What's in a name?

Well, quite a lot when it comes to the web, actually. Picking the perfect domain name can be as difficult as naming a child, and when you think about how much time and effort you're going to put into nurturing your online baby, it's potentially an equally daunting undertaking.

But it needn't be, so long as you consider a few key factors. We spoke to Paul Roach, SEO pro and CEO of parked-domain monetising specialists Product Wave about what most to look for when buying a domain name.

Every website starts with a domain (but not all domains are equal)

There are 18 (soon to be 19) domain extensions to choose from, but the majority of businesses choose either a .com, .net or a country specific domain (such as .co.uk). You don't see too many sites on .biz or .info domains because they have been somewhat devalued through widespread availability and spam. There are always exceptions to the rule, however and you can use other domain extensions creatively (think bit.ly).
 
 
What should you look for when you're buying a domain?

If you're looking for a .com or country domain you're probably going to have to be pretty creative when you're choosing a new domain name. You can choose to go down the keyword route (user-testing.com is a great example of this, they rank at #1 on Google for their chosen name, mainly due to the keyword-keyword domain) which ensures that (almost) every link you get is going to hit your target keywords, or you can start a brand from the beginning, and build through brand awareness.
 
Whatever you do, don't go down the route of buying-a-great-domain-with-hundreds-of-hypens-in-it.com. How many times have you seen a link to a site with multiple hyphens and clicked on it, never mind bought anything? There is nothing inherently wrong with multiple hyphen domains, but the user perception is bad, and there's good evidence that it counts as a negative factor in search engine ranking algorithms.
 

All the "good" domains are gone

Following on from the point above, it's true that the majority of single (and double) keyword domains have been snapped up already. That leaves you with a couple of options. Try to pick a domain that is very brandable, rather than keyword led (you may still need to buy it from someone, but it will be cheaper) or enter the domain auction marketplace to pick up the perfect one for your business. This can be expensive, so set a budget, and don't set your heart on a specific domain name unless you're willing to break the bank.
 
 
Google doesn't give any love to new domains... does it?

It's true that starting from scratch with a new domain puts you behind the curve as far as immediately competing for high volume search terms, but the idea that you can't compete at all is wrong. You aren't going to rank at #1 for "poker" in month 1 (or probably even month 10) but there are plenty of long tail terms that will drive you qualified traffic while building towards a bigger keyword.

For example, if I'm entering the "fishing" market I'm unlikely to rank for generic top level terms like "fishing" and "fishing equipment". But I can probably rank for secondary and related terms such as "fly fishing equipment" that contain my long term keywords. In this example, a more brandable domain name is probably going to be a better long term bet than fly-fishing-equipment.com (which is not available but the .co.uk and .net are!). Unless all you're going to sell is fly fishing items that is...
 
 
What about the new gTLDs?

Considering they are going to cost $180,000 dollars, and require around the same level of qualification and application criteria as "building a skyscraper" they will be out of reach for the majority of businesses. However, big brands will have to decide if their current domain strategy is adequate, or if they should they move to a new .BRAND domain (or should they simply reserve the domain to stop other companies potentially using it)? A lot will depend on how the new domains are perceived by the public (and the search engines) and whether global brands think it's worthwhile to redo years of domain management. For newer brands, the question will probably be easier to answer; it would be a surprise if .twitter and .google aren't reserved in the first round of registrations.

Product Wave is a new service designed to make the most of un-used or "parked" domains. The platform allows even those with no coding skill to purchase a domain and make cash from it within minutes, quickly turning a dormant domain into a website products for sale and money to be earned from merchant feeds and affiliate marketing programs such as the Commission Junction and Amazon.

Free to use for anyone with one domain, a small monthly fee upgrades Product Wave to a pro service for those with multiple domains, providing analytics, automatic sitemap generation, reporting from a central control panel, content generation, template and logo creation, link development, and domain management services.

Click here for more info on Product Wave.

Justin Timberlake may have only recently nabbed himself an ownership stake in the flailing social network MySpace, but it seems the SexyBack star already has big plans for the website. Chief among these is a possible X-Factor style talent contest, aimed at raising the profile of MySpace's newly-focussed musical leanings.

