EU adds detail to Privacy Shield agreement, prepares to give it force of law

The European Commission has detailed the steps businesses must take to comply with the Privacy Shield data protection agreement reached with U.S. authorities earlier this month, and published a draft of the order that will give it force of law.

Privacy Shield is the replacement for the Safe Harbor agreement torn up by the Court of Justice of the European Union last October.

Like its predecessor, is intended to ensure that the personal data of EU citizens benefits from the same privacy protections when processed in the U.S. as it would within the EU. The court found the Safe Harbor agreement lacking in a number of respects, prompting officials on both sides of the Atlantic to negotiate a new agreement that would answer the court's concerns.

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India's business turnaround king

How Vishal Sikka has transformed the fortunes of Indian IT company Infosys

VIDEO: The wearable tech for cows

How wearable technology is moving into farming

VIDEO: Using data to forecast crime

BBC Click talks to a US company that hopes to use data to forecast crime

VIDEO: Ukraine power 'hack attacks' explained

US investigators say Russia-based hackers were responsible for a hack attack that caused blackouts across Ukraine.

Morrisons to sell food through Amazon

Morrisons will supply groceries to Amazon customers in the UK under a new deal with the US online giant.

WhatsApp to end Blackberry support

WhatsApp ends support for a number of operating systems including Blackberry 10, Nokia Symbian S60 and Windows Phone 7.1.

Ukraine hacks 'could happen to UK'

A member of a US investigation, which said a blackout in Ukraine was caused by a hack attack, says the UK could also be vulnerable.

Raspberry Pi 3 adds wi-fi and Bluetooth

The Raspberry Pi - the bestselling British computer - is updated with a faster processor and built-in wi-fi and Bluetooth wireless connections.

VIDEO: The graphene powered charger pack

A prototype graphene powered charger pack and other new battery tech

Firms call for faster UK broadband

The Institute of Directors (IoD) accuses the UK government of a "poverty of ambition" over broadband, and calls for faster access for homes and businesses.

Samsung S7 phones restore lost features

Samsung's new flagship smartphones can use MicroSD storage cards and are water resistant - popular features dropped from last year's range.

Obamas bemoan White House wi-fi

The Obamas lament the patchy wi-fi coverage in the White House during a TV interview.

Google AI will play live Go match

Google has announced the next challenge for its AI software - to play a live-streamed Go match against the world champion.

Rise in online dating rape reports

The number of people reporting being raped on their first date with someone they met on a dating app has risen six-fold in five years, figures show.

Pure radio up for sale as boss departs

Digital radio brand Pure is being put up for sale by UK tech company Imagination Technologies, as the group's long-serving chief executive departs.

Police 'ponder eagles to tackle drones'

The Metropolitan Police says it is considering using eagles to intercept drones amid concerns that they are increasingly being used to commit crime.

Should Twitter ignore its users?

If Twitter is to grow, it may need to disregard the complaints by its regular users about innovations.

Empire State Building hit by drone

A man charged with crashing a drone into the Empire State Building has apparently tweeted that a policeman had told him it was "fine" to fly there.

Thousands flock to 'malware museum'

An online archive of old computer viruses attracts more than 100,000 visitors in its first four days.

India blocks Zuckerberg's free net app

India's telecoms regulator blocks Facebook's limited free internet service as part of a ruling in favour of net neutrality.

'Hack' on DoJ and DHS downplayed

US authorities acknowledge a data breach affecting the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security - but downplay its severity.

'Girls in tech' competition won by boy

EDF Energy is criticised after a 13-year-old-boy wins a competition that was part of a campaign to attract teenage girls to the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths

Facebook, Google, Microsoft to join tech industry in supporting Apple in court

The tech industry is rallying behind Apple in its appeal against a court order asking it to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft planning submissions in court in support of the iPhone maker.

“The industry is aligned on this issue and Facebook is participating in a joint submission with other technology companies," a spokeswoman for the company wrote in an email Thursday.

Other companies expected to join in making the submission are Twitter and Amazon.com, but there might be others.

Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple last week to provide assistance, if necessary by providing signed software, that would help the FBI try different passcodes by brute force on the locked iPhone 5c, without triggering an auto-erase feature in the phone. The device was used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2.

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VIDEO: Automatic refunds for c2c train delays

Commuters can now get automatic refunds if their train journeys are delayed by more than two minutes when travelling on c2c trains.

Google backs down in ad switch-off row

Google has backed down in a trademark row that suddenly deprived tech news site 9to5Google of adverts.

Apple asks court to reverse iPhone order

Apple has asked a US court to overturn an earlier ruling forcing the company to help the FBI break into a phone used by one of the San Bernardino killers.

Mastercard rolls out selfie ID checks

Mastercard is deploying an app that lets users prove their ID via a selfie or fingerprint check to authorise online purchases.

The man who made 'the worst video game in history'

The man who made 'the worst video game in history'

VIDEO: Can a computer create a musical?

Beyond the Fence is the first piece of musical theatre generated by computers.

VIDEO: First look at Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones goes hands-on with the Galaxy S7 Edge ahead of its official launch.

VIDEO: Thermal phone takes 'heat selfies'

A smartphone with a built-in thermal camera is on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

HTC's VR headset will cost $799

HTC's Vive virtual reality headset will cost $200 more than Facebook's rival Oculus Rift, but its price includes controllers and games.

Sony puts AI assistant in user's ear

Sony unveils the Xperia Ear - an accessory that puts artificial intelligence-driven suggestions in a smartphone user's ear.

The 5 biggest reveals from Apple's motion to dismiss the FBI's court order

On Thursday, Apple issued a motion to dismiss the FBI's court order. Here are five things we learned.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft to join tech industry in supporting Apple in court

The tech industry is rallying behind Apple in its appeal against a court order asking it to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft planning submissions in court in support of the iPhone maker.

“The industry is aligned on this issue and Facebook is participating in a joint submission with other technology companies,” a spokeswoman for the company wrote in an email Thursday.

Other companies expected to join in making the submission are Twitter and Amazon.com, but there might be others.

Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple last week to provide assistance, if necessary by providing signed software that would help the FBI try different passcodes by brute force on the locked iPhone 5c, without triggering an auto-erase feature in the phone. The device was used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2.

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VIDEO: The 'smart' arm that plays the drums

BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news

VIDEO: Robots, investors and entrepreneurs

The BBC visits India's biggest-ever conference for tech start-ups where entrepreneurs can meet potential investors.

