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Facebook recently took heat from users upset with the company's claim that it could use members' photographs for advertising purposes without asking permission. Despite that outrage, Google is now implementing a similar policy. According to reports, ... users of Google's own social networking service, Google+, could soon see their pictures placed in advertisements. Those same users will not be consulted before these ads are made or compensated once the ads are placed online. Google Puts Positive Spin on New Terms of Service In a recent statement Google said that, through a new terms of service ... (view more)

Fingerprint scanners, like the one included with Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S, present us with a convenient way to secure our smartphones. But there may be another way to protect your favorite touchscreen device. Illinois Institute of Technology ... researcher Cheng Bo recently unveiled 'SilentSense', a technology that uses a touchscreen smartphone's built-in sensors to identify you. Simply put, SilentSense uses these sensors to learn how you use your touchscreen device. That means it carefully measures pressure patterns, touch duration, and even fingertip size and position to determine if the user ... (view more)

A prominent security firm says browser vendors like Mozilla, Microsoft, and Google aren't doing enough to protect your privacy. In a recent report, NSS Labs suggested that features like "Do Not Track" represent half-hearted efforts to keep users' ... personal data safe. Do Not Track is designed to protect browser users' privacy by requesting that websites avoid tracking them through cookies, the small pieces of data sent from a website and stored in a user's web browser. Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Safari currently offer some form of Do Not Track. ... (view more)

A newly-published report says that more than four in five of the most popular smartphone and tablet applications put users' personal data at risk. The problem: these apps send critical user information to app developers. The study comes to us from ... Appthority, a company that specializes in monitoring mobile applications. It looked at 400 apps, including 100 of the most-purchased and 100 of the most-downloaded apps for iOS and Android. (Source: appthority.com ) Overall, the firm found that 83 per cent of apps (including 93 per cent of free apps and 78 per cent of paid apps) displayed "risky ... (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)

Having trouble adjusting to the new Windows 8 operating system (OS)? Microsoft says it's about to release new mice specially designed to make navigating the OS' user interface (UI) a whole lot easier. Actually, Microsoft has two new mice designed to ... make Windows 8 more accessible for desktop users. First, there's the Sculpt Mobile Mouse, which connects wirelessly to any Windows 8 device, including laptops, desktops, and tablet computers. Like most other wireless mice, the Sculpt Mobile Mouse features a dongle that can be stored inside when a user is on the move. Start Screen Button Makes ... (view more)

Twitter has announced it will run personalised advertisements based on what an individual user is writing about. It's an attractive proposition for advertisers but may come across as creepy to users of the social media service. Most Twitter ads are ... based on the people a user follows and the types of messages that users retweet (or share with other users). (Source; pcworld.com ) The new advertising model will go beyond that and incorporate technologies from two popular ad-funded web giants. Like Facebook, Twitter ads can now be targeted to people of a particular gender, living in a particular ... (view more)

Fujitsu has revealed a special, high-tech walking cane with built-in satellite navigation features. The firm has also unveiled a smartphone specially designed for elderly users. Fujitsu's 'Next Generation Cane' allows users to set a route and get ... directions through an LED display positioned at the top of the handle. That display provides directions in the form of a a large yellow arrow; if the user turns the wrong way, the handle vibrates to alert them. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) The device also allows friends and family to track a user's location. It's possible to set the cane to send an email ... (view more)

A new anti-piracy program, which gives users six warnings for suspected violations, has now taken effect. However, some experts worry that the program will have little effect on Internet piracy. The plan is the work of the Center for Copyright ... Information, a partnership of the major US industry associations in television, movies, and music. The group has reached a deal with the five largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including AT ... (view more)

In recent days, Infopackets.com has received several inquires like this one: "Dear Infopackets team: I recently made the switch to Windows 8 and love most of the new features. I understand that Microsoft occasionally releases patches and updates as ... part of their continued improvement to the operating system. Are these updates even important? Is there any way I can stop these updates from automatically downloading and appearing on my system without my knowledge? Love your site! Christopher D." My reply: You might be able to stop the patches, but you really don't want to. Regularly updating ... (view more)