John Lister

The percentage of people willing to pay for online news appears to be on the rise. However, an international study suggests the vast majority of people are still unwilling to pay for the news they find on the Internet. Reuters has published a study ... based on research in nine countries. The study examines the way people consume news on the Internet, both via laptop and desktop computers and through portable devices, like smartphones. (Source: digitalnewsreport.org ) Researchers found the percentage of people who had paid for an online news service, such as a digital newspaper subscription, ... (view more)

Google has been accused of not doing enough to stop a) illegal pharmacy sales, and b) Internet piracy. Mississippi's attorney general says he plans to demand Google hand over confidential documents to see if the firm has breached any laws. The ... complaints come from Ken Cuccinellli, Jim Hood and David Louie, the attorneys general of Virginia, Mississippi, and Hawaii. Together, they're alleging that Google is guilty of "assisting in the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription and intentionally ignoring reports of rogue pirate sites selling stolen music, movies, software and video games ... (view more)

Yahoo and Apple have revealed how the US government accesses their customers' private information. It's part of an ongoing campaign by tech firms to try to avoid being tainted by the ongoing National Security Agency's PRISM scandal . Until recently ... neither Yahoo nor Apple had discussed their role in the scandal, which involves government surveillance and secretive data requests. However, both firms have now published statistics showing how many times the government demanded information about their customers. Yahoo Hit With 2,000 Data Requests A Month Yahoo says that between the beginning of ... (view more)

If you rarely use social networking sites or share links with friends, there's some great news. You might just see fewer advertisements thanks to a new plan from Yahoo. The company has filed a patent covering a system by which advertisers can pay ... extra to reach users with a high "social authority". (Source: uspto.gov ) A social authority ranking would be based on several factors, including a person's use of sites like Facebook and Twitter. The number of friends or followers the person has on these sites would also be considered. Advertisers Looking For Social Network Chatterboxes Through the ... (view more)

Google has revealed extensive details about what it does when the government asks for access to your personal data. It's part of an ongoing attempt by the search giant to distance itself from the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal . ... Google's explanation is designed to make a clear point: that it delivers the data directly to the government, rather than allowing the government to physically access Google computers. The company wants to make clear it doesn't allow officials the opportunity to access more data than the law requires. (Source: nytimes.com ) Google continues to ... (view more)

Think you're a safe driver because you use hands-free technologies to communicate with friends and family while behind the wheel? Think again. The American Automobile Association (AAA) is recommending drivers not use such tools at all while driving ... their vehicles. The recommendation follows a study by a cognitive distraction researcher and his team at the University of Utah. The researchers carried out a series of tests that showed drivers could still be distracted when using hands-free communications tools. AAA chief Robert Darbelnet said the group's suggestion to avoid the technology might ... (view more)

Researchers at the organization where the world wide web was first created have a good idea about what was on the first-ever web page. But now they've taken another step closer to finding the oldest surviving version of that page. The web was ... created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee while working at CERN, the physics research centre that currently houses the Large Hadron Collider. While the Internet (a global "network of networks") existed before Berners-Lee, there was no easy way to navigate to a particular document on a particular machine. Berners-Lee developed the idea of the web using hypertext ... (view more)

Leaked documents claim the U.S. government has direct access to user data for some of the web's most popular services. Officials admit the program exists but insist it's only being used to targeting foreigners who may pose a threat to U.S. national ... security. The documents were reportedly leaked from a National Security Agency (NSA) program called PRISM to the British newspaper The Guardian. The documents say the program involves NSA officials gaining direct access to the servers of nine tech companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple. ( ... (view more)

The Zeus malicious software tool, which is designed to steal bank account information, is reportedly making a resurgence. This time Zeus is being spread through misleading Facebook pages. The Zeus malware, which has been circulating for roughly six ... years, poses as a legitimate file and tricks victims into installing it on their PCs. It then waits until a victim logs into an online banking site before using keylogging tools to capture log-in details. With enough information, the people behind Zeus can empty bank accounts. Malware Targets Bank Accounts, Social Security Numbers To make things ... (view more)

The long-running patent dispute between Apple and Samsung took a surprise turn this week when a U.S. federal agency banned earlier models of the iPhone and iPad. However, an appeal court or the White House could block the ban. The order doesn't come ... from a court, but rather the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), a semi-independent federal agency with some legal powers. The ITC's job is to advise the government on trade issues. However, it does have some power to make rulings on unfair trade practices, such as alleged violations of trademarks and patents. This week, the ITC ... (view more)