Internet

Facebook has revealed plans to give its members the option of explaining why they remove content from their 'News Feeds'. Officially the plan is designed to help the average Facebook member, but it may also benefit advertisers. The move is somewhat ... surprising for Facebook. So far the firm has mainly concentrated on finding out what people do like (hence the iconic 'Like' button) and creating advertising based on those preferences. However, while users can click to remove (or rather, 'hide') content from their News Feed, there's no way for the user to explain why they dislike something. ... (view more)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they've developed a system that could help speed up the Internet. The research is designed to find an alternative to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) system. TCP is the set of ... rules that govern the way data moves around the Internet. Whenever data travels online, it's broken down into small chunks known as 'packets' (in effect, info packets!). Often, these packets take different routes around the various connections that make up the net, then get reassembled at their destination. Net Currently Favors Accuracy Over Speed ... (view more)

Uploading your personal data to websites is a scary idea for many Internet users. After all, even the most respected web-based companies are vulnerable to security attack. So, is there a way to upload your data without making it vulnerable to ... hackers? A new tool called 'MaskMe' might be the answer for many web users. First of all, there's nothing particularly new about the features found in MaskMe, which was created by privacy software developer Abine. The program includes a wide range of features that can be found elsewhere. Many Privacy Tools, One Browser Extension However, MaskMe's unique ... (view more)

It appears unlikely that Internet regulators will allow US-based online retailer Amazon to register and control the domain suffix '.amazon'. The ruling does not affect website names, such as www.amazon.com . Instead, it's related to the new ... top-level domain system, which covers the last part of an address (otherwise known as a domain suffix). Previously, this had been limited to a few terms -- such as '.com' and '.org' -- plus individual country codes, such as '.ca' for Canada. Under the new system, run by Internet regulators ICANN, organizations can apply to register virtually any term, ... (view more)

European regulators have raided the offices of three Internet Service Providers (ISPs) said to have intentionally slowed Internet traffic over a business dispute. The officials are exploring a new legal tactic that could also be used to stop such ... slowdowns in the US. The dispute involves Cogent Communications, which is effectively an Internet middleman. It transfers data between major websites and the Internet Service Providers that carry data to customers' homes. Last month Cogent claimed US-based Verizon was intentionally slowing down the traffic it handles for video streaming sites like ... (view more)

Want to access a service that requires an email address but don't want your inbox bombarded with annoying spam messages? Then you may be interested in disposable email address service 'MailDrop'. In essence, MailDrop gives you access to a throwaway ... email address. That's a useful tool for scenarios where you want to try out a new service or learn information about a program or product but don't want to receive a plethora of unnecessary spam emails. MailDrop is especially useful in situations where accessing a program, product, or service requires you send a confirmation message via email. ... (view more)

A new report finds that one of the web's most popular ad-blocking browser extensions, AdBlock Plus, has allowed some advertisers to pay money in order to circumvent the software's blocking feature. If you're not familiar with it, AdBlock Plus is one ... of the Internet's leading ad blocking programs. It's available for several different web browsers, including Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Opera. Previously, Mozilla has said that AdBlock Plus is both its most-used and most-downloaded browser extension. Not All Advertisers Treated Equally Once installed, the open source program ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning two dozen leading search engines -- including Bing, Google, and Yahoo -- that they must do more to show the difference between paid advertising and "natural" search results. The FTC warned that blurring ... the lines between the two could be classed as an unlawful and deceptive practice. The warning comes in a formal letter detailing updates to guidelines first published in 2002. The letter says that since that time, search engines are doing a worse job of distinguishing paid ads and that there has been "a decline in compliance with the letter's ... (view more)

Stanford University is working on a new tool that will help Internet users stop advertisers from tracking their online activity. But efforts to produce an industry-wide solution remain bogged down in negotiations. The issue revolves around ... 'cookies,' small text files that are created by a website and stored on a user's computer. Later, they're used as reference information when a user re-visits a site. Cookies can be very helpful. For example, if you type your zip code into a movie listing website, the site will often create a cookie. The next time you visit that site you'll get local ... (view more)

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)