John Lister

Early reviews of Microsoft's Surface tablet computer are beginning to appear online. Though they are mixed, a common theme is that the hardware design is impressive, but the software is a concern. Microsoft's Surface is designed for a niche between ... an iPad and a Windows-based laptop. It ships with only a touchscreen, but with a $100 carry case that includes a physical keyboard it can expand to function like a conventional laptop. The Surface goes on sale October 26, the day Windows 8 is officially released. The first models will run Windows RT, the special version of Windows 8 designed ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says an Internet firm claiming it collected only shopper opinions about the products they bought was actually collecting personal data. The firm, Compete, is negotiating a court-approved settlement of the charges. ... So far, the punishment the company will face has not been publicly revealed. Compete used online ads to recruit customers into its "Consumer Input Panel", telling them they can give their opinions and win prizes. To participate, however, consumers needed to install special tracking software on their computers to monitor what websites they visited. ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to have concluded that legal action isn't enough to stop automated telemarketers. That's why it's offering a $50,000 reward for a device capable of stopping the calls. The automated calls, sometimes called ... 'robocalls,' originate with a computer dialing a number and playing a recorded message when the call is answered. Robocalls allow firms to make more phone calls without paying staff to communicate with people. Another government agency, the Federal Communications Commission, introduced new rules on robocalls earlier this year. Under the new rules, ... (view more)

You've Got Mail -- again. AOL is introducing a new email tool designed to make life easier for Internet users, even those running rival email services. About 20 million people still use AOL's email service. That user base is dwarfed by some rivals; ... for example, Google's Gmail boasts 425 million users. Nevertheless, AOL thinks it can improve everyone's email experience. That's why it's launching Alto, an email service that runs in a web browser and brings into a single location messages from AOL, Apple, Gmail, and Yahoo accounts. AOL plans to tweak the service later on so it can work with ... (view more)

Facebook has announced an improvement to its antivirus marketplace. At the same time, the social networking site also announced it will begin working closely with security companies to build a database of dangerous, rogue websites. The security ... software will be featured in Facebook's antivirus marketplace, which launched this past April. The marketplace allows security firms to promote their products and allows users to choose one antivirus product for a free trial, then extend their coverage with a paid subscription. Facebook says 30 million users have visited the marketplace since it ... (view more)

A single complaint about a five-year-old article forced almost 1.5 million educational blogs offline for a time. Although they have since been restored, the company responsible for the blogs says common sense should have prevailed. The affected ... pages were all part of the mammoth Edublogs site that allows teachers and students to publish their own blogs and network with their counterparts at other schools. Last month, educational publisher Pearson complained that an Edublogs blog originally posted in November 2007 contained a questionnaire called the "Beck Hopelessness Scale" (which ... (view more)

Controversial document-sharing site Wikileaks is now asking visitors for donations before they are allowed to view files. The move has reportedly angered some supporters, including the high-profile 'hacktivist' group Anonymous. Wikileaks holds ... millions of leaked government and corporate documents and makes them available for public viewing. The organization's database allegedly includes a quarter of a million diplomatic cables from US embassies. Its holdings and its use of them make Wikileaks, quite possibly, the most controversial website on the Internet right now. Wikileaks Facing Financial ... (view more)

Yesterday Mozilla's security chief told users to stop using the latest edition of his company's browser. Michael Coates said the first release of Firefox version 16 contained a serious security flaw. Fortunately, hackers were unable to exploit the ... flaw and Mozilla has since offered a solution to the problem. The problem was particularly serious because Firefox users may have unknowingly upgraded to the new edition. Mozilla uses background updates, so security patches and new editions are downloaded and installed without user control or approval. Most of the time this isn't a problem. In this ... (view more)

A security company has come up with a way to reduce the effectiveness of website hacking. The plan is to split customer passwords and store them in two or more separate locations. The idea for split passwords comes from security firm RSA, which says ... the new technique aims to frustrate hackers who breach website security in order to acquire user names and passwords. Sometimes that data are stored without any encryption. Even when they are encrypted, hackers are often able to break the encryption, given enough time. Such breaches of security can be particularly dangerous if any of the site's ... (view more)

Several security advisors are warning Skype users to watch out for bogus messages with links that install malicious software. Once installed, a worm virus may pretend to hold the user's files hostage and demand payment for releasing them. Graham ... Cluely of security firm Sophos warns that the scam involves instant messages rather then voice or video chats. Potential victims receive a message containing phrases such as "lol is this your new profile pic?" The message includes a link that takes the user to a Google website featuring their own Skype name. In fact, the link points to "Goo.gl ... (view more)