Today’s top tech stories

February 7, 2012

BBC News Online has reported on a cybersecurity hole that allows live feeds from home security cameras produced by Trendnet to be viewable without users needing a password. The company announced it is currently in the process of releasing updates to correct the programming error, which was first introduced in 2010. The company believes fewer than 1,000 units may be open to the security threat in the UK, with global numbers “most likely less than 50,000”.

The internet security provider (ISP) TalkTalk is to ask new customers if they want children to access nine sensitive categories of websites, including porn, gambling and social networking, before the broadband connection can be made, reports the Guardian. The Children’s Minister, Tim Loughton said he hoped other ISPs would offer similar services in the near future. “Through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety we are working with industry and charities to provide tools and information to inform parents and help keep children safe online,” he said.

The telecoms regulator Ofcom has told BT Group to cut the prices its Openreach wholesale division charges internet service providers, reports BBC News Online. A spokesperson for Ofcom said the organisation hoped it will lead to “cheaper broadband and landline prices for consumers”. Ofcom’s regulates Openreach’s prices because the company has a dominant position in the market.

Apple has overtaken Samsung to take the largest share in the smartphone vendor market and now makes up around one in every three mobile phones shipped around the world, reports the Guardian. Preliminary figures identified by the research company IDC did not show market share according to mobile operating systems such as Apple iOS, Google Android or Windows Phone 7, although trends have suggested Android has around a 50% share of shipments.

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