How many versions of Windows have there been to date. Too many, Windows 1, Windows 2, Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 95a, Windows 95b, Windows 95c, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Server / Windows Home Server, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windoes 7. Are free anti virus programs as good as the paid versions? They perform the same function so they do protect you. Since you do not have to part with money they are probably better ..... you are protected but get to keep your money. Should I turn my computer off at night? Yes, you should. This will mean that you do not consume electricity so turning off makes a positive social contribution. Turning off also means that your computer will last longer but most people do not use a computer to the extent of its full life. How I can I see how long a web page is before I print? Use the Print Preview feature in your web browser. Click File and then click Print Preview. be sure to pay attention to the number of pages contained in the document where it says "page 1 of _______." What is a zip file? A computer file that contains one or more files are compressed for storage or transmission. The file extension for this type of file is "zip." What is a "Quickie"? A "Quickie" is a short question about General topics. Why does my computer clock lose time? The CMOS battery needs to be replaced. What does ASCII stand for? American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is the current standard for text encoding used by computers. Is Windows Complete?? If you run sfc /scannow from a terminal it will check if your key system files are present. Remove a virus. A very good idea. Perhaps the free on-line scan from Trend called HouseCall could help you. Google will show you the way. For complete help go to http://www.protonic.com/index.php?page=ask Does Excel worksheet have to be open to quickly update link. Your question has a number of different facets depending on what is a link. The following article may help you though ... http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327006 Hi, I have an Occigen monitor and want to use the intrgated speakers There should be no problem in doing this if you simply connect it to the Speaker output of the computer. If you already have speakers connected you can get a "Y" splitter at a local Radio Shack etc. How do I see the calendar in Windows? Right-click on the time on the task bar and then left click on "adjust Date/Time" options. How do I get a menu for Word 2007 that looks like the Word 2003 menu? Install and use a program named UBIT found here: http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/ What is a computer bug? It WAS actually a BUG that was found in a relay contact of an early computer causing a malfunction. However it has come to mean anything that causes a piece of hardware or software to malfunction. How does a computer virus spread? http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4579979_computer-virus-spread.html Int. Explorer will not play my .ppp files. -- I can save and the play. Details of ppp files are here http://filext.com/file-extension/ppp IE is not the right program to open them. What is an external hard drive? This is a normal hard drive but held in an enclosure which connects to the PC by a USB cable so the drive is always external to the computer. Is an Acer H243H LCD Monitor compatible with a Radeon 5570 video card? The monitor will work with just about any video card. My folders wont get smaller when I click.i am using Vista First step check for spyware infection. Use the free version of http://www.superantispyware.com/ If that does not help please open a detailed ticket ... How do I shut off the caps lock screen icon in windows 7? gateway pc The suggestions in this thread may assist you http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-desktop/caps-lock-notification-appears-on-the-screen-when/285a5edf-eb03-4e19-93c3-63e869486180 After upgrading IE i lost my tab for adding favorites You may need to open a ticket. Please try this first http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318378 If I uninstall Itunes will my ipod classic still work? Yes. Your iPod will still work just fine. You just cannot sync or manipulate your music until iTunes has been reinstalled. How can I get my mic to work on my laptop it was working before? Check that it is not muted in the sound settings. Check the sound device drivers. Perhaps open a detailed ticket? Will Photoshop 7 work with Mac 10.5? http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=603579 how do I give feedback? You will see a rating link on the ticket when it is closed. My hard disk --SATA 160GB -- is 5 year, do need to go for a new one? If it works and does not make any noises there is no need to get a new one. If you need further information please post a ticket at http://www.protonic.com/index.php?page=ask . How do I compress multiple files into one file? Use a file compression program to make an archive file. zip files are an example. A free program such as 7-zip will help http://7-zip.org/ How can I quickly increase or decrease the font size on a web page? This depends on the browser you are using. Holding the Windows key and moving the mouse wheel can quickly resize a page. See also http://www.ehow.com/how_4877692_adjust-browser-font-size.htm How do I fix the 2011 browser redirect virus? In the first instance use ComboFix http://download.cnet.com/Combofix/3000-8022_4-75221073.html Where is the internal antenna on my laptop? It is most likely internal to the screen near the top when it is unfolded. However depending on the brand and model it can be located elsewhere. When I am typing black line disappears have to use cursor to put it back Depending on the application you are using this may be caused by a setting called "Hide cursor (or pointer) while typing". This can be set in "Control Panel / Mouse" or as an application setting. Unable to Locate Component GDI32.Dll not found You may like to take a look at this thread .. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/itproxpsp/thread/7a771d00-d5e8-4422-8bda-1f78897c1023/ My 64-bit PC running 64-bit Win7 with 4GB mem shows 3.25GB usable, why? Please read this article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978610/ How to find PDF version of Advanced UNIX Programming 2nd edition try this link http://www.advancedlinuxprogramming.com/alp-folder or google What does HTTP stand for? A detailed definition is at the following link http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/HTTP.html What does the term "pentium" refer to? A detailed description is found at this link http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/definition/Pentium Can anyone help with an Excel formula? Yes no problem - our techs are used to answering these questions but we may need to see the spreadsheet to be able to advise fully. Post the question and we will look at it for you. What are free trial cloud servers ??? Cloud - simply a storage space based on the Internet, It allows users to store data, files, pictures etc for use / retrieval later from the cloud. Many of the main companies offer so much space free What is Open Office.org? OpenOffice.org is the website of OpenOffice which is the free equivalent of Microsoft Office. In Corel Word Perfect - Keystroke options not working Have a look at http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1153321168236 for details - if that is not the answer post a question on our main site and one of our techs will investigate for you Do i need ms product code key to reinstall/repair Vista If you restore from a Factory Restore disk you probably do not need the CD Key. If you want to reinstall from a Setup / Install disk you need the key. If you want to repair it is usually not needed. I keep getting the wromg home page where did I go wrong? You probably have a spyware infection. You may want to run the free version of superantispyware just to check your machine is clean. http://www.superantispyware.com/ Windows Media Player windows 7 says insert blank disk even after I do. You may want to run a lens cleaning CD to check that your drive is working properly. If that does not work then open a detailed question ... How do I move forward and back in my browser using the keyboard? Go to the next page - ALT+RIGHT ARROW Go to the previous page - ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE Go to your Home page - ALT+HOME For Internet explorer should be the same for them all Is there a way of typing on a pre-printed Adobe (.pdf) form? The commercial "FormTyper" part of "PDF Converter" (http://www.nuance.com/) will do this. I am not aware of any free program that does this. Saving Email Attachments in Eudora Please follow the suggestion in this link http://email.about.com/od/eudoratips/qt/et051703.htm How do I find my Macs IP address? Go to http://www.whatismyip.com/ to see it.on the top of tha page. How come a shortcut (Google) wont pin to taskbar? Other shortcuts do. If you use Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9 you can do this. Otherwise you cannot. For more information please go to http://www.protonic.com/index.php?page=ask to post a more complete question. How to remove "Personal Shield Pro" from Windows XP computer? Use the free version of superantispyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ How do I export Windows Live Mail address book to Thunderbirds address book Assuming you are running Windows 7 proceed as discussed at: http://www.timesnews.net/blogger.php?id=5&postid=7647 I have 2 copies of windows on my computer. how do I get rid of one of them The instructions in the following link should help you http://www.ehow.com/how_7248191_delete-second-copy-windows.html I can not start Windows Live Messenger and other Windows Live (Windows 7) If none of the Windows Live programs will start, you should reinstall them all. Somehow, they have experienced file corruption and need to be refreshed. Password Protect USB Drives Please see the discussion at: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=144508 you should find an answer therein. Some USB drives are available that are password protected in hardware, I need a backup program - free or otherwise. SecCopy not good. Please take a look here: http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/26/the-10-best-windows-backup-software-programs/ Turn on/off popup blocker Several different pop up blockers available common one is on google toolbar - switch it on or off, simply click it. If you want more control it does have a drop down box for more. If not this ask more May i hide my IP without proxy use? No. Even if you use a proxy your IP address is only partially hidden. It is often still possible to trace back to your connected IP. Your ISP always knows what you are doing ... in detail. Compaq nc6220 laptop - a couple of keys dont work can I repair myself? Yes, this is a relatively cheap and easy fix - see http://www.batterycentury.com/hp-business-notebook-nc6220-keyboard-p-76748.html for the method. You can buy a replacement keyboard online. How do I set up a shared network drive between windows 7 and Vista? Please read through the following guide http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15247/complete-guide-to-networking-windows-7-with-xp-and-vista/ If you need further assistance please open a detailed question. How do I put an icon on the desktop for protonic.com? Assuming you are using Internet Explorer or FireFox (you did not say) simply drag the icon that is to the left of our address in the address bar to your desktop. How come whenever I try to download, its says "error 1606", please help me! Microsoft offer a solution for "Error 1606" on the following http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886549 - run the Fix it program offered, if that fails post a question on our site for a tech to help you. Does MS NET Framework in Win XP have any function for home user? .NET is a library of functions that many developers use to write software. If it is not on a computer on which you choose to run the program it will not function. Therefore you MUST have it installed. Where to find online volunteering opportunities available for a newbie? A lot depends on what sort of volunteering opportunities you are looking for. Perhaps google would be a good place to start your search? Win XP & NET Framework: is it a browsing app? I want to eliminate it! .net framework is on your system to allow many Microsoft programs to run correctly. I have Fix It utilities, but computer still slow, Why? You probably have a virus or spyware infection. Check for that first.......... 2003 slow to load Check that you have a machine free of spyware infection. If you do ... open a detailed question. Outlook 2003 slow to load Check that you have a machine free of spyware infection. If you have a clean machine then open a detailed question. Computer wont run DVDs Try running a cleaning CD to clean the lenses. It may be that the drive is partially dead though. The JPG extension refers to what kind of file? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG What is a print queue? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/View-the-print-queue In Office 2010 Excel, how can I make the home tab my default? Right click on the ribbon and de-select "minimise". Can you stack external hard drives on top of each other? As long as they are in an external disk carrier making them protected. Any easy way to install a router so it will work? If this article doesn't help, please fill in a ticket here on the site: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organization/wirelesssetup.aspx I receive message: "CMOS ckecksum error". Replace the CMOS battery on motherboard. http://www.liverepair.com/encyclopedia/articles/cmosreplace.asp I am trying to download iTunes, but can't break out of a loop. Can you give me a valid link please? Please try the following link: http://www.officialdownloadstore.com/itunes10.htm Can I use two versions of Google at the same time on my monitor? Yes, if you switch to tabbed browsing. See this link: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Tabbed%20browsing What is 0×00000048? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/331484 Upgrade ME to XP. I install over ME or new Hard Drive? Reformat the hard drive then install XP. How to delete sound from a video (.mov or MP4) file? Imtoo MPEG Encoder www.imtoo.com, import video files, Disable Audio option in the right setting area, just check True, audio removed but not free. Free ones - www.virtualdub.org or www.erightsoft.com Why does my monitor make screeching sounds when on a white screen? Your monitor is starting to die. Replace it. If I install a USB 3.0 card wil that give me a working USB 3.0 port? Not at this time. Windows 8 will support USB 3.0 when it comes out. There are rumors that Win 7 SP2 will carry the needed updates to allow Win7 to utilize USB 3.0. Save AVG updates? http://globalrecordings.net/docs/au/updating_avg_manually.pdf After how much times should i make program updates of an antivirus program? A week is good enough but if you change the settings to auto update then you will not have to worry and always have the latest definitions installed. Where to download a trial version of Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit? There is no trial version available for download at this time. Microsoft are the only legitimate source of such downloads. How to recover windows password? Use google for help. Due to password protected stolen laptops surfacing we cannot for legal reasons help you. Which is the best free antivirus software at present? http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/5928/2011_free_av.html Does privacy software like easy-hide-ip do any good, or is a router better? At the end of the day neither will fully protect your privacy since your ISP will still have full information. Best to do only things you are happy to be seen doing. On privacy issue below-how do I otherwise stop ads/pop-ups on my computer? Scan for and remove all spyware and virus infections. Then regularly scan with and update the protection software. Fresh install Windows if problems remain. How do I start my PC w.o. it beeping once in the DOS mode (have 2 HDs) This is NOT DOS Mode, it is the BIOS. The ONLY way to do this is to disconnect the speaker. This is not recommended since the BIOS uses the speaker to signal BOOT errors as a sequence of beep I have Avast free and Comodo firewall installed.Am i safe as home user? Yes, as long as you update Avast regularly and stay away from questionable websites. No one is 100% safe, but you are as close to 100% as you can get. iIs Maftoox Antivirus a good antivirus? It has received fairly good reviews and is on a par with AVG Free. Does Microsoft Security Essentials remove all malware? No one scanner will remove all malware, use Anti-Malware in conjunction with MSE: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free New computer, password wont work, help to open laptop A laptop without a password is often stolen. Please go back to the person you bought it from and ask them. I hI ve Bitdefender 2011..How necessary is it to upgrade to 2012 ver Entirely up to you: http://www.bitdefender.com/support/How-to-Upgrade-from-BitDefender-2009-2010-2011-to-BitDefender-2012-711.html How to transfer Thunderbird emails, etc to Outlook 2010 quickly and easily? http://blog.nektra.com/main/2009/04/14/export-messages-and-folders-from-thunderbird-to-outlook-outlook-express/ A public computer has no security software.What precaution should i use? Use this public PC to look up items on the internet, view web pages, and check your favorite teams scores, but do NOT use this public PC for ANY transactions with ANY personal info. Can i use "Epson Stylus TX121 " printer to print digital photos? Yes you can. Product details at the following link http://www.epson.com.ph/epson_philippines/printers_and_all_in_ones/inkjet/product.page?product_name=Epson_Stylus_TX121 Can i print photos with "HP Photosmart C4388" printer? Yes you can but please note that HP have discontinued sales of this printer.
Google Defends Privacy Changes as Questions Mount Following a flurry of criticism over its privacy policy revamp, Google is attempting to clear up misconceptions about its actions

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248845/google_defends_privacy_changes_as_questions_mount.html#tk.rss_news Apple Number One Smartphone Vendor Again, Say Research Firms Apple has emerged as the number one smartphone vendor worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2011, by a small margin, after losing ground to Samsung in the previous quarter, research firms Strategy Analytics and IHS iSuppli said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248833/apple_number_one_smartphone_vendor_again_say_research_firms.html#tk.rss_news Just Show Me: How to clear your browser history in Safari Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to clear your history in the Safari web browser.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/just-show-clear-browser-history-safari-031554046.html Apple catches flak in China supply chain saga The maker of iPads and iPhones is hardly alone among tech companies that rely heavily on Chinese factories under scrutiny for labor practices. But it has become the flashpoint.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57367366-37/apple-catches-flak-in-china-supply-chain-saga/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Facebook, Washington state target online spam Facebook is partnering with Washington state to combat a type of spam called "clickjacking" that is plaguing the social networking site, company and state officials announced Thursday.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-washington-state-target-online-spam-231529628.html US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/us-cybersecurity-efforts-trigger-privacy-concerns-094548804.html Twitter may censor tweets in individual countries Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/twitter-may-censor-tweets-individual-countries-024228484.html First 'Super Wi-Fi' Network Goes Live in North Carolina Lucky residents of Wilmington, N.C., will be the first in the nation to have access to a "Super Wi-Fi" network.

Officials from New Hanover County, N.C., announced today that they had become the first in the United States to deploy a mobile data network on so-called "white spaces" spectrum that the Federal Communications Commission first authorized for unlicensed use in 2008.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248835/first_super_wifi_network_goes_live_in_north_carolina.html#tk.rss_news Google+ Opens Its Doors to Teens Google+ is perhaps a unique social network in that it didn't initially market itself to the younger crowd--in fact, until yesterday, Google+ was technically only open to users over the age of 18. (I say "technically" because, let's be serious, it's not like teens ever really follow the rules.)

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248836/google_opens_its_doors_to_teens.html#tk.rss_news Google Earth Update Smooths Over Patchwork Landscapes Google upgraded Google Earth to version 6.2 displays the Earth's surface in smooth, natural textures. Previous versions of Google Earth rendered maps in patchy long-range imagery that were stitched together one square at a time. The Google Earth update is available now for download for both the mobile and desktop versions of the software.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248837/google_earth_update_smooths_over_patchwork_landscapes.html#tk.rss_news Intel pays $120M for RealNetworks video patents, software Intel is buying video patents and software from RealNetworks for $120 million, giving the chipmaker new muscle in a market that's increasingly important but filled with intellectual-property obstacles.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57366469-264/intel-pays-$120m-for-realnetworks-video-patents-software/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Apple Employees to Get $500 Off Macs, $250 Off iPads Apple workers will soon get a whopping $500 off new Macs and $250 off new iPads as part of their employee benefits, according to 9to5Mac. The benefits were announced by CEO Tim Cook at the company’s town hall meeting this week, the site says.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248781/apple_employees_to_get_500_off_macs_250_off_ipads.html#tk.rss_news Chrome lets Web pages use smarter autofill technology Google hopes to cut down on Web browsers' autofill confusion.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57366717-264/chrome-lets-web-pages-use-smarter-autofill-technology/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 SquareTrade snags $238 million growth equity investment Extended warranty service SquareTrade announced today it has secured a $238 million growth equity investment lead by Bain Capital.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57365333-92/squaretrade-snags-$238-million-growth-equity-investment/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Web sites are getting faster--but not enough Many Web developers have gotten the message: a faster site means people buy more, read more, interact more, and return more.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57366479-264/web-sites-are-getting-faster-but-not-enough/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 What Would You Ask Jimmy Wales About SOPA? Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore will moderate a panel with leaders who have taken an active role in the debate on the now stalled Stop Online Privacy Act.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/ask-jimmy-wales-sopa-083622049.html Open WebOS committed to fall 2012 Hewlett-Packard kicked the first open source component to WebOS out the door today, along with a calendar for when its source code will be completely open.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57366306-12/open-webos-committed-to-fall-2012/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 NEC to Cut 10,000 Workers, Forecasts $1.3 Billion Loss in Year Through March NEC said Thursday it will cut 10,000 jobs, including 3,000 outside of Japan, and it now forecasts a US$1.3 billion loss in the current fiscal year through March.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248775/nec_to_cut_10000_workers_forecasts_13_billion_loss_in_year_through_march.html#tk.rss_news Rhapsody Acquires Napster Operations in UK, Germany Rhapsody has acquired the Napster service in the U.K. and Germany, following up on its acquisition last year of Napster's U.S. operations from Best Buy.

The Napster brand will be retained in Europe, unlike in the U.S., where Rhapsody decided to fold up the streaming music service under its own brand.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248773/rhapsody_acquires_napster_operations_in_uk_germany.html#tk.rss_news 7 Things I Learned From Building My First Desktop PC My mission to buy a desktop PC started out simple: I wanted a powerful work computer with support for three monitors. Getting a PC within my budget seemed reasonable. But then, temptation set in.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248737/7_things_i_learned_from_building_my_first_desktop_pc.html#tk.rss_news Symantec: Anonymous stole source code, users should disable pcAnywhere Symantec has confirmed that the hacker group Anonymous stole source code from the 2006 versions of several Norton security products and the pcAnywhere remote access tool.

Read more at: http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/01/symantec-says-anonymous-stole-source-code-tells-customers-to-disable-security-product.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss Good News: Tech Salaries Are on the Rise Again After two straight years of nearly flat salaries, tech professionals have begun to see significant pay increases at last.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248727/good_news_tech_salaries_are_on_the_rise_again.html 27,000 Google Chromebooks headed to U.S. schools Google has won over three school districts with its Chromebook vision, bringing more than 27,000 of the browser-based laptops to Iowa, Illinois, and South Carolina.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57365703-264/27000-google-chromebooks-headed-to-u.s-schools/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Hotmail hops onto Kindle Fire Microsoft is carving out a new niche for itself on the Amazon Kindle Fire. A free mobile app for the company's Hotmail service is now available in the Kindle store for all Fire tablet owners.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57365799-75/hotmail-hops-onto-kindle-fire/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Apple shares soar following historic earnings announcement After seeing Apple post a hugely successful fiscal first quarter yesterday, investors are on a spending spree.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57365652-17/apple-shares-soar-following-historic-earnings-announcement/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Google's SPDY accelerator gets new wind in its sails Has a slow Web been getting you down lately? Just imagine if your multibillion-dollar business depended on it, as Google's does. Then imagine the glee in Google's corridors at a significant new victory in the company's attempt to build a Web-accelerating technology it calls SPDY into the Internet.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57364563-264/googles-spdy-accelerator-gets-new-wind-in-its-sails/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Heads up, Linux fans, Ubuntu's ditching menus Ubuntu has announced a change to their version of Linux that ought to get hot key junkies and voice control enthusiasts alike to raise their heads with glee.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57365340-12/heads-up-linux-fans-ubuntus-ditching-menus/?part=rss&subj=software&tag=title Google to merge user data across more services Google announced a plan Tuesday to link user data across its email, video, social-networking and other services that it says will create a "beautifully simple and intuitive" user experience. But critics raised privacy concerns like those that helped kill the search giant's Buzz social networking service.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-merge-user-data-across-more-services-213322111.html HP Recallls Laptops Over Faulty Batteries Hewlett-Packard has agreed to pay out $425,000 to settle claims regarding hazardous laptop incidents after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission charged the company for not issuing a recall quickly enough for knowingly selling laptops with batteries that could catch fire or overheat.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248713/hp_recallls_laptops_over_faulty_batteries.html#tk.rss_news Online Tool Converts JavaScript Bookmarklets into Chrome Extensions Google Chrome users can now turn JavaScript bookmarklets into Chrome extensions in just a few clicks thanks to a new tool created by U.K.-based Web developer Peter Legierski.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248653/online_tool_converts_javascript_bookmarklets_into_chrome_extensions.html#tk.rss_news SITA Hopes to Test NFC at Airports This Summer SITA has demonstrated a proof-of-concept that shows how smartphones equipped with NFC (Near Field Communications) can be used by passengers to check in and board airplanes. It now hopes to test the technology this summer, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248652/sita_hopes_to_test_nfc_at_airports_this_summer.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft Names Alleged Kelihos Botnet Creator Microsoft has named a Russian man as the alleged creator of Kelihos, a spammy botnet that abused the company's Hotmail service until the botnet was shutdown last September.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248648/microsoft_names_alleged_kelihos_botnet_creator.html#tk.rss_news U.S. Government Online Security Website Hacked Hackers under the AntiSec banner appeared to have hacked late Monday the website of OnGuardOnline.gov, the U.S. federal government's online security website, in protest against controversial legislation.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248644/us_government_online_security_website_hacked.html#tk.rss_news Google Looks to Speed Up the Internet Google technicians want an overhaul of the Web's TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) transport layer and are suggesting ways to reduce latency and make the Web faster.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248650/google_looks_to_speed_up_the_internet.html#tk.rss_news Hacker Releases 100,000 Facebook Log-in Credentials A hacker who claims to act in defense of Israel has released 100,000 credentials of allegedly Arab users of Facebook in an ongoing row between Israeli and Arab hackers.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248573/hacker_releases_100000_facebook_login_credentials.html#tk.rss_news Police need warrant for GPS tracking, high court rules The Supreme Court struck down the U.S. government's argument that it can use GPS to track a suspect's vehicle without a warrant.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57363925-17/police-need-warrant-for-gps-tracking-high-court-rules/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 EU's Data Protection Proposals Likely to Include 24-hour Breach Notification After weeks of controversy, lobbying and concessions, the European Commission looks set to unveil its new data-protection proposals on Wednesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248566/eus_data_protection_proposals_likely_to_include_24hour_breach_notification.html#tk.rss_news INFLUENCE GAME: Online companies win piracy fight Outspent but hardly outgunned, online and high-tech companies triggered an avalanche of Internet clicks to force Congress to shelve legislation that would curb online piracy. They outmaneuvered the entertainment industry and other old guard business interests, leaving them bitter and befuddled.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/influence-game-online-companies-win-piracy-fight-172037329.html Poland reviews stance on treaty after web attacks Poland's government went into defense mode on Monday after a network of online activists paralyzed some of its websites in opposition to Warsaw's plans to sign an international copyright treaty.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/poland-reviews-stance-treaty-attacks-100634481.html
Megaupload Story Filled With Drama File-sharing website Megaupload has been swept up in so much drama lately it is beginning to rival a soap opera. The frequent developments in the online piracy case may be hard to keep up with. So, here's a roundup.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248549/megaupload_story_filled_with_drama.html#tk.rss_news Mac OS X's Software Update -- a Rundown Apple distributes updates to Mac OS X and some of its applications (such as iLife and Safari) through a feature in the operating system called Software Update.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248547/mac_os_xs_software_update_a_rundown.html#tk.rss_news Google Teams with World Bank to Help Africa's Disaster Response By providing access to a Web-based community mapping tool and data, World Bank and Google are aiming to improve the ability of African and other developing countries to monitor public services and respond to disasters.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248457/google_teams_with_world_bank_to_help_africas_disaster_response.html#tk.rss_news PC Sales Drop in Europe European consumers are rapidly losing interest in PCs according to new figures from IDC which show heavy sales falls during 2011.

The numbers suggest that the death of the PC (including on operating systems other than Windows) has not after all been greatly exaggerated.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248531/pc_sales_drop_in_europe.html#tk.rss_news Things get real at Yahoo: Hiring freeze, job cuts may loom Yahoo has frozen new hiring and may be forced to lay off existing employees, according to AllThingsD.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57362014-92/things-get-real-at-yahoo-hiring-freeze-job-cuts-may-loom/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Mac Malware Threats Increase Security firm F-Secure has spotted 58 separate threats targeting OS X in the past nine months.

F-Secure has published a report looking at Mac threats between April and December 2011 which showed June and October as being particularly busy months for Mac malware while only one threat was spotted in August.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248459/mac_malware_threats_increase.html#tk.rss_news Getting Gmail? Now you get Google+, too It is fairly likely that if you're signing up for a new Google account these days, it is because you would like a Gmail account. Or perhaps you just want to keep track of favorite videos and subscriptions on YouTube.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57362998-92/getting-gmail-now-you-get-google-too/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 SOPA/PIPA: Down But Not Out (Yet) Despite some serious setbacks, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are still alive and still contain several controversial provisions.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248495/sopapipa_down_but_not_out_yet.html#tk.rss_news After protest, Congress puts off movie piracy bill Caving to a massive campaign by Internet services and their millions of users, Congress indefinitely postponed legislation Friday to stop online piracy of movies and music costing U.S. companies billions of dollars every year. Critics said the bills would result in censorship and stifle Internet innovation.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/protest-congress-puts-off-movie-piracy-bill-202927971.html Google Kills More Services Google is continuing to weed out its services and on Friday announced it will shut down Picnik, Google Message Continuity and Needlebase and make changes to some other services.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248515/google_kills_more_services.html#tk.rss_news IE URI Encoding Behavior Facilitates XSS Attacks, Researchers Say An inconsistency in how Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) encodes double quotes in URIs (uniform resource identifiers) can facilitate cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, researchers from security firm Imperva claim.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248408/ie_uri_encoding_behavior_facilitates_xss_attacks_researchers_say.html#tk.rss_news Amazon Dynamo DB: Big Data's Big Cloud Moment Amazon's DynamoDB promises a database service fit even for Internet-scale companies with huge data sets. Whether big data players will give up servers comes down to economics and flexibility.

