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Facebook has rushed to deny allegations that it is in talks with banks with a view to gathering information about users' card transitions and other financial information.

The allegations came in a story in the Wall Street Journal which claimed the social networking giant had asked US banks to share information about their customers. Facebook is said to have told banks that information about customers could be used to offer further services to users, but at least one bank had been scared off by the privacy implications.

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There was outcry when Microsoft recently announced plans to kill off Skype classic (better known as Skype 7.0) and force users to migrate to Skype 8.0 -- the modern version of the app. But after an outpouring of disappointment from Skype users, Microsoft has relented... a bit.

While it's not true to say that Skype classic has been saved, the kill date of September 1 has been extended -- until when is not clear. Microsoft says that it is extending support for the much- (well, more-) loved messaging tool "for some time".

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Apple didn't invent wireless smartphone charging. Actually, the iPhone-maker was far behind in this regard -- there were already many Android and Windows Phones with the capability. Hell, the Palm Pre had that feature all the way back in 2009! The iPhone didn't get it until 2017. Isn't Apple supposed to be a trendsetter?

And yet, despite being a laggard, as is typical with Apple, its use of Qi charging accelerated the standard's popularity. Shockingly, the comapny still doesn't sell its own such charging dock -- its own product has been delayed. Thankfully, there are plenty of third party wireless chargers that are iPhone compatible. Today, Logitech unveils a Qi wireless charger that is designed for the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus. Called "POWERED," it cradles the phone and props it up vertically. This eliminates the possibility of misalignment, which can cause a failure to charge. And yes, POWERED supports Apple's 7.5watt fast-charging.

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Microsoft Surface Go is not an expensive tablet. Starting at just $399, it costs far less than the Surface Pro. Still, if you are spending your hard-earned money on it, you probably want to protect the investment. After all, if it does break, you probably cannot repair it on your own.

A case is a great way to shield the Surface Go from damage, and today, Urban Armor Gear launches two such products. Both cases -- the Metropolis and Plasma -- are MIL-STD 810G 516.6 rated and compatible with the official type cover. They even feature a place to hold the Surface Pen.

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Google has revealed what the P in Android P -- otherwise known as Android 9 -- stands for. Despite previous suggestions that it was going to be Pistachio, it is in fact Android Pie.

Just let that half-assed name sink in for a moment. Pie. Not even a specific pie to evoke some sort of imagery. Just a bog standard, run of the mill, common or garden... pie. The name is something of a damp squib and now the game of wait-and-see-if-I-actually-get-the-update begins. Google has already made the source code available on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and Pie is rolling out to Pixel owners now. Everyone else will just have to wait to see when -- or if -- they get it. So what's new?

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When it comes to processors, AMD has always been seen as the "underdog." Early on, many in-the-know system builders chose AMD chips for their computers as they offered comparable performance to Intel at a more affordable price. As time progressed, AMD retained its affordability, but Intel definitely pulled away from a performance standpoint.

With the Ryzen line, AMD has been on Intel's heels. With the Threadripper line in particular, AMD has been eating Intel's lunch, offering an unrivaled multicore experience. Today, AMD announces that its 2nd generation of Ryzen Threadripper is available immediately for pre-order. This is very exciting, as the top-model, the 2990WX, features an insane 32 cores and 64 threads. This drool-worthy chip has even set a Cinebench world record.

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How do you know if you're reading tweets from a real person or a bot? As bot technology becomes more sophisticated it's increasingly hard to tell.

Researchers at Duo Security have collected and analyzed data from 88 million public Twitter accounts using machine learning to spot the tactics used by malicious bots to appear legitimate and avoid detection.

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Windows 10 has got over its early teething problems, and is now shaping up to be an excellent operating system. It might have taken a long while to get there, but the fact it’s about to overtake Windows 7 shows how far the new OS has come.

However, you only have to read one of our lively comments sections to realize there are plenty of people who still prefer Windows 7 and have no desire to switch to Windows 10.  Those people typically aren’t fans of Microsoft’s telemetry gathering, forced adverts, and unwanted features, and I get that. However, there is a way you can quickly lock down the new OS and make it -- dare I say -- more like an updated version of Windows 7.

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HyperX's cloud headsets are very popular with gamers and it's not hard to see why. The gaming headsets are comfortable, well-built, and offer solid audio performance. Not to mention, they are reasonably priced.

Today, HyperX launches the "Cloud for PS4" gaming headset. Essentially, it is just the existing Cloud headset with a blue paint job and PlayStation logo. That's OK though -- if you are a PlayStation fan in need of a headset, it's a great way to show off your fandom.

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Alex Jones -- conspiracy theorist extraordinaire and founder of right-wing media platform Infowars -- has fallen foul of a number of companies' policies recently, and Apple is the latest to take exception to his output.

YouTube started things off recently by removing some of his videos, and he was then suspended from Facebook for a month. Spotify decided that Jones' podcasts were "hate content" and removed several from its platform. Now Apple has done much the same, removing Jones' own podcasts from iTunes as well as those of Infowars.

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I'm a GNOME fan, but I appreciate other desktop environments too. KDE isn't my favorite, but when implemented properly, I can definitely see the allure. My favorite KDE-focused Linux distribution is Netrunner Rolling. It is based on the rock-solid Manjaro and Arch, but more importantly, it has a very polished user interface. Since it is follows a rolling release, the packages are always up to date too. An overall excellent distro for both Linux beginners and experts alike.

As a rolling release, it isn't necessary to upgrade the operating system at milestones, as with, say, Ubuntu or Fedora. But still, periodically, the ISOs are refreshed to roll up the latest updates and fixes. This way, there is less updating needed after a fresh install. Today, Netrunner Rolling 2018.08 sees release, meaning for those of you that are anal about maintaining up-to-date install media, it is time to burn a DVD or update a flash drive.

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A major virus infection forced the closure of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) factories just before the weekend; some remain closed or only partly-operational. TMSC is the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world and is responsible for producing iPhone processors for Apple.

The company issued a statement indicating that it was not carried out by a hacker. The impact on Apple's iPhone production schedule is also not known, although TSMC expects the incident "to cause shipment delays and additional costs".

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Piriform rolled out updates for CCleaner on a monthly basis, and this is something that has continued since Avast took over. The latest update, CCleaner 5.45, wasn’t at all well received due to a number of changes affecting privacy, and the company’s response to the matter proved to be unsatisfactory -- to say the least.

Now it seems that Avast has seen the light, and pulled the latest update. The current version available is 5.44. On its forums the company had this to say:

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Think of dating apps, and the likes of Tinder, Grindr and Match.com spring to mind, and now Facebook is looking to take itself a slice of the action. We first heard about Facebook Dating at the social network's F8 conference back in May, and now more details are coming out.

Currently undergoing internal testing with employees, Facebook Dating is looking to be a feature of Facebook rather than a standalone app. Leaked images now give us an idea of what to expect from it -- but there'll be no swiping right.

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Fortnite for Android is one of the most eagerly-anticipated game launches of recent times, but the impending release could turn out to be something of a security nightmare. Following on from recent rumors, Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite will not be made available through the Google Play Store.

Instead users will have to download the game directly from Fortnite.com -- something which means they will have to lower the security settings for their phone by allowing the installation of apps from unknown sources. Despite the security risks involved in this, Epic is eager to avoid paying a 30 percent cut to Google for Play Store distribution; but how long before the plan backfires?

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