Microsoft has confirmed that some handsets running its Windows Phone 7 software are sending and receiving "phantom data".
Earlier this year, users complained on net forums that their phones were automatically eating into their monthly data plans without their knowledge.
Microsoft said its investigation found that most problems were caused by a unnamed "third party" service.
However, it said it was still looking into other potential faults.
"We are in contact with the third party to assist them in making the necessary fixes," a spokesperson said.
The firm also said that it was looking into "potential workarounds" until the issue was solved.
"At this point in our investigation, we believe this is responsible for most of the reported incidents.
It said that the problem seemed to only affect "a small (low single-digit) percentage of Windows Phone customers".
'Root cause'
The problem surfaced in early January with some owners of phones running Windows Phone 7, claiming that their phone was sending "between 30 and 50MB of data" every day; an amount that would eat into a 1GB allowance in 20 days.
Most complainants were based in the US.
"I received an e-mail from AT&T saying that I was close to my 2GB data limit which truly shocked me as I feel I do not use data that much," a phone owner called Julie told Paul Thurrott's supersite for Windows.
"I went and looked at my AT&T account online and noticed that my phone was sending huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns."
Another, writing on Howard Forums, said that they had noticed that the phone's "idle data usage is around 2-5MB per hour".
Microsoft has admitted that not all problems may have the same root cause and has said it was still "investigating" other potential reasons for the fault.
"We are continuing to investigate this issue and will update with additional information and guidance as it becomes available," the spokesperson said.
Windows Phone 7 was launched in October 2010 to acclaim by manufacturers and users.
It is considered the company's first credible challenge to rival operating systems from Apple, Google, Research in Motion and Nokia.
Facebook should adopt tighter security measures to protect its users, according to a leading internet firm.
Experts at security company Sophos say a rise in unmonitored Facebook applications endangers the site's 650 million users.
Instead, they suggest that it should mimic Apple's App Store, which vets all programs available for download.
But Facebook said its data shows the opposite of Sophos and that it already has "extensive" protection for users.
"We have a dedicated team that does robust review of all third party applications, using a risk based approach," the firm said.
"That means that we first look at velocity, number of users, types of data shared, and prioritise. This ensures that the team is focused on addressing the biggest risks, rather than just doing a cursory review at the time that an app is first launched."
Sophos said that reviewing apps before launch had "proven effective in protecting users".
'Strict control'
In its 2011 Threat Report, which outlines the major online dangers to be expected over the next 12 months, the company points out that Facebook is now one of the biggest targets for criminals and fraudsters.
This is partially because of the site's size and popularity - but also because Facebook allows anyone to build applications, games, surveys and other programs. The most popular ones have been downloaded tens of millions of times.
While this open system might be good news for Facebook's business, says the report, it leaves inexperienced users vulnerable to attacks from malicious hackers who are increasingly building fake applications that trick people into handing over their private information.
"Facebook, by far the largest social networking system and the most targeted by cybercrimnals, has a major problem in the form of its app system," it says.
To combat this, the report suggests Facebook could learn a lesson from mobile phone makers such as Apple, which operates strict controls over what applications are available for users of its iPhone and iPad platforms to download.
"A 'walled garden' approach may be more suitable," the report says. "This is the way the Apple App Store operates, with applications requiring official approval before they can be uploaded to the site and shared with other users."
Although such an approach would potentially screen users from fraudulent applications, it would not be without its problems, however. Apple's own process has come in for criticism in the past for its seemingly arbitrary rules that resulted in the banning of some applications - such as dictionaries - while other similar ones were allowed through.
Alternatively, Sophos says, the world's biggest social network could offer more detailed controls over security, allowing them to decide more easily which applications can run on their profile.
But Facebook says that it already does this.
"We have built extensive controls into the product, so that now when you add an application it only gets access to very limited data and the user must approve each additional type of data," the company said in a statement.
"We make sure that we act swiftly to remove [or] sanction potentially bad applications before they gain access to data, and involve law enforcement and file civil actions if there is a problem."