"Whether it becomes a talent competition or something like that, those are things that we will still flesh out. We definitely want to bring the industry back to MySpace to really look at the talented people that have put their faces there," said Timberlake's manager Johnny Wright to the Hollywood Reporter.

So dedicated does the star seem to be to rejuvinating the website that within hours of Specific Media buying MySpace from News Corp, he sent an email to Wright in the early hours of the morning which read "Are you up? My mind is going dizzy with ideas. I need to talk."

"There's a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favourite entertainers, listen to music, watch videos, share and discover cool stuff and just connect. Myspace has the potential to be that place," said Timberlake just after the acquisition of the social network.

"Art is inspired by people and vice versa, so there's a natural social component to entertainment. I'm excited to help revitalise Myspace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together in one community."

Timberlake is said to have a dedicated team working for him at MySpace, where he will have his own office.

Specific Media bought MySpace from News Corp last Wednesday (June 29th) for the measly sum of $35 million (£22 million). News Corp had bought MySpace at the height of its powers in 2005 for $580 million dollars, but the monumental rise of Facebook saw MySpace quickly lose users, and as a result, its high valuation.

LulzSec, the hacking collective that have courted media controversy for the last 50 days, have decided to call it a day.

After popping a final, virus-filled release of data via a torrent, the group are now disbanding as the media and authorities close increasingly in upon them.

"For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. All to selflessly entertain others - vanity, fame, recognition, all of these things are shadowed by our desire for that which we all love. The raw, uninterrupted, chaotic thrill of entertainment and anarchy. It's what we all crave, even the seemingly lifeless politicians and emotionless, middle-aged self-titled failures. You are not failures. You have not blown away. You can get what you want and you are worth having it, believe in yourself," the statement reads.

"While we are responsible for everything that The Lulz Boat is, we are not tied to this identity permanently. Behind this jolly visage of rainbows and top hats, we are people. People with a preference for music, a preference for food; we have varying taste in clothes and television, we are just like you."

The statement then takes a little bit of a strange turn:

Even Hitler and Osama Bin Laden had these unique variations and style, and isn't that interesting to know? The mediocre painter turned supervillain liked cats more than we did,"

Not quite sure what they're getting at there, but they finish off in rallying style:

"We truly believe in the AntiSec movement. We believe in it so strongly that we brought it back, much to the dismay of those looking for more anarchic lulz. We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us. The support we've gathered for it in such a short space of time is truly overwhelming, and not to mention humbling. Please don't stop. Together, united, we can stomp down our common oppressors and imbue ourselves with the power and freedom we deserve."

Thought to number some 6 or so people, LulzSec attacked Sony Entertainment websites, Nintendo, the NHS and the Arizona Law Enforcement agency, among other targets.

News International publications including The Sun's online presence and The Times are reportedly the latest targets for hackers following the recent wave of attacks on major web destinations.

Initially, the attacks were being attributed to LulzSec, the hacking collective whose recent high-profile attacks have seen them garner lots of media coverage. It was thought that they were responding to the coverage of the arrest of Ryan Cleary on June 22nd, one of their number who has since been charged with 5 offences, accused of DDoS on SOCA, the BPI and IFPI.

However, LulzSec have taken to their Twitter account to deny involvement.

"Clearing up yet more failed attempts at framing: we didn't attack The Sun or The Times in any way with any kind of DDoS attack. Cheers," reads the tweet on the LulzSec account.

Seemingly becoming increasingly frustrated with the media coverage following their actions, a later tweet read: "A shout-out to all the real journalists on the Internet; writing to give people the real facts, not writing to meet the evening deadline."

LulzSec have recently claimed responsibility for attacks on the NHS, Sony Entertainment and Nintendo.

There have been more whispers surrounding Pottermore, the newly-announced Harry Potter-themed social network, than those surrounding "He Who Must Not Be Named" himself, the books' evil baddie Lord Voldemort.

Even now, with the site officially outed by series creator JK Rowling, we're still a little unsure as to what to expect when the it goes live in October this year. It will be interactive, there will be social networking aspects and there will literary titbits unavailable elsewhere, but in terms of specifics, we're one lumos charm short of illumination.

So it got us thinking about what we'd want to see from such a site. Here's what the Muggles over at Tech Digest hope Pottermore will conjure.

