Shakeeb Rahmati

Former Google lawyer Michelle Lee to run US patent office

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 12:08:00 +0430

Google's former top patent lawyer has been put in charge of America's patent and trademark office (USPTO).

Ms Lee worked as Google's top patent attorney until June 2012

Copycat ransomware demands cash to unscramble files

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 12:06:00 +0430

Malicious programs that demand a ransom to restore files that they have encrypted are starting to proliferate.

Cryptolocker's sophisticated use of encryption has made it hard to defeat

Amazon's Jeff Bezos loses Nasa launch pad protest

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 12:03:00 +0430

A space company run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has lost a protest over Nasa's plans to lease out a launch pad.

The space shuttle Atlantis was launched from the pad that Blue Origin is looking to use

Southampton University supercomputer goes live

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 12:01:00 +0430

A £3.2m supercomputer, one of the most powerful in the UK, has been installed at the University of Southampton.

The supercomputer will allow academics to work on more projects at faster speeds

Twitter backtracks on blocking changes

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:16:00 +0430

Twitter has reversed changes it made to how people block other users, less than a day after they were introduced.

There have been concerns over the rise in the number of cases of trolling on Twitter

Bots now 'account for 61% of web traffic'

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:14:00 +0430

If you are visiting this page the chances are that you are not a human, at least according to research.

The study suggests humans only account for 38.5% of internet traffic

Instagram adds direct messaging to take on rivals

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:10:00 +0430

Photo and video sharing app Instagram has added direct messaging to its service in a nod to the success of rivals such as Whatsapp and Snapchat.

Messages can be sent, privately, to up to 15 recipients at once

Yahoo Mail 'being restored' following service problems

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:07:00 +0430

Some Yahoo Mail users have not been able to access their email since Monday following a service failure blamed on a hardware problem in one of its data centres.

Yahoo's redesign of its mail service has not gone down well with users

YouTube culls game clips as publishers defend fans

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:06:00 +0430

Major games publishers have offered their support to fans who have had gameplay clips removed from YouTube due to "illegitimate" copyright claims.

Blizzard, creator of Diablo, said it did not call for the take-downs

Zavvi threatens shoppers after accidental PS Vita deliveries

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 12:44:00 +0430

Online retailer Zavvi has warned customers to whom it accidentally sent a video games console that they could face legal action if they have not arranged the machines' return.

Zavvi says that shoppers are legally obliged to return the handheld consoles

Spotify to offer 'free' mobile service to Android and iOS

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 12:41:00 +0430

Spotify is to extend its "free" ad-supported music service to mobile devices.

Spotify says it is not worried about the competition from other music services

GCHQ and NSA 'track Google cookies'

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 12:39:00 +0430

The latest Snowden leak suggests US and UK cyberspies are taking advantage of Google's proprietary cookie technology in an effort to track suspects.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has been critical of the NSA and GCHQ's activities

Ransomware creation kit 'sought by cyber-thieves'

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:40:00 +0430

Cyber-thieves are seeking to mass-produce new forms of ransomware, the security company Sophos has suggested.

Sophos said Cryptolocker was "perhaps the most dangerous" ransomware

China hackers 'target EU foreign ministries'

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:35:00 +0430

Chinese hackers spied on the computers of five European foreign ministries over the summer, according to research from US security company FireEye.

The researchers say they were able to observe the hackers for about a week

Hi-tech sensors aim to help prevent obesity

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:33:00 +0430

A range of hi-tech sensors that can measure food intake and activity in order to assess obesity risks is to be funded by the European Union.

Obesity causes 2.8 million deaths around the world each year

Thirteen plead guilty to Anonymous hack of Paypal site

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:31:00 +0430

Thirteen people have pleaded guilty to disabling Paypal's servers in an attack US authorities say was orchestrated by hacking collective Anonymous.

The defendants took part in a protest that was organized by Anonymous

Google opens first data centres in Asia

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:28:00 +0430

Google has opened its first ever data centres in Asia as it looks to boost its growth further in the region.

Google said its new data centre in Taiwan has a 'robot' theme

Warning over 4Chan Xbox One prank

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:37:00 +0430

Xbox One owners are being warned about an internet prank message that could wreck their console.

The Xbox One went on sale around the world on 22 November

Coach crash prevention system tracks drivers' eyes

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:35:00 +0430

Coach drivers' eye movements and blinks are to be tracked by computers as part of a test to see whether the tech could be used to prevent accidents on long distance trips.

The Dutch firm co-ordinating the trial says it does not believe the cameras are distracting

Google lets users create own Street View

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:32:00 +0430

Google has unveiled a new tool that allows users to create a Street View - a 360 degree virtual tour - of any place and share it using Google Maps.

Google said the new tool will help it expand the reach and uses of Street View

US and UK 'spy on virtual games like World of Warcraft'

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:28:00 +0430

US and British spies have reportedly infiltrated online games such as World of Warcraft in an effort to identify terrorist threats, according to media reports.

National security officials are said to have extracted World of Warcraft account data to identify terrorist activity

Aldi 'low-cost' tablet sells out

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:26:00 +0430

A "low-cost" tablet that went on sale at the supermarket chain Aldi over the weekend has already sold out.

Aldi's Medion Lifetab, which went on sale at the weekend, is already sold out

Technology firms seek government surveillance reform

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Mon, 9 Dec 2013 12:17:00 +0430

Leading global technology firms have called for "wide-scale changes" to US government surveillance.

There have been concerns over surveillance programmes in the US

Samsung retries botched update to Galaxy S3 smartphone

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sun, 8 Dec 2013 09:28:00 +0430

Samsung has started again to roll out an update to its Galaxy S3 smartphone, weeks after a botched attempt angered users.

The Galaxy S3 was Samsung's flagship smartphone but has been succeeded by the S4

Rare material shortages could put gadgets at risk

noreply@blogger.com (srahmati.blogspot.com) — Sun, 8 Dec 2013 09:26:00 +0430

Modern technology is too reliant on rare materials whose scarcity could drastically set back innovation, a new report has warned.

The study looked at many of the elements commonly used in technology