John Lister

Verizon says it won't charge customers who live in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy for service lost during the massive 'superstorm.' On a case-by-case basis, the company will also consider helping people in other locations. The network says the ... fee waiver is part of an ongoing program to help victims and restore cellphone service. Under the program, Verizon will waive fees for customers in ten New York counties and twenty-one New Jersey counties. The deal involves waiving the fees for all domestic calls and texts made by customers in the designated counties between October 29 (when the ... (view more)

Microsoft is reportedly working on bringing its Office software to the Android and Apple mobile platforms. The reported plan would involve offering a free viewing app for users, and light editing tools for subscribers. At the moment, Office ... functionality on mobile devices varies widely. Handsets running Windows Phone have a limited range of viewing and editing tools, while Microsoft's Surface tablet comes with Office pre-installed. Now, a combination of leaked screenshots and a press release from Microsoft's subsidiary in the Czech Republic make it clear that Office is coming to devices ... (view more)

Microsoft is getting ready to ditch its instant messaging service. Now that it owns Skype, according to reports, Microsoft will be switching off the Windows Live Messenger service in March, 2013. Windows Live Messenger first became available back in ... 1999, when it was known as MSN Messenger. Back then it was designed as a rival to AOL's highly popular messaging services. The original MSN Messenger service allowed users to chat with other users via text messages in real time without a public chat room, or even email. Over the years, Microsoft added more complicated features, including video and ... (view more)

The hacking group Anonymous claims it successfully stole data from security firm Symantec on Monday, November 5, 2012. However, Symantec denies the claim. Anonymous also claims to have gained access to servers belonging to ImageShack, a service that ... hosts pictures online. However, there has been no independent confirmation of that reported security breach, either. November 5th is an important date for Anonymous because it marks the anniversary of Guido 'Guy' Fawkes' attempt to blow up the English Parliament buildings in 1606. In England the event is remembered as 'Guy Fawkes Day.' Over time ... (view more)

Windows 8 has a totally new look and feel. But one company says it's not all that original and is suing Microsoft for copyright infringement. Portland tech firm SurfCast is suing Microsoft over its use of "live tiles" on the main display screen, the ... one that appears whenever a user starts up Windows. The tiles are the large rectangular blocks that link to various tools and applications; they're designed to make them easier to use on touchscreen devices. The tiles don't actually have a fixed image or text and they update automatically by using Internet resources. For example, a weather tile ... (view more)

Delta and United Airlines are among 100 firms that have been told they are breaking California's privacy laws. The problem: these companies have smartphone and tablet applications that don't give customers adequate information about the way they ... handle personal data. Kamala Harris, California's attorney general, insists companies are breaching the California Online Privacy Protection Act, which says app users must get clear details about the personal data collected and how it will be used. These 100 companies are among many more offenders but happen to own the 100 most popular apps breaching ... (view more)

Despite the threat of deportation to the United States for trial, the man who started the controversial Megaupload filesharing service says he is working on a replacement. Kim Dotcom also says his new filesharing service will work in a way that will ... keep him safe from the long arm of the law. Megaupload allowed users to store files online, and also to access and download the files through either a private or public link. Not surprisingly, many people used the service to share copyrighted files, such as digital music and movies, without paying for them -- clearly a case of copyright ... (view more)

Yahoo has confirmed it will not honor "Do Not Track" requests from Microsoft's Internet Explorer 10 web browser. Do Not Track is designed to protect web browser users from having their Internet activity tracked. Experts say the Yahoo decision is ... based on the way Microsoft has implemented Do Not Track and is not a sign that Yahoo stands opposed to the basic concept. Do Not Track is designed to stop websites from passing details of a web browser's online activity to advertisers. It works by voluntary compliance with the Do Not Track request, not by any enforcement method. Advertisers argue that ... (view more)

A security firm has revealed the twenty-five most common passwords used on websites. For the most part, they leave users particularly vulnerable to hacking. One reason? "Password" is still the most common password. The list, from analyst firm ... SplashData, is based on login details published by hackers online. Sadly, the amount of data that becomes publicly available this way seems to be ever increasing. Following "password", the next most popular passwords in decreasing order are "123456", "12345678" and "abc123", all of which appear to have been chosen by users who obviously cared ... (view more)

The barcodes on airline boarding passes may look innocent. However, one security researcher says that a smartphone camera allows anyone to figure out whether or not they'll be selected for a security check. Aviation expert John Butler recently ... noted, via his blog, that the information on barcodes isn't encrypted. (Source: wordpress.com ) Although airport staff use special scanners to read the barcodes, it turns out that a camera phone can scan the barcode and the proper app can convert it to a string of codes. You can then use the Internet to find out what these codes mean. Pre-Check ... (view more)