VIDEO: Get on the pitch using virtual reality

Our reporter uses virtual reality to experience what it is like to stand on the sidelines of the Principality Stadium before a Six Nations match.

Surge in contactless card payments

One in eight purchases made on UK cards in December used contactless technology, marking a surge in the use of the alternative to loose change.

Nintendo halves profit forecast

Video game giant Nintendo halves its full-year profit forecast, blaming slow sales and the strong yen.

Hackers behind Ukraine power cuts, says US

Hackers were behind an attack that cut power to 225,000 people in Ukraine, a US report has concluded.

Is Wikimedia building a search engine?

The executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has resigned a week after denying the group is considering building its own search engine.

Baidu apps are 'leaking' personal data

Data about millions of Chinese people is being leaked by apps that use code written by the net giant Baidu, say researchers.

Report: Apple's rushing to close iPhone hack opening after FBI decryption demand

Apple reportedly wants to take itself out of the equation when it comes to decrypting data on a criminal suspect’s iOS device. Company engineers are working on a solution that would make it impossible for Apple to help law enforcement break into an iPhone and gain access to the encrypted data contained within, according to The New York Times.

The report is yet another storyline to come out of the continuing saga of Apple’s battle with the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the iPhone 5c used by San Bernardino, California shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. That iPhone, running iOS 9, is locked with a passcode and thus all data on the phone is encrypted until the device is unlocked with the proper password.

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FBI director: Apple encryption ruling could lead to more unlocking requests

If a U.S. court grants the FBI’s request for Apple to help it unlock a terrorism suspect’s iPhone, the case will likely open the door to many similar law enforcement requests, the agency’s director said Thursday.

A ruling in favor of the FBI by a California judge “will be instructive for other courts,” FBI Director James Comey said during a congressional hearing. A decision in the San Bernardino mass shooting case “will guide how other courts handle similar requests,” he added.

Lawmakers questioned the broader impact of the FBI’s request, and a judge’s initial ruling in favor of the agency, during a hearing on worldwide security threats before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

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Apple files motion to vacate FBI court order, claiming a violation of its constitutional rights

Apple has just responded to the FBI’s court order, claiming that it’s a violation of the company’s rights to free speech.

On Thursday, Apple filed a “motion to vacate” the court order compelling the iPhone-maker to help the FBI in breaking into the iPhone of Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters. In the document, Apple argues that its software is protected speech, and the government compelling the company to fabricate software that goes against its beliefs is a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights.

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Can we predict Oscar winners using data analytics alone?

The firms that predict the Oscar results in advance

VIDEO: Three tips for success by Gumtree boss

Gumtree boss Morten Heuing offers the business advice he wishes he'd been given when he started out, as part of the BBC News series, CEO Secrets.

Arizona county attorney to ditch iPhones over Apple dispute with FBI

Apple’s refusal to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino attack has prompted the Maricopa County attorney’s office in Arizona to ban providing new iPhones to its staff.

“Apple’s refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a statement on Wednesday.

Montgomery described as a corporate public relations stunt Apple’s positioning of its refusal to cooperate on privacy grounds. The evidence obtained through searches using warrants to unlock encrypted smartphones, including iPhones, have proven critical to the investigation and prosecution of defendants charged with drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, murder and other serious offenses, he added.

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Foxconn to delay $4.3bn Sharp takeover

Taiwan multinational Foxconn has said it will delay the signing of a $4.3bn (£3.08bn) deal to take over struggling Japanese electronics giant Sharp.

Bug causes bogus Tube travel warnings

Transport for London has blamed a bug for making travel apps say that no services were running on London Tube lines.

US court case reveals Tor attack deal

A US court case reveals who was behind a 2014 effort to identify users of the Tor anonymising network.

Kids' data breach firm defends response

After a data breach, the chief executive of uKnowKids defends calling the researcher who flagged the issue a "hacker".

Nissan disables app over Leaf hack risk

Nissan suspends an app that allowed hackers to take control of its Leaf cars' heating and air conditioning systems.

What future for BT and broadband?

Ofcom publishes a report into the UK communications market - but what is it all about?

Arizona county attorney to ditch iPhones over Apple dispute with FBI

Apple’s refusal to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California attack on Dec. 2 has prompted the Maricopa County attorney’s office in Arizona to ban providing new iPhones to its staff.

“Apple’s refusal to cooperate with a legitimate law enforcement investigation to unlock a phone used by terrorists puts Apple on the side of terrorists instead of on the side of public safety,” Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a statement on Wednesday.

Montgomery described as a corporate public relations stunt Apple’s positioning of its refusal to cooperate on privacy grounds. The evidence obtained through searches using warrants to unlock encrypted smartphones, including iPhones, have proven critical to the investigation and prosecution of defendants charged with drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, murder and other serious offenses, he added.

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VIDEO: Facebook rolls out new 'Reactions'

Facebook rolls out its five new 'reactions buttons' which include angry, wow and sad.

VIDEO: Apple CEO on why he won't work with FBI

Apple CEO Tim Cook explains why he is refusing to build a system to break into the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers.

VIDEO: An iron designed to smarten your collar

Tommy Sandhu looks at some of the latest travel gadgets.

VIDEO: Ubuntu shows off a hybrid handset

Software-maker Ubuntu demonstrates its operating system turning a smartphone into a desktop PC at Mobile World Congress.

How to hack the average home

Smart devices sitting on home networks are increasingly being targeted by cyber-thieves but how easy is it to crack one open?

Apple boss hits back at FBI conduct

Apple boss Tim Cook hits back at the FBI over the handling of a court order to help unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook.

VIDEO: Nissan Leaf 'security flaw' exposed

A cybersecurity researcher warns that Nissan Leaf electric cars can have their climate systems hijacked by hackers.

VIDEO: ILM on creating Star Wars effects

BBC Click visits the visual effects team behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Victims urge Apple to work with FBI

A lawyer representing victims of the San Bernadino killers will file a legal brief telling Apple to cooperate with the FBI in its investigation.

Comey says the FBI doesn’t want to break anyone’s encryption

FBI Director James Comey claims the agency doesn't want to break anyone’s encryption or set loose a master key to devices like the iPhone.

The comment Sunday by Comey on Lawfare Blog comes as both Apple and the government last week appeared to have pulled out all the stops to defend their stands on an FBI demand in a court that Apple provide the technology to help the agency crack the passcode of a locked iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists involved in the attack in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2.

