More than 60 different policies will be combined into one that will go into effect 1 March, the company said. Google said the new policy will give people more relevant search results and help advertisers find customers. Google has previously faced criticism over the sharing of users data.

"We're rolling out a new main privacy policy that covers the majority of our products and explains what information we collect, and how we use it in a more readable way," said Alma Whitten, Google's director of privacy, product and engineering.

The single privacy policy will apple to Google search, Gmail, YouTube and Google+, its social networking site. The main change applies to users who have Google accounts. "If you're signed into Google, we can do things like suggest search queries, or tailor your search results, based on the interests you've expressed in Google+, Gmail and YouTube," the company said, explaining the changes.

The revision comes after Google's previous attempt at social networking, Buzz, was shut down. The company was criticised for inadvertently revealing users' most e-mailed contacts to other participants through the Buzz platform.

Last year, Google and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement to prevent Google from misrepresenting how it uses personal information and from sharing a user's data without approval. Google said it had been in touch with regulators over these latest changes to its privacy policy, which will apply globally, according to the Associated Press news agency.

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Everyone wants to download or save favorite videos from YouTube. Aiseesoft Free YouTube Downloader is the best free YouTube Downloader tool, which allows you download desired online videos from YouTube, MetaCafe, Google Video, Yahoo Video, MySpace, i’Film and many other online video websites in your local computer with high speed.

It provides two ways to download online videos. You can use it by ‘Add Task’ option directly, or use Internet Browser to navigate YouTube videos. It is free and supports multi-threads for every downloading task.

Step 1: Launch ‘Aiseesoft Free YouTube Downloader’ (Start -> All Programs -> Aiseesoft -> Aiseesoft Free YouTube Downloader -> Aiseesoft Free YouTube Downloader)

Step 2: Click on ‘New Download’, for adding new task.

Step 3: Copy URL of desire video, and paste it in ‘Aiseesoft Free YouTube Downloader’ URL textbox, you can select ‘Destination’ folder by clicking on ‘Browse’ button, and you can select ‘Start now’ or ‘Manual’ option and click on ‘OK’ button.

Your desire video is downloaded in destination folder. You can download more than video at the same time. I hope this tutorial helps you to downloading online videos from YouTube. Share this tutorial within your social circle and do not forget to give us feedback

 

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Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has achieved 95 percent of its targets for year 2011, the PTA said on Friday. According to a statement a special meeting of PTA reviewed the progress of target and goals set for its divisions for the year 2011. The meeting was chaired by Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammad Yaseen and attended by Dr. Khawar Siddique Khokhar Member (Technical) and senior PTA officials.

During the meeting Divisional heads presented progress of tasks allocated to respective Division for the previous year. During this meeting the authority also approved the tasks assigned to each Division for the year 2012. The Authority was pleased to note that more than 95% of the targets and goals were achieved during the year 2011.

Chairman PTA Dr. Mohammad Yaseen expressed his satisfaction over the achievement made during the year 2011 and appreciated the performance of PTA employees for their dedication and hard work which made it possible to achieve such a high percentage of success. He directed all PTA employees to work with the same zeal and further improve PTA performance and raise the success bar even more high.

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Researchers have exposed a security hole in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The vulnerability has to do with the BlackBerry Bridge software that links the device with a user's phone. This software could be used to get unauthorised access to corporate email messages.

When Research In Motion (RIM) launched the PlayBook last year, it didn't have a built-in way to access email or calendars. Instead, users were expected to link the PlayBook with a BlackBerry phone via bridging software that connects the two devices wirelessly. Although less convenient than native functions, the set-up was thought to be inherently more secure since the information was never actually stored on the tablet.

That may have been a tad optimistic. A pair of researchers now say they've successfully hacked into a PlayBook using the supposedly secure BlackBery Bridge Bluetooth connection. Although the hack requires some special conditions, it hits RIM on its biggest strength compared to other devices: security.
Zach Lanier and Ben Nell of Intrepidus Group were the ones who found the Bridge's weak spot. They included it in their Blade Runner-themed presentation at the Infiltrate security conference last week in Miami Beach, FL, first reported by ThreatPost.

The problem, as they describe it, is a bug that exposes the Bridge's authorisation token, which is normally in a protected file, to anyone who knows where to look. "Think of it like this," Lanier told Mashable, "the Bridge apps on the PlayBook are glorified web browsers. They use a session token, much like a browser talking to a web application would, to assert their authorisation with the BlackBerry Bridge service. Due to a bug in TabletOS, this session token is accessible in a file that is readable by any user, including unprivileged applications and processes."While that sounds bad (and it is), the danger is limited in two key ways:

The user must be using BlackBerry Bridge to expose the token (unless the phone has no password set — then it can be used anytime).There must be some kind of malicious app already on the PlayBook to exploit it.