Read more at: http://informationweek.com/news/software/info_management/232500104 SOPA is dead. Are you happy now? It was a bad bill, but world needs IP incentive to keep producing. Open ... and Shut In response to internet technology companies leading a rousing protest against SOPA and PIPA, these bills appear to be doomed to ignominious defeat.

Read more at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/19/sopa_is_gone_are_you_happy_now/

McAfee tackles 'spam hijack' flaw in anti-malware code A leading anti-virus software firm says a flaw in one of its programs has exposed its customers' computers to the risk of being hijacked by spammers.

Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16627713 Apple rolls out digital textbook service iBooks 2 Apple Inc unveiled a new digital textbook service called iBooks 2 on Thursday, aiming to revitalize the U.S. education market and quicken the adoption of its market-leading iPad.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/19/us-apple-education-idUSTRE80I1EX20120119 Mozilla, Firefox Join Anti-SOPA Strike Mozilla, the open-source organization responsible for Firefox, joined other major technology companies today to protest anti-piracy legislation by blackening the browser's home page.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248328/mozilla_firefox_join_antisopa_strike.html#tk.rss_news Why Jerry Yang's resignation is a great, if belated, move The resignation of Jerry Yang from Yahoo's board--as well as Yahoo Japan and Alibaba--removes an obstacle that could set the company up for a more dramatic restructuring. Shame Yang didn't split earlier.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57360646-92/why-jerry-yangs-resignation-is-a-great-if-belated-move/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang leaving company Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is leaving the struggling Internet company, as it tries to revive its revenue growth and win over disgruntled shareholders under a new leader.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-co-founder-jerry-yang-leaving-company-220652426.html SOPA and PIPA: Just the Facts The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are getting more negative attention, as major websites such as Wikipedia plan to protest the bills with blackouts on Wednesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html#tk.rss_news Wikipedia, Craigslist, Other Sites Black out Against SOPA at Midnight Wikipedia and some other Internet companies blacked out their websites in one way or the other early Wednesday in protest against controversial legislation in the U.S.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248324/wikipedia_craigslist_other_sites_black_out_against_sopa_at_midnight.html#tk.rss_news Suspects Behind Facebook Koobface Hack Named The alleged masterminds behind Koobface, a malicious program that targets Facebook members, have been identified by security investigators.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248277/suspects_behind_facebook_koobface_hack_named.html#tk.rss_news EU Takes Action on Hungary's Poor Data Protection The European Commission has launched infringement measures against Hungary over concerns that binding data protection rules are being undermined.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248278/eu_takes_action_on_hungarys_poor_data_protection.html#tk.rss_news Google uncloaks Chrome's top security goals Google's Chrome security team unveiled yesterday its guiding principles on how they build a safer browser.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57359066-12/google-uncloaks-chromes-top-security-goals/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Corel acquiring Roxio line as old guard consolidates Corel has agreed to acquire Roxio from Rovi, consolidating companies from an earlier era in the software industry.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57358721-264/corel-acquiring-roxio-line-as-old-guard-consolidates/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Wikipedia to be blacked out over anti-piracy bill Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community-based online encyclopedia said in a statement Monday night.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/wikipedia-blacked-over-anti-piracy-bill-033057102.html Protect Your Facebook Account from the Latest Hack Want to prevent criminals from hacking your Timeline? Ignore those alarmist Facebook status updates and follow these steps instead. Concerned about the security of your Facebook account? You should be. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, “social spam” is the new black among the black hats. But that doesn’t mean you should believe every silly rumor and/or status update you see about it.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248246/protect_your_facebook_account_from_the_latest_hack.html#tk.rss_news Web Users in China Pass 500 Million: Report More Chinese are using the Internet than ever before, with more than 500 million users in China accessing the Web, according to a report by the state-run China Internet Network Information Center.

Read more at: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/Web-Users-in-China-Pass-500-Million-Report-481052/ Hackers disrupt websites of Israel’s stock exchange, national air carrier Hackers disrupted the websites of Israel’s stock exchange and national air carrier El Al on Monday in a deepening cyber war launched earlier this month by a group claiming to be Saudis.

Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/hackers-disrupt-websites-of-israels-stock-exchange-national-air-carrier/2012/01/16/gIQAdq8f2P_story.html Amazon-owned Zappos warns users after cyber-attack Cyber-attackers have struck Zappos, the Amazon-owned fashion e-retailer. The company has reset the passwords of 24 million customers and asked them to choose new ones.

Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16574987 Expect Windows 8 in October Microsoft is aiming for October to release the commercial version of Windows 8, based on comments attributed to a Microsoft spokeswoman at CES.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248226/expect_windows_8_in_october.html#tk.rss_news Facebook, Google, others face charges in India For the first time, Indian prosecutors are taking Google, Yahoo, Facebook and other networking sites to court for refusing to remove material considered insulting to Indian leaders and major religious figures.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-google-others-face-charges-india-093911006.html Microsoft eclipses Yahoo in US search for 1st time Microsoft Corp. has finally reached a long-sought and expensive goal — its Bing search engine now ranks second behind Google in the Internet's most lucrative market.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-eclipses-yahoo-us-search-1st-time-231349386.html Canonical CEO: Ubuntu Tablet OS Will Battle Android, iOS Jane Silber is on a mission to get the Ubuntu Linux distribution onto mobile devices and TVs, rather than be stuck on desktop PCs. The CEO of Canonical (which makes Ubuntu) took over from the previous CEO, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth, in March 2010, but has been with the company since shortly after its 2004 founding

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247859/canonical_ceo_ubuntu_tablet_os_will_battle_android_ios.html#tk.rss_news NY man suing Facebook fined $5,000 by court A man who is suing for part ownership of Facebook has been fined $5,000 for failing to fully comply with a court order to give experts access to his email accounts.

Paul Ceglia also was ordered to pay Facebook's court costs in trying to obtain the material, which Facebook said would help expose Ceglia's case as a fraud.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/ny-man-suing-facebook-fined-5-000-court-163830117.html Mozilla to build slow-paced Firefox for conservative users Mozilla has embarked on its plan to build its Extended Support Release (ESR) version of Firefox, an edition that stands comparatively still while the ordinary version of the browser changes every six weeks.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57356321-264/mozilla-to-build-slow-paced-firefox-for-conservative-users/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Pirate Bay Block Prompts Anonymous to Launch DDOS Attack Anonymous has struck the websites of two anti-piracy organizations, a day after Finnish ISP Elisa blocked access to The Pirate Bay search engine in response to an injunction requested by one of the organizations.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247718/pirate_bay_block_prompts_anonymous_to_launch_ddos_attack.html#tk.rss_news Google gets more personal with search results Google is sifting through the photos and commentary on its blossoming social network so its Internet search results can include more personal information.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-gets-more-personal-search-results-144024212.html FBI Warns of Malware Phishing Scam So long as people click on unsolicited attachments in e-mail, scammers will invent new ways to take their money, identities and more.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247450/fbi_warns_of_malware_phishing_scam.html#tk.rss_news 6 Tech Bargains for 2012 Procrastination is not often a virtue but when it comes to electronics, it often is.

Gadget buyers can be fickle souls. What's hot today can be gazpacho tomorrow. Moreover, refresh cycles for high tech gizmos can be so quick that older product models can suddenly start selling at deep discounts.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247464/6_tech_bargains_for_2012.html#tk.rss_news Chrome preps psychic powers, security changes Google is preparing some important changes to Chrome's browsing behavior, with predictive powers and better download scanning protocol landing in the latest beta update.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57353342-12/chrome-preps-psychic-powers-security-changes/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Extreme Networks Prepares to Ship 'World's Fastest Ethernet Switch' Extreme Networks' latest switch, the BlackDiamond X8, billed as the "fastest Ethernet switch in the world", went on general release this week with shipments expected to go out during the first half of February.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247478/extreme_networks_prepares_to_ship_worlds_fastest_ethernet_switch.html#tk.rss_news Solving a Strange File Sharing Error ecently, I tried to connect my Mac Pro to my MacBook Air via OS X Lion's file sharing capabilities. On most days, this would be no problem. This was not one of those days.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247459/solving_a_strange_file_sharing_error.html#tk.rss_news PayPal tests in-store payment system at Home Depot EBay's PayPal service is testing out a payments system in brick-and-mortar Home Depot stores.

PayPal spokesman Anuj Nayar said Friday that the system is being tested in just five stores and involves a small number of PayPal employees. That means it's not available to the general public and likely won't be for some time.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/paypal-tests-store-payment-system-home-depot-223259799.html Symantec: parts of antivirus source code exposed Symantec Corp, the top maker of security software, said hackers had exposed a chunk of its source code, which is essentially the blueprint for its products, potentially giving rivals some insight into the company's technology.

Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/06/us-symantec-code-idUSTRE80523W20120106 Apple’s Siri Feature Doubles IPhone Data Usage Apple Inc.’s voice recognition software Siri has prompted owners of the iPhone 4S to use almost twice as much data compared with the handset’s predecessor, placing greater pressure on operators, network firm Arieso said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-06/apple-s-voice-recognition-siri-doubles-iphone-data-volumes.html Windows Defender Offline — old name, new use Microsoft's newly released beta version of Windows Defender Offline, a rootkit-sniffing and Windows-rehabilitation tool, should be the latest addition to your bag of Windows-repair tricks.

WDO should be able to catch a wide variety of nasties that evade detection by more traditional antivirus methods.

Although the name's been around for years, don't confuse this new version of WDO with previous incarnations — it's a whole new animal and helps PC users in two very different situations:

1. Windows won't boot: You can boot your machine with a WDO CD or USB drive, and WDO will perform a detailed malware scan.

2. You suspect you have a rootkit: WDO can scan your system and remove many different kinds of rootkits.

Oddly, Microsoft has been uncharacteristically mum about Windows Defender Offline. If there are any published technical details about the program —
what it does or how it works — I haven't found them. With a bit of reading between the lines, here's what I can say:

WDO is almost identical to an earlier product called Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper. Microsoft released the beta version of MSSS in May. (Susan Bradley's July 28 Top Story talked about MSSS.) The size of the program hasn't changed. The format of the signature files appears to be identical.

The earlier product doesn't mention Windows 8, but WDO most definitely does run on Win8 Developer Preview.

As best I can tell, WDO uses the same signature files used by Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). However, I know of one instance where a piece of malware was not caught by MSE but did trigger a WDO response. I have no idea why.

I've seen no published statistics about WDO's ability to identify or clean rootkits. But one possible reason WDO found malware that MSE could not find lies in the way WDO works.

Unlike MSE, WDO doesn't depend on the Windows OS installed on your computer. It's completely self-contained — boot the afflicted PC from a WDO CD or USB drive, and the tool examines the system without any interference from the installed copy of Windows.

That's critical for finding rootkits, which are very good at hiding on your system. Here's an analogy: To make a watermelon smoothie, you've sliced the melon, removed the seeds, and mixed the cleaned pulp in a
blender. Now imagine trying to pull a wayward seed (a missed rootkit) out of the blender while it's running. That's what rootkit extractors are up against: they need to find, isolate, and remove the rootkit while the
Windows system is whirring away. Extracting malware is far easier when Windows is off.

Get a copy of Windows Defender Offline beta

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

As best I can tell — Microsoft hasn't published the details — WDO will work on Windows XP SP3 systems (and possibly SP2); Vista RTM, SP1, and SP2; Windows 7 RTM and SP1; and Windows 8 Developer view. Also, your system must be bootable from a USB drive or a CD drive.

There are separate versions of WDO for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, so you need to know the bittedness of the system to be scanned. (If you need help, see the Microsoft Help & How-to page, "Is my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?")

You can download WDO and create the bootable CD or USB drive on any handy computer, as long as it's connected to the Internet. Here's how:

1. Go to the Windows Defender Offline Beta site and, at the bottom of the page, click the link for either the 32-bit or 64-bit version. (Note, that the version needs to match the bittedness of the machine you're fixing — the bittedness of the machine you're using to download WDO and create a bootable disc or drive doesn't matter.)

2. Run the downloaded file to start the WDO installer — you'll see an initial splash screen with general DO information. Click Next, and a new window appears that lets you choose where to install WDO, (Caution: Select the bootable USB drive option, and the installer wipes out everything currently on the USB drive.)

3. Make your media selection and click Next. The installer downloads the latest version of the software and signature files (about 210MB for the 32-bit version or 230MB for the 64-bit version) and then creates the boot drive or the ISO file.

If you have problems creating a bootable drive, Microsoft's WDO FAQ might have the answer.

Check your PC with Windows Defender Offline

t's now time to boot your suspect system with the newly created WDO CD, DVD, or USB drive. If you need help with this step — or your system won't recognize the boot media (due, for example, to incorrect BIOS settings) — the WDO FAQ page has some possible solutions (although the suggestion for disabling DEP is completely unnecessary).

If you have a multiboot system, you must choose which operating system to scan — WDO will check only one at a time. With the OS selected, WDO next displays its command screen.

If it's been a while since you created the WDO boot drive and the PC being scanned is connected to the Internet, you'll most likely want to click the Update tab and download the latest definition files.

Before clicking the Scan now button, select from the Quick, Full, or Custom scan options. A full scan is very thorough — it looks inside all the files on the system, including ancient backed-up e-mails — and can
take up to eight hours to complete. (In tests on a relatively fresh Windows 8 Developer Preview virtual machine, a full scan took only 20 minutes.) The Custom option lets you select specific drives and folders to
scan. A Quick scan looks in the most commonly used locations on your PC.

If WDO finds potential threats, it displays warnings identical to those in Microsoft Security Essentials — and, like MSE, it lets you remove, quarantine, or ignore each threat.

source:-
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread.php/143307-Windows-Defender-Offline-%E2%80%94-old-name-new-use

Google Chrome Beta Released, Now Even Faster and More Secure Google Chrome has announced a new beta that speeds up the world's second-favorite browser even more, as well as enhances its security.

read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-chrome-beta-released-now-even-faster-more-194128875.html 5 Major Changes Facing the Internet in 2012 2012 is poised to go down in Internet history as one of the most significant 12-month periods from both a technical and policy perspective since the late 1990s, when this network-of-networks stopped being a research project and became an engine of economic growth.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247213/5_major_changes_facing_the_internet_in_2012.html#tk.rss_news Google, Facebook Rivalry to Heat up in 2012 As Google works to make its Google+ social network a major competitor to market leader Facebook, the battle between the two could reach a critical point in 2012, analysts say.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247214/google_facebook_rivalry_to_heat_up_in_2012.html#tk.rss_news Mobile browsing reaches all-time high If you haven't whipped your Web site into shape for easy viewing on small-screen devices, you'd better get cracking.

That's because the use of mobile devices reached an all-time high in December, accounting for 7.7 percent of browser usage according to Net Applications' measurements of daily visits to its network of 40,000 Web sites.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57350968-264/mobile-browsing-reaches-all-time-high/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Android, iOS App Downloads Top 1 Billion Over Christmas Week Mobile app downloads skyrocketed during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, totaling 1.2 billion cumulative downloads from the iOS App Store and Android Market, a mobile analytics firm estimates.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247197/android_ios_app_downloads_top_1_billion_over_christmas_week.html#tk.rss_news Scareware Distributors Start Targeting Smartphone Users, Experts Warn Scareware distributors are targeting smartphone users who search the Web for popular mobile apps, experts from antivirus vendor Kaspersky Lab warn.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247194/scareware_distributors_start_targeting_smartphone_users_experts_warn.html#tk.rss_news XP still top OS but Windows 7 hot on its trail Windows XP is still the dominant OS after more than ten years, but Windows 7 continues to narrow the gap.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57351192-75/xp-still-top-os-but-windows-7-hot-on-its-trail/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Chrome Nears 20% Share, IE Resumes Slide After a one-month pause, Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) resumed its usage share slide in December, dropping to a new low and setting the stage for a fall below 50% as early as March.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247159/chrome_nears_20_share_ie_resumes_slide.html#tk.rss_news Google Plus 'will have more than 400m users by the end of 2012' - will it overtake Facebook? Here’s some news Mark Zuckerberg won’t ‘like’ - Google’s social networking site Google Plus will have more than 400million users by the end of 2012, according to a researcher.

The prediction comes from U.S. analyst Paul Allen, who said that Google Plus, which went public in September, has just passed the 62million mark, with a quarter of those signing up in December.

He said 625,000 members are signing up every day and expects that number to rapidly increase – partly because over 700,000 Android devices are bought every day, which makes signing up to Google Plus easier, and partly through integration with other products and the power of word of mouth.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2080207/Google-Plus-hit-400m-users--overtake-Facebook.html#ixzz1iITylW2c
The TV of the future arrives early: Incredible pictures of 55-inch flatscreen that's just 4mm thick. This week, LG will unveil the first 55-inch OLED television - a technology that offers razor-thin screens, sharper colours and faster-moving screens than any previous television.

Organic LED - OLED - is used widely in high-end smartphones such as Samsung's Galaxy S2, but up until now, manufacturing large screens using the technology has been too expensive.

The set is just 4mm thick and weighs 7.5kg. It will launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081183/The-TV-future-arrives-early-LG-unveils-new-kind-55-inch-flatscreen-thats-just-4mm-thick.html#ixzz1iITiTYQG
eBook pirates cash in on Kindle sales boom as thousands turn to rogue sites for cheap downloads. They have been one of the retail sensations of the Christmas season. Sales of eReaders, the handheld devices on to which electronic books can be downloaded, rocketed through December.

It is good news for makers such as Amazon, which produces the best- selling Kindle and collects 30 per cent of the price of downloaded books.

But there are fears that their profits could be hit by a the sheer number of pirate eBooks available to download for free.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081072/Online-pirates-threaten-Kindle-profits-thousands-turn-sites-download-free-eBooks.html#ixzz1iITAVxf1
HTML 5 Upgrade Brings Changes To The Internet in 2012 An HTML 5 upgrade will change the Internet in 2012 because it will be the foundation that all new websites will be built upon. By bringing XHTML under the same umbrella as HTML, and by allowing Web programmers to use new video and audio commands to integrate media into sites seamlessly, HTML 5 will become the key tool for making sites act a lot more like native apps on your phone. All the major mobile operating systems have adopted the new Web standard. HTML 5 promises to make it easier and more affordable for developers to introduce interactivity in browsers because they no longer need to buy and install proprietary plug-ins to create click-responsive graphics or to embed video.

There's even an Occupy Flash movement intended to encourage developers to stop using Flash and start using HTML 5.

Click here to learn more.



Apple and the Year Ahead Assuming apocalyptic doomsday predictions from South America don't come to fruition, 2012 is poised to be a different kind of year for Apple. In 2011, the company rolled out significant updates to most of its products--including two major new operating system versions--and also introduced a new Web platform to glue all of its devices and platforms together.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247143/apple_and_the_year_ahead.html#tk.rss_news Google, Facebook, Twitter Help Revelers Ring in New Year Google, Facebook and Twitter are getting attention as revelers say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012.

The Internet search leader has a new Doodle that celebrates the holiday, social networking site Facebook is preparing for an onslaught of photo uploads, and so you don't miss any of the action Twitter has a way for you to keep up with the news and quips about the ball dropping in New York City.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247142/google_facebook_twitter_help_revelers_ring_in_new_year.html#tk.rss_news Stuxnet and Duqu Part of Larger Cybermalware Campaign The Stuxnet worm was built on the same platform used from 2007 onwards to create a family of cyber-weapon-like malware including the recently-discovered Duqu worm, a forensic analysis by Kaspersky Lab researchers has concluded.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247145/stuxnet_and_duqu_part_of_larger_cybermalware_campaign.html#tk.rss_news Netbooks get faster but less popular, at least in the U.S. Netbooks will get a boost from faster Intel silicon. The question is, does anybody still care?

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57349750-64/netbooks-get-faster-but-less-popular-at-least-in-the-u.s/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 2011: The Year Facebook Killed Google I used to discover new content via Google. Now I find it using Facebook and Twitter. And millions of others are doing it too.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247140/2011_the_year_facebook_killed_google.html#tk.rss_news Amazon reports selling 4 million Kindle devices in December Despite some early speculation that Amazon’s Kindle Fire Android tablet might be a runaway success, it appears the new contender in the tablet market is doing well, but not that well.

Read more at: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/10622-amazon-reports-selling-4-million-kindle-devices-in-december IPv6 Doomsday Won't Hit in 2012, Experts Say Next year will see one more regional Internet registry run out of IPv4 addresses, but 2012 will be more of a year to prepare for the inevitable shift to IPv6 than an Internet doomsday, according to networking experts.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247091/ipv6_doomsday_wont_hit_in_2012_experts_say.html#tk.rss_news Android vs. iOS vs. Windows Phone 7: A mobile showdown If you’re a first-time smartphone shopper or a current smartphone shopper approaching an upgrade, you may be curious about the mobile platforms that are available.

Read more at: http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/android-vs-ios-vs-windows-phone-a-mobile-showdown-20111228/ China Activates Homegrown GPS System China has switched on its own satellite navigation system, marking a big step forward for a nation eager to reduce its reliance on the West for key strategic technologies.

Read more at: http://www.space.com/14063-china-gps-system-beidou-operational.html Google+ Passes 62 Million Users, On Track for 400 Million There are more than 62 million users of Google’s Google+ social networking service, according to an unofficial statistician’s analysis.

Read more at: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Google-Passes-62-Million-Users-On-Track-for-400-Million-394975/ Android phone activations soar over Christmas weekend Andy Rubin continues to use his Twitter account as the broadcasting platform for Android's latest statistical achievements. This time, he's letting us know that a magnificent 3.7 million new Android devices were activated over the holiday weekend.

Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/android-phone-activations-soar-over-christmas-weekend/2011/12/28/gIQAoPMgMP_story.html 10 things you need to know about Anonymous’ Stratfor hack On Dec. 24th, hacker collective Anonymous stole credit card info and other sensitive data from U.S. security firm Stratfor, but keeping track of who and what are affected by the scandal can be difficult.

Read more at: http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/28/anonymous-stratfor-hack-10-things-to-know/ Use a 64-Bit PC? Instead of Firefox, Try Waterfox 9.0 Earlier this year I wrote about Pale Moon, a version of Mozilla's popular Firefox browser that's optimized for extra speed on Windows.

Besides its focus on speed, another interesting difference in Pale Moon is that it's available in a 64-bit version, where Firefox is not--at least not with an officially supported release.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246758/use_a_64bit_pc_instead_of_firefox_try_waterfox_90.html#tk.rss_news Apple Fined €900,000 in Italy The Italian Antitrust Authority has fined Apple €900,000 (US$1.2 million) for not giving consumers enough information about its guarantees, the authority said on Tuesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/247049/apple_fined_and8364900000_in_italy.html#tk.rss_news Intel Antitrust Case May Be Headed to New York Court A federal judge in Delaware has cancelled a Feb. 14 trial of an antitrust case filed against Intel in 2009, after plaintiff New York state asked the court to allow its transfer to a New York state court.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247042/intel_antitrust_case_may_be_headed_to_new_york_court.html#tk.rss_news 10 Things to Do With Your New Mac Perhaps you lucked out this holiday season, and instead of unwrapping an itchy sweater or a Dunkin' Donuts gift card, you tore the wrapping paper off a brand new Mac. And perhaps this is the very first Mac that you've owned. Don't be afraid of your new computer; you're leaving behind a world of headaches, and this new Mac is your Excedrin.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247038/10_things_to_do_with_your_new_mac.html#tk.rss_news Google, Microsoft Square off for Search Supremacy While Google and Microsoft waged "trench warfare" in the search business this year, both are hoping to come up with a market game changer for 2012.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247007/google_microsoft_square_off_for_search_supremacy.html#tk.rss_news 2012 Will See Rise in Cyber-Espionage and Malware, Experts Say The security industry expects the number of cyber-espionage attacks to increase in 2012 and the malware used for this purpose to become increasingly sophisticated.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/247008/2012_will_see_rise_in_cyberespionage_and_malware_experts_say.html#tk.rss_news What to Expect in Printers in 2012 No matter how clearly our world of online photo albums, Google Docs, and e-cards may seem--yet again--to ring the death knell for anything on paper, sometimes you still want to print.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245827/what_to_expect_in_printers_in_2012.html#tk.rss_news Hackers Abuse PHP Setting to Inject Malicious Code Into Websites Attackers have begun to abuse a special PHP configuration directive in order to insert malicious code into websites hosted on dedicated and virtual private servers (VPS) that have been compromised.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246948/hackers_abuse_php_setting_to_inject_malicious_code_into_websites.html#tk.rss_news Ubuntu 11.10 'Oneiric Ocelot' Will Power New PC Line The vast majority of Linux users may get the operating system by downloading and installing it themselves, but there's no denying that there are distinct advantages to buying hardware with Linux preloaded instead.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246944/ubuntu_1110_oneiric_ocelot_will_power_new_pc_line.html#tk.rss_news Grid Computing A businessman accesses his company's network through a PDA in order to forecast the future of a particular stock. A scientist studying proteins logs into a computer and uses a network of computers to analyze data. An Army official accesses and coordinates computer resources on military networks to formulate battle strategies. This is known as grid computing......which is a computer network where each computer's resources are shared with every other computer in the system. Processing power, memory and data storage are all resources that authorized users can tap into and leverage for specific tasks. In distributed computing, different computers within the same network share one or more resources. In the ideal grid computing system, every resource is shared, turning a computer network into a powerful supercomputer.

Computer scientists and programmers are working on creating, establishing and implementing standards and protocols. A grid computing system uses that same concept: share the load across multiple computers to complete tasks more efficiently and quickly.

The following is a list of computer's resources:

Central processing unit (CPU): A CPU is a microprocessor that performs mathematical operations and directs data to different memory locations. Computers can have more than one CPU.

Memory: A computer's memory is a kind of temporary electronic storage. Memory keeps relevant data close at hand for the microprocessor. Without memory, the microprocessor would have to search and retrieve data from a more permanent storage device such as a hard disk drive.
Storage: In grid computing terms, storage refers to permanent data storage devices like hard disk drives or databases.

Grid computing systems link computer resources together in a way that allows one computer to access and leverage the collected power of all the computers in the system. The computer is then transformed into a supercomputer.

