Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

The idea of an injunction to prevent newspapers from publishing certain stories are nothing new, far from it. But in recent years, a new breed of superinjunction has been born. These not only prevent the publishing of stories, but can also block the publishing of the names of those involved. Some superinjunctions are such that even reporting the existence of the superinjunction is prohibited.

In recent weeks, a celebrity couple took out a superinjunction to prevent the press from publishing details of an alleged affair (well, a threesome if we cut to the chase). The gagging order prevented news outlets in the UK referring to the couple as anything other than the initials PJS and YMA (not their actual initials, by the way) and the other participants in the alleged ménage à trois as AB and CD. But today a Scottish newspaper took the decision to reveal the names of the couple -- but it could only do so in its print edition, because of the way laws written for the printed press have been awkwardly applied to the web.

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The British government secretly rolled out powers that permitted the immigration officials to hack the mobile phones of asylum seekers and refugees, the Observer reveals. The Home Office has confirmed the hacking powers which have sparked outrage from privacy and human rights groups.

Since 2013, immigration officials have not only been permitted to hack into migrants' phones and computers, but also to install surveillance equipment in homes and detention centers. With concern about governmental plans for the snooper's charter and the privacy invasion this entails, claims that the powers are needed to "deal effectively with all immigration crime" are likely to fall on deaf ears.

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Apple's battle with the FBI has focused the attention of the technology community on encryption. But while just about all of the big players in the tech world backed Apple's refusal to create a backdoor for the FBI into iOS, Congress has a very different idea about how encryption and governmental access to data should be handled. This is perfectly demonstrated by a new bill.

The draft version of the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 -- penned by Senators Diane Feinstein and Richard Burr -- would essentially force all US companies to decrypt data they may have encrypted, or to provide backdoors when asked. It's a bill described variously as 'dangerous', 'encryption-weakening', and 'anti-security', and it starts off aggressivley in stating that "no person or entity is above the law". In effect, it renders the encryption put in place by the likes of WhatsApp completely pointless as, if the bill is passed, companies would have to decrypt data on demand.

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Microsoft's Windows 10 Roadmap for business users reveals that the eagerly-anticipated Windows 10 Anniversary Edition is due to launch in July this year. At Build 2016 earlier in the month, Microsoft said that the big update was due to launch 'this summer', but did not get any more precise than this for the Redstone branch release.

But digging into roadmap documents, Microsoft makes it clear that it is aiming for a July release. The company has said that the update will bring "significant new features", including taskbar badge notifications and a revamped Start menu, but it is when talking about the new features that are coming to Cortana that the date is revealed.

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Let's not beat around the bush: we know that a lot of you use the likes of the Pirate Bay, KickAssTorrents and the like to grab copies of movies and TV shows. You're probably aware of a number of release groups on the scene, but you might not know that there are fairly strict rules dictating capturing, formatting and naming releases.

This weekend a major change comes into force. Until now MP4 has been the video format of choice, but the change in standards means that this format is being ousted in favor of MKV. There are astoundingly lengthy standards documents covering standard and high definition releases of TV shows, and while the alterations are touted as bringing things up to date, not everyone is happy.

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At Build 2016 earlier this month, Microsoft talked about Project Centennial and the Desktop App Converter. Part of the company's app drive, the tool has been designed to make it easier for developers to convert legacy apps into Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for Windows 10.

This is Microsoft's attempt to get more apps into the Store, making things as easy as possible for devs. Designed to run on the Enterprise and Pro versions of Windows 10 Anniversary Update build 14316 and newer (Redstone), Desktop App Converter is a free tool that can be used to quickly create apps that will run not only on Windows 10 desktops, laptops and tablet, but also phones, HoloLens and Xbox One, taking full advantage of features such as Live Tiles.

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Ransomware is one of the most prevalent security threats at the moment, and each week there are new examples that up the ante a little more. In recent months we have seen cross-platform ransomware, Tesla 4's unbreakable encryption, and the MBR-overwriting antics of PETYA, but a new phishing scam takes another approach.

In a cleverly orchestrated campaign, a phishing scam is doing the rounds whereby malware meets social engineering in a bid to extract cash from victims. It marries together the file-encrypting Maktub ransomware with a thinly-veiled threat -- home addresses. Quoting victims' home addresses to them serves two purposes: it adds a level of authenticity to the phishing email, but also acts as additional leverage by upping the fear level.