The hypothetical hacker doesn't actually have to be physically close to the PlayBook in question. Lanier confirmed to that the only thing necessary is malware on the tablet designed to exploit the token. If that's the case, once the bridge is engaged and the bad app is running, every email and calendar appointment is potentially in the hands of hackers.

The good news is that the security hole will be patched in PlayBook 2.0, RIM's software update that will also finally bring native email to the tablet. RIM knew about the flaw through Intrepidus Group and issued the statement: "There are no known exploits and risk is mitigated by the fact that a user would need to install and run a malicious application after initiating a BlackBerry Bridge connection."

Nonetheless, the news is yet another stumble for the PlayBook which launched to tepid reviews, experienced sluggish sales and was recently discounted to US$299 for the 16GB model (it originally sold for US$499). To add insult to injury, studies show many businesses plan to go with the iPad for their tablet needs, even at the enterprise level.

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Google India and Facebook India on Monday again told the Delhi High Court that it was impossible for them to control content with billions of people accessing the websites. The court adjourned till Jan 19 the hearing related to allegedly objectionable content on 21 websites.

Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Google India, said that the summons issued to social networking sites by a metropolitan magistrate showed complete lack of understanding about how the online system worked.

He argued that the issue was related to the freedom of speech. "The issue relates to a constitutional issue of freedom of speech and expression, and suppressing it was not possible as the right to freedom of speech in democratic India separates us from a totalitarian regime like China," he said.

Arguing that Google India and Google Inc. were different entities, he clarified: "It has nothing to do with Google India directly or indirectly, I am not responsible for it."He submitted that the petitioner company had no control over websites where the objectionable material was posted. "I am only a search engine, the offending materials of websites have nothing to do with me," he said.

"Google India is neither a search engine nor a web hosting site and was a distinct legal entity from its US-based holding company Google Inc., a search engine," he added. Advocate Hariharan, appearing for complainant Vinay Rai, said that Google Inc. and Google India were the same.

He said they (Google India) said they were only concerned with marketing but their documents said that they carried on business of production and development of internet programme and software programme. Business of advertisement was only a small part. The court was hearing the petition filed by Facebook and Google, challenging a trial court's summons.

Rai had requested the court to remove objectionable contents from 21 websites. Among these, 12 websites are of foreign-based companies. Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar earlier summoned the accused companies to face trial for allegedly committing the offence punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 292 (sale of obscene books and material and 293 (sale of obscene objects to young person).

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Last year in December, an FIR was registered with the circle against a man identified as Sheikh Samir Mir, who lives in DHA Phase I. The case was lodged by a well-known businessman, Fazal Karim Dadabhoy. According to him, Mir hacked into the Facebook account of one of the women in his family and uploaded her pictures on other websites. “Mir not only hacked the Facebook account but also misused it and posted pictures on other websites,” said Dadabhoy.

The FIA began an investigation against Mir and some Facebook accounts of his friends. It was discovered that Samir Mir and his friends had created three more Facebook accounts by the names of well-reputed women. Earlier this week, an FIA team raided Mir’s house, but he escaped. The officials seized his laptop, cell phone and other belongings as evidence. Mir is still on the run. The deputy director of the Cyber Crime Cell, Arif Hanfi, said that his men were trying to catch Mir, who has acquired protective bail. He pointed out that it does not affect his arrest.

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KARACHI: Warid Telecom launched Warid Ezee Connection, empowering its retailers to further enhance the customer experience. Warid new customers can get the prepaid number of their choice from any designated retail outlet across Pakistan. Leading the market with customised products and services, Warid manages the product portfolio of over 60 value added services based on IVR, SMS, MMS and GPRS platforms.

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Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) unveiled their first high-speed Windows Phone for AT&T Inc. (T) at the Consumer Electronics Show, aiming to help both companies stage a comeback in the smartphone industry.

The Lumia 900 will be available in the coming months exclusively from AT&T, the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, the companies said at an event in Las Vegas yesterday. The handset will be one of the first Windows-based phones to use the next-generation technology known as long-term evolution, or LTE. Nokia didn’t give details on price or an exact sales date.

AT&T is the biggest U.S. carrier to announce a Nokia Windows handset, making it a vital agreement for Microsoft, which saw disappointing initial orders for phones based on its software. Nokia, meanwhile, is counting on Windows to revive sales in the U.S. and help it win back share. The company sees the new model as the linchpin to attracting more developers and other partners to the platform.

“The Lumia 900 is not only about a great device, but it’s also about inspiring a great ecosystem,” Nokia Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop said at the event. “An ecosystem is more than just the apps. It’s more than the device. It’s more than the operating system.”Elop appeared onstage with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Ralph de la Vega, president of AT&T Mobility. The Lumia 900 will be available in black and cyan, with a 4.3-inch (10.9- centimeter) display. It has cameras with wide-angle lenses on the front and back, and voice-enabled driving navigation.

