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Google announced a new layer of security for its Android Market on Thursday, unveiling a program called "Bouncer" that will automatically scan apps and developer accounts for malware. Bouncer works by analyzing each app as it's uploaded to the Market, scanning for threats, spyware and trojans. It al...

Vizio has unveiled a 58-inch 3D widescreen HDTV with a 21:9 aspect ratio -- far more than the standard 16:9 ratio HDTVs use. Users can set the TV to upscale 16:9 content to fill the screen. The sale price for this set will start at US$3,500 -- that includes four pairs of 3D glasses. Vizio did not in...

A change to the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act recently sailed through the House of Representatives without a hitch. The bill would allow a provider of rental DVDs or videos to get consent to share their customers' title selections, as long as users were provided with an opportunity to withdraw t...

Twilio's cloud-based communications platform allows anyone with rudimentary Web-development knowledge to build a voice and SMS text application. An API, client, and various XML and other helper code is available that lets you build in PHP, C# and more. The basic concept behind all Twilio cloud telep...

Someday, people whose ability to speak has been damaged by illness or injury may be able to vocalize anyway with the help of technology. Researchers at UC Berkeley have made strides toward translating the words a person thinks into real speech. The researchers used 15 patients undergoing neurosurger...

Twitter is on the defensive over its new tweet-filtering policy, which it considers a progressive, forward-looking approach to complying with local laws around the globe. Speaking at Dive Into Media Monday night, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo characterized the changes as a way to ensure that more people ...

Samsung's new Galaxy Note Android phone, which will feature one of the largest screens on a smartphone to date, will hit shelves on Feb.19. With a 5.3-inch screen as well as a stylus, the Galaxy Note is billed as a hybrid tablet and smartphone device. The screen will be one of the largest currently ...

Employees are growing more comfortable working from their own devices, particularly with the increasing adoption of portable technologies like the tablet computer. They are also accustomed to self-service delivery of applications in their personal lives, with almost instant access to apps and new se...

Fifteen leading email service providers and tech companies have announced a joint effort to fight phishers. Google, Facebook, PayPal, Yahoo and Agari are among the companies behind the Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance spec. DMARC is a technical specification that standa...

Nintendo's Wii U will be out in time for the 2012 holiday season and will feature NFC technology, according to the company. The next-generation Nintendo Wii will have a handheld controller with a touchscreen that can interact with what's showing on the TV screen. The new device will also come equipp...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

FBI Looking to 'Friend' Terrorists

Social networks are popular with lots of folks, including terrorists. That's why the FBI is looking for a contractor that will design an "early warning system" for it based on monitoring chatter on the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google+. To identify potential "bad actors," the agency will be loo...

Earlier this month, Microsoft applied for a patent related to a technology that would highlight areas of high crime and route people around them. Folks seemed to get upset because areas like this tend to struggling due to a lack of revenue, and this would route people who might otherwise shop there ...

Twitter announced on Thursday that it can now withhold content from users country by country on demand, while still making that content available to the rest of the world. The news sparked widespread anger as critics accused the microblogging service of censorship and warned that the policy might im...

The FBI wants to keep its eye on social media users, according to a job post that invites software developers to submit applications capable of mining through sites such as Twitter and Facebook to identify possible threats. The post can be found on FedBizOpps.gov. The bureau has a detailed list of r...

That invisibility cloak Harry Potter throws around himself to hide in plain sight soon may be fact, rather than fiction. Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin have demonstrated one -- sort of. The researchers hid an 18 cm cylindrical tube from microwaves by putting it in a shell of plasmo...


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