Anonymous accuses Facebook of siding with Islamic State [Update]


Facebook has just updated -- or rather clarified -- its Community Standards document, which outlines the type of content that are not allowed on the social network. Among the list of banned topics is, as you might expect, terrorism.
Anonymous has been battling terrorism online for a while now, taking down Islamic State related sites and Twitter accounts via its #OpISIS campaign. The aim of this operation is to prevent the terrorist organization from spreading its message online, but now Facebook has taken steps to prevent Anonymous from spreading its own message on the social network.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver still serving up malware


Three weeks ago we reported on how celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s website was serving up malware. The site, www.jamieoliver.com, has around 10 million visitors a month, so the fact it had been hacked to redirect people to an exploit kit was a big deal.
Naturally, Jamie Oliver’s management team acted swiftly to fix things, except according to Malwarebytes, which discovered the original problem, the site is now dishing up digitally signed malware.
Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana headed to iOS and Android


Microsoft regularly pits its personal assistant Cortana against Apple’s Siri in a series of adverts, with predictable results. Cortana is always much smarter, funnier and more helpful. She’s certainly one of the high points of Windows Phone, and is set to make her debut on the desktop when she arrives as part of Windows 10 later this year.
However, it seems Cortana isn’t just going to be confined to working on Windows devices. According to Reuters, Microsoft is also working on bringing the personal assistant to iOS and Android in the form of a standalone app.
'Anonymous' targets Kanye West


Anonymous is a very loose collective of hackers. In the video setting the record straight on #OpISIS, it is described as a family that is as "divided and fractional as any more traditional, not so Anonymous family in any city, town, or isolated rural village in the world".
Almost anyone can claim to be in Anonymous, and launch their own attacks or operations, and proving the point, someone claiming to be from the hacktivist collective has released a video targeting Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian.
Anonymous sets the record straight regarding its battle with ISIS


Hacktivist network Anonymous has been taking down ISIS related sites and Twitter accounts in a bid to prevent the terrorist organization from spreading its message online. Anonymous has declared ISIS a virus, and itself the cure.
However, cyber blog Krypt31a has described Anonymous's recent actions as Whack-a-mole without a plan, spurring a representative of the hacktivist group to issue a video reply setting the record straight.
No sex please, I'm checking my emails (and then updating Facebook)


According to a new survey from Durex and Durham University’s Center for Sex, Gender and Sexualities, a large portion of us are more likely to be seduced by the lure of our smartphones than our partners.
40 percent of couples admitted to delaying sex because of smartphones or tablets, while others said they’d raced through the act in order to respond to messages. One third of respondents admitted to interrupting sex in order to answer the phone (because, you never know, it might be the spouse calling to find out where you are).
BBC Micro Bit is a free Raspberry Pi alternative for kids


It’s no secret that the Raspberry Pi has its roots in the microcomputers of the 1980s. And one device in particular inspired the creation of the massively popular barebones system -- the BBC Micro. Auntie Beeb’s computer was available in two models -- A, and B -- as is the Raspberry Pi.
Interestingly, while the BBC Micro inspired the Raspberry Pi, the Raspberry Pi has now inspired a new BBC Micro -- the Micro Bit.
SXSW Accelerator continues to discover amazing new startups [Q&A]


The annual SXSW Accelerator competition presented by Oracle is set to take place on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15 at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.
I spoke to Chris Valentine, event producer for SXSW Accelerator and Startup Village, about the competition, and what innovations and trends we can expect to see emerging this year.
I should want an Apple Watch -- but I don't


I’m the target audience for the Apple Watch. I own an iPhone, and iPad, I’ve invested heavily in apps over the years, and I wear a watch so am used to glancing at my wrist when I want to see the time, rather than looking at my phone screen. The price doesn’t scare me off, either. Going into the Spring Forward event I was around 85 percent certain I would be buying an Apple Watch.
But now? Now I really don’t want one at all.
HBO announces HBO NOW streaming service -- exclusive to Apple at launch


The Apple 'Spring Forward' event is currently underway, and the first big announcement is that HBO NOW, the name of Home Box Office’s standalone premium streaming service, will be exclusive -- initially at least -- to Apple customers.
Similar to HBO GO, HBO NOW will offer more than 2,000 titles online and includes every episode of every season of its programming, including of course, Game of Thrones. It costs $14.99 a month and Apple customers who sign up in April can enjoy a 30-day free trial. It will be available to watch on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, or directly on Apple TV.
Watch Apple's 'Spring Forward' event live on any device including Windows and Android


Whether you think the Apple Watch will revolutionize wearables, or be a rare misstep for Apple, we’re about to find out as the tech giant is all set to launch its latest new product at a 'Spring Forward' event which is being hosted today at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.
While the Apple Watch will be the center of attention, it’s possible that Apple will have a few other products to show off too including maybe a Retina MacBook Air and Beats Music Service.
ASUS RP-AC52 Dual-Band Wireless Range Extender: An affordable solution to patchy Wi-Fi [Review]


My home broadband connection is a speedy (up to) 152Mbps, and when I’m downloading on a PC connected to the router, I get impressive speeds. But because the router is in the basement (where my home office is), accessing the internet in other rooms via Wi-Fi is often flaky and unreliable. At times I can’t connect at all.
I’ve boosted the connection with multiple TP-Link 300Mbps Universal Wi-Fi Range Extenders and while that’s helped, the truth is the end result is still far from great. ASUS’s RP-AC52, an 802.11ac concurrent dual-band wireless range extender, looks to be a suitable solution to my woes -- but is it?
Next-gen sports and fitness devices to launch at Wearable Technology Show


The Wearable Technology Show is nearly upon us. The event -- the largest such show in the world -- takes place on 10-11 March 2015 at ExCeL in London and will be a must-attend for anyone in the UK with an interest in wearables.
The show will feature over a hundred technology innovators from all over the world, with many launching new products, or introducing existing ones to new markets. Firms with new sports and fitness devices at the show include:
More screenshots of Windows 10 build 10022 leak on to the web


A week ago we had our first look at Windows 10 Professional Technical Preview Build 10022 in the form of screenshots from renowned Russian Windows leaker Wzor. There was also some screens and release notes for build 10014.
As you might expect that was just the start of the leak, and more screenshots from Build 10022 have appeared on the web (again from Wzor), including ones showing off the desktop, Settings, Task View and more.
Happy! 20th! Birthday! Yahoo!


Earlier I posted that Yahoo had lost market share in February, despite now being the default search engine in Firefox for US users. But boy do I feel churlish now as it turns out today is Yahoo’s birthday, and I’m sure with a bit of thought I could have come up with a better gift.
Yahoo is officially 20 years old, and while the company has certainly seen better days, it’s also survived through some turbulent times. In 2008 Microsoft tried to buy it for about $47.5bn, but Yahoo wanted to get more money, a move which backfired badly. Instead of a sale, the company ended up agreeing to outsource search to Bing, a move at the time my colleague Joe Wilcox described, rightly, as a "strange one". Microsoft, he said was "Dumb", and Yahoo was "Dumber".
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 30 years now. He’s written for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a fair few of them in his time also. If you like what you read, you can Buy Me a Coffee!
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