At least one computer, usually a server, which handles all the administrative duties for the system. Many people refer to this kind of computer as a control node. Other application and Web servers (both physical and virtual) provide specific services to the system.
A network of computers running special grid computing network software. These computers act both as a point of interface for the user and as the resources the system will tap into for different applications. Grid computing systems can either include several computers of the same make running on the same operating system (called a homogeneous system) or a hodgepodge of different computers running on every operating system imaginable (a heterogeneous system). The network can be anything from a hardwired system where every computer connects to the system with physical wires to an open system where computers connect with each other over the Internet.

Stay tuned for an Industry News Item about the concerns that some people have about grid computing.
What's Firefox worth to Google? Nearly $1 billion Don't let the StatCounters and the NetApplications of the world fool you: despite stagnant and even slightly negative market share growth, Firefox and its default search box is still extremely valuable to Google.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57347309-12/whats-firefox-worth-to-google-nearly-$1-billion/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Report: Google to Pay Mozilla $300M Annually in Search Deal What's Firefox worth to Google? A cool $300 million a year, according to a Thursday report by AllThingsD.

Two days ago, Google and Mozilla announced that they had reached an agreement to keep Google as the default search engine in the Firefox browser. The pact was crucial to keeping the lights on at Mozilla, which in 2010 earned 84 percent of its $123 million in annual revenue from its Google search contract.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246917/report_google_to_pay_mozilla_300m_annually_in_search_deal.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla Re-Releases Firefox 9, Backs Out Fix Causing Crashes A day after it shipped Firefox 9, Mozilla quickly released an update after backing out a bug fix that was causing some Mac, Linux and Windows browsers to crash.

Mozilla issued Firefox 9.0.1 Wednesday, making one user wondering if it was bogus because it appeared hard on the heels of version 9.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246909/mozilla_rereleases_firefox_9_backs_out_fix_causing_crashes.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla Launches Firefox 9, Speeds Up JavaScript Mozilla on Tuesday shipped Firefox 9, claiming that the new browser processes JavaScript up to 36 percent faster than its predecessor.

Mozilla Launches Firefox 9, Speeds Up JavaScriptThe company also patched six Firefox vulnerabilities, and released a security update to the nearly-two-year-old Firefox 3.6 to quash a single bug there. Amazon Updates Kindle Fire Software: Fixes Some Nagging Issues Amazon is pushing out a free over-the-air software update for the Kindle Fire, that fixes a batch of problems with the tablet. The update comes just over a week after Amazon vowed to address users' complaints with the $200 low-cost iPad alternative.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246763/amazon_updates_kindle_fire_software_fixes_some_nagging_issues.html Mozilla: We're more than just Firefox, you know Although Mozilla has never limited its stated goals to merely building an open-source browser, there's no doubt that Firefox has been the highest-profile project from the Mozilla Foundation.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57346765-12/mozilla-were-more-than-just-firefox-you-know/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Facebook Commits to Changes Following Critical Irish Audit Facebook plans to change how it retains data and revamp some privacy controls following the release Wednesday of a critical audit from Ireland's data protection authority.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246776/facebook_commits_to_changes_following_critical_irish_audit.html#tk.rss_news LibreOffice Backers Want Community to Join 'bug Hunt' The organization behind LibreOffice is hoping community members will help it uncover problems with an upcoming release of the open-source office suite via an international "bug hunt" next week.

Chinese hackers target U.S. Chamber of Commerce, report says The United States Chamber of Commerce, the country's largest business-lobbying organization, was hacked by Chinese hackers, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing sources.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57346035-17/chinese-hackers-target-u.s-chamber-of-commerce-report-says/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Mozilla Extends Search Partnership With Google Mozilla has extended its search partnership with Google for at least three additional years, the company has announced.

Under the terms of the agreement, Google will continue to be the default search provider for Mozilla's web browser, Firefox.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/mozilla-extends-search-partnership-google-044921873.html Firefox 9: Faster on PCs, all-new on tablets Mozilla is laying claim to big performance improvements for Firefox 9, while Firefox for Android goes in for a shave and a haircut as it gets an entirely different look. Both desktop and Android updates are being released today.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57345392-12/firefox-9-faster-on-pcs-all-new-on-tablets/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 New Ransomware Displays Bogus Police Alerts, Requests Payment of a Fine Ransomware Trojans detected recently in the wild display bogus messages from law enforcement agencies in Europe and ask users to pay nonexistent fines, Microsoft warned.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246643/new_ransomware_displays_bogus_police_alerts_requests_payment_of_a_fine.html#tk.rss_news AT&T's 4G Network Edges Verizon in Speed Test Data downloads and Web browsing on new LTE-ready smartphones were slightly faster on AT&T's new 4G LTE network than on the far more widely spread 4G LTE network of rival Verizon, according to a study released Tuesday by Metrico Wireless.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246645/atandts_4g_network_edges_verizon_in_speed_test.html#tk.rss_news Internet Explorer Silent Updates Are Not a Miracle Cure Microsoft made waves this week by announcing that it plans to implement automatic, silent updates to push the latest version(s) of Internet Explorer. If you were hoping that silent updates will finally nail the coffin on IE6 and IE7, though, don’t hold your breath.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246496/internet_explorer_silent_updates_are_not_a_miracle_cure.html#tk.rss_news How to set up multiple profiles in Chrome There's a ton of reasons to love Chrome, but syncing isn't one of them--yet. Google has just built a new feature into Chrome 16 that could make multiple account management much better.

Read more at: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57344541-285/how-to-set-up-multiple-profiles-in-chrome/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Prep for Facebook's Timeline Layout: 6 Must-Do Privacy Tweaks Get ready for your Facebook past to come back with a vengeance; the social network is now rolling out its new profile layout, Timeline, to all users worldwide. Timeline is basically an online scrapbook that displays your Facebook activity in reverse chronological order going back to when you first joined the social network.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246371/prep_for_facebooks_timeline_layout_6_mustdo_privacy_tweaks.html#tk.rss_news EU Police Agency Arrests 112 Over Online Child Porn Europe's police force has arrested more than 100 people in a major crackdown on online child porn, but warned that the Internet is making it easier for offenders to share images.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246383/eu_police_agency_arrests_112_over_online_child_porn.html#tk.rss_news FTC Compensates 320,000 Victims of Fake Antivirus Scams The tale of notorious malware multinational Innovative Marketing has taken another extraordinary turn with the news that it is to fund refunds to hundreds of thousands of US consumers duped into buying its bogus antivirus products.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/246366/ftc_compensates_320000_victims_of_fake_antivirus_scams.html#tk.rss_news Juror’s tweets become grounds to overturn death sentence In 2010, Erickson Dimas-Martinez became a death row convict after he was found guilty of robbing and shooting a teen. Now, his sentence has been overturned because the Arkansas Supreme Court judges decided it was inappropriate for juror Randy Franco to have posted some of his thoughts about the case on Twitter while the case was ongoing.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/juror-tweets-become-grounds-overturn-death-sentence-022827104.html Why Amazon's current cloud domination helps us all Recently, I've noticed a meme spreading through Silicon Valley that questions whether Amazon Web Services' (AWS) current dominant position will hinder the cloud. The short answer: not at all.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-57341023-62/why-amazons-current-cloud-domination-helps-us-all/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 FTC Mails out Refund Checks for Buyers of Scareware The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has begun to mail refund checks to computer owners who purchased so-called scareware from vendors who allegedly used deceptive advertising to trick customers into buying the software to fix their supposedly infected computers.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/246021/ftc_mails_out_refund_checks_for_buyers_of_scareware.html#tk.rss_news Spot the difference? Twitter's 'new look' seems rather familiar to rival Facebook. Twitter launches a new-look today that it hopes will encourage more people to flock to the site – but the new, picture-heavy feel takes the site even further from its text-only roots, and it feel a lot more like Facebook.

One of the major new features is a discovery tab that lets you tap into search results based on your personal interests.

There are also three other new navigation tabs – home, connect and me - along with a new Tweet button and a simplified way of embedding users’ photos and videos. The whole thing is served up in columns - again, like Facebook.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2072004/Twitter-redesign-New-look-familiar-rival-Facebook.html#ixzz1g9QHisth
New 'super-Photoshop' lets fakers add anything to photos in minutes - and you can't tell the difference. A new, simple approach to 'adding' objects to photos could mark a new era for doctored photographs - letting amateurs add any object to photos without special equipment, training, or access to anything bar one original still.

The technique, invented by programmer Kevin Karsch, will be shown off at the Siggraph conference in Hong Kong this month. Karsch says that even 'novice' users can achieve 'professional results'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2072075/New-super-Photoshop-lets-fakers-add-photos-minutes--tell-difference.html#ixzz1g9OZ9Wsu
Google debuts digital magazine for mobile devices Google is joining a crowd of companies packaging digital content in a magazine-like format for mobile devices.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-debuts-digital-magazine-mobile-devices-234915514.html Folding@home Biological Research Vijay Pande recently used Folding@home simulations to investigate new therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer's.

Other researchers will be able to take advantage of the computing technology that Pande's group has developed over the last decade. The new distributed framework for supercomputers, called Copernicus, was presented this week at SC11, an international supercomputing conference, in Seattle.

Additional information can be found here: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-stanford-software-foldinghome-biological-supercomputers.html Two Zero-day Vulnerabilities Found in Flash Player Two newly discovered vulnerabilities in Adobe's Flash Player can be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely, according to advisories from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and various security research companies.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/245843/two_zeroday_vulnerabilities_found_in_flash_player.html#tk.rss_news Native Client turns Chrome into high-end gaming platform Google's new technology to secure the Web and make browsers significantly more powerful got its first public demo tonight at the company's headquarters south of San Francisco after three years under wraps.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57340015-12/native-client-turns-chrome-into-high-end-gaming-platform/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 More drivers texting at wheel, despite state bans For all the criticism and new legal bans, texting by drivers just keeps increasing, especially among younger motorists.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/more-drivers-texting-wheel-despite-state-bans-212236723.html Microsoft's new Windows Defender tool runs outside Windows Microsoft is launching a new version of its Windows Defender antivirus tool that will run before Windows even boots up.

Making its debut as a publicly available beta, the new Windows Defender is designed to run directly off a CD, DVD, or USB flash drive to scan your PC outside of Windows. As such, its aim is to detect rootkit viruses and other malware that can infect your computer during the boot process.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57339370-75/microsofts-new-windows-defender-tool-runs-outside-windows/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Microsoft's Answer Desk Offers Live Free and Fee Tech Support Microsoft upped its tech support offerings Wednesday with the debut of Answer Desk, a dedicated Website for live technical support for Windows OS and Microsoft Office software, PC tune-ups, virus removal, and software training. It will offer support 24/7 and 365 days a year.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245772/microsofts_answer_desk_offers_live_free_and_fee_tech_support.html#tk.rss_news LCD makers fined $388 million for alleged price fixing Sharp, Samsung, and a handful of other LCD makers have settled a price-fixing case that has set them back nearly $400 million.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57338749-17/lcd-makers-fined-$388-million-for-alleged-price-fixing/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Netflix sharing on Facebook may be coming to US It may not be much longer before there's an easier way for Netflix's U.S. subscribers to share their tastes in movies on Facebook.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/netflix-sharing-facebook-may-coming-us-224947826.html Apple MacBook Component Factory in China Still Shut Down Chinese authorities continue to inspect a factory that produces aluminum casings for Apple's MacBook laptops, following residents' complaints of unbearable odors coming from the facility.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/245759/apple_macbook_component_factory_in_china_still_shut_down.html#tk.rss_news Online uproar as India seeks social media screening India has urged social network companies including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove offensive material, unleashing a storm of criticism from Internet users complaining of censorship in the world's largest democracy.

Read more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-india-internettre7b50cv-20111205,0,4058692.story New Opera tweaks its threads, mail client Hardware acceleration is currently one of the major features missing from Opera that its competitors offer. It allows the browser to leverage a computer's graphics processor to cut down on page rendering times, including the rendering of complicated in-site graphics such as found in games.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57337148-12/new-opera-tweaks-its-threads-mail-client/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Apple's E-books Hit With EU Antitrust Probe The European Union's antitrust regulator said Tuesday that it is investigating whether Apple has operated a cartel with five other e-book publishers and engaged in other restrictive business practices banned under E.U. law.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245560/apples_ebooks_hit_with_eu_antitrust_probe.html#tk.rss_news European Regulators Start Investigating Carrier IQ Organizations and regulators across Europe, including Germany, have started looking into the use of Carrier IQ's tracking software, to ensure that mobile phone vendors and operators are not violating users' privacy.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245481/european_regulators_start_investigating_carrier_iq.html#tk.rss_news Western Digital restarts hard disk production Hard disk giant Western Digital said today that it has partially restored production at a facility that had been shut down because of the flooding in Thailand.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57335859-64/western-digital-restarts-hard-disk-production/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Sneaky Mobile Ads Invade Android Phones Are you wondering how that mysterious icon ended up on your Android phone's start screen? Annoyed at the ads clogging your notification bar? You aren't alone.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245305/sneaky_mobile_ads_invade_android_phones.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla Declines to Say If It's Renewed Lucrative Google Deal Mozilla last week declined to say whether it has renewed its contract with Google, a major revenue stream that keeps its Firefox browser in business.

The contract between Mozilla and Google was set to expire in November.


See more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245479/mozilla_declines_to_say_if_its_renewed_lucrative_google_deal.html#tk.rss_news Windows smashed: Could your next PC run Android instead? Could your next laptop or netbook - or even desktop PC - run Android instead of Windows?

A new version of Google's software is now compatible with Intel and AMD chips which would in theory allow the operating system to work on full-sized PCs.

Up until now, Android has been confined to phones and touchscreen tablets.

There are already 200 million Android devices worldwide.

Google, of course, does already have its own 'light' operating system, Chrome OS, which runs on netbooks such as Samsung's, and is based largely on an internet browser, with 'apps' added.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068986/Windows-smashed-Could-PC-run-Android-instead.html#ixzz1fYvtEdyw
Kindle, Sony or Apple: Which e-reader do you want for Christmas? To anyone predicting the future a decade ago, the fact books exist at all in the 21st century would be a surprise.

It would seem a form of entertainment in which you have to imagine the scenery, the characters’ appearances and the special effects wouldn’t stand a chance in this age of high-definition 50-inch 3D TVs.

But instead of books dying out, use of e-readers such as the Kindle is booming.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2069356/Kindle-Sony-Apple-Which-e-reader-want-Christmas.html#ixzz1fYvGNWRE
Code cracked in search for next generation of cyber spies (but they might be disappointed with the £25k salary). It was a code-cracking puzzle designed to attract the brightest young minds in the country.

But those who successfully worked out the UK intelligence agency's secret message could have been forgiven for struggling to get their head around the point of the whole process.

After cracking the complex code they were redirected to a job application they could have found far more easily using a simple Google search.

And furthermore, the salary for the role at GCHQ is a mere £25,000 - less than half of what candidates could earn in the private sector, a former employee told the Daily Telegraph.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068452/GCHQ-launches-online-code-cracking-puzzle-recruit-cyber-savvy-spies-future.html#ixzz1fMqLiHMT
Second iPhone explodes: Device emits smoke and sparks while charging - a foot from its owner's face. A second iPhone 4 has exploded without warning just days after another device blew up on a flight sparking fears over the safety of the phone.

Reports from Brazil say that the iPhone 4 was plugged in to charge overnight when it began to emit smoke and sparks as its owner slept nearby.

This is the second high-profile explosion of an iPhone in a week, in the first incident the handheld device spontaneously combusted during landing on a flight in Australia two days ago.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068638/Ayla-Motas-iPhone-explodes-Device-emits-smoke-sparks-charging.html#ixzz1fMpscmd6
StatCounter: Chrome overtakes Firefox globally. Chrome has managed to overtake Firefox as the world’s second most used browser, beating predictions with a month to spare.

As predicted, while Chrome could have overtaken Firefox by 2012, Google managed it with a month to spare.

According to web analytics firm StatCounter, Chrome took 25.69 percent of the worldwide market, up from 4.66 percent in November 2009, compared to Firefox’s share of 25.23 percent.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer remains the most used browser. But the battle of the titans begins once again: Microsoft versus Google in the browser marketshare space.

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/statcounter-chrome-overtakes-firefox-globally/64429?tag=nl.e539 Word, Excel and PowerPoint on your Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet? (Android Office app showdown). Android is a very popular mobile platform and with devices like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet bringing in more users it is time to take a look at the available Office applications.

Last June I posted my iPad Office app showdown article that I later updated in 2011 with more Office apps. Android is now the leading smartphone operating system and now with tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet dropping down to $250 and below more and more people are looking to do more with these devices. In this article, I detail my experiences with six applications that give you the ability to view, edit and/or create Office documents.

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-gadgeteer/word-excel-and-powerpoint-on-your-kindle-fire-or-nook-tablet-android-office-app-showdown/5310?tag=nl.e539 HP launches Hybrid Cloud product and services barrage. HP launches a long list of products and both professional and training services in the hopes of positioning itself as a go-to Cloud solution provider. Better design and more openness are HP’s rallying points.

HP LogoHP launched a dizzying array of products and services in the hope of positioning itself as a premier supplier for the Cloud. As with other HP launches, the list of products is too extensive to really understand what’s being offered in any detail.

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/virtualization/hp-launches-hybrid-cloud-product-and-services-barrage/4250?tag=nl.e539 New Facebook worm spreading. Researchers from the Danish security firm CSIS, have intercepted a currently spreading Facebook worm.

The worm spreads by sending direct messages using the privileges of the already logged in user. The message looks like an image file, whereas in reality it has an executable .scr screensaver extension.

Upon execution, the sample drops a ZeuS crimeware variant on the infected host. The malware is hosted on compromised web servers across the globe.

The sample — very limited detection rate — is currently detected as Win32.HLLW.Autoruner.52856 and Heure: Trojan.Win32.Generic.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/new-facebook-worm-spreading/9825?tag=nl.e550 Microsoft delivers new IE 10 preview for Windows 8. Microsoft has released a new test build of Internet Explorer 10 that works on Windows 8 only. It adds support for even more HTML5 technologies.

Microsoft made available for download its fourth “platform preview” test build of Internet Explorer (IE) 10 on November 29.

The Platform Preview 4 (PP4) release is for IE10 on the Developer Preview pre-beta build of Windows 8 only. This is not an update to the Platform Preview of IE 10 on Windows 7. (The IE 10 on Windows 7 is still at Platform Preview 2, as it has been since June of this year, with no word as to when it will be updated next.)

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-delivers-new-ie-10-preview-for-windows-8/11280?tag=nl.e539 Samsung's Galaxy Tab sales ban lifted in rare Apple patent defeat. Samsung has won a rare patent battle with Apple in Australia, in an ongoing global legal war between the two tablet and smartphone giants.

Samsung is set to resume selling its Galaxy Tab tablets in Australia after a rare win against Apple in an ongoing, global patent dispute.

An Australian federal appeals court unanimously chose to lift the preliminary sales injunction that banned the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Read more: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/samsungs-galaxy-tab-sales-ban-lifted-in-rare-apple-patent-defeat/64385?tag=nl.e539 Impending crisis for Microsoft: Office tablet pricing. If Microsoft is readying a version of Office for the iPad, it better be prepared for the ripple effect in its other business.

ZDNet reported yesterday that Microsoft is getting a version of Office ready for the iPad. The new versions of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint will be aimed at bringing a “real” office suite to the iPad, to compete with Apple’s iWorks suite. The interesting rumor has Microsoft pricing the Office apps at $10 to compete directly with the apps from Apple. This leads to the realization that Microsoft faces a dilemma when it comes time to price the Office apps for its own Windows 8 tablets coming down the pike.

Read More at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/impending-crisis-for-microsoft-office-tablet-pricing/5769?tag=nl.e539 'Cleverest Facebook scam yet' accuses users of violating site policy and threatens to delete their account. 'Phishing' scams range from the hilariously inept up to sophisticated attacks that can fool even computer experts.

But a new email Facebook scam is among the cleverer attacks directed at users of the social network - now a commercial hub used to trade music, video and films.

A recent assault designed to steal users' Facebook details is among the most sophisticated yet, say experts - because it mimics the security procedures that sites such as Facebook or Google use to defend against 'internet trolls' and other 'bad behaviour' online.

The scam comes in the form of an email accusing the user of a violation for insulting or annoying another Facebook users - and saying that their account will be deleted in 24 hours.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2066083/Cleverest-Facebook-scam-threatens-DELETE-account---unless-hand-details.html#ixzz1f5HkA7G8
Flexible circuits made from 'wonder material' graphene printed from ordinary ink-jet machine. ‘Wonder material’ graphene is so tough a sheet as thin as cling film can support an elephant and there’s nothing that can match its conductivity – now scientists have found a way of printing it.

The researchers, from Cambridge University, made flexible electronics from graphene using a humble home printer, bringing devices such as wearable computers a step closer.

The scientists created a graphene-based ink and used a modified Epson printer to produce the thin-film circuits.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2067118/Flexible-circuits-wonder-material-graphene-printed-ordinary-ink-jet-machine.html#ixzz1f5H1L7u5
The snowboarding game that really makes a splash - the 'controller' is a urinal. The idea appeared in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport - painted on the inside of the men's urinals are little bluebottles.

The airport designers found that simply giving men something to 'aim' at meant that there was less mess on the floor for the cleaners to deal with.

Now a British company has gone one step further: and created a urinal equipped with a video screen, so 'aiming' left and right steers a snowboarder down a slope.

More expert marksmen can also answer quiz questions.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2067283/The-snowboarding-game-really-makes-splash--controller-urinal.html#ixzz1f5GBSfHd
'Anti-virus' apps for infected Androids are from 'scammers' says Google - and may harm your phone. Worried about viruses on your Android phone after the recent spate of attacks on the popular handsets?

It turns out the WORST thing you can do is try to protect yourself - as many of the anti-virus apps on offer are from 'charlatans and scammers', Google says.

In the past four months, malicious software attacks on Google Android phones have risen by 472 per cent.

The attacks usually take the form of 'rogue' apps which 'suck' data out of your phone - sending information such as emails to potential attackers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2064686/Google-Anti-virus-apps-infected-Androids-charlatans-scammers.html#ixzz1eWYKY0a0
The new Apple iPhone 5 will have a bigger four-inch screen - AGAINST Steve Jobs' wishes. The conservative lines of iPhone 4S - basically a remodel of the previous year's iPhone 4 - will be radically redrawn for next year's iPhone 5.

Website iLounge has spoken to sources within Apple who say that the late CEO's Steve Jobs refusal to upgrade to a bigger screen is going to be the first thing to go - the new iPhone 5 will have a four-inch screen, putting it on a par with many Android rivals.

Our most reliable source has spoken: expect body changes for the next iPhone,' said the site.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2064841/iPhone-5-release-Apple-feature-bigger-4-inch-screen-AGAINST-Steve-Jobs-wishes.html#ixzz1eWY7tK7D
HP chairman photographed using MacBook Air Hewlett-Packard Executive Chairman Ray Lane uses a MacBook Air at home. At the very least an indication that when given a choice, he opts for a rival's product.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57328904-64/hp-chairman-photographed-using-macbook-air/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Google admits its secret 'Google X' lab - where engineers design talking fridges and lifts to space. Google has admitted to the existence of a secret laboratory - described as 'Google X' - where scientists work on wild, out-there ideas.

Most Google employees are not even aware the lab exists.

'Google has always invested in speculative R&D projects - it's part of our DNA,' said a spokesperson.

'While the possibilities are incredibly exciting, the sums involved are very small by comparison to the investments we make in our core businesses. In terms of details, we don't comment on speculation.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2061823/Google-X-lab-Where-engineers-design-talking-fridges-lifts-space.html#ixzz1eRCqY5pn
'Russian' hackers seize control of U.S. public water system by remotely destroying pump. Russian cyber criminals have destroyed a pump used to supply water to thousands of homes in Illinois, according to an infrastructure control systems expert.

Hackers accessed the public water facility in the city of Springfield and are believed to have then broken the pump by remotely turning it on and off in quick succession.

The incident, which took place on November 8, sets a worrying precedent for security officials - particularly after another hacker has since claimed to have taken control of a second U.S. facility.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2064283/Hackers-control-U-S-public-water-treatment-facilities.html#ixzz1eRCKdbrs
Super-sized Kindle Fire to take on new hi-def iPad 3 next spring? Next Spring could see a head-to-head battle between two of the giants of the internet - Amazon and Apple.

Amazon looks set to launch an iPad-sized tablet at almost exactly the same time as Apple is expected to launch its new HD iPad 3.

A new expanded Kindle Fire was rumoured before Amazon's media-playing seven-inch iPad rival even leapt off the drawing board.

Now it looks likely that the tablet will launch next spring - dangerously close to another high-profile competitor, iPad 3.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2064670/Amazon-Kindle-Fire-Super-sized-model-Apples-hi-def-iPad-3-spring.html#ixzz1eRC1rr4g
This year's easiest-to-guess passwords... as discovered by hackers that worked them out. Despite widely publicised mass hacking attacks computer and smartphone users still leave themselves vulnerable by choosing passwords that are incredibly easy to guess.

Password management app maker SplashData has revealed this year’s worst passwords, with ‘password’ and ‘123456’ taking the top two slots.

The online security firm didn’t have to hack anything to get them – they were left online by hackers who had broken into major servers such as Sony’s Playstation Network and the CIA’s.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063203/This-years-easiest-guess-passwords--discovered-hackers-worked-out.html#ixzz1eLi75gfQ
Kindles 'scrambled' by airport X-ray machines, say travellers. Airport security X-ray machines sometimes scramble Kindle displays according to reports from travellers.

Baffled users have taken to internet forums to recount horror stories of their electronic readers, made by retail giant Amazon, apparently being ruined by baggage checks, which expose items to radiation.

One American customer, posting on a Kindle forum as ‘dwaszak’, complained that her son’s Kindle ‘looked like a magic eye etch-a-sketch’ after passing through airport security in New York.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063587/Amazon-Kindle-scrambled-airport-X-ray-machines-say-travellers.html#ixzz1eLhsAOJx
Faster than a speeding iPhone: Samsung Galaxies hit warp speed! Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, launched today, has instantly become THE phone to beat - outpacing rival iPhone 4S in computer benchmark tests.

The browser in the Galaxy Nexus - a flagship phone launched in collaboration with Google - outpaces anything else on the market, according to testing experts Anandtech.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2064264/Faster-speeding-Apple-Samung-Galaxies-hit-warp-speed.html#ixzz1eLhccHq5
Samsung unveils £7,500 40-inch Full HD touchscreen
The multi-touch technology that Apple pioneered with its iPhone is now everywhere in the modern world - but Microsoft is about to pump up the technology to a new level.