The FBI is concerned that without the workaround from Apple, it could accidentally erase data, while trying to break the passcode, because of the possible activation on the phone after 10 failed tries of an auto-erase feature. “We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly,” Comey wrote.

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Tor users increasingly treated like second-class Web citizens

The Internet is becoming harder to browse for users of Tor, the anonymity network that provides greater privacy, according to a new study.

The blame can be placed largely on those who use Tor, short for The Onion Router, for spamming or cyberattacks. But the fallout means that those who want to benefit from the system's privacy protections are sometimes locked out.

Researchers scanned the entire IPv4 address space and found that 1.3 million websites will not allow a connection coming from a known Tor exit node. Also, some 3.67 percent of Alexa's top 1000 websites will block Tor users at the application level.

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Microsoft: Tech companies ‘whipsawed’ by conflicting laws on global data transfer

Microsoft is expected to testify that both outdated U.S. laws and agreements between countries on cross-border transfer of data have to be amended as tech companies are increasingly ‘whipsawed’ in legal conflicts in which local authorities are seeking unilateral and extraterritorial warrants over data stored in the cloud.

In written testimony ahead of a U.S. House of Representatives hearing scheduled for Thursday, Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith wrote that countries are “increasingly claiming new extraterritorial legal authority (and interpreting existing legal authorities) to access and intercept data.” In response, other countries are enacting a range of laws, including data localization and data retention requirements, so as to counter such extraterritorial authorities, he added.

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Apple fans take to the streets to protest the FBI's request

Apple fans show up for freedom

Image by Courtesy: Fight for the Future

Protests took place in multiple cities Tuesday evening, organized by Fight for the Future, and supported by Demand Progress, CREDO, and other advocacy groups. “Apple’s stand will help keep security threats at bay” said David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, in a statement. “But we will all be less safe if the FBI succeeds at its politically expedient, but shortsighted, approach.”

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VIDEO: Boston robot fights against pushing

Google-owned robotics company builds humanoid that demonstrates remarkable balance - even when taunted by humans.

VIDEO: 'I back Apple in not unlocking iPhone'

Pavel Durov, the founder of the secure messaging app Telegram, says he backs Apple in resisting helping US authorities unlock an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers.

EE apologises for mobile data fault

EE apologises after a number of its customers were unable to use data services on the mobile devices.

Google promotes fast-loading news

Google starts promoting news articles at the top of its search results that have been coded to load faster than normal.

Remarkable robot puts up with bullying

A Google-owned robotics company builds a humanoid that demonstrates remarkable balance - even when taunted by humans.

Xiaomi unveils ceramic-backed phone

Xiaomi announces its new flagship handset, the ceramic-cased Mi5, but does not disclose any plans to launch it in the West.

Nissan Leaf electric car hack revealed

A researcher reveals a flaw that allows Nissan Leaf cars' heating and air-conditioning systems to be hijacked, and journey data leaked.

Baidu web browsers leaked sensitive information, researchers say

Two web browsers developed by Chinese search giant Baidu have been insecurely transmitting sensitive data across the Internet, putting users' privacy at risk, according to a new study.

Baidu responded by releasing software fixes, but researchers say not all the issues have been resolved.

The study was published Tuesday by Citizen Lab, a research group that's part of the University of Toronto. 

It focused on the Windows and Android versions of Baidu's browser, which are free products. It also found that sensitive data was leaked by thousands of apps that use a Baidu SDK (software development kit).

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Tor users increasingly treated like second-class Web citizens

The Internet is becoming harder to browse for users of Tor, the anonymity network that provides greater privacy, according to a new study.

The blame can be placed largely on those who use Tor, short for The Onion Router, for spamming or cyberattacks. But the fallout means that those who want to benefit from the system's privacy protections are sometimes locked out.

Researchers scanned the entire IPv4 address space and found that 1.3 million websites will not allow a connection coming from a known Tor exit node. Also, some 3.67 percent of Alexa's top 1000 websites will block Tor users at the application level.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VIDEO: The AI that could change Hollywood

Researchers have created an AI that helps to determine whether a film will be able to make a profit

China pulls out of Western Digital deal

The merger of hard drive makers Western Digital and SanDisk will proceed at a lower price following the withdrawal of a key investor.

Call to ban gadget battery shipments

Passenger planes should be banned from carrying large numbers of lithium batteries as cargo, says a UN aviation watchdog.

Fake girlfriend, revisited

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VIDEO: Smartphone fingerprint sensors fooled

A Chinese start-up is highlighting that existing smartphone fingerprint sensors can be fooled by a fake digit made out of clay.

VIDEO: Salt water charger powers up phones

A portable power bank that uses salt and water to recharge smartphones is on show at the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona.

VIDEO: The woman who became a corporation

BBC News profiles three artists inspired by business, including one who turned herself into a corporation.

Most Americans support the FBI over Apple, Pew study finds

Most Americans think that Apple should help the FBI unlock a smartphone used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino mass shooting, according to a study released Monday by the Pew Research Center.

Fifty-one percent of those asked said they think Apple should unlock the iPhone to help the FBI with its investigation, while 38 percent said it should not unlock the phone to protect the security of its other users. Eleven percent of respondents had no opinion either way.

Pew

Pew found that a majority of Americans think Apple should help the FBI unlock the iPhone

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Bill Gates backs the U.S. government in Apple's iPhone privacy standoff

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says he supports the U.S. government in its efforts to unearth the contents of a terrorist’s iPhone, countering a trend by other tech leaders to back Apple’s refusal to code a backdoor into its iOS operating system.

Gates appears to have made the case, however, that he is in favor of the government’s request because he feels it is narrowly worded. 

“This is a specific case where the government is asking for access to information,” Gates told the Financial Times in a story published Monday night Pacific time. “They are not asking for some general thing; they are asking for a particular case.”

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VIDEO: Bill Gates wants debate on Apple row

Microsoft's Bill Gates tells the BBC there should be a debate about the degree to which tech firms co-operate with anti-terrorism investigations.

VIDEO: Smart toothbrush spots dirty teeth

Oral-B releases a new "smart toothbrush" that can detect which areas of the mouth are being neglected.

VIDEO: Augmented reality creates car showroom

An augmented reality app that uses Google's Project Tango technology creates an interactive car showroom.

Nasa and the amazing space printer

A start-up funded by Nasa is about to launch a 3D printer into space - and its ambitions are huge.

Child tracker firm in 'hack' row

Child tracker firm uKnowKids has accused a security researcher of hacking its database after he told them that children's details were accessible online.