It also says that its own data suggests Sophos has exaggerated the problem.
"As a result of our efforts, the data we have on interactions of more than 500 million people using Facebook shows that spam, malware and other attacks have decreased in their effectiveness�the opposite conclusion reached by a security vendor."
Curiosity trap
The advice comes just a day after Facebook made a U-turn on a new feature which exposed the the telephone numbers and home addresses of users to anyone building applications.
The change, which the company said was intended to "streamline" information sharing was suspended after complaints that it was ripe for abuse.
As well as highlighting problems with Facebook, the Sophos report also analysed a number of other security trends it said would increase over the coming months. These include:
Search engine poisoning: a method by which criminals attempt to trick Google and other search engines into prominently featuring malicious websites. Often using major news events as cover, the fraudsters fool users into visiting sites that subject their computers to attack
Clickjacking: A scheme that hides malicious code inside a link pretending to be something else, often purporting to be a link to a picture or joke. Such attacks can spread rapidly through networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Spearphishing: Highly targeted spam aimed at eliciting specific details from an individual.
"Cybercriminals prey on our curiosity and perhaps our vulnerability and gullibility, and use psychological traps to profit from unsuspecting technology users," concludes the report.
Once the lead vehicle is in charge, the driver of the car is seen taking his hands off the wheel, reading a newspaper and sipping coffee as the journey proceeds.
This is because commands to steer, speed up and slow down all come from the driver of the lead vehicle. Cars also keep an eye on their position relative to other vehicles in a platoon to ensure they keep a safe distance.
In the final system lots of cars could be slaved to a lead vehicle and travel at high speed along specific routes on motorways.
The successful test was a "major milestone" said Tom Robinson, Sartre co-ordinator at engineering firm Ricardo.
Trial participant Eric Coelingh, an engineering specialist at Volvo Cars, said: "We are very pleased to see that the various systems work so well together already the first time."
He said Sartre brought together technology from seven firms in four different countries.
The technology behind the Sartre system could be in use in a few years, however, it may take much longer for European member nations to pass laws that allow it to be widely used.
Apple made record profits and record revenues in the run-up to Christmas as shoppers bought more Macs, iPhones, and iPads than analysts predicted.
The company said that in the three months to 25 December, net profit was $6bn (�3.7bn) on revenues of $26.74bn.
Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said in a statement: "We had a phenomenal holiday quarter."
There was no further mention of his health problems following Monday's news that Mr Jobs is taking medical leave.
While he is continuing as chief executive and will be involved in any major decisions, day-to-day running has passed to chief operating officer Tim Cook.
Apple's first-quarter profit is a 71% jump on the same period last year.
Daniel Ernst, analyst at Hudson Square Research, said: "Apple blew away earnings expectations, again. It seems to be a recurring event for these guys.
"It was across the board, top to bottom, another great quarter," he said.
The company sold 4.13 million Macs during the quarter, a 23% rise year-on-year, and 16.24 million iPhones, a leap of 86%.
iPod sales fell 7% to 19.45 million units. Apple sold 7.33 million iPads.
Shares in the company, which had fallen during the day, rose 4% in after-hours trading to about $354.
News of Mr Jobs' latest health problems came on a US public holiday, when financial markets were closed.
When markets re-opened on Tuesday, the shares immediately fell as much as 6%, but eventually closed down 2.2% in official trading.
The California-based company said that 62% of its revenues came from outside the US. In the Asia-Pacific market, which includes China, Apple said revenues almost tripled.
Medical history
Some analysts are concerned about what Mr Jobs' absence from Apple might mean for the company's future, as he has become inextricably linked with its success.
In his statement on Tuesday, Mr Jobs was very upbeat about the Apple's future. He said: "We are firing on all cylinders and we've got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year".
Despite Mr Jobs' previous ill health, the company's stock market value has approximately quadrupled in the past two years.