Best So Far
“The Lumia 900 is probably the best device that has carried Windows Phone so far,” said Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC in Seattle. “This is a hot device. The issue is how quickly they can get it here. The market is moving at an incredible velocity.”HTC Corp. (2498) also announced an LTE Windows Phone yesterday, the Titan II. The Taiwanese handset maker, which is trying to recover from its first quarterly profit decline in two years, expects the model to be available in the coming months via AT&T.

In a separate keynote speech by Ballmer, he promoted Nokia devices, showing co-host Ryan Seacrest his own Nokia Lumia phone -- with a missed call from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Ballmer also announced that Microsoft has sold 66 million units of its Xbox video game console, as well as 18 million of the related Kinect sensors, which allow users to play games with body motion. Kinect, along with accompanying software, will go on sale for Windows personal computers on Feb. 1, the company said yesterday. The Windows version will cost $249, with an academic model available later in the year for $149.

Xbox Live
The company’s Xbox Live online gaming and entertainment service now has 40 million members. To bolster that feature, Microsoft plans to add content and from News Corp. (NWSA)’s Fox, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

At AT&T, the carrier is expanding its LTE network and adding devices to catch up with larger rival Verizon Wireless, which has offered LTE devices for longer. AT&T is ahead of schedule expanding its LTE network, with service in 26 U.S. cities, John Stankey, head of business solutions at the Dallas- based company, said last week. Last month, T-Mobile USA Inc. announced it would offer the Lumia 710, Nokia’s first handset to run Windows Phone software in the U.S. The device, targeting first-time smartphone buyers, will cost $49.99 -- after a $50 rebate -- with a 24-month contract. It will be available Jan. 11.

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android boosted its share of the smartphone operating-system market to more than 50 percent in the third quarter, according to Gartner Inc., more than double its share from a year earlier. Microsoft’s share dropped to 1.5 percent from 2.7 percent. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) is the single biggest maker of smartphones. It surpassed Nokia to take that title in the third quarter.
Ballmer’s speech ends a run of 15 years’ worth of keynotes at the show by the executive or Gates. The Redmond, Washington- based company said in December that it was scaling back its presence because the timing doesn’t match up with its product- release schedule.

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The telecoms department has extended its security checks to include software used by mobile phone companies. It has issued a directive to all telcos to compulsorily inform the department of all software updates they undertake within 15 days and also keep records for a 10-year period. ET reviewed a copy of this directive.

The move comes as the home ministry had pointed out that software updates were not part of the new rules for importing telcoms equipment that were unveiled last year. The home ministry had sought that DoT mandate operators to keep updates of softwares for 12 months online and for a further two years in a non-online mode. The home ministry had said that the documentation would enable it to identify the person who had issued commands for the software updates, including the changes that had been made.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the department has also assured the national security advisor (NSA) that it had taken a series of steps, including unveiling new rules and building a test lab to address security concerns on imported equipment. Last month, the DoT had provided a similar assurance to the Prime Minister's Office ( PMO) too regarding safety of imported telecoms gear.

In its communication to the NSA, the telecoms department reiterated that the new security policy mandated that telcos induct only those network elements which had been tested in international labs for bugs and Trojan Horses.

This procedure will be in place till mid-2013, after which the testing will be done in Indian labs. The DoT has highlighted that a pilot lab was already in place in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, to develop the test standards, procedures and test tools to evaluate all telecom equipment.

It further added that the upcoming Centre for Communication Security Research and Monitoring would help address the government's concerns as this would be able to intercept all mobile phone and internet traffic. The Union cabinet, while raising the foreign shareholding limit in telecom to 74% in March 2007, had asked the telecom ministry to set up the centre as an umbrella platform for interception and monitoring all types of communications.

DoT then proposed that the CCSRM consist of a centralised monitoring system and planning for the same had begun in 2007 and was put on fast track after the Mumbai attacks.

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Google has been the most visited site of 2011 in US, with Facebook coming a close second, a new study has revealed. The survey, conducted by Nielsen, suggests that more than 153 million visitors clicked onto Google branded pages each month, while Facebook attracted close to 138 million visitors.

As Yahoo came third with about 130 million visitors each month, analysts warned that the site's tally might be at risk if young people continued to turn away from web-based email, the BBC reported. The study is based on data collected between January and October and included visits from home and work computers. It involved a sample from a global panel of 200,000 people.

Although Google trumped Facebook as the most popular web brand, it's Google+ network came far behind the social networking site in Nielsen's ranking of the most popular social networks and blogs. Google+ came eighth in the list with 8.02m unique monthly visitors. Google's YouTube was identified as the most popular destination for online videos, attracting more than three times the number of monthly visitors as the music video service Vevo.

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