Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Being such globally recognized names, you would think that a rebranding of WhatsApp and Instagram would be a crazy exercise... but that's precisely what Facebook is doing.

In a move that is more than a little surprising -- and, many would argue, somewhat pointless -- the social networking giant is to rename the two products Instagram from Facebook and WhatsApp from Facebook. The renaming will make it clear that the company people love to hate is behind the chat and social networking tools.

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There have been privacy concerns about digital assistants for just about as long as there have been digital assistants, and the recent confirmation that Google and Apple were listening to Assistant and Siri conversations has done nothing to allay fears.

The 'were' in that last sentence is important, as both companies have agreed -- at least temporarily -- to cease the practice. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for good PR, Amazon is getting in on the action, giving Alexa users the chance to opt out of having their conversations with its digital assistant listened to -- or "manually reviewed", as Amazon would prefer. Here's how to do just that.

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Microsoft continues with the development of Edge, and a new leak gives Mac users a chance to see what the company is doing with the web browser for their preferred operating system.

Renowned leaker WalkingCat has provided a download link to an unreleased beta version of the Mac build of Microsoft Edge. As it's a beta that hasn't been released to official channels, there are possible stability issues, but it serves as a chance to try out the latest Chromium-base version of Edge for Mac.

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The much-maligned Dash button from Amazon is being killed off for good. Having previously announced that they were being discontinued, Amazon has announced that as of the end of this month, it will no longer be possible to place orders via a physical Dash button.

This does not mean that the Dash ordering service is ceasing completely -- it will continue to exist in the form of virtual Dash button that can be accessed from a range of devices.

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Windows 10 S mode is proving problematic for some people, with a number of users complaining that they are unable to get their computers out of the limited mode.

A number of laptops -- including the Surface Go and Surface Laptop -- come pre-configured to run in Windows 10 S mode, preventing users from changing their search engine in Edge, or from installing software from outside of the Microsoft Store. It is supposed to be possible to exit S mode, but the option has been broken for a number of days.

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Following the revelations that Apple contractors are listening to recordings of things people say to Siri, and Google workers are manually transcribing Assistant recordings, both companies have said they will cease the practice -- at least temporarily.

Both Apple and Google were "listening in" on recordings with a view to improving their respective digital assistants, but privacy concerns have forced them to take action. But while Apple is suspending its "grading" program worldwide, Google is only changing the way it operates in Europe.

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In response to a $5 billion fine for antitrust violations in Europe, Google has announced that it will introduce a new "search engine choice" option next year. It's an idea that is similar to the Browser Choice screen Microsoft introduced following anti-competition complaints about Internet Explorer.

Google will "introduce a new way for Android users to select a search provider to power a search box on their home screen and as the default in Chrome (if installed)" in Europe starting in 2020. The search engines that appear in the list will be determined by auctions. Google rivals will have to bid to be featured in the list, meaning the company will -- controversially -- make money from giving users choice.

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Cisco has agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle a claim that it sold video surveillance software to the American government even though it was aware it contained security vulnerabilities.

A total of fifteen US states filed a case under the False Claims Act after Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Federal Emergency Management Agency all purchased flawed software from Cisco. Rather than improving security as desired, the complainants said that Cisco's software actually made systems less secure.

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NordVPN has announced an important new option for users of the Linux version of its eponymous VPN tool. The company is introducing a new technology called NordLynx which is based on the WireGuard protocol.

The company says that it successfully combines the highspeed connection offered by WireGuard with NordVPN's own privacy-protecting double NAT system.

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Google has released Chrome 76 for Windows, macOS and Linux. As expected from the preview releases, this version of the browser brings a couple of important changes: Flash is now blocked by default, and Incognito mode detection is also blocked.

The blocking of Flash will be welcomed by many, and -- once word spreads about what the implications are (namely that it makes it far easier to get around paywalls) -- the same is likely to be true of the changes to the detection of Incognito mode. The changes have been welcomed by privacy and security advocates.

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As Microsoft continue to push Teams, the company has announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired in 2021.

While this is far from surprising, this is the first time a date has been mentioned so users can prepare to transition away. With the retirement date set at July 31, 2021, users have two years to get ready for a move to Teams.

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You might well be waiting for news of the new iPhone line-up, and we'll know more about that soon. In the meantime, however, Apple has a new product for its loyal fanbase. A credit card.

The Apple Card has been talked about for some time, and now Tim Cook has revealed that it will be launching in August. The news came from the Apple CEO during an earnings call yesterday, and he said that the company's employees have been beta testing the Apple Card, which comes in both digital and physical forms.

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The fingers of Facebook have spread like a cancer across the internet. Even people who have made the conscious decision to boycott the network find it near-impossible to completely avoid its reach thanks to the prevalence of Like buttons.

Now the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that websites with embedded Like buttons can be held responsible for the transmission of data to Facebook. This is a particularly important ruling due to the fact that Like buttons can be used to share information about site visitors without the need for the button to be clicked.

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A hacker has been arrested following a massive data breach at Capital One. The attacker -- Paige A Thompson, also known as "erratic" -- was able to access the credit applications of 100 million Americans and 6 million Canadians after exploiting a "configuration vulnerability".

In most cases, personal details such as name, date of birth, address and phone number were exposed by Thompson, but for tens of thousands of individuals, she also gained access to credit scores, Social Security numbers and account balances.

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For Windows 10 users looking to install a Linux-based operating system within Windows, WSL -- Windows Subsystem for Linux -- was a blessing from Redmond. And things are just getting better and better.

The latest Insider build of Windows 10, Windows 10 20H1 build 18945 includes Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2) with a couple of key enhancements. Not only are you now able to gain localhost access to network resources, you can also make use of your preferred Linux kernel.

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