A quite extraordinary performance by Apple - but that is what we have come to expect as the company plays its traditional guessing game with Wall Street.
Each quarter Apple is cautious when guiding on future earnings - so the analysts pencil in a higher figure. This time their consensus was that revenues would come in at around $24bn - and now we know the final figure was a record-breaking $26.7bn.
In a statement Steve Jobs, whose health is again a concern, acclaimed what he described as a "phenomenal holiday quarter". It is difficult to argue, with revenues and profits up nearly three quarters on a year ago, and record sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs.
But Tim Cook, standing in while the CEO is away, stressed that the company still has big ambitions for further growth, notably in the computer and mobile phone markets.
The one figure that really stood out was Apple's huge cash pile - now $60bn. Funnily enough, that was the last extraordinary valuation put on Facebook. Perhaps Apple might like to buy the social network? Or maybe not.
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In late 2008 to mid-2009, Mr Jobs was absent from Apple for six months to have a liver transplant.
It was part of a series of treatments he has undergone for pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed in 2004 and underwent surgery later that year to remove a tumour from his pancreas.
"US investors are concerned about his absence," says Yair Reiner, stock analyst at New York investment firm Oppenheimer & Co.
"But the ups and downs of his health over the last couple of years have allowed investors to partly discount his departure into the price of their shares."
In an e-mail to staff, Mr Jobs said he would be back at work as soon as he could.
The letter "leaves everything to the imagination" said Mr Reiner, adding that the company had provided no guidance as to whether it would be a short break or the prelude to a permanent departure.
Mr Cook has run the company in the past during Mr Jobs' absence.
According to Mr Reiner, markets have a lot of confidence in the management abilities of Mr Jobs' stand-in, although he has not yet had the opportunity to demonstrate whether he can provide the same visionary leadership as his boss.
Mr Jobs' health issues come as Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch the second version of its iPad - the successor to the tablet computer it launched in 2010.
With the product line-up for the next two to three years already set, Mr Reiner said that the real impact of a permanent departure of the Apple head would only be felt some years down the line.
It said it needed to find a more robust way to make sure users know what information they are handing over.
"Over the weekend, we got some useful feedback that we could make people more clearly aware of when they are granting access to this data. We agree, and are making changes to help ensure you only share this information when you intend to do so," the firm said.
The updates would be launched "in the next few weeks", it added and the feature will be suspended in the meanwhile.
Bad guys
Facebook's volte-face is likely to be a case of 'once bitten, twice shy'.
Last year, wide-ranging changes to privacy settings resulted in a loud chorus of disapproval from both users and privacy experts, including the Canadian privacy commissioner, Jenny Stoddart.
The firm was forced to radically simply privacy settings. Ms Stoddart said at the time that the social network had "vastly improved" the sharing of personal information with third-party developers.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has made no secret of his desire to open up the relationship between the network's 500 million members and the wider internet.
Having access to mobile phone numbers and physical addresses could have real benefits for users, the firm said in its blog.
"You could, for example, easily share your address and mobile phone with a shopping site to streamline the checkout process, or sign up for the up-to-the-minute alerts on special deals directly to your mobile phone."
"You can imagine, for instance, that bad guys could set up a rogue app that collects mobile phone numbers and then uses that information for the purposes of SMS spamming or sells on the data to cold-calling companies," he said.
Not required
Facebook has introduced a dashboard which allows users to decide what level of access to grant various apps they sign up for.
It also said that users would have to grant permission to any apps or sites that had wanted to access people's home address or phone number.
But many people still click 'accept' far too quickly, said Mr Cluley.
"Facebook does alert users to the fact that this information will be shared with others, warning prompts and other pop-ups are so frequent that they are often ignored," he said.
"The best solution would be to permit users to provide this data, via a dropdown or checkbox, when they choose to add an application, but it should not be required," he added.
Apple boss Steve Jobs has announced that he is to take "medical leave" from the company.
In an e-mail to employees he said he was taking the break to focus on his health.
