Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype have been the center of attention in recent weeks because of companies' increased reliance on them during coronavirus lockdowns. Zoom has been in the headlines for many of the wrong reasons, however, and Microsoft is keen to ensure it doesn't get tarred with the same brush.

The company had made a series of commitments about its Teams software, promising users that their virtual conversations are private and secure.

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Zoom has had something of a rocky ride in recent weeks and months, enjoying a surge in popularity due to increased homeworking. But there have also been controversies with numerous privacy and security issues leading to some users choosing to jump ship to alternative platforms such as Microsoft Teams.

Filings with the SEC show that executives at Zoom Video Communications offloaded millions of dollars' worth of shares before the controversies started to upset users.

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It's only a week since Microsoft released PowerToys v0.16.0 which included four new utilities. Now there's another update available which brings a number of bug fixes, but also something of a surprise.

This is a very minor increase in version numbering, so you'd be right not to expect anything too exciting. However, the addition of telemetry to one of the utilities is something users will want to be aware of.

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While there has been a good deal of controversy about Zoom lately, the video conferencing service remains incredibly popular. This is at least in part because of its ease of use, and the fact that it can be used without having to create an account.

Well aware that the privacy and security issues that have plagued Zoom have left many people considering alternatives, Microsoft has issued a timely reminder about the Meet Now option in Skype. This feature makes it possible to use Skype without having to install any software, or even sign up for an account.

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Google Chrome is still the leader of the pack, but there's a different rival tailing it. New figures show that Microsoft Edge is now the second most used browser in the world, pushing Firefox down into third place.

The silver medal now belongs to the Chromium-based version of Edge on the desktop which has seen a great increase in popularity, even though it has only been available for a matter of months.

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It can hardly have escaped your attention that huge numbers of people are now working from home. This has placed ever growing demands on the internet in general, and numerous specific services have struggled to cope.

One thing that hasn't changed is companies' need for reliable access to data -- if anything, the higher number of remote workers make this even more important. To help with this, data recovery specialist Ontrack has announced that its Remote Data Recovery (RDR) service is ready to cope with an upsurge in demand during the current COVID-19 crisis.

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After many schools adopted Zoom to conduct online lessons during the coronavirus lockdown, concerns about security and privacy have led to a ban on the video conferencing software across the US.

The chancellor of New York City's Department of Education Richard A Carranza sent an email to school principals telling them to "cease using Zoom as soon as possible". And he is not alone; schools in other parts of the country have taken similar action, and educators are now being trained to use Microsoft Teams as this has been suggested as a suitable alternative, partly because it is compliant with FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).

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Zoom's skyrocketing popularity in recent weeks has been both a blessing and a curse for the company. Clearly it welcomes the additional users and, presumably, the income generated, but the company has also found itself under the spotlight resulting in startling revelations about security and privacy.

Having already apologized for a series of issues, Zoom is not taking steps to improve security. In an email sent out to users, the company explains how the virtual waiting room feature will be enabled by default, and meeting participants will now be required to use passwords to join.

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As if the various privacy and security concerns that have plagued Zoom recently had not been enough, now it has been revealed that the company has been routing some calls made in North America through China.

Asking whether Zoom is a "US company with a Chinese heart", security researchers at Citizen Lab reported their discovery that during test meetings, encryption and decryption keys were routed through a server in Bejing. This raised eyebrows, and the company has now tried to explain what happened and issued its second apology this week.

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After discovering a no fewer than seven security vulnerabilities in Safari for iOS and macOS, a researcher has received a $75,000 bug bounty pay out from Apple.

Ryan Pickren, a former Amazon Web Services (AWS) security engineer, found a series of security flaws in Apple's web browser, some of which could be exploited to hijack the camera of a Mac or iPhone to spy on users. The webcam hacking technique combined a total of three zero-day bugs.

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Heads are likely to be rolling at Apple after details emerged online about its unreleased AirTags. A video that references the tracking tags appeared on Apple's official Support account on YouTube but it was removed after the company seemingly realized its mistake.

The revelation came in a video tutorial about how to erase data from an iPhone. In the footage, a screen can be seen which makes reference to AirTags under an Enable Offline Finding heading.

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Zoom has received a lot of attention because of the increased number of people working from home, some good, some bad. There have been various security and privacy issues with the video conferencing app, but there are steps you can take to lock things down a little.

Following numerous controversies, Zoom has not only issued an apology but also put a stop on the development of new features while it gets itself in order. In the meantime, there are a various things you can do to increase your privacy and security when you're using Zoom.

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Zoom has been in the headlines a lot recently -- and not always for the reasons the company might have wanted. Thrust into the spotlight due to massively increased usage during the coronavirus pandemic, Zoom has been plagued with numerous security and privacy issues.

Now company CEO Eric S Yuan has issued a lengthy statement to Zoom users, apologizing for "unforeseen issues" and promising to improve things. For now, Zoom will get no new features as the company is focusing on fixing what is wrong, and regaining customer trust.

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Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver has been around for a couple of years now, helping to cater for those looking for a more private and secure internet connection. Now the company has announced a new version of the product, this time with extra protective layers.

1.1.1.1 for Families is essentially a parental control filter, automatically blocking access to "bad sites". This means not only sites that deliver malware, but also adult sites that might not be suitable for younger internet users. But while parents may welcome this automated filtering, 1.1.1.1 for Families has already come in for criticism for incorrectly blocking sites.

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If you're in the market for a free VPN for your desktop PC or laptop, Cloudflare will soon have a new offering.

Following on from the success of its free VPN for mobile devices, the company that's also behind the 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver is now bringing WARP to Windows and macOS -- and there is a Linux version in the works. Cloudflare's WARP is currently available in beta, but not everyone will be able to get access to it straight away.

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