<s>
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
browser	B-Protocol
extension	I-Protocol
intended	O
to	O
help	O
viewers	O
spot	O
fake	O
news	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
altered	O
or	O
misleadingly	O
used	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
currently	O
available	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
and	O
Opera	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
RoBhat	O
Labs	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
founded	O
by	O
two	O
undergraduates	O
at	O
University	O
of	O
California	O
,	O
Berkeley	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
previously	O
developed	O
software	O
that	O
identified	O
bot	B-Protocol
accounts	I-Protocol
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
creators	O
liken	O
it	O
to	O
antivirus	B-Application
for	O
Internet	O
users	O
 '	O
news	B-Application
feeds	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
extension	B-Protocol
works	O
by	O
comparing	O
images	O
that	O
appear	O
in	O
the	O
browser	O
to	O
a	O
database	O
of	O
images	O
culled	O
from	O
a	O
hundred	O
trusted	O
news	O
or	O
fact-checking	O
sites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Time	O
and	O
Snopes.com	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
has	O
already	O
received	O
recognition	O
by	O
universities	O
who	O
provide	O
resources	O
to	O
students	O
on	O
how	O
to	O
avoid	O
fake	O
news	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Akron	O
School	O
of	O
Law	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
has	O
been	O
well-received	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
limited	O
effectiveness	O
and	O
for	O
being	O
a	O
technological	O
solution	O
to	O
a	O
human	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neal	O
Krawetz	O
,	O
an	O
expert	O
in	O
network	O
security	O
and	O
image	O
analysis	O
,	O
has	O
gone	O
further	O
,	O
not	O
only	O
saying	O
that	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
does	O
not	O
come	O
anywhere	O
near	O
doing	O
what	O
it	O
claims	O
,	O
but	O
recommending	O
against	O
installing	O
it	O
due	O
to	O
privacy	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
,	O
NewsBot	O
,	O
was	O
an	O
app	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
that	O
attempts	O
to	O
identify	O
the	O
political	O
leanings	O
in	O
a	O
news	O
story	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
,	O
BotCheck.me,	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
an	O
extension	B-Protocol
for	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
machine	O
learning	O
and	O
natural	B-Language
language	I-Language
processing	I-Language
to	O
assess	O
the	O
probability	O
that	O
a	O
Twitter	B-Application
account	I-Application
is	O
a	O
bot	O
spreading	O
political	O
propaganda	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
who	O
installed	O
it	O
saw	O
a	O
button	O
on	O
every	O
Twitter	B-Application
account	I-Application
's	O
page	O
that	O
they	O
could	O
click	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
probability	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
bot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
that	O
problem	O
,	O
Bhat	O
and	O
Phadte	O
developed	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
enabled	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
can	O
hover	O
their	O
mouse	O
over	O
a	O
photograph	O
;	O
it	O
will	O
then	O
be	O
compared	O
to	O
others	O
in	O
a	O
data	B-Application
base	I-Application
of	O
hashes	B-Error_Name
of	O
all	O
the	O
images	O
on	O
every	O
page	O
any	O
browser	O
with	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
has	O
visited	O
and	O
those	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
a	O
hundred	O
websites	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
trusted	O
sources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RoBhat	O
believes	O
that	O
if	O
it	O
can	O
get	O
several	O
hundred	O
thousand	O
users	O
to	O
install	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
it	O
will	O
,	O
through	O
this	O
method	O
,	O
accumulate	O
a	O
data	B-Application
base	I-Application
of	O
a	O
hundred	O
billion	O
images	O
within	O
a	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
has	O
done	O
those	O
comparisons	O
and	O
searches	O
,	O
it	O
will	O
then	O
place	O
an	O
icon	O
at	O
the	O
corner	O
:	O
a	O
check	O
mark	O
if	O
the	O
image	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
genuine	O
,	O
a	O
warning	O
sign	O
if	O
it	O
might	O
be	O
suspect	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
X	O
if	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
identified	O
elsewhere	O
as	O
altered	O
;	O
in	O
the	O
latter	O
instance	O
it	O
also	O
shows	O
the	O
original	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RoBhat	O
's	O
founders	O
introduced	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
at	O
the	O
Aspen	O
Ideas	O
Festival	O
in	O
June	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
only	O
available	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	I-Application
;	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
news	O
coverage	O
of	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
was	O
positive	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
expressing	O
approval	O
of	O
the	O
idea	O
behind	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
,	O
even	O
some	O
of	O
those	O
reviewers	O
were	O
skeptical	O
that	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
(	O
and	O
some	O
other	O
competing	O
products	O
)	O
could	O
solve	O
the	O
problem	O
all	O
by	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
It	O
's	O
a	O
bit	O
of	O
a	O
leap	O
to	O
expect	O
someone	O
whose	O
main	O
window	O
to	O
the	O
internet	O
is	O
Facebook	B-Application
to	O
take	O
the	O
additional	O
step	O
of	O
installing	O
a	O
fact-checking	O
plug-in.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Nor	O
was	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
available	O
for	O
any	O
mobile	O
platform	O
,	O
although	O
RoBhat	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
that	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
With	O
these	O
publications	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
circle	O
of	O
trust	O
,	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
's	O
effectiveness	O
may	O
be	O
blunted	O
before	O
it	O
can	O
make	O
a	O
