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How to Stop Thieves from Stealing Your Tax Refund
Fraudsters are creating IRS.gov accounts in the names of U.S. taxpayers in a scheme to steal their tax refunds. Here's how to stop them.

Google, Apple, Facebook Urge Patriot Act Surveillance Reforms
Tech companies are urging congress to reform the Patriot Act's bulk metadata collection process when it takes up the issue this spring.

Video Shows Scary Distracted Driving Crashes by Teens
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released a study and video showing the real-life dangers of distracted driving by teens.

'Data Saver' Extension for Chrome Reduces PC Bandwith Use
The new Data Saver extension for the Google Chrome browser reduces data use and boosts page download speeds while surfing the net on your PC or Mac.

Where to Get the Best Deal on the Samsung Galaxy S6
Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S6 are on, and if you are a savvy shopper, you can get a great deal.

Amazon Introduces Unlimited Cloud Storage Plans for Cheap
Amazon Cloud Drive now offers an unlimited photo storage plan for $11.99 per year and an unlimited everything plan for $59.99 yearly.

SXSW 'Future of TV' Panel Focuses on Big Names in Streaming
Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and Dan Harmon (Community) discussed their current streaming projects at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX.

Facebook Shows Off New and Coming Features
Spherical videos, third-party messenger apps and a Wi-Fi smart battery for smoke detectors were all unveiled at the F8 Facebook Developers Conference.

Microsoft Offering Office for Free on Devices Under 10.1 Inches
Microsoft announced today that moving forward, it will make its Office product available as a freemium product on devices under 10.1 inches.

RadioShack Creditors Seek Sale of Private Customer Data
Creditors of bankrupt retailer RadioShack are seeking to sell its database of over 65 million names and addresses at auction to the highest bidder.

Telecoms File Suit Against FCC's Net Neutrality Order
USTelecom, a telecom trade group headed by Verizon and AT&T, has filed suit in appeals court against the FCC and its Open Internet Order.

Twitter Testing Auto-playing Video Ads
Social network Twitter has begun a limited test of auto-playing video ads in multiple formats in user timelines, AdAge is reporting.

oneID Makes Secure Password Management a Breeze
The oneID Password management system (iOS, Chrome, mobile Safari) automatically collects and syncs logins across devices with no master password.

U.S. Customs Testing New Facial Recognition Security Program
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is testing a new program that digitally compares your face to the picture stored on your passport chip.

Chevrolet Unveils 'Teen Driver' Parental Control System
Chevrolet will debut its new Teen Driver safety system, which monitors teen driving habits and provides over-speed chimes, on the 2016 Malibu.

FAA Gives Amazon the OK to Test Delivery Drones Outdoors
The FAA has issued Amazon an experimental certificate to research and test drones outdoors, the first step toward drone-based delivery.

The State of Streaming Video in 2015
A report from StreamingMedia.com separates the real TV trends of 2015 from the hype, from TV everywhere to 4K TVs to streaming sticks.

T-Mobile Promises to Lock In Promotional Pricing for Life
T-Mobile is now promising to pay off your remaining phone installment plan payments and lock in your Simple Choice plan rate for life.

Verizon Fined $3.2M over Mobile 911 Failure
Verizon agreed to a $3.2 million settlement with the FCC over its part of a multistate mobile 911 outage in April 2014.

Report: 2 in 5 Households Subscribe to Streaming Video Services
The latest Nielsen Total Audience Report reveals that 40% of U.S. households subscribe to at least one streaming video service like Netflix.

Ford's New In-Dash Displays to Get Over-the-Air Software Updates
Ford announced that the Sync3 multimedia system, available in some 2015 cars, will connect to your home Wi-Fi network for regular software updates.

Pew: One in Four Americans Hiding Information Online From the Government
A new poll from Pew suggests that 25% of Americans have changed the way they use tech in response to potential government surveillance.

Google Play App Store Gets Human Reviewers, ESRB Ratings
The Google Play App Store is now employing human reviewers to review content and applying ESRB ratings to its apps and games.

'Hello Barbie' Doll Raising Privacy Concerns with Parents
The new Hello Barbie doll from Mattel is drawing criticism from parents over the fact that it transmits conversations with kids over the web.

T-Mobile Extends Rollover Data to Prepaid Customers
Starting March 22, T-Mobile Simple Choice prepaid customers will be able to rollover their unused monthly data allotment for up to 1 year.

