user

According to TechCrunch, Google is reported to have paid $30 million for Internet phone call company Gizmo5. It could be a major boost for Google Voice, but may also raise further interest among regulators. (Source: techcrunch.com ) Google Voice ... lets users hook up a single phone number that can receive calls. When they get a call on that number, a user can have multiple phones ring, such as home, work and cellphones. The service also includes features such as voicemail transcription, meaning the user can search for words in their messages in the same way as with emails. The firm also offers ... (view more)

One of the most visible changes in Windows 7 is that the User Account Control (UAC) system has been made less irritating than with Vista. However, a security firm says that less hassle comes with a price. The UAC system, which debuted in Vista, ... means that once installed, software is not automatically able to run without restraint. Instead, when it wants to perform an action which will change Windows itself, a pop-up box asks the user for permission. The user must be logged in under an administrator account to give this permission. Vista Users: UAC Most Annoying The idea was to put a block on ... (view more)

As part of the Japanese Science and Technology Agency's "Erato" project, students at Keio University have created a robot designed to alleviate the burden of performing one specific household chore: folding the laundry. Visitors at the Digital ... Contents Expo in Tokyo were greeted with a plethora of new tech-based innovations this year. The exhibitors demonstrated ideas that were necessary, practical and futuristic. Foldy the Robot Folder For example, "Foldy" the robot works with a camera mounted above a flat surface, like an ironing board. A person comes along and places an article of clothing ... (view more)

Update 2012/06/26: Save 50%! This special deal expires July 9th, 2012 at 11:59PM EST. Note that this version of the product is Windows 7 compatible. This week's special is a mind-blowing 50% off Acronis Disk Director Suite v11: a unique product ... brought to you by Acronis, the same software company that makes True Image -- the disaster recovery / backup program capable of backing up personal data plus MS Windows. Already Own Acronis True Image? Pay Attention! If you already own Acronis True Image you will want to pay special attention to this Disk Director Suite bargain because it is the ... (view more)

After a thirteen month investigation, Canada's Privacy Commissioner has announced its finding that Facebook's policies and practices violate Canadian privacy laws. According to Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, there are "serious privacy gaps" in ... Facebook's operations. A complaint from the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, or CIPPIC, instigated the investigation, which started in May of last year. The initial complaint was comprised of 24 allegations pertaining to 12 different subjects, including Facebook's default privacy settings, what the site does with member personal ... (view more)

A new program called Safe Calculator puts a fresh spin on computer safety: it uses encryption to lock down the system and help protect important information from an attack. Safe Calculator: How it Works When active, Safe Calculator appears to be ... just another standard Windows-based calculator. However, it is designed to take an important piece of documentation, encrypt it and hide it within the application itself, similar to a virtual safe. (Source: techchuck.com ) In many ways, computer hackers and house burglars operate in a similar fashion: both enter without consent, wait until the owner ... (view more)

The expression 'drive-by download' is used in four increasingly common meanings: 1. Downloads which the user indirectly authorized but without understanding the consequences. For example: by installing an unknown ActiveX component or Java applet. ... Note that Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the ActiveX scripting language, whereas Mozilla Firefox does not; thus, many argue that Firefox is considerably more secure than Internet Explorer because it is not susceptible to ActiveX-based attacks. (Source: cnet.com ) 2. Any download that happens without knowledge of the user. 3. A download of spyware, ... (view more)

Facebook is exceptionally popular, and with all of that fame comes plenty of trouble. Scams are hardly new to the social networking site, and now it Facebook faces one of its most serious yet: a phishing routine that threatens to infect user ... computers with malware. The scam, which started nailing Facebook users yesterday, goes something like this: a member receives a message from a friend packing a link, usually with the subject line "Hello" or "areps.at" or other addresses ending with ".at". Those who click on that link will be sent to a website asking for their login information, which is ... (view more)

Malware (a portmanteau of "malicious software") is any software program developed for the purpose of causing harm to a computer system, similar to a virus or Trojan horse. Malware can be classified based on how it is executed, how it spreads, and/or ... what it does. The classification is not perfect, however, in the sense that the groups often overlap and the difference is not always obvious, giving rise to frequent flame wars. Overuse of the term 'Virus' Because viruses were historically the first to appear, the term "virus" is often applied, especially in the popular media, to all sorts of ... (view more)

Facebook is about to make more user data available to outside websites. It's an attempt to promote third-party applications, but will inevitably bring attention back to the firm's privacy policies . The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says speculates that ... the Facebook plans will be announced later today. The changes would mean companies could access and use data uploaded by users such as photographs, comments, blog-style note posts and videos. (Source: wsj.com ) Developers to Spawn External Sites from User Content Developers could then use the data to create an external website. For example, a ... (view more)