The next generation of its 'Surface' table is a 40-inch touchscreen that can feel 50 'touches' at once - and can also 'feel' pens, pointers or anything else placed on the table. Screens on gizmos such as iPhone can only feel fingers.

The Full HD screen has a high-powered Windows PC built in - and is just four inches thick.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063300/Surface-table-Samsung-unveils-40-inch-touchscreen-feel-50-hands-once.html#ixzz1eEbUYAbw
Amazon's answer to iPads started shipping this week. Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet device that started shipping this week is reportedly selling for almost three dollars less than it costs to manufacture.

The online retailer is initially selling the tablet at a loss that it hopes to cover through sales of books and films for the device, research suggests.

The Kindle Fire costs $201.70 to make, research firm IHS said, but it has attracted a warm industry reception after being priced at only $199.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063345/Kindle-Fire-tablet-selling-3-costs-Amazon-manufacture.html#ixzz1eEbCb9UG
The world's lightest material. Scientists claim to have created the world’s lightest solid material, a metal which can sit atop a dandelion without even crushing its seeds.

The substance is made of tiny hollow metallic tubes – the walls of which are 1,000 times thinner than those of a human hair – arranged into a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between them.

The researchers say the material, which consists of 99.99 per cent air, is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has ‘extraordinarily high energy absorption’ properties.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063370/Scientists-create-worlds-lightest-material-1-000-times-thinner-human-hair.html#ixzz1eEZsm5ey
Like Twitter, Google+ Now Has Trending Topics Google quietly added a trending topics section to Google+ last night which now shows up when you perform a search on the social network. The new “Trends” section appears on the right-hand side of the page, and currently lists the top 10 items under heavy discussion like “Natalie Wood” and “Breaking Dawn,” for example.

Read more at: http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/18/like-twitter-google-now-has-trending-topics/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo Google Chrome Update Addresses High-Severity Flaw Google has released an update for Chrome 15 which addresses a high-risk vulnerability. The security issue is the result of an out-of-bounds memory write in the browser's JavaScript engine.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244217/google_chrome_update_addresses_highseverity_flaw.html#tk.rss_news iOS 5.0.2 May Fix Battery Life Problems Apple plans to issue iOS 5.0.2 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch very soon to address battery life issues, a report has claimed.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244223/ios_502_may_fix_battery_life_problems.html#tk.rss_news Coming Soon to Firefox: Quick Background Updates It's been predicted for some time now that Google's Chrome browser would catch up with Firefox in market share before year's end, and it looks like that may finally be happening.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/244108/coming_soon_to_firefox_quick_background_updates.html#tk.rss_news Modern Warfare 3 Has Best 5-Day Sales in History of Known Universe The season's most popular first-person shooter is now the bestselling slice of entertainment in the history of the world: Modern Warfare 3 grossed $775 million worldwide in five days time, claims Activision, roundly making it the bestselling video game of all time.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244084/modern_warfare_3_has_best_5day_sales_in_history_of_known_universe.html#tk.rss_news AOL Revamps AIM with Facebook, Google Chat Apps AIM, AOL's seminal instant messenger app, just received a preview update to pull it out of obscurity and compete with other more popular chat apps like Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Skype and a slew of others that aggregate disparate clients and boast features like video and picture-sharing.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244087/aol_revamps_aim_with_facebook_google_chat_apps.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft's 'Secret' Social Network Not So Secret Any More Redmond seems to be cooking up a social network/search hybrid after all. Welcome to its Google+ killer. It appears that Microsoft is cooking up its own -- wait for it -- Facebook killer.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/244088/microsofts_secret_social_network_not_so_secret_any_more.html#tk.rss_news

Yahoo Revs Up Recipe and Shopping Search Features for the Holidays Yahoo has introduced interactive search results for shopping, recipes and entertainment that will appear at the top of search result pages starting Tuesday evening.The new features integrate Yahoo.com content into the top of web search results.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-revs-recipe-shopping-search-features-holidays-230200215.html 40 Years Ago Today: The Intel 4004 Launches Digital Era Love your smartphone? How about your laptop, your GPS, your car, even? Well, then this should be a noteworthy day for you.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243932/40_years_ago_today_the_intel_4004_launches_digital_era.html#tk.rss_news FAQ: What's the big deal about Duqu? The recently discovered Duqu Trojan has received considerable attention from the security research community. Here's why.

read more at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9221817/FAQ_What_s_the_big_deal_about_Duqu_?taxonomyId=17 Google+ Will Gain Enterprise Social Collaboration Features Google plans to release to customers in the future a version of Google+, already in use internally at the company, that has features designed specifically for workplace collaboration.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243854/google_will_gain_enterprise_social_collaboration_features.html#tk.rss_news Western Digital's New NAS Box Touts Easy Setup WD has returned to the consumer and small-business NAS market with its Sentinel DX4000, a 4-bay box that leverages Microsoft's Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials operating system.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/243855/western_digitals_new_nas_box_touts_easy_setup.html#tk.rss_news Buffett's firm buys about $10.7B in IBM shares Investor Warren Buffett says his company bought about $10.7 billion of IBM stock this year, giving it a stake of more than 5 percent in the technology company.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/buffetts-firm-buys-10-7b-ibm-shares-162337941.html Japanese supercomputer first to clear 10 petaflops The rankings of the 10 fastest machines didn't change at all on today's new version of the Top 500 supercomputer list, but the top dog cleared the notable performance hurdle of 10 petaflops.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57324194-264/japanese-supercomputer-first-to-clear-10-petaflops/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Get an Early Taste of Linux Mint 12 Just a week or so after revealing that Linux Mint 12 would be taking a hybrid approach to introducing GNOME 3, the project behind the free operating system on Saturday announced the debut of a release candidate of the software.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/243793/get_an_early_taste_of_linux_mint_12.html#tk.rss_news Hackers May Have Spent Years Crafting Duqu The hacker group behind Duqu may have been working on its attack code for more than four years, new analysis of the Trojan revealed Friday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243710/hackers_may_have_spent_years_crafting_duqu.html#tk.rss_news Will Google Roll Out its Music Store Next Week? Google is planning a mystery event next Wednesday--could it be the announcement of Google's entry into the online music business?

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243716/will_google_roll_out_its_music_store_next_week.html#tk.rss_news New iOS 5.0.1 Glitches: Is Apple Entirely to Blame? Are things really as bad as they seem with iOS 5.0.1? The update, released Thursday on a surprisingly quick schedule, primarily addresses battery issues caused by iOS 5--a sore spot for many iPhone 4S owners.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243722/new_ios_501_glitches_is_apple_entirely_to_blame.html#tk.rss_news Hard-disk shortage hits consumer outlets The fallout of the hard-disk drive shortage is now raining down on consumers, according to analysts and resellers.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57322023-64/hard-disk-shortage-hits-consumer-outlets/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 German Court Rules That Free Software Can Be Modified as Users Wish A major challenge to the principles of free software was thrown out of a German district court on Tuesday.

German DSL router vendor AVM had attempted to stop Cybits, which produces children's Web-filtering software, from modifying any part of the firmware used in its routers, including a key piece of Linux-based free software.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243607/german_court_rules_that_free_software_can_be_modified_as_users_wish.html#tk.rss_news Report: Facebook nears privacy settlement with FTC Facebook is nearing a settlement with federal regulators that would require the world's most popular online hangout to obtain approval from its users before making changes that expose their profiles and activities to a wider audience, according to a report published Thursday.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/report-facebook-nears-privacy-settlement-ftc-224437464.html Apple releases iOS 5 battery life fix to cure what ails your iPhone We knew it was en route, but Apple has just released a minor software fix for devices running on the company's latest mobile software, iOS 5. After iOS 5's somewhat rocky launch, many iPhone owners saw their normally top-notch battery life take a plunge.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/apple-releases-ios-5-battery-life-fix-cure-215713933.html Adobe Systems just crippled Flash Player, but it hasn't put the browser plug-in out of its misery. Today, Adobe confirmed that it's extinguishing the Flash Player plug-in for mobile devices. The move came as a surprise, given how hard Adobe worked to develop and promote the software and given that a key benefit of Flash is its promise to help programmers create software that spans many different computing devices.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57321494-264/flash-crippled-but-alive...for-now/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Google to Discontinue Gmail App for BlackBerry Google, which last week bungled the launch of a Gmail application for Apple iOS devices, has decided to put out to pasture its Gmail application for the BlackBerry.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243472/google_to_discontinue_gmail_app_for_blackberry.html#tk.rss_news Firefox 8 Arrives with Twitter Search Integration Mozilla on Tuesday released Firefox 8, adding Twitter search to the browser and patching eight vulnerabilities.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243462/firefox_8_arrives_with_twitter_search_integration.html#tk.rss_news World of Warcraft Loses 2 Million Subscribers in a Year World of Warcraft's eventual demise, at least as we currently know it, was probably inevitable. Even the most storied massively-multiplayer games have shelf lives. So to hear that Activision Blizzard lost around 800,000 subscribers in its latest quarter—a drop from 11.1 million to 10.3 million subs worldwide—shouldn't be a jaw-dropper.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243465/world_of_warcraft_loses_2_million_subscribers_in_a_year.html#tk.rss_news How Google+ Could One-Up Facebook’s Brand Pages Google today launched the first iteration of its brand Pages product for Google+. The company has some big choices to make about how it will flesh out this skeleton to challenge the Pages product Facebook has had years to work on.

Read more at: http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/07/google-facebook-pages/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo Modern Warfare 3 Thieves Crash Into Van Carrying 6,000 Copies Remember when a pair of robbers with semi-automatic handguns stole over 100 copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops at gunpoint? Here we go again, only extreme style: Up to 6,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's were reportedly stolen by thieves in France on Saturday morning.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243279/modern_warfare_3_thieves_crash_into_van_carrying_6000_copies.html#tk.rss_news Google calls out Microsoft on patent warfare, says system is broken The rise of Android’s open platform, plus Google’s stance on the patent system, makes the company a prime target for patent warfare. Google’s attracted the wrong sort of attention from every major rival including Apple, Microsoft and Oracle.

Read more at: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/10135-google-calls-out-microsoft-on-patent-warfare-says-system-is-broken Sri Lanka blocks 5 news websites over 'insults' Sri Lanka has blocked five news websites because they committed character assassination and insulted people including key political leaders, officials said Monday.

Rad more at: http://news.yahoo.com/sri-lanka-blocks-5-news-websites-over-insults-094158881.html Microsoft Lures New IE9 Users With Freebies Microsoft on Friday launched a promotion to convince more Windows 7 users to adopt Internet Explorer 9 (IE9).

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243282/microsoft_lures_new_ie9_users_with_freebies.html#tk.rss_news Apple gives devs second beta of iOS 5 battery fix Less than two days after issuing its first crack at a fix for iOS 5's battery draining issue, Apple has issued a new version of the software to developers, suggesting its public release may come sooner than expected.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-57318797-248/apple-gives-devs-second-beta-of-ios-5-battery-fix/ Time Warner bids 1B euros to acquire Endemol Time Warner Inc. has made an unsolicited bid to acquire Endemol, the Dutch entertainment giant behind hit reality TV shows like "Big Brother" and "Deal or No Deal."

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/time-warner-bids-1b-euros-acquire-endemol-213808170.html Yahoo investor demands board ouster of co-founder A major Yahoo shareholder believes the slumping Internet company would be better off without Jerry Yang on its board as it mulls a possible sale.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-investor-demands-board-ouster-co-founder-195333580.html Bugs & Fixes: When OS X Lion Slows to a Crawl Today's column is another episode in my occasional series of "detective stories." These show how I tracked down, identified and ultimately eradicated a mysterious bug for which there seemed no immediately obvious cause.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243257/bugs_and_fixes_when_os_x_lion_slows_to_a_crawl.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft Posts a Fix for Duqu Zero-Day Trojan Microsoft has released a Fix-it tool to allow Windows users to manually patch their systems to thwart the Duqu Trojan: Microsoft Security Advisory (2639658).

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/243249/microsoft_posts_a_fix_for_duqu_zeroday_trojan.html#tk.rss_news Ubuntu Linux eyes tablet territory Canonical wants to get its Ubuntu Linux operating system onto tablets and smartphones.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20127838-92/ubuntu-linux-eyes-tablet-territory/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Amtrak Adds WiFi To 12 New East Coast Routes, California’s Up Next Attention workaholics: your business trip a la rail was just made more efficient, if you’re using Amtrak, of course. The nation’s intercity railway has just added Wi-Fi service to 12 new East Coast routes, bringing the interwebs to almost 60 percent of all Amtrak passengers.

Read more at: http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/31/amtrak-adds-wifi-to-12-new-east-coast-routes-californias-up-next/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo Large Scale Hacks: U.S. satellites infiltrated for 12 minutes It's one thing for hackers to target a video game network or newspaper website, but setting sights on United States government satellites is an entirely different situation. A new report released by Congress shows that's exactly what has been happening, as two separate orbiters have seen a total of 4 attacks since 2007. Some breaches managed to interfere with the NASA's hardware for up to 12 minutes.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/large-scale-hacks-u-satellites-infiltrated-12-minutes-031227530.html 38 Incredibly Useful Sites If you haven’t tried underappreciated online services such as Earndit, PageOnce, and Rdio, you’re missing out on some of the Web’s handiest sites for managing your money, your health, your music, and more.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242819/38_incredibly_useful_sites.html#tk.rss_news South Korea Fines Flat-panel LCD Display Makers South Korea's competition watchdog has fined 10 LCD makers a total of 195 billion won ($176 million) for allegedly holding secret meetings to keep the prices for flat screen displays artificially high.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242848/south_korea_fines_flatpanel_lcd_display_makers.html#tk.rss_news How Google Was Tripped up by a Bad Search In the end it was a search that let Google down. The company suffered a setback in its patent dispute with Oracle last week when a U.S. judge denied Google's request to keep an internal Google email out of the case record. The email, written by a Google engineer, could suggest to a jury that Google knew it needed a license to use Sun's -- now Oracle's -- Java technology in Android.

read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242818/how_google_was_tripped_up_by_a_bad_search.html#tk.rss_news Why Would Anyone Use Windows XP Today? As the world celebrates–or at least acknowledges–the tenth anniversary of Windows XP, I wondered why so many people continue to use an operating system that dates from an utterly different era in the history of personal technology.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242809/why_would_anyone_use_windows_xp_today.html#tk.rss_news New Tsunami Trojan Variant Discovered Security researchers have discovered a new variant of the Tsunami Trojan targeting Mac OS, which can be used to turn your Mac into a 'bot' that participates in DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242814/new_tsunami_trojan_variant_discovered.html#tk.rss_news Arctic chill brings Facebook data center to Sweden Facebook is to build a new server farm on the edge of the Arctic Circle — its first outside the United States — to improve performance for European users, officials of the social networking site said Thursday.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/arctic-chill-brings-facebook-data-center-sweden-110538804.html Firefox and Bing--together at last? Mozilla wants to diversify its search revenue base from Google. Microsoft's Bing wants more market share. Enter some integration that may move the needle for both parties.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20125995-92/firefox-and-bing-together-at-last/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 New Security Flaws Found in BlackBerry 6 OS, IM Apps It's been more than two months since Research In Motion (RIM) reported a BlackBerry smartphone or BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) security flaw, but the Canadian company has announced a handful of recently discovered vulnerabilities in its BlackBerry 6 handheld OS and BES for IBM Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242446/new_security_flaws_found_in_blackberry_6_os_im_apps.html#tk.rss_news Oracle to acquire RightNow for $1.5 billion Oracle's rivalry with Salesforce.com is about to get more interesting. Oracle said Monday that it will acquire RightNow, which is a customer service-as-a-service company, for $1.5 billion, or $43 a share.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20124595-92/oracle-to-acquire-rightnow-for-$1.5-billion/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Siri co-founder Kittlaus leaves Apple, report says Now that the iPhone 4S is on store shelves, Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus, who headed up Apple's development of the service, has left the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, a new report claims.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20124589-17/siri-co-founder-kittlaus-leaves-apple-report-says/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Linux Kernel Now Supports OpenRISC, Nested Virtualization Linus Torvalds has released the next version of the Linux kernel, and with it come virtualization enhancements and support for the emerging OpenRISC processor architecture.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242460/linux_kernel_now_supports_openrisc_nested_virtualization.html#tk.rss_news Google: Bidding for Yahoo or Driving up Cost for Microsoft? The pursuit of Yahoo seems to be heating up as a report Monday added Google to a list of interested suitors that is already said to include Microsoft.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242463/google_bidding_for_yahoo_or_driving_up_cost_for_microsoft.html#tk.rss_news Steve Jobs Biography Reveals Reflections On Apple, Contempt For Android Last night at least two news outlets —The AP and The Huffington Post— revealed that they had obtained copies of the Steve Jobs biography penned by Walter Isaacson. Jobs gave Isaacson unprecedented access, making time for over 40 interviews spanning everything from his early life to his final weeks.

Read more at: http://www.protonic.com/purl/?id=201&rid=2apfnzl6 World's Most Sophisticated Rootkit Is Being Overhauled Experts from security vendor ESET warn that TDL4, one of the most sophisticated pieces of malware in the world, is being rewritten and improved for increased resilience to antivirus detection.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242286/worlds_most_sophisticated_rootkit_is_being_overhauled.html#tk.rss_news What Does Microsoft Really Want from Yahoo? The will-they-or-won't-they questions are heating up again.

For weeks now, the blogosphere has been awash with speculation that Microsoft may make a new play to acquire Yahoo, which has seen significant upheaval since the firing of CEO Carol Bartz early last month.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242281/what_does_microsoft_really_want_from_yahoo.html#tk.rss_news Gmail Redesign Fixes Annoyances, But Adds a Pesky Ad Although the Gmail redesign hasn't gone live yet, and things could change before it does, the new ad placement looks like the latest attempt by Google to squeeze more advertising dollars out of its e-mail service.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242290/gmail_redesign_fixes_annoyances_but_adds_a_pesky_ad.html#tk.rss_news NGINX: 40 Million Websites Can't Be Wrong After almost 10 years of development, the second leading open source web server is going commercial. NGINX (pronounced like EnigneX), the brainchild of Igor Sysoev has announced the opening of their US based commercial entity and a three million dollar round of funding.

Read more at: http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/78896 Google+: Users Want More Features Google+ has great potential, but users of the social network are frustrated with Google's method of rolling out features that they want.

Read more at: http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/social_networking_consumer/231901305/google-users-want-more-features Confirmed: Steve Jobs Worked on Apple Until His Last Day As one might expect, following the death of Steve Jobs, many rumors and legends have taken on a life of their own. The most recent whispers are related to the notion, proffered by Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar in a recent research note, that Jobs worked on next year's iPhone 5.

Read more at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395041,00.asp#fbid=HTxgeNIr67g Google Docs Revamps Presentations, Adds 50 New Features Google on Tuesday introduced a new version of its Googlde Docs presentations Web app. The app has more than 50 new features.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242121/google_docs_revamps_presentations_adds_50_new_features.html#tk.rss_news Router Tips to Make Your Wireless Faster Most everyone has a router, but not everyone knows how to make it work better. Here are some tips and tricks to get a little extra oomph out of the least sexy piece of tech you own.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242112/router_tips_to_make_your_wireless_faster.html#tk.rss_news Mac Notebooks May Get Scarce After Plant Shutdown The shutdown of production at a Chinese manufacturer may affect inventories of Apple's popular MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks, an analyst said Monday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242066/mac_notebooks_may_get_scarce_after_plant_shutdown.html#tk.rss_news HP's New Virtualization Servers Provide Path to Cloud Hewlett-Packard on Monday announced new servers that come pre-configured with Microsoft software to help companies deploy virtualized workloads more quickly.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242070/hps_new_virtualization_servers_provide_path_to_cloud.html#tk.rss_news Levinsohn: Yahoo Is Doing Fine Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo's executive vice president for the Americas, on Monday downplayed the notion that the recent firing of CEO Carol Bartz has the company in an upheaval.

He made his remarks even as news emerged that Yahoo's chief technology officer, Raymie Stata, has just been replaced.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/242069/levinsohn_yahoo_is_doing_fine.html#tk.rss_news Google Prepping iTunes Competitor Google plans to take on Apple and Amazon with its own MP3 store that will open in the next several weeks and accompany its Google Music Beta service, according to a report.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-prepping-itunes-competitor-report-101329274.html Microsoft closes $8.5 billion Skype acquisition Microsoft has completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype Global, giving the software company a major foothold in the growing market for Internet telephony services.


Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20120355-264/microsoft-closes-$8.5-billion-skype-acquisition/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Customers Sue Frontier Over Broadband Surcharge Four customers of Frontier Communications have filed a class action lawsuit against the broadband and digital voice provider over a US$1 to $1.50 mystery charge on their monthly bills.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241929/customers_sue_frontier_over_broadband_surcharge.html#tk.rss_news Bing and Yahoo Sponsored Results Lead to Hard-to-remove Rootkit Searching for Flash Player on Bing and Yahoo can lead to rogue pages distributing a hard-to-remove rootkit, according to security researchers from antivirus vendor GFI Software.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241930/bing_and_yahoo_sponsored_results_lead_to_hardtoremove_rootkit.html#tk.rss_news Dennis Ritchie, father of C programming language, dies Dennis Ritchie, an internationally renowned computer scientist who created the C programming language, has died at age 70.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20119811-92/dennis-ritchie-father-of-c-programming-language-dies/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Microsoft patches IE9 with new security update Microsoft has released a new update for Internet Explorer 9 that aims to patch several outstanding security holes.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20119909-75/microsoft-patches-ie9-with-new-security-update/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Microsoft and Mozilla Browser Security Fight: They're Both Wrong Microsoft and Mozilla have been squabbling over whose browser is more secure--but both companies are likely wrong.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241899/microsoft_and_mozilla_browser_security_fight_theyre_both_wrong.html#tk.rss_news Page: Google+ to Broadly Impact Other Google Products Google Co-Founder and CEO Larry Page made clear on Thursday the lofty expectations the company has for its new social networking site Google+.

During a conference call to discuss the company's third quarter financial results, Page outlined the significant effect he foresees Google+ having on the company's business.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241908/page_google_to_broadly_impact_other_google_products.html#tk.rss_news Verizon will soon begin spying on your web habits, here’s how to opt out f you're a Verizon wireless customer, your online identity is about to take another privacy hit. The company just revealed that its new service agreement will include language that allows the monitoring of your web habits, including websites you visit and even the location data of when and where you use your wireless browser.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/verizon-soon-begin-spying-habits-opt-231705272.html Patch Internet Explorer Now Yesterday was Microsoft's Patch Tuesday for the month of October. There were a total of eight new security bulletins--not too many, but enough to keep IT admins busy for a while. While most of the vulnerabilities addressed are not imminent threats, security experts are virtually unanimous that patching Internet Explorer should be priority one.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/241739/patch_internet_explorer_now.html AMD's New Eight-core Bulldozer FX Chips Touch 4.2GHz Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday released the first eight-core desktop chips based on the new Bulldozer architecture, in which cores can run at clock speeds of up to 4.2GHz.

The chips will belong to the re-launched FX series, which are targeted at enthusiasts like gamers. The chips are "unclocked and customizable," AMD said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241762/amds_new_eightcore_bulldozer_fx_chips_touch_42ghz.html Which Browser Has Your Back? That Would Be Firefox Hard on the heels of recent reports that Google's Chrome browser may overtake Firefox by year's end, Mozilla on Monday released its annual “State of Mozilla” report including rosy financial results and a discussion of its efforts moving forward.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/241661/which_browser_has_your_back_that_would_be_firefox.html#tk.hp_new iTunes 10.5 is Out: 3 Reasons to Get It Now Version 10.5 of Apple's iTunes software is available now, just in time for the launch of iOS 5 on Wednesday. The latest version includes the first taste of iCloud and is required before downloading iOS 5.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241699/itunes_105_is_out_3_reasons_to_get_it_now.html#tk.hp_new Microsoft plugs critical IE, .Net holes Microsoft today issued eight security bulletins plugging 23 holes, including a critical patch for vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to take control of a computer, if someone visited a malicious Web page using Internet Explorer.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20118766-245/microsoft-plugs-critical-ie-.net-holes/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Ubuntu Linux heads to the clouds Last week, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company Canonical CEO Jane Silber announced at the OpenStack cloud software conference that HP has chosen Ubuntu as the lead host and guest operating system for its Public Cloud. That’s impressive. It’s Canonical’s biggest enterprise win to date, but that’s only a hint of what Canonical is up to with the cloud.

Read more at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/ubuntu-linux-heads-to-the-clouds/9722 Hackers say German officials used backdoor Trojan A German hacker group says it has found a Trojan backdoor program designed for spying on Skype communications that it alleges was used for surveillance by German law enforcement officials but which also has flaws that put the infected computer at risk of serious attack by others.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20118194-245/hackers-say-german-officials-used-backdoor-trojan/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver Opera 12 to get graphics-hardware boost The next version of Opera Software's browser will get a major graphics-hardware boost, an approach that's been spreading to browsers keen to increase battery life, improve performance, and enable new features.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20118416-264/opera-12-to-get-graphics-hardware-boost/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Google debuts Dart, a JavaScript alternative Google today launched an "early preview" of Dart, a programming language the company hopes will help Web application programmers overcome shortcomings of JavaScript that Google itself feels acutely.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20117924-264/google-debuts-dart-a-javascript-alternative/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Microsoft Patch Tuesday to target Windows, IE In its regular series of monthly security fixes, the company tomorrow is launching eight separate bulletins to patch 23 different holes in a small but key range of products. Marked as "critical," two of the bulletins are aimed at stopping hackers from remotely running code in Windows, Internet Explorer, .NET, and Silverlight.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20118106-75/microsoft-patch-tuesday-to-target-windows-ie/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Firefox advises users to disable McAfee plugin It's the last thing McAfee would want users to hear about one of its products, but the Firefox browser is advising users to disable McAfee's ScriptScan software, saying that it could cause "stability or security problems."

SriptScan ships with McAfee's VirusScan antivirus program. It's designed to keep Web surfer's safe by scanning for any malicious scripting code that might be running in the browser. But according to Mozilla it has an unintended side-effect: It can cause Firefox to crash... a lot.

In a note posted to its website, Mozilla said that the add-on "causes a high volume of crashes," and is "strongly encouraging" users to disable the software. The warning applies to all users of version 14.4.0 and below of the plugin, Mozilla said.

The Firefox browser started popping up warning messages Monday, advising that users disable the software

http://www.itworld.com/software/210093/firefox-advises-users-disable-mcafee-plugin This is how Windows get infected with malware When a Microsoft Windows machine gets infected by viruses/malware it does so mainly because users forget to update the Java JRE, Adobe Reader/Acrobat and Adobe Flash. This is revealed by a survey conducted by CSIS Security Group A/S.