Gates calls for terror data debate

The row between Apple and the FBI over access to a dead murderer's phone should start a debate about access to data in terror investigations, says Bill Gates.

Mark Zuckerberg on Apple vs. FBI: 'We're sympathetic with Apple'

Mark Zuckerberg is the latest tech leader to voice his support of Apple against the FBI.

“We’re sympathetic with Apple,” the Facebook CEO told the audience at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. “We believe encryption is a good thing that people will want.”

Even though Zuckerberg was clearly in support of Apple’s case for user privacy, the Facebook CEO acknowledged both sides. 

“At the same time, we feel we have a pretty big responsibility to help prevent terrorism,” Zuckerberg said, adding that Facebook cooperates with authorities to remove terrorist posts, profiles, or pages. “We have very strong policies that if there’s content [on Facebook] promoting terrorism, we’ll kick them off.”

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FAQ: Everything we know so far about Apple's battle with the FBI

At this writing, Apple’s battle with the FBI over how much it can and should help in the investigation of the San Bernardino shootings is less than a week old. But already it’s explosive to say the least. The government has accused Apple of being more concerned with marketing than the fight against terrorism, and Apple has drawn a line in the sand, saying that complying with the FBI’s request “would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”

This fight isn’t going to be over anytime soon, so we’ll keep this FAQ updated as events unfold. If you have more questions—or want to respectfully debate the implications this case will have on privacy and security—please chime away in the comments and we’ll do our best to make everything about this confusing case as clear as possible.

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Can technology help us improve reality?

How augmented reality tech is changing our world

VIDEO: HP phone thinks it's a Windows PC

HP announces a high specification smartphone that runs Windows 10 and doubles up as a PC when docked in a cradle.

Facebook uses AI to map people's homes

Facebook says it will make public a mapping project that uses artificial intelligence to identify places in the world where people live.

Comey says the FBI doesn’t want to break anyone’s encryption

FBI Director James Comey claims the agency doesn't want to break anyone’s encryption or set loose a master key to devices like the iPhone.

The comment Sunday by Comey on Lawfare Blog comes as both Apple and the government last week appeared to have pulled out all the stops to defend their stands on an FBI demand in a court that Apple provide the technology to help the agency crack the passcode of a locked iPhone 5c used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists involved in the attack in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2.

The FBI is concerned that without the workaround from Apple, it could accidentally erase data, while trying to break the passcode, because of the possible activation on the phone after 10 failed tries of an auto-erase feature. “We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing and without it taking a decade to guess correctly,” Comey wrote.

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Apple wants government to form commission over FBI encryption demand

Apple CEO Tim Cook has asked the U.S. government to withdraw its court action demanding tools that will allow the FBI to hack the passcode of an iPhone, and instead set up a commission of tech, intelligence and civil liberties experts to discuss “the implications for law enforcement, national security, privacy and personal freedoms.”

“We have done everything that’s both within our power and within the law to help in this case. As we’ve said, we have no sympathy for terrorists,” Cook said in an email Monday to Apple employees. Apple said it would gladly participate in the commission.

The FBI has sought help from Apple for a workaround to the auto-erase function in an iPhone 5c, running iOS 9, which was used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists involved in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2. The FBI is concerned that without this workaround from Apple it could accidentally erase data, while trying to break the passcode by “brute force” techniques.

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VIDEO: Samsung hosts vast Galaxy S7 launch

Thousands attended the Samsung Galaxy S7 launch in Barcelona, including Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

Linux founder not a 'people person'

Linus Torvalds, head of Linux, gives a rare and open interview at the TED conference in Vancouver.

VIDEO: Huawei tablet is thinner than Surface

Huawei unveils a tablet with a clip-on keyboard that is thinner than Microsoft's rival Surface Pro 4.

VIDEO: First look at LG's modular G5 phone

LG announces a smartphone that has swappable parts to let users add on extra features, as well as new virtual reality gear.

Huawei unveils Windows 10 tablet

Huawei unveils a Windows 10 tablet that is thinner and lighter than Microsoft's rival Surface Pro 4 two-in-one computers.

LG phone expands with bolt-on modules

LG unveils a new smartphone that has plug-in modules that add extra capabilities to the handset.

Apple says terrorist's iCloud password was changed remotely while iPhone was in government's posession

In the latest development, Apple is claiming that the government inadvertently jeopardized the FBI’s investigation into the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

Senior Apple execs told reporters on Friday that the iCloud password linked to Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c was changed less than 24 hours after federal investigators took possession of the phone. ABC News confirmed that the password was changed remotely by an IT employee of San Bernardino County, the terrorist’s former employer. If the password had remained the same, Apple claims, it might have been possible to access a backup of the iPhone stored in iCloud.

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VIDEO: Flying a drone crossed with a blimp

How a helium filled drone could be used to film audiences at concerts and other large indoor venues

Russia's difficult fight against piracy

The Kremlin seems undecided on how to tackle piracy, while most Russians think content should be available for free.

TED: Uber and AirBnB defend operations

Uber and AirBnB defend the sharing economy that they helped shape, at the TED conference in Vancouver.

These European mobile networks will block 'irrelevant' ads on customers’ phones

Two European mobile network operators are hoping to profit from mobile advertising -- by allowing customers to block irrelevant or excessive ads. But buyer beware: Blocking irrelevant advertising is just another way of saying advertising should be more targeted.

The operators, Three UK and Three Italy, hope to win more customers by stopping the ads they consider excessive or irrelevant from crossing their networks. Other networks in the Three group could follow suit.

Mobile ads suck up bandwidth, which might seem a good thing for operators as they can charge for data by the megabyte. However, customers don't have limitless budgets, and so wasted bandwidth is more likely to reduce customer satisfaction than it is to increase usage.

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'Teleportation to Mars' on TED stage

HoloLens creator offers view of how the digital and physical worlds might come together while film-maker promises mass VR viewing.

Apple apologises for iPhone 'error 53'

Apple has said sorry to iPhone customers whose phones were disabled after third-party repairs and issued a fix for the problem.

'Mystery' spike in Tor addresses

A security expert has noticed an unprecedented spike in the number of hidden addresses on the Tor network.

Three criticised over ad-blocker plans

Proposals by mobile phone provider Three to offer ad-blockers could have a negative impact on internet access, an advertising body has warned.

McAfee offers to unlock iPhone for FBI

Anti-virus creator John McAfee has claimed he can break the encryption on an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino killer Syed Farook.

Ad blockers: How online publishing is fighting back

How online publishing is fighting the ad killers

VIDEO: The smartphone that you can bend

BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.

