John Lister

In one of the most spectacular research projects ever carried out online, an anonymous security researcher has scanned the entire Internet for security holes. They found that millions of devices have no password protection whatsoever. The project ... was simple in concept: the researcher tried to contact and then access devices by trying every possible IP (Internet Protocol) address using IPv4, a system by which every device connected to the Internet uses 12 digits as identification. This means that IPv4 allows for a maximum of around 4.2 billion IP addresses. The researcher tried to contact ... (view more)

The Bluetooth technology behind smartphones and other mobile devices has been adapted for medical purposes. Swiss scientists have developed a blood-testing gadget that is implanted under the patient's skin and can wirelessly communicate vital health ... information. The matchstick-shaped gadget is just under half an inch long and can be injected into the skin through a needle. It then lies in the interstitial tissue, which is just below the skin. Once in place, the implant can test for the presence and levels of five different substances in the blood, including proteins, organic acids, glucose, ... (view more)

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has agreed to pay Amazon $600 million over the next ten years. However, the CIA isn't purchasing books or DVDs -- instead, it's buying access to Amazon's massive, private data system. The deal is with Amazon's ... Web Services department, which already offers cloud computing to individuals and businesses. Cloud computing doesn't simply mean offering online storage, but also online data processing. The Amazon cloud service works on a pay-as-you-go basis. This makes it ideal for organizations that need data processed intermittently rather than all the time. ... (view more)

A man who illegally accessed personal data stored on Apple iPads has been sentenced to a 41-month prison term. However, defenders of Andrew Auernheimer believe the sentence is unduly harsh and question whether his actions should even be considered a ... crime. Auernheimer was among a group of computer enthusiasts who discovered a flaw in AT ... (view more)

China has launched an attack on the way Apple treats consumers through a government-controlled television station. The criticism appears to have sparked a coordinated social media campaign designed to embarrass the tech giant. Apple was among the ... companies featured on this year's installment of the "Ides of March," an annual broadcast marking World Consumer Rights Day on China Central Television Station (CCTS). CCTS is watched by hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens. Each year it examines shady practices by major businesses operating in the country. Volkswagen, which is expected ... (view more)

Reports indicate that Microsoft has sold just 1.5 million Surface tablet computers since the device launched late last year. Surprisingly, it appears consumers prefer the newer and more expensive Surface Pro to the cheaper Surface RT. The Bloomberg ... financial news agency says three separate sources have provided it with Surface sales figures. Though not confirmed by Bloomberg, it appears these sources may be Microsoft staff. The sources claim the company has sold just 1.5 million Surface tablets so far, including 1.1 million Surface RTs and 400,000 Surface Pros. (Source: bloomberg.com ) It's ... (view more)

Microsoft's Hotmail email service was unavailable earlier this week. The company says an overheated server was responsible for the service being out-of-action for many users. The problems affected Hotmail and its successor, Outlook. Microsoft says ... the problem could be linked to a firmware issue. Firmware is software built into a specific device; in this case, a part of the equipment at a Microsoft data center. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Software Bug Causes Overheating According to Microsoft, an attempt to update the firmware went awry and resulted in the temperature in the data center spiking in a ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised its rules about online advertising to better account for new trends in social media. The FTC warns that the short format of ads on Facebook and Twitter is no excuse for misleading customers. The warning ... comes in a document called ".Com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising." It's an update to an original set of guidelines called "Dot Com Disclosures," which was published in 2000. This is the first time the rules have been updated, even though the Internet has changed dramatically since that time. The key to the ... (view more)

Microsoft says students can try the online edition of Office 365 free of charge for up to six months. It's also offering a one month trial to people who aren't students. The student offer is for a three-month subscription to Office 365 University ... that allows students to install copies of Office software on two different computers (including PCs or Macs). The University edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access. The subscription also means you can use online editions of this software on any computer with an Internet connection. Although the standard ... (view more)

The Authors Guild has formally objected to Amazon's plans to take control of a new website domain dedicated to books. They say it is inappropriate for a private company to control such an important (and generic) domain name. The dispute centers on ... the new top level domain system. Until this year, all website addresses had to have an ending (or top level domain) that was either '.com' or '.org,' or a specific country code, such as '.ca' for Canada. Under the new system, organizations can apply to take control of virtually any term. For example, a technology site could move to a ".site" address ... (view more)