Alan Buckingham

2015 is still relatively young, but we've already witnessed plenty of action. Torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and EZTV have been taken down, only to resurface. EZTV made a very quick reappearance, while The Pirate Bay took a bit longer to recover, though its comeback always seemed inevitable. Today we can add another site to this list -- Kickass Torrents has had its domain seized.

Being one of the most popular torrent sites on the web, it was always a major target. It most recently resided in Somalia -- pirate jokes aside, this seemed like a safe haven. Apparently it has become even less safe than it is for the ships that sail by the African nation.

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Google Maps has become the standard for many smartphone users as stand-alone GPS devices get replaced. That doesn't mean it's the best, but it is certainly at or near the top of the list. Apple found out just how difficult this type of program can be to pull off, then invited the search giant back to its mobile platform.

Now the mapping program is celebrating its 10th birthday -- they grow up so fast. "If you hopped in your DeLorean for a trip back to before 2005, you’d remember the days when we were all dependent on paper maps, print-outs, post-its and sometimes even a compass for directions! Getting from point A to B is something we do all day, every day—from finding the fastest way to get to work, to dropping the kids off on a carpool route, to meeting friends for drinks at a new spot—so it should be as easy as possible", the Maps team states.

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It's another year and time for a new set of companies to be compromised. In 2014 we witnessed high-profile attacks on victims such as Home Depot and Target, but 2015 is shaping up to be no better, given the recent news regarding Anthem, a major health care provider in the US. The potential implications of this one are still mostly unknown.

However, reports are surfacing that perhaps millions of users have been compromised. Data such as names and social security numbers have been lost. The company isn't yet citing numbers, but does admit that all of its branches were affected. According to security researcher Brian Krebs that could mean a catastrophe.

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The Pebble watch has come a long way, from Kickstarter darling to success in the market. It's becoming a crowded playing field, though Pebble has the name recognition to compete. That's why it's become the success it now is, with new and innovative versions and colors.

Now the smartwatch maker announces numbers. It seems the company has hit the magical one million mark in terms of users. That's a lot of wrists that now have the device strapped on (I'm one of them).

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In terms of market share, Internet Explorer remains the top web browser thanks to being the default on Windows and average users not knowing any better. Those with a lean towards technology frequently use alternatives like Chrome and Firefox. This was a major problem in the days of IE 6, but Microsoft has improved its offering with each iteration.

But no software is perfect and security holes are found on a regular basis. This time it seems Microsoft's browser has a major one. The flaw that has been discovered can be used to exploit users via phishing attacks and malicious code insertion.

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The usual droves of people turned out to watch the big game this past Sunday. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest spectacles in sports. While you may or may not have been pleased with the result you should have been pleased with the quality of the online stream -- if that's how you happened to watch it.

Over the past couple of weeks we've brought you news of Adobe security flaws -- they tend to be more regular than anyone would like. In this case, it's nice to report something good from the software maker.

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The programmable thermostat concept isn't new, but today's versions are becoming increasingly smarter. Now it's not just programmed, but actually learns from your habits and it can even integrate with other things in your home -- the Internet of Things. There is, perhaps, no better example than Nest, which has become quite popular with the tech crowd.

But what is the real advantage in all of this? Saving energy, and therefore money. Now Nest is reveling the numbers it has been collecting. In an effort to continuously improve its offering, the company keeps tabs on what is going on.

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Well, it's been a week since we've heard about a security vulnerability in Adobe Flash -- that's like a lifetime in terms of this program. While the application is slowly receding, it's far from dead and that means users have reason for worry. Of course, using Flash at all is a general concern -- it's a highly targeted platform for attackers.

Now Adobe is issuing it's latest warning, this one for "drive-by attacks". The flaw is technically known as CVE-2015-0313, though that moniker does little good for the end-user. What people really need to know is that the problem has been found to be used on the web.

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While most everyone is familiar with Chromebooks, the Google operating system also comes on a few desktop computers, a system generally referred to as a Chromebox. Like any computer, a Chromebox requires a keyboard and mouse, but sometimes those using notebook computers also prefer an external mouse instead of using the trackpad. Now Logitech plans to have everyone covered in this growing market.

The hardware maker is announcing a new line of peripherals designed specifically for Chrome OS computers. You're likely thinking that any wireless keyboard or mouse will work, and you'd be mostly right. I type this now from a Chromebook using a standard Microsoft wireless mouse. But what Logitech has is a bit more interesting.

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When The Pirate Bay was raided (again) nobody really thought the government had won. Countless people, myself included, predicted the return of the notorious Torrent site. After all, it's never really been dead -- just down for a bit or forced to change domains. But down and out? Not yet. This time around proves no different.

The fact that some people think these types of sites can be blocked, legislated or even raided out of existence is almost laughable. We knew The Pirate Bay was coming back. Rumor had the rebirth set for February 1st, but the site has made an early appearance.

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Ever since the Edward Snowden revelations began pouring out to the media and creating quite a stir of panic, government spying has been in the forefront of people's minds. One group that doesn't take these things lightly is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that tirelessly fights for and against all sorts of causes. Spying was certainly one of the big ones.

Now the EFF is announcing it has won a major battle, though certainly not the war. This legal fight began long before the Snowden information leak -- four years ago to be precise. The group filed suit over secret legal opinions regarding the Patriot Act, another controversial item in the eyes of many citizens.

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Everyone wants access to high-speed internet, as it seems to feel like a human right these days. Sadly the US lags behind other nations in this department, but things are slowly improving, thanks in large part to Google introducing its own broadband in the form of Google Fiber.

That offering is now expanding to new markets, with Google announcing four locations set to have their internet speeds increased dramatically. Thus far, the service has existed in Kansas City, Provo, and Austin.

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The "pay or lose your files" concept of ransomware seems to have taken off with hackers and crime syndicates, becoming the modern cyber equivalent of the mob shakedown. Sort of like paying "protection money".

Now a new ransomware variant has been spotted in the wild, spreading via email, just as previous ones had. The latest is being referred to by the catchy name of Trojan.DownLoad3.35539, and appears in a message as a ZIP file with hopes that unsuspecting recipients will launch it.

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Thankfully the media hype over the Ebola virus has died down. It was never a serious threat thanks to the nature of the way it spreads and the lack of actual cases in the US. Africa isn't quite as lucky, as the outbreak is a bit worse. In fact, according to the CDC, cases totaled only four in the US and one in the UK, while Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were less fortunate, totaling up over 13,000.

So, it's still serious enough, and technology can be used in the fight against this disease. Dell is working in this fight to combat the deadly illness. That isn't an easy task, but every little bit can help, and the emergency personnel can certainly use any aid.

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Streaming music services are everywhere today and few people bother buying CDs because of them. While those with "golden ears" may not approve, for the vast majority the quality is just fine. Those who want more can look into Neil Young's Pono Player, but for the rest of us, Rdio will work out nicely and save you some money as well.

Now the music streaming service is announcing a slew of updates to its Favorites feature. Introduced last September, this section is now receiving a refresh that allows for much more functionality.

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