He said he would continue as chief executive of Apple and be involved in any major decisions. Day-to-day running of the company will pass to Tim Cook.
In late 2008 to mid-2009 Mr Jobs was absent from Apple for six months to have a liver transplant.
It was part of the series of treatments he has undergone for pancreatic cancer. He was first diagnosed as suffering from the cancer in 2004 and underwent surgery later that year to remove a tumour from his pancreas.
There is no other technology firm - probably no other major business - whose shape and direction is so much in the hands of one man as Apple.
Steve Jobs is not only the public face of the company, at the launches of new devices like the iPad, he is involved in every minute detail of Apple products.
So for the last half dozen years every hint, every rumour about his health has sent shockwaves through the investment community and caused Apple's share price to plummet.
Each time he has returned to work after treatment, the company has tried to reassure its investors that its chief executive is now in good shape.
Then the gaunt appearance of the man in the trademark black sweater and jeans has started the rumour-mill turning again.
Apple's many fans will feel deep sympathy for Mr Jobs when he pleads for privacy for himself and his family - but its investors will be demanding more detail when Apple unveils its latest results on Tuesday
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In his e-mail Mr Jobs said he would be back at work as soon as he can.
"At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company," he said in an e-mail.
"I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple's day to day operations."
Mr Cook is currently the firm's chief operating officer. He has run the company day-to-day before now during previous times when Mr Jobs has been dealing with his health problems.
The announcement was made on a public holiday in the US when there is no trading in company stocks and shares.
However, Apple shares closed down 6.4% on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Year-on-year, they areup 79% and over 24 months up 328%.
The news comes ahead of Apple's first quarter results, due on 18 January.
Mr Jobs is an iconic presence at Apple and is widely credited as the architect of its current run of success based around products such as the iPad and iPhone.
The absence comes as Apple is rumoured to be preparing to launch the second version of its iPad - the successor to the tablet computer it launched in 2010.
17 January 2011Last updated at 17:43 ETBy Jonathan AmosScience correspondent, BBC News
The chief executive of one of Germany's leading space companies has lost his job because of the Wikileaks saga.
OHB-System's Berry Smutny was reported in a cable to have told US diplomats that Europe's Galileo satellite-navigation project was a "stupid idea".
Bremen-based OHB-System is part of the consortium that will build Galileo's first 14 operational spacecraft.
Although Mr Smutny has denied the cable's contents, OHB's board has decided to remove him from his post.
A statement from the company on Monday said its supervisory board had "passed a unanimous resolution to revoke Mr Smutny's appointment", adding that it "disapproves these conversations and the quotes attributed to Mr Smutny".
Controversial project
Berry Smutny was alleged to have told diplomats at a meeting in Berlin in October 2009 that Galileo, a flagship space programme of the EU, was a waste of taxpayers' money.
The cable, which was published by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten last Thursday, quoted the OHB-System chief as saying, "I think Galileo is a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests", and, in particular, French military interests.
Mr Smutny was further reported to say that Galileo was "doomed for failure" or would "have to undergo drastic scalebacks for survival".
When approached by Aftenposten to comment on the cable, the executive conceded he had met US officials but rejected the notion that he had made any such remarks, adding that he was a supporter of Europe's proposed sat-nav system.
Galileo is a mutil-billion-euro venture which will complement - but also compete with - the US Global Positioning System (GPS), providing very accurate timing and location data that can be used in a host of applications from landing planes to co-ordinating financial transactions. The endeavour is controversial because its deployment is long overdue and significantly over-budget.
OHB-System and UK-based company Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) were awarded a contract valued at 566m euros (�465m) in January 2010 to start the production of the Galileo constellation.
Surrey will assemble the electronic payload for each satellite in Guildford before shipping it to Germany to be incorporated in the spacecraft bus, or chassis, prepared by OHB.
Year of success
The consortium's contract win was a spectacular achievement for the two firms which beat off the combined bid of Europe's two biggest satellite manufacturers, EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space (TAS).
