Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Adding backdoors so governments can access data is a "major security risk". This is the (perhaps slightly obvious) conclusion of security experts and cryptographers writing in a report entitled Keys Under Doormats: Mandating insecurity by requiring government access to all data and communications.

The report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab criticizes plans to allow law enforcement agencies unfettered access to encrypted data through the use of either front doors or backdoors. More importantly it poses the question: "if we want to maintain the security of user information, is this sort of access even technically possible?"

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Builds of the desktop version of Windows 10 have been released at an accelerated pace in recent weeks, but Windows 10 Mobile users have had far fewer updates to install. A couple of weeks ago, build 10149 was made available to Insiders on the Fast Ring and today it makes its way to the Slow Ring.

Build 10149 has been deemed stable enough to make its way to a larger audience. New features to look forward to include Microsoft Edge, Cortana improvements, updated apps, and plenty of bug fixes.

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The Right To Be Forgotten has proved controversial. A little over a year ago Google was told by a European court that it should accept requests to remove from search results pages that are "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant". Now, calls for the scheme to be extended to the US are growing ever-louder.

Consumer Watchdog not only says that the Right To Be Forgotten should be brought to the US, but also that Google's refusal to do so is an "unfair and deceptive" business practice. The consumer group is writing to the Federal Trade Commission calling for the search giant to be investigated and forced to consider the removal of certain search results. As has been proved in Europe, it's something that is not without controversy.

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Microsoft's take on virtual reality, HoloLens, caused waves of excitement when it was announced a few months ago. Today, a new company founded by a former member of the Microsoft HoloLens Studios team launches to start feeding the ecosystem with a range of apps it is describing not as virtual reality, or even augmented reality, but mixed reality.

Michael Hoffman's Object Theory has been set up with the aim of helping other organizations to build apps that take advantage of what HoloLens can offer. We've already seen how HoloLens can run Windows apps in 3D, and a recent demonstration of Minecraft at E3 thrilled gamers. Object Theory wants to ensure that there is a range of impressive apps on launch day.

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Any company wanting to sell its accessories in Apple stores may as well fire some of its designers. Continuing its image-control efforts, Apple is to phase out accessories that are supplied in ugly, non-conforming boxes. Only those accessories that are packaged in boxes co-designed with Apple will be guaranteed shelf space in a store.

Many manufacturers already go to some lengths to mimic the look of official iPhone and iPad packaging, but it won't be long before this is compulsory. A memo sent to retail store staff reveals that accessories from the likes of Incase, Logitech, and Mophie will soon feature the cookie-cutter look that has become synonymous with Apple packaging.

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Need a social network to connect with friends and likeminded individuals? Take your pick; there are dozens to choose from. Facebook remains by far the most popular and, as it is used by real people, it is filled with everything that makes up life -- the good and the bad. In response, a group of Evangelical Christians in Brazil set up Facegloria with the aim of becoming "morally and technically better than Facebook".

Actually the real aim of the site is to promote Christianity -- to the extent that rather than a Like button, there is an Amen button. Think "godbook", if you will. Of course there are restrictions -- religion isn’t meant to be fun, you know. On the list of banned content is violence and pornography, swearing (there are literally hundreds of banned words), anything that violates "biblical principles", and depicting or referring to homosexual activity.

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With portability in mind, laptop owners generally have two key concerns -- weight and battery life. Today LG announces a new range of thin and light LCD panels that will help to reduce the weight and size of laptops of the future.

The Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT) panels are slimmer than traditional touch screens as they feature embedded touch sensors rather than a separate panel placed on top of the display. The panels will go into mass production in the second half of this year, bringing technology previously used by LG in smartphone screens to larger devices.

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With just over three weeks until the launch of Windows 10, preview builds are still popping out left, right, and center -- some more official than others. Microsoft is beavering away on the final build which will start to roll out on 29 July, and it seems that the RTM version could be signed off as early as this week.

