In the news...

Microsoft takes down the Waledac botnet

Friday 26 February 2010

US software giant Microsoft has won the latest battle in the global war on botnets - the networks of compromised PCs that are controlled remotely by criminals - by gaining a court order to close down the domains used for the 'command and control' (C&C) of the huge Waledac botnet.

Google to appeal privacy convictions

Friday 26 February 2010

A court in Italy has convicted three Google employees in a privacy trial concerning content uploaded to Google Video in 2006, shortly before the firm acquired YouTube. The Google executives - Peter Fleischer, David Drummond and George De Los Reyes - received suspended six-month sentences.

Facebook unveils new privacy controls

Tuesday 23 February 2010

Facebook, the world's largest social networking group, announced new privacy controls this week for content posted using third-party applications, external websites linked to Facebook via the Connect system and Facebook's mobile version.

Google gets stung by Buzz

Friday 19 February 2010

When Internet search giant Google unveiled its brand-new social media product, Google Buzz, on 9 February, it obviously had no idea that there could be a sting in its tail. Google Buzz , which provides a social networking platform to rival Facebook , initially met with a storm of protest from users over privacy problems.

Aardvark acquired by Google

Friday 19 February 2010

Social search service, Aardvark, has been bought by Google. The acquisition was announced last week and both parties have expressed their delight at the deal. In a post on the Official Google Blog , Johanna Wright (Director of Product Management, Search) wrote: " When you need an answer to a very specific question, sometimes the information just isn't online in one simple place…That's why we're excited to announce that we've acquired Aardvark, a unique technology company that lets you quickly and easily tap into the knowledge and experience of your friends and extended network of contacts.

Google runs rare TV ad during the Super Bowl

Wednesday 10 February 2010

The commercial breaks for America's coveted Super Bowl on Sunday featured a brand that rarely makes a foray into TV advertising: Google. Nicely complementing Google's AdBlitz channel on YouTube – where users can vote for their favourite Super Bowl TV commercial – Google ran its 'Parisian Love' ad during the third quarter of the match.

Family discovers teenager’s death via Facebook

Tuesday 09 February 2010

Sydney's Daily Telegraph yesterday reported a gruesome tale of modern life. Teenage boys being involved in fatal road traffic accidents is something we have come to expect, but their loved ones discovering their death through social media networks is not.

Safer Internet Day gets a mixed response

Tuesday 09 February 2010

Today is Safer Internet Day, an event aimed at promoting safe and responsible use of the Internet and mobile technologies among children and young people. This year's main message is 'Think B4 U post!', which is laudable enough, although the Safer Internet Day site features a curious video of a computer mouse uploading partly pixelated pictures of itself – presumably naked – and the image being sent around the world with resounding laughter.

Google attackers posed as 'friends'

Friday 29 January 2010

According to a report published earlier this week, the perpetrators of the recent cyber attacks that emanated from China had sent messages to key staff at Google, Adobe and other US firms on social networks, pretending to be friends.

Bill Gates gets tweeting and blogging

Wednesday 27 January 2010

He may be the world's richest man but when it comes to social media, now he's just like the rest of us. Bill Gates, co-founder of US software giant Microsoft and dedicated philanthropist, opened a Twitter account on Saturday and then launched his own website – theGatesNotes.com – to keep the world informed of the work he and his wife, Melinda, are undertaking for their charitable foundation.

Insiders at Google China may have helped with attacks

Wednesday 20 January 2010

According to reports from Reuters on Monday, Internet giant Google is investigating whether some employees in its China office were implicated in the attacks against it and other US companies in mid-December.

Microsoft admits IE was used in Google attacks

Tuesday 19 January 2010

US software giant Microsoft has admitted that its Internet Explorer browser was used in the recent attacks on Google's networks that originated in China. In a blog post on Thursday last week, Microsoft conceded that a vulnerability in IE was used to allow hackers to run programmes remotely on infected computers.

Google issues ultimatum to Chinese government

Wednesday 13 January 2010

A number of recent attacks on Google and its users – specifically, those in China and western nations who support human rights activists – combined with the Chinese government's new resolve to limit information on the Internet seems to have convinced Google to pull out of China.

More than 1,000 forced redundancies at AOL

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Internet company AOL has announced that it is implementing involuntary redundancy for over 1,000 employees and shutting many of its European offices. The dramatic news comes after AOL's voluntary redundancy scheme – announced in November and which aimed to cut a third of its worldwide workforce – fell far short of its target.

Google launches Nexus One to rival iPhone

Thursday 07 January 2010

At a launch event on Tuesday at its HQ in Mountain View, California, search giant Google unveiled its first ever piece of hardware: the Nexus One smartphone . Google wants this sleek, touchscreen device to steal market share from Apple's iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry and Nokia.

Google shows that size does matter

Monday 21 December 2009

The web wizards at Mountain View have been busy analysing the way that Internet users view information in their various browsers and now they have made that data available to web designers in a useful new tool.

Yahoo! improves search results for local businesses

Friday 18 December 2009

The latest innovation from Yahoo! is a new way for Internet users to get more relevant results when searching for businesses. In a post on the Yahoo! Search Blog on Tuesday, Nitzan Achsaf (Senior Product Manager, Yahoo.

Google launches ‘Favorite Places’

Friday 11 December 2009

Google in the US is rolling out a new campaign called ' Favorite Places ' that aims to empower shoppers with mobile devices on the streets of American towns and cities. The Internet company has distributed 100,000 window stickers with Google's logo and a QR code to what the company deems to be the most popular businesses in its 'Local Business Center'.

Google reveals 2009’s top searches

Tuesday 08 December 2009

Internet search giant Google has issued lists of the most popular search terms of the year in what it dubs the 'Zeitgeist' - literally the spirit of the times - for 2009. The results, which Google has been making public since 2001, make fascinating reading, with spikes in search activity reflecting the response of Internet users around the world to breaking news and the general mood of people in recessionary times.

Bing's half-hour disappearing trick

Friday 04 December 2009

Bing, Microsoft's search engine, went off line for almost 30 minutes in the early hours of December 3. The site suffered a power outage during testing procedures and anyone who attempted to access the site during that time received an error message, although Bing Maps - which has recently been overhauled - remained operational.

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