OHB-System then followed this triumph by winning the other high-profile European satellite-manufacturing deal of 2010 - the 1.3bn-euro contract to produce the next generation of weather satellites for the continent. In this case, the contract is shared with TAS.
The statement from the OHB-System supervisory board said Mr Smutny had to be removed from his position in order to avert any further damage to the company on the part of customers, political representatives and the public at large.
It thanked the outgoing chief for the work that he had performed over the past 18 months, "particularly stressing the fact that last year had been the most successful in the company's history".
Marco Fuchs, who is currently the CEO of the parent company OHB Technology, will be assuming the position of CEO of OHB-System.
The vast majority of hi-tech attacks described as acts of cyber war do not deserve the name, says a report.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development study is part of a series considering incidents that could cause global disruption.
While pandemics and financial instability could cause problems, cyber attacks are unlikely to, it says.
Instead, trouble caused by cyber attacks is likely to be localised and short-lived.
However, it warns that governments need to plan for how it could mitigate the effects of both accidental and deliberate events.
'Great confusion'
Attempts to quantify the potential damage that hi-tech attacks could cause and develop appropriate responses are not helped by the hyperbolic language used to describe these incidents, said the OECD report.
"We don't help ourselves using 'cyberwar' to describe espionage or hacktivist blockading or defacing of websites, as recently seen in reaction to WikiLeaks," said Professor Peter Sommer, visiting professor at LSE who co-wrote the report with Dr Ian Brown of the Oxford Internet Institute.
"Nor is it helpful to group trivially avoidable incidents like routine viruses and frauds with determined attempts to disrupt critical national infrastructure," added Prof Sommer.
The report acknowledged the risk of a catastrophic cyber incident, such as a solar flare that could knock out satellites, base stations and net hardware, but said that the vast majority of incidents seen today were almost trivial in comparison as they did not last long and only hit a few people or organisations.
Attempts to decide how to deal with the wide variety of potential attacks and attackers were being hampered because words used to describe incidents meant different things to different groups.
For instance, it said, an "attack" could mean phishing e-mails trying to steal passwords, a virus outbreak or a concerted stealthy attempt to break into a computer system.
"Rolling all these activities into a single statistic leads to grossly misleading conclusions," said the report. "There is even greater confusion in the ways in which losses are estimated."
The report also played down the risk of a conflict between nation states being played out over the net.
"It is unlikely that there will ever be a true cyberwar," said the report, most likely because no aggressor would stick to one class of weaponry. Also, it said, existing defences and the unpredictable effects of such an attack could limit its effectiveness.
However, it noted, that even if a cyberwar is unlikely to ever happen, there was no doubt that the weapons used in such a theatre of war were becoming ubiquitous and would likely be used in the future alongside conventional weapons as "force multipliers".
Under the heading of cyber weapons the report included viruses, worms, trojans, distributed-denial-of-service using botnets and unauthorised access to computers ie hacking.
Finally, it said, while the net may be a vector for attack it might also help in the event of a large-scale event.
"If appropriate contingency plans are in place, information systems can support the management of other systemic risks," it said.
"They can provide alternate means of delivering essential services and disseminate the latest news and advice on catastrophic events, reassuring citizens and hence dampening the potential for social discontent and unrest."
Low-cost computers are to be offered as part of a government scheme to encourage millions of people in the UK to get online for the first time.
Prices will start at �98 for a refurbished PC, with subsidised net connections available for �9 a month.
The 12-month trial is part of the Race Online 2012 scheme, which aims to reach out to the 9.2 million adults in the UK who are currently offline.
Distributor Remploy hopes to sell 8,000 machines in the next 12 months.
"Motivation and inspiration are still two of the biggest barriers [to using the internet], but clearly perception of price is another big deal for people," Martha Lane Fox, the UK's digital champion, told the Financial Times. "A good price point is certainly part of what helps people get online."