Basis of the study

CSIS has over a period of almost three months actively collected real time data from various so-called exploit kits. An exploit kit is a commercial hacker toolbox that is actively exploited by computer criminals who take advantage of vulnerabilities in popular software. Up to 85 % of all virus infections occur as a result of drive-by attacks automated via commercial exploit kits.

The purpose of this study is to reveal precisely how Microsoft Windows machines are infected with malware and which browsers, versions of Windows and third party software that are at risk.

http://net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1863 Apple co-founder Steve Jobs: tributes pour in Apple's corporate statement announcing the death of 56-year old co-founder Steve Jobs was brief: "We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

Many technology experts, industry peers and other admirers have been quick to add their own tributes.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15194370 Apple Chairman Steve Jobs Dead at 56 Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder who resigned from the company in the mid-1980s and returned a decade later to make Apple one of the most successful technology companies in the world, has died.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241234/apple_chairman_steve_jobs_dead_at_56.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft explains reason for Windows 8 Start menu Windows 8's new Metro-based Start menu has already aroused concerns and questions among users, but Microsoft sees the feature as a natural evolution.

In the latest Building Windows 8 blog, Chaitanya Sareen, program manager lead on Microsoft's Core Experience Evolved team, acknowledged some of the questions about the new Start menu from worrisome users.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20115356-75/microsoft-explains-reason-for-windows-8-start-menu/#ixzz1ZuwU5cem
Amazon Adds Free Encryption to Storage Service Using Amazon Web Services' new Server Side Encryption feature, enterprises will at no extra cost be able to encrypt data stored on the company's Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon said on Tuesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241154/amazon_adds_free_encryption_to_storage_service.html#tk.rss_news Online Banking Fraud Losses Decline in the UK Online banking fraud losses in the U.K. fell 32 percent in the first half of the year, according to figures from U.K. banks released on Wednesday. The decline is due to the increased use of fraud detection software by banks, an industry group said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241155/online_banking_fraud_losses_decline_in_the_uk.html#tk.rss_news Obama got presidential iPad 2 from Steve Jobs ahead of public launch US President Barack Obama revealed Monday that he received his iPad directly from Apple founder Steve Jobs ahead of the release of the hot-selling tablet computer, AFP reports.

Read more at: http://macdailynews.com/2011/10/03/obama-got-presidential-ipad-2-from-steve-jobs-ahead-of-public-launch/ Yahoo, ABC joining forces in news partnership ABC News and Yahoo Inc. are joining to deliver more online news to their audiences. With the deal, ABC News content will be prominently featured on Yahoo News, the most visited news website in the world. It will also show up on Yahoo's popular front page.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-abc-joining-forces-news-partnership-132921148.html Microsoft Officially Kills Zune Microsoft has officially confirmed that the company will no longer be making Zune players, and that it will instead focus on Windows Phone 7 for users' music and video needs. Microsoft's official statement went up on the Zune website Monday night, assuring current Zune users that the discontinuation of the product does not mean their devices will be defunct.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/241059/microsoft_officially_kills_zune.html#tk.rss_news Hackers Crack Internet Encryption: Should You Be Worried? Data encryption is the cornerstone of Internet security. Every time you log into your email account or sign into an online retailer like Amazon, chances are that your browser is establishing a secure connection to the server using an encryption technology called TLS (Transport Layer Security).

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240933/hackers_crack_internet_encryption_should_you_be_worried.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft aiming to clean up Hotmail user's inboxes Microsoft is aiming to make its Hotmail e-mail service better than ever--and confronting what it admits is a subpar perception of the brand--with a series of new features designed to help users easily clean up their inboxes.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20114975-52/microsoft-aiming-to-clean-up-hotmail-users-inboxes/#ixzz1Zp6uRIoS
Excited for Ubuntu Linux 11.10? The Official Countdown Has Begun It may not compare with the hype that comes out of Cupertino or Redmond, but there's no denying that the new “This Is the Countdown” website launched in the past few days adds a considerable dose of excitement to the upcoming launch of Ubuntu 11.10, or “Oneiric Ocelot.”


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240999/excited_for_ubuntu_linux_1110_the_official_countdown_has_begun.html#tk.rss_news Chrome could unseat Firefox as No. 2 browser Google's browsers edged closer to second place in both desktop and mobile markets, a gradual trend that helps Google's profitability and its long-term plans for the Web.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20114278-264/chrome-could-unseat-firefox-as-no-2-browser/#ixzz1Zje8xgka
Microsoft falsely labels Chrome as malware Google has released a new version of Chrome after Microsoft's antivirus software flagged the browser as malware and removed it from about 3,000 people's computers on Friday.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20114600-264/microsoft-falsely-labels-chrome-as-malware/#ixzz1ZjdfEaVS
Mac market share continues to inch up The Mac still owns a tiny market share compared with Windows but one that's slowly been inching up.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20114776-37/mac-market-share-continues-to-inch-up/#ixzz1ZjczlYBA
Microsoft's IE9-first Strategy Fails to Stem Browser Slide Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) last month continued to shed users, losing the largest chunk of share since December 2010, Web measurement firm Net Applications reported Saturday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240971/microsofts_ie9first_strategy_fails_to_stem_browser_slide.html#tk.rss_news Facebook Turns to Websense for Malicious URL Detection Facebook has partnered with security vendor Websense to protect its users from third-party malicious URLs spammed on the social networking website, the companies said on Monday.

Facebook has been plagued by malware distribution campaigns, survey scams and other types of threats for years now and despite the company's best efforts the attacks continue.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240979/facebook_turns_to_websense_for_malicious_url_detection.html#tk.rss_news The Million Song Free Download The Million Song Dataset is a freely-available collection of audio features and metadata for a million contemporary popular music tracks.

The full download is 288GB so you may want to select a subset instead.

http://labrosa.ee.columbia.edu/millionsong/ Cloud-Powered Facial Recognition Is Terrifying The cloud never forgets. That's the logic behind a new application developed by Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and Google that's designed to take a photograph of a total stranger and, using the facial recognition software PittPatt, track down their real identity in a matter of minutes. Facial recognition isn't that new -- the rudimentary technology has been around since the late 1960s -- but this system is faster, more efficient, and more thorough than any other system ever used. Why? Because it's powered by the cloud.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/cloud-powered-facial-recognition-is-terrifying/245867/ T-Mobile: Apple won't let us have the iPhone T-Mobile thinks the iPhone is cool. It would love to add it to its network. But it's not happening anytime soon.

Read more at: http://www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/9615-t-mobile-apple-wont-let-us-have-the-iphone Memory comes to the fore in Firefox 7 Performance and improved memory use were the goals of Firefox 7, which arrived on schedule today from Mozilla. Firefox 7 is available to download for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20112253-12/memory-comes-to-the-fore-in-firefox-7/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 FAQ: Which Social Networks Fight for Your Rights? Can social networks censor your speech? Will they give the government information on who you are and where you’ve been? Know your rights with our handy guide to tech activism.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240605/faq_which_social_networks_fight_for_your_rights.html#tk.rss_news Google Buys Land to Build Three Data Centers in Asia Google has acquired land in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore to build data centers in these three locations, it said Wednesday.

The data centers will be the "first Google proprietary data centers in Asia," and will be fully owned and operated by the company, said Taj Meadows, the company's policy communications manager for Asia Pacific.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240728/google_buys_land_to_build_three_data_centers_in_asia.html#tk.rss_news A Bundle of Updates Give 10 Linux Distributions a Boost With so many Linux distributions to choose from, it can be difficult to keep tabs on them all. Over the past few weeks I've written about Bodhi Linux--a lesser-known but nice (and increasingly popular) flavor of Linux--as well as Arch Linux and Mandriva.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240611/a_bundle_of_updates_give_10_linux_distributions_a_boost.html Facebook Vows to Fix Major Privacy Breach Social networking giant Facebook promised Tuesday to fix a major privacy breach that allowed it to collect users' browsing information after they had logged out, The Australian reported.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/27/facebook-vows-to-fix-major-privacy-breach/?test=faces#ixzz1ZAXkEYUQ
Just Show Me: How to use AirPrint on your iPad AirPrint lets you use your iPad to print to any AirPrint-enabled printer on your network without needing to install software or drivers, or use any cables.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/just-show-airprint-ipad-004627204.html Microsoft addresses Windows 8 secure boot issue Microsoft is trying to shed light on the new secure boot process in Windows 8 to address concerns from people who may want to dual-boot a non-Windows OS, such as Linux.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20111545-75/microsoft-addresses-windows-8-secure-boot-issue/#ixzz1ZAVSFJY8
Android Doubles iPhone in New Smartphone Sales Android devices have outsold the iPhone by a 2-to-1 margin in the past three months, according to a new Nielsen survey.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240650/android_doubles_iphone_in_new_smartphone_sales.html#tk.rss_news Google+ Climbs Up Social Networking Ladder Traffic exploded on Google+ after the social networking site opened to the public, shooting up 1,269 percent in one week, making the site the eighth largest social network on the Internet, according to Web analytics firm Hitwise.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240652/google_climbs_up_social_networking_ladder.html#tk.rss_news Iran blocks Tor; Tor releases same-day fix Yesterday morning (in our timezones — that evening, in Iran), Iran added a filter rule to their border routers that recognized Tor traffic and blocked it. Thanks to help from a variety of friends around the world, we quickly discovered how they were blocking it and released a new version of Tor that isn't blocked. Fortunately, the fix is on the relay side: that means once enough relays and bridges upgrade, the many tens of thousands of Tor users in Iran will resume being able to reach the Tor network, without needing to change their software.

https://blog.torproject.org/blog/iran-blocks-tor-tor-releases-same-day-fix Swedish Daycare Tests GPS Tracking for Kids A parent’s worst fear is having their children go missing. A daycare in Sweden is conducting an experiment to alleviate this fear- by placing GPS tracking devices on kids while they are outside of the confines of the nursery walls. The transmitters will report to a synced mobile phone, alarming teachers if a child moves out of a certain distance.

http://www.inhabitots.com/swedish-daycare-tests-gps-tracking-devices-for-kids/ Trash Bag Aircraft Project T-B.A.C is a "aircraft" launched by using trash bags on August 24th 2011. The project was designed and created by Manuja Gunaratne - a high school senior. The aircraft was launched in the Las Vegas valley area and managed to capture stunning pictures of the Earth.

http://www.projecttbac.org/ Software upgrades could produce self-tuning wireless access points, researchers say Researchers say wireless access points could double as analysis tools that detect radio-frequency interference and automatically adjust to preserve the quality of Wi-Fi connections.

Such upgraded devices could eliminate the need for separate, costly spectrum analyzers that discover interfering devices but do nothing to counter interference, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/092311-wifi-airshark-251193.html Microsoft explains Windows 8 boot to quell Linux fears Microsoft has become locked in a dispute over whether the boot process in Windows 8 will block Linux from running on hardware designed for the next version of its flagship platform.

http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/desktop-os/2011/09/23/microsoft-explains-windows-8-boot-to-quell-linux-fears-40094017/ Cellphone service coming to 6 NYC subway stations The long-delayed project to wire New York City subway stations for cellphone service is finally bearing fruit. A person close to the matter said six stations will go live with the service on Tuesday.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/cellphone-coming-6-nyc-subway-stations-121422129.html 'Lurid' Malware Hits Russia, CIS Countries The latest espionage-related hacking campaign detailed by security vendor Trend Micro is most notable for the country it does not implicate: China.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240466/lurid_malware_hits_russia_cis_countries.html#tk.rss_news Discovery of faster-than-light particles would leave Einstein scratching his head The rate at which light travels has been considered the universal speed limit for many decades, but a new discovery made by researchers at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland could throw that notion right out the window.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/discovery-faster-light-particles-leave-einstein-scratching-head-012537944.html Facebook Announces Timeline, Other Major Changes Facebook has announced two major new features for its social network: Timeline and real-time media sharing. These features will allow you to share "everything" including game activity, music, movies, and things you read online.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240444/facebook_announces_timeline_other_major_changes.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla Answers Business Users with a Slower Firefox Schedule Even as Firefox developers were mulling over the idea of speeding up the browser's rapid, six-week release cycle even further recently, a separate Mozilla working group was putting together a proposal to slow down that upgrade pace for enterprise users.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240441/mozilla_answers_business_users_with_a_slower_firefox_schedule.html#tk.rss_news Will Facebook Deliver a Knockout Punch to Google+ this Week? Can Facebook rest on its 750 million user-base laurels? We'll find out this week at the social network's F8 Developer Conference, which takes place in San Francisco on September 22. Buzz on what's expected ranges from new Read, Listened, Watched, And Want Facebook Buttons to a first-ever Facebook iPad app.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/240275/will_facebook_deliver_a_knockout_punch_to_google_this_week.html#tk.rss_news Apple tops in customer satisfaction for 8th year For the eighth year in a row, Apple's Macs have satisfied more customers than any other vendor's PCs.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20108336-17/apple-tops-in-customer-satisfaction-for-8th-year/#ixzz1YVqEe2l6
What is Google Wallet and how can I use it? Picture a world without paper money or credit cards. You've got your smartphone in your pocket, and that's it. Want to pay for something?

Walk up to the register, have the clerk check you out, and then tap your phone to the front of the register. The register picks up some data on your phone, and you're automatically paid for. No sliding card, no pulling out cash; just tapping your phone to the register.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/google-wallet-000902785.html Gamers succeed where scientists fail Gamers have solved the structure of a retrovirus enzyme whose configuration had stumped scientists for more than a decade. The gamers achieved their discovery by playing Foldit, an online game that allows players to collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules.

After scientists repeatedly failed to piece together the structure of a protein-cutting enzyme from an AIDS-like virus, they called in the Foldit players. The scientists challenged the gamers to produce an accurate model of the enzyme. They did it in only three weeks.

http://scienceblog.com/47894/gamers-succeed-where-scientists-fail/ The (Big) Problem with RIM Research in Motion, by all accounts, had a terrible week. But things might get even worse.

The Canadian technology company posted dismal quarterly earnings numbers, missing revenue and sales targets, while margins continued to shrink. The numbers earned RIM several downgrades while shedding nearly a quarter of its value on Friday -- this after the company even undershot a previously issued warning.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/215536/20110917/the-big-problem-with-rim.htm Amazing Timelapse Video from the Space Station Science educator James Drake built this amazing timelapse video from the perspective of the International Space Station as it flew over North and South America. He created this video by downloading a series of 600 photographs that were available online at the Gateway to Astronomy Photograph of Earth, and then stitching them together into a complete video.

http://www.universetoday.com/88998/amazing-timelapse-video-from-the-space-station/ Thin Film Transforms Any Surface Into a Massive Multitouch Screen Open up a cardboard tube, roll out a transparent film just millimeters thick, apply it on a flat object and *tada* you’ve got an interactive touch surface. Cambridge-based Visual Planet just launched its new massive-sized multitouch thin film drivers so you can create touchscreens from 30 to 167 inches in size!

http://singularityhub.com/2011/09/18/thin-film-transforms-any-surface-into-a-massive-multitouch-screen/ McAfee introduces anti-rootkit security beyond the OS Cybercriminals know how to evade current operating systems-based security, demanding a new paradigm – security beyond the operating system.

On that note, McAfee demonstrated the workings of its new McAfee DeepSAFE technology at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday. Co-developed with Intel, it allows McAfee to develop hardware-assisted security products to take advantage of a “deeper” security footprint.

http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=11619 Guilt Through Algorithmic Association You’re a 16-year-old Muslim kid in America. Say your name is Mohammad Abdullah. Your schoolmates are convinced that you’re a terrorist. They keep typing in Google queries likes “is Mohammad Abdullah a terrorist?” and “Mohammad Abdullah al Qaeda.” Google’s search engine learns. All of a sudden, auto-complete starts suggesting terms like “Al Qaeda” as the next term in relation to your name. You know that colleges are looking up your name and you’re afraid of the impression that they might get based on that auto-complete. You are already getting hostile comments in your hometown, a decidedly anti-Muslim environment. You know that you have nothing to do with Al Qaeda, but Google gives the impression that you do. And people are drawing that conclusion. You write to Google but nothing comes of it. What do you do?

http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2011/09/12/guilt-through-algorithmic-association.html Meg Whitman Testifies As EBay and Craigslist Square Off In Court Former eBay chief exec Meg Whitman took the stand today to kick off the battle that has been brewing between Craigslist and eBay. The waters are further clouded by Whitman's upcoming bid for governor of California. "eBay wants to shed light on the 'coercive plan' that it has said Newmark hatched with Craigslist Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster to dilute eBay's ownership stake, ultimately stripping eBay of its seat on the Craigslist board. Craigslist has hit back that eBay used its board seat to glean information to launch its own classified site, Kijiji. Craigslist also claims that eBay used deceptive tactics to direct traffic away from its site."

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/meg-whitman-testifies-as-ebay-and-craigslist-square-off-in-court/ BIOS Threat is Showing up Again! There are more and more known viruses that infect the MBR (Master Boot Record). Symantec Security Response has published a blog to demonstrate this trend last month. However, we seldom confront with one that infects the BIOS. One of them is the notorious CIH appeared in 1999, which infected the computer BIOS and thus harmed a huge number of computers at that time.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/bios-threat-showing-again Robotic Labor Taking Over the World? You Bet – Here Are the Details Let’s not be silly here, robots don’t want to kill all humans…they just want to take all their jobs. The accelerating rise in robot labor of the past decade, and its expansion into all areas of production, have led many to worry about the future of human workers. Yet how extensive is the robotic take over of labor?

http://singularityhub.com/2011/09/12/robotic-labor-taking-over-the-world-you-bet-here-are-the-details/ Blue Screen of Death gets a new look in Windows 8 While there had been hints of a new look earlier, the Windows 8 code delivered to developers at Microsoft's Build conference in Anaheim yesterday includes a Blue Screen of Death the likes of which users have not seen before.

Nothing seems to change, a new version of Windows but the same expectation of failure.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/blue-screen-death-gets-new-life-windows-8 Google's new airfare search section takes off Google Inc.'s search results for airline tickets are finally getting a lift from a key piece of technology that it bought earlier this year.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/googles-airfare-search-section-takes-off-211200512.html Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL to sell one another's ads Hoping to grab more of the ad dollars now spent at Google and on online advertising networks, the three companies will start selling ad inventory on one another's sites, according to AllThingsD's Peter Kafka. Specifically, the three will sell one another's "Class 2 display" ad inventory, or graphic ads that they either can't sell on their own or typically turn over to ad networks to handle.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20105994-93/microsoft-yahoo-aol-to-sell-one-anothers-ads/#ixzz1XwXR4arr
IE10 wakes to the Web--and to Windows E9 left no doubt that Microsoft understood the importance of supporting modern Web standards. But IE10, updated yesterday with the third platform preview, is the vehicle delivering much of that support.

Microsoft fleshed out IE10's impressive list of new technologies at Microsoft's Build conference for developers. New items on the list such as Web Workers, Web Sockets, 3D Transforms, Application Cache, and IndexedDB are music to the ears of many Web developers who want to make rich, interactive Web sites.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20105980-264/ie10-wakes-to-the-web-and-to-windows/#ixzz1XwWqENih
Facebook to organize friends in 'smart lists' It's a modern-day dilemma: You really want your Facebook friends to see that wild party photo of you wearing bunny ears. But you're not so keen on explaining it to your mother-in-law.

Well, Facebook aims to make life easier.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-organize-friends-smart-lists-170317511.html Microsoft's bold new look and feel for Windows Microsoft has characterized just about every Windows launch since Windows 95 as the biggest change to computer operating systems since that product debuted 16 years ago.

This time, it might actually be true.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20105203-75/microsofts-bold-new-look-and-feel-for-windows/#ixzz1XsDOW9bF
Windows 8 Features for Laptop Users Microsoft showed off many tablet-centric features from its radical redesign of Windows 8 at its BUILD developers' conference on Thursday, but still promised to support desktop and laptop users who own interact with their computers using traditional keyboards and mice. All the swiping and pinching aside, the BUILD conference gave us a peek at some advantages the upcoming operating system might have for laptop users.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239966/windows_8_features_for_laptop_users.html#tk.rss_news Google Lets Wi-Fi Hotspot Owners Opt out of Location Service Bowing to pressure from European privacy regulators, Google will soon allow owners of Wi-Fi access points to opt out of a Google service that allows smartphone owners to identify their location without using GPS (Global Positioning System), it said Tuesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239884/google_lets_wifi_hotspot_owners_opt_out_of_location_service.html#tk.rss_news Battery Storage Could Get a Huge Boost from Seaweed A binding agent found in everything from ice cream to cosmetics could let lithium-ion cells hold much more energy.

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/38531/?p1=MstRcnt TechCrunch founder leaving AOL-owned blog Michael Arrington, founder of the popular technology blog TechCrunch, is leaving the blog and its owner, AOL, to work on the venture capital fund he recently started.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/techcrunch-founder-leaving-aol-owned-blog-200810041.html Comodohacker: I can issue fake Windows updates Following his recent attack against Dutch security company DigiNotar, the hacker known as Comodohacker is now threatening to exploit Microsoft's Windows Update service.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20104883-83/comodohacker-i-can-issue-fake-windows-updates/#ixzz1Xme12aBt
Lady who sold fake Cisco gear sentenced to jail We all know not to buy routers and servers from the guy in the trench coat hawking networking equipment on the street corner, but it turns out hardware-counterfeiting operations have become a bit more complicated in recent years.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20105065-92/lady-who-sold-fake-cisco-gear-sentenced-to-jail/#ixzz1XmbghRku
How to Hire the Linux Talent You Need Hiring good help is never easy, but the difficulty is compounded considerably when demand for the skills you're seeking exceeds supply.

That, in fact, is just the situation being faced by companies in search of Linux skills today.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239860/how_to_hire_the_linux_talent_you_need.html#tk.rss_news GlobalSign Plans to Reopen Tuesday Despite Web Server Hack GlobalSign expects to bring its certificate-issuing systems back online on Monday, and resume business Tuesday, it said over the weekend. The U.S. certificate authority (CA) stopped issuing new SSL certificates last Tuesday in order to audit its security, after being named as a target by the hacker who claimed to have attacked Dutch CA DigiNotar.

The server hosting GlobalSign's website was breached, the company said Friday. The server was isolated from other infrastructure related to certificates, the company said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239841/globalsign_plans_to_reopen_tuesday_despite_web_server_hack.html#tk.rss_news Broadcom to acquire NetLogic for $3.7 billion Another blockbuster acquisition has hit the tech industry.

Semiconductor company Broadcom announced today that it has agreed to acquire NetLogic Microsystems for $50 per share, or about $3.7 billion. The $50 per share represents a nearly 57 percent premium on NetLogic's closing stock price on Friday of $31.91.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20104722-17/broadcom-to-acquire-netlogic-for-$3.7-billion/#ixzz1Xkdn7vfw
Cleverbot Passes Turing Test, Sits Down for Interview It seems that Cleverbot, the chatbot so ready to admit that it was a unicorn during a discussion with itself, has passed the Turing test. This past Sunday, the 1334 votes from a Turing test held at the Techniche festival in Guwahati, India were released. They revealed that Cleverbot was voted to be human 59.3% of the time. Real humans did only slightly better and were assumed to be humans 63.3% of the time.

http://www.geekosystem.com/cleverbot-passes-turing-test/ Windows 8: What Microsoft needs to prove this week For better or worse, the upcoming week is shaping up as one of the most pivotal in Microsoft’s history.

Over the span of a few days, the company’s top executives will try to persuade some of their toughest and most important audiences — consumers, businesses, software developers and investors — that it has what it takes to remain at the center of the technology world for years and perhaps decades to come.

http://www.geekwire.com/2011/windows-8-microsoft-prove-week Woman sentenced for selling counterfeit Cisco equipment A Virginia woman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for leading a "sophisticated" conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit Cisco Systems networking equipment, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

In addition to the prison time, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia also ordered Chun-Yu Zhao, 43, of Chantilly, Virginia, to pay US$2.7 million restitution and a $17,500 fine.

http://www.techworld.com.au/article/400379/woman_sentenced_selling_counterfeit_cisco_equipment/?fp=16&fpid=1 Jelly batteries: Safer, cheaper, smaller, more powerful A new polymer jelly could be the next big step forward for lithium batteries.

The jelly replaces the volatile and hazardous liquid electrolyte currently used in most lithium batteries.

Researchers from the University of Leeds hope their development leads to smaller, cheaper and safer gadgets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14852073 USB adaptors & DIY antenna = "Poor Man's WiFi" ? Make 2.4GHz parabolic mesh dishes from cheap but sturdy Chinese cookware scoops & a USB WiFi adaptor! The largest so called "WIFRY","WOKFI" or "WOKTENNA" (12"= 300mm diam) shows 12-15dB gain (enough for a LOS range extension to 3-5km),costs ~US$5 & comes with a user friendly bamboo handle that suits WLAN fieldwork- if you can handle the curious stares!

http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/ Boost Your WiFi Signal Using Only a Beer Can I love a good hack, especially one that requires me to throw back a cold one before hand (or during). This simple wifi boost has actually been shown to increase signal strength by at least 2 to 4 bars. And, well, I will drink to that.

http://dsc.discovery.com/gear-gadgets/boost-your-wifi-signal-using-only-a-beer-can.html High-Speed Videos Show How Hummingbirds Hum A Yale University zoologist has used a laser vibrometer and high speed videos from a wind tunnel to work out how the hummingbird makes its famous hum, and found that the males of each species have their own signature sound.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/hummingbirds-hum-sound-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29 Innovative Superconductor Fibers Carry 40 Times More Electricity Wiring systems powered by highly-efficient superconductors have long been a dream of science, but researchers have faced such practical challenges such as finding pliable and cost-effective materials. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make an old idea new with the next generation of superconductors.

http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=15181 Super Space: Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Photo Winners Breathtaking images of the Vela supernova remnant, Saturn's Dragon Storm, and an aurora borealis over Norway won their photographers top honors at this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/09/royal-observatory-astro-photos/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29 New translator app makes sense of foreign-language food menus Researchers have created an application that enables cell phones and other portable devices to translate foreign-language food menus for English speakers and could be used for people who must follow restricted diets for medical reasons.

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110908BoutinMenutranslate.html Will Ubuntu Linux Switch to a Monthly Release Cycle? There seems to be no end to the major changes being tossed around for Ubuntu this year.

Fans of the leading Linux distribution are already well-acquainted with Unity, the new desktop interface that was introduced in version 11.04, or “Natty Narwhal,” back in May. Some have loved that change, but plenty of others haven't, causing no end of debate over the distribution's current course.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239804/will_ubuntu_linux_switch_to_a_monthly_release_cycle.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft's online services hit by outage Several of Microsoft's online services suffered an outage last night but are reportedly all back up at this point.

