Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Ad-blocking tools are more popular than ever before, and this spells potential disaster for anyone who relies on ad revenue from their web site. Previously something only available to desktop users, the widespread hatred of ads saw the tools spreading even to iOS.

A while back Adblock Plus revealed that its Acceptable Ads program -- which gives users the options of permitting the display of certain non-intrusive ads -- would be independently overseen. Today we not only learn about the latest updates to the program criteria, but also how monetizing is possible.

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Microsoft must have hoped that in walking away from Internet Explorer and moving towards Edge it could successfully shake off its reputation for producing terrible web browsers. There's a joke that everyone has used Internet Explorer at some point, even if it's just once to download Firefox or Chrome; sadly for Microsoft, it seems the trend continues.

The launch of Windows 10 provided an opportunity to attract a new audience to Microsoft Edge -- but people are still jumping ship. It's likely that Edge's continued lack of extension support is partly to blame, but usage stats from numerous analysts paint the same picture: Edge is tanking.

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The real names debate on Facebook is long-running and highly polarizing. Views fall into one of two camps: that people should be able to use whatever name they want on the social network, or that Facebook is free to impose whatever restrictions it wants. For supporters of the latter opinion, there is only really one argument -- Facebook can do what it likes.

But for those of the opposing view, there are countless -- well, several, at least -- reasons for scrapping the rule. Facebook has not performed a complete 180 yet, but the social network has today announced a couple of small, but important, changes to its naming policy. Following an earlier change to policy, Facebook says it wants to make things easier for those who belong to ethnic minorities, or who identify as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer".

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ISIS has been in the news for some time now, and events like the recent terror attacks in Paris keep pushing the group into the public consciousness. Governments may be waging war on ISIS on the ground, but on the web it is the likes of Anonymous and vigilante hackers who have taken it upon themselves to curtail terrorist propaganda.

In the latest twist in the tail, hacker group VandaSec traced the IP addresses relating to some ISIS Twitter accounts to the UK government -- the Department of Work and Pensions specifically. Given that the accounts have been used not only to spread ISIS propaganda, but also to recruit members, does the UK government have a dirty little secret? As you might expect, it's not quite that simple.

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Tinder has long-concerned itself with affairs of the heart, but through the final couple of weeks of 2015 the dating app is switching its attention to other organs. Teaming up with NHS Blood and Transplant, Tinder is looking to raise awareness of organ donation.

The campaign aims to highlight to 18-35 year olds the importance of organ donation, and the challenging wait for a matching organ. A number of celebrities are getting involved, changing their profile pictures to a 'The Wait' logo. When users swipe right they will be invited to sign up on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

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Security has long been an issue for Windows users. The sheer number of devices running Microsoft's operating system makes it a prime target for malware and virus attacks. More recently, Apple's computers have increased in popularity and security firm FireEye says that the company will find itself in the crosshairs in 2016.

It's not just Macs and MacBooks that are predicted to become more frequent targets, iOS is also expected to come under attack. FireEye warns that weaknesses have been found in Apple's walled garden, and this could spell danger for users. Symantec is issuing similar warnings, citing Apple's ever-growing user base as the reason.

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Microsoft managed to irritate a lot of people with its heavy-handed pushing of Windows 10, and now Apple has taken a leaf out of the company's book. December may be the time when many people think about getting a new phone -- and Apple is likely to fare very well out of upgrades -- but some iPhone owners have been upset by the appearance of spam in the App Store.

We're not talking about a mass mail-out inviting people to upgrade to the latest iPhone, but ugly, unsolicited popup ads used to push Apple's mobile. Describing the iPhone 6s as 'ridiculously powerful' the ads have been seen by those running iOS 9.1 and 9.2. It's something that could be dismissed, but spamming is unchartered waters for Apple.

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Sorry may be the hardest word, but it seems to be tripping off Microsoft's tongue quite freely at the moment. Maybe it's the holiday season making the company look at itself, but we've had two apologies in recent days -- first, a semi-apology for stealing OneDrive storage from people, and now it's sorry about the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

Recognizing that many people's experiences with the latest addition to the Surface range has been "less-than-perfect", Microsoft's Josh_F has issued an apology on behalf of the company. Thanksgiving may be little more than a memory now, but Microsoft is thankful for the "open and candid feedback" (or bitching and complaining) about the latest Surface devices. With Microsoft in an apologetic mood, what else could it say sorry for?

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The likes of PayPal have long made it possible to send money to friends, family, and businesses via email. The same is true of Google Wallet, but a new update means that an email address is no longer needed -- a text is all it takes.

If you have someone's mobile number, you have everything you need to send them money. Google assures payers that the SMS-based system is secure, but it remains to be seen how popular an option it proves to be.

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Google is succeeding in keeping Apple at bay in Europe. The latest figures from Kantar show that Android is growing in popularity in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain (known collectively as EU5), while iOS growth is slowing.

The data covers smartphone sales in Europe's five largest markets in the three months ending October 2015. Android's popularity had been falling over the previous year, but sales in the last quarter see a return to growth that Google will hope to see continue into 2016 and beyond.

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With projects like Internet.org, Facebook has shown that it is interested in getting the world connected. But the truth of the matter is that no matter where you may be in the world, there are times when it can be impossible to get a decent phone signal to allow you to post a photo of your meal.

Joking aside, in countries where people are struggling with 2G connections or otherwise unreliable signals, making use of Facebook's News Feed can be difficult. The social network is rolling out new technology that will make it possible for people with slow connections to now only see relevant news stories on a poor connection, but also post comments when offline.

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With Google/Alphabet having search so deeply ingrained in its DNA, it is somewhat surprising that the search capabilities found in Drive have been so limited. Now that changes. The cloud storage service, at long last, has a search tool that's worth using.

As well as rolling out to the web, Google Drive's new search options are also making their way to iOS and Android devices. Apple users in particular have something to look forward to thank to support for 3D Touch and deeplinking.

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UK webhosting company Easily has emailed its customers to inform them that it has fallen victim to a malware attack. COO Edwina McDowall says that the assailant is, as yet, unknown but steps have been taken to eliminate the malware.

The company warns that all customers should change their passwords as a precautionary measure, but seeks to assure people that credit card details have not been compromised.

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Just a few days ago, we heard about the potential for the web-enabled Hello Barbie to provide hackers with personal data. Numerous vulnerabilities open up the potential for data to be stolen, but this could be the start of a worrying trend. If you thought the surveillance activities of the NSA and GCHQ are disturbing, things could be about to get much worse.

There is a movement underway that sees every conceivable device being transformed into a connected device. This is more than just the Internet of Things -- security experts are warning that not only could any devices connected to the internet (including web-enabled toys) could be used to spy on users, placing children at risk.

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Cortana is no longer limited to devices running Windows 10. After short period of public beta testing, Microsoft's digital assistant is now rolling out not only to iOS and Android, but also Cyanogen OS devices.

Just as on Windows 10 Mobile handsets, these new releases include many of the features that are found in the desktop version of Cortana. There are, however, some functions that remain exclusive to Windows phones -- you cannot, for example, change system settings in iOS and Android nor, frustratingly, use the hands-free "Hey Cortana" voice command.

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