York - the fibre frontier

The people of York could soon be benefiting from the highest broadband speeds in the UK.

HSBC to launch voice and touch ID system

HSBC and First Direct announce the launch of a voice and fingerprint recognition system, removing the need for customers to remember passwords and PINs for online banking.

Why the FBI's request to Apple will affect civil rights for a generation

On Tuesday, the United States District Court of California issued an order requiring Apple to assist the FBI in accessing a locked iPhone (PDF)—and not just any iPhone, but the iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. The order is very clear: Build new firmware to enable the FBI to perform an unlimited, high speed brute force attack, and place that firmware on the device.

Apple is not only fighting the request, but posted a public letter signed by Tim Cook and linked on Apple’s front page.

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Apple's fight with the FBI could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court

Apple may have taken on the fight of its life in standing up to the FBI, which is demanding that it help break into an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators in December’s San Bernardino mass shooting.

Apple has promised to fight a U.S. magistrate judge’s order Tuesday requiring it to assist the FBI, and legal experts say the case could go all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Apple needs to tread carefully, however. A divisive presidential election has further polarized the country around issues including how to respond to terrorists, and Apple needs to be careful the public doesn’t turn against it.

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White House: FBI is not asking Apple for a 'backdoor' to the iPhone

The White House said it is not the aim of the government to compromise the security of Apple’s iPhone, as it only wants the company to help in the case of one phone that was used by a terrorist in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2.

Google, Mozilla and some other tech organizations and civil rights groups have meanwhile supported Apple’s stand.

An order by a judge in California on Tuesday triggered off a furious response from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said the government wanted the company to provide a backdoor to its phones. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple to provide assistance, including by providing signed software if required, to help the FBI try different passcodes on a locked iPhone 5c running iOS 9, without triggering the auto-erasure feature in the phone after 10 failed attempts.

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Skeleton keys open doors for all governments, not just ours

Does the U.S. government have the right to examine any of our private information, no matter how it’s stored, with a properly executed warrant? That’s the crux of the latest battle between Apple and the FBI. As you can read elsewhere on Macworld, the United States District Court of California has issued an order requiring Apple to build firmware to decrypt an iPhone 5c owned by one of the San Bernardino terrorists.

But I’d like to hone in on a couple of things Tim Cook said in his public letter explaining Apple’s rejection of the court order, which it’s expressed in legal terms in a filing as well:

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VIDEO: What does the FBI want Apple to do?

What does the FBI want Apple to do to its iPhone software to help it access data on the phone belonging to San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook?

VIDEO: Is self-publishing hot right now?

As more and more writers choose to self-publish, how are these author-entrepreneurs changing the bookselling industry?

VIDEO: Drone register gives 'accountability'

Click talks to the FAA about the new US register for drones

VIDEO: 'Megacopter' drone breaks world record

BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news

VIDEO: Is this the world's cheapest smartphone?

An Indian company has launched what is being billed as the world's cheapest smartphone.

Indian firm launches $3.67 smartphone

An Indian company launches what is being billed as the world's cheapest smartphone, priced at 251 rupees ($3.67; £2.56).

AI X Prize worth $5m announced at TED

In 2020 TED will award a prize for the use of artificial intelligence judged to have best helped humankind in some way.

Hoverboard firm counter-attacks rival

A Chinese hoverboard maker whose stand was raided at the CES tech show is now claiming damages from the US firm that made a complaint.

Lee Rigby's family criticises Apple

The family of murdered soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby criticises Apple's refusal to help the FBI access a gunman's iPhone - but the firm is backed by Google and others.

Apple Pay service launches in China

Apple confirms that its alliance with China's state-owned bankcard association, China UnionPay, will allow the lender's cardholders to use Apple Pay from this week.

Hacked hospital pays $17,000 ransom

A Los Angeles hospital has paid $17,000 (£11,800) to hackers after its computer systems were taken offline by ransomware.

Boy arrested 'over FBI computer hack'

A 15-year-old boy is arrested in Glasgow over alleged computer hacking with reports suggesting the target was the FBI in the United States.

Virtual reality theme park at TED

A VR experience that you can walk around is showed off at the TED conference in Vancouver.

Pope's plane reports laser flash

Crew on Pope Francis's flight from Cuba to Mexico last Friday noticed a laser beam from the ground, the airline has said.

Apple vs the FBI - in plain English

A jargon-free look at the row between Apple and the FBI over access to a deceased terrorist's iPhone.

Apple opposes judge's order to unlock iPhone used by San Bernardino attacker

Updated at 12:56 a.m. Pacific to add Apple’s statement.

Apple was ordered Tuesday by a federal judge in California to provide assistance to the FBI to search a locked iPhone 5c that was used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists said to have been involved in an  attack in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2.

The government’s request under a statute called the All Writs Act will likely give a boost to attempts by law enforcement to look for vendor-provided backdoors to encrypted devices and communications.  

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Tim Cook: Apple will fight 'chilling' court order to 'hack our own users'

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has reacted sharply to a federal court order in the U.S. that would require the company to help the FBI search the contents of an iPhone 5c seized from Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2.

The U.S. government “has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers,” Cook wrote in an open letter to customers posted on Apple’s website on Wednesday. He added that the moment called for a public discussion and he wanted customers and people around the country “to understand what is at stake.”

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Virtual therapy 'helps with depression'

A new therapy which involves a patient embodying themselves in a virtual reality avatar of a small crying child can help with depression, new research suggests.

VIDEO: 'Cutting-edge' eco car unveiled

The prototype for a new Welsh-made hydrogen-powered car is unveiled.

VIDEO: 'Electronic blood' aims to power chips

Researchers at IBM are experimenting with 'electronic blood' to power computer chips

VIDEO: Robot chairs tidy themselves up

Car giant Nissan develops robotic office chairs that can tidy themselves away when you clap your hands.

Jeb Bush's gun tweet backfires

The US Republican presidential hopeful's photo of his new firearm meets with mockery online.

Indonesia bans Tumblr over porn

Indonesia bans the blogging platform Tumblr, saying that the site is distributing pornographic content.

Hanging out with the script kiddies

The BBC spends time hanging out with script kiddies - young people who hack and scam - as part of a series on cyber crime

Bounty hunter finds Facebook hijack bug

A British security analyst is given $7,500 (£5,240) by Facebook after notifying the firm of a programme bug found on its site.

Mega bug may hit thousands of devices

A critical vulnerability has been discovered in some widely-used code. Device makers are being urged to act immediately to protect users.