The company's Office 365, Hotmail, SkyDrive, and various Windows Live services were down throughout the world for a period of around three hours. Microsoft acknowledged the outage late yesterday in its Inside Windows Live blog and on its Office 365 Twitter feed and said that it was working to resolve the issue.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20103848-75/microsofts-online-services-hit-by-outage/#ixzz1XUfVmJud
How to Protect Yourself From Certificate Bandits There have been two major Certificate Authority (CA) attacks this year. In March, a hacker successfully penetrated one of the largest CA's on the Web--Comodo--and managed to issue bogus certificates to himself (including one for Yahoo). The second incident took place this week when a Dutch CA, Diginotar, was compromised and a number of fake certificates were issued.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239766/how_to_protect_yourself_from_certificate_bandits.html#tk.rss_news Apple Patches OS X for DigiNotar Threat Apple is rolling out an OS X patch to deal with the DigiNotar threat. DigiNotar will be removed from the list of trusted root certificates.

Apple announced the patch in a security update bulletin. "Fraudulent certificates were issued by multiple certificate authorities operated by DigiNotar. This issue is addressed by removing DigiNotar from the list of trusted root certificates, from the list of Extended Validation (EV) certificate authorities, and by configuring default system trust settings so that DigiNotar's certificates, including those issued by other authorities, are not trusted," stated the bulletin published on Friday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239761/apple_patches_os_x_for_diginotar_threat.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft to Overhaul Hotmail Microsoft will unveil next month a major revamping of its Hotmail webmail service, with upgrades across the board, including in areas like spam, security and performance.

"We listened. We learned. We reinvented Hotmail from the ground up," reads an invitation sent on Friday to journalists for press events to be held on Oct. 3 simultaneously in New York and San Francisco.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239764/microsoft_to_overhaul_hotmail.html#tk.rss_news Will HP Leave PC Users Out in the Cold? The future of Hewlett-Packard's PC business may be a bit cloudy, but that's not stopping the industry leader from forging ahead with new consumer products. The world's largest computer-maker has announced an upgrade and price drop to the very popular Pavilion DM1 laptop.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239689/will_hp_leave_pc_users_out_in_the_cold.html#tk.rss_news Google Buys Zagat to Boost Business Reviews Google has acquired venerable restaurant ratings publisher Zagat to boost its online maps and local business listings with trustworthy reviews and recommendations, which Web surfers increasingly seek and value.

"Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering -- delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world," wrote Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of local, maps and location services, in a blog post.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239687/google_buys_zagat_to_boost_business_reviews.html#tk.rss_news Symantec Responds to 'panic' Around DigiNotar Hack Citing "panic" resulting from a hack on Dutch SSL certificate provider DigiNotar, Symantec has confirmed that its SSL Certificate Authorities VeriSign, Thawte, GeoTrust and RapidSSL roots remain secure."Yesterday a Dutch government agency erroneously made a statement that Thawte had been breached," said Fran Rosch, vice president of Trust Services at Symantec in a blog post.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239685/symantec_responds_to_panic_around_diginotar_hack.html#tk.rss_news Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is fired by US search engine firm Yahoo's chief executive Carol Bartz has been fired by the search engine company after two-and-a-half-years in the top job.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14816077 U.S. Postal Service nearing bankruptcy as email asserts its dominance If you're a regular computer user, you've probably checked your email at least once or twice today, and in doing so you are assisting in the decline of one of the oldest government agencies — the United States Postal Service. In a time where instant messaging, texting, and email allow us to communicate across the globe in a matter of seconds, the idea of sitting down to write a letter seems foreign to many. And the USPS is feeling the heat, so much so that it is headed for default later this year unless Congress lends a helping hand.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/u-postal-nearing-bankruptcy-email-asserts-dominance-203443476.html Microsoft Patches SSL Security Threat Microsoft is rolling out a worldwide patch that deems all DigiNotar SSL certificates to be untrustworthy except for OSes in the Netherlands, as requested by the Dutch government.

All certificates issued by DigiNotar, a Dutch provider of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, are untrustworthy Microsoft concluded after an investigation into the matter. The certificates are to be moved to the Untrusted Certificate List Tuesday.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239579/microsoft_patches_ssl_security_threat.html#tk.rss_news Don't like Windows 8's ribbon? Sorry, Sinofsky says Microsoft's choice to add the ribbon interface to Windows 8's Explorer has triggered some complaints, but the company is sticking by its decision.

Posting another installment of the "Building Windows 8" blog last Friday, Windows and Windows Live Division President Steven Sinofsky responded to user feedback over some recent blogs, including one from August 29 in which the company revealed that Windows Explorer would sport a ribbon interface.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20102069-75/dont-like-windows-8s-ribbon-sorry-sinofsky-says/#ixzz1XDZlE917
Will Skype stay this popular under Microsoft? The team at Skype recently published an infographic that shows the vast usage numbers associated with its free calling services.

According to the infographic, based on daily stats gathered in July, Skype usage represents more than 255 billion minutes (or 4.25 billion hours) of calls annually, which is roughly four times more than the service saw in 2008.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20102086-62/will-skype-stay-this-popular-under-microsoft/#ixzz1XDY7RLya
Hummingbird Brings Your Bricked Phone Back to Life Bricking a gadget--that is, rendering it unusable--is a risk that all gadget hackers and tinkerers take. Bringing a bricked phone back to life can be a pain too, but a pair of XDA Developers may have found a quicker solution to the issue.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239580/hummingbird_brings_your_bricked_phone_back_to_life.html#tk.rss_news Hacking in the Netherlands Took Aim at Internet Giants Attackers who hacked into a Dutch Web security firm have issued hundreds of fraudulent security certificates for intelligence agency Web sites, including the C.I.A., as well as for Internet giants like Google, Microsoft and Twitter, the Dutch government said on Monday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/technology/hacking-in-the-netherlands-broadens-in-scope.html?_r=1 Free Security Tool Detects Banking Malware A Finnish penetration testing company has released a free tool it says can detect all variants of five major families of malicious software that steal online banking credentials.

The tool, called Debank, was built by Finnish penetration testing company Fitsec, which has used the tool to scan its customers' machines, said company founder Toni Koivunen.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239520/free_security_tool_detects_banking_malware.html#tk.rss_news Seventh Circuit Awards e360 a Whopping $3 in Damages Against Spamhaus -- e360 v. Spamhaus The lawsuit between e360 and Spamhaus was a long-running, tortured affair, and it looks like it finally came to a close. With e360 being awarded a whopping $3 in damages against Spamhaus. (Here's a link to Ars Technica's recap of the oral argument, where Judge Posner blasted e360's counsel: "This is just totally irresponsible litigation . . . .You can't just come into a court with a fly-by-night, nothing company and say 'I've lost $130 million.'")

http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2011/09/seventh_circuit_2.htm A Fall Spring Clean Over the next few months Google will be shutting down a number of products and merging others into existing products as features.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-spring-clean.html Weak typing - the lost art of the keyboard Learn to type - it's not too late. Even if you have developed an advanced hunt and peck technique you can retrain your finger muscles and make use of physical memory in a very short time.

http://www.i-programmer.info/professional-programmer/i-programmer/2983-weak-typing-the-lost-art-of-the-keyboard.html Bid to block AT&T deal reflects telecom industry The Obama administration has explained its effort to block AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile USA by saying it will fight mergers that would reduce competition and hurt consumers.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/bid-block-t-deal-reflects-telecom-industry-071439224.html Supercookies: What You Need to Know About the Web's Latest Tracking Device Recently, online properties like Hulu, MSN and Flixster have been caught using a tougher version of the common cookie. These “supercookies” (aka "Flash cookies" and “zombie cookies”) serve the same purpose as regular cookies by tracking user preferences and browsing histories. Unlike their popular cousins, however, this breed is difficult to detect and subsequently remove. These cookies secretly collect user data beyond the limitations of common industry practice, and thus raise serious privacy concerns.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/supercookies-know-webs-latest-tracking-device-105153603.html Microsoft hit with class action suit over phone tracking A security researcher says that Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 software can transmit your location without your explicit permission.


Read more at: http://www.zdnet.com/news/microsoft-hit-with-class-action-suit-over-phone-tracking/6289242 AT&T gearing up for rare antitrust fight with DOJ The Justice Department's rejection of AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA will test new federal guidelines on challenging mergers and the companies' resolve in forming the nation's largest wireless carrier.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/t-gearing-rare-antitrust-fight-doj-225348203.html IBM to Buy Risk Analysis Company Algorithmics for $387M IBM plans to acquire risk analytics company Algorithmics for US$387 million, a deal that IBM said on Thursday will bolster its risk management offerings in light of increasing regulation in the financial markets.

Algorithmics, founded in 1989, is owned by the Paris-based holding company Fimalac and is a member of the Fitch Group. It provides analytics software and advisory services to 25 of the top 30 banks, including HSBC, Societe Generale and Nedbank, as well as insurance and investment companies, according to a news release. It has more than 350 clients


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239310/ibm_to_buy_risk_analysis_company_algorithmics_for_387m.html#tk.rss_news Apple Loses Another iPhone Prototype in a Bar Remember the iPhone 4 scandal of 2010? Well apparently Apple didn't learn its lesson the first time, and it's misplaced yet another top-secret iPhone prototype. This time, however, it was (supposedly) an iPhone 5.


http://www.pcworld.com/article/239313/apple_loses_another_iphone_prototype_in_a_bar.html#tk.rss_news Hackers Break Into Linux Source Code Site As Linux fans know, there are two kinds of hackers: the good guys who develop free software, such as the Linux kernel, and the bad guys who break into computers.

The bad guys paid the good guys an unwelcome visit earlier this month, breaking into the Kernel.org website that is home to the Linux project. They gained root access to a server known as Hera and ultimately compromised "a number of servers in the kernel.org infrastructure," according to a note on the kernel.org website Wednesday.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239302/hackers_break_into_linux_source_code_site.html#tk.rss_news Video of Two Chatbots Talking to Each Other What happens when you let two bots have a conversation? Not two people but two computer chatbots. AI has come a long way and it still racing forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnzlbyTZsQY Toshiba, Hitachi and Sony to form LCD display company They will use money from the Japanese government to help them compete with rivals from Taiwan and South Korea. They have hesitated to invest in the LCD business because of expectations that prices are likely to fall.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14727594 New iPad joystick promises more precise gaming actions The joystick attaches to the iPad screen with suction cups, letting the user move it around depending on the game. A coiled spring keeps the stick centered.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/08/30/ipad.joystick/index.html HP resurrects TouchPad tablet to pacify rabid customers HP has plans to produce another round of its TouchPad tablets before the year is out, despite its earlier decision to discontinue its mobile hardware products.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/08/31/tech/gaming-gadgets/hp-touchpad-resurrected/index.html Graphene 'could help boost broadband internet speeds' Graphene, the strongest material on Earth, could help boost broadband internet speed, say UK researchers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14730689 Financial Times pulls its apps from Apple store The Financial Times has pulled its iPad and iPhone apps from Apple's App Store after losing a battle to keep control of customer data obtained through subscriptions.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_708004.html SSL Certificates: What's Left to Trust? Tuesday morning, Chicago-based authentication services provider Vasco Data Security announced its DigiNotar subsidiary, which issues certificates for SSL used to secure financial and other discrete transactions online, detected a security breach that forced it to issue improper certificates. One of those certificates, it admitted, was for Google.com.

Read more at: http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2011/08/ssl-certificates-whats-left-to.php Hack may have hit Google users in Iran Experts say the Iranian government may have been behind a hacking attack, allowing it to read Google email from dissidents who thought they were using secure connections.

Chicago-based Internet security firm Vasco said Wednesday its Dutch subsidiary, DigiNotar, detected the hack on July 19, compromising its security guarantees for "a number of domains, including Google.com." The company then quietly tried to fix the damage, but was alerted by the Dutch government Monday that it had missed Google, and perhaps others.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/hack-may-hit-google-users-iran-125351814.html Windows 8 to directly support ISO and VHD files Windows 8 will let you open and view ISO and VHD files all on its own, according to the latest "Building Windows 8" blog from Microsoft.

Posted yesterday by Microsoft engineer Rajeev Nagar, the new blog post, titled "Accessing data in ISO and VHD files," revealed that native support for ISO and VHD files was one feature often requested by users, prompting the company to add it to its upcoming OS.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20099717-75/windows-8-to-directly-support-iso-and-vhd-files/#ixzz1WcOGExoK
Mozilla Brings Firefox to Android 3.0 Tablets: Sneak Peek An upcoming version of Firefox Mobile is being designed to have a more native feel on Android 3.0 tablets, while maintaining Firefox's distinctive look and feel such as the browser's large back button. Giving Firefox users a sneak peek, Mozilla mobile device user experience designer Ian Barlow recently posted some mock-ups for the new Firefox version on his blog.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239202/mozilla_brings_firefox_to_android_30_tablets_sneak_peek.html#tk.rss_news Java founder Gosling leaves Google for startup After just a few months at search giant, Gosling is taking a chief software architect position at Liquid Robotics

http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/java-founder-gosling-leaves-google-startup-171199 Now You Can Order Domino's on Your iPad in the UK Pizza delivery chain Domino's has launched an iPad app in the UK App Store that lets you order a pizza directly from your tablet.

Besides ordering dinner, you can also use the app to find the nearest Domino's outlet or to track the pizza's voyage to your home.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/now-order-dominos-ipad-uk-095132316.html Apple's iCloud Supports Streaming of Your iTunes Library to iPhone, Other Devices Surprise, surprise: Apple’s upcoming iCloud service will support the streaming of your iTunes music library stored online to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. The news comes as developers signed up to the iOS 5 beta program received, late on Monday, access to what is called iTunes Match beta - Apple’s paid cloud music service.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239113/apples_icloud_supports_streaming_of_your_itunes_library_to_iphone_other_devices.html#tk.rss_news Google, OpenDNS add geo speed boost to Net OpenDNS, Google, and a few others have built a new technology into their Internet operations that's designed to speed up the delivery of data around the globe.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20098994-264/google-opendns-add-geo-speed-boost-to-net/#ixzz1WWkytNGU
USB 3.0 Flash Drive Has 2 TB of Storage Taiwan's ITRI and Transcend has teamed up to create a USB 3.0 thumb stick featuring 2 TB of storage.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ITRI-Display-Taiwan-USB-3.0-2TB-Thin-Card,13320.html Software tracking could turn Chinese piracy into revenue China has long been a major hotspot for software piracy. Efforts to track unlicensed software use, however, are giving companies a chance to find the offenders and turn them into customers. Or in some cases, targets for lawsuits.

http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/197955/software-tracking-could-turn-chinese-piracy-revenue Linux Now Runs on iPad; Tuxedo Optional Everyone loves a good tablet hack--after all, look at all the interest in hacking the Nook Color and the HP Touchpad. So it's no surprise that iOS devices have been successfully hacked to run Linux.

A hack by Patrick Wildt and Ricky Taylor from the iDroid project makes it so that Linux will run on an iPad, iPhone or fourth-generation iPod Touch. While there isn't a lot of detail just yet on how the hack was done, it's an exciting step for developers because of the difficulty of rooting devices built around Apple's A4 chip--according to iJailbreak, it was orginially quite tricky to get a good root on anything after the iPhone 3G.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239059/linux_now_runs_on_ipad_tuxedo_optional.html#tk.rss_news Linux at 20: New Challenges, New Opportunities Twenty years ago, when Linus Torvalds first announced his new operating system project to a Usenet discussion group, he had no way of knowing that his creation would one day conquer the world.

"Just a hobby, [it] won't be big and professional," Torvalds wrote on Aug. 25, 1991. In a follow-up post, he added, "Simply, I'd say that porting [the OS to a different CPU] is impossible." Torvalds had begun the project as a fun way to teach himself about the Intel 80386 processor and nothing more. His greatest ambition was merely to see it work.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239093/linux_at_20_new_challenges_new_opportunities.html#tk.rss_news Why Google+ Really Wants You to Use Your Real Name Did Google really just get into the social networking game to amass more information about you?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/239091/why_google_really_wants_you_to_use_your_real_name.html Mozilla puts mobile Firefox on the front burner Mozilla is expanding development of Firefox for Android with new efforts to improve its performance, lower its power consumption, adapt it for tablets--and keep the browser maker relevant in the hottest area of computing.

Firefox is the second-most widely used browser on computers, but things are different in the mobile arena. There, Firefox is at a serious disadvantage compared to mobile browsers such as Apple's Safari and Google's unbranded Android browser that are built into the operating systems.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20096375-264/mozilla-puts-mobile-firefox-on-the-front-burner/#ixzz1WSnOyZL6
Microsoft details Explorer layout for Windows 8 Windows 8 will usher in yet another revision to the file management system used by millions of people.

A blog post today by Microsoft Director of Program Management Alex Simons details at great length the future of the new Explorer interface, and lessons learned from previous versions.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20098807-1/microsoft-details-explorer-layout-for-windows-8/#ixzz1WSmMGk00


Why Employees Should Surf the Web at Work A small business owner might frown on the idea that employees are surfing the Web on work time to read about the state of the NBA lockout. But, when done in moderation, giving employees the freedom to roam the Internet can actually help them work better.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/239054/why_employees_should_surf_the_web_at_work.html#tk.rss_news In Just Three Weeks, Facebook Pays Out $40K to Hackers Three weeks after launching a bug bounty program that pays Web hackers cash for finding flaws with its website, Facebook said it has paid out more than $40,000 in rewards.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239072/in_just_three_weeks_facebook_pays_out_40k_to_hackers.html#tk.rss_news Amazon Tablet Will Be First True iPad Challenger, Research Firm Predicts Within a year, Amazon will be a major player in the tablet market, second only to Apple's iPad, a major research firm predicts. Not only will Amazon ship millions of its still-unannounced Android-based slate, but third-party manufacturers will sell a variety of "Amazon tablets" that feature the online retailer's software and services.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239080/amazon_tablet_will_be_first_true_ipad_challenger_research_firm_predicts.html#tk.rss_news SignalGuru uses network of dashboard-mounted smartphones to help drivers avoid red traffic lights Researchers at MIT and Princeton have now devised a system that gathers visual data from the cameras of a network of dashboard-mounted smartphones and tells drivers the optimal speed to drive at to avoid waiting at the next set of lights.

http://www.gizmag.com/signalguru/19643/ New Worm Morto Using RDP to Infect Windows PCs A new worm called Morto has begun making the rounds on the Internet in the last couple of days, infecting machines via RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). The worm is generating a large amount of outbound RDP traffic on networks that have infected machines, and Morto is capable of compromising both servers and workstations running Windows. The worm is infecting machines that are completely patched and are running clean installations of Windows.

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-worm-morto-using-rdp-infect-windows-pcs-082811 Just Show Me: How to change your inbox view in Gmail Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to customize your inbox view in Gmail.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/just-show-change-inbox-view-gmail-015625387.html Want a Faster Firefox? Pale Moon 6.0 Can Help It's been almost two weeks now since the release of Firefox 6, and there's no doubt it has a number of compelling advantages to recommend it.

Users can now enjoy faster startup times while using Panorama, for instance, and even more significant speed enhancements have been delivered to those of us running Firefox 6 on Linux.


Read more yet: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238968/want_a_faster_firefox_pale_moon_60_can_help.html#tk.rss_news Verizon acquires CloudSwitch for business services Verizon said today it acquired CloudSwitch, a company whose software eases the transition between using software that runs on a company's own servers and running it on a cloud-computing infrastructure.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20097396-264/verizon-acquires-cloudswitch-for-business-services/#ixzz1W92gc0hu
AOL hires bankers; preparing for sale? AOL is seemingly inching closer to putting itself up for a sale, a new report from AdWeek claims.

According to the publication, citing anonymous sources, AOL met with law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and investment bank Allen & Company this week in what could have been a discussion about putting the online company up for sale.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20097699-17/aol-hires-bankers-preparing-for-sale/#ixzz1W91qwRSd
Mozilla Defends "rapid Release" of Firefox Versions The release of a version of the Firefox browser every six weeks is found to be disconcerting, and at times potentially unmanageable by enterprises, the chair of Mozilla Foundation, which maintains the browser, said in a blog post on Thursday.

The compatibility of add-ons with new versions is also another issue, said Mitchell Baker, chair of the nonprofit organization.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238877/mozilla_defends_rapid_release_of_firefox_versions.html#tk.rss_news Orbital Debris - Time to Remove An interesting presentation on how the problem of debris in low earth orbit and what to do about it. Sounds like an improbable subject but a very relevant and informative presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleTechTalks#p/u/2/ZtdRG7gAL_4 Best Buy: That Laptop Isn't "Open," It's Just "Optimized" When I looked, though, the laptop had been opened and a sticker placed on it saying Geek Squad had "optimized" the laptop

http://consumerist.com/2009/09/best-buy-that-laptop-isnt-open-its-just-optimized.html RealNetworks crushes Dutch webmaster for hyperlink RealNetworks has sued the owner of a website in The Netherlands for displaying a hyperlink to a competing freeware package. Is this really good practice?

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/tech-industry/3299285/realnetworks-crushes-dutch-webmaster-for-hyperlink/ Why Developers Shouldn't Abandon WebOS Yet Hewlett-Packard's surprise announcement that it would end production of its WebOS smartphones and tablets left a lot of developers in a lurch (although exact numbers are hard to come by). As of now, the WebOS development community is effectively an ecosystem in search of a platform.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238853/why_developers_shouldnt_abandon_webos_yet.html#tk.rss_news Samsung to Be Banned From Selling iPad Rival in Germany A judge in Düsseldorf said Thursday that Apple’s intellectual property rights are probably strong enough to ban sales of Samsung Electronics’ rival Galaxy 10.1 tablet computers in Germany.

The court is unlikely, however, to expand the ban beyond Germany to other European Union countries as Apple had sought, the presiding judge, Johanna Brückner-Hofmann, said in a preliminary assessment. A ruling is scheduled for Sept. 9.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/business/global/samsung-to-be-banned-from-selling-ipad-rival-in-germany.html Facebook Has Officially Hit 1 Trillion Page Views Facebook has officially hit 1 trillion page views, according to figures released for web traffic in June, Time magazine’s TechLand column reports.

According to Time, those 870 million visitors are around 120 million greater than Facebook's reported total number of registered users. The discrepancy may be due to non-Facebook members visiting the site from other social media links or through search engine traffic.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/25/facebook-has-officially-hit-1-trillion-page-views/#ixzz1W5p70CIZ
Google Maps Adds Voice Search to Chrome Desktop If you talk to your desktop PC, it's probably for all the wrong reasons--usually to hurl expletives at the machine for not working properly. Well, users of the desktop version of Google Chrome now have a more productive reason to get chatty with their computers. Google has added voice search for Google Maps to Chrome, offering users a (sometimes) faster way to get directions.

The main Google Maps interface in Chrome now includes a microphone icon. When you click it, a "Speak Now" dialog appears.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238852/google_maps_adds_voice_search_to_chrome_desktop.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla chair defends rapid-release Firefox The Firefox rapid-release program has caused some corporate indigestion, but Mozilla Chair Mitchell Baker believes it's worth it.

She acknowledged that companies can have problems with the approach, in which new browser versions arrive every six weeks, but those problems are secondary compared to the alternative of holding up new features for a year, Baker said in a blog post today:

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20096034-264/mozilla-chair-defends-rapid-release-firefox/#ixzz1W5n59qsZ
Photographer Recovers $9K Stolen Camera & Equipment Professional photographer recovers stolen Nikon D3 camera using GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search. The stolen camera was tracked down through images posted on Flickr after the device was stolen that were scanned and indexed by GadgetTrak. Police acted on evidence provided and recovered the camera a year after it was stolen.

http://www.gadgettrak.com/blog/2011/08/24/photographer-recovers-9k-stolen-camera-equipment-thanks-to-gadgettrak

Researchers Report Massive Increase in Boot Time Malware In the August 2011 Symantec Intelligence Report, the company noted there have already been as many new boot time malware threats detected in the first seven months of 2011 as there were in the previous three years.
http://www.securityweek.com/researchers-report-massive-increase-boot-time-malware Windows 8 Explorer: improved copy, delete, and conflict resolution The Windows Explorer progress dialog............ for years it has been struggling to figure out how to calculate how long our copy and delete operations would take, sliding the progress bar back and forth in a seemingly random, haphazard way, the laws of time all but ceasing to exist — five seconds remaining one moment and 13 minutes the next. That’s (almost) all going to change.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/93822-windows-8-explorer-to-feature-improved-copy-move-delete-and-conflict-resolution United pilots to use iPad for navigation United Airlines said Tuesday it was replacing the hefty flight manuals and chart books its pilots have long used with 11,000 iPads carrying the same data.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.28a184296dda6208bfa99078cd9b334d.f1&show_article=1 Stanford Gets Blessed With High-Speed Fiber, How About The Rest of Us? Can Google save us all from crappy internet? And more importantly, is it a good idea to let them?
http://motherboard.tv/2011/8/24/stanford-gets-blessed-with-high-speed-fiber-how-about-the-rest-of-us Feds Crack Down on Illegally Streamed Sporting Events A 19-year-old New York man was arrested yesterday by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Engorcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) directorate for allegedly streaming live sporting events over the Internet illegally.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238732/feds_crack_down_on_illegally_streamed_sporting_events.html#tk.rss_news Sorry, You Can't Blame Social Networks for Teens' Drinking and Drugging ongratulations, Facebook. You're the new Rock 'n' Roll: Corruptor of America's Youth.

According to the latest back-to-school survey by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia), American teens who spend any time on social networking sites are more likely to drink, smoke, and take drugs.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238733/sorry_you_cant_blame_social_networks_for_teens_drinking_and_drugging.html#tk.rss_news Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the driving force behind some of Apple's most iconic products, has resigned as CEO of the company, effective immediately.

Jobs made the announcement in a press release to the Apple Board of Directors Wednesday afternoon saying he could "no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO."

Read more at: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/national_world&id=8325175&rss=rss-wtvd-article-8325175 MyBART Hack by Anonymous Could Have Been Worse The disclosure of 2,000 usernames and passwords by the hacking collective Anonymous against a San Francisco transportation website could have been more damaging, according to a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge.

Joseph Bonneau, who is working on a thesis on password security, analyzed the disclosed passwords and found that more than 1,300 were randomly generated when users signed up for accounts at myBART, a marketing site for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238711/mybart_hack_by_anonymous_could_have_been_worse.html#tk.rss_news Windows 8 to offer easier file management Ever find it frustrating trying to copy or move files in Windows? Then some long-overdue improvements in Windows 8 should be welcome news.

Admitting that file management or the "copy jobs" feature now in Windows can be confusing, Alex Simons, a program management director on Microsoft's Windows engineering team, yesterday revealed four enhancements destined to surface in Windows 8.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20096595-75/windows-8-to-offer-easier-file-management/#ixzz1VyQO2S4g
India Exempts Outsourcers From New Privacy Rules Personal data sent to India by customers outsourcing work to companies in the country will not be covered under new rules governing the collection of such information, the government said on Wednesday, providing relief to India's large outsourcing industry.

The Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules 2011 introduced in April require companies or their intermediaries to take consent in writing from individuals about the use of the sensitive personal information they collect.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238706/india_exempts_outsourcers_from_new_privacy_rules.html#tk.rss_news Facebook Revamps Location-Sharing Feature in Places Facebook isn't just rolling out new sharing features similar to Googe+, the company is altering its location-based check-in service, Places.

Facebook is still going to let you check in from your mobile phone, but checking in will be just one way to share your location on Facebook. The new location changes will also let you share your location from your PC and you can add location data to your status updates, photos and wall posts.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238708/facebook_revamps_locationsharing_feature_in_places.html#tk.rss_news China official tells Web firms to control content A Communist Party leader has told China's Internet companies to tighten control over material online as Beijing cracks down on dissent and tries to block the rise of Middle East-style protests.

The party secretary for Beijing, Liu Qi, issued the warning following a visit this week to Sina Corp., which operates a popular microblogging site, according to the party-published newspaper Beijing Daily.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/china-official-tells-firms-control-content-092204578.html Google settles pharmacy ad probe for $500 million Google Inc. has agreed to pay $500 million to settle a U.S. government investigation into the Internet search leader's distribution of online ads from Canadian pharmacies illegally selling prescription and non-prescription drugs to American consumers, a U.S. attorney said Wednesday.

The settlement means the Internet search leader will not face criminal prosecution for accusations that it improperly profited from ads promoting Canadian pharmacies that illegally imported drugs into the United States, U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha said.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-settles-pharmacy-ad-probe-500-million-145045978.html China takes quarterly lead in PC market, says IDC PC shipments in China recently topped those in the United States, new research from the International Data Corporation has found.

As part of the final tally of its second-quarter 2011 Worldwide PC Tracker study, the research firm said today that China had shipments of 18.5 million units compared with 17.7 million units in the U.S. That equates to a $200 million difference between the two markets, the firm said.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20096121-92/china-takes-quarterly-lead-in-pc-market-says-idc/#ixzz1Vt2efA2W
Sweeping changes don't halt HP all-in-one PC launch Who said Hewlett-Packard has turned its back on the PC?

Just days after the company said that it's planning to spin off its PC business, HP has launched a new all-in-one desktop for business customers. Dubbed the HP Compaq 8200 Elite, the computer comes with a 23-inch HD LED display and the customer's choice of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, or Home Premium.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20095573-17/sweeping-changes-dont-halt-hp-all-in-one-pc-launch/#ixzz1Vt0ykXmQ
4 Reasons to Use GroupMe for Work Skype, which Microsoft bought in May, said Monday it will buy the group messaging service GroupMe. GroupMe, created last year at the Techcrunch Disrupt Hackathon, went for a rumored $85 million, according to AllthingsD. For now, GroupMe will remain a standalone application, according to the company, but expect changes.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238652/4_reasons_to_use_groupme_for_work.html#tk.rss_news Windows 8 to fully support USB 3.0 Microsoft is promising full support for USB 3.0 in Windows 8.

In the latest installment of the company's new "Building Windows 8" blog, Dennis Flanagan, the director of program management for the Devices and Networking group, discussed the need to support the latest high-speed flavor of USB despite certain difficulties in getting there.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20095913-75/windows-8-to-fully-support-usb-3.0/#ixzz1VsyjgSX7
In a financial pinch? Try mining your old computer for gold As the economy rides the stock market roller coaster, investing in gold is a popular choice. Gold holds its value much better than paper currency, and these days, there is no shortage of gold buying firms ready to take the shiny stuff off your hands. But if your personal gold reserves are running on empty, you can embark on the complicated and somewhat dangerous adventure of mining gold bits from your old computers and electronic devices.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/financial-pinch-try-mining-old-computer-gold-160214239.html Facebook to let users pre-approve photo tags Drunken revelers rejoice: Facebook will now let you decide whether your friends can attach your name to a photo before it is circulated.

Currently, your friends can add your name to a photo on Facebook without your consent or knowledge. You can remove it later, but only after lots of others may have seen the embarrassing shots. Now, you can insist on pre-approval.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-let-users-pre-approve-photo-tags-180149961.html Facebook Tweaks Site to Clarify Who Can See What Facebook is making a series of design changes to the site to make it clearer to users who can see the content that they post, an issue Google has been criticizing Facebook about since it launched its own social network, Google+, in June.

"You have told us that 'who can see this?' could be clearer across Facebook, so we have made changes to make this more visual and straightforward," Facebook said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238657/facebook_tweaks_site_to_clarify_who_can_see_what.html#tk.rss_news Where did webOS go wrong? When the Palm Pre smartphone first introduced us to the webOS operating system in June of 2009, many felt that it had a bright future ahead of it. Apple's iPhone was selling hand over fist, and Google's Android platform was just getting its legs under it, but Palm's take on the mobile computing scene was still met with plenty of enthusiasm. Fast forward to yesterday, August 18, 2011, when HP officially killed production of the entire line of webOS devices. It's plain to see that the mobile scene is a fickle one.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/where-did-webos-wrong-235750946.html HP's greatest hits: These PCs were good Hewlett-Packard has been in the PC business for more than 25 years. And, needless to say, it had some good designs. It's worth a quick look at select models that stood the test of time in the wake of the disclosure today that the company is trying to unload its PC business.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20094392-64/hps-greatest-hits-these-pcs-were-good/#ixzz1VWbsDEH5
Facebook's 'Like' Button Banned by German State The German State of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all state sites to remove Facebook's "like" button. Sites that fail to comply could face fines of up to 50,000 euros, or about $72,000.

Schleswig-Holstein's data protection commissioner, Thilo Weicher, ordered the shutdown after an analysis by his office showed that Facebook builds profiles of users and non-users alike with the "like" button's data. Because such data collection violates Germany's data protection laws, Weicher has given websites operated in Schleswig-Holstein until September 30th to remove all "like" buttons.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238526/facebooks_like_button_banned_by_german_state.html#tk.rss_news AES encryption not so secure after all Researchers from Microsoft and the Dutch Katholieke Universiteit Leuven have discovered a way to break the widely used Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the encryption algorithm used to secure most all online transactions and wireless communications.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219297/AES_proved_vulnerable_by_Microsoft_researchers PS3 Sales on Amazon Jump 400% on Price Cut The 320GB PS3 bundle with PlayStation Move is (as of this writing) up by 450% and the 160GB standalone PS3 is now up 366%.

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ps3-sales-on-amazon-jump-400-on-price-cut/ Apple unwilling to explain their mega prices in Australia Federal Labor MP Ed Husic has widened his complaint about price markups on Apple products in Australia to include other vendors such as Adobe, Microsoft and Lenovo, raising the possibility that an enquiry could be held into the matter by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

http://delimiter.com.au/2011/08/18/labor-mp-wants-accc-enquiry-into-aussie-tech-tax/ Possible rejection of software patents as mental processes Court Ruling Opens The Door To Rejecting Many Software Patents As Being Mere 'Mental Processes'

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110817/03120415557/court-ruling-opens-door-to-rejecting-many-software-patents-as-being-mere-mental-processes.shtml Google adds weather layer to Maps The new feature seamlessly integrates forecasts into the Maps experience.

Google Maps just got a little more useful. The company announced this morning that it added a weather layer to Maps that adds a grid of icons showing current conditions across a city, region or the globe.

Read more at: http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/google-adds-weather-layer-to-maps/ Palm largely dead as HP shuts phone, tablet unit When Hewlett-Packard Co. snapped up Palm Inc. last year for $1.8 billion, it looked like the smartphone pioneer's last chance.

Palm was a year into a major turnaround effort but gaining little traction despite a hip, new CEO known for making the iPod a household name.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/palm-largely-dead-hp-shuts-phone-tablet-unit-234202196.html Major performance changes mark Firefox 7 beta Two days after Mozilla delivered Firefox 6 to its wide-release stable channel, Firefox 7 and its much-anticipated spate of better memory management and reduced load times got promoted from the developer's Aurora build to the Beta channel. You can download Firefox 7 Beta for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20094353-12/major-performance-changes-mark-firefox-7-beta/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 HP to Acquire Info Management Software Firm Autonomy After half a day of frenzied speculation from the IT industry, Hewlett-Packard has confirmed that it is acquiring information management software vendor Autonomy, for US$42.11 per share, or about $10.3 billion.

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2011.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238446/hp_to_acquire_info_management_software_firm_autonomy.html#tk.rss_news Facebook Issues Security Guide for Teens, Parents, Teachers Facebook has published a free, 20-page guide aimed at teens, their parents and teachers that explains best practices for protecting their safety and privacy on the site.

Titled "A Guide to Facebook Security," the pamphlet is available on the site and was co-written by security experts Linda McCarthy and Keith Watson, and editor and teacher Denise Weldon-Siviy.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238444/facebook_issues_security_guide_for_teens_parents_teachers.html#tk.rss_news Firefox 6: 4 Reasons to Upgrade Mozilla has more than a thousand changes under the hood of the latest version of Firefox, but only few provide worthwhile reasons for upgrading to the newest release of the browser.
All about the speed

The first reason is speed, although that point is debatable. According to Mozilla, startup times with Firefox 6 are better than its predecessor, especially if a user is using Firefox's Panorama feature. Panorama allows users to organize tabs into groups. Having Firefox launch several groups on startup has been a sure-fire way to bog down that process in the past.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238315/firefox_6_4_reasons_to_upgrade.html New Firefox 6 belies rapid-release complaints Mozilla pushed Firefox 6 out the door today, updating the vast majority of its users to the browser's latest stable build.

Firefox 6 is available to download for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. This is the second stable version of the browser to arrive under the new rapid-release cycle, which promises a new stable build of Firefox every 6 weeks.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20093070-12/new-firefox-6-belies-rapid-release-complaints/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 27,000 South Koreans sue Apple over iOS privacy As expected, Apple has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in South Korea.

About 27,000 South Koreans filed their class-action suit against Apple today, charging the Cupertino, Calif.-based company with privacy violations in its iOS-based devices, the Associated Press is reporting. The plaintiffs are requesting about 27 billion won ($25.3 million) in damages, which translates to about $936 per person.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20093436-17/27000-south-koreans-sue-apple-over-ios-privacy/#ixzz1VLfSwavw
On Linux's 20th Anniversary, Recounting Past Slights From Microsoft The mythical "year of the Linux desktop" still hasn't come, and may never, but on the 20th anniversary of Linux the free operating system's proponents threw a party to celebrate its success and scoff at past attacks launched by Microsoft, its biggest rival.

Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin - known among Network World readers for saying that bashing Microsoft is "like kicking a puppy" - used his keynote at the LinuxCon conference in Vancouver to recount past slights from Microsoft and explain how wrong they were, one by one.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238347/on_linuxs_20th_anniversary_recounting_past_slights_from_microsoft.html#tk.rss_news Ubuntu's Next Unity Begins to Take Shape With the possible exception of GNOME 3, few recent innovations in the Linux world have proven as controversial as the Unity desktop included in Ubuntu 11.04 “Natty Narwhal.”

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth may have argued that Unity was designed to put users first, but many users--particularly the experienced ones--didn't seem to see it that way. My own take is that Unity is a great desktop for newcomers to Linux, who will surely see something familiar and reassuring in its smartphone-style interface.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/238352/ubuntus_next_unity_begins_to_take_shape.html#tk.rss_news Time Warner Cable buying Insight Communications Time Warner Cable will acquire cable operator Insight Communications, the larger cable company announced today.

According to Time Warner Cable, it will pay $3 billion in cash for Insight Communications, which currently offers television, Internet, and phone service to more than 750,000 customers across Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20092359-17/time-warner-cable-buying-insight-communications/#ixzz1VA8vvnKg
Study: Internet Explorer 9 Defends Best Against Malware Links Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 offers Web surfers the best protection against social engineering malware, according to test results released today by an independent research firm.

With its new Application Reputation feature, IE9 blocks malicious URLs more than 99 percent of the time, according to NSS Labs, of Carlsbad, Ca.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238104/study_internet_explorer_9_defends_best_against_malware_links.html#tk.rss_news 6 Tips for Smart Back-to-School Spending on Tech School is just about to start, and if you have a kid heading for college you're probably grimacing at the thought of all those bills. You're on your own when it comes to soaring tuition and housing costs, but there are ways to spend less on your student's technology needs while still giving them what they need to succeed.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238116/6_tips_for_smart_backtoschool_spending_on_tech.html#tk.rss_news This Day in Tech: Google acquires Motorola for $12.5B, buys patent protection Google is acquiring Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion to buy itself patent protection. Motorola Mobility has 17,000 patents and 7,500 patent applications. "Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google's patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies," CEO Larry Page said in explaining the acquisition. Here's a roundup of the deal, but the acquisition is likely to set off some regulatory red flags.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20092653-92/this-day-in-tech-google-acquires-motorola-for-$12.5b-buys-patent-protection/#ixzz1VA3JZCV7
Cops Use Device to Find Child Porn on Wireless Networks Police are using a "one-button interface" device to detect child porn on wireless networks. The AirCheck gadget helps law enforcement locate and track down suspected child predators or suspects engaging in other "illegal Internet activity."

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238107/cops_use_device_to_find_child_porn_on_wireless_networks.html#tk.rss_news 5 News Personalization Tools Bring You Only The Stories You Want So much information, so little time. How can you organize and stay on top of news? Below you’ll find five methods to help aggregate the news that’s important to you.

Some have been around for a while, such as Techmeme, but newer apps are also finding ways to leverage our social networks, focus on personalized and curated content, and enable DIY digital papers. I’ve organized the sections under the method by which news is aggregated.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/5-news-personalization-tools-bring-only-stories-want-144333737.html Firefox 8 to tell aggressive add-ons to back off Mozilla is taking steps to protect users from programs that install add-ons in Firefox without user permission, citing numerous reasons including security concerns and the desire to make sure that the person using Firefox has ultimate control of the add-ons installed.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20091858-12/firefox-8-to-tell-aggressive-add-ons-to-back-off/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Merchants Consider New Security Standards The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council Friday published guidelines aimed at helping merchants and others processing payment cards make effective use of what's known as "tokenization" technologies to conceal sensitive account information.

In its "Information Supplement: PCI DSS Tokenization Guidelines," the council points out that there are various types of token products on the market today, and though not naming them, offers a description of how many might be expected to work to hide payment-card account information by concealing it behind a substitute "token" as a surrogate value. The "token" could then be converted back to its original account information.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238005/merchants_consider_new_security_standards.html#tk.rss_news Spear-phishing Attacks Keep Hitting Gmail onths after Google said that Chinese hackers were targeting the Gmail accounts of senior U.S. government officials, attempts to hijack Gmail inboxes continue, a researcher said last week.

"Once compromises happen and are covered in the news, they do not disappear and attackers don't give up or stop. They continue their business as usual," said Mila Parkour, an independent security researcher based in Washington, D.C., on her Contagio Malware Dump website.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238034/spearphishing_attacks_keep_hitting_gmail.html#tk.rss_news Windows Security Praised Conventional wisdom has it that Windows and products from Microsoft are extremely unsafe, easy targets for hackers. That conventional wisdom is wrong, according to security firm Kaspersky Lab's recent quarterly malware report, which found not a single Microsoft-related threat in the top ten.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238009/windows_security_praised.html#tk.rss_news Computers that start instantly Computers these days can go from completely off to working within 30 seconds, and in some cases much faster. Apple's MacBook Air loads up in 16 seconds, and machines based on Google's cloud-based Chrome OS boast boot times of under 10 seconds. Even Windows computers are fast—with the right set-up

http://www.slate.com/id/2301414/ Cars to use Thorium instead of Gasoline A U.S. company says it is getting closer to putting prototype electric cars on the road that will be powered by the heavy-metal thorium.

http://wardsauto.com/ar/thorium_power_car_110811/ Parliament at risk of fines for using Internet Parliament is at risk of fines or possibly even having its internet disconnected due to the Government's new file-sharing law which comes into force tomorrow, the Green Party said today.

http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/parliament-risk-fines China Competitor to Google Driverless Car While Google makes headlines with its driverless car and even manages to lobby Nevada to legalize driverless cars on the public road - China quietly pushes ahead on its own.

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/105-artificial-intelligence/2876-china-and-the-rise-of-the-driverless-car.html How IBM's 5150 PC shaped the computer industry Most people in the Western world walk around with a powerful computer in their pocket or purse, otherwise known as a smartphone. It's not unusual to see someone clutching a legal pad-size gadget on airplane flights, such as an iPad, to read books. It's nearly impossible to walk into a coffee shop without finding someone pecking away at a trim notebook computer, checking e-mail and surfing the Web.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20090728-92/how-ibms-5150-pc-shaped-the-computer-industry/#ixzz1UmZRTKgG
LinkedIn Hurries to Address Privacy Spat LinkedIn will make changes to a "social advertising" feature that sparked criticism for using members' names and photographs in advertisements on its website.

After a day of mounting criticism, the social networking service said in a blog post Thursday that it had been "listening" to its users and "could have communicated" its intentions with the new ad feature more clearly. As a result, it said, it will change how the advertisements appear.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237949/linkedin_hurries_to_address_privacy_spat.html#tk.rss_news Facial recognition in use after London riots Facial recognition technology being considered for London's 2012 Games is getting a workout in the wake of Britain's riots, a senior police chief told The Associated Press, with officers feeding photographs of suspects through Scotland Yard's newly updated face-matching program.

Chief Constable Andy Trotter of the British Transport Police said Thursday the sophisticated software was being used to help find those suspected of being involved in the worst unrest London has seen in a generation.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-facial-recognition-riots-134919385.html Groupon's net loss rises to over $100 million With its steady stream of daily deals, Groupon has seen an increase in both subscribers and sales, but the company continues to rack up a string of net losses, reporting a second-quarter deficit of more than $100 million, according to a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commisson.

Compared with a net loss of just $35.9 million a year ago, the latest downturn comes as the company has spent a lot of cash to increase staff and venture into new markets, notes The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20091100-92/groupons-net-loss-rises-to-over-$100-million/#ixzz1UmWTIpzt
Amazon UK's riot gear sales soar: Aluminum bats up 6,000% Aluminum bats, police nightsticks and other weapons dominated the "movers and shakers" list of hot-selling items in Amazon.uk's Sports shop on Tuesday as riots spread across Britain for the third day.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/09/technology/amazon_riot/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2 Apple Is Emptying Some UK Stores In Case Of Riots Apple is reportedly removing all merchandise from riot areas in the UK -- probably a very good idea.

http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-is-emptying-some-uk-stores-in-case-of-riots/108247 SKA telescope to generate more data than entire Internet in 2020 The forthcoming $2.1 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope could generate more data per day than the entire internet when it comes online in 2020, according to the director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Professor Peter Quinn.

http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/392735/ska_telescope_generate_more_data_than_entire_internet_2020/ After 30 years, IBM says PC going way of vacuum tube and typewriter Thirty years ago, IBM created the first personal computer running Microsoft's MS-DOS. Today, IBM and Microsoft seem to have very different views on the future of the PC.

IBM CTO Mark Dean of the company's Middle East and Africa division, one of a dozen IBM engineers who designed that first machine unveiled Aug. 12, 1981, says PCs are "going the way of the vacuum tube, typewriter, vinyl records, CRT and incandescent light bulbs."

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/081011-ibm-pc.html?hpg1=bn A Little Exercise = Big Results Little Exercise, Big Effects: Reversing Aging and Infection-Induced Memory Deficits, and Underlying Processes

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/32/11578.short?rss=1 Why Anonymous Won't Destroy Facebook Reports are swirling that the hacktivist group Anonymous plans to "destroy" Facebook on Nov. 5, but something seems a little fishy about the claims.

First off, there's the video announcing the operation, embedded below, which sports the same logo and robotic voice as previous Anonymous video releases, but the production value overall is far lower than others from the group.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237669/why_anonymous_wont_destroy_facebook.html Anonymous Allegedly Threatens to 'Kill' Facebook The hacking group Anonymous is allegedly threatening to "destroy" Facebook on Nov. 5, accusing the social networking site of spying on users, cooperating with authoritarian governments and abusing people's privacy.

The threat is contained in a video that was posted on YouTube on July 16, which has now been viewed more than 700,000 times and has been getting more comments by the minute.

But the threat has not been posted on Anonymous' prolific Twitter feed or its blog, anonops.blogspot.com, leading some experts to wonder if it really originates with the group or is a fake.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237668/anonymous_allegedly_threatens_to_kill_facebook.html#tk.rss_news Indonesian tech frenzy tantalizes venture capital Venture capitalists from Silicon Valley to New York all have the same question about Indonesia's come-from-nowhere tech frenzy: Are the young entrepreneurs that have piqued their interest smart bets or just surfing a hype that will soon burn out.

A few years ago, Internet connections were so slow in Indonesia that trying to download a clip off YouTube could take 20 minutes on a good day.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/indonesian-tech-frenzy-tantalizes-venture-capital-101417171.html Pay TV industry loses record number of subscribers The weak economy is hitting Americans where they spend a lot of their free time: at the TV set.

They're canceling or forgoing cable and satellite TV subscriptions in record numbers, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of the companies' quarterly earnings reports.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/pay-tv-industry-loses-record-number-subscribers-090422571.html China Hit by 480,000 Trojan Horse Attacks in 2010 China said it saw close to 480,000 Trojan horse attacks in 2010, with almost half originating from outside the country, according to a government security agency.

China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team (CNCERT) released some of the figures on Tuesday from an upcoming annual report. Of the 221,000 attacks that originated outside of China, 14.7 percent came from the U.S., while another 8.8 percent came from India.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237662/china_hit_by_480000_trojan_horse_attacks_in_2010.html#tk.rss_news Gartner: Windows 7 on 42 percent of PCs by year's end Two years after its official debut, Windows 7 will finally become the leading operating system around the world by the end of 2011, says a report out today from Gartner.

Before the year is over, the current flavor of Windows is expected to show up on 42 percent of all PCs globally. Further, Gartner's latest research shows that 94 percent of all new computers shipped this year will come with Windows 7, leading to almost 635 million new Windows 7 PCs in 2011 alone.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20090110-75/gartner-windows-7-on-42-percent-of-pcs-by-years-end/#ixzz1UdLeciJS
New IE9 update fixes several security flaws Microsoft has rolled out a new update for Internet Explorer 9 that fixes a host of different security holes.

Launched yesterday on Microsoft's familiar "Patch Tuesday," the August 2011 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer is a critical one that resolves issues not just in IE9 but in versions 6, 7, and 8 as well, according to a Microsoft blog. The update is available through Windows Update, so IE users who have Windows automatic updates turned on should have already received it.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20090541-75/new-ie9-update-fixes-several-security-flaws/#ixzz1UdKsjSZG
Coders choosing Mac OS over Linux environment Apple's Mac operating system has surpassed Linux in popularity as a development environment in North America, according to an Evans Data survey.

Windows remains at the top of the development environment heap, used by 80 percent of the survey's more than 400 professional software developer respondents in June; Mac OS was used by 7.9 percent of those surveyed, displacing Linux, used by 5.6 percent.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20090145-62/coders-choosing-mac-os-over-linux-environment/#ixzz1UaoOE4pC
Microsoft Security Patch Fixes 20-Year-Old Flaw Microsoft today issued 13 security updates that patched 22 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, Office and other software, including one that harked back two decades to something dubbed "Ping of Death."

Of Tuesday's 13 updates, called "bulletins" by Microsoft, two were labeled "critical" -- the most-serious rating in the company's four-step score -- nine were marked "important," the next-most-dangerous category, and two were pegged as "moderate."

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237652/microsoft_security_patch_fixes_20yearold_flaw.html#tk.rss_news Disabling Windows Access Tool Invites Malware, Microsoft Warns An alarming number of Windows users are needlessly opening themselves up to attacks by rootkit and worm malware by turning off the User Access Control (UAC) that comes with Windows 7 and Vista, Microsoft has reported.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237462/disabling_windows_access_tool_invites_malware_microsoft_warns.html#tk.rss_news Comcast Offers $10 a Month Internet Option For Low-Income Families Families that can’t afford to pay from $30 per month for Comcast’s Internet access services now have a less expensive alternative. The cable provider launched a new plan dubbed Internet Essentials, which will cost low-income families only $10 per month for Web access.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237477/comcast_offers_10_a_month_internet_option_for_lowincome_families.html#tk.rss_news Facebook Can Make Teens Sick, Study Says Facebook may be great for reconnecting with old school friends, but for teens still in school, it can often do more harm than good. That's according to study findings presented over the weekend at the American Psychological Association convention by Dr. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, whose research focuses on children and technology.


Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237479/facebook_can_make_teens_sick_study_says.html#tk.rss_news Are Google's Best Days Behind It? Few companies have made a splash in the tech industry as big as Google has. Launched by Larry Page and Sergey Brin from Page's Stanford University dorm room in 1998, the company became a $27 billion titan overnight when it went public six years later. Soon it was the darling of Silicon Valley, sweeping competitors aside and taking Microsoft head on. For a while, at least, it seemed Google could do no wrong.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237483/are_googles_best_days_behind_it.html#tk.rss_news Apple tech support satisfaction plummets Apple customers are increasingly dissatisfied with the company's technical support, which could affect the firm's bottom line down the road, a researcher said today.

Read more at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218872/Apple_tech_support_satisfaction_plummets Microsoft slates 22 patches for Windows, IE next week Aging XP escapes majority of updates planned for Windows

Microsoft today said it will ship 13 security updates next week to patch 22 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Windows, Visio and Visual Studio.

Next Tuesday's patch lineup is larger than July's on the update count, but matches that month's vulnerability total. That's unusual, since the company usually delivers a heavier load in even-numbered months.

Read more at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218877/Microsoft_slates_22_patches_for_Windows_IE_next_week Speedy Malware Infects More than 6 Million Web Pages In less than two weeks, a malware injection that targets e-commerce Web pages has ballooned from 90,000 infected pages to more than 6 million.

The malware, called willysy, exploits a vulnerability in a popular online merchant platform, osCommerce, according to Web application security provider Armorize, of San Francisco.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237457/speedy_malware_infects_more_than_6_million_web_pages.html#tk.rss_news The Undetectable Malware That Real Hackers Don't Seem to Want Remember the Blue Pill? That was the undetectable rootkit that was all the talk at Black Hat five years ago. It seemed scary. The Blue Pill was one of a new breed of malicious programs that would slip themselves underneath the operating system in a virtual machine hypervisor and silently tamper with the computer's kernel in order to do their bad stuff.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237437/the_undetectable_malware_that_real_hackers_dont_seem_to_want.html#tk.rss_news FBI Releases Free Smartphone App for Quick Response to Child Emergencies A child goes missing in the United States every 40 seconds. Many are never heard from again. When a child does disappear, it's critical that parents get basic information to law enforcement authorities as soon as possible. That's why the FBI Friday announced a free iPhone application that will allow parents to keep this kind of info close at hand.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237426/fbi_releases_free_smartphone_app_for_quick_response_to_child_emergencies.html#tk.rss_news Wikipedia says it's losing contributors Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is written entirely by volunteers and allows anyone to edit its entries, is losing contributors, its founder complained Thursday.

