John Lister

Windows 8.1 is the first set of revisions for Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. It's available as of this morning -- Friday, October 18, 2013. So, what do you need to know about this significant new update? Here, we'll answer some of the ... questions we've received from our readers in recent weeks. Question: Is Windows 8.1 the same as a service pack? Answer: No. A service pack is a single download that contains all updates, bug fixes, and security patches to date in one package. Normally it's at least a year before Microsoft releases a service pack for a new edition of Windows. Question: ... (view more)

Up to ten different router models, including some by popular manufacturer D-Link, are now vulnerable to hackers. It appears the code that runs the devices contains a master password that anyone could find and use. The problem was discovered by ... security researcher Craig Heffner, who admitted he had nothing more exciting to do on a Saturday than nose through code accompanying a recent firmware update for his D-Link DIR-100 router. Like most routers, the settings menu for the D-100 router is accessible through a web browser -- the idea being that the user can access the router through one of ... (view more)

An ebook firm has suspended sales of all self-published books in the United Kingdom, regardless of their content. It follows a media scandal over titles involving explicit material. The scandal began when a national newspaper ran a front-page story ... accusing a major retail chain, WH Smith, of carrying particularly illicit material. The headline of the story turned out to be something of an exaggeration. The material wasn't being sold in stores, but was available online. It also turned out to involve the content of books rather than images or movies. eBooks Unappetizing But Not Illegal The ... (view more)

Norwegian firm Elliptic Labs is employing ultrasound technology to improve existing gesture controls. As with medical ultrasound scans, the gadget sends out soundwaves at frequencies humans cannot hear. The device then measures how long these ... soundwaves -- which are affected by the position and distance of any objects in the way -- take to return. This allows it to track any movements, such as somebody gesturing with a wave or a swipe of the hand. Sound Allows Easier Control Than Light Samsung uses a similar gesture control system with its Galaxy S4 smartphone, but that works through infrared ... (view more)

For some people $129 may be a lot of money for a smoke alarm. But the new 'Nest Protect' is packed with technologies not usually included with your average smoke alarm. The device is the work of Nest Labs, a company that made its name a couple of ... years ago with an automatically adjusting thermostat capable of cutting energy bills by up to 20 per cent. The company's new smoke alarm features built-in WiFi. It automatically sends messages to your mobile phone when the batteries are beginning to run low and will also send an alert if it detects a fire -- meaning that if you are away from home you ... (view more)

Disney has developed a way to use a sheet of paper as a power source, thereby eliminating the need for batteries. The concept is being tested and, if those tests prove successful, the idea could be used to make Disney children's books. But it could ... also prove useful for a range of gadgets. The system uses electret, a material that permanently holds an electrical charge. It works with static electricity, but can be compared to a magnet. Teflon, more commonly associated with non-stick cookware, is an electret material. If you rub Teflon against paper, it creates an opposing electrical charge in ... (view more)

An electronics firm has unveiled a wristwatch device that helps parents stay in touch with young children. It's aimed at people who think their kids are too young to have a smartphone. Filip Technologies says its watch, which is called the 'FiLip', ... is aimed at children aged 4 to 11. Although the FiLiP watch uses smartphone technology, it only performs a few functions and has just two buttons. (Source: myfilip.com ) Pressing one button will place a phone call. However, the child can only choose between one of up to five pre-programmed numbers. The phones using those numbers can also call or ... (view more)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested and charged a man accused of running a notorious Internet "underground market" that let users trade illegal drugs and weapons. The "Silk Road" site combined a range of technologies to offer users ... greater secrecy. The site was part of the so-called "dark Internet": the collection of sites that were part of the Internet but were not reachable through ordinary links. Users could only visit the site by using software known as TOR, or The Onion Router. The name came from the way that data sent through the software was redirected through thousands of ... (view more)

Google appears ready to show its rivals' logos on search results pages. It's the latest development in a game of brinksmanship being played between Google and European regulators. The European Commission, which administers laws that apply across the ... continent, has been investigating claims that Google unfairly exploits its dominance of the search market. Some of the claims relate to the way Google sells advertising on its sites and the way it "scrapes" content, such as review extracts from other sites. The biggest issue, though, is the suggestion that Google has intentionally promoted its own ... (view more)

Security firm Symantec says it has disabled roughly 500,000 computers hijacked by a major botnet. Unfortunately, the botnet -- known as ZeroAccess -- still has around 1.4 million machines under its control. A botnet is a network of machines that ... have fallen victim to malicious software. This allows the cybercriminals running the network to combine the machines to create a powerful weapon. Sometimes botnet operators will use the computers to spread more malicious software, attack a business or government agency, or bring a website down. Infected Machines Used For Bogus Ad Clicks In this case ... (view more)