Crowd-sourced new novels

You've got all the series' fans collected in one place, all crying out for more stories that Rowling isn't willing to write. The web is full of fan-fiction, so why not harness that? Sure, fan-fiction is mostly rubbish, but what if there was the chance for one of the more skilled fan-fiction writers to collaborate with Rowling on a new adventure starring some of Potter's supporting cast, with perhaps plot developments chosen by the network users? That'd seriously be giving something back to the fanbase, and offer a new writer a shot at publication too.

Web episodes from the world of wizardry

As well as the culmination of the series of books, the Deathly Hallows also obviously marks the end of the popular Harry Potter movie adaptations. Though they've not always been stellar films, they certainly nailed the feel of Rowling's universe well. How about if Pottermore offered bite-sized chunks of video of plot developments cut from the movies, or fresh video altogether. A "Hagrid's Guide to Hand-Rearing Dragons" starring Robbie Coltrane would be great fun.

A "Second Life" style Hogwarts to explore

This one's probably a bit of a long shot, but the Harry Potter world is so rich visually, it'd be a shame to have its online presence merely a predominately static social network. Why not turn Hogwarts into a "Second Life" style online game? Even a limited MMO browser game can look great these days, and with the "freemium" model employed by the likes of Lord of the Rings Online, everyone could play for free, while die-hard fans could pay a little extra for premium content. Being able to meet up with some pals online and take a stroll around the Chamber of Secrets would be pretty awesome.

Safer security from Severus Sony

Now we know this one isn't based on Pottermore content, but it's an important one nonetheless. With Pottermore you'd imagine aimed predominately at children, Rowling's "safe" network isn't in the most reliable hands at the moment, what with it being in partnership with Sony. Sony's security measures over the past few months have proved to have more holes than the Leaky Cauldron. After the PlayStation 3's PSN hack, lets up Pottermore doesn't fall foul to Secrecy Thief Death Eaters, or "computer hackers" as they are known in the Muggle world.

Interactive Harry Potter eBooks

One of the biggest announcements to go along with Pottermore was the news that it would be the sole portal for downloading official Harry Potter eBooks. Which is great for newbies to the series who want to load them up onto a Kindle or other such ereader. But what about those who already own the books, and still want an digital copy? While an e-ink ereader can't really offer much more than words on a digital page, tablet editions of the Harry Potter books, in some sort of app format, could be superb. As well as having built-in audiobook support, they could have illustrations, animations, interactive games, spell casting, creature sounds; the works. There's the opportunity here to make the digital books the definitive magical reading experience, if some time and effort is put in.

What do you think of our Pottermore suggestions? Do we deserve a butterbeer or are we waving our wands in the wrong direction? Let us know in the comments below or via our Twitter page, @techdigestnews.

JK Rowling, author of the mega-popular Harry Potter series of books, has today revealed Pottermore, an online portal for fans of the teenage wizard and his magical adventures to explore.

"It's the same story with a few crucial additions. The most important one is you," teased Rowling in an introductory video posted on the site (an embedded above here).

Part social network, part Harry Potter encyclopaedia and part online game, it'll play host to "additional information" on the world of witchcraft and wizadry that Rowling claims she has "been hoarding for years".

Though details are still very sparse, Pottermore will definitely feature interactive elements called "Moments", taking their inspiration from key scenes from the books. Pottermore users for isntance will be able to stroll down a virtual Diagnon Alley, learn how to cast spells in a wizarding lesson, and be sorted into one of the magical school Hogwart's four rival houses.

For the first time, the Harry Potter books will be offered as official eBooks too, exclusively through Pottermore, while audio book versions will be sold through the site too.

Though the site is set to officially open to all in October, select fans will be able to access the site early, with Rowling cryptically inviting fans to "Follow the Owl" to get involved earlier than the general public.

Heading over to www.pottermore.com reveals an extra clue, with a registration link alongside the words "Come back on 31st July to find out how you can get the chance to enter Pottermore early."

Though we're still not entirely sure what to expect, the announcement will come as music to the ears of Potter-fans the world over; with this summer seeing the final big screen adaptation (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two) hitting cinemas, and with no plans for further novels, Pottermore looks set to be the spot where the Potter universe will live and expand over the coming years.