VR headsets get hands-free controls

The team behind Leap Motion creates Orion - software which integrates Leap Motion control into virtual reality environments.

Aston Martin linked to Faraday Future

Aston Martin announces plans to work with the start-up Faraday Future and Chinese tech firm LeEco to build electric cars.

Space archaeologist wins $1m TED prize

Archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak says she will spend the $1m TED prize to try to locate undiscovered sites around the world.

Hundreds of students hit by data breach

The University of Greenwich apologises after it published personal details about hundreds of its students.

Apple rejects order to unlock killer's phone

Apple chief executive Tim Cook says his company will contest a court order to help FBI investigators access data on the phone belonging to San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook.

Can tech bring lawyers into the 21st Century?

Why is the legal profession so resistant to technology?

Quake mobile app invites public test

A new app that turns a smartphone into a mobile seismometer is being rolled out by California scientists.

Paedophiles use Facebook to swap images

Paedophiles are using secret groups on Facebook to post and swap obscene images of children, a BBC investigation finds.

Women write better code, study suggests

Computer code written by women has a higher approval rating than that written by men - but only if it is not obvious that the coders are female, new research suggests.

VIDEO: Singapore Airshow: What to expect

More than 1,000 companies are exhibiting at Singapore's annual airshow - the biggest in the region. What is on offer there?

VIDEO: Lasers to detect car pollution culprits

New technology that uses lasers to measure vehicle emissions are being introduced in the UK.

VIDEO: Star Citizen: The $100m video game

Marc Cieslak goes behind the scenes at the $100m crowd-funded game Star Citizen.

Doctors 3D-print 'living' body parts

Custom-made, living body parts have been 3D-printed in an important advance for regenerative medicine, say scientists.

US hospital held to ransom by hackers

Computer systems at a Hollywood medical centre have been offline for more than a week following a "ransomware" attack.

BT ad gets into a muddle about the net

An advert published by the UK's leading broadband provider mistakenly credits the UK as being the internet's creator.

Star Citizen edges towards blast off

The video game Star Citizen has raised more than $108m from the public but is running years behind schedule.

Sex attack report system launched

TED Fellow Jessica Ladd announces a website-based system that lets college students report sexual assaults.

Porn site age check plans reviewed

A public consultation over plans to implement age checks on pornography websites is launched by the UK government.

Android SMS malware 'can wipe phones'

A Danish security company has detected an attempt to spread a powerful form of Android malware via text messages.

The man making genes democratic

TED Fellow Keolu Fox has been describing his hopes to include indigenous groups in future gene testing.

Handheld ZX Spectrum project announced

The firm which recently re-launched classic games console the ZX Spectrum has announced a portable version of the device.

Google boss on stuff that failed

The theme of TED 2016 is Dream, and Astro Teller, head of Google's "moon shot" factory X, dreams bigger than most.

Kanye album 'pirated 500,000 times'

The Life of Pablo has already appeared on several illegal sites since its release on Sunday.

Ordnance Survey releases Mars map

British mapping agency Ordnance Survey has released an easy-to-read map of terrain from the planet Mars.

Police prepare new 'sexting' guidelines

Police are producing new guidelines on how to deal with children caught sending indecent images to one another.

Fruit and veg goes digital in South America

The apps aiming to shake up grocery shopping in South America

VIDEO: How Ex Machina robot came to life

BBC Click talks to the Oscar nominated visual effects supervisor behind Ex Machina

Fry 'quits' Twitter after Bafta spat

Bafta show host Stephen Fry appears to delete his Twitter profile in the wake of his controversial "bag lady" comments during Sunday night's show.

Anne Frank's diary removed from website

The Diary of Anne Frank has been removed from book repository Wikisource after the site became aware it had fallen foul of copyright law.

Is Google feeling unloved?

Is Google finding it difficult to stick to its principles?

Why is the UK still printing its laws on vellum?

Why is the UK still printing its laws on calf-skin?

VIDEO: The robot that camouflages itself

BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news.

VIDEO: Apprentice star reveals DatePlay app

Combining match-making with games and quizzes, DatePlay is designed to generate "more meaningful matches" than its rivals.

VIDEO: Audio from 'laser strike plane' emerges

A flight heading to New York turned back to London Heathrow Airport after a "laser beam incident", Virgin Atlantic has confirmed.

The dating apps taking on Tinder

Valentine's Day drives big audiences to dating apps - but with market leader Tinder boasting 26 million matches daily, is there room for competition?

Van Gogh's bedroom gets digital makeover

Scientists in Chicago produce a visualisation of van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles, showing what it would have looked like before its colours faded.

Drones pose 'real threat' to aircraft

Drones flown by the general public are "a real and growing threat" to civilian aircraft, the head of Iata warns.

Airbnb 'delisting hosts for no reason'

The accommodation website Airbnb has delisted a number of its hosts UK in recent weeks but given no explanation to property owners.

Plane turned back by 'laser incident'

A flight heading to New York returns to London Heathrow Airport after a "laser beam incident", Virgin Atlantic says.

Fury as Adobe software deletes files

Adobe patches its Creative Cloud apps after people notice the software is deleting Mac users' files without warning.

Phones 'eavesdropped' via simple bug

Security researchers have shown how it is possible to eavesdrop on conversations and make premium calls on someone else's line via a software bug.

VIDEO: Google boss asked 'what do you get paid?'

Google's UK head, Matt Brittin, is asked about his salary as he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee.

Gadget battery shipments face scrutiny

The US National Transportation Safety Board says shipments of lithium-ion batteries on planes should be restricted because of safety fears.

Google defends UK tax arrangements

Google's UK chief defends the search giant's tax arrangements in a hearing before MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee.

Vatican promotes Lent on Telegram

The Vatican is using the controversial instant messaging app Telegram to promote Lent

Wait until April before relying on Privacy Shield, EU privacy watchdogs warn

Businesses that need to transfer European Union citizens' personal data to the U.S. should wait until at least mid-April before relying on the Privacy Shield to provide legal protection -- and in the meantime, they shouldn't count too much on alternative mechanisms for legalizing such transfers, Europe's data protection authorities warned Wednesday.

April is when the DPAs hope to have concluded their legal analysis of the replacement for Safe Harbor that was unveiled on Tuesday. But that time frame is contingent on the European Commission providing them with the necessary documents within the three weeks it has promised, according to the head of the Article 29 Working Party, the EU body representing national data protection authorities (DPAs). That analysis will also consider alternative transfer mechanisms such as binding corporate rules and model contract clauses.