'Google Feud' Turns Search Autocompletes Into a Game of Family Feud
The browser-based Google Feud turns Google search autocomplete data into a fun Family Feud-esque guessing game.

Goodyear Developing an Electricity-Generating Tire
The Goodyear BH-03 concept tire is designed to generate and harness both piezoelectricity and thermoelectricity.

Which Mobile Carrier Has the Fastest Network?
The March 2015 OpenSignal State of LTE Report ranks U.S. carriers based on which have the fastest and most widespread 4G LTE data networks.

Google Flights Now Features In-Flight Amenity Data
Searches on Google Flights now reveals the availability of in-flight Wi-Fi, power/USB outlets, live TV, VOD, added legroom and more.

Study: Online Video Makes Teens Feel Better About Themselves
A new research study from Defy Media reveals that kids watch 11.3 hours of streaming video per week, citing how easy it is to relate to.

How to Catch March Madness Basketball Action Online
You can stream NCAA March Madness basketball action on your PC, smartphone and tablet, though a pay cable TV subscription may be required.

DirecTV Hit With Deceptive Advertising Charges by FTC
The Federal Trade Commission is charging that DirecTV is misleading customers about the true costs of its satellite TV packages in its ads.

New 'Amazon Exclusives' Store Features Premium, Curated Brands
Amazon Exclusives offers new premium, innovative products from up-and-coming brands, including products seen on the TV show Shark Tank.

Important Updates Now Available for Android (5.1); Apple iOS (8.2)
Apple owners are getting an OS update that fixes the FREAK security flaw; Google Android devices are getting a new anti-theft feature.

Study: Smartphones Are Making Our Brains Lazier
A new study from the University of Waterloo shows that smartphone search engines may be harming our ability to solve problems and think analytically.

Apple's All-New MacBook
Apple redesigned 12-inch MacBook laptop measures just 13.1mm at its thickest point and weighs just two pounds, a pound less than the Air.

Will You Want the Apple Watch?
Is the convenience of simply twisting and touching your wrist do accomplish any and all pocketed smartphone functions is enough reason to spend $349 for an Apple Watch?

Museums Everywhere Banning 'Selfie Sticks'
If you're heading to a major art or history museum like The Smithsonian or MoMA, please leave your selfie stick camera accessories at home.

Comcast Attempts to Block HBO Go May Be A Net Neutrality Violation
Comcast is blocking its subscribers from accessing the HBO Go service over the PlayStation 4, a possible Net Neutrality violation.

Bluetooth Smart to Get Mesh Networking
The Bluetooth Smart standard will get mesh networking sometime in 2016, giving the tech an advantage in the race for home automation supremacy.

Report: Home Automation to Be a $58B Business By 2020
A report from research firm Marketsandmarkets suggests that the smart home market will continue to boom over the next few years.

Gmail, Yahoo Mail Get Automatically Updated Contact Cards
Both Google Gmail and Yahoo Mail will soon automatically populate your contact list fields with updated addresses and phone numbers.

FREAK Security Flaw Puts Safari, Android Browsers at Risk
A security hole introduced by the U.S. government in the 1990s has come to roost for Apple Safari and Google Chrome browser users.

Waze Mapping App Gets AMBER Alerts
Waze has partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to integrate real-time AMBER alerts into the mapping app.

Firmware-based Malware Becomes a Growing Threat
The Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that much of the firmware in our electronic devices is wide open to attack by hackers.

Case Adds 4G LTE to Wi-Fi-only iPad mini Models
The AT&T Modio LTE folio case allows you to connect a Wi-Fi only iPad mini (gens 1 through 3) to the AT&T 4G LTE mobile data network.

Nikon Unveils 83x Mega Zoom Camera & New DSLR
The Nikon D7200 DSLR has built-in NFC and Wi-Fi and improved burst capability; the Coolpix P900 boasts a 83x optical zoom and GPS geotagging.

Ikea Unveils a New Furniture Line with Wireless Charging
A new line of lamps, bedside tables and desks from Ikea, coming April 2015, has Qi wireless charging functionality built in.

Samsung Introduces the Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge
Samsung's Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge look to surpass the iPhone 6 in three key areas: taking pictures & videos, battery life & mobile payments.

HTC re Vive Virtual Reality Googles Arriving Later This Year
HTC showed off its virtual reality headset, the re Vive, which the company says will deliver a room-scale 360-degree experience.

HTC Gets into Activity Trackers with the Grip Fitness Band
HTC used the Mobile World Congress stage to announce the HTC Grip, a new fitness band developed with Under Armour.

