Google in privacy policy changes across its services

Google has faced privacy concerns from regulators over its social networking sites

Google has changed its privacy policy, streamlining it across its multiple services including search, email, video and social networking sites.

More than 60 different policies will be combined into one that will go into effect 1 March, the company said.

Google said the new policy will give people more relevant search results and help advertisers find customers.

Google has previously faced criticism over the sharing of users data.

"We're rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it in a more readable way," said Alma Whitten, Google's director of privacy, product and engineering.

The single privacy policy will apple to Google search, Gmail, YouTube and Google+, its social networking site.

The main change applies to users who have Google accounts.

"If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries, or tailor your search results, based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail and YouTube," the company said, explaining the changes.

The revision comes after Google's previous attempt at social networking, Buzz, was shut down.

The company was criticised for inadvertently revealing users' most e-mailed contacts to other participants through the Buzz platform.

Last year, Google and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement to prevent Google from misrepresenting how it uses personal information and from sharing a user's data without approval.

Google said it had been in touch with regulators over these latest changes to its privacy policy, which will apply globally, according to the Associated Press news agency.

IMF: Global economy 'in danger zone' over euro crisis

Jose Vinals, IMF: "A failure to address underlying tensions could precipitate a global crisis"

The world's economy is "deeply into the danger zone" because of risks from the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

The IMF predicts the global economy will grow by 3.25% in 2012, down from an earlier forecast of 4%.

The growth forecast for the UK economy has been cut to 0.6% from 1.6%.

But the eurozone is set for a "mild recession" in 2012, with GDP expected to shrink by 0.5%, compared with a previous forecast of 1.1% growth.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls called for the government to rethink its austerity plan in the light of the IMF estimates.

"Last year the IMF was clear that if growth undershot expectations then the British government should reconsider the pace of spending cuts and tax rises which choked off our recovery well before the recent eurozone crisis, pushed up unemployment and has seen borrowing forecasts soar," said Mr Balls.

"Now the IMF has slashed their growth forecasts and confirmed that growth in Britain will indeed be much lower than they expected. And they have called on countries with low interest rates, like the UK, to reconsider the speed of their spending cuts and tax rises."

In response, the government said the IMF predictions matched those made by the independent Office of Budgetary Responsibility, which informs government economic policy.

"The IMF has downgraded its growth forecasts for all the major economies, reflecting the deterioration in the global outlook since their last forecasts in September," said a Treasury spokesperson.

"Their expectations for UK growth are in line with those of the Office of Budgetary Responsibility, and stronger than for the other major European economies."

Eurozone growth

Growth estimates have been reduced for the main eurozone countries, including Germany, which is widely seen as the powerhouse of the region.

Germany is forecast to grow 0.3% in 2012, down from the 1.3% originally predicted in September.

France is expected to show 0.2% growth in 2012, down from 1.4%.

However, the IMF stands by its 1.8% growth prediction for the US, based on recent strong domestic data on jobs and manufacturing.

Risk of 'spillovers'

Emerging markets, such as central and eastern Europe and Asia, could also be hit by the eurozone crisis.

The IMF said: "While these markets have been quite resilient to shocks and developments in major economies in the past year, recent indicators have weakened significantly and the general business climate has deteriorated."

The IMF said Europe's most pressing challenge was to restore confidence and put an end to the crisis in the euro area.

It added that world economies needed "decisive and consistent policy action" to improve the current financial environment.

"There are three requirements for a more resilient recovery: sustained but gradual adjustment, ample liquidity and easy monetary policy, mainly in advanced economies, and restored confidence in policymakers' ability to act."

Separately, EU economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said he expected a "moderate recession" across Europe in the first half of this year.

On Monday, IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned the global economy could fall into an economic spiral reminiscent of the 1930s unless action was taken on the eurozone crisis.

In its update to its September report, the IMF warned that the "United States and other advanced economies are susceptible to spillovers from a potential intensification of the eurozone crisis".