Google have announced a new feature for their search engine called Instant Pages which they believe will make finding results through their web trawler faster than ever.

A progression from the Google Instant feature that launched last year, Google will now not only predict and show what it believes you are looking for as you type, but also will pre-cache the most often visited pages relating to that search. If you then chose to visit one of the more popular pages from a search, it will instantly be loaded before you've even clicked on its link.

You can see the new feature demoed in an official Google video above.

Instant Pages isn't the only new addition to the search engine either. Google are also rolling out a Voice Search button on the Google search bar, familiar to those who use Google on a mobile phone. If you've got a microphone hooked up to your PC, hitting the button will allow you to search with voice commands.

Search By Image, another new feature, will work a lot like the Google Goggles app, allowing you to upload an image or enter an image URL and be given search results based on the content of the image you have used. Firefox and Chrome plug-ins are on the way to allow Search By Image controls to be mapped to right mouse clicks.

Users of the Chrome browser will be the first to access these new features. Instant Pages is due alongside the next beta release of Chrome, while Voice Search is already available on English-language Google sites. Search By Image too is currently rolling out to images.google.com in 40 languages today.

In what may be seen as an incendiary move The Financial Times has become the first major publisher to launch an app for smartphones and tablets that can be accessed via a web browser. Users do not need to visit the iTunes app store to get the app.

Users simply point their browser at app.ft.com and then click on the 'save to home page' icon to create the app. The app is downloaded throughout the day and users have the option of a light version or one that contains a wider array of stories.

The app has been built using the HTML5 web standard and works across almost all major smartphones and tablets.

The FT cites the move as a response to Apple's reluctance to share detailed data on the identities and behaviour of users of apps distributed throughoput its store.

However John Ridding, chief executive at the FT insists that the new app isn't about getting back at Apple and that the pair are still in talks about data sharing. Rather it is about ensuring that readers have a consistent experience.'

Nevertheless the move will be seen as a shot across Apple's bow in that publishers could be preparing to bypass the iTunes store completely at some point in the future. We have already seen magazines created in HTML5 and the Majoobi app creator works in a similar, though less complex way to the FT app.

The move is likely to have widespread support within the industry. Gina Lovett from trade newspaper NMA wrote this morning

Most apps to date have been born under constraints such as Apple's taking a 30% cut of sales and little opportunity to collect subscription information. It's this that has stymied any real advancement of apps as a viable revenue stream. That the FT has found a way to bypass the gatekeepers and keep hold of its user relationship and valuable data will be seen as a real coup for publishers.

Incidentally here's how we got on with the Majoobi app

Moshi Monsters, the UK based social network aimed at kids that takes many a visual cue from Nintendo's Pokemon series, has hit a landmark 50 million registered users. The figure means that now 1 in 2 UK children aged between 6-12 own a Moshi Monster account, with 1 new sign up every second from over 150 nations across the globe.

Letting kids interact and play online in safe, colourful environment, Moshi Monsters lets kids care and nurture for their own little online monster pet.

"We're thrilled to see Moshi Monsters experience such rapid growth across the globe" said Michael Acton Smith, CEO and founder of Mind Candy.

"We've hit 50 million users and have even more ambitious plans ahead. Our vision is to build the largest entertainment brand in the world for this new digital generation of kids."

"Thrilled" is probably an understatement from the Mind Candy CEO; in 2008 the company was near bankrupt, but the exponential growth Moshi Monsters is now expereincing has seen the brand expand into other lucrative areas such as toys, books, trading cards and video games. As such, Moshi Monsters and its related products is now expected to generate over £60 million in 2011.

Deary, deary me; Sony are having a mare of a time right now when it comes to security issues. No sooner do they get the PlayStation Network back to a fighting-fit state after last month's damaging hack attack than they are hit with yet another blow. This time it's the Sony Pictures website that has been hit.

A reported 1 million usernames and passwords belonging to users of the Sony Pictures Entertainment website (including those of admin personal and government officials) have been leaked online, as well as 3.5 million Sony Music coupons via a torrent package posted to the PirateBay site.