Web barrier
Race Online 2012, which aims to "make the UK the first nation in the world where everyone can use the web", estimates that of the more than nine million adults in the UK who are currently not online, four million are socially and economically disadvantaged.
The cheap computers will run open-source software, such as Linux, and will include a flat-screen monitor, keyboard, mouse, warranty, dedicated telephone helpline and delivery.
The packages will be sold through 60 UK online centres which offer IT training and Remploy, an organisation that specialises in helping disabled and disadvantaged people find work and which runs the computer recycling scheme e-cycle.
Race Online 2012 has also negotiated cheap internet packages using a mobile dongle, costing �9 a month or �18 for three months, to help people access the web.
Its research suggests that going online can save people around �560 a year and that thousands of jobs are offered exclusively online.
But the cost of owning and running a computer and net connection is often seen as a barrier for many people.
As a result, there have been several previous government-sponsored initiatives that offered cheap PCs.
The �300m Home Access Scheme began to distribute free laptops to pupils from poor backgrounds in January 2010. It was scrapped by the coalition government eight months later.
13 January 2011Last updated at 19:05 ETBy Jonathan FildesTechnology reporter, BBC News
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People thought: 'let's give the guy the money so he'll go away'"
End QuoteJimmy Wales
"If you click edit and you see some Wiki syntax and some bizarre table structure - a lot of people are literally afraid.
"They're good people and they don't want to break something.
As well as initiatives such as "adopt a user", that allows experienced Wikipedians to take a new user under their wing, he said his for-profit company Wikia had been doing a lot of work designing simple "what you see is what you get" editing tools.
"We're releasing all of that open source and Wikipedia will probably adopt some of that."
'Ugly mug'
However, Mr Wales said that one change he would not make would be to the site's financial model.
It currently operates as a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations from its users.
"We have just finished our fundraiser for the year - we raised $16m (�10m) faster than we have ever done it before," he said.
For many, Mr Wales' face will be familiar from banners that have been running on the site promoting the appeal.
Mr Wales said that he had tried to resist using his picture, but user testing had shown the organisation received more money by using his face.
"Those banners outperformed the other ones two-to-one," he said. "I think maybe because no-one wants to see my ugly mug anymore. People thought: 'let's give the guy the money so he'll go away'."
He said the donation model was "very stable" but admitted it did "constrain" what the site could do.
"We don't have a lot of money - we are running a website with 408m visitors on just over $20m," he said. "I think we're the most efficient charity there is by a long shot in terms of the number of people we impact for a small amount of money."
However, he said that he was not tempted to turn it into a commercial venture to pull in more money.
"If you look at pressures that commercial ventures would be under - suddenly there is a need to produce quarterly results, suddenly there is a need to bring in money."
He admitted the site could run as a non-profit supported by advertisements, but again said that there were no plans to make changes.
"Our view has always been we can always do that if we need to."
'Defensive move'
Mr Wales also used the interview to clear up the organisation's perceived association with the whistle-blowing organisation Wikileaks.
"The core of their work is not about Wiki at all - Wiki is a collaborative editing process, it's a group of people coming together to collaboratively write something. And what Wikileaks is doing is getting documents and leaking them."
However, he said, many people get confused - including airport security, he said.
But the two still have a loose association.
Technically, the Wikia company has until this week legally owned domain names including wikileaks.net, wikileaks.com and wikileaks.us.
"We transferred the domains to them but they never completed the technical part," said Mr Wales. "All they needed to do was sign in and complete the transfer but they have never done it."
He said the domains had been registered "defensively" when Wikileaks launched in 2006.
"When they first launched they put out a press release that said the 'Wikipedia of secrets', which would have been a trademark violation.
"So someone in the office registered two or three domains."
He said that he regularly tries to prompt Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange to complete the transaction, to no avail.
"I saw someone else say that he's prone to saying 'I'm busy fighting superpowers' and that's exactly what he said to me."
Mr Wales said the domains would expire "this week".
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