John Lister

Windows 10 is picking up new users at an increasingly slower pace according to newly-published figures. An international breakdown suggests the decision for Microsoft to give Windows 10 away free of charge may not have had as much impact as ... expected. The main set of new figures covers November 2015 and is from NetMarketShare. As with several other companies, it provides visitor analysis for a large number of websites (around 40,000) and regularly collates the data from these sites. Windows 10 Still Behind XP, 7, and 8 During November 2015, Windows 10 was used by around nine percent of ... (view more)

Toy manufacturer VTech has been the victim of a hack that exposed details of five million customers. The compromised data included some details, albeit limited, of the children who use the products. As its name suggests, VTech's product range ... includes many electronic toys that have increased in sophistication over the years. These include several tablet computers which don't allow web access, but do let children share messages with friends and family and download child-friendly apps through a system known as the "Learning Lodge." No Financial Data Compromised The company has ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hired a noted privacy campaigner to investigate Internet providers. It's part of a joint move with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to strengthen security and privacy measures in the communications ... industry. Jonathan Mayer has been hired as the FCC chief technologist in its enforcement division. In effect, he'll deal with the practical issues involved in deciding whether or not a company is following the law. It's a strong sign the commission intends to get tougher on company violations. New Appointee Exposed Google Trickery Mayer ... (view more)

Dell has confirmed it shipped computers with a major built-in security flaw. The unintentional move could expose users to a significant risk of hackers accessing their personal data. The issue at hand deals with an exploit in the secure sockets ... layer (SSL). Specifically, Dell has inadvertently shipped PCs and laptops with both a trusted root certificate and key, when only the trusted certificate should have been allowed. The idea behind the mishap was to help identify Dell computers when they were connected to Dell's online support service. In this case, the computer's model number could be ... (view more)

Yahoo has confirmed it has blocked some users from accessing their email if they are running ad-blocking software. It describes it as a test for a small number of users. Several users reported seeing a message reading "Uh oh... We are unable to ... display Yahoo Mail. Please disable Ad Blocker to continue using Yahoo mail." Ironically one of those affected was a former Yahoo executive who at one stage was in charge of revamping the Mail service. (Source: engadget.com ) Ad-Blocking A Hot Topic The move has proven controversial even if it isn't a first. Many sites are set to detect if ... (view more)

Windows 10's first major public update is getting mixed, but generally positive reviews. Several small but potentially useful changes have also been spotted. The change, known as "Threshold 2" or simply "Fall Update" is the first big update that's ... been rolled out to general users. It brings together a series of smaller sets of tweaks that have previously been delivered to people in Microsoft test programs. In effect the update is the closest thing to the old-school Service Packs, though such updates should come far more frequently with Windows 10. Boot Time Reduced ... (view more)

Microsoft has followed through on a promise to make Windows 10 upgrades easier. Users of Windows 7 and 8.1 will no longer need to install the new system twice in order to perform a 'clean install'. The fact that Windows 7 and 8.1 users could upgrade ... to Windows 10 free of charge for the first year of the Windows 10's release was perhaps the most noteworthy part of the changes to come. It's also a clear sign that Microsoft believes that the nature of software buying will not be the same as it was once was. Activated Upgrade a Multi-Step Process The big problem was that Microsoft made the ... (view more)

Facebook says more than four million Parisians used its "Safety Check" feature to reassure friends they were safe after last weeks terrorist attacks in Paris . But the company has been forced to explain why it did not activate the feature for ... bombings in Beirut. The Safety Check feature was introduced to help people quickly and easily let others know they are safe during a disaster situation. The idea is to help cut down the number of phone calls and text messages sent asking if somebody is OK, or to let others know they are OK. That in turn is designed to reduce the pressures on ... (view more)

Microsoft says its customers in Europe can now store data online in a way US security services can't access. It's a surprising and potentially controversial move from an American technology giant. The move follows a recent European ruling which ... means US firms can no longer ignore local regulations on data privacy. According to Microsoft, this affects data customers in 32 European countries connected to Internet-based Microsoft applications, including Office 365. Data Accessed Only In Specific Circumstances The data will be stored in two data centers in Germany, controlled by local ... (view more)

The Supreme Court has refused to consider a case that could have decided if the government needs a warrant to track a person's location through their cellphone. That means lower courts may continue to make case-by-case decisions on the issue. A man ... named Quartavious Davis had asked the Supreme Court to hear his case. He was sentenced to 1,941 months in prison for taking part in multiple robberies. As part of their investigation, local police acquired Davis's cellphone records from MetroPCS and were able to link him to seven crime scenes. An appeals court rejected Davis's argument, ... (view more)