The attack is being attributed to an SQL injection from the hacking group Lulzsec, who left this tweet soon after the attack took place:

"1,000,000+ unencrypted users, unencrypted admin accounts, government and military passwords saved in plaintext. #PSNcompromised".

It was then followed by this statement from Lulzec:

"SonyPictures.com was owned by a very simple SQL injection, one of the most primitive and common vulnerabilities, as we should all know by now. From a single injection, we accessed EVERYTHING. Why do you put such faith in a company that allows itself to become open to these simple attacks?"

Lulzsec have previously been behind hacking attacks on the X-Factor (posting every contestant's name, address and phone number online) and the PBS News Hour website, where they posted a fake story claiming that the deceased rapper Tupac was still alive and well in New Zealand.

Yet another cyber security issue for Sony to sort out then. Are they moving fast enough to plug the obviously quite glaring holes in their security set-ups? Or are they being subjected to an unfair bombardment from hackers looking to make a name for themselves at the expense of an established multi-national brand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or via our Twitter account, @techdigestnews.

Twitter will be adding an official "Follow" button to their list of features aimed at helping websites promote their Twitter feeds. Similar to the Facebok "Like" button, it allows a user to track a particular website of person's Twitter feed by a single press of a web button.

According to the Twitter blog, the company expects the button to become the best way for websites to "stay connected" with their social-network savvy audiences.

"More than 50 sites have added the Follow Button today, making it easy for you to discover the Twitter accounts of your favorite reporters, athletes, celebrities, and other personalities," said the Twitter blog.

"Using the Follow Button is as simple as a single click. You can also see the profile and latest Tweets of the account you want to follow by clicking the username next to the Button."

Some websites have already added the button, including AOL.com, About.me, All Time Low, Justin Bieber, bnet.com, Britney Spears, CBS Interactive, CBS News, cbs.com, cbssports.com, chow.com, cnet.com, CNNMoney, Condé Nast, EL PAÍS, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, Gameone.de, gamespot.com, Glamour, GQ, Greyson Chance, IMDb, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, MarketWatch, maxpreps.com, moneywatch.com, MTV.co.uk, MTV.com, MTV.de, Multimedios, mysimon.com, Radio.com, Ryan Seacrest, Shockwave.com, smartplanet.com, Sports Illustrated, techrepublic.com, Teen Vogue, TF1, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Tr3s.com, tv.com, TVGuide.com, Vanity Fair, WAT.tv, Wired, WordPress.com, Yahoo! Local, and zdnet.com.

Adding the button to your website is as simple as placing a short piece of HTML code on your website, which can be found by clicking here.

Over half of the UK's pensioners feel "silenced and ignored" according to a new study by the Nominet Trust. With 43% unable to recall the last time someone asked their opinion, many are now turning to the internet to have thier voices heard.

"Our study shows that more pensioners fire off emails on a weekly basis (70%) than pen letters (17%) and many older people are using the Internet to start businesses, to run voluntary groups, to engage with their local communities and yet we continue to marginalise this important and growing segment of our society," said Annika Small, Director of Nominet Trust.

The study also found some interesting regional results too:

§ London pensioners most likely to use emails on a weekly basis (91%)
§ Pensioners in Yorkshire are the least likely to be asked their opinion (63%) followed closely by Welsh pensioners (62%)
§ Older people in the South East are most likely to feel their voice has been silenced (67%)
§ North West OAPs find it the hardest to get their opinions heard (84%)
§ Pensioners in the North East would most like to flirt with Simon Cowell via Twitter (15%)
§ Wales has the most Facebook users over 65 years old (54%)
§ Scotland has the most pensioners eager to learn to use Twitter (17%)

With over half (57%) of the older people questioned wishing there were more internet forums for OAPs to express their views, the Nominet Trust are offering £20,000 worth of funding and support to the person with the most innovative idea for getting pensioners' voices herad online. The Nominet Trust are also launching the GreyMatters blog to help in this process.

"We hope our GreyMatters channel will highlight the personalities out there that are eager to express their thoughts and views. Discussing news and politics is of course high on the agenda but our older generation is also well aware of the fun to be had online," added Small.

You check out the Grey Matters blog by heading over to www.nominettrust.org.uk/GreyMatters.