HTC Introduces the HTC One M9
HTC's third-generation HTC One smartphone, the One M9, gets three major technological upgrades and a slick new two-tone brushed metal finish.

Drobox App Lets You View, Edit & Save Microsoft Office Docs
The free Dropbox and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) apps have completed their cross-integration on both iOS and Android.

Spotify Desktop App to Get a 'Lyrics' Button
Soon, the Spotify streaming music app for desktop will be able to tell you all the words to your favorite songs, line-by-line.

Move Over, Wi-Fi: Scientists Create Blazing Fast 200Gbps Li-Fi
Researchers at Oxford University have created an indoor optical wireless system (Li-Fi) that delivers 200 Gbps speeds.

New Home Builders Embracing Home Automation
New home builders have truly started to embrace home automation technology like smart thermostats, though only in a limited fashion due to costs.

Phishing Attack Targeting Home Routers with Default Settings
A new phishing attack is targeting unprotected TP-Link and UT Starcom routers, running scripts to redirect web traffic and steal online banking credentials.

Facebook Adding Suicide Prevention Tools
Social network Facebook is rolling out new tools to report threats of self-harm and suicide and provide resources to those in need.

Net Neutrality Moves Forward as Republicans End Opposition
Washington Republicans are ending attempts to stop net neutrality, clearing the way for the FCC to regulate the Internet as a public utility.

Third-Party Advertisers Are Spying on Your Medical Searches
Think twice before searching for medical information online: Advertisers are compiling highly sensitive databases of your medical searches.

Google Chrome Adds Even More Malware Warnings
The Google Chrome browser now stops you before visiting a site with malware downloads via a bright red warning screen.

New Battery Tech Fully Charges Phones in 30 Seconds
Israel-based company StoreDot has created a new type of fast charging bio-organic battery it hopes to put inside smartphones by the end of 2016.

U.S. Treasury Department Begins Accepting PayPal Payments
The U.S. Treasury Department is now accepting digital wallet payments from PayPal and Dwolla through its pay.gov web portal.

'YouTube Kids' App to Launch Feb 23
Google will launch a stand-alone YouTube Kids app with age-appropriate, curated videos for kids and useful parental controls.

People Watch More Video on Amazon Prime than on Netflix
Amazon Prime subscribers now watch video 13.4 times per month — more than the 12.7 per month average of Netflix subscribers.

Fight Over Piracy Moving from Downloads to Streaming
Pirated video content is moving away from traditional torrent file-sharing sites and toward more lucrative video streaming sites.

Google Blows the Whistle on Dangerous Expansion of Warrant Powers
Google is opposing a rule change, sought by the Justice Department, that would enable the remote hacking of computers anywhere in the world.

Remote Control Robo-Fish Eliminates Toilet Bowl Funerals For Good
The Hexbug Aquabot Remote Control Angelfish swims around your home aquarium just like a real pet fish — minus the maintenance hassle and feedings.

Hasbro's New Snackin' Sara Doll Demands Food, Poops Food
The new Snackin Sara doll from Hasbro requests kids feed her, chews her food (included), and alerts kids when she needs a diaper change.

Analysis: Some Cell Carriers Not Living Up to Their Unlocking Obligations
An analysis of U.S. carrier unlocking policies shows that only Verizon has fully lived up to the terms of its voluntary agreement with the FCC.

'Star Wars Bladebuilders' Lets Kids Design Their Own Lightsabers
The Hasbro Bladebuilders Jedi Master Lightsaber set lets kids design and create their own futuristic weapon straight out of the Star Wars universe.

Techlicious 2015 Best of Toy Fair Awards
Want to know what the best new toys will be this year? We scoured the floors at Toy Fair and found eight worthy of our coveted Best of Toy Fair awards.

Report: Mobile Malware Infections Up 25% in 2014
An Alcatel-Lucent report says that 0.68% of all mobile phones are infected with malware, a year-over-year increase of 25%.

Apple App Store Promoting Games Without In-App Purchases
The new Pay Once & Play section on the Apple App Store features the best paid iOS mobile games without in-app purchases.

Dyson Introduces its New-for-2015 Vacuum and Fan Heater Models
Luxury air-flow company Dyson just revealed the AM09 Hot + Cold Fan Heater and the V6 Absolute cordless and Cinetic Big Ball upright vacuums.

Video Has Taken Over the Internet
From social media sharing to binge watching Netflix to online ads, video content now makes up 78% of all Internet traffic.