Sony 'boosts low-light picture quality' with white pixels

Sample pictures suggest that images taken with the new technology (right) display more detail

Sony is promising improved low-light photography from its forthcoming range of smartphone camera sensors, thanks to the addition of white-light pixels.

The technology adds the white-light detectors to the red, green and blue (RGB)-sensing pixels already included in its existing devices.

Kodak patented a similar technology in 2007 but never put it to use. It is unclear whether Sony licensed the idea.

The move may help Sony sell more sensors to other manufacturers.

Smartphones typically use smaller lenses and image sensors than dedicated cameras, delivering blurred or dark pictures in low light.

Only a limited number have flashlight capability, which can be taxing on battery life and produce washed-out pictures.

After focusing on megapixels for years, camera sensor-makers are increasingly promoting low-light functionality as a selling point.

"This is good news for device makers, they can improve their cameras and give consumers a more functional camera that will work in better lighting situations," said Brian Blau, research director at the technology consultants Gartner.

"That really means consumers have to think less about how to process their pictures and just have fun taking them."

Dynamic range

Although white-light sensing pixels cannot distinguish colour, they have a higher sensitivity to light across the entire visible spectrum thanks in part to the fact they do not have a colour filter covering them.

Software is then used to combine this information with the detail recorded by the RGB pixels to provide a better shot.

"The reason why they are doing it is to capture more information about the shadow areas and to help it increase the dynamic range of the image, which in theory should help mobile phone sensors and very small compact camera sensors pick up more detail," said Richard Sibley, senior technical writer at Amateur Photographer magazine.

When Kodak patented the idea it noted that the technology would be suitable in situations involving "short exposure time, small aperture, or other restriction on light reaching the sensor".

It specifically mentioned "non-camera devices such as mobile phones and automotive vehicles" as two examples.

Sony's press release notes that introducing white-light sensing pixels would normally have the side-effect of "degrading" the picture.

But it adds: "Sony's own device technology and signal processing realises superior sensitivity without hurting image quality."

Sony aims to ship samples of the new sensor in March and says consumers may be able to buy devices using the technology later this year or early 2013.

Neither Sony nor Kodak responded to requests for more detail about the patents involved.

Organic sensors

Several camera makers are pursuing new ways of improving low-light performance.

The most common method is to use another technique pioneered by Sony: "back-lit" sensors.

The method involves shifting the circuit wiring that supports the pixels from the top of the sensor to its underside, allowing the pixels to be larger and so capture more light.

Sony's new "RGBW" sensors also use this feature.

However, Fujifilm is also working on an alternative technology involving a sensor with an ''organic'' layer which it says improves sensitivity, allowing the pixel sizes to be made smaller while capturing similar levels of detail. The firm was granted a US patent for the invention last year.

However, Fujifilm's innovation is thought to be destined for large mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses, rather than the smartphones Sony is targeting with its new hardware.

beautiful images of nature

beautiful images of nature

Beautiful Scenery

Beautiful pictures of a nature

China to extend controls over internet microblogs

China's millions of internet-users now face tighter regulation

China says it plans to compel more users of internet microblogs - similar to Twitter - to register with their real names.

The internet regulator, Wang Chen, said pilot schemes in five Chinese cities would eventually be extended.

Name verification would become standard for new users, he said, and would be required of existing users later.

China's microblogs often highlight official misconduct, but the government says some spread malicious rumours.

Critics say real-name registration is an attempt to deter negative comments about the government and to make it easier to trace the authors of such postings.

Microblogs quadrupled

Twitter - along with Facebook - is banned in China, and the internet is strictly controlled to block content that the authorities deem offensive or politically unacceptable.

But microblogs, or weibo - short-message services similar to Twitter - have become hugely popular. The number of microblog users quadrupled in 2011, according to a think-tank report, with nearly half of China's 513 million internet users accessing weibo sites.

In December 2011 several Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shenzhen, began requiring weibo users to register with their real names before posting comments online.