difference	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
perception	O
of	O
who	O
they	O
're	O
getting	O
their	O
news	O
from	O
"	O
,	O
The	O
Verge	O
wrote	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
who	O
had	O
chosen	O
to	O
trust	O
only	O
those	O
sites	O
considered	O
dubious	O
,	O
he	O
had	O
told	O
The	O
Atlantic	O
when	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
was	O
presented	O
at	O
Aspen	O
,	O
would	O
eventually	O
notice	O
that	O
the	O
news	O
from	O
those	O
sites	O
conflicted	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
might	O
thus	O
start	O
to	O
doubt	O
their	O
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
he	O
allowed	O
,	O
if	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
started	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
community	O
that	O
elevated	O
less	O
reliable	O
news	O
outlets	O
to	O
a	O
position	O
of	O
high	O
trust	O
,	O
RoBhat	O
would	O
update	O
its	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
responded	O
to	O
this	O
criticism	O
in	O
The	O
Verges	O
story	O
on	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
by	O
saying	O
that	O
news	O
outlets	O
with	O
contrasting	O
political	O
viewpoints	O
nevertheless	O
often	O
agree	O
on	O
the	O
basic	O
facts	O
of	O
stories	O
they	O
report	O
on	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
unlikely	O
that	O
such	O
an	O
echo	O
chamber	O
would	O
develop	O
among	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
's	O
user	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bhat	O
himself	O
acknowledged	O
to	O
Wired	O
another	O
flaw	O
,	O
a	O
limitation	O
resulting	O
from	O
the	O
data	B-Application
base	I-Application
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
uses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
encounters	O
a	O
picture	O
that	O
no	O
other	O
user	O
with	O
it	O
enabled	O
has	O
seen	O
,	O
it	O
cannot	O
make	O
any	O
call	O
on	O
the	O
image	O
's	O
authenticity	O
and	O
will	O
mark	O
it	O
as	O
genuine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
he	O
considered	O
that	O
a	O
small	O
problem	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
images	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
aims	O
to	O
spot	O
are	O
those	O
that	O
spread	O
virally	O
,	O
meaning	O
many	O
people	O
will	O
be	O
looking	O
at	O
them	O
in	O
a	O
short	O
period	O
of	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Verge	O
also	O
tested	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
at	O
doing	O
what	O
it	O
was	O
supposed	O
to	O
do	O
and	O
found	O
it	O
came	O
up	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
easily	O
recognized	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
circulated	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
image	O
,	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
similarly	O
flag	O
variants	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
also	O
widely	O
circulated	O
on	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
cropped	O
or	O
were	O
screenshots	B-Application
of	O
the	O
image	O
taken	O
from	O
elsewhere	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
even	O
less	O
successful	O
with	O
the	O
González	O
image	O
,	O
recognizing	O
no	O
variant	O
,	O
not	O
even	O
screenshots	B-Application
on	O
the	O
Snopes	O
page	O
debunking	O
the	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
his	O
blog	O
,	O
Hacker	O
Factor	O
,	O
Neal	O
Krawetz	O
,	O
an	O
expert	O
in	O
network	O
security	O
and	O
image	O
analysis	O
who	O
operates	O
the	O
FotoForensics.com	O
website	O
,	O
took	O
a	O
very	O
negative	O
view	O
of	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Krawetz	O
excoriated	O
other	O
publications	O
that	O
had	O
written	O
positively	O
about	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
,	O
suggesting	O
they	O
had	O
only	O
rewritten	O
the	O
press	O
release	O
announcing	O
its	O
release	O
instead	O
of	O
downloading	O
it	O
and	O
reviewing	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Krawetz	O
reiterated	O
the	O
criticism	O
that	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
's	O
reliance	O
on	O
crowdsourcing	O
for	O
suspect	O
images	O
both	O
presented	O
an	O
easy	O
avenue	O
for	O
an	O
organized	O
attack	O
with	O
the	O
intent	O
of	O
subverting	O
its	O
intended	O
purpose	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
guarantee	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
favor	O
the	O
spread	O
of	O
accurate	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
tests	O
he	O
also	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
did	O
not	O
recognize	O
identical	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
image	O
when	O
it	O
encountered	O
them	O
on	O
different	O
pages	O
with	O
different	O
URLs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Krawetz	O
did	O
not	O
find	O
these	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
primary	O
reason	O
he	O
recommended	O
readers	O
"	O
stay	O
away	O
"	O
from	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
his	O
tests	O
,	O
the	O
developer	O
panel	O
on	O
Chrome	B-Application
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
extension	B-Protocol
was	O
querying	O
his	O
browser	O
for	O
the	O
URL	O
and	O
all	O
images	O
on	O
every	O
page	O
he	O
visited	O
to	O
store	O
in	O
RoBhat	O
's	O
own	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
,	O
he	O
noted	O
,	O
would	O
include	O
not	O
only	O
private	O
images	O
that	O
might	O
be	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
page	O
as	O
an	O
image	O
a	O
reader	O
was	O
querying	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
about	O
,	O
but	O
URLs	O
to	O
those	O
images	O
,	O
URLs	O
that	O
might	O
even	O
have	O
credentials	O
or	O
tokens	O
embedded	O
within	O
,	O
since	O
even	O
the	O
HTTPS	B-Protocol
protocol	O
would	O
not	O
prevent	O
them	O
from	O
being	O
passed	O
along	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
query	O
(	O
Krawetz	O
did	O
allow	O
that	O
SurfSafe	B-Operating_System
appeared	O
to	O
strip	O
out	O
those	O
credentials	O
from	O
URLs	O
of	O
its	O
stored	O
images	O
when	O
displaying	O
them	O
publicly	O
,	O
but	O
noted	O
that	O
in	O
turn	O
made	O
for	O
broken	O
links	O
should	O
users	O
try	O
to	O
visit	O
those	O
sites	O
to	O
assess	O
the	O
images	O
 '	O
authenticity	O
themselves	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
