Internet

Mozilla's new 'Lightbeam' add-on for the Firefox Internet browser is designed to help users better understand who might be tracking their online activity. The add-on uses a unique visualization technique to bring that information to light. Lightbeam ... is a more refined version of a previous (and more experimental) add-on called 'Collusion', which was developed by Mozilla and software developer Atul Varma. Add-On Provides Real-Time Tracking of the Trackers Unlike its predecessor, Lightbeam provides users with a real-time graph showing all of the cookies being added to your browser as you surf ... (view more)

Researchers say they can figure out when two Facebook users are in a relationship just by looking at their list of 'friends'. They also say it's possible to predict when a relationship will end. Often, it's easy to tell when Facebook users are in a ... relationship because many people display this information on their profiles. However, new research says relationships can be detected even without those vital details. The research is the work of Cornell University computer scientist Jon Kleinberg and Facebook engineer Lars Backstrom. They analyzed the Facebook accounts of 1.3 million people aged ... (view more)

In a hugely controversial move, Facebook says users can once again post extremely violent videos -- including those of people being beheaded. It's a reversal of a five-month ban on such material. The social media site began blocking members from ... posting extremely violent video clips back in May, but has now changed its policies. It didn't make a major announcement of the reversal, but has confirmed the change after a user posted a video of a murder in Mexico. That clip remained online under revised rules that limit the circumstances in which violent videos can be shown. Violent Video Viewing ... (view more)

Yahoo! Mail recently received an extreme makeover that adds colourful themes and a completely new interface. Unfortunately, early reviews are anything but positive. Yahoo unveiled the new look on October 8, 2013, as part of Yahoo! Mail's sixteenth ... anniversary. Over the following week Yahoo slowly unrolled the new look to Mail's 275 million or so users. As a long-time user of Yahoo! Mail, I'll admit that I was initially impressed by the service's new look. It now allows users to choose from a wide range of custom and very colorful themes. The images, most of which feature picturesque ... (view more)

Facebook is killing a privacy feature designed to restrict who can find users through the social networking site's search tool. The firm defended the move by saying only a small percentage of its members actually used the feature. The feature, which ... is called "Who can look up my Timeline by name?", allowed Facebook users to customize who could find their profile through a search of the social network's database. For people who wanted to keep their profile information off-limits to employers, strangers, and enemies, it was deemed a highly useful feature. 'Small Percentage' Could Include ... (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)

A new service aims to connect people with a real doctor through their Internet-connected device. It's called telemedicine, and for some people it could be the most efficient way to receive a diagnosis and access a prescription. The service is being ... offered by American Well, which says it's the first company to connect patients to doctors via live video chat sessions. American Well (AW) is by no means the first 'telemedicine' company -- Teladoc, First Stop Health, and Apogee Doctor On Call all connect patients with doctors using a phone line -- but AW is the first firm to allow medical ... (view more)

Almost one in six American adults do not use the Internet -- even occasionally -- according to a new study. But only around one-third of the "offliners" say they have no interest in ever using the world wide web. The figures come from the Pew ... Internet and American Life Project, which regularly surveys the public about online issues. In a study carried out in May 2013 and published this week, Pew spoke to 2,252 Americans aged 18 or over. (Source: pewinternet.org ) Of these, 15 per cent said 'no' to the question of whether they use the Internet "at least occasionally." This only left ... (view more)

The percentage of Internet users who say they're worried about how much of their personal data is made available to third parties -- often without their permission -- is on the rise. It's also been revealed that the vast majority of Internet users ... have taken some action towards removing their personal information from the web. The figures come from the Pew Internet ... (view more)

Facebook is planning to use profile pictures to automatically recognize users when they appear in photos taken by somebody else. The firm has also made it clear to users that it has every right to use members' pictures in its own advertisements ... without compensating them in any way. The proposed changes are detailed in a Facebook post that, following a court order, more clearly explains how the site uses data from its users. Facebook already uses facial recognition software but in a more limited manner. Once you have been "tagged" in a photograph (that is, somebody has labeled you as being one ... (view more)