Youth flock to mobile messaging apps, may be threat to Facebook By Gerry Shih and Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO | Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:21pm EDT (Reuters) - Create personal profiles. Build networks of friends. Share photos, videos and music. That might sound precisely like Facebook, but hundreds of millions of tech-savvy young people have instead turned to a wave of smartphone-based messaging apps that are now sweeping across North America, Asia and Europe. The hot apps include Kik and Whatsapp, both products of North American startups, as well as Kakao Inc's KakaoTalk, NHN Corp's LINE and Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat, which have blossomed in Asian markets. Combining elements of text messaging and social networking, the apps provide a quick-fire way for smartphone users to trade everything from brief texts to flirtatious pictures to YouTube clips — bypassing both the SMS plans offered by wireless carriers and established social networks originally des...
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A free speed boost for your active (the one that visible) application. By default, Windows allocates equal system resources to every program you're running. If you have a few programs going at the same time, the one you're focusing on isn't operating as quickly as it could. Windows does include tools to adjust program priority, but it's a tedious, complicated process. This download can automatically set your active window to a higher system priority. It basically checks every second or so to see which window is active at the moment. It sets that window at a higher priority so your computing power is focused on what you're actually doing from second to second. http://www.lunaworx.net/2010/05/19/luna/topwinprio/
Facebook ad trial risks new privacy fears By Richard Waters, FT.com March 27, 2013 -- Updated 1002 GMT (1802 HKT) Facebook's planned "retargeting" adverts will appear in users' newsfeeds and risk being seen as too intrusive by users. (Financial Times) -- Watch this space: advisers say that businesses will do themselves few favours if they cut staff off from using consumer tools such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn Facebook is testing adverts in its members' newsfeeds that are tied to their behaviour on other websites, bringing one of the web's most effective forms of advertising into the heart of its social network. The experiment could turn into one of the company's most profitable forms of advertising, though it also risks stirring up fresh privacy concerns if users find it intrusive, according to analysts. The move, announced in a blogpost on Tuesday, marks Facebook's latest attempt to find new ways for advertisers to tap ...
Firm Is Accused of Sending Spam, and Fight Jams Internet By JOHN MARKOFF and NICOLE PERLROTH Published: March 26, 2013 A squabble between a group fighting spam and a Dutch company that hosts Web sites said to be sending spam has escalated into one of the largest computer attacks on the Internet, causing widespread congestion and jamming crucial infrastructure around the world. Millions of ordinary Internet users have experienced delays in services like Netflix or could not reach a particular Web site for a short time. However, for the Internet engineers who run the global network the problem is more worrisome. The attacks are becoming increasingly powerful, and computer security experts worry that if they continue to escalate people may not be able to reach basic Internet services, like e-mail and online banking. The dispute started when the spam-fighting group, called Spamhaus, added the Dutch company Cyberbunker to its blacklist, which is used by e-mail provider...
FBI Pursuing Real-Time Gmail Spying Powers as “Top Priority” for 2013 By Ryan Gallagher | Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at 4:58 PM For now, law enforcement has trouble monitoring Gmail communications in real time Despite the pervasiveness of law enforcement surveillance of digital communication, the FBI still has a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and Dropbox in real time. But that may change soon, because the bureau says it has made gaining more powers to wiretap all forms of Internet conversation and cloud storage a “top priority” this year. Last week, during a talk for the American Bar Association in Washington, D.C., FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann discussed some of the pressing surveillance and national security issues facing the bureau. He gave a few updates on the FBI’s efforts to address what it calls the “going dark” problem—how the rise in popularity of email and social networks has stifled its ability to monitor communications as they are...
Twitter Caves to Vladimir Putin, Censors Content Within Russia Appeasing the dictator, 140 characters at a time. By KIM ZIGFELD Bio March 27, 2013 - 12:03 am If you have been following the Internet crackdown underway in Russia, you will not be surprised to learn that Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin has recruited many websites — which are either terrified of his wrath or interested in currying his favor — to help crush and eradicate criticism of his government online. However, you may be surprised to learn that one of those websites is Twitter. The Moscow Times reported last week that — according to the Kremlin itself — for the past several weeks Twitter has been blocking Russian access to any tweets designated by the Kremlin as “extremist.” Twitter has also deleted at least one user account at the Kremlin’s request. On its applicable agency website (known by its acronym Roskomnadzor), the Kremlin praises Twitter’s management team for i...