Yahoo! are giving their webmail client a bit of an overhaul today. Stating the new-look Yahoo! Mail service has had a "social infusion", the team are describing it as as "the best Yahoo Mail ever".

Users can now respond to messages from Facebook directly from their inboxes, as well as check out notifications from Facebook, Twitter and Zynga in their entirity. Photos are now arranged into slideshows within the email client, with embedded videos playing straight from the body of a message too.

Yahoo! Chat also gets WLM and Facebook incorporation with the update too, while your most frequently accessed contacts are prioritised through a thumbnail toolbar on the left-hand side.

"Yahoo!'s vision for online communications brings together all the tools that people use to connect - email, chat and social updates - and makes it easier for them to share content and engage in conversations with the people that matter most to them," said Blake Irving, chief product officer, Yahoo.

"We're delivering on this strategy with the latest version of Yahoo! Mail, providing our hundreds of millions of users worldwide with a fun, engaging and constantly connected experience across desktop, mobile and tablet devices that keeps the conversation going - anytime, anywhere."

Yahoo! Mail users can upgrade to the new features by clicking here, and then hitting the "Upgrade Now" tab.

Wine-lovers and winemakers alike will rejoice at the launch of a new service from online retailers Naked Wines. They've just launched the Naked MarketPlace, offering quality vino at reduced prices through an online auction platform reminiscent of both eBay and Groupon.

Cutting out multiple middle-men in favour of just the Naked Wines team, winesellers offer their wares more-or-less directly to buyers. Like the group-buying service Groupon, winesellers set a discounted price for their bottles, with the sale going ahead only when a certain volume of orders has been reached. Naked MarketPlace sets itself apart however by offering customers the option of suggesting their own price. Should the wineseller agree to the lower price, and the customers then agree on the new volume needed for the sale to go through, all parties walk away happy.

Built around an ever-swelling 150,000 member userbase, even those with little experience buying wine beyond the cost of the bottle will be able to pick a great tipple thanks to the vocal and well-informed community the site has gathered. With each purchase offering the opportunity to rate the wine bought, amateurs and enthusiasts alike will be able to decide whether a future deal suits their tastes or not.

It's not just a bargain for consumers either; with Naked Wines only taking a fixed 10% commission on sales prices, struggling winemakers retain a greater percentage of profits. The system also allows winemakers to start selling their wares almost immediately, compared to the normal 9 to 12 month cycle regular wine trading avenues require.

"The world's wine market has been stunted by snobbery, protectionist laws and dubious marketing, where customers pay too much and talented winemakers can't survive", said Naked Wines founder Rowan Gormley.

"With Naked MarketPlace we aim to create a meritocracy where rewards go to the winemakers with the most talent. For the first time, winemakers can get what their wine is worth, not what is left over after everyone else has taken their cut.

"Naked Wines is not here to sell wines to the customers. We are here to get the wines the customers want, at prices they cannot get themselves. And save the independent winemaker in the process!".

Naked Wines are also in the process of developing an iPhone app too. Called Winescout, it's based on the Foursquare platform, and encourages users to build up a geo-tagged directory of the tastiest wines and most welcoming restaurants in their local areas, ready to be tapped into by travelling tastebuds.

We'll have more details on the app once it leaves the beta stage, but for now click here to head on over to the Naked MarketPlace.

Groupon have today announced a new partnership with ticket distribution and music promoters Live Nation to launch a new venture called GrouponLive.

With the busy summer festival period nearly upon us, GrouponLive will act as a further local resource with which to grab tickets, and will benefit from the might of the TicketMaster brand, itself under the Live Nation umbrella.

Few details are available on the nature of the specific deals GrouponLive have planned, but there's potential for some great offers here. Perhaps cut price gig tickets when bought for a whole gang of mates at once, or local B&B discounts to go along with festival tickets for those a pair of wellies short of the full Glastonbury experience.

Via: Reuters

Cybercrime is no longer exclusive to PCs and Macs, with hacks, spam, malware and trojans hitting smartphones, tablets and cloud storage services too. No-one knows this better than Costin Raiu of the security specialists at Kaspersky Lab. As the company's Director of Global Research and Analysis Team, he's got over ten years worth of computer and mobile security knowledge. We caught up with him at the InfoSec conference in London's Earls Court today and had a chat about the increased threat from smartphone hackers, social networking spam and the growing danger of international cyber warfare.

