Security specialist Kaspersky is warning of the increased vulnerability of Mac systems to malware. It points out that there are now more than 63 million OS X users in the world and that since 2010 the number of antivirus signatures for Macs has increased more than six times.

The top five threats include becoming part of a zombie network via a compromised WordPress site, fake antivirus products like MacDefender and MacGuard, exploitation of software vulnerabilities, targeted attacks and network infections.

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To the untrained eye, this comparison appears to be moot. After all, the Surface Pro is a tablet and the 11.6-inch MacBook Air is, indeed, an ultrabook. Traditionally, the two types of devices rarely have anything in common. Tablets offer touchscreens, portability and great battery life while ultrabooks usually fail to deliver the same level of versatility. So how can one pit the Surface Pro against the smaller MacBook Air?

As my colleague Joe Wilcox explained almost seven months ago, the two devices actually have a great deal in common. The Microsoft-branded tablet kicks off at $899, can be coupled with a dedicated keyboard, has expansion ports, runs a fully-fledged operating system and, to its disadvantage, delivers pretty appalling battery life. The Apple-branded ultrabook packs similar hardware specifications, starts at $999 but offers a built-in keyboard from the get-go. And, in the meantime, the fruit company upgraded its device to Intel "Haswell" Core processors which provide a tremendous bump in battery life. Now, more than ever, choosing between the two is a very tough call.

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In the light of last week’s PRISM revelations the major tech companies have all been quick to deny that they allow the NSA direct access to their servers. But they have also said that they respond to lawful requests for data and have been revealing the numbers involved.

Apple says it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from US federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for customer data between December 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013. In its press release Apple says, "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it". Apple also says that certain types of data such as iMessage and FaceTime conversations along with Map searches and Siri requests are not retained in an identifiable form.

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As you’ll know by now, Microsoft today announced the launch of Office Mobile for Office 365, an iOS app which allows users to access, view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents -- provided you have an Office 365 subscription.

We took it for a spin and despite the limitations, were actually pleasantly surprised. There’s plenty of functionality in the app to explore. The app can view Office documents stored on SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro, or SharePoint, for instance, as well as documents which arrive as email attachments. It syncs with your other Office 365 devices, too, so documents you’ve read elsewhere will appear on your phone’s Recent Documents panel, and when you open one it’ll resume at whatever point you left off.

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Seven months ago, when rumors burned hot, I explained why "Microsoft Office for Android and iOS is a Trojan Horse" -- that any mobile suite would be all about the cloud service. Sure enough, today Microsoft released the strangely named "Office Mobile for Office 365 Subscribers" to the App Store.

Office 365 is the productivity suite's future. Microsoft now claims to be a "devices and services" company. Smartphones are devices, Office 365 is a service and required for the iOS app. What more reasoning is needed? The Redmond, Wash.-based company provides more functionality than I predicted, but does so strictly in mobile context that doesn't diminish the PC product. That said, what Microsoft gives to iOS should be withheld from Android.

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The much talked about iOS version of Microsoft Office finally arrives in the App Store today. While that sounds like great news for anyone hoping to at last be able to (officially) use Word, Excel or PowerPoint on the iPad, you may wish to curb your enthusiasm, as there are some serious limitations with this release.

It's only available in the US for starters (coming to other territories "soon"), and you need to be an Office 365 subscriber to use it. Also it's only optimized for the small screen.

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On June 13, 2013,  a coalition of law enforcement, consumer groups and political leaders named “S.O.S” (Secure Our Smartphones), called for a “kill switch” to be installed in every smartphone. The concept of this kill switch is simple -- when a smartphone is stolen, the owner can have the device permanently disabled. Approximately 1.6 million people in the USA had a mobile device stolen in 2012 and a third of all robberies involves a stolen cell phone -- it is a serious problem. The hope is that overall smartphone theft would be reduced as a disabled device would be worthless.

While the concept makes sense from a law enforcement standpoint, the possibility of misuse and abuse is astronomical and threatens our liberty and freedoms. Once the kill switch is built into these devices, we lose a certain level of autonomy. There will be the potential for a government agency (domestic or foreign), corporation or hackers to disable our devices by using this kill switch for evil purposes. In other words: who will control the kill switch?

