John Lister

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says it's time to update America's outdated landline telephone network. Chairman Tom Wheeler is calling for an all-digital system that works much like the Internet. At the moment, all landline phones in ... the United States connect to a single analog network made up of old copper wire and switches. Many of the key components are in such short supply that they are extremely expensive to replace, or simply aren't made any more. That not only makes it difficult for phone companies to maintain the network, but it means adding new lines or dealing with ... (view more)

Google has already patched a security flaw exposed by a public hacking contest. Chrome and Internet Explorer were both hacked at the Tokyo event, though contestants said doing so is getting tougher all the time. The contest is called "Pwn2Own," and ... the idea behind it is that the first person to successfully hack a computer or mobile device wins the compromised hardware and a cash prize. But winning is really about gaining prestige in the security community. Similar contests have concentrated on desktop computers, but this event focused on mobile devices. One participant successfully ... (view more)

A 19-year-old man has pleaded guilty to blackmailing women after hacking their webcams and taking compromising pictures. Miss Teen USA winner Cassidy Wolf was among Jared James Abrahams' victims. According to prosecutors, Abrahams carried out his ... crimes over a two-year period, targeting women in the US and Europe. The youngest victim was just 16 years of age, with the others in their teens and early 20s. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Abrahams used malicious software to infect the computers of his victims. This software allowed him to view the webcam video whenever the computer was switched on, even if ... (view more)

It's not uncommon for an employee to plug a USB stick into a computer and unwittingly install malware on a work network. Unfortunately, that appears to have happened on the International Space Station. Eugene Kaspersky, the man behind the Kaspersky ... antivirus software, claims Russian astronauts brought USB sticks onto the space station. At least one of the sticks turned out to contain malware that infected computers on the station. Exactly when this happened hasn't been revealed, though it was probably before May last year, when the station switched to using Linux-based computers. Before that ... (view more)

British security staff used bogus copies of the LinkedIn and Slashdot websites to install spyware on tech firm networks, according to leaked documents. They were able to pull off the hacker-like attacks with the help of the National Security Agency. ... The claims come from what appears to be a secret presentation from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent to the National Security Agency (NSA). It seems the documents were made available to the NSA and then leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden. (Source: spiegel.de ) Secretive Agency Targets Telecommunications ... (view more)

Google says it plans to change the way users install add-on tools (known as "extensions") for its Chrome web browser. It's expected the changes will make the browser more secure. A Chrome extension is the same thing as an "add on" in Internet ... Explorer. It's a tool made by an independent developer that adds new functionality to the browser. For example, Amazon has released a Chrome extension that adds a button to the top of the browser screen. When you are reading a lengthy web page, such as a newspaper article, you can click the button to have a copy of the page sent to your Kindle device in ... (view more)

A court has ordered Google to remove all links to embarrassing images of an automotive industry icon. Google is appealing the verdict in a case that raises questions about legal, technical, and geographical restrictions on the Internet. The case ... centers on Max Mosley, previously the head of the Formula 1 racing circuit. In 2008, a British newspaper published photographs of Mosley in an intimate setting with several women. Mosley took the case to court and successfully argued that a breach of privacy had taken place. Mosley won a similar verdict in France, where copies of the newspaper had ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned users of its software to beware bogus file attachments. The firm says a newly discovered vulnerability in Windows Vista and the Office software suite could allow hackers remote access to a victim's computer. The flaw affects the ... Windows Vista and Server 2008 operating systems. It also affects Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010, plus Microsoft Lync, a communications package. Later editions of Windows, such as Windows 7 and Windows 8, are unaffected. The problem does not affect Windows XP, either. The problem involves the way the affected software handles image files in ... (view more)

A UK retailer has installed advertising screens that can scan a customer's face. The screens, which will be installed by Tesco at its many gas stations, then shows an advertisement based on its reading of the person's age and gender. The move has ... prompted criticism from privacy advocates, while others question how accurate the system will be. The screens are the work of Amscreen, a company owned by British businessman Alan Sugar. Sugar made a name for himself with the Amstrad computer back in the 1980s. Now he's made a deal to supply screens to 450 Tesco gas stations across the United Kingdom ... (view more)

Dell has confirmed that, due to a manufacturing fault, an unknown number of laptops shipped with an unpleasant smell. Many users who complained about the odor likened it to cat urine. The problem affected the Latitude E6430. The first complaints ... appeared online this past June, with one person insisting their laptop smelled "as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box." (Source: dell.com ) The stink was so bad that one customer who used his laptop for business said he no longer dared switch on the machine for fear of grossing out his clients. At first Dell approached the issue on the ... (view more)