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Just a few days ago, WhatsApp trumpeted the roll out of end-to-end encryption for its messaging service. The world rejoiced. With events such as the battle between Apple and the FBI turning attention to encryption, the announcement was well-timed to ride the crest of the wave. But it seems that for all of the bluster and bravado, the news about extra protection may not be quite as good as it seems.

Analysis of WhatsApp's privacy documentation reveals that the Facebook-owned company retains a huge amount of data about messages that are sent. If this all sounds familiar, it's because the retention of metadata is precisely what the NSA was (is?) up to, trawling web communications and upsetting Edward Snowden and privacy advocates around the world. WhatsApp's encryption and policies mean that those who are concerned about their privacy should not rest on their laurels.

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WhatsApp may have a billion users, but Facebook Messenger isn't far behind: Mark Zuckerberg says "900 million people now use Messenger every month". Nowadays, Facebook is about much more than people sharing pictures of breakfast and bitching about their friends, it's also a valuable tool for businesses.

With this in mind, Facebook is adding a number of features to Facebook Messenger that it says will make it easier for businesses to connect and converse with their customers. Usernames will make it easier for people to identify businesses, while Messenger Links and Messenger Codes (just think QR codes with a fresh lick of paint) are being rolled out to make it quicker and easier to start conversations.

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It turned the case of the century in to the case that didn’t really happen. The battle between Apple and the FBI came to a sudden end last month when the US Justice Department said it didn’t need the iPhone manufacturer's help, and then successfully hacked its way into the iPhone in question.

With the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone seemingly successfully cracked, the FBI last night revealed to Senator Dianne Feinstein just how it managed it. There are no current plans to share this information with Apple, but FBI Director James Comey revealed that the tool that was brought in only works on the iPhone 5c.

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The number of convertible tablets vying to take on Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 is on the increase. Some are more than reasonable competition while others are little more than cheap knock-offs. The absurdly low price of the Chuwi Hi12 might fool you into thinking that this 12-inch Chinese tablet falls into the latter camp, but you'd be wrong.

Costing an unbelievably low $289.99 (neatly below the promised $300 threshold), the Hi12 is not strictly a direct competitor to the Surface range... it lacks the all-important kickstand. So we're off to a great start with price, and the looks are certainly not to be sniffed at either; it's not a million miles away from iPad territory. But while looks and price are important, it's what's on the inside -- and how it works -- that matters, and the Hi12 does not disappoint.

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Facebook Live may have started life as a celebrity-only feature, but it soon spread to all users, giving them the opportunity to share their own live video streams. Today the social network unveils a number of new features with the aim of making it easier to find and share live broadcasts, as well as personalizing and interacting with video.

Live video is all about bringing together a community of people to share an experience, so it's little surprise that the first of today's announcements sees the arrival of Facebook Live to Facebook Groups and Facebook Events. Building on the Reactions feature that rolled out recently, live video now also benefits from Live Reactions. But the laundry list of new features doesn't end there.

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The Panama Papers that leaked following the Mossack Fonseca hack turned the spotlight on the rich and famous seemingly involved in money laundering and tax evasion schemes. High profile names from the world of politics appear in the papers -- including close friends of Russian President Putin and the father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

The leaked 11.5 million files, spanning 2.6 TB of data, include references to the relatives of at least eight current or former Chinese officials, says the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Chinese censors have now gone into overdrive, working overtime to eliminate all mentions of this from Chinese websites.

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Its developer -- who wishes to remain anonymous -- says that his website exists to educate people about the importance of privacy. But Swipebuster sells itself as a way for suspicious partners to check upon their other halves if they think they might be making use of Tinder to seek out some 'extracurricular activity'.

Swipebuster taps into the Tinder API to access publicly available data to see if a particular individual appears in the membership database. It’s perfect not only for confirming or denying worst fears, but also a valuable tool for a would-be blackmailer. For just $5, you can conduct three searches to see if people you know are using Tinder.

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A calendar offering reminders might seem like a fairly obvious feature, but here we're talking about Reminders (note the initial cap). Towards the end of last year, Google Calendar on iOS and Android gained support for Reminders -- and, as a result, to-do lists -- and now the same feature is coming to Google Calendar on the web.

Unlike standard calendar appointments, Reminders stick around until you tick them off. There's no need to keep changing the due date on something you don't get round to doing, as it will automatically roll over to the next day and appear on your calendar until you take the appropriate action.

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