Internet

Bitcoin currency exchange BitFloor is in big trouble after a security blunder resulted in the theft of $250,000. The heist at the BitFloor "exchange" came after operators did the online equivalent of leaving the keys in the door. Bitcoin is a ... virtual currency that isn't controlled by a government and therefore isn't subject to any seizure of funds. With no government backing, Bitcoin has value only so long as enough people agree to use it. Unlike most currencies, Bitcoin exists only online, with no physical currency (like coins or bills). Each Bitcoin exists solely as a unique identification ... (view more)

Tim Berners-Lee, the man many people credit with creating the World Wide Web, says Sweden has benefitted most from Internet usage. Berners-Lee ranks the United States and United Kingdom in second and third place, respectively. His rankings are based ... on data from multiple sources, including more than 80 factors across seven categories. The categories range from the availability of technology that allows the web to flourish (such as broadband cabling) to whether national laws and regulations promote or hinder the web. Berners-Lee's rankings also consider how useful and relevant the sites in ... (view more)

If you're not convinced that every Facebook fan page really earned all of its "Likes," you are not alone. That's why Facebook's management team has decided to weed out and remove any fake "Likes" that can be identified. For years Facebook has ... offered users the ability to indicate they "Like" individual pages and posts. Facebook members can "Like" their favorite celebrity, their favorite band, their friends' vacation photos, and even a witty status update. The problem is, "Likes" became a form of currency for Facebook spammers. To artificially spike interest in certain pages -- ... (view more)

A privacy protection group based in Germany is threatening court action against Facebook. The group says the social networking site's new "App Center" feature doesn't give users enough information about how their personal data will be shared with ... software developers. The complaint comes from the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (VZBV), which translates as the Federation of German Consumer Organizations. The VZBV is made up of consumer groups based throughout Germany. The VZBV is most concerned with Facebook's App Center, which launched in July, and which covers the various smartphone-style ... (view more)

The latest edition of Mozilla's popular web browser, Firefox 15, is getting solid early reviews. In addition to fixing a notorious memory problem, the new version offers better support for games and music, and eases the update process. For many web ... users, Firefox is the world's best browser. It built that reputation by offering usability features not seen in other browsers. It has also suffered fewer security problems than rival browsers like Internet Explorer, from Microsoft. Over time, however, Firefox has lost a lot of market share to a newer entry in the market: Google's Chrome. One of ... (view more)

South Korea has abandoned a law requiring Internet users to use their real name, declaring it a restriction of free speech. However, the Chinese government continues to employ a similar rule. The South Korean law took effect in 2007, following ... extensive abuse and malicious false stories written about public figures by anonymous individuals. Under the law, any South Korean website with more than 100,000 visitors a day had to verify the identity of those posting comments, including checking their resident registration numbers (roughly equivalent to U.S. Social Security numbers). (Source: bbc.co ... (view more)

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (Woz) sees trouble ahead for cloud computing. The legendary computer pioneer predicts that the idea will encounter "horrible problems" in coming years. Wozniak, now 61 years old, founded Apple alongside Steve Jobs in ... the 1970s. Today he often publicly discusses his experiences at the iconic Cupertino, California-based company. At a presentation following the Washington performance of the show "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," Wozniak voiced his opinion of today's "next big thing" -- the cloud. (Source: adelaidenow.com ) Cloud Computing Becoming a ... (view more)

Facebook has acknowledged that almost one in ten user accounts registered with the social networking site are fake. Facebook says these 83 million accounts include duplicates, those set up for users' pets, or those registered for organizations ... rather than for actual individuals. Facebook officials made this startling admission in the company's very first quarterly report to American financial regulators. Specifically, the company revealed that about 8.7 per cent of its 955 million global users fall into these and other questionable categories. (Source: abcnews.com ) Duplicates Account for ... (view more)

Facebook's business model is based on advertising. But one disgruntled advertiser claims 80 per cent of the "people" clicking on its advertisements aren't humans at all. Limited Run is a website that lets musicians create an online store in which ... they can sell both physical CDs and digital content. Like many businesses, Limited Run created a promotional page on Facebook and then began advertising on the social networking site to attract visitors to its own home page. According to the company, however, it became suspicious that something was amiss when the details associated with the number of ... (view more)

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now says it will help bring broadband Internet service to 400,000 Americans who currently don't have access to high-speed Internet. The program to subsidize networks in rural areas will cost $115 ... million in public funds. The aim of the Connect America Fund is to subsidize the installation of high-speed Internet cables in remote places where doing so is not profitable for private firms. The money will come from the Universal Service Fund. In the past, this fund was spent on subsidies to make sure every American home had telephone service, but ... (view more)