We associate malware and viruses most closely with desktop computing, but we're increasingly told that smartphone platforms are vulnerable too. Is there any particular mobile OS that is especially vulnerable?

There are four strong players on the market in terms of mobile platforms; Google with Android, Apple's iOS, RIM's BlackBerry OS, and with Nokia's Symbian OS effectively dead, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. In my opinion Android will become the standard operating system in smartphones, but has a few quirks that makes it attractive not only to users but malware creators too.

Firstly, it's very open, secondly it's well documented in terms of the best ways to make applications for it, and thirdly has security vulnerabilities, especially in older Android versions. The problem here is that Google left the responsibility of patching Android largely to the carriers or smartphone developers. Looking back over past years, patching has always been a weak point of operating systems and third party software, and I have a feeling this will be a problem for Android as well because it's not very easy to update the operating system. There will always be flaws and vulnerabilities that will be exploited by hackers.

Will the vulnerabilities of mobile operating systems extend into security flaws with tablet devices then?

Yes. Netbooks being replaced by tablets seems to be the trend for the future. I believe that with Android becoming more and more popular, growing in popularity on tablet devices too, we're going to see more and more threats here. Do we need protection? I believe so. What is different with Android is maybe the kind of protection that is necessary is different here. Applications bought from the Android Market come with a prerequisite set of permissions, and there's no easy way to allow only certain permissions to be given to an app without not installing it altogether. In the near future Android security needs to focus on application control, and restricting the length in which applications can access data on your tablet or mobile phone.

More and more of our personal data is stored on a wider number of sources online, sometimes without our knowledge. Should we be concerned with how we safeguard our cloud-stored data?

Yeah, I think this is another interesting development. For instance, Google recently launched version 10 of Google Chrome which has the feature to synchronise passwords to the cloud, meaning you don't need to enter passwords for things like Facebook every time you use a different computer running that browser. It's my feeling that Google and other big cloud providers are not doing a very good job at informing the user as to the extent to which they are storing user data into the cloud.

Interestingly, Twitter recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the fact that they put their users at risk by not providing a decent level of security. The fact that Twitter agreed to implement HTTPS encryption is not only a giant "Win" for consumers, but also shows that we need a greater level of security when dealing with social media in general. Remember, it's not only about ensuring that companies do their best to protect our data, but that the connection sending the data back and forth is secure too.

Are the social networks doing enough to educate users as to how to identify dodgy links and phishing scams?

The FTC ruling shows that at least Twitter aren't doing enough, but this problem goes back several years. MySpace for instance didn't have secure log-in, with passwords going without encryption over Wi-Fi networks and the like for anyone to steal. All the social networks could be doing more about it, especially in terms of making users aware of the risks. But the FTC did a wonderful job, and it's exciting that Twitter understood the problems and took the necessary steps to improve their security.

So the more general authorities are now taking cybercrime more seriously too?

Yes. Security companies are pretty limited in the amount of things they can do. We can tell the big players that they aren't fully secure, but it takes more than that to make them change their ways. Governments have a very important role here, not just in the US but all around the world.

Kaspersky Labs have previously stated that the recent Stuxnet worm could only have been implemented with "nation/state" support. What does this tell us about international cyber security in relation to foreign policy?

Stuxnet is a "one-of-a-kind" malware, totally different to anything we've seen before. We thought it couldn't be unique but we haven't been able to find anything similar. Stuxnet is opening the door to a new kind of security threat which indicates the existence of cyber way at the highest possible level within super powers. In the future we're going to see more of this as I believe it's a very cheap and effective way of attacking major targets. The evidence we've seen seems to indicate Stuxnet was successful in gaining the access it needed. Attacking an industrial installation with physical force is a lot more expensive and more complicated.

What sorts of security systems do you have planned for the future?

In terms of future Kaspersky Lab software we're looking into three new, very interesting directions for our products, be it in cloud and virtualisation, whitelisting and reputation or mobile software. Data Leakage Prevention is also important now; it's a lot more easy for you to lose your tablet or mobile phone than it is to misplace your desktop PC! A really interesting product we're looking to launch this year is for VMWare Visual; we've had a lot of talks with our customers and bigger cloud providers and they've all expressed an interest in having a security product that can be worked into their data centres.

