Public sector workers in the UK will soon be able to use Samsung handsets after the UK government gave the greenlight to devices running Samsung KNOX. The Communications and Electronics Security Group (CESG) tested the KNOX platform and the government has now published End User Devices (EUD) Security Guidance for Samsung KNOX on certain handsets and tablets. It's not clear whether this paves the way for a new wave of BYOD for government workers, but it is certainly a possibility.

Samsung is pleased with the announcement, and Injong Rhee, Senior Vice President of KNOX Business, IT and Mobile Communications Division, says "Samsung devices with KNOX are already extensively deployed globally across the private sector but now with this significant recognition, government agencies across the UK will be able to adopt Samsung KNOX enabled Galaxy smartphones and tablets setting the scene for other governments to follow".

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As something of a browser butterfly, I like to keep an eye on what's happening with browsers other than the one I'm currently using fulltime. Like many tech journalists (and non-journalists for that matter), I gave up on Internet Explorer quite some time ago, opting for Firefox initially. I also dabbled with Opera and Waterfox, amongst others, but for a number of years it was Firefox that delivered web pages to me. Sadly, I noticed that things started to slow down. New versions were more bloated and sluggish, and in the search for better performance, I ended up with Chrome. I've been a Chrome user for years now, but I was recently spurred into trying out Firefox once again.

Quite where the impetus came from, I'm not sure -- just one of those "let’s see if anything's changed" moments, I guess. Apart from little quirks like the refresh button being on the "wrong" side of the program window, Firefox seems pretty decent. I was impressed by the sharpness of the display for starters -- I had forgotten that Chrome handles high DPIs very poorly. As I'm using a Surface Pro running at 1920 x 1080, running at 150 percent DPI scaling is essential (I don’t have microscopes for eyes!) and Chrome makes everything look slightly blurry... not enough to put me off -- I'm still using it, after all -- but Firefox was a revelation!

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Google Glass has gone on widespread sale over in the States again, although only richer gadget fans will want to get a piece of the action, as the device is still priced at $1,500 which represents quite a premium.

In mid-April, Google made Glass available to anyone, but just for a one day sale -- and by all accounts units sold out swiftly.

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The revelations made by Edward Snowden have irreversibly changed the face of the internet. There is now suspicions at every turn, every site and provider is the subject of questioning, and web users are warier than ever before. The use of encryption to hide the content and nature of online activity is nothing new, but it seems that it is very much on the increase. As reported by TorrentFreak, analysis from Sandvine shows that there has been a global increase in the use of encryption.

The figures have been reached by looking at the levels of SSL traffic over the past year, and these show that in North America, during peak hours, encrypted traffic just about doubled. In Europe the increase is even more marked, jumping fourfold so that it now accounts for over six percent of peak time traffic. Europe appears to have a greater interest in encryption than North America, with the latter's SSL traffic accounting for 3.8 percent of peak time traffic.

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Google account holders are warned to be vigilant after an enhanced phishing attack was spotted that can give hackers full access to any user’s account.

Bitdefender, the antivirus security firm, detailed that a hard to spot email is being sent out to customers explaining that they need to increase the email storage quota of the account involved and the threat has so far bypassed Google Chrome’s uniform resource identifiers (URIs).

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If you Google yourself, do you stumble across information you would rather wasn't online? Those naked photos of you cavorting in the garden or a snippet from a drunken rant in an online forum could be sitting there for all to see. The page in question may have gone, but that's not to say that you won’t still appear in Google search results.

Obviously there are situations in which this could be detrimental to your reputation, and it's understandable that you might want something done about it. Following a case presided over by the European Union Court of Justice in Luxembourg, judges have ruled that, in certain circumstances, people may ask a search operator to remove data about them from search results.

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Oracle has won a significant court battle against Google’s Android OS in relation to unauthorized use of its Java programming language that could mean Google paying $1 billion in damages.

The copyright case was decided by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington and stemmed from a 2010 case brought by Oracle that claimed that Google had illegally incorporated elements of Java into Android.

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Android is a mobile operating system, so many people think of it only for tablets and smartphones. However, it is actually very versatile, and has made appearances on both desktops and laptops too. That said, most Android laptops have proven to be low-quality garbage.

Today however, Archos has thrown its hat into the Android-laptop arena, with the all-new ArcBook. The company calls it an "affordable mobile productivity enhancer". I call it a neat little laptop!

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Opening a new business is a very risky ordeal. Many of them end up being unsuccessful, and people's dreams and lives can easily be destroyed as a result. Often, business owners make decisions with their hearts, rather than their heads. When I see a new storefront open in my area, I can usually predict correctly as to which will close and which will prosper. It is sad that the people opening the business are not able to take a step-back and see the same thing.