Speaking with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the website's annual conference, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said the nonprofit company that runs the site is scrambling to simplify editing procedures in an attempt to retain volunteers.

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/wikipedia-says-losing-contributors-161022713.html Chinese Hackers Blamed for Database Theft Hackers have stolen the personal data of 35 million users of the South Korean social network Cyworld and search engine Nate, the company that runs them, SK Communications, has admitted.

The country's regulator, the Korea Communications Commission, said in an official statement that SK Telecom had traced the attack to IP addresses in China, and involved the theft of phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and encrypted data such as passwords and 'resident registration' numbers of users of the service.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237362/chinese_hackers_blamed_for_database_theft.html#tk.rss_news HTTPS Everywhere opens to all The security add-on for Firefox called HTTPS Everywhere (download) that forces HTTPS encryption on numerous popular Web sites has graduated to its first stable release, about a year after it was released into public beta.

Read more at: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-20088435-12/https-everywhere-opens-to-all/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 Spam King Sanford Wallace Indicted for Facebook Spam Notorious spam king Sanford Wallace is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly breaking into Facebook accounts and sending 27 million spam messages in 2008 and 2009.

Wallace, 43, allegedly used a phishing attack to steal usernames and passwords from victims and then used the stolen credentials to post spam to victims walls, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237364/spam_king_sanford_wallace_indicted_for_facebook_spam.html#tk.rss_news Finally Declining? World of Warcraft Loses 300,000 Subscribers t looks like World of Warcraft, Blizzard's nigh indefatigable roleplaying behemoth, may finally be experiencing some serious attrition. The number of paying subscribers for the online game dropped to 11.1 million between May and July, down from 11.4 million in May and 12 million back in October, 2010.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237300/finally_declining_world_of_warcraft_loses_300000_subscribers.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft fires back, releases e-mail to refute Google Rather than ignore an attack by Google's legal boss that it has conspired against the company in patent wars, Microsoft is ratcheting up the nastiness.

The software giant's top public relations executive took to Twitter last night to refute claims laid out by Google chief legal officer David Drummond that Microsoft is conspiring with Apple and others to keep patents away from the Web giant. Frank X. Shaw released an October email from Google general counsel Kent Walker to his counterpart at Microsoft, Brad Smith, cordially declining Microsoft's offer to jointly bid on patents from Novell.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20088119-93/microsoft-fires-back-releases-e-mail-to-refute-google/#ixzz1U4zqU6Ae
Microsoft Announces "BlueHat" Contest for Better Security Solutions As any Jedi knight knows, the temptation to turn to the Dark Side is difficult to resist. The same can be true for White Hat hackers--malware fighters who discover vulnerabilities in software.

The black market prices for those kinds of security flaws are as tantalizing to ethical hackers as the malevolent side of The Force was to Luke Skywalker. Microsoft wants to temper those temptations, though, and has announced a contest that offers more than $250,000 in prizes for developing better solutions to counter security threats.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237301/microsoft_announces_bluehat_contest_for_better_security_solutions.html#tk.rss_news Google accuses Microsoft, Apple of banding together to destroy Android with patents According to a blog post by Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, Google is facing a concentrated effort by several tech companies, Microsoft and Apple among them, to destroy Android one patent at a time.

Read more at: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/8977-google-accuses-microsoft-apple-of-banding-together-to-destroy-android-with-patents Top 5 Potential Cyber-enemies for the United States Details of "Operation Shady RAT"--a years-long campaign of hacking and cyber-espionage that's targeted the U.S. government, the U.N., the International Olympic Committee, and numerous other agencies and corporations worldwide--were released by security firm McAfee this week.

So far, most of the evidence gathered seems to point to China as the likely perpetrator behind Shady RAT, which is McAfee’s name for the operation. But the U.S. and the West also have other potential cyber-enemies to be wary of. Here's a breakdown of the five most likely parties with the resources and the will to carry out similar campaigns.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237298/top_5_potential_cyberenemies_for_the_united_states.html#tk.rss_news RSA Hacking Trail Traced to China Malware used in the attack against RSA Security earlier this year was controlled from China, a well-known botnet researcher said Wednesday.

Joe Stewart, director of malware research for Dell SecureWorks, traced the command-and-control (C&C) servers used to oversee the RSA attack to networks in Beijing and Shanghai.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237290/rsa_hacking_trail_traced_to_china.html#tk.rss_news Best Free Software for Protecting Your PC and Your Privacy Worried about security, but unwilling to spend a bundle? No problem. With these 11 free programs, you'll keep your computer--and your wallet--safe.

Want to ensure that your PC and all of your files and data stay safe, secure, and private--without breaking the bank? We've rounded up 11 free security and privacy utilities that shield you against malware, protect your data at Wi-Fi hotspots, encrypt your hard drive, and do everything in between.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237027/best_free_software_for_protecting_your_pc_and_your_privacy.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft offers $250,000 for security defense research Microsoft today announced that it will give out $250,000 in BlueHat Prize rewards for innovative research on computer security defense.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20087589-245/microsoft-offers-$250000-for-security-defense-research/#ixzz1TzsIaxeF
The Zune is Dead? Then Why These New Apps From Microsoft? Microsoft's Zune HD is supposed to be on its way out, but that's not stopping the portable media player from getting a small batch of new apps.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237212/the_zune_is_dead_then_why_these_new_apps_from_microsoft.html#tk.rss_news 10 Linux rescue tools for recovering Linux, Windows, or Mac machines When you’re dealing with a system that won’t boot, you need a robust and dependable recovery tool. Here are a few Linux tools that might save the day.

From corrupt partition tables to severely infected machines, Linux tools come in handy when the host system won’t boot. But because of the plethora of tools available, it’s sometimes tough to sift through the cruft and find the ones that are usable.

Read more at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-linux-rescue-tools-for-recovering-linux-windows-or-mac-machines/1458?tag=content;siu-container 10 ways to keep hard drives from failing With a little proactive care, you can extend hard drive life, squeezing more value from your company’s equipment investments, reducing user downtime, and preventing catastrophic loss of data.

Hardware prices have dropped considerably over the last decade, but it’s irresponsible not to care for the hardware installed on machines.

Read more at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-keep-hard-drives-from-failing/2063?tag=content;siu-container Five tips for restoring an unbootable hard drive Takeaway: When you’re dealing with a system that won’t boot, you need to fall back on some diagnostic skills and recovery strategies. Jack Wallen shares his field-tested approach.

Have you ever tried to restart a machine only to find it won’t boot? For whatever reason, you get a warning message informing you that disaster might well have struck… and you’re staring in the face of what could be a very bad day. Well, don’t panic yet. There are a few tricks you can try that may get that machine booted.

Read more at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-tips/five-tips-for-restoring-an-unbootable-hard-drive/955?tag=nl.e101 Save CD to Hard Drive will soon be Legal in UK The Government is set to announce plans to legalise format shifting and ditch web-blocking plans.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/369064/format-shifting-may-finally-be-legalised AOL launches personalized magazine app for iPad Internet company AOL is trying to snatch a larger portion of the tablet computer audience by launching free iPad software that presents a customized, daily e-magazine that draws in content from all over the Web.

Called Editions, the software is similar to news-aggregating mobile apps such as Flipboard and Pulse, but more focused on bringing users a finite, tailored amount of content that updates once per day. AOL's app is being released Wednesday.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/aol-launches-personalized-magazine-app-ipad-193833262.html Google strikes deal to acquire daily deal service In its latest acquisition of talent and technology, Google has bought Dealmap. It's a 15-month-old startup that compiles discount offers from local merchants scattered in markets across the nation.

Financial terms of the acquisition announced Tuesday weren't disclosed. It's the latest in a flurry of acquisitions that Google has made to expand its Internet empire into promising new markets. Since the end of 2009, Google has spent more than $2.7 billion buying more than 70 companies.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/google-strikes-deal-acquire-daily-deal-174202126.html Firefox could get even more Chrome style Early design concepts for Mozilla Firefox indicate that the browser continues to bend toward the light emanating from Google Chrome. Designs released for the interface-focused branch of the nightly version of Firefox reveal a look that brings the browser even closer to looking like its Google competitor, although it definitely has its own approach. Google Chrome Adds Instant Pages, Print Preview The latest build of Google's Chrome browser is available now and has two noteworthy upgrades: Instant Pages, which loads Web pages faster; and print preview, a feature that many Chrome users (including me) have sought for a long time.

Instant Pages, which Google made available to Chrome beta users last month, shaves a few seconds off page-loading times by prerendering the top search result. When you click the link, the page loads instantly.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/237127/google_chrome_adds_instant_pages_print_preview.html#tk.rss_news Windows XP market share dips below 50 percent After a healthy 10-year run, Windows XP may finally be losing its overwhelming grip on computer users.

Though it's still the most heavily used version of the Windows operating system, XP's market share among all operating systems finally dipped just below the 50 percent mark last month, according to stats out today from Net Applications.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20086776-75/windows-xp-market-share-dips-below-50-percent/#ixzz1TvPZjWxp
Home Made Nuclear Reactor Swedish police have detained a 31-year-old man in Ängelholm in western Sweden who was discovered after he sought advice from authorities on the legality of building a nuclear reactor in a domestic kitchen.

http://www.thelocal.se/35306/20110802/ Ultrafast Affordable Wireless Network Developed German scientists working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications (Heinrich Hertz Institute) in Berlin have succeeded in developing an 800Mbps (Megabits per second) capable wireless network (WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network) by using nothing more than normal red, blue, green and white LED (Light-Emitting Diode) light bulbs.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/2011/08/02/scientists-use-led-light-bulbs-to-make-800mbps-capable-wireless-network.html Chrome Nibbles at IE, Microsoft Finds Silver Lining It is the first day of the month, and that means new browser market share numbers from Net Applications. Internet Explorer and Firefox continue to slide as Chrome and Safari gain ground--but Microsoft focuses on its own silver lining.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/237015/chrome_nibbles_at_ie_microsoft_finds_silver_lining.html#tk.rss_news Rootkit Malware Roosts on Windows XP Systems Machines running the decade-old Windows XP make up a huge reservoir of infected PCs that can spread malware to other systems, a Czech antivirus company says.

Windows XP computers are infected with rootkits out of proportion to the operating system's market share, according to data released last week by Avast Software, which surveyed more than 600,000 Windows PCs.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236889/rootkit_malware_roosts_on_windows_xp_systems.html#tk.rss_news Microsoft Adds RAW Photo File Support to Windows The decision is good news for serious photographers who use Windows. Some welcome news for serious photographers running Windows: Microsoft has added support for the RAW file format from within Windows Explorer as well as Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011.

"Dealing with raw images on Windows hasn't always been easy," admitted Brad Weed, group program manager for Microsoft's Windows Live in a blog post emailed to me in advance of its posting.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236800/microsoft_adds_raw_photo_file_support_to_windows.html#tk.rss_news
Google just announced their Page Speed Service "Google has introduced their Page Speed Service which 'is the latest tool in Google's arsenal to help speed up the web. When you sign up and point your site's DNS entry to Google, they'll enable the tool which will fetch your content from your servers, rewrite your webpages, and serve them up from Google's own servers around the world.'"

http://code.google.com/speed/pss/ IPv6 is coming. Very late of course but it is coming. Soon. More than 70% of IT departments plan to upgrade their websites to support IPv6 within the next 24 months, according to a recent survey of more than 200 IT professionals conducted by Network World. Plus, 65% say they will have IPv6 running on their internal networks by then, too.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/072611-ipv6-survey.html Facebook is being used as a Tool to Catch Criminals Facebook is doing more than keeping people connected. In Conroe, it's helping police to fight crime.
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8271766 Google+ Claims 20 Million Members in First Month Does the world really need a new social networking site?

Maybe it does, and maybe that helps explain the success of Google+. It only turns a month old on Thursday, but it already claims up to 20 million members. And since the service went live, Google Inc. stock has gone up nearly 30 percent, raising the value of the company (the "market cap" in Wall Street jargon) by $45 billion.

Read more at: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/google-social-network-adds-45-billion-google-stock/story?id=14170153 Apple iOS Bug Worse Than Advertised Off-the-shelf sniffing tools can exploit the threat, but users of older iPhones and iPod Touches won't see a fix.

Security experts have warned that a recently disclosed bug in Apple's iOS mobile operating system, patched by the vendor on Monday, is easier to exploit than it first appeared. In particular, attackers can now use a freely available tool to eavesdrop on an iOS device's data stream, without the user knowing.

Read more at: http://informationweek.com/news/231002761 Celebrating 30 years of MS-DOS C:\happy-birthday.exe! MS-DOS, the cornerstone of Microsoft's software empire, is 30 years old today--so let's boot into the command line for a celebration of the OS with the mostest.

On this day in 1981, Microsoft bought what was to become MS-DOS from Seattle Computer Products. SCP has developed the system under the name QDOS. Everybody knows MS-DOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System, but that's actually a neat bit of corporate whitewashing from Bill Gates and co.--QDOS originally stood for Quick and Dirty Operating System.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20084309-1/celebrating-30-years-of-ms-dos/#ixzz1TL9aDXs3
'War Texting' Lets Hackers Unlock Car Doors via SMS Software that lets drivers unlock car doors and even start their vehicles using a mobile phone could let car thieves do the very same things, according to computer security researchers at iSec Partners.

Don Bailey and fellow iSec researcher Mathew Solnik say they've figured out the protocols that some of these software makers use to remote control the cars, and they've produced a video showing how they can unlock a car and turn the engine on via a laptop. According to Bailey, it took them about two hours to figure out how to intercept wireless messages between the car and the network and then recreate them from his laptop.

Read more here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236678/war_texting_lets_hackers_unlock_car_doors_via_sms.html#tk.rss_news This Day in Tech: Street View grabbed location data from millions Google's Street View collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices. CNET's Declan McCullagh reports: "The French data protection authority, known as the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés, recently contacted CNET and said its investigation confirmed that Street View cars collected these unique hardware IDs."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20083132-92/this-day-in-tech-street-view-grabbed-location-data-from-millions/#ixzz1TJtsjmNg




Should Microsoft unload Bing? Microsoft should consider selling Bing, says a Reuters opinion piece that's gained attention in the last day or so, after being published last Friday.

Though the search engine has grown in market share and popularity since its debut in 2009, it's still a money-losing proposition and a distraction for its parent, claims Reuters columnist Robert Cyran. Despite the flush of cash that Microsoft has poured into Bing, the search's engine's online services division lost $2.6 billion in the company's latest fiscal year, he says.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20083412-75/should-microsoft-unload-bing/#ixzz1TJt6z4az
Internet privacy controls challenge tech industry WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has put Google, Microsoft, Apple and other technology companies on notice: Give consumers a way prevent advertisers from tracking their movements across the Web — or face regulation.

Yet for all its innovative know-how and entrepreneurial spirit, the technology industry has yet to agree on a simple, meaningful solution to protect consumer privacy on the Internet.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/internet-privacy-controls-challenge-tech-industry-211251825.html Help translate ancient Egyption texts (yes ... you help) Researchers at Oxford University are asking the public for help in translating ancient texts. What they want you to do is to match up these ancient Egyption texts with the Greek alphabet. They provide the texts and the alphabet, all you need do is work out the match.

http://www.ancientlives.org/tutorial/transcribe Walmart challenges Netflix with video streaming new service Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has added streaming movies to its website as the world's largest retailer attempts to grab a bigger share of the online movie market from rival service Netflix Inc.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/07/walmart-adds-streaming-video-to-its-site.html Will Google+ mean the end of Twitter? Google+ will soon do all the things Twitter does, Twitter can't support a long list of the things Google+ supports. Conversations, for example. Each post on Google+ can be followed by comments where users can hold a detailed and satisfying conversation about the post. On Twitter, commenting is awkward because when you comment, your comments are not generally seen by the poster's other followers, but by your own followers, who probably did not see the post.

Twitter has 200 million users. Google+ has about 20 million users at the time of posting.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218605/Elgan_Why_Twitter_is_obsolete Don't be afraid to do dumb things "Speaking at the CA Expo in Sydney, Australia, former Google CIO Douglas Merrill shared some management tips he learned during his tenure at the search giant. At the top of the list: 'Don't be afraid to do dumb things.' Merrill recalls that 'most of the early Google hardware was stolen from trash and as the stuff they stole broke all the time they built a reliable software system. Everyone knew we shouldn't build our own hardware as it was 'dumb', but everyone was wrong. Sometimes being dumb changes the game.' Another pearl of wisdom from Merrill: 'the more project management you do the less likely your project is to succeed.'"

http://www.itworld.com/software/186241/former-google-cio-says-business-misses-key-people-marks Who's Tracking Your Cell Phone? s your cell phone being tracked? The odds are quite good there's a spy in your pocket. The only real question is, who's doing it?

Earlier this week Wired's Spencer Ackerman profiled what he calls the "Keyzer Soze" of geo-location tracking, a company called TruePosition. TP uses cell tower triangulation to locate the geo position of any cell phone within 50 meters.

Read the rest of the story at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236456/whos_tracking_your_cell_phone.html#tk.rss_news Malware is a Disease; Let's Treat it that Way Botnets and botnet kits are flourishing. They're now a commodity, as are the use of controlled machines. Just about daily, a new and frightening major system crack is revealed, data released, embarrassed IT security people called on the carpet. Were these a human virus, the CDC would be subjecting it to observation, protocols, all while someone was racing to invent (perhaps too many) vaccinations for the world to use. It would be an effort that had procedure, and a plan. The U.S. lacks a cohesive national plan to control malware, and the costs of exposure might be calculable to motivate organization of an authority to deal with the problem.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236455/malware_is_a_disease_lets_treat_it_that_way.html#tk.rss_news Apple considering Hulu bid Apple Inc. is in talks to potentially bid for video-streaming service Hulu, according to a person close to the situation.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the matter.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-apple-considering-hulu-bid-172733153.html A complete guide to Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts One of the best ways to increase your computing productivity doesn’t cost a cent: learn the keyboard shortcuts for your most-used commands.

To help you stop mousing around and become a keyboard maestro, I rounded up the best resources for finding, using, and creating shortcuts.

Read more here: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/a-complete-guide-to-windows-7-keyboard-shortcuts/ Make the most of Windows 7′s Libraries Libraries — special-purpose virtual folders — can be confusing at first. But they are extremely handy, once you get the hang of them.

How to use Libraries is hard to describe but easier to understand when you see them in action — and that’s what this article will show you.

Read more here: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/make-the-most-of-windows-7s-libraries/ It’s time to move up to Internet Explorer 9 For Vista and Win7 users, upgrading to IE 9 requires a bit more consideration and planning than updating Firefox or Chrome — but the time has come.

As a member of the Center for Internet Security (info page), I participate in that organization’s online security discussions. Recently, one of the participants asked whether you should always update to the latest version of Internet Explorer that your workstations support. The consensus was “yes.” IE 9, for example, adds major security enhancements for Windows 7. Vista also benefits from IE 9. (Unfortunately, Windows XP users are out of luck.)

Read more here: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/its-time-to-move-up-to-internet-explorer-9/ Free Windows utilities you should download right now Takeaway: From defragmentation utilities to password reset tools, Bill Detwiler lists free Windows utilities that you should download right now.

Everyone who works on a Windows computer has his or her favorite system utilities. But, there are a handful of must-have tools that no Windows user or IT support pro should be without. During this week’s episode of TR Dojo, I give you a list of free Windows utilities that you should download right now.

Read more at: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/itdojo/free-windows-utilities-you-should-download-right-now/2769?tag=nl.e101 10 reasons not to buy an iPad for your college student Takeaway: If your child is trying to convince you that an iPad is essential for an effective, productive college experience, this list will help you stand your ground.

Dear parents: With summer slowly coming to a close, back-to-school shopping is in full swing. Your college-bound child is probably in the midst of asking for more and more money to buy the “essentials” for class and dorm life. And it’s likely that your kid has also mentioned needing an iPad. Perhaps you’re wondering whether to consider an iPad instead of a laptop for kids heading off to school.

Read more here: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-reasons-not-to-buy-an-ipad-for-your-college-student/2599?tag=nl.e101 3D Hurts Your Eyes "After experimenting on 24 adults, a research team at the University of California, Berkeley has determined that viewing content on a stereo 3D display hurts your eyes and your brain. This can supposedly cause visual discomfort, fatigue, and headaches According to the article, 3D content viewed over a short distance (like with desktops and smartphones) is more visually uncomfortable when the stereo content is placed in front of the screen. In a movie theater, it's the opposite: Stereo content that is placed behind the screen causes more discomfort than scenes that jump out at you. With the explosion of 3D-capable gadgetry such as televisions and mobile phones, understanding just what this kind of technology is doing to our bodies may help us better use it in the future. The only problem is that technology tends to far outpace research, and until we get a better handle on its effects, we're more or less walking blindly into a 3D world."

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/22/who-could-have-guessed-3d-hurts-your-eyes/ Apple MacBook Batteries Vulnerable to Malware, Destruction After studying the batteries in several MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs, security researcher Charlie Miller found that Apple laptop microcontroller chips are shipped with default passwords that, once discovered, can be used as a hiding spot for malware as well as a conduit for disabling the battery and even blowing it up.

"These batteries just aren't designed with the idea that people will mess with them," Miller told Forbes. "What I'm showing is that it's possible to use them to do something really bad."

Using passwords associated with a 2009 Apple software update, Miller was able to permanently disable several batteries, manipulate readings sent to the operating system and charger, and completely rewrite the chip's firmware.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236440/apple_macbook_batteries_vulnerable_to_malware_destruction.html#tk.rss_news Win7′s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall Microsoft won’t tell you this, but you can do a fast, nondestructive, in-place, total reinstall of Windows 7 without damaging your user accounts, data, installed programs, or system drivers.

That means you may never have to do a full, from-scratch reinstall again, even when your system is misbehaving so badly that a full reformat-and-reinstall seems the only answer!

As I’m sure you know all too well, from-scratch reinstalls are ordeals. They take hours. And when a reinstall is done, you still have to recreate all your settings, reinstall all your software, and so on. It can take days to fully recover from a total reformat/reinstall.

Read more at: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/ FBI strikes back at alleged hackers The FBI escalated its war on hackers, serving dozens of warrants across the U.S. and making more than a dozen arrests.

Sixteen people were arrested in the United States in connection with hacking attacks by the Anonymous group of online activists, as well as one person in the U.K. and four people in the Netherlands, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20081655-92/fbi-strikes-back-at-alleged-hackers-week-in-review/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Facebook Scams Popping Up that Exploit Norway Tragedy Facebook scams are popping up from people looking to exploit Friday's bombing and shootings in Norway. Users should be careful not to click on links they are not familiar with.

The issue was raised in a blog post by security software provider Websense. The viral exploit currently appears to be infecting one user every second.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/236444/facebook_scams_popping_up_that_exploit_norway_tragedy.html#tk.rss_news Mozilla jumps to deal with Google Toolbar demise Google has canceled its toolbar for the current and future versions of Firefox, and Mozilla is scrambling to help users who might be left in the lurch and postponing their browser upgrades.

The toolbar offers a variety of services, including a search box, a way to use bookmarks stored on a server, and a measurement of a Web site's PageRank--a score Google gives that measures its influence in Google search results. But Google has chosen to do in the Firefox version.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20082056-264/mozilla-jumps-to-deal-with-google-toolbar-demise/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
How to view malware http://www.itworld.com/data-centerservers/185719/us-lacks-cohesive-plan-malware-control-can-cdc-model-work Fighting viruses, defending the net http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf3zxHuSM2Y&feature=feedu Textbook rental for students http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/education/368722/amazon-lets-students-rent-digital-textbooks An analysis of common passwords .... your password is here http://www.troyhunt.com/2011/07/science-of-password-selection.html

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Got a headache with your computer and no budget to fix it...?  protonic.com is here to help. We offer completely free computer support and computer related information online and by E-Mail. We are a free service manned by volunteers all over the world, helping people fix technology problems. We enjoy the challenge of solving your problem, we are up to date and work as a team. We maintain our high standards through Quality Assurance sampling.

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  Google Defends Privacy Changes as Questions Mount

Following a flurry of criticism over its privacy policy revamp, Google is attempting to clear up misconceptions about its actions

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248845/google_defends_privacy...
  Apple Number One Smartphone Vendor Again, Say Research Firms

Apple has emerged as the number one smartphone vendor worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2011, by a small margin, after losing ground to Samsung in the previous quarter, research firms Strategy Analytics and IHS iSuppli said.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248833/apple_number_one_smart...
  Just Show Me: How to clear your browser history in Safari

Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to clear your history in the Safari web browser.

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  Apple catches flak in China supply chain saga

The maker of iPads and iPhones is hardly alone among tech companies that rely heavily on Chinese factories under scrutiny for labor practices. But it has become the flashpoint.

Read more at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57367366-37/apple-catches-...
  Facebook, Washington state target online spam

Facebook is partnering with Washington state to combat a type of spam called "clickjacking" that is plaguing the social networking site, company and state officials announced Thursday.


Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-washington-state-target-onlin...
  US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns

The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/us-cybersecurity-efforts-trigger-priva...
  Twitter may censor tweets in individual countries

Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis.

Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/twitter-may-censor-tweets-individual-c...
  First 'Super Wi-Fi' Network Goes Live in North Carolina

Lucky residents of Wilmington, N.C., will be the first in the nation to have access to a "Super Wi-Fi" network.

Officials from New Hanover County, N.C., announced today that they had become the first in the United States to deploy a mobile data network on so-called "white spaces" spectrum that the Federal Communications Commission first authorized for unlicensed use in 2008.

Read more at: ht... Show More
  Google+ Opens Its Doors to Teens

Google+ is perhaps a unique social network in that it didn't initially market itself to the younger crowd--in fact, until yesterday, Google+ was technically only open to users over the age of 18. (I say "technically" because, let's be serious, it's not like teens ever really follow the rules.)

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248836/google_opens_its_doors...
  Google Earth Update Smooths Over Patchwork Landscapes

Google upgraded Google Earth to version 6.2 displays the Earth's surface in smooth, natural textures. Previous versions of Google Earth rendered maps in patchy long-range imagery that were stitched together one square at a time. The Google Earth update is available now for download for both the mobile and desktop versions of the software.

Read more at: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248837/goog... Show More