Apple buys WiFi-location startup By PETER SVENSSON | Associated Press – 22 mins ago NEW YORK (AP) — Apple has bought WiFiSLAM, a startup that has been developing a way to use WiFi hotspots to help smartphones navigate large indoor spaces, like stores, airports and conference centers. The purchase is part of Apple's efforts to bolster its own mapping and location capabilities, after breaking up with Google Inc. last year. The purchase was reported over the weekend by The Wall Street Journal, which said Apple Inc. paid $20 million for the Silicon Valley company. Apple confirmed the purchase Monday but did not say how much it paid or why it wanted WiFiSLAM. WiFiSLAM has shut down its website and closed its YouTube account. Traditional methods of locating cellphones include GPS and sensing of nearby cell towers. Neither of these approaches work well indoors. Retail chains are interested in helping shoppers find things in their stores, and apps that could help ...
Google Glass could one day let you control objects around you A Google patent filing published today describes a way for Google Glass wearers to actually control certain objects nearby. by Lance Whitney March 21, 2013 9:48 AM PDT o You may eventually be able to operate your TV, refrigerator, or garage door through Google Glass. Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a Google patent application called " Wearable Computer with Superimposed Controls and Instructions for External Device " describes a technology in which a Google Glass wearer could control a real object via a virtual display. Beyond merely showing you details about an object, Google Glass would present a virtual control panel to let you interact with that object. As described in the patent, you could "control the target device, provide input to the target device, receive instructions for operating the target device, receive status information ...
Major security hole allows Apple passwords to be reset with only email address, date of birth By Chris Welch on March 22, 2013 02:42 pm Apple yesterday rolled out two-step verification , a security measure that promises to further shield Apple ID and iCloud accounts from being hijacked. Unfortunately, today a new exploit has been discovered that affects all customers who haven't yet enabled the new feature. It allows anyone with your email address and date of birth to reset your password — using Apple's own tools. We've been made aware of a step-by-step tutorial (which remains available as of this writing) that explains in detail how to take advantage of the vulnerability. The exploit involves pasting in a modified URL while answering the DOB security question on Apple's iForgot page. It's a process just about anyone could manage, and The Verge has confirmed the glaring security hole firsthand. Out of security c...
Google's Eric Schmidt warns on China's attempts to control the internet Executive chairman expresses fears for safety of dissidents and concerns over hacking reports Josh Halliday and Lisa O'Carroll guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 March 2013 09.47 EDT Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, has described China as "the most egregious" example of a nation attempting to control the internet, as he hinted at expanding the company's multimillion-pound transition fund towards British publishers to boost revenues from digital. In an interview with the Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger at the Big Tent Activate Summit in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Schmidt spoke of his concern about reports from the New York Times last month that its computers had been invaded by Chinese hackers. "As the internet has emerged in many of these different countries, there's quite a few countries that have no laws that pertain to the internet a...
Six Android apps you need now Pick up a new Android device recently? If so, you'll probably want to break it in with a few killer apps. Here are six hot picks available from Google Play now. by Jaymar Cabebe November 21, 2012 2:47 PM PST Updated: March 19, 2013 3:24 PM PDT 17 Comments Facebook 895 Twitter 934 Linked In 28 More If you're rocking a new Android device, there's no question you're going to want some killer apps to test its limits. Lucky for you, we've put together a list of some of the hottest downloads available now. Editors' note: For six of the hottest apps on iOS right now, check out Jason Parker's roundup . (Credit: Screenshot by Jaymar Cabebe/CNET) Feedly (free) With Google Reader set to go away very soon , Feedly might be your best bet as an app that lets you access your RSS feeds while on the go. It looks great, works well, and even features two-way syncing with Google Reader . Also, according ...