Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

In a time when people are more concerned about privacy than ever, security tools such as VPNs are proving increasingly popular. Kaspersky Lab recently released a VPN tool for Android, and reviewers are voicing concerns about the permissions required by the app.

Kaspersky Secure Connection: VPN service has a reasonable overall review score at time of writing, but the lower scores are highly critical of what are seen as privacy-invading permission requirements.

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As any Facebook user will know, clickbait is rife on the social network. A very common technique used to drive traffic to ad-laden websites is to embed fake play buttons in images, or post videos that are actually static images.

Facebook is clamping down on these practices in a bid to tidy up users' newsfeeds and avoid people being transported to "low quality websites" set up by spammers.

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On Monday August 21, people across the US will have the chance to witness a total solar eclipse. While there is a great deal of excitement about the phenomenon, viewers need to be careful to use special eclipse glasses (not just sunglasses) or some form of projection technique to avoid serious eye damage.

But perhaps the safest option is to watch the eclipse on your computer screen or mobile. Twitter has teamed up with the Weather Channel to provide a live stream, so even if you're not in the path of totality, there's no need to miss out.

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Following the violence that took place in Charlottesville last weekend, technology companies have done everything they can to distance themselves from neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other right-wing groups. It led to numerous companies dropping right-wing sites such as The Daily Stormer, which was ultimately pushed to the dark web.

Digital rights group the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) -- well-known for speaking out about privacy and legal issues -- has criticized the ban on neo-Nazi sites and groups saying it poses a threat to free expression online. Google, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Reddit and Facebook are just a handful of technology companies to have banned The Daily Stormer, but EFF says that "no one -- not the government and not private commercial enterprises -- should decide who gets to speak and who doesn't."

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Android users now have a new "Question & answers" option in both Google Maps and search. This is not a general Q&A feature along the lines of Yahoo Answers, but a way to ask questions about businesses.

This appears to be Google's attempt to draw people away from the likes of Facebook when they want to ask questions about hotels, restaurants and other places they may visit. Business owners are able to respond to questions -- as are users -- and they are encouraged to create FAQs to prevent the same queries being posted time and time again.

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Technology companies are increasingly realizing that if they are to break into emerging markets, they're going to have to reduce the amount of data their apps use. Facebook Lite, Twitter Lite and LinkedIn Lite are just some of the less demanding apps to have been launched recently.

Google doesn’t want to miss out on the action. It is currently testing a data-light version of its search app for use in countries with slow connections. Search Lite (or Search (Test App)) is currently available to download from Google Play in Indonesia -- or from other sources if you're elsewhere in the world.

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If you're a Google Home user living in the US or Canada, Google is now rolling out the ability to make free phone calls.

The announcement sees the company making good on a promise from I/O 2017, and it extends the call-making capabilities of Google Assistant from smartphones to Google Home. There are, of course, a few limitations to keep in mind.

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The nightmare continues for HBO. After suffering a hack and then leaks of various shows including Game of Thrones, hackers have now struck at the network's social media accounts. The hacking group OurMine took control of the main HBO Twitter accounts, as well as those for various shows, including Game of Thrones.

OurMine is no newcomer to the scene -- the group has previously hacked Mark Zuckerberg and Netflix's Twitter accounts. Separately to this, what has been dubbed the "4th Wave HBO Leak" has been made available online. This time the data dumps include content relating to Game of Thrones season 7, and Westworld season 2.

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Facebook has been busy rolling out a batch of new features and even a new look in the last few days. Today the social network is taking the wraps off two more new features, both with a birthday theme.

The one that's likely to be used the most is are new personalized videos which are essentially the photo-slideshows-as-a-video we have become used to from Facebook. The second new feature is the option to "donate" one's birthday, raising money for a particular cause by calling on friends for donations.

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A lot of people like to know what the weather is going to be like, but if you suffer from hay fever it can be all the more important to know what to expect. To make life a little easier for people struck by "seasonal allergies," Google is rolling out pollen forecasting.

The new feature is integrated into Google search, and it comes as the search giant teams up with The Weather Channel to help give accurate allergy information.

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Season seven of Game of Thrones has been an absolute disaster for HBO. We have seen leaks and spoilers from both hackers and HBO's distributors, but now episode six of the season has leaked and HBO has no one to blame but itself.

HBO Spain accidentally made the episode available to subscribers for a full hour before pulling it. Of course, this hour gave people plenty of time to capture the show, and spoilers are now being shared online. On Reddit, talk of download links has been pushed to PMs as moderators are only too aware that HBO will be monitoring what's going on in light of the inadvertent leak.

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President Trump has lost a six-year legal battle against the creator of an iOS app.

Tom Scharfeld is the man behind iTrump -- an app designed to teach people how to play the trumpet. He successfully represented himself in court, and prevailed over the US president, earning the right to retain the iTrump trademark.

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Facebook is rolling out a fairly significant redesign, giving the News Feed a cleaner look, and borrowing ideas from Twitter. The social network says that the changes improve readability and navigation, and they affect various areas.

The redesign is far from insignificant, but perhaps the most instantly noticeable changes are the dropping of blue accents, and the switch to Twitter-style round images. There are, however, more changes to explore.

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IT systems at the Scottish Parliament have been struck by a "brute force cyber-attack" from an unknown source. Staff have been advised to change passwords as a result of the attack.

Paul Grice, Chief Executive at Holyrood, says that the attack is similar to the one Westminster suffered back in June. The hackers have attempted to crack passwords as well as trying to access parliamentary emails.

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We'll forgive you if you've lost track of all of the changes Facebook has introduced to the News Feed over the years -- it's often something of an experimental playground. The social network's latest idea is a dedicated "Trending News."

The section is currently rolling out to mobile users, and is something of an extension of Facebook's Trending Topics. It is making its way out to Android and iOS users in the US.

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