The December regulations affected millions of microbloggers using the largest weibo companies, Sina, Sohu and Tencent, which are based in those cities.

Wang Chen, the minister in charge of the State Council Information Office, told reporters in Beijing that real-name registration would be extended to other areas once the pilot programmes had proved successful.

Name verification would be standard for new users, he said, while existing users would be required to register later.

'Harmful information'

"On the one hand, microblogs can reflect the social situation and public opinion, and broadcast a positive public voice," Mr Wang was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

"At the same time, microblogs... can make it easy to disseminate a few irrational voices, negative public opinion and harmful information."

In 2011, events such as the Wenzhou high-speed train crash and mass protests in Dalian and Wukan quickly achieved national prominence through weibo, where messages and images can be forwarded thousands of times.

Analysts say the Communist authorities in Beijing have become increasingly concerned about the speed with which weibo can spread information not controlled by official media.

Advocates of free speech have described the latest measures as an attempt to inhibit online discussion as China embarks on a year of political transition in 2012.

Facebook Koobface worm 'hacker gang named'

Sophos researchers identified a network of connections linking group members

Alleged cybercriminals behind an internet worm, which spread via Facebook and other social networks, have been named.

The suspected gang were tracked down to St Petersburg after an investigation by Facebook and cybersecurity researchers.

The worm gave the gang control of hundreds of thousands of computers.

While not the largest such network of hijacked machines or "botnet", the so-called Koobface worm is notable for its targeting of social networks.

The security company Sophos published details of an extensive investigation into Koobface on its blog.

The report, based on work by independent researcher Jan Dromer, and the firm's Dirk Kollberg, details how the suspects were tracked down.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, told the BBC he believed they had identified the right people: "We're pretty confident. I mean obviously we have to assume these people are innocent until proven guilty

"It's very difficult to be 100% certain of these things. Of course it's always possible that someone could be trying to frame these people, but the evidence feels pretty strong to us. Certainly there's enough evidence to investigate these people."

None of the alleged gang members have been arrested or charged with offences connected to Koobface.

The BBC attempted to contact members of the group via a business linked to the gang but was unsuccessful.

Security researchers say Koobface became active in 2008.

The worm spread through social networks, presenting users with bogus links to online videos.

The links encouraged users to install a copy of the Koobface malware masquerading as a Flash update.

The worm was even able to create fake social networking profiles able to propagate the malware.

"It can create Facebook accounts and then use those accounts to start sending links to people," Mr Cluley said.

Researchers believe that up to 800,000 machines could have been infected by the worm.

Facebook is expected to share details of the gang with security and internet companies later.

Mr Cluley is aware that publishing details of the suspects will affect the inquiry into their activities: "These sort of investigations can take years. I think in an ideal world then these identities wouldn't have become public knowledge. But the cat is out of the bag now and we have to take a different tactic.

"We've been sharing this information now for a couple of years with law enforcement agencies in the USA, UK and Germany who've been working with their Russian colleagues. What we really need now is some way to stop them [the gang] taking advantage of people," he said.

Money trail

Clues discovered on the server used to control machines hijacked by the Koobface worm helped researchers track the gang down.

The Sophos report suggests that, far from maintaining a low-profile, the alleged cybercriminals were able to hide in plain sight. Researchers were even able to closely follow the cybercriminals movements via social networking sites according Mr Cluley: "They are all over the internet. We were able to track them on the likes of Foursquare so we could actually track some of them hour by hour."

The company estimates the gang was making in the region of $2m every year. But Mr Cluley says that the cybercriminals' desire to keep an eye on their earnings assisted the researchers.

"They were receiving daily SMS updates on how much money they were making, because we saw that - we could also see their phone numbers."

He says there is some frustration at the slow response of the authorities: "It's pretty well known who they are now, we just need the Russian police to go and investigate this and stop them."

Facebook was not available for comment, however speaking to the New York Times, Joe Sullivan the firm's chief security officer said people who engaged in this type of cybercrime "need to know that their name and real identity are going to come out eventually".