Comcast Now in Over Half of U.S. Broadband Customers' Homes
The FCC redefinition of broadband to 25 Mbps means that one private company now controls 56% of high-speed Internet business in the U.S.

How to Name a Digital Heir for Your Facebook Account
Facebook now lets you name a legacy contact able to perform simple account management tasks in the event of your death.

'Find My iPhone' Taking a Huge Bite Out of Smartphone Thefts
Remote kill switch features like Apple Activation Lock and Find My iPhone have reduced iPhone thefts in NYC by 25% and in London by 50%.

Study: Wearable Fitness Trackers No More Accurate than Your Smartphone
You can more accurately track your daily steps by keeping a smartphone in your pocket than by wearing a dedicated fitness tracker, the study shows.

Scribd Adds Unlimited Comic Book Access
All-you-can-read e-book service Scribd has added over 10,000 past and present comics (Archie, X-Men, Thor, Ninja Turtles) to its library.

Google Search Adds Doctor-Reviewed Health Information
Google Knolwedge Graph search results now include doctor-curated and -reviewed health information for a range of diseases and medical conditions.

Facebook Facial Recognition Tech Reaches 'Human-Level Performance'
DeepFace, a new facial recognition algorithm being developed by Facebook, can identify a person in a photo with 97.35% accuracy.

TurboTax Forced to Halt All State-Level e-Filings
TurboTax has paused the submission of state-level tax returns following a dramatic increase in fraudulent filings with the software.

Rechargeable Snow Shovel Goes Where Snowblowers Can't
The 500-watt Hammacher Schlemmer Rechargeable Snow Shovel is a happy medium between a hand shovel and a snowblower for city dwellers.

Google Fiber Coming to the Southeastern U.S.
Google Fiber gigabit Internet service is coming to the cities of the Nashville, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte metropolitan areas.

Microsoft Warns Against New Internet Explorer 11 Vulnerability
Hackers could gain unauthorized access to a wealth of online accounts and personal information thanks to a yet-to-be-exploited XSS bug.

FCC to Vote on Regulating ISPs and Cell Carriers as Utilities
FCC Chair Tom Wheeler will pursue Net Neutrality by classifying ISPs as Title II utilities, ending efforts to throttle Netflix and impose fast lanes.

New Rules to Improve Indoor Location Accuracy for 911
New FCC regulations require carriers to transmit your location within 50 meters when making 911 calls in 40 percent of all cases within 2 years.

President Obama Proposes Weak New Data Collection Reforms
Under the plan, the NSA will continue its bulk data collection efforts, though it will now delete non-essential data pertaining to Americans.

New Study Shows How Easily Metadata Can Give Your Identity Away
Anonymized metadata, researchers from MIT have proved, can be de-anonymized for 90% of people with as little as 4 pieces of outside data.

Verizon Backtracks to Allow Opting Out of its UIDH Supercookies
Verizon will finally offer an opt-out of its privacy busting supercookie that allows third-party ad tracking across multiple websites.

Is it OK to Share Your Netflix and Hulu Passwords?
Amazon, Netflix and HBO Go all allow you to share your streaming video password with your family — to a certain extent.

Nickelodeon to Launch a Paid Streaming Service in February
Nickelodeon parent company Viacom announced Thursday that the TV network for kids will launch an over-the-top streaming video service.

Obama to Introduce Comprehensive Online Privacy Bill
The bill, if passed, would create stricter privacy regulations and empower the FTC to police violations by companies like Facebook and Google.

NY Announces $1B Effort to Bring 100Mbps Broadband Statewide
The New NY Broadband Program will provide $500M to private companies on a 1:1 match to support the buildout of high-speed Internet infrastructure.

Overstock to Launch a Streaming Video Service
Overstock.com will begin selling movie and TV downloads and rentals by mid-2015, eventually expanding to offer original content at a later date.

FCC Denies Marriott's Request to Block Guest Wi-Fi Hotspots
The Federal Communications Commission states that the use or sale of Wi-Fi signal jamming equipment is punishable by severe fines.

Dropcam Sending Owners of its First-Generation Devices a Free Camera
Owners of older, soon-to-be-obsolete Dropcam HDs, original Dropcams and Dropcam Echos will get a free Dropcam HD camera as a replacement.

Apple Adds a 'Free on iTunes' Section for Songs and TV Shows
You can once again download a varied selection of free music and free TV shows on iTunes, including shows from FOX, TBS, Disney, HGTV and more.