Google has taken an interest in new businesses and how they utilize technology to be successful. Today, the search-giant releases a report and infographic aimed at helping future upstarts to learn from existing successes.

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In something of a surprise twist on Friday, a court ruled that Oracle is entitled to copyright protection for its Java APIs. This is a case that has been rumbling on for some time now after Oracle sued Google for implementing the APIs into Android, and the implications could be far-reaching. It almost goes without saying that Google will appeal the ruling, although no announcement has actually been made to this effect. The decision that "we conclude that the declaring code and the structure, sequence, and organization of the 37 Java API packages at issue are entitled to copyright protection" seems fairly cut and dried, but the real consequences are yet to be felt.

Back in 2012, it had been decided that there was not a problem with Google, or anyone else, writing code that performed the same function as existing APIs -- this is essentially what Google had to do when implementing the Java APIs in Android -- with the judge at the time stating that "duplication of the command structure is necessary for interoperability". But the latest ruling turns this on its head, which is not good news for Google. "We therefore reverse the district court's copyrightability determination with instructions to reinstate the jury's infringement verdict. Because the jury hung on fair use, we remand Google's fair use defense for further proceedings consistent with this decision".

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Although a lot of people don’t really like Gmail’s web interface, I’ve never had a problem with it. Once you’ve learned your way around, the UI is functional and you can customize the look with themes, and even your own images.

However, according to Geek.com Google is testing a redesigned interface for its web-based Gmail service. As with all tests, it’s possible the new look won’t see the light of day, but the design appears very polished, and barring a few cosmetic tweaks I think there’s a very good chance it will replace the current UI at some point in the future.

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What's that? It's the end of the week already? How did that happen?! Things got off to a slightly slow start, but it ended up being another jam-packed seven days. Microsoft was criticized for continuing to patch Windows XP after support was supposed to have ended, but it does seem as though usage is starting to decline. Interestingly, it is Windows 7 that suffered from a higher malware infection rate according to Microsoft's Security Intelligence Report. Windows 8.x is still struggling to gain a large audience and Wayne looked at why this is the case -- maybe a smartwatch would be a smart move.

The effects of Heartbleed are still being felt, and ExtraHop Networks had some advice during a Q&A session. Symantec unveiled its security roadmap for Advanced Threat Protection, and Dropbox discovered a vulnerability that led to the company pulling access to hyperlinked files. Many big names came together to try to make passwords more exciting -- give it up for World Password Day!

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I was never a big fan of the camera interface that came with KitKat on my Nexus 5. Having to roll my finger about on the screen to get to the various menu options never really appealed. It felt awkward, and I was always missing the selections I wanted.

Anyone running KitKat may have come across the fact that the camera app has changed. My Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 both got it as an automatic download, but if you are running KitKat on a handset or a tablet and don't have the new camera app, you can pop along to the Play store and download it. It's called Google Camera.

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Google acquired smart hardware company Nest Labs at the beginning of the year as part of its move into the home. The Internet of Things is set to be big in the coming years, and Google inevitably wants a slice of that pie.

A new site, Google Nest, has been launched that showcases a number of new Google products created off the back of that purchase, and which are "for living life on the web with ease and comfort" while at the same time restoring "confidence in the opportunities the internet offers". The new products are Google Trust, Google Hug, Google Bee and Google Bye. It all looks very convincing, but it’s actually a parody site set up to take a well-aimed shot at Google’s sometimes questionable policies and practices.

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PC manufacturers' priorities baffle me. For years I bitched about OEMs shipping laptops with low-resolution screens -- even Apple. Sony is, or was, the exception but offering the feature for a price premium. My first 13.3-inch notebook with HD resolution (1600 by 900) was a VAIO. In 2006! Apple only followed the Japanese company six years later. The screen is the gateway to your computer, so why do so many OEMs ship cheap displays? For Macs and many Windows PCs, panels are brighter, if not higher-res, today. But not Chromebooks, even as prices push against the $299 threshold and pop above it.

Yesterday's Intel-Google event was an eye opener, or perhaps eye-strainer for anyone looking for Chromebooks with better screens. During the Q&A, PC execs dodged a couple questions about the displays, the majority of which are 1366 x 768 resolution and dim 200-nit brightness. Resolution matters less when panels are bright and deliver consistent color and contrast from wide viewing angles. Chromebooks consistently ship with the best keyboards on any laptop for any price, and the trackpads are exceptional, too. The displays suck. Only two models are good enough. Most newer models change nothing.

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