OK to round things up then; if you could give three tips as to how Tech Digest readers can protect their data today, at as little cost as possible, what would they be?

In order of importance, firstly they should update their operating systems; Android, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, whatever. I know this can be quite painful, but it's very, very important.

The second on is to make sure they don't use pirate software. A lot of pirate software, particularly with Mac OS, come loaded with trojans. This can also be extended to pirate movies; recently we've seen "movies" on pirate torrent websites where the files aren't actually real videos. Instead they claim the user doesn't have the proper codec to view the film, directing them to download it from unsafe websites. When they download it obviously their machines get infected. So staying away from pirate sources in general is my second free tip!

The third tip has to do with user mentality. A lot of things happen because users aren't aware of security threats, so they click on strange links or don't properly screen links that friends have sent purely because they trust their pals, even if they're not so sure of the source. It's about using common sense and being careful if you spot unusual messages from your friends or social network contacts. If you see strange applications trying to access your profile on Twitter or Facebook, just don't allow them unless you're absolutely sure they're approved! So that's my three tips for your readers!

Cool, thank you very much Costin!

No problem.

Nokia have updated their Ovi Maps service to add an impressive amount of detail to the Google Maps competitor, bringing photo-realistic 3D views of 20 major cities to the table.

London, San Francisco, Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki among others can be fully explored, scaled and viewed from nearly any perspective. While it's not the first time it's been done (Bing and Google have already touted 3D services) it's by far the most visually arresting.

"Ovi Maps' photorealistic 3D models of metropolitan areas are a significant step towards our vision of bridging the real and virtual world, with location-based services being the glue," said Michael Halbherr, senior vice president at Nokia.

Before you start running to your N8 for your detailed-mapping-fix, take note: the service is only available through a desktop browser. But at least it's open to everyone because of that, no matter what brand of phone you own.

Head on over to www.maps.ovi.com/3D to give it a whirl.

The BBC's online portfolio experienced an unprecedented outage last night, with all of the broadcaster's websites inaccessible from between 11pm and midnight.

Twitter was alight with users complaining about the failure, the biggest outage since the BBC.co.uk homepage went down for 15 minutes in August 2010.

"It's not often we get a message from the BBC's technical support teams saying, 'Total outage of all BBC websites'," read a Steve Herrmann, editor of the BBC news website, blog post.

"But for getting on for an hour this evening, until just before midnight, that's what happened. We haven't yet had a full technical debrief, but it's clear it was a major network problem.

"We'd like to apologise to everyone who couldn't get onto the BBC News website during that time."

While the blog post states an innoccent technical fault, that hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from claiming the outage was due to both a DDoS attack, or to do with the recently announced financial cuts to the BBC online sector.

A new coupons, deals and vouchers service will be integrated into US Bing serach results, Microsoft have confirmed via the Bing blog. The money-saving tips will cover "more than 200,000 unique offers in over 14,000 cities and towns across the US".

The new Bing deals will not be sold directly by Microsoft. Instead, they are the result of a new partnership with The Dealmap, a US deal aggregating service whose sources include Groupon and Living social.

Stefan Weitz, Bing's director, told the Paidcontent blog: "Instead of creating our own program and starting from scratch, we're looking for opportunities where [it] makes sense, for us and the consumer, to partner with leading industry experts."

Bing's new features are the latest in a growing line of location-based deals services that include the likes of Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be extradited to Sweden, facing allegations of sexual assault, a UK judge has ruled.

The public face of the political whistle-blowing website has faced a controversial exile in Britain for the past few months following the allegations, which many of his supporters are claiming is a smear campaign to discredit the revealing website.

However, the judgement passed this morning at Belmarsh Magistrates Court in south London now means that Assange will have to return to Sweden to face the sexual assualt charges.

Assange's lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC has claimed any return to Sweden will not see his client face a fair trial, stating that many rape cases are "tried in secret behind closed doors in a flagrant denial of justice".

The news also means that Assange could eventually face a further extradition to the United States where he faces seperate charges concerning WikiLeaks, which in extreme circumstances could lead to the death penalty.

More news as we get it.