being afforded the same layer of protection against malware.

Of course, some Mac owners will resent the implication that their machines are susceptible to viruses, but OS X is being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Google, which acquired VirusTotal in 2012, is merely responding to that growing threat.

Second Life Supports Oculus Rift

http://youtu.be/gWE91IB9QMI

Virtual world simulator Second Life -- which is still a thing, apparently -- has added support for the Oculus Rift VR headset. This means Second Life players can, once they download the Second Life Viewer for Windows, Mac or Linux, see their virtual environments through the eyes of their avatar. Which can be be added to our list of awesome demos showing the power of the Oculus Rift.

Any.do Launches As A Web Application

Woah there's an @AnyDO web interface?! Life just got more awesome. http://t.co/ogLXcn0ldE

— Mike Tannenbaum (@TheRoyalTbomb) May 22, 2014

Productivity app Any.do has launched as a Web application. Having started out on iOS and Android before launching as a Chrome extension, Any.do can now be accessed anywhere online. It's not yet perfect, but it is completely free, which should keep complaints to a minimum.

Kids React To Old Computers

http://youtu.be/PF7EpEnglgk

And finally, at the risk of sounding like a bitter old man, kids really don't know how lucky they are these days. This video, which sees kids reacting to old computers, is surely proof, as they moan about the user-unfriendliness of command lines and floppy disks. Now, where did I leave my pipe and slippers?

Tech News Digest… Breaking News Into Bite-Sized Chunks.

Image Credit: Pete via Flickr