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There’s no question that iOS 7 is a sexy looking mobile operating system. Jony Ive and his team have done a fantastic job of reinventing and modernizing the interface, but the great news for fans of Apple products is iOS 7 isn’t all style and no substance.

Apple ran through a lot of the new or improved features yesterday, including Control Center, AirDrop, Photo app, Siri (with added Bing!), iOS in the Car, FaceTime Audio, and iTunes Radio. But there were features that Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering, didn’t mention but which appeared on a slide in the background.

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Yesterday at WWDC, Apple announced iCloud Keychain. This is a password management service that utilizes Apple’s iCloud. It will allow users to sync their website login credentials, Wi-Fi passwords and credit card information across multiple devices (iOS and OS X) using 256-bit AES encryption. On the surface, it sounds like a great feature that would be very convenient for Apple users. However, the world has changed much since the PRISM scandal.

Ever since we learned that the US Government has allegedly infiltrated Apple, such a service is problematic. By storing all of your passwords with an NSA infiltrated company, you could be potentially compromising the security of all of your accounts. It could be especially bad to expose your Wi-Fi passwords as you could be compromising entire networks. While 256-bit encryption is a wonderful thing, it makes no difference if the NSA has direct non-encrypted access -- it would be understandable for users to be suspicious.

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At WWDC, Apple's big annual show, the company finally announces iTunes Radio, a service rumored and bandied about around the internet for some time. Apple, as it is known to do, builds this up to be the be-all and end-all of everything that came before. Is it?

To answer that we must first delve into what iTunes Radio is. According to Apple, customers "have access to Featured Stations, stations inspired by the music you already listen to, and more than 200 genre-focused stations — including everything from Hard Rock to Doo Wop. Your stations evolve based on the music you play and download".

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We all knew that Apple would be revealing a redesigned version of its mobile operating system today at the 24th Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, and we've just been treated to an in-depth look.

As was widely reported, the Jony Ive designed iOS 7 has a flatter, functional design and the skeumorphism -- faux wooden bookshelves, green felt and the like -- that was a central theme in previous versions of the operating system is no more.

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Live at WWDC 2013, Apple's Craig Federighi has just announced the first new non-cat named version of OS X 10.

After admitting Apple had run out of Lion variations, and making a joke about calling it OS X 10 Sea Lion, he revealed OS X 10.9’s real title -- Mavericks (named after the surfing location in Northern California rather than Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun). Which is probably the worst name of any operating system ever. Even worse than Windows Me.

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Apple events are always preceded by rumours and occasional leaks, so we usually have at least a rough idea of what to expect prior to the keynote. There haven’t been any major leaks ahead of this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference which could mean one of two things -- there’s nothing really big coming, or there’s something so big to be announced, security is super tight.

We do know some of what Apple CEO Tim Cook will talk about when he takes to the stage later today, and we have a good idea of what else might be announced, so prepare to get excited for the following…

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What a strange coincidence: Earlier this week, Smithsonian Channel's "Air Disasters" broadcast an episode about the downing of Korean Airlines flight 007 in 1983 -- at the height of the Cold War. Turns out the Soviet Union recovered the black boxes and hid them for a decade. I'm old enough to remember the Cold War and what the United States fought against. I told my wife: "Sometimes I really wish the Soviet empire still existed, so Americans had a measure for government bad behavior". A day later, the Guardian and Washington Post broke what likely is the biggest story about U.S. surveillance since the Watergate break in. The activity stinks of behavior opposed decades ago.

The National Security Agency spies on you, in secret, something many people suspected. The NSA monitors Internet servers, without warrants. In a Google+ comment today, Joe Betsill brilliantly and succinctly captures what changed: "There's a difference between suspicion and evidence". He links to an Electronic Frontier Foundation "Timeline to NSA domestic spying". I strongly suggest reading the EFF material, in addition to the Guardian and Washington Post investigative reports -- so that you are informed.

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FoundersCard is a membership-based community designed for entrepreneurs which offers access to invite-only networking events throughout the world and provides various perks. The latter includes things like discounts for airfare, postal services and VIP treatment at upscale hotels.

The community, which boasts 11,000 members, just added complimentary Avis First memberships (premium service) with 25 percent discounts on car rentals and between five to 10 percent off for JetBlue flights.

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