Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

There have been lots of claims made about the adoption rate for Windows 10 with the most recent batch of figures from Microsoft stating 110 million installations. But how does this number actually break down? New research by Spiceworks reveals that the latest version of Microsoft's operating system is making greater headway in the business environment than Windows 8 did.

Asked before launch whether they would upgrade to Windows 10, Spiceworks found that 40 percent of businesses intended to upgrade within a year. Three months after the launch the number of businesses that have actually made the jump is 11 percent -- a penetration rate 20 percent higher than Windows 8 achieved on launch.

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The world of politics is filled with people who many would consider to be out of touch with real life. All too often politicians are treated differently, and this has certainly been the case when it comes to NSA and GCHQ surveillance of phone and internet traffic. In the UK a court has ruled that a ban on intercepting politicians' communication is not valid.

The Wilson Doctrine -- named after former prime minister Harold Wilson -- stated that "there [will] be no tapping of the telephones of Members of Parliament". This has now been ruled to have no legal force, sending politicians into a fit of panic. They are due to hold an emergency debate next week.

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Streaming video services are frequently tied to specific countries and steps are taken to prevent people in other parts of the world using them. This is nothing new, and there has been something of an on-going battle between service providers and users who try to find a way around any blocks that may be put in place.

Now the BBC is going to war, and it has VPNs in its sights. VPNs are frequently used by those outside of the UK to view programmes on BBC iPlayer -- but they are also used by security-conscious users. But the BBC is not concerned about the security side of things, just that the tools can be used to bypass geo-restrictions. TorrentFreak reports that UK-based VPN servers are now detected and blocked.

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Earlier today I wrote about my surprise at the sudden appearance of what I referred to as an 'ad' in my Start menu. The comments the article gathered made for interesting reading, and it was clear that there was more than a little confusion and disgust at the prospect of the Start menu being used as advertising space. I mentioned in the article that I had contacted Microsoft for comment, and I've now heard back with some clarification.

First off, Microsoft insists that the promotion of apps in the Start menu is not advertising, merely the App Suggestions feature. The company stresses that no payments are made by software publishers to be highlighted in this way and explains that this personalized suggestion service is now rolling out to Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users on the Insider program. Microsoft has more to say, but is it enough to allay the concerns of Windows 10 users?

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The other day I wrote about problems my father had after an inadvertent upgrade to Windows 10. In the comments there were numerous mocking remarks suggesting that he had been provided with plenty of opportunity to avoid the upgrade -- but it seems that may not have been the case. Microsoft has admitted that the upgrade has been automatically installed on some computers.

This has been described as "a mistake" after the optional update was marked for download and installation by default. Microsoft has already raised the ire of some users who were unhappy to discover that Windows 10 setup files had been downloaded without their permission, but the unwanted installation take things to the next level. So what’s the deal?

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If you've been thinking of investing in a new computer, Microsoft has an incentive that might just help to convince you that the time is right. You've probably got an old computer laying around that you need to get rid of, and Microsoft will happily take it off your hands and give you cash into the bargain.

The Trade Up program offers a minimum of $200 for a laptop trade-in, up to $300 for a MacBook. The caveat? The Windows 10 computer you buy must cost at least $599. The deal is running in the US and UK -- but people in the UK have a different, and somewhat less impressive, deal available to them.

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We've all become used to the idea of ads online -- it's something that has become part and parcel of using the internet -- but in Windows? If you've updated to build 10565 of Windows 10, you're in for something of a surprise: the Start menu is now being used to display ads.

We're not talking about ads for Viagra, porn, or anything like that, but ads for apps. Of course, Microsoft is not describing them as ads; 'Suggested apps' has a much more approachable and fluffy feel to it. Maybe. This is a 'feature' that's currently only being shown to Windows Insiders, but it could spread to everyone else. Will it be well-received?

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In the post-Snowden age, transparency reports are all the rage. After the privacy debate that followed the NSA surveillance revelations technology companies fell over themselves to publish everything they could about government data requests. Microsoft has already released transparency reports, but today unveils a new Transparency Hub.

This is designed to be a central resource through which a variety of reports can be accessed, including the Law Enforcement Requests Report and U.S. National Security Orders Report. Data for the first six months of 2015 is now available, and there is a new section dedicated to Right To Be Forgotten-style requests for data removal.

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Hot on the heels of a new desktop build, Microsoft has now released Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10549 to Fast ring Windows Phone users. While there are a fair number of improvements and new features, there is also a serious problem for anyone upgrading from Build 10536 -- although there is a work around.

So that’s the bad news, what's the good? Riding the current wave of interest in diversity, this build includes diverse emoji; a recognition of the fact that there are many hues of skin color. There are improvements to the messaging app -- although no Skype integration just yet -- and to Cortana, but that's not the end of the story.

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A jury has decided that Apple infringed on patents owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The A7, A8, and A8X processors used in iPhones and iPads since 2013 included technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's licensing arm.

US District Judge William Conley had previously indicated that Apple could be hit with a bill of up to $862.4 million, but it is now down to the jury to determine the levels of damages that must be paid. The chips feature efficiency-improving technology, and can be found in some iPads as well as the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6 Plus.

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OK Google, Siri, and Cortana all make it possible to control a phone simply by speaking to it. In the case of Google, what you might not be aware -- it's hardly something the company shouts about -- is that recordings of every command, question, and request are stored online.

Listening back through these could well be interesting, embarrassing, perhaps even nostalgic. You can step back in time and remind yourself of trips abroad, fun nights out, and the like, but you might also be concerned about privacy. If you would rather these recordings were not stored online, you can delete them; here's how.

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An investigation spanning the US and Europe is under way after tens of millions of dollars was stolen from bank accounts. The thefts are believed to have been facilitated by a strain of malware known variously as Dridex, Bugat, and Cridex, enabling a group known as Evil Corp to siphon off funds.

The malware has been known of for some time, but law enforcement agencies have only just started to make significant inroads that could thwart the activities of the botnet. An arrest has now been made in connection to the malware which hijacked online banking login pages on infected computers. After stealing usernames and passwords, taking money from accounts was a simple task.

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Hero or villain? Opinion is very much divided about Edward Snowden. For Hillary Clinton there is no question -- he is a villain who broke US law and should face trial. The NSA contractor became a topic for discussion between Clinton and Bernie Sanders at last night's presidential debate, and the two candidates had slightly differing views of how he should be treated.

Snowden has said that he would be willing to serve time in jail, going as far as offering himself up to the government. He says that he has received no response -- something that would apparently be very different if Clinton succeeds in her presidential bid. While Clinton is taking a hard line, Sanders offers more leniency.

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As with every previous version of iOS, it had to happen -- jailbreak instructions for iOS 9 have been released. Rumors have been circulating for a little while that a group called Pangu was on the verge of releasing a jailbreak tool, and now it's available.

Pangu Jailbreak for iOS 9 cracks open iOS in next to no time, opening up the possibility of installing apps and applying tweaks that would not otherwise be possible. Whether you're rocking a new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, or you have an iPad or older handset the whole process can be over in less than five minutes. Here's what you need to do.

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Facebook has become much more than just a social network; indeed, networking is fairly low down on the list of priorities for many users. The site is increasingly used for gaming, news gathering, and video consumption. Today Facebook announces a batch of new video features in recognition of the fact that videos are what people are looking for.

A small-scale test with iPhone users to try out a video suggestion feature is set to extend worldwide, ultimately spreading to the web and Android. Facebook is also borrowing some ideas from the likes of YouTube, including the ability to build up video playlists.

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