Editor’s Note: Brave is an open-source, privacy-centered browser designed to block trackers and malware. It leverages blockchain technology to anonymously track user attention securely and rewards publishers accordingly. It has caused many to change the way they think about online privacy and advertising. And with the new integration with one of the world’s most recognized archival tools, the Wayback Machine, it may change the way data discovery and legal discovery professionals search archived web pages. The following extracts provide information on and considerations for this new integration
Extract from an article by Andrew Heinzman from ReviewGeek
Brave Browser Integrates Wayback Machine to Automatically Find Deleted Web Pages
Tired of manually punching links into the Wayback Machine? As part of its newest update, the Brave desktop browser will automatically look up archived web pages when it encounters a broken or deleted website.
The Wayback Machine is, of course, one of the internet’s greatest archival tools. It’s like a museum for old or broken websites, and it’s used nearly every day by hobbyists, journalists, and the US judicial system. Its newfound integration in the Brave browser feels like an obvious choice, as both tools are meant to change how we use the internet.
But how does this Wayback Machine integration work? It’s simple, when the Brave browser detects that a web page is broken (through an error like “404 Not Found,” 408, 410, 451, 500, 502, etc), it prompts you to “Check for a Saved Version” of the website through the Wayback Machine. If any archived pages are available, they’re pulled up in your browser automatically.
Extract from an article by Jon Porter from The Verge
Brave Browser Now Automatically Points to Wayback Machine on 404
The Brave web browser can now automatically detect when a webpage is unavailable and will offer to search the Wayback Machine for a backup, the Internet Archive has announced. Although the 404 error code is the most well known, the announcement notes that the feature also works for 408, 410, 451, 500, 502, 503, 504, 509, 520, 521, 523, 524, 525, and 526 errors.
If you visit a missing page (such as this one) using Brave then the browser will generate a notification that reads “Sorry, that page is missing. Do you want to check if a saved version is available on the Wayback Machine?” Clicking the prompt takes you to an archived version of the page, where you can then scroll through different snapshots of the page taken over time. It makes it easier to find information that’s disappeared from the internet, regardless of whether it’s been deliberately removed or has just disappeared by accident.
Read the complete article at Brave Browser Now Automatically Points to Wayback Machine on 404
Extract from an article by Kieren McCarthy from The Register
Archive.org’s Wayback Machine is Legit Legal Evidence, US Appeals Court Judges Rule
Analysis: The Wayback Machine’s archive of webpages is legitimate evidence that may be used in litigation, a US appeals court has decided.
The second circuit ruling supports a similar one from the third circuit – and, taken together, the decisions could pave the way for the Internet Archive’s library of webpages to be considered evidence for countless future trials.
United States v. Gasperini, Docket No. 17-2479-cr (2d Cir. Jul. 2, 2018)
Wayback-Machine-Gasperini-Second-Circuit-Decision
The second circuit, based in New York, was asked over the summer to review an appeal by an Italian computer hacker in which he sought to exclude screenshots of websites run by him that tied him to a virus and botnet he was ultimately convicted over. Prosecutors had taken screenshots of his webpages from the Internet Archive and used them as trial evidence – and he wanted the files thrown out.
Extract from an article by Mark Graham from the Internet Archive
Brave Browser and the Wayback Machine: Working Together to Help Make the Web More Useful and Reliable
The Web just got a little bit more reliable.
Available today, starting with version 1.4 of its desktop browser, Brave has added a 404 detection system, with an automated Wayback Machine lookup process to its desktop browser.
By default, it now offers users one-click access to archived versions of Web pages that might otherwise not be available. Specifically we are checking for 14 HTTP error codes in addition to the 404 (page not found) condition, including: 408, 410, 451, 500, 502, 503, 504, 509, 520, 521, 523, 524, 525, and 526.
Additional Reading
Source: ComplexDiscovery