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What businesses need to know about Privacy Shield

U.S. businesses may take some comfort from the fact that a successor to the Safe Harbor agreement has finally been named, but at this point, they shouldn't get too comfortable.

Since it was first announced on Tuesday, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield agreement governing trans-Atlantic data transfers has elicited considerable concern, not least because it remains largely unwritten and unclear. Privacy watchdogs in Europe have cautioned that it can't be relied upon for legal protection for several months; some say it won't be enough even then.

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VIDEO: The traffic cones with built-in fans

Why a Japanese engineer is taking a lateral approach to problem solving

VIDEO: Smartpatch aims to put snoring to bed

The Silent Partner claims to have come up with a solution for those sleeping with someone who snores.

VIDEO: The rolling, HD security camera

How a remote controlled rolling camera could protect your home and other home security technology reviewed

Twitter hit by faltering user growth

Shares of Twitter fall in after-hours trading as the companies earnings announcement shows growth faltering.

Spy law 'needs significant changes'

Theresa May's internet monitoring and spying bill needs "significant work" before becoming law, the committee scrutinising it says.

Making government a bit more digital

The UK government makes a small step towards making online communication with the public easier.

Google extends 'right to be forgotten'

Tech giant Google says it will hide content removed under the "right to be forgotten" from all versions of the search engine when viewed from countries where removal was approved.

Paul McCartney creates Skype emojis

Sir Paul McCartney has composed music for a series of 'audio emojis' on Skype

Lego children's prosthetic wins award

A prosthetic arm that allows children to design their own Lego accessories wins an innovation award in Paris.

Facebook ‘colonialism' row stokes distrust

Comments by a Facebook board member could put Mark Zuckerberg's global plans on the back foot.

VTech 'is responsible' for kids' data

The UK's data privacy watchdog confirms that VTech remains responsible for protecting users' data despite changes to its terms and conditions.

Pure URL simplifies web addresses for safer surfing

If you're concerned about privacy and security, you've already done a lot to avoid online tracking. You probably use an extension like Privacy Badger and have enabled the questionably effective Do Not Track setting in your browser. But what have you done about the URLs in your address bar? Yes, you can be tracked via the URLs in your browser. A new add-on for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox called Pure URL aims to fix that.

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Facebook has just 60 days to change its terms and conditions for French users

Facebook has just 60 days to change its terms and conditions for French users, or face legal sanctions.

France's Directorate-General for Competition, Consumers and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) has audited the social network's terms of use and concluded that they contain unfair contract terms illegal under French law.

With its 60-day deadline, the DGCCRF jumps to the head of the line for Facebook's lawyers' attention: On Monday night the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) gave the company 90 days to stop some transfers of its users' personal information to the U.S., and to change the way it handles the data of visitors its website.

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Identity thieves obtain 100,000 electronic filing PINs from IRS system

The Internal Revenue Service was the target of an attack that used stolen social security numbers and other taxpayer data to obtain PINs that can be used to file tax returns electronically.

The attack occurred in January and targeted an IRS Web application that taxpayers use to obtain their so-called Electronic Filing (E-file) PINs. The app requires taxpayer information such as name, Social Security number, date of birth and full address.

Attackers attempted to obtain E-file PINs corresponding to 464,000 unique SSNs using an automated bot, and did so successfully for 101,000 SSNs before the IRS blocked it.

The personal taxpayer data used during the attack was not obtained from the IRS, but was stolen elsewhere, the agency said in a statement. The IRS is notifying affected taxpayers via mail and will monitor their accounts to protect them from tax-related identity theft.

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Twitter shakes up timeline feeds

Twitter announces it is starting to place video ads and prioritised tweets at the top of its users' timeline feeds.

Thieves steal Pins from US tax agency

The US government's tax collection agency says attackers fooled its computers into generating more than 100,000 tax return Pin codes.

U.S., EU reach agreement on Safe Harbor alternative

Goodbye Safe Harbor, hello Privacy Shield: that's the name given by European Union and U.S. negotiators to the deal they struck on Tuesday enabling legal transfers of personal data between the two regions.

The EU-US Privacy Shield will "protect the fundamental rights of Europeans where their data is transferred to the United States and ensure legal certainty for businesses," the European Commission said in a press release announcing the agreement.

Reactions were mixed, however, with some arguing the new framework fails to protect the privacy of European citizens. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was among the critics.

EU capitulates totally on #SafeHarbor. Interesting, given that they held all the cards. https://t.co/GmM8xGWPP6 https://t.co/EVSzYvgooX

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VIDEO: Charging cable backs up your phone

A phone charging cable that backs up your data as you top up your battery is produced by a British firm.

VIDEO: Engineer builds 'snowball machine gun'

BBC Click's Nick Kwek looks at some of the best of the week's technology news

VIDEO: Inventor of early TV technology recognised

Scottish inventor Alexander Bain is awarded an Emmy for services to technology and engineering, nearly 140 years after his death.

VIDEO: Artificial intelligence buys stocks

Hedge funds are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence in order to spot trends to try to make money for their customers

Google boss becomes highest-paid in US

The chief executive of Google, Sundar Pichai, has been awarded $199m (£138m) in shares, a regulatory filing reveals.

Flash banner ads banished by Google

Google banishes banner ads built in Adobe Flash from its advertising networks, the company has announced.

N Korea campaigners seek USB sticks

Two US human rights charities launch an appeal for donations of old memory sticks to aid those distributing material banned in North Korea.

Legal breakthrough for Google car

Google's self-driving technology should be considered a legal driver, the US highways authority says.

Parents urged to boycott VTech toys

A range of cybersecurity experts warn parents to beware of buying VTech's electronic toys following its handling of a recent hack attack.

UglyEmail reveals when senders secretly track your email activity, personal info

Advertising companies aren’t just tracking your web browsing habits—some marketers secretly monitor your email usage to discover a startling amount of information about you, too.

While senders are limited to only tracking specific messages they’ve sent to you, doing so can reveal whether you’ve opened the email or clicked any links in the message. It can also expose your general location and what kind of device you’re using.

If you’re curious about which messages are monitoring you and which one’s aren’t, a new extension for Chrome called UglyEmail can help. This extension—by developer Sonny Tulyaganov—monitors your inbox to find messages using pixel tracking. This is a common marketing technique where companies insert a transparent (and therefore invisible to you) one-pixel image into a message.

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How to download your entire Google search history

Google recently added another option to its Takeout service that lets you export data from your Google account, and the latest addition is one of the most important: Your Google search history.

Next to email, there's nothing in your Google account that's more revealing than your search history. Your personal collection of keywords can reveal the status of your personal relationship, the last time you were sick, if you're looking for a career change, and where you're planning to go on vacation.

There isn't much you'll be able to do with your search history unless you're a developer, as the archive is just a collection of JSON files. Over time, however, other search services may let you import your Google search history.

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AVG's Crumble extension simplifies online privacy

We’ve talked about anti-tracking extensions before. These are the tools that prevent online advertisers from tracking you online, allowing you to retain your privacy. There are many to choose from—including Disconnect, DNT+, and Ghostery—but recently AVG came out with a new extension for Chrome called Crumble that’s worth trying out.

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Three desktop tools for ultra-private encrypted chats

Many people like the idea of increasing their privacy with encryption and anonymity tools for sharing files, web browsing and messaging. The trouble is finding tools for the job that aren’t overly complex.

Today’s tip will take a look at how easily you can use current privacy tools to chat with your friends in privacy and security.

Cryptocat

Advantages: Browser-based, encrypted chat, no user account required

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Why you need a cloud backup service, and how to use one

Cloud backup is exactly what it sounds like. Your data is stored in an online repository, where it’s accessible to you when you need it. It works like this: You download a desktop client to your PC, select the folders you want to back up, and that data uploads to the service on a set schedule. Then if catastrophe strikes, such as a house fire or robbery, you have a clean, up-to-date copy of your data stashed on a server somewhere, all safe and sound.

Cloud backup does not eliminate the need for a local backup on an external hard drive of some sort, but it provides an easy solution for keeping another backup off-site. Your other options are to circulate a few hard drives that you keep in a safe at the office (a pain to remember), or run a remote server (technically challenging). Pay a few bucks a year to store your hard drive data online with a third-party provider is the easiest choice for most people.

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Former Mozilla CEO reveals Brave, a browser that speeds up the Web by blocking all ads

Brendan Eich, co-founder of Mozilla and for an 11-day stint, its CEO, yesterday announced a new browser called “Brave,” that blocks outside online ads and ad tracking.

Brave, which was at version 0.7—denoting its under-construction and fit-for-developers-and-other-strong-hearts-only status—is for Windows and OS X on the desktop, iOS and Android on mobile. The browser does not have a final code launch date or one for a public preview. Users may sign up for notification when betas become available.

In a post to the browser’s website, Eich, Brave’s CEO and president, touted the new browser’s model, which rests on blocking ads and all other tracking techniques used by websites to pinpoint their visitors and show them online advertisements.

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Let consumers look at the code running their devices, says Federal Trade Commissioner

Consumers should have the right to inspect the source code for connected devices they own, to ensure it doesn't contain bugs or backdoors, one U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner believes.

As we connect our homes, our vehicles and our clothing to the Internet of Things, "We need to be very mindful of consumer data security and be very careful of anything that undermines that data security," said Commissioner Terrell McSweeny.

McSweeny was speaking in a personal capacity at the State of the Net conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday, but her position as one of four Commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission could allow her to influence policy.

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No agreement as deadline to replace Safe Harbor nears

Two days from their deadline, U.S. and European Union negotiators still have no replacement for the transatlantic data-transfer agreement overturned last year by the EU's top court.

The original Safe Harbor agreement enabled companies to store and process EU citizens' personal information in the U.S. in compliance with strict European data protection laws, and its invalidation by the Court of Justice of the European Union last October in a case relating to Facebook's activities has called into question the operations of companies large and small.

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Tired of telemarketers? Now you can turn the tables on them with this clever bot

You're on every do-not-call list and you've tried opting out, but still the telemarketers keep pestering you. What's a consumer to do? Just ask the Jolly Roger Telephone Company.

That's what Roger Anderson did, though in his case it was a matter of creating the company first. Reportedly a frustrated telecom professional himself, Anderson did just that, and now it's on hand to help phone owners at their wit's end.

In a nutshell, Jolly Roger Telephone offers a bot that's designed to waste as much of a telemarketer's time as possible by making the caller think there's a live human reacting to their spiel. In fact, it's just a software robot equipped with clever algorithms to string them along for as long as it can.

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US must make 'additional effort' on Safe Harbor, EU Commissioner says

The European Commission has outlined the areas in which it wants further concessions from the U.S. before a new Safe Harbor agreement on trans-Atlantic data transfers can be reached.

"We are close, but an additional effort is needed," European Commissioner for Justice Vĕra Jourová said Monday evening. There is still a need for binding commitments from the U.S. government, with additional safeguards on access to Europeans' data by U.S. public authorities and independent oversight in the area of national security, she said.

The original Safe Harbor agreement, under which businesses transferred the personal information of European Union citizens to the U.S. for storage and processing, was invalidated by the Court of Justice of the EU last year.

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Fitness trackers are leaking lots of your data, study finds

Some of the more popular sports wearables don’t just let you track your fitness, they let other people track you.

That’s what Canadian researchers found when they studied fitness-tracking devices from eight manufacturers, along with their companion mobile apps.

All the devices studied except for the Apple Watch transmitted a persistent, unique Bluetooth identifier, allowing them to be tracked by the beacons increasingly being used by retail stores and shopping malls to recognize and profile their customers.

The revealing devices, the Basis Peak, Fitbit Charge HR, Garmin Vivosmart, Jawbone Up 2, Mio Fuse, Withings Pulse O2 and Xiaomi Mi Band, all make it possible for their wearers to be tracked using Bluetooth even when the device is not paired with or connected to a smartphone, the researchers said. Only the Apple device used a feature of the Bluetooth LE standard to generate changing MAC addresses to prevent tracking.

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The tech giving people power to deal with disability

How tech is giving disabled people more power

Finding your way in a country without street addresses

Finding your way in a country without street addresses

How social media is transforming the fashion industry

How social media is transforming the fashion industry

Why do mobile phones still work in jail?

Why are illicit mobiles still in prisons?

Can technology help build a perfect country?

Can technology help build a perfect country?

Is self-publishing coming of age?

How easy is self-publishing?

VIDEO: 'Social cinema' series debuts on Instagram

BBC Click talks to the team behind a "social cinema" film.

VIDEO: A millennium spent in the cloud

The visual effects supervisor behind The Walk talks about using the cloud to bring the film to life

Could Vietnam become the next Silicon Valley?

Why tech entrepreneurs are choosing South East Asia over California