Build tracking site BuildFeed shows that Windows 10 Build 10176 from the th1 branch (a reference to threshold, Windows 10's codename) is now being tested as a release candidate. With a full build string of 10.0.10176.16384.th1.150705-0552, the appearance of this version ties in neatly with a rumor that RTM might be reached this week -- perhaps as early as Thursday.

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Italian security and surveillance firm Hacking Team appears to have itself fallen victim to a security breach. Hacking Team produces software which is used by governments around the world as part of their surveillance programs. The company has been criticized for facilitating invasions of privacy, and, over the weekend, its Twitter feed was taken over, resulting in its name and profile picture being changed to read Hacked Team.

But this is far from being the end of the story. Whoever is responsible for the security breach also released a torrent file that provides access to 400GB of company data. Included in the cache are emails, source code, and confidential documents. The files reveal who the company has been dealing with including a number of countries known for their oppressive regimes.

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The cryptocurrency Bitcoin has not been without its problems. There have been numerous hacks leading to the loss of millions of dollars, and Bitcoin mining tool Epic Scale became embroiled in a crapware scandal with uTorrent. The latest problem to hit the digital currency is a double-spending bug.

As the name suggests, this essentially makes it possible to spend the same Bitcoins twice, and it stems from a problem with a planned upgrade. An issue with some Bitcoin miners means that tests that usually prevent double-spending are not correctly performed. The problem was discovered on 4 July as many Americans were busy celebrating Independence Day.

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With the launch of Apple Music came a new version of iTunes. Apple's new streaming music service initially hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons thanks to Taylor Swift, and now it is the turn of iTunes. It's an app that many love to hate, and now there is another reason to dislike the music management tool.

It's not just runners with iPhone and iPod users looking for a musical accompaniment to their daily exercise who use iTunes to organize their music collection, it is also used by professionals. The software is used by DJs to keep their music collections in check, but anyone who relies on their music library might want to heed the warning of website Digital DJ Tips -- "Warning to DJs: Do not upgrade to iTunes 12.2!"

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Microsoft has been busy over the last seven days, pumping out no fewer than three new builds of Windows 10 to Insiders. Hot on the heels of build 10158 came build 10159, followed swiftly by build 10162.

As these are previews, problems are to be expected, and some users are having trouble activating their copies of the operating system. Despite the fact Microsoft is giving away Windows 10 free of charge, activation is still required and it seems the company has a few kinks to iron out before launch day on July 29. So what's the deal?

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Virtual reality is making a comeback. Forget the atrocious examples we endured in the 90s, now we have the likes of Oculus Rift to delight our senses, and Microsoft is tempting us with HoloLens. Neither of these are particularly cheap, but Google came up with a cheap alternative in the form of Cardboard.

As the name suggests, this is a foldable cardboard unit which can be used to transform a variety of smartphones into a fully-fledged VR headset. While much cheaper than the likes of Oculus Rift and HoloLens, Cardboard is not free... or at least, it wasn't. Ahead of the launch of OnePlus 2, OnePlus is offering its own OnePlus CardBoard for free.

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The Nexus range of smartphones has proved a popular way to get a fairly high-end handset running stock Android at a decent price. Previous models have (largely) sold well, and there is always eager anticipation surrounding the next release. One thing people are always keen to know is just who is going to be making the handset.

According to a report by AndroidPIT, it is LG who will be responsible for the 2015 Nexus 5. A spokesperson said that the device is to be based on a yet-to-be-seen prototype rather than the LG G4. Based on previous launches, it's safe to assume that the release will coincide with the launch of the next version of Google's mobile operating system, Android M.

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Make an online payment with your credit card and you're probably used to having to enter a password or PIN. But if a trial scheme by MasterCard takes off, this could become a thing of the past. The finance company is testing out a new payment authorization technique including fingerprint scanning and facial recognition.

MasterCard is working with Apple, BlackBerry, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung to introduce the biometric checks. The initial plan is to trial the system with 500 participants before possibly rolling it out on a larger scale. It's something that MasterCard believes will be welcomed by millennials and